Senate declares Jonathan acting President.

The Senate today declared Vice President Goodluck Jonathan acting President, ending the 78-day political logjam over President Umaru Yar'Adua's absence from home.

Senate President David Mark said the resolution became imperative following the President's admission on a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service programme on January 12 that he is ill and receiving treatment in Saudi Arabia.

Mark said the resolution was politically expedient to resolve the political crisis engendered by Yar'Adua's absence.

He said the President would resume duty when he returns home and notifies the senate accordingly of his fitness.

The motion to declare Jonathan acting President was unanimously endorsed by the senators.

Terror Watch List: Nigerian lawmaker deported from Amsterdam Schiphol.

A high-ranking Nigerian lawmaker, Tuggar Yusuf Maitama, this week became the first major casualty of Nigeria’s new inclusion by the United States among 14 nations allegedly with terrorist links. Hon. Maitama, who represents Gamawa federal constituency of Bauchi State, is the Chairman of the Committee on Public Procurement in the House of Representatives. Mr. Maitama was traveling to New York on a KLM flight on Monday when the US Immigrations and Customs agents in Amsterdam pulled him aside and told him that he could not fly to the United States, having been found to have “terrorist tendencies”. His visa was immediately revoked and the lawmaker was deported to Nigeria. But Saharareporters quick search through US no-fly list and terrorism-related databases did not yield Maitama’s name.

It is not yet known if Maitama was coming to New York as part of an official delegation sent by the crumbling Yar’Adua regime to meet with UK and US officials over the inclusion of Nigeria in the terror watch list. The group, which includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe; the Senate Chairman on Foreign Relations, Jubril Aminu; his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Umar Bature, as well as the chairperson of the EFCC, Farida Waziri, made a stop-over in London yesterday, and is expected to arrive in New York later today. They are to be lodged at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel New York.

That means it will be an interesting visit, as they will be welcomed tomorrow morning by Nigerian protesters who are getting ready for a Save Nigeria Group "Enough Is Enough" rally at Nigeria House on the other side of the same block.

The cumbersome delegation is unlikely to meet with much success in the US. The US state department has already dispatched to Nigeria a delegation, led by US Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Africa, Johnnie Carson. It is expected to leave for a crucial three-day trip to meet with Goodluck Jonathan.

Mrs. Waziri's inclusion in the delegation is a surprise. Owing to the poor work of the EFCC, she is highly unpopular with the US government, and the EFCC was singled out for criticism last year when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Nigeria. In addition, Mrs. Waziri's first visit to the US a few months ago ended with her being heckled and chased out of an official function in New York by Nigerian demonstrators. That encounter could be repeated tomorrow.
http://www.saharareporters.com/real-news/sr-headlines/4898-terror-watch-list-nigerian-lawmaker-deported-from-amsterdam-schiphol.html

Lagos Mass Rally. Yar'adua Must Go. 1/21/2010.

As Jos boils: who is the commander-in-chief?

The sheer irresponsibility of a tiny power cabal keeping the country headless for selfish desires has again come to the fore with the bloodletting going on in Jos, Plateau State, without a Commander-In-Chief to take charge and deal with the situation. Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) notes with sadness that a little over a year after the last Jos crisis, another one has taken place, costing destruction of lives and property. It is more worrisome that the government has yet to take any concrete step on the previous crises in the city before the latest one broke.

What is more disturbing is that there is no Commander-In-chief who can even handle the situation effectively as President Umar Yar’adua has been away for 57 days now without handing over the reins of authority to his deputy.

It was the same situation when Farouk Mutallab saga happened and there was no president in Nigeria to talk to the American president.

Whatever case we are making over the listing of Nigeria on Terror List has been shattered with the latest outbreak of terror in Jos and the tardiness of our “government” in dealing with it.

We are compelled to state again that the time has come for the cabal using the sick body of Yar’adua to hold the country to ransom to let go and allow the vice president to take effective charge of the country as Acting President.

It is in this vein that ARG declares total support for the mass rally called by Save Nigeria Group, SNG, for Lagos on Thursday to end this power vacuum in Nigeria.

‘Yinka Odumakin
National Publicity Secretary, ARG

Nigerian embassies steal visa fees, says Auditor-General

The office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF) has indicted four Nigerian embassies abroad for not remitting monies they collected as visa fees and for other items to the federal treasury in 2008.

Consequently, it has asked the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explain the anomalies.

According to the 2008 Audit Report, which was forwarded to the National Assembly in October last year, the Nigerian embassy in Paris, France collected as revenue a total of N271,810,955.20, but did not remit the money to the federal government.

The 284-page report, which was signed by the acting Auditor General of the Federation, G.F Ogunshina, said the non-remittance contravenes Financial Regulation 302, which requires the issuance of Treasury Receipts by all Sub-standards or revenue collectors for all revenue collected by them. The report stated that the mission was instead issuing temporary receipts for revenues collected by them.

The report also said that the Nigerian Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal collected € 101,902.82 (N21,756,822.73) without remitting it, but instead spent the money, contrary to Financial Regulation 323.

On its part, the Embassy of Nigeria in Moscow generated US$94,819.00 (N138,443,515.16) as revenue from visa between January and December, 2008 but did not pay it into the treasury.

The report says: “Financial Regulation 412 stipulates that the authority conveyed to officers controlling votes by recurrent warrants is limited to the amounts provided under each subhead in the approved estimate and no expenditure on any subhead of the recurrent estimate in excess of the provision in the approved estimates may be authorized by any officer controlling a vote, without approval of the National Assembly which will be sought by means of an application for virement or supplementary provisions.

“Contrary to the above provision, the Nigeria Embassy, Moscow, Russia expended the sum of N227,822,248.84 in excess of the approved provision under the recurrent subheads of expenditure between 2006 and 2008 fiscal years. The permanent secretary has been informed of this anomaly for his comment.”

On the country’s embassy in Athens, Greece, the audit report said contrary to the extant regulations, it collected the sum of €31,765.00 (N6,782,005.38) without issuing Treasury Receipts even as it expended another N41,188,307.30 in excess of the approved estimates on 17 various recurrent subheads during the year under review.

Contravened regulations

In the Nigerian embassy in Dakar, Senegal, according to the report, CFA 8,814,638.88 (N2,250,313.00) was paid to 18 contractors in cash, thereby contravening the financial regulation which requires that payment to firms shall be made only by cheques.

It added that, “CFA 7,454,000.00 (N1,902,986.98) collected as revenue and entered in the register, but Treasury Receipts were not issued to the payers even when the mission had the Treasury Receipts in abundance.

“Hence it is difficult for me to confirm that (N1,902,986.98) as entered in the register was the actual revenue collected. Besides, it contravenes the financial regulation which requires that every sub-accounting officer or revenue collector shall issue a receipt for each sum paid to him.

“The permanent secretary has been informed of these irregularities for his comments and necessary action,” the report states.


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5513482-146/nigerian_embassies_steal_visa_fees_says.csp

Chief judge Abutu's court says no vacuum in Aso Rock., Abuja.

Nigeria once more is haunted by the demons of deregulation, particularly of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry. Myths and a broad spectrum of ill-articulated “justifications” are being conjured for the umpteenth time by spokespersons of the Federal Government and the major oil dealers. Full deregulation by the Federal Government and a consequent skyrocketing of pump prices of petroleum products seem but a matter of time. The Nigeria Labour Congress, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, civil society organisations and several eminent Nigerians including the Sultan of Sokoto and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria have raised their voices, speaking out the minds of the immense majority of citizens, in opposition to the contemplated full deregulation.

This article considers the issues raised by the Federal Government to justify its intent of “deregulation”. These amount to repetitions of the same arguments the government has been making for the past twenty three years and which are shown as invalid by hard facts and serious analysis. The problem actually is not one particular to the petroleum industry, but goes deeper to the neoliberal ideology and corporate, for-profit interests behind deregulation. It is of the essence to clarify this point as several Nigerians who contest the deregulation of the downstream sector of the economy might see no problem with deregulation, in general, with the experience of the telecom industry in the past ten years often raised as a positive example of deregulation. One must point out though, that, the supposed magic of deregulation leading to telecommunication for millions of Nigerians is one of those myths used to justify neoliberalism –and a very degenerate one too, at that-, in Nigeria. On one hand, GSM was launched in the world for the first time only in 1991 its spread to Nigeria ten years later is a case of the diffusion of certain forms of technology with the information and communication technology, just as with the internet. On the other hand and more importantly, it was not during the Obasanjo regime which was inaugurated in 1999 that the telecommunication sector was deregulated. On the contrary the sector’s deregulation was initiated in 1992 with the instrument of Decree No. 75 of 1992, yet it took almost ten years for the supposed magic of deregulation to take effect!

Deregulation, as its proponents argue, is necessary for national economies to be more efficient, and productivity enhanced. The combination of these, they claim leads to greater wealth for the society and the reduction in prices of commodities. But what exactly does deregulation involve? It entails the reduction, simplification or even outright removal of government’s rules and regulations that in anyway control the financial market or trade. It “frees” enterprises and services to the unimpeded forces of demand and supply, giving Adam Smith’s “invisible hand”, the freest of hand in the allocation of resources within the process of production and exchange.

Indeed, advocates of deregulation paint the picture of a free market economy as both desirable and the natural state political-economy would take without the overbearing influence of government. Not surprisingly, privatization is an ever present companion of deregulation as part of economic reforms, which free market apostles have foisted on country after country across the world, in the last three decades. With deregulation and privatization, individual self-interest is supposed to reign and establish spontaneous order, which benefits the whole nation and through competition, spurs innovation and greater good of the larger number of persons, while reducing corruption. Opponents of the free market ideology are chastised as being utopian. Worse still, the free market ideology equates deregulation to an expansion of freedom and liberty; its opponents thus are supposed to be authoritarian and despotic.

To what extent does this construct of deregulation and its supposed redemptive value hold true in the face of concrete reality? An objective analysis cannot but lead to a refutation of the claims of deregulationists, and free marketers.

The myth of the public sector being more prone to corruption is one which time and again has been exploded by hard facts. The 2001 Enron scandal, after the prestigious Fortune magazine had declared the company as "America's Most Innovative Company", for six years running, is axiomatic of the glitz-coated-sleaze overlap of innovation and corruption which define corporate capitalism. Coming closer home: the continuity of plundering of banks in Nigeria, from the Abacha years to the present; bribery scandals involving multinational firms such as Halliburton and Wilbros and; the cooking of the books by Cadbury leading to Bunmi Oni’s resignation are examples which as the tip of the iceberg show the rot of corruption in the private sector. The simple fact of the matter is that in a capitalist system, corruption permeates both the public sphere and private sector of the economy. A close knitting of the two sectors in the parasitic droning of corruption is actually the norm. This self-reinforcing deepening of corruption is promoted rather than reduced by deregulation, as is obvious from how matters went from bad to worse in Nigeria after the advent of SAP.

