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Sierra Leone energy minister resigns over electricity crisis

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 Sierra Leone’s minister of energy, Kanja Sesay, has resigned after weeks of electricity crisis in the West African nation.

 

According to BBC, in his resignation letter on Friday, Sesay said he took full responsibility for the crisis.

 

In a statement, the government said the energy ministry has been placed under the direct supervision of President Julius Maada Bio, who will be assisted by two other officials.

 

Sesay’s resignation came hours after the government paid $18.5 million to two power providers, Turkish Karpowership and Transco-CLSG group.

 

Sierra Leone owed the two producers $40 million.

 

After two months of outages, power was restored in Freetown after the payments were announced.

 

Since mid-April, Freetown and the cities of Bo, Kenema and Koidu have experienced multi-day stretches without electricity.

 

Karpowership confirmed the payment in a statement.

 

“We are pleased to confirm that the electricity supply has returned to full capacity in Freetown,” the statement reads.

READ  APC loses Sierra Leone presidential election

 

The company has been supplying electricity to Sierra Leone since 2018 from a floating offshore unit, but it had reduced its capacity from 65 megawatts to just five in recent months due to payment issues.

 

It had previously cut supplies to Sierra Leone in September over unpaid bills.

 

In October, it briefly cut power to Guinea-Bissau, saying it had been left with no option “following a protracted period of non-payment”.

 

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UPDATED: Ex-aviation minister, Sirika, daughter arraigned over ‘N2.7bn contract fraud, gets N100m bail

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A former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika has pleaded not guilty to the alleged corrupt practices involving about N2.7 billion brought against him by the Federal Government.

 

Sirika was arraigned before Justice Sylvanus Oriji at the Federal High Court in Abuja along with his daughter, Fatima, his son-in-law, Jalal Sule Hamma, and a firm – Al Buraq Global Investment Limited.

The daughter and son-in-law also pleaded not guilty to the six-count charges when read to them.

Following their denial of the fraud charges, their respective lawyers moved applications for their bail which was granted by the judge.

 

Justice Oriji admitted the three defendants on bail for ₦100m and two sureties each in the like sum.

The sureties must be responsible citizens with verifiable home addresses while one of them must have landed property with a certificate of occupancy signed by the FCT Minister.

The judge ordered that the defendants must not travel out of the country without express permission of the court.

READ  Gunmen kidnap traveler in Osun 

If unable to perfect the bail conditions, Justice Orijin ordered that they should be remanded in prison custody till the time of perfection of bail conditions.

 

The court fixed June June 10th for the commencement of the trial.

 

Sirika served under the administration of former president Muhammadu Buhari.

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BREAKING: Ex-aviation minister, Sirika, daughter arraigned over ‘N2.7bn contract fraud’

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A federal capital territory (FCT) high court in Maitama has arraigned Hadi Sirika, a former minister of aviation.

The ex-minister has also been granted bail in the sum of N100 million.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Sirika on a six-count amended charge bordering on alleged N2.7 billion contract fraud.

 

The EFCC had detained Sirika on April 23 pending his arraignment.

READ  My defeat at APC presidential primary is God’s will — Umahi
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Good morning! Here Are Some Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: Pro-Fubara lawmakers elect factional Speaker, others

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1. A factional Speaker, Victor Oko Jumbo, representing Bonny Constituency, has emerged in the Rivers Assembly in a new twist to the crisis rocking the State. He was elected by lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

 

2. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, will on Thursday, May 9, arraign the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, his daughter, Fatimah, and two other suspects in court. The suspects are facing charges over alleged N2.7 billion contract fraud uncovered in the Aviation Ministry under Sirika.

 

3. The Nigerian Army has withdrawn its officials from Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. According to a statement by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, the withdrawal was confirmed during a phone conversation with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, on Monday, May 6.

 

4. The Rivers State chapter of the Association of Local Government Areas of Nigeria (ALGON) has said it is ready to back the call for the impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The local government chairmen also accused Fubara of embezzling funds intended for the state’s twenty-three LGAs.

READ  My defeat at APC presidential primary is God’s will — Umahi

 

5. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, yesterday, stepped down a motion calling for the suspension of the cybersecurity levy, which has sparked widespread dissatisfaction. During Wednesday’s plenary session, Manu Soro, a lawmaker from Bauchi State, presented the motion, expressing concerns that the levy’s introduction was ill-timed given the prevailing economic condition in Nigeria.

 

6. The Ogun State Police Command said it has arrested a septuagenarian landlord, identified simply as Adesina, for allegedly defiling and impregnating his tenant’s 14-year-old girl (name withheld) at Akegbeyale Street in Ifesowapo Akute, Ifo Local Government Area of the state. The state Police Command spokesman, Omolola Odutola, said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, where all parties would be grilled.

 

7. The police on Wednesday continued their investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad. This followed the invitation extended to Mohbad’s family and the group of persons mentioned in the ongoing probe of the illegal embalming of the deceased’s body following his death.

READ  9 killed in fuel tanker explosion

 

8. The Nigeria Police has arrested eight suspected cult members at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti. The Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Sunday Abutu, said, in Ado Ekiti, on Wednesday, that the arrest the previous day followed the intervention of men of the Rapid Response Squad following a distress call.

 

9. The Department of Development Control of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, AMMC, of the FCT Administration, has demolished shanties illegally built on a road corridor in Wuse Zone 3. The Coordinator of AMMC, Mr Felix Obuah, told journalists after the exercise on Wednesday that the move was part of efforts to clear all shanties in the city.

 

10. The House of Representatives has called for security presence in schools across the nation to address the worsening security situation in the country. The decision of the House is sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved at the plenary on Wednesday by Billy Osawaru.

READ  Gunmen kidnap traveler in Osun 

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