News
N3.5b debt: Court freezes Oyo govt’s accounts in 10 banks

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja has issued an order to freeze the accounts of the Oyo state government in ten commercial banks across the country.
The order was issued by Justice A. O. Ebong in a ruling on a proceeding initiated by ex-council chiefs in Oyo state, sacked on May 29, 2019 by Governor Seyi Makinde, and who in 2021 got a N4,874,889,425.60 judgment against Makinde and other officials/agencies of the state.
The other officials/agencies listed with Makinde as judgment debtors, by virtue of the May 7, 2021 judgment of the Supreme Court, are the Attorney General, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Accountant General of Oyo State, Speaker of the House of Assembly, the House of Assembly and the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC).
The garnishee proceeding is intended by the ex-council chiefs, led by Bashorun Majeed Ajuwon, to recover the balance of N3,424,889,425.60 (N3.5b) which is outstanding from the actual judgment sum, from which Makinde paid only N1.5m in 2022.
What was outstanding in respect of the Supreme Court judgment was N3,374,889,425.60, but the Court of Appeal in Abuja added N50million, which it awarded as cost against Makinde and others in a judgment on December 8, dismissing their appeal.
The banks in which the Oyo State Government’s accounts are blocked are Zenith Bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA), Wema Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Ecobank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank, Polaris Bank, Jaiz Bank and Union Bank.
Justice Ebong, in the ruling on a motion marked: BW/M/85/2023, ordered the garnishees (the banks) to “file affidavits and attend this court on the next adjourned date to show cause why the garnishee orders nisi hereby granted should not be made absolute.”
The judge awarded N300,000.00 as cost against the judgment debtors; ordered that a copy of the order be served on Makinde and others and adjourned till January 5 next year for hearing.
On May 7, 2021 when the Supreme Court gave judgment, voiding Makinde’s sack of elected Local Government Chairmen and Councillors in Oyo State, the apex court gave similar judgment in respect of Katsina State and ordered both states to pay the salaries and allowances of the effected ex-council chiefs.
Justice Ejembi Eko, who delivered the lead judgment in the Oyo State case, condemned the decision by Makinde to unlawfully sack the elected council chiefs before the end of their tenure.
Justice Eko said: “I will not conclude this appeal without commenting on the disturbing ugly face of impunity displayed by the Governor of Oyo State on 29th May, 2019 which is tantamounting to executive lawlessness, outrightly and vehemently condemned by this…
“Local Government Chairman and Councillors, being persons duly elected by the people cannot just be removed and their councils dissolved whimsically and arbitrarily by any other elected persons in clear abuse of their office and powers. It is not right in law and under the Constitution to do that.”
But, while the Katsina State Government has since paid its ex-council chiefs, who were unlawfully sacked, the Oyo State Government, under Makinde has failed to paid the ex-council chiefs he sacked before the end of their tenure, and which sack the Supreme Court voided in its May 7, 2021 judgment in the appeal marked: SC/CV/556/2020.
Lawyer to the ex-council chiefs, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN) had, during a hearing in the appeal filed by Makinde and others before the Court of Appeal, Abuja, told the court that some of his clients have died while others are suffering after they were unjustly sacked as elected council officials by Makinde, who he blamed for the delay in paying the judgment debt.
In a court document, the ex-council chiefs said: “As at date, we have lost 26 of our members, whose children are crying to the conscience of His Excellency (Makinde) for justice.
“Obviously, if His Excellency (Makinde) had paid our money within the six months expressly pledged by the immediate past Attorney General on his behalf, our deceased colleagues would have had little money to attend to the sicknesses that took most of them away.”
News
Something has to be done, Our electricity bills now more than house rent – Band A customers cry out

Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu proudly highlighted the accomplishments of his ministry during his tenure.
Adelabu celebrated the ministry’s successes since taking charge a few years ago.
Minister Adelabu announced that the ministry achieved an additional N200 billion in revenue in 2024, as reported by Saturday Tribune.
But many Lagos residents, especially consumers in the power sector, do not share in the minister’s excitement.
Of late, it has been a litany of woes from the consumers, who insist that the reforms introduced by the minister since assuming office have left them worse off.
They can no longer use their freezers, pressing irons and other energy-sapping appliances.
Unfortunately, they believe the minister has abandoned them to the whims and caprices of the distribution companies (DisCos) in the state.
The DisCos, they claim, have continued to rip them off under the noses of the minister and other relevant regulatory authorities in the sector.
Some of them argue that despite being placed on Band A, they have been contending with epileptic power supply in their localities.
Recently, residents of Aguda and Ayetoro CDA in Surulere expressed their displeasure over exorbitant electricity bills despite poor power supply to the supposedly Band A consumers.
They allege that they receive less than 10 hours of electricity daily, instead of the over 20 hours meant for Band A consumers. Besides, they claim that N10,000 worth of electricity units last less than two hours.
They are therefore calling on the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) to return them to Band C, where they believe they truly belong based on the hours of electricity their community receives.
“What they are giving us is even more than our house rent. If you load N10,000 now, it won’t last two hours. Despite the high tariff, we are not getting electricity adequately,” Mr. Jimoh Ajala, the Aguda CDA leader, lamented in a video.
Ajala said, “I am here because of EKEDC. This is a residential area, not commercial. Like yesterday, they took the light four times for four hours each. We are requesting that the DisCo should return us to Band B or C. The tariff is for commercial users and we are not; we are residential.”
Another resident, Adeyanju from Ayetoro CDA, corroborated Ajala’s claims, saying that what they pay for electricity is more than their house rent.
“We are paying more than our house rent for light. This is killing us. They should return us to Band D,” he said.
Jimoh Ajala and other Aguda CDA residents in Surulere protested at the Ikoyi Federal High Court, demanding government action against their exorbitant electricity bills.Interestingly, they are not alone.
Many Lagos residents are finding it increasingly difficult to pay their electricity bills due to several factors, including the harsh economy, rising inflation, high transportation costs and rent, among others.
Source: Saturday Tribune
News
JUST IN: Governor Alia Names Top Politicians, NASS Members Sponsoring Attacks In Benue

…..Alia made the allegation during Friday’s Politics Today program on Channels Television, describing the situation as very unsettling and extremely unacceptable.
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has accused top serving politicians in Abuja and the National Assembly of instigating killings, harbouring and feeding those responsible for the crisis in the state.
Alia made the allegation during Friday’s Politics Today program on Channels Television, describing the situation as very unsettling and extremely unacceptable. The Governor said that while the politicians were interested in fighting for their positions, it was his right to protect and serve the interests of the masses.
Although Alia declined to disclose the names of the politicians allegedly involved in the killings, he stated that a judicial panel had been set up to investigate the reasons behind the attacks, adding that the report indicted many big names and vowed to take up the matter when he receives the full report.
He said, “It is very, very unsettling because top politicians who are very functional and are in the National Assembly and are in Abuja, are the architects and arrowheads of not just instigating, but harbouring and keeping these people and feeding them in the bushes, and taking care of all their needs and buying all the other gadgets for them.
“This is extremely unacceptable. If they do not love the lives of the people and they’re only fighting for their own position, I think I am serving the interest of the common masses and it is a concern to me, and it is my right to protect it.
“We set up a judicial panel to sort out for us why we kept having attacks from within and from without, and we have received an interim report. Between Tuesday and Wednesday next week, I am going to get a full report from the panel.
“So once we receive this report that is coming, we are going to take it up and take it up very seriously. There are quite a lot of big names that are mentioned here, so this is where we are.”
International
Republic of Ireland deports 35 Nigerians without cogent reason

The Republic of Ireland has deported no fewer than 35 Nigerians, including five children, to Nigeria in a chartered flight that departed from Dublin Airport on Wednesday night.
According to the Irish Mirror, the returnees, comprising 21 men, nine women, and five children, landed in Nigeria on Thursday.
Irish Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, said he was “happy to say” that all of them returned to Nigeria despite an unscheduled stopover due to a medical incident on board.
While the Irish government did not give a specific reason for the deportation of the Nigerian nationals, O’Callaghan only said, “Ireland has a rules-based immigration system. It is important that those rules are robust and enforced.
”However, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission said it was not aware of the deportation of the Nigerians by Ireland on Thursday.
The NiDCOM spokesperson, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, made this known on Thursday.
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