The much maligned poverty of efficiency in the public sector is definitely something any discerning mind would agree holds more than a grain of truth in it. Inefficiency is however not a phenomenon that is naturally inherent in, or peculiar to the public sector. The extent of efficiency to be expected from public sector enterprise is partly a function of the depth of direct accountability of the public sphere of both economy and polity. It is participatory democracy that can ensure efficiency of the public sector. The capitalist system can at best give a limited caricature of such form of democracy. Another dimension of the efficiency argument raised by Izibili and Aiya (2007) is that: “the public enterprises are deliberately made inefficient, so that they could be sold as willed; most often, to themselves who are still in government”. It is interesting to also take note of the nonsense that inefficiency in Nigeria’s private sector makes of the tale of public sector inefficiency. In December the Central Bank informed the world that eight of the twenty four banks affected by the recent shake-up in the restructured banking sector alone, were owed non-performing loans to the tune of N1. 524 trillion by captains of the organised private sector! This was after over four hundred billion naira had been written off as bad debt and N650 billion injected into the banks by the Central Bank. One can not but wonder at what level of inefficiency could be worse than such expensive non-performance by private sector capitalists, which public funds are used to underwrite!

The greatest deregulationist myth of all is that of its end-goal; the unregulated “free market”. It is one of the most profound ironies of history that proponents of capitalism and its utopia of the free market would tongue-in-cheek call those who seek to build another possible world utopians. In the past five hundred years of capitalism’s evolution, a “free market” has never existed anywhere. There is no iota of truth in the assertion of the icons of the free market ideology -Ludwig von Mise, Frederick Hayek and Milton Friedman -, that the free market is the natural state an economy tends towards with cooperative or state regulation as an aberration. Their apostles in the Bretton Woods Institutions (World Bank and IMF), and in governments across the world have perpetuated this lie. They have pursued this lie at the costs of the murders, torture and disappearance of hundreds of thousands of; men, women and children, in countries that served as the laboratories for their inhuman social “experiments” (e.g. Indonesia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay). They have maintained their falsehood as truth even when it has rendered millions hungry, homeless, unemployed, hopeless and helpless. The truth though must be told and reiterated, tearing asunder the veil of deceits which the dons of capitalism try to cover our eyes with.

Infant capitalism was mercantilist in theory and in practice. Trade and colonization drove the ruling classes tied to their various crowns from Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, France and Britain in the pre-industrial revolution centuries of capitalism, across the globe amassing bullions of gold in the process. The nation-state which itself was being forged across Europe was at the heart of and the justification of the expansion of trade and production. Economic nationalism supplanted it after the industrial revolution in England and would be the driving force of the nineteenth century second industrial revolution on the European continent and in North America. Contrary to the wily distortions of history latent in the deregulationist argument of free marketers, it was the “great transformation” of and associated with liberalization that required and was wrought as a grand design by the same state which was being rolled back, in the end of the 19th Century into the era of world wars and the Great Depression. Capitalist elites that had thrived on the protected internal and/or colonial market now used their state to legislate anti-poor legislations, pursuing their utopia of free market with laissez faire economics, in defence of the interest of expanding profit.

This beautiful epoch of deregulated capitalism took humankind to the Great Depression bus stop. To save itself from the damnation of hell it had summoned on its own head, starting with Roosevelt in North America, which like now was most hit by the collapse deregulation brought, the capitalist elites gradually instituted a more regulated form of capitalism across the advanced capitalist world, in what would become the post-World War II era of the Keynesian Welfare Nation State. Decolonization of the Third World would ensure that nominally sovereign States in the underdeveloped part of the world like Africa evolved in the twilight of this era as interventionist States. Minimal development which compared to today’s situation in Nigeria and Africa as a whole make the 1960s “the good old days”, were recorded. The rise of Thatcher and Reagan to power in 1979 Britain and 1980 United States, respectively, signalled the beginning on a global scale of the era of deregulated capitalism or what amounts to the same things; neoliberal globalization of capitalism.

We could skip the details of how the capitalist State in advanced capitalist countries and the underdeveloped Global South respectively was used to enthrone a regime of deregulation in country after country, due to space. Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine the Rise of Disaster Capitalism, does however capture the siege mentality and gruesome methods including torture and murder with which deregulated capitalism decreed itself the only game in town, at least until September 15, 2008 when Lehman brothers collapse led the United States and Europe to devising new mixes of regulation and salvaging of corporations with taxpayers money, in defence of the fundamental interests of capital.

It suffices to say that in Nigeria as with most other countries, enthroning deregulation, privatisation and sharp cuts in social spending required some extent of restructuring of the economy. In “Third World” countries, this took the form of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs). The Federal Military Government commenced with SAP in 1986. It is noteworthy that SAP, which was deceitfully presented to Nigerians as a home-grown development strategy, was one of the twin projects commenced by the IBB dictatorship. The other was the political transition programme which came to an inglorious end with the June 12 upsurge that consumed it in 1993. SAP however continued full steam, with the deregulation of the financial sector becoming ingrained on the repeal of the Exchange Control Act and institution in its place of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Decree of 1995, during the Abacha reign.

The policies of deregulation pursued since 1999 by the civilian politicians might not termed SAP, but they rest on the same principles as SAP. This is important to note for two fundamental reasons. First, it shows policy continuity between the ruling elites in the country -military and civilian alike-, in executing their anti-working people agendas. Second, we see both shame-faced deceit in the relations of Nigeria’s ruling elites to the people on one hand and their subordination of the Nigerian economy to the dictates of international finance capital as represented especially by the World Bank and IMF, on the other. IBB lied through his teeth about SAP being home-grown; Obasanjo swore and Yar’Adua after him that the National Poverty Eradication Programme and the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) have domestic roots. But NAPEP and NEEDS are based on the Poverty Reduction Strategy of the World Bank which it drew up after accepting that its SAPs were failures, but based on exactly the same model of growth as the SAPs!

It is instructive that “the crises of pricing petroleum products in Nigeria” as Issa Aremu rightly puts it, commenced with SAP, after eighty years of oil exploration in Nigeria. The Nigeria Bitumen Corporation, a German oil company had in 1908 drilled fourteen oil wells prospecting for petroleum in the coastal region of Lagos. Actual oil production commenced in 1937 with Shell/D’Archy vested with monopoly interests by the British colonial overlords. It was however at Oloibiri in 1956 that Shell struck oil in commercial quantities and with this Nigeria entered the circle of oil-rich States. Until 1971 when Nigeria joined OPEC and formed the Nigeria National Oil Corporation (which with the effect of Decree 33 of 1977 became the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation), there was no systematic regulation of the petroleum industry, yet petroleum products prices remained stable till General Obasanjo effected increments in 1978. This would be just a prologue to the era of deregulation which SAP was to later usher in and which like a bad dream still lives with us.

On April 10, 1988 the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced the following increases: petrol (PMS), 39.5k to 42k; kerosene (DPK), 10k to 15k and; diesel (AGO), 29.3k to 35k. This was after a spate of propaganda since 1987 aimed at justifying the impending deregulation, or “removal of subsidy” which was the jargon used then for the same effect. Several jargons have subsequently been used by the IBB, Abacha and Obasanjo regimes to jack up fuel prices, including; “appropriate pricing” and “deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry”. The reasons given to justify the hike in fuel prices have remained quite disingenuously the same. These, in summary are: with the burden of “subsidy” removed, more funds would be available for developmental purposes; price deregulation would engender free competition and consequently eradicate market distortions across different zones of the country; it would lead to efficient use of resources by citizens and corporations; nipping the smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring countries in West Africa, in the bud; solving the recurring problem of fuel shortages; exposing Nigerians to the price regime of petroleum products in the international market (prices in Nigeria used to be described as one of the lowest in the world).

Organized labour has mobilized the popular masses in resistance against the various fuel pump price hikes. Indeed as Obono Danielle rightly captures; the struggles over petroleum products pump prices between the State on one hand and civil society under the vanguardship of the working class on the other has become a major theatre and concrete manifestation of class struggle. The International Republican Institute’s declaration of organized labour as the only political opposition to the PDP-led State in 2004 was largely borne out of the leadership of the popular masses which organized labour provides time and again, against the deregulation of petroleum products prices.

In mobilizing the immense majority of Nigerians, organized labour - particular under the banner of Nigeria Labour Congress, the larger trade union centre in the country -, has marshalled facts and consistently articulated arguments which tear the contrived rationalization of the State to shreds.

“Subsidy”, labour points out is at best notional, since the prices of fuel pump prices are less than the unit cost of production would have been if locally refined; wages in Nigeria are some of the worst in the world, and fuel in Nigeria is not at all cheap (for example a litre of petrol which is N65.00 in the country is equivalent to; N49.30 in Algeria, N4.50 in Iraq, N34.80 in Kuwait, N20.30 in Libya, N31.90 in Qatar, N23.20 in South Africa, and N2.20 in Venezuela); efficiency is not merely a function of prices (Peter Esele of PENGASSAN/TUC recently for example raised the alarm that with continued importation of refined products – deregulation or no deregulation -, Nigerians would be paying higher than international rates due to the demurrage at the harbour); fuel prices increase aggravate the suffering of the masses, worsen inflation, and increase unemployment in the land; perfect competition does not exist in Nigeria (and one might add, anywhere), and the myth of prices reduction due to the market forces would be upturned by nine major petroleum multinational corporations in the country that constitute a cartel; the consequences of deregulation would hamper national development and not in anyway promote it. Despite the well argued points of labour which have been proven as correct, several times, the State has always turned a deaf ear and is now set for “full deregulation”.

The visible consequences of deregulation of the petroleum products prices in Nigeria since 1988 uphold this writer’s argument against deregulation in general. A number of anti-deregulationists are however not against deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, in principle. The grouse they have is against deregulation before fixing the moribund refineries and building new ones. Alhaji Aminu Abdulkadir, President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, which represents owners of about 78% of the distribution and sales network for petroleum products in the country has thrown his association’s weight behind the struggle against deregulation until the refineries are fixed. He thus calls for “phased deregulation” A similar position was recently canvassed by our esteemed spiritual fathers; the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, John Onaiyekan. This writer wholly supports the need for fixing the refineries and building new ones.

It is a shame that the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta gleefully declared to the world that it had destroyed 600 out of about 1,000 mini-refineries built by militants and buccaneers in the creeks in the past few years when the Federal Government can not itself build new refineries in decades. Even if these were primitive, they show that with the resources and expertise available to it, the FGN has no justification for not building new refineries. This though might be the least of insights into the problems of refining crude oil in Nigeria. Billions of naira has been spent on various rounds of Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), to no effect. It also needs to be pointed out that de facto phased deregulation –in the midstream sector of the industry- had actually been initiated but without any results whatsoever. Eighteen licenses have been issued to private entrepreneurs to establish refineries, in the typical spirit of deregulation. But this has been to no avail for almost a decade.

The existing refineries need to be fixed and new ones built by the Federal Government in a process that would entail organised labour and the civil society monitoring execution to ensure transparency and accountability, within a year as demanded by Nigeria Labour Congress. This could be a point of departure for enthroning participatory democracy and building greater public involvement in the economy. It could also be a bastion of regulation against deregulation. We must however not be under illusions about regulation, in itself. With the global economic crisis of capitalism, more and more governments and captains of industry who just yesterday were the loudest apostles of deregulation have joined the chorus for more or “better regulation” as Bernanke, head of the US Federal Reserve bank puts it. Regulated capitalism as a policy or Keynesianism (with its various strands; neo-Keynesianism, post-Keynesianism) represent attempts at deflecting mass anger and workers’ power away from challenging capitalism and its evils of exploitation, oppression and marginalization of the immense majority of the population.

While an interventionist state under capitalist property relations could guarantee minimal social safety nets as a compromise between labour and capital, it still aims at ensuring that the capitalist elites appropriate the lion share of the social wealth, despite the fact that it is labour that creates wealth. The fundamental interests of workers can best be defended only with the socialisation of the economy. That is to say that the key aspects of the national economy shall be publicly owned and placed under the control of those who work in the concerned industries and some other representatives of the broader society. This would of course entail the fullest of political, social and economic democracy in which the creators of the social wealth shall wield the power to determine how it is distributed in their own interest. In short, it would entail a revolutionary struggle to build workers’ democracy on the ruins of liberal democracy.

In summing up, this article argues against the deregulation of the petroleum industry and the deregulation principle, as being against the interests of the working masses of Nigeria. Deregulation actually amounts really “re-regulation” with the intent of increasing the profits of the capitalist bosses. Regulated capitalism is not presented as an alternative. On the contrary, historically and contemporarily, regulation which upholds capitalist property relations have been and remain a strategy of stabilization to maintain the economic and political supremacy of the capitalist elites who constitute an insignificant percentage of the population, but who reap the bulk of social wealth while the creators of the wealth suffer poverty and deprivation. Another possible Nigeria, another possible world in which the benefits of society’s development would be accessible to all can be built only with the enthronement of participatory political, social, and economic democracy from the local grassroots to the global sphere. Planned development of the economy under the democratic control and management of workers and other toilers must be at the heart of the regulation which popular forces must aim for and struggle to establish.

The 21st Century shall witness the transformation of Nigeria and the world at large through struggle against deregulation and regulated capitalism alike, and for the building of socialist society

Baba Aye is Deputy National Secretary of the Labour Party.
http://www.saharareporters.com/articles/external-contrib/4819-deregulation-myths-and-discontents.html

Abuja Protest? Video And Photos. 01/12/2010.

Kwara State to import stones from Syria, Saudi Arabia

The Punch, Monday, January 11, 2010 at page 11, carried the above-captioned story, against which I think people of good conscience should speak regardless of their religious, social or ethnic persuasions if it is true that Nigerians expect peace to reign in this country. For the benefit of those who might have missed the story, the Punch authoritatively quoted the Secretary of the Ilorin Central Mosque Board of Trustee, Alh. Sheu Gafar, a former Chairman of the State’s Civil Service Commission that “the Kwara State Government had concluded an arrangement to import stones for the rebuilding of the Mosque from Syria and Saudi Arabia.” Adding that, “Governor Bukola Saraki had travelled to Beirut in Lebanon to search for a world class firm of architects to handle the job.”

For all intent and purposes, this is a case of constitutional breach by His Excellency, Governor Bukola Saraki. For him to have dragged the state government into a religious matter contradicts the prohibition of State religion as enshrined in Sec. 10 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In the light of truth, it is difficult to rationalize this expenditure with any items under the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy as contained in Chapter II of the constitution. If the Kwara State House of Assembly were not a mere ‘debating society where no one wins a debate’, it ought to have vetoed this extra-budgetary expenditure since the matter was never debated on the floor of the House. For that, the Governor deserves impeachment notice for misapplication of public funds at a period when his administration has reduced its spending by 30% for this fiscal year. Therefore, it is a façade of honesty for the state government to hide under the alibi of ‘global economic meltdown’ to impose an austerity measure on the people of Kwara state rather than increasing government spending to energize the state’s economic activities.

As a matter of fact, the tenets of Islam that are based on JUSTICE, LOVE, EQUITY and FAIRNESS remained insulted by Governor Bukola Saraki unless he can replicate the same gesture or generosity to the Christian and other Moslem communities in Kwara State, after all ‘what is good for goose is also good for gander’. Without prejudice, it would be unjust for Governor Bukola Saraki to run his administration on ‘Ilorin is Kwara and Kwara is Ilorin’ theory, a thinking that presumes every Kwaran to be a Moslem or narrowing down the interest of the generality of Kwara people to that of the Ilorin community. This smacks of insensitivity to religious and sectional sensibilities of the components units of the state that might bread unnecessary animosity among the people.

How I wish Their Eminence Sheik Kamaldeen Al-Addabiyy and Shiek Adam Abdullahi El-Ilory (may Allah bless their souls) were alive today, they would have spoken the words of truth to Governor Bukola Saraki to be mindful of how he spends public fund by divorcing his person (as a Moslem and an indigene of Ilorin) from that of the government of Kwara State as a corporate entity. May God continue to bless the people of Kwara State.

Abdul-Rahoof Bello,
A lecturer in political science,
School of Arts & Social Sciences,
National Open University of Nigeria.
Monday, January 11, 2010.

Yar'adua and the catastrophic failure of the Nigerian media. Abuja.

Founding father of America, author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe." In Nigeria today, the press is free and nearly every man is able to read, but all is far from safe. The sudden rush on January 10, 2010, to report the state of health of President Umaru Yar'Adua, after NEXT newspaper finally took the lead on the 49th day of the president's hurried departure from Nigeria, is late. The media houses have acted in a cowardly, unpatriotic manner and their collective failure to provide needed public information at the right time makes them an accomplice to the bad governance in Nigeria.

One day after NEXT reported that President Yar'Adua is brain damaged and had been in that state for more than a month, the rest of the Nigerian media have woken up suddenly, and are dishing exclusives about how the president had been on live support since December.

Suddenly!

What a mix of conspirators and cowards we have in the media in Nigeria today? The Nigerian people have long suspected this particular state and were only waiting on the press to confirm an obvious and logical conclusion. To shame the multi-billion naira Nigeria media establishment, Saharareporters.com actually reported that the president was vegetative weeks before. The media just deliberately and irresponsibly vacated its duty post on this issue.

To start with, NEXT publications cannot be so credited with doing a good job, since it had waited for weeks before coming to terms with its responsibility to the Nigerian public. In spite of the generic failure, NEXT must still be commended for rising above the mentality of fear and self-censorship by releasing the bombshell that must now shake the nation, since the revelation about Mr. Yar'Adua's health has far-reaching implications for the polity in terms of illegalities performed and changes necessary.

The Nigerian people have waited 50 days to know what is going on. 50 days! In every society, the media have this sacred duty to report activities in government quickly, honestly and without fear, bias or favor. In these terms, the media failed woefully. Journalists slept on duty. This is what the Nigerian media should have done: each media organization should have sent a number of reporters to Saudi Arabia, providing up to date reports from the hospital, the Saudi government, the Nigerian community, the Nigerian embassy and the streets of Saudi Arabia regarding whatever is significant to know about their president. In America, there would have been a daily news theme such as "The President in Saudi," or "Dead or Alive," coming every few hours to people's homes, eager to know about their leader.

The Citizens for Nigeria is not so much concerned at this time about the Nigerian political leadership, which has, as usual, no respect for itself, the constitution or the people it serves and has conspired characteristically to hide the truth from the citizens. The political elite is a different subject altogether. However, for the media, which should owe no allegiance to the government and the powerful elite, this is a colossal failure.

The media should use this opportunity to review itself. Self-evaluation by the news media is critical and ineluctable because this is a catastrophic failure capable of causing military intervention in power, civil unrest and political instability.

The Nigeria mass media have served over a century as the protector of public interest, and in fact gained strength from the days of nationalism against the British colonialists. Through successive military dictatorships, the Nigerian press has done a pretty good job. While there have always been bad eggs among the lot, the reputation of the media, particularly the newspapers, has been largely intact.

The Yar'Adua slack should remain a slack. The deadly silence over the true state of the President's health was a conspiracy against the people of Nigeria. Nigerians are raising questions about where the media was on this subject and now have the right to hold the journalists in suspicion and exceptional standards, except the trust the media operators have earned over the years is quickly re-established and reinforced.

It is time for the media to separate itself from the political leadership and lecture the ownership about journalistic duties to the society. The relative freedom being enjoyed now must be taken advantage of to strengthen our democracy, not endanger or weaken it. As for media owners who mill around the seat of power, it is better for them to export sugar or rice and leave the media to those who can run it with integrity.

The media is the last hope for the common man. If we allow it to be hijacked by the selfish and greedy political and retired military elite, Nigeria will not be safe.

Chris Tunde Odediran, for CitizensforNigeria.com

Lost in the Wilderness.

Ex-governors, Senators Barred From U.S.

Former Governors and their relatives as well as some Nigerian officials have been barred from the United States, in a new directive rolled out by Washington.

Their visas have also been revoked, said the State Department, as the administration tightens entry requirements into the country.

A former Northern Governor, Senators, and businessmen are among thousands of names added to a list of "suspected terrorists and terror group sympathizers" barred from flights bound for the U.S.

The addition of names to the terrorist watch list and the no-fly list came after U.S. officials scrutinized a larger database of suspected terrorists, the White House said.

Homeland Security Department officials explained that those on the watch list are subject to additional scrutiny before being allowed to enter the U.S.

Anyone on the no-fly list is barred from boarding aircraft in or headed for the country.

President Barack Obama, who met for several hours with his national security team, said the measure is to expand the intelligence gathering and make it impossible for suspected terrorists to come to America.

He maintained that preliminary report showed that the name of Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab is on a database of about 550,000 suspected terrorists.

However, Obama added, he was not on a list that would have subjected him to additional security screening or kept him from boarding the flight which took him to the U.S. on December 25 last year.

This omission prompted a review of the National Counter terrorism Center's massive Terrorist Identities Data mart Environment (TIDE) database, which now contains over one million names from countries designated as sponsors of terrorism.

America on Monday added Nigeria to its list of countries that sponsor terrorists, meaning "enhanced screening of all holders of the Nigerian passport."

The measure affects any American-bound air passenger travelling through "state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest" such as Pakistan, Yemen, and Nigeria, according to U.S. Transport Security Administration (TSA).

It is to ensure "effective aviation security beyond our borders."

Nigeria is listed along with Cuba, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Yemen.

By December 30 last year, Nigerian travellers had come up against restrictions in Europe and the U.S.

Obama ordered a comprehensive review of visa policy, tightening regulations for Nigerians, especially students and those aged between 20 and 60.

For those travelling through Amsterdam, the government has approved the use of body scan imaging device, which sees through clothing, to detect explosive devices in any part of the body.

Dutch Interior Minister, Guusje Ter Horst, said Abdulmutallab did not raise any concerns as he passed through Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to board the plane which he later attempted to bring down in Detroit.

The measures justify the fears of Nigerians that they will now be singled out for special security attention, although the U.S. State Department assured that the policy is not to punish Nigerians with genuine business in America, or students, but to plug loopholes through which potential terrorists can get in.

Copyright © 2010 Daily Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

Nigeria has now been inducted into the US terrorism ‘hall of fame’.

It is official; Nigeria has now been inducted into the US terrorism ‘hall of fame’. Oh sorry, the US terrorist ‘watch list’. - The US govt through Transportation Security Administration (TSA), announced that it would begin enhanced screening procedures on any US-bound air passenger traveling through a list of 14 nations, in which Nigeria has been included. From the US point of view, the 14 nations (Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Cuba, Afghanistan, Algeria, and Libya) are believed to have links to terrorism.

of the terrorism “hall of fame”? On 25 December 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, son of the former First Bank Chairman, Dr AbdulMutallab, attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear on a Northwest Airline Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit Michigan. And according to the US authorities, Umar claimed to have obtained explosive chemicals and a syringe that were sewn into his underwear from a bomb expert in Yemen associated with Al Qaeda.

Further investigations by US authorities also revealed that Umar has been in contact with radical Islamic extremist Anwar al-Awlaki, who has been accused of being a senior al-Qaeda talent recruiter.

My thoughts

Many commentators have described the action of the US govt has been high-handed. The Minister for Information also described the action has been ‘unfair’. From the public perspective, it seems that 150million people have now been ‘criminalised’ because of the nefarious act of a single individual. However, for anyone to think that US govt reaction was just because of Umar AbdulMutallab’s terrorist expedition smacks of naiveté.

It is common knowledge that religious extremism has been on the sharp rise in Nigeria. We all know of the famous Boko Haram killings. Also, just two days after the US terrorist attempt, hundreds of lives were lost in Bauchi State to religious riots (Kalo Kato). The nation also witnessed incessant bombing of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta. The combination of religious extremism in the North and armed militancy in the Niger Delta underlines the failure of our national security.

As much as we can criticise the US for its high-handedness, it’s the US govt prerogative to determine who it allows into the country and under what terms and conditions. We need not to remind ourselves that the US is a sovereign nation.

It is convenient for our leaders to say Umar’s action was an isolated case, and not representative of behaviour of 150 million Nigerians. But there is no doubt that the US govt will be deeply concerned about the failure of the Nigerian govt in dealing with the local religious extremism. Who knows if the Boko Harams are actually al-Qaeda sympathisers? Who knows if some of the extremist organisations in Nigeria are affiliated to the al-Qaeda or Hezebollah of this world? It’s been alleged that some of the Niger Delta militants were trained in Libya (!).

Up until now, there’s not been a case of religious extremism that has been successful investigated. Almost every year, hundreds of lives and properties worth millions of naira is lost to religious riots. Instead of getting to root of the problem, our security agencies engage in judicial killing.

What the government fails to realise, is that the whole world is watching. No nation is interested in dealing with countries with failed national security. Our failed national security is a haven for home grown terrorists. While these terrorists may not be interested in blowing up US interests, there are a threat to our national existence.

What we are witnessing are the effects of failing (or failed) nation. The western world has lost faith in us. Our society is deeply corrupt. Corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of our society. Our security agencies are arguably some of the most corrupt in the world. With the level of corruption in Nigeria, I’m convinced that a suicide bomber can pay his/her into a passenger aircraft. For the right price, such a person would be offered a ‘first class’ seat. It is in Nigeria where Customs officials aid and abet importation of fake drugs. It is in Nigeria where Immigration officials knowingly issue passports to non-citizens using false identity.

There is no doubt that the new US policy would affect every Nigerian, irrespective of social status. Unfortunately, 150 million people will now pay for the sins of one stupid individual. Already a Nigerian travelling overseas is a suspected asylum seeker, suspected over stayer, suspected illegal immigrant, suspected identity fraudster, suspected drug courier, and now a suspected terrorist.

May God help us!

heal.nigeria@gmail.com

Cecilia Ibru Paid N225m For Living In Own House

OCEANIC Bank International Plc paid N225m to companies owned by the sacked managing director, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, as rent for her Ikoyi mansion, where she lives, investigations have shown.

Investigations showed that the bank paid about N5.6bn as rent for branches and unutilised guest houses owned directly by Ibru or her associates.

Our correspondents learnt that the bank maintained 115 guest houses across the country, including an “executive guest house” at 20, Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos, alleged to be Ibru‘s personal residence.

For Ibru‘s residence, the total amount paid for a five-year lease, beginning from October 25, 2008 was N88m, paid to Ogekpo Estate Managers.

A document obtained on Wednesday, showed that the bank also paid N137.5m to Casi Properties Limited for another five-year period, for the former managing director‘s residence, beginning from October 25, 2012 to September 25, 2017, bringing the total amount to N225m.

Ibru was said to have also received a hefty housing allowance during her tenure.

The bank, according to the document, is also paying heavily for 20 buildings owned mainly by Ibru‘s companies, being used as business locations in Lagos, Delta and Abuja.

It paid N80m to Casi Properties Limited, owned by Ibru, for a property at Block D33, Games Village, Abuja; while N60m (10-year lease) was paid to Ogekpo Estate Managers for an executive guest house at Ndanuba Street, Maitama, Abuja.

Ibru, according to the document, also occupied the guest house.

Another N33m was paid to Ogekpo Estate Managers on a two-year lease, commencing from August 25, 2009 to January 2011, for a property at Ali Akilu Crescent, Asokoro, Abuja.

The bank‘s Apongbon branch at 60, Marine View, Apongbon, Marina, Lagos, owned by Dele Oye and Associates, costs N1.243bn for five years, among others.

According to law enforcement sources, the agency fees also went to companies owned directly by Ibru, and in some cases, by her associates.

A source in the bank, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that apart from the fact that the rents, in most cases, were far above industry rate, about 80 per cent of the guest houses were not being used.

According to him, the houses were being used, largely, as avenues to make money for the former managing director’s companies. No official of the bank was, however, willing to comment on the matter.

Fresh non-performing loans were discovered recently in the bank, bringing the total to N235bn. About N160.7bn was reported to have been given by Ibru at ridiculous terms to cronies and family members.

According to reports, she also ”unethically” paid N825m to a company owned by her daughter as a 10-year rent on a property along Ikorodu Road, Lagos.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, had, during a closed door meeting with the Senate, revealed that the bank, under its former management, had been reckless with credit.

A senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, had quoted Sanusi as saying that Ibru gave out N235bn unsecured loans; had two jets and had paid for additional two before her removal from office.

He said that Sanusi wondered why a bank chief would give out N235bn loans when the bank had a capital base of N300bn.

The CBN governor had alleged that part of the money was used by the bank chief to acquire two private jets.

When contacted, the Head, Corporate Affairs, CBN, Mr. Muhammed Abdullahi, said, ”We are aware that after the CBN appointed MDs had assumed office, startling revelations had been made, most of which have to do with disregard for the code of corporate governance, and in some cases, outright fraudulent activities.”
http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200912312104815

A Bleeding Nation - Need for Accountability ..Abuja.

Mrs Dora Akunyili plans to spend N325 million on the Rebranding Project. This is more than half of the Ministry’s capital budget for 2010. This is in addition to the N129.2milion spent on the project in 2009. Is it not ludicrous that despite the criticism levelled at the rebranding project, this government is still hell bent on wasting almost N450milion on a silly ‘cosmetic’ exercise.

The long and short of this is, by the end of 2010, the Nigeria would have spent over N1billion on ‘cosmetic surgery’.

A Bleeding Nation - Need for Accountability by seyi osiyemi

As the President lays gracefully on the sick bed in Saudi Arabia, Ministers and Permanent Secretaries have being busy defending their 2010 budget allocation at the National Assembly. This exercise is what we call ‘Budget Estimates’ hearing here in Australia. The Estimates process, whilst it exposes problems, it certainly serves to reassure the “average voter” that the Government and the bureaucracy are being held accountable.

Accountability is very important in any democratic governance. Public funds should be spent for public purposes by Governments and bureaucrats. It is not the private purse of the Government that bureaucrats or ministers can do what they like with. These are public funds for public purposes and should stand the test of public scrutiny. We should be able to hold the government responsible for its policies and the ministers/bureaucrats to be held responsible for the expenditure of public money.

The simple reasons for having an ‘Estimates’ hearing is to ensure that principles of probity, accountability and transparency are enshrined in the governance process. But in the case of Nigeria, some of the revelations coming of out 2010 budget allocation hearing are quite astonishing to say the least.

Some of these revelations are a sad reminder of how the nation is continuously been bled, by the ruling elites. Billions of naira is either been spent or allocated for frivolous expenses.
Let’s start with the Information and Communications Ministry. Mrs Dora Akunyili plans to spend N325 million on the Rebranding Project. This is more than half of the Ministry’s capital budget for 2010. This is in addition to the N129.2milion spent on the project in 2009. Is it not ludicrous that despite the criticism levelled at the rebranding project, this government is still hell bent on wasting almost N450milion on a silly ‘cosmetic’ exercise. And by the way, what happened to the N600million spent by the Obasanjo regime on the ‘Heart of Africa’ project? The long and short of this is, by the end of 2010, the Nigeria would have spent over N1billion on ‘cosmetic surgery’.

What about the budget of over N1.1billion submitted by the State House for the treatment of termites in the Presidential Villa (Aso Rock) and vehicle maintenance? How can the State House justify spending N250milion for termite treatment? What sort of termites are they? Also how many vehicles are been maintained at a yearly cost of N450million?
We also learnt during the week that, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe engaged in incessant foreign trips throughout this year which cost the public till about N2.7 billion in 2009 alone. This was just shortly after the Speaker of the House Representative, Dimeji Bankole, confirmed that the House of Reps spent N24billion on foreign travel in 2009. Haba! So if the House of Rep and Ojo Maduekwe spent a combined N26.7billion, then what about the Senate, The President, State Governors and other Ministers. Only heaven knows how much former President Obasanjo spent during his eight rule on foreign travel, considering that he was overseas junketing from one country to the other for over 300 days during his first term in office.

The Ministry of Petroleum Resources was no exception. The Ministry’s budget proposal was noted to be full of ambiguities and repetitions. It was discovered that a provision of N600 million for the construction of gas master plan in the 2010 budget, was given for the same project last year. Ha! Ha!!

The recent revelations from the Senate hearing validate the widely held perception of politicians and bureaucrats as being lazy, wasteful and fat-cats. It makes the public become more cynical and mistrusting of the politics, politicians and the political process.

The simple fact remains that, the taxpayers deserve to how public money is being spent and the justification by the Government of their policies which led to the expenditure of that money.

For, if accountability and transparency should fail, then the very confidence that is necessary to sustain a democracy will be shattered and one cringes to think what the alternative system would look like.

The legislature does have a real and major role to play. Unless we continue to have a thorough and genuine scrutiny of the policies and expenditure of Government , then there is likely to be little faith or trust in the political system.

And just before I go, I wish you all a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.

I will be back again in 2010.

seyi osiyemi

THISDAY: The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved the sum of N7,065,665,742.40 for the construction of the Vice Presidentís residence inside the Presidential villa, Abuja. The construction, which is to be completed within 20 months will be undertaken by Julius Berger plc.

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Senator Adamu Aliero who briefed State House Correspondents on the project after yesterday’s (FEC) meeting explained that the project was not subjected to open competitive bidding because of the security implication of such action but was just awarded to Julius Berger because they undertook the major construction of the villa.

He said the idea behind the project was to construct a befitting residence commensurate to the status of the office of the Vice President. Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan presently resides at the Akinola Aguda residence, which was initially designed to serve as Presidential Guest House.
http://www.elombah.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2494:a-bleeding-nation-need-for-accountability&catid=25:politics&Itemid=37

Ojo Maduekwe spends N2.7billion on frivolous trips

The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday castigated the Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Maduekwe over what it calls his frequent trips on which he has spent N2.7billion. Chairman of the Committee, Senator Jibril Aminu, said at the 2010 budget defence by the ministry that Maduekwe’s trips outside the country were ‘wasteful’.
The committee said the ministry failed to disburse funds to foreign missions, thereby resulting in non-payment of salaries and allowances of diplomats in the past three months.

While charging the minister to cut down on his trips, Aminu said: "The whole budget of the Ministry of Commerce is about N2 billion while that of the Ministry of Police Affairs is about N1 billion but you have used N2.7 billion for international travels alone.

And you are even asking for increase in the 2010 budget. "These foreign travels are wasteful, you have to cut it down. There is no way we are going to give you more money for international travels."

Maduekwe said the trips were undertaken for the sake of diplomacy. He said: "Diplomacy is all about visibility even technology has not helped in reducing international travels in diplomacy.

There is no way that the travel commitment of the Foreign Ministry could be compared to that of the Ministry of Commerce."

On the non-payment of salaries and allowances of diplomats, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Jibril Maigari, said that due to a shortfall of 21 percent in the allocated funds to the missions, about N8 billion could not be disbursed.

He said the exchange rate of the Naira to the dollar in the budget was N118 but in the end the Naira fell to N150 per dollar causing a shortfall in the funds disbursed to the missions.

"The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has paid N4.5 billion to take care of the shortfall but the remaining could not be paid because the supplementary budget is not ready," he stated.

A member of the committee, Senator Bob Effiong, while expressing disappointment at the delays the foreign missions experienced in accessing their funds, blamed it on dubious civil servants.

"The civil servants are the problem. You may not know, the system is being run wrongly. Do you know that some missions don’t even have enough funds to provide some necessities?" he queried.

Replying, Maduekwe said some ambassadors were fond of embarking on frivolous trips and paying themselves huge estacodes thereby leaving little to run the missions.

Ibori Verdict: How EFCC Deliberately Boggled The prosecution

With every incident so far involving prosecution of alleged financial crime, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) makes it more difficult for Nigerians to match her public vows with her sincerity and real intentions in the fight against corruption in government.

When an Asaba High Court on Friday December 18, 2009 discharged Ibori of all the 170- count charges brought against him by the EFCC over money laundering allegations, the initial reactions from Nigerians especially those of us from Delta state were outright emotional outbursts of anger and vexation against the nation’s judiciary and the entire legal system.

But beyond our initial reflex reactions, an unbiased look at the entire trial right from Kaduna, clearly show that the EFCC by well-intended design deliberately engineered the case to fail. The reasons are as clear as they are obvious despite what the commission wants Nigerians to believe by its theatrical Rambo stance and pronouncements.

It was an outright deceit for the EFCC to fake an expression of surprise over the judge’s quashing of all the 170-count charges against Ibori? Was Farida Waziri expecting anything different from what the court actually delivered? This is the big moral question the leadership of the commission needs to answer.

The anti-graft commission in a statement, entitled: “Ibori: What the Public Need to Know”, quickly wanted the public to note amongst other things that the accused (Ibori) refused to take plea and instead raised objections to the charges; that the matter was not tried, no evidence was led or taken by the court; and that the ruling was based merely on charges and proof of evidence.

The EFCC also wanted Nigerians to believe that Ibori have only been discharged and not acquitted and “as such, we are convinced that the case is not over yet as we (EFCC) are determined to take it to a logical conclusion, not withstanding the obstacles being brought our way.” Truth be told, the only obstacle on EFCC’s way has remained the road block of deceit, lack of sincerity and political will-power and sinister complicity in the entire issue of corruption and fraud in government circles across the country. This is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

How correct was Ibori’s counsel when he said that “EFCC’s case against the former Delta state governor was irredeemably deficient because the anti-graft body did not provide evidence for its case at the lower judicial chamber.” The commission by design simply played into Ibori’s hands by its deliberate shoddiness.

The EFCC should tell Nigerians why the commission’s four officials who investigated and gave evidence against Ibori did not make statements. It was very absurd that a ‘thorough’ investigation conducted by a serious- minded agency like the EFCC over a very serious allegation of fraud and laundering of public fund had only verbal interim report rather than final written report. Does it mean that investigations are still going on and if yes, why hurry to drag the accused to court when you are not ready with the facts to prosecute the case? Even the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) did not make any written statements.” So who is fooling who? There is something not very right from the EFCC’s end of this game.

The only statement the anti-graft agency had on the case was by Nuhu Ribadu the erstwhile EFCC boss alleging that Andy Uba offered him a $15 million bribe from Ibori.” Another question here is: Why did the EFCC not call Uba to make a statement concerning his involvement in the transmission of the bribe at least Uba is still in the country and would have readily cooperated with the agency because of his interest in Anambra politics?

The anti-graft agency accused Ibori of money laundering, procuring somebody to open an illegal account, and in all the charges brought to the court, not one account number was mentioned nor details of cash movement provided throughout the commission’s submissions. If you say that someone illegally opened an account with a Bank, it means you know the bank and must quote the account number for ease of reference and verifiability. The EFCC deliberately did not do that. The commission should tell Nigerians why they filed a case of money laundering without quoting the numbers of the accounts through which the money was allegedly laundered.

Another funny aspect of this whole case was that the EFCC claimed that Uba offered Ribadu the $15 million bribe from Ibori on April 24, 2007, yet the erstwhile EFCC boss kept the money until December 12, 2007, a day after Ibori was been arrested. How could Ribadu have kept that kind of money without alerting anybody for eight months and until Ibori was arrested? It was after the arrest that Ribadu remembered that he had been keeping $15 million bribe from Uba

From the disgraceful outing of the EFCC in the Asaba High court, it was obvious that there was no case file on this particular prosecution. What is not clear is whether the Ibori’s case file was among the ones Ribadu took away when he was sacked as Nigerians were told by Mrs Waziri when she assumed office.

Rushing to the Appeal Court to seek redress on the verdict without thorough preparation will only further muddle the case. The question is: What is the EFCC going to say at the Appeal court? Are they going to manufacture the evidence that they did not adduce at the lower court?

Though the legal experts should know better, but those of us concerned think that the EFCC should put its acts together, repackage its case with its evidence which I believe they have at their disposal (or at the disposal of Nuhu Ribadu) and press a new case against Ibori rather than appealing the ruling of the Asaba High Court. This case originated from Kaduna where the charges were first filed in December 2007 and later transferred to Asaba for trial for reasons best known to the EFCC and Ibori’s counsels. There should be a way for the current leadership of the anti-graft agency to collaborate with the erstwhile chairman, Ribadu to fill-in the missing links because this is the only way, as it stands now, that the commission can provide an intelligent case against the former Delta state governor. But the big question is: Will Ribadu cooperate with Waziri when he is on the wanted list of the Yar’Adua-led federal government. You see, the deprived people of Delta state are the real losers in this whole game-plan of mischief by the EFCC. It’s a pity.

IFEANYI IZEZE IS AN ABUJA-BASED CONSULTANT ON STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATION (iizeze@yahoo.com)

Nigeria dismisses James Ibori money laundering charges

The federal high court judge in Asaba today discharged and acquitted former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, of all the 170-count charge of corruption proffered against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Saharareporters had reported that Justice Marcel Awokulehin, personally approved for appointment to lead the newly created federal high court in Asaba by Ibori had struck a deal with the ex-governor and two-time ex-convict to quash the charges for a princely sum of $5 million.

How Ohakim loots Imo State-National Daily.

EFCC begins probe • Gov.’s Aides, top contractor panic • Petitioner alleges threat to life. WHAT is the true identity of Governor Godson Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State? Take one: New Face of Imo State? No. Take Two: New Rogue of Imo State? Addendum: Only the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the court of law can establish whether Ohakim is a saint or devil.

Indeed only the Law court can judge between Ohakim and his traducers who have accused him of monumental fraud even as he bestrides the South-East chest-thumping his achievement as an action governor across the Niger.
This curious question is also knocking from all corners; Is Ohakim guilty or innocent of crunching the bone hung on his neck by unbridled looting of Imo State treasury?

No matter what Ohakim's defense may be, the document on his alleged misdeed available to National Daily is damnable.

National Daily influence revealed that Governor Ikedi Ohakim is today a subject of investigation by the EFCC following series of petitions forwarded to the commission's office in Abuja accusing him of offenses bothering on contract inflation and money laundering. Ohakim is said to have bilked Imo State of monies amounting to Billions of naira.

For instance Ohakim was accused of perpetuating fraud in the award off the N8 billion dredging of Nworie River.
The contract was said to have been awarded to Ruodo Nigeria Limited owned by Chief Tony Chukwu. He aligned with the Ohakim government to defraud Imo State of colossal sums through inflated contracts. The Ohakim-Chukwu dubious partnership was said to have started over two years ago and climaxed in the N8 billion Nworie River dredging contract awarded in March, 2009. It was learned that over 50 per cent of the contract sum has already been paid to Tony Chukwu as “mobilization”.

One knowledgeable source revealed that Ohakim awarded the Nworie River dredging contract during rainy season and about N4.5billion was paid to the contractors as mobilization fee. To quell the curiosity of critics, Ohakim claimed that the contract was in collaboration with the Niger Delta Development Fund.
The giant Arab Contractors was named as another construction company brought by the governor to swindle the people of Imo State. Arab Contractors are known within the Government House, Owerri to be involved in “syndicated business” or “Close circuit business”.

One of the petitioners Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha, who is the Facilitator of SLAP Initiative, a non governmental organization alleges that the activities of this company are mainly to protect the interest of those giving them contracts.
National Daily learned that a road construction contract of N25 billion spanning 150 kilometres was allegedly awarded hurriedly to Arab Contractors, TK Engineering and Boly Construction Company in March 2009; implicitly, the value of the Road Project per kilometer stands at N167 million.

National Daily intelligence accessed more list of contractors allegedly used as conduit pipe by the governor to allegedly siphon the state funds with reckless abandon.
Pinnacle Communications Limited tops the list. It was alleged that Ohakim used this company to defraud Imo State government of money running into hundreds of millions of naira. He was said to have secretly awarded the supply of IBC transmitters to Pinnacle Communications Limited on Friday November 9, 2007, at an alarming cost of N776.32 million.

But in an apparent defence of the over-inflated contract, the Ohakim-led government quickly fixed the date of the installment and the commissioning of the transmitters as May 29, 2008. However, investigation revealed that the transmitters arrived Owerri, the Imo State capital on Thursday June 5, 2008. Seven days after it was supposed to be commissioned and had problems of installation.

“They were ineffectively installed in September 2008 hence it refused to function until January 2009 when another unofficial sum of money was pumped into the project. Till this moment the transmitters are not functioning, especially the TV section, one clear year after it was supposedly commissioned,” Iwuoha stated.

As if that was not enough, Ohakim also allegedly used another contractor, Solid Foundation Construction Company owned by Prince Lemmy Akakem, the Okpataozuoha of Orji in Imo State. Ohakim has been accused of using Akakem's company to loot the resources of Imo State through the award of over-inflated road contracts. All the road projects, National Daily learnt, are yet to be completed while some have been abandoned but full payments made to the alleged company. A case in point was the 15 kilometres road from the Standard Shoe Industry Road to Amulu Mbeiri in Mbaitolu Local Government Area, the contract was awarded to Solid Foundation Company at a whooping cost of N1.3 billion.

Analysts say the road was awarded on the average cost of N87 million per kilometer which they slammed as over bloated rate, intelligence showed that the alleged road contract was awarded in January 2008, full payment made, yet at the site work remains at the grading level. Other companies allegedly used by the Governor to milk the state include; New Ideas Construction Company and Lemmy Akakem Construction Company and Bauhuss Nigeria Limited, Bauhuss Nigeria Limited, was awarded a contract to build the Aladinma Shopping Plaza in Owerri. “They have been “doing” this job (contract) since 2007. When Ohakim came on board, he saw that he could make personal money from the project. So, he asked the management of the company to inform members of the public to bid for shops in advance and pay non-refundable sums of money running into millions of naira collectively; the public started buying forms, paying for non-existent shops, thousands of Imo citizens paid these various sums of money. This scam happened in January 2008. After few weeks, the Ohakim leadership announced over the Radio and Television controlled by the State Government that the Aladinma Shopping Plaza has been completed. Also, his leadership placed full page advert in the Champion Newspapers edition of 26/5/2008 and 27/5/2008 and in some pamphlets claiming that the Aladinma Shopping Plaza has been completed but in actual fact only a little percentage of work had been done,” Iwuoha stated in his petition.

Also on the list of questionable companies allegedly used by the Governor are Felmore Nigeria Limited and Zeerock Construction Company Limited. Felmore Nigeria Limited is owned by an Imo indigene that lives in an expensive mansion at Amakobia, off Orlu Road opposite Rapour Hotels Limited. He was said to have been awarded a contract to install solar street lights in Owerri, the state capital at an over-inflated cost running into hundreds of millions of naira. Full payments were made and the work was claimed to have been done. But the “Solar” lights are not functioning. A source hinted that as soon as Ikedi Ohakim came on board as governor, the company opened a workshop in an illegal place along Aladinma Hospital Road Owerri with the consent of the governor. The company it was gathered has received several contracts running into billions of naira in Imo State since June 2007, yet, they have nothing to show for it. All the road contracts awarded to them including the project at Imo Airport (Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport), are in the parlous state.

Also discovered as one of the conduit pipes, is Amaifeke Construction Company allegedly owned by HRH Eze Okeke, a traditional ruler in Orlu. He allegedly receives inflated contracts, collects money but finds it difficult to executive the contracts. It was gathered that he was secretly summoned by the State House of Assembly for not executing road contracts awarded to his company despite having received payment over the project.

Coduc Construction Company Limited is also another pipe allegedly used by the authorities in Imo State to deny its citizens of their own share of the dividends of democracy. Coduc is “owned” by Ikedi Ohakim's brother in-law, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuonye. The company is alleged to have no materials and equipment at initial beginning for most of their earlier constructions and was mostly hiring their equipment from Matrix West Africa Limited, Macol Construction Company Limited, and Hardel and Enic Construction Company Limited. But today and on the spur of the moment, Coduc has transformed itself into the biggest construction company in Imo State with “state of the art” equipment worth billions of Imo State naira.

Iwuoha alleges in his petition that Ohakim that Ohakim has a history of financial reckless dating to his days as commissioner in 1993 in the late Senator Evan Enwerem administration as governor of Imo State.
As National Daily examined the voluminous document produced by Samuelson Iwuoha as evidence of Ohakim's despicable corruption more questions leaped out for urgent answers:
Who was Godson Ikedi Ohakim before he became Governor of Imo State? Did his party, the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and the Security Agencies thoroughly investigate Ohakim before he contested and won election as Imo State governor? Why did Ohakim suddenly abandoned his party, PPA, and pitched tent with the ruling PDP mid way into his first term in office.

The story of Godson Ikedi Ohakim seems intriguing and mysterious. It is a story which in the street parlance can be described as 'the more you look, the less you see.'

What does Ikedi Ohakim have to do with Evan Enwerem? Ohakim allegedly stole a briefcase belonging to the former Senate President when he was governor of Imo State in 1993. The incident allegedly happened on October 26, 1993 when Enwerem was about boarding a plane to London. Ohakim allegedly exchanged Enwerem's briefcase containing foreign currency with a replica at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. On his return from London, Enwerem was about to sack Ohakim before late General Sani Abacha dismissed the civilian government.

Ohakim's alleged criminal tendencies keep streaming like River Imo from where the state which he rules rather than govern derived its name.

National Daily intelligence scooped that the grand standing Ikedi Ohakim was the General Manager of a company owned by a multi-millionaire Businessman, Fidel Anujuo from Ideato Imo State. Ohakim allegedly looted Anujo's company and was sacked by his angry boss. Anujo was said to have slapped Ohakim at Government Reservation Area (GRA), Ikeja, Lagos before sacking him.

This incident is said to have been confirmed by Chief Sam Ahanonu, Managing Director of Sam Industries Limited, Lagos in an interview with a local magazine, Newsbearer volume 10 No 4 February 23, 2009.

Another concerned citizen of Imo State Stephen Nwahiri also accused Ohakim of fraud and money laundering. He further frowned at the governor's association with alleged ritual murderers and 419ners.

“…Ohakim appointed one of the notorious Otokoto ritualists, one Dominic Egbuchukwu alias Damaco, the initial head of Clean and Green Initiative.” Nwahiri said, and added that; “A certain special Adviser on special duties from Ohakim's Mbano Area who has been an active fraudster based in South Africa is responsible for Ohakim's money laundering escapades his name is Chukwem Onuoha and does nothing but stashing money for Ohakim in overseas accounts, using his fraud connection.”

Petitioner Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha further exposed the activities of Chukwu whom National Daily Intelligence gathered fell out with Ohakim when he allegedly disappeared with over N300 million meant to complete Ohakim's Five Star Hotel in South Africa. The completion of the Hotel which was under Chikwem's supervision was said to have become compelling as a result of the forthcoming 2010 World Cup to be hosted by South Africa.
Here is Samuelson Iwuoha's expose on Ohakim Chikwem financial sleaze and sexual peccadilloes:

PART ONE
ACT I SCENE I: Mr. Chikwem Onuoha and Ikedi Ohakim met for the First time allegedly in 2005 when the Imo Transformation Initiative (ITI) was formed as a socio-political group whose aim and objectives was to stop and blackmail some prominent sons and daughters of Imo State from contesting elective posts come 2007. Along the line, when a renowned traditional ruler Late Eze Dr Zeb Philips Nwosu died in 2006, members of the ITI came together and agreed to make contributions which will be used to assist in giving the late traditional ruler a befitting burial. An alleged sum of N7.2 million was raised but Chief Ikedi Godson Ohakim made away with the money from Sheraton Hotel Lagos.

ACT 2 SCENE I: When the conspiracy to impose Chief Ikedi Godson Ohakim as the Governor was hatched by Professor Maurice Iwu, Olusegun Obasanjo and others, Chikwem Onuoha was one of the people who raised money for Ohakim which was used for political negotiations. Mr. Chikwem Onuoha allegedly raised the sum of N5 million for Ohakim. Although Mr. Chikwem Onuoha was not relatively rich as at that time, he raised the said sum through his contacts. Before this period Mr. Chikwem was just the usual “businessman”.
For the purpose of this write-up, I will avoid exposing the “aspect” of business he was involved in but he has contacts in South Africa. A country he visited for the first time in the year 2000 and stayed in the house of an Imo son for six months before he found his way. He has three wives. Two South African wives and one Ideato born wife, yet he is roughly 43 years. Chikwem is from Umuaro Osu in Isiala-Mbano LGA of Imo State.

ACT 2 SCENE 2:
After Chief Ikedi GOdson Ohakim was sworn-in as the Governor of Imo State on the 29th of May 2007, different positions were offered to Mr Chikwem Onuoha who rejected them all. He told Ohakim that he wanted a special post which will enable him to be on the “move” always. Chief Ikedi Godson Ohakim understood the “Format”, hence he offered Mr. Chikwem Onuoha the post of Special Assistant on “Special Duties”. That Chikwem Onuoha is powerful is an understatement. While Dr Ada Okwuonu is “just” a Deputy Governor, Professor Maurice Iwu is the “Assistant Governor” with Cosmas Iwu, his son-in-law, his daughter as his eyes in Ohakim leadership. But Mr. Chikwem Onuoha is viewed as the “Vice Governor” thereby making him a powerful man in Ohakim's cabinet. Professor Maurice Iwu is the person protecting Chief Ikedi Ohakim from prosecution by EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau and the Force headquarters Abuja. In fact, Professor Iwu's Personal Assistant is the person doing media protection for Chief Ikedi Ohakim.
The Question now is what makes Chikwem Onuoha thick and powerful? Why is he always in South Africa, America, London, Dublin, Germany, Lagos, Abuja, Malaysia, China, Dubai? What really is his job as the Special Assistant on Special Duties?
ACT 2 SCENE 3: As far as Ikedi Ohakim and Chikwem Onuoha are concerned, the function of Special Assistant on Special Duties are as follows:
(A) Money Laundering
(B) Arranging and importing girls for the Governor.
(C) Buying personal properties for the Governor with State funds.
(D) And other Special supplies and contracts.
Let us now take these issues one after the other.

MONEY LAUNDERING: Mr. Chikwem Onuoha is the major conduit pipe through which Chief Ikedi Ohakim siphons Imo State funds and resources out of Nigeria. In simple form, Chikwem Onuoha does money laundering for Chief Ikedi Ohakim. The question now is what is money laundering? Money laundering as a criminal offense is the transfer of money obtained illegally to foreign banks, some businesses and other illegal means as to disguise its original source. An instance of this is to launder money with the disguise of looking for foreign investors to come to Imo State to establish the following:
1. The Oguta Wonderland
2. The Royal Oak Refinery
3. Mid-Western Airlines
4. The IRROMA Trucks and Caterpillars
The questions being asked are: (1) where are these projects? (2) Are they white elephants? (3) The IRROMA equipments launched on the 15th of November 2008, where are they today?
Currently, Chikwem Onuoha is building a 7 Star Superlative Hotel for Ikedi Ohakim in South Africa. This is $27 million Hotel Project in South Africa being built with Imo State funds, yet the masses are hungry. The Hotel is 72 per cent completed in preparation for 2010 World Cup. Mr. Chikwem Onuoha has apart from the Hotel under serious construction bought several properties for Ohakim in South Africa alone with State funds. However, human factor played a part later which made Chief Ikedi Ohakim to quarrel with Chikwem Onuoha. What is this human factor? When Mr. Chikwem Onuoha saw that he has bought several properties for Ikedi Ohakim using State funds and nothing really for himself, he decided to play a fast one on Ohakim when the next “runs” presents itself. This opportunity showed itself about eleven months ago when Ohakim gave Onuoha the sum of N346 million for onward “movement” to South Africa for the on-going Hotel project. Chikwem Onuoha “died” the money but came back to Ohakim few days later to “complain” that he “lost” the money at the airport. On the spur of moment, Ohakim knew that Chikwem had outsmarted him. There and then Ohakim demanded from Chikwem Onuoha the documents for the other properties in South Africa. However, at this point Chikwem knew that once he gives Ohakim those documents that Ohakim would just drop him or even mess him up. So he decided to play the hardman. He refused to hand over the documents to Ohakim. In the process both men quarreled bitterly at Chikwem Onuoha's house of located off Dick-Tiger Street, Federal Housing Estate, Owerri. Thereafter, Ohakim threatened to drop Mr. Chikwem Onuoha as his S/A on Special Duties. Chikwem Onuoha on his own part challenged Ohakim to drop him and suffer the consequences. At that point Ohakim came to his senses and realized that he had been outwitted once again. As a hot head who talks and acts before he thinks he left Chikwem house in annoyance but returned the next day. This time around Ohakim was “sober”. He knelt down allegedly before Chikwem Onuoha in his house and begged him to let by-gone be by-gone and that “they are into this thing together”. Chikwem refused to listen to him. Chief Ikedi Ohakim also complained to Chikwem's mother who was living in the village.

Chikwem's mother left the village and came to Owerri to talk to his son. She pleaded with Chikwem to release those documents to Ikedi Ohakim. Mr Chikwem still refused. Rather he gave conditions which includes (1) contracts (2) ownership of some of the properties in South Africa. Chief Ikedi Ohakim agreed and it was shared in the ratio of 7 is to 3. That is Ohakim 70 per cent while Chikwem 30 per cent. It was after these that the document were released accordingly. Today, Mr. Chikwem Onuoha, Ikedi Ohakim and Chioma Ohakim are the three people supervising the Hotel project in South Africa.

ARRANGING GIRLS FOR THE GOVERNOR
As a Special Assistant on “Special Duties”, Mr Chikwem Onuoha imports girls from South Africa, London, Abuja with State funds for Ikedi Ohakim. For so many reasons I will not like to go in details. But if I am challenged to do so, then I will have to open the “Pandora box”. My concentration is on the fraud and money laundering aspects of this revelation.

Nonetheless, it should be noted that Mr. Chikwem Onuoha is controlling and coordinating Mafia activities in Imo State Governments hence his residence off Dick-Tiger Street is always full of activities. Most of these activities are executed by his “trusted” driver Emmanuel who is from the South West Nigeria (Yorubaland). If Chikwem is traveling to South Africa today, Emmanuel will go ahead to “wait” for him. If he is traveling to London now, this same Emmanuel will still go ahead to “wait” for him. The question is, why should an ordinary driver be given executive treatment?

The truth is that Emmanuel is the conduit through which Mr. Chikwem Onuoha “carries out” his assignment for Chief Ikedi Ohakim. Also, Emmanuel does some personal “runs” for Ikedi Ohakim directly. For his “efforts” he has been rewarded handsomely. He is a proud owner of so many plots of land in Owerri and Lagos. He is also allegedly building a two-storey building in Lagos State where his wife stays.

Chikwem's Personal Assistant (PA) is one Mr. Okorie from Anambra State. His steward is from Calabar while his cook is from Akwa-Ibom. All the people working for him are not from Imo State. This is deliberate just to prevent betrayal and leaking of information. Again, it should be noted that Mr. Chikwem Onuoha is protected and guarded as if he is the Governor of the State. He has five mobile policemen guarding his house. “An ordinary S/A indeed”.

AWARD OF CONTRACTS
After Ikedi Ohakim agreed to the demand of Chikwem Onuoha as per his conditions before he released those documents, Ikedi Ohakim gave him some road contracts. Some of the roads are located in Mbano axis. Infact, Ohakim signed the contract papers beside the swimming pool in Chikwem's house in Owerri. The Governor also allegedly gave Chikwem the contract to supply Toyota Corolla cars to Imo Transport Company (I.T.C.).

It should be noted that Mr. Chikwem executed that supply through his younger brother named Uche. Because the said Uche brother has a big head, he is called Uche Ishi-Ukwu. He supplied only about thirty (30) cars to ITC, where as full payment was paid for about one hundred cars (100). The question is where are the remaining seventy (70) cars?

Chikwem's other younger brother has also benefited from the fraudulent windfall of this car supply scam. His name is Collins. He is a proud owner of Honda Saloon Car (End of Discussion) and lives in expensive hotels in Owerri, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Abuja, apart from his three bedroom apartment in Lagos. Uche Ishi-Ukwu is currently building a three storey building at No 65 Bode-Thomas Street, Surulere Lagos State.

Chikwem Onuoha on his part has several houses in Lagos, Abuja, Owerri, South-Africa. He is currently allegedly renovating his house at Victoria Garden City, Lagos at the cost of over N200 million. Not long ago in August 2009, a portion of his private house off Dick-Tiger Street, Owerri went in flames. He spent more than N20 million to fix the house and to replace burnt furniture.

Corruption is perhaps the greatest impediment to the development of Nigeria and some third world countries. In Nigeria for instance, billions of Naira belonging to tax payers are stolen regularly from the treasury by Rogue public officers who were either elected or appointed to serve the people's interest.

It was therefore not surprising that Nigeria reportedly slipped in the 2009 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. In the latest report the country dropped nine places to 130th position out of the 180 countries and placed 10th out of 16 West African countries. However, in the current report, Nigeria scored 2.5 out of possible 10 points emerged 27th out of the surveyed 27 nations in sub-saharan Africa, and 33rd out of the 53 countries in Africa.

Critics allege that the Ikedi Ohakim scandal is a bad showcase to President Umaru Yar'Adua's much taunted anti-corruption crusade and an evidence to adduce before Transparency International that Nigeria is bus stops away from the dry cleaners shop.

Petitioner Samuelson Iwuoha, the whistle blower told National Daily that in other to stop him from exposing the financial scam going on in Imo State attempt the financial scam going on in Imo State attempt is being made on his life and members of the family especially after the Imo State House of Assembly constituted a panel to probe the allegation he and a social commentator, Maximum Uba raised against governor Ohakim.

“I have written a threat to life letter to the office of the Inspector-General of Police with copies to relevant agencies and organizations including media organizations and prominent Nigerians” Iwuoha said.

In a petition to the EFCC dated September 26, 2009, Iwuoha accused the panel (Ad-hoc Committee on corrupt practices) of working to cover up the governor by adjourning the sitting of the panel sine die without inviting him to give Evidence and present document to support his allegation.
National Daily gathered that more can of stinking allegation have been promised by Governor Ikedi Ohakim's traducers.

Attempts by National Daily to get the Imo State Governor's side of the story proved abortive as Mr. henry Ekpe, the Governor's Chief Press Secretary (CPS) refused to answer several calls to his MTN GSM line. He, equally, did not bother to respond to the short message service (SMS) sent to his mobile handset.

No doubt, this story has only just began. There will certainly be a follow-up and National Daily, as usual, will keep you informed.

EFCC traces N5.55b houses to Attahiru Bafarawa

HOUSES worth N5.558 billion in Nigeria and abroad have been reportedly traced to the detained former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission {EFCC}.

Commission’s spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi while confirming the development said “I can confirm fresh facts on property traced to him {Bafarawa} but I don’t have the details now”.

Operatives of the commission arrested and detained the presidential candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) in the 2007 elections in Abuja last Wednesday over an alleged N15 billion fraud while in office.

It was gathered that his trial might not commence tomorrow as earlier planned but more likely next Tuesday.

An investigation conducted into the alleged fraud by the commission revealed that the former governor acquired a mansion in Maitama, Abuja worth N300 million, while a country home in his Bafarawa town is valued at N58 million.

The ownership of another property at 9, Radnor Palace Road, London worth 20 million British pounds {about N5.2 billion} is also said to have been traced to him.

Sunday Tribune learnt that the houses were acquired while he was in office, fuelling the commission’s allegation that they were purchased with proceeds of the alleged financial crime he committed while in office.

It was also reportedly discovered that the suspect claimed in his asset declaration form with the Code of Conduct Bureau that he had no property abroad, even though the date of purchase showed that the house was purchased before the form was filled.

The form was said to be the one he filled before commencing his second term in office in 2003.

He is being considered for a trial by the Code of Conduct Tribunal for alleged perjury after his trial by the anti-corruption agency.

Moves were also said to be on to have his assets seized by the commission.

All the assets, according to a source, would be listed in the charge against him, to get the court to order their forfeiture to the Sokoto State Government.

The commission had already filed a criminal charge against him at the registry of the Federal High Court, Abuja and awaiting assignment of the case to a trial judge.

A source disclosed that the commission decided to seek a remand order, so that the law would not be breached in keeping him, since it was unlikely that the arraignment would take place tomorrow as earlier primed.

In some of the allegations against him, the commission accused the former governor of conspiring with others to sell the state’s shares in United Bank of Africa {UBA} Plc without any approval by the state Executive Council as required by the law.

He was also accused of unilaterally selling the state shares in state-owned Cement Company of Northern Nigeria {CCNN} to his younger brother, Alhaji Nasir Dalhatu Bafarawa, without the executive council approval.

Akwa Ibom State: $3.1 million “Etuk money” spills bad blood within government

The report of the $3.1 million money laundering involving the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, has created sharp division and suspicion within the state cabinet. Mrs. Emem Etuk, a Deputy General Manager, Victoria Island Branch (3) of Platinum Habib Bank (BankPHB) was arrested on 11 November 2009 by security operatives at the General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos with $3.1 million suspected to belong to the Akwa Ibom State Governor.

Mrs. Etuk’s inability to offer a plausible explanation as to how she came about such a huge amount, or her mission, led to the escalation of the case to the Police Force headquarters in Abuja after she had been detained in Lagos for two weeks.

Details of the financial scandal were unknown until SaharaReporters’ revelation earlier this week. Following our exposé, the governor’s agent, one "Centre for Media and Development" has issued a statement defending the governor and dismissing the link between the scam and the governor. Assuming the role of the police and the court, the Magnus Eze-led group submitted that their own investigations had exonerated the governor and that the money was meant for 2009 hajj pilgrims.

SaharaReporters can reveal however that whereas the airlift of pilgrims started on 25 October, by 11 November when Mrs. Etuk was arrested, most pilgrims had departed and all travel plans had been concluded.

Sources in Government House, Uyo, revealed that the Governor, who became disturbed about how the matter broke in the media after he had successfully suppressed the incident for four weeks following its occurrence, has ordered a secret investigation to unravel those who leaked the information to the press.

According to the sources, the feeling in government circles is that someone within the governor’s inner circle might have leaked the $3.1 million deal. The state commissioner for works and transport, Mr. Don Etim, told newsmen on Wednesday that the governor was innocent and that the report linking him to the scam was the handiwork of his political opponents.

The commissioner failed to explain the relationship between Mrs. Etuk and the governor. He also did not deny the fact of huge lodgments by the state in the bank, with Mrs. Etuk as the account officer.

Despite the public outcry and call for immediate investigation by anti-graft agencies, the spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said the matter was a police affair and the EFCC would not ‘meddle’ in it. It would be recalled that Akpabio bought a Mercedes Benz GL 450 for the EFCC chairperson, Mrs. Farida Waziri, a deal that was reported by Saharareporters.

The police, on the other hand, have refused to make any public statement on the incident. Efforts to get the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, were futile, as he would neither answer his calls nor respond to text messages.

But BankPHB has confirmed the arrest and the huge sum involved. They insist, however, that Mrs. Etuk was acting in an official capacity, without addressing the earlier report that, the day prior to the arrest, the bank had transferred funds meant to Abuja through properly-designated persons and with appropriate authorisation.

BankPHB also claims to have given relevant documents to the police to secure Mrs. Etuk’s release and the recovery of the money. But security operatives at the airport insist that such documents should have accompanied Mrs. Etuk at the time of her arrest, and that the documents being referred to by the bank must be an afterthought in its cover-up efforts.

A top manager in the bank, who wished not to be named, said that the all-out damage-control action of the bank was to save it from the big hammer of the Sanusi Lamido-led Central Bank of Nigeria and from an expensive image crisis.

The bank management also fears that the governor might move the state’s profitable account and lodgments elsewhere, which would be a death blow at this time of low deposits and financial meltdown.

A source in Government House, Uyo, who pleaded not to be named, said that the arrest of Mrs. Etuk was a grand plot by those opposed to the governor’s ‘mismanagement’ to bring his activities into the public domain. He claimed preliminary investigations by Government House showed that the airport security officials were tipped off.

“It is not the first time an agent will be doing this deal for politicians and not just our governor, but this is a plot by insiders and we shall get to the root,” he said. He denied knowledge of likely complicity of Mrs. Etuk’s husband who is the governor’s Special Assistant on Utilities.

Mr. Etuk was also reported to have distanced himself from the report, insisting that he could not have done what would cost him and his wife their jobs. But it was suspected that he might innocently have mentioned the fund transfer arrangement to some of the governor’s confidants in order to entrench himself within the inner circle of the cabinet.

The source noted that some members of the kitchen cabinet were bent on severing the relationship between the governor and some of his friends, who are seen as “outsiders.” According to the source, the said outsiders were being favoured with huge contracts and other patronages at the expense of the cabinet members and the people of the state.

For instance, they are known to have queried the relationship between the governor and a former Managing Director of the defunct Daily Times, Mr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, who is said to have won a contract of N3 billion to supply exercise books to state schools.

Those members of the government are said to be unhappy with the role of such people and companies as Mr. Sylvester Okoronkowo, Mr. Ben Bruce of Silverbird, Mr. Franco Facioni of ALCON Nigeria Limited, Julius Berger PLC, Prince Tokunbo Sijuwade, son of the Ooni of Ife in Osun State, whom they describe as the conduits through which the governor siphons state funds.

They are uncomfortable that Governor Akpabio seems determined to empower his kith and kin from the Annang stock, as only members of the governor’s immediate family and his personal allies now manage contracts and state funds.

One of the grouses against the governor is the alleged insistence that all contractors supplying building materials should patronise his younger brother, Nsetip Akpabio, and that the same Nsetip should drill boreholes in the “security villages” in the local governments.

The “security villages” consist of houses for the police chiefs and heads of the state security services in all the local governments. The idea, it was gathered, is to secure the support of the security agencies toward the second term bid of the governor

Nigerian police killing at will

BBC NEWS
Nigerian police 'killing at will'

Nigerian police are carrying out a shocking level of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, Amnesty International says.

The rights group's three-year inquiry details cases of prisoners tortured to death and shootings at roadblocks.

Amnesty says the police complain they are poorly trained and that criminals are often better armed than they are.

On Tuesday, a hospital in Enugu told the BBC it was overwhelmed by bodies being brought to them by police.

The BBC visited the hospital's morgue in the south-eastern city and took photographs, showing piles young men, lying on top of one another and strewn about on tables and floors.

It was established that at least seven people were last seen alive in police custody, accused of kidnapping.

Police spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu, responded by saying extra judicial killings were not approved in Nigeria and officers were being trained to use firearms "in respect of human rights".

'Brutalised'

"The Nigerian police are responsible for hundreds of unlawful killings every year," said Erwin van der Borght, director of Amnesty International's Africa programme, said in a statement.

EFCC arrests Bafarawa

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission earlier today arrested the former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, on allegations of financial corruption.

There are no details regarding how the former governor was arrested but our sources said he was brought to the commission’s headquarters, where he will face interrogation for financial crimes in which 47 bank accounts were used by Bafarawa to siphon off state funds as well as his conduct as Governor of his state from 1999 to 2007.

The House of Representatives is to spend about N55bn next year on “miscellaneous” items, office furniture and local/international travels.

The House of Representatives is to spend about N55bn next year on “miscellaneous” items, office furniture and local/international travels.

Details of the 2010 budget also show that the House will incur more costs on various recurrent sub-heads in the coming year above the amount spent on the same purposes in 2009.

International and local travels by members of the House will consume N22bn (N18bn for local travels and N4bn for international travels) in 2010 as against the N19.8bn voted for the sub-head in 2009.

About N13.5bn was voted for miscellaneous expenses, out of which N4.2bn was set aside for public hearings to be conducted by standing committees of the House.

There are over 80 committees in the House, but in 2009, many of them did not conduct any hearings. However, N3.6bn was voted for public hearings in 2009.

Besides, a separate N15.8bn was set aside as “sitting allowances” for the 360 members of the House.

Sittings during public hearings are counted as normal sittings of committees. It was not clear why a separate vote of N4.2bn was provided for public hearings.

Further details show that the “maintenance of office furniture” will cost N287.5m in 2010 as against N250m in 2009.

Investigations by our correspondent on Monday, however, indicated that some office furniture purchased for the House this year, including chairs, were yet to be installed.

Many chairs purchased for committee rooms are still piled up in the rooms owing to lack of space to mount them.

Similarly, N460m was set aide for House committees to hire the services of consultants in 2010, up from the N400m voted for the sub-head in 2009.

Each committee was allocated N5m to hire consultants, though not all committees of the House carry out visible oversight duties.

Another whopping N3.7bn was allocated to “materials and supplies,” out of which N952.7m is for the purchase of “computer materials” and supplies and another N355.1m for “library books and periodicals.”

This year, N308.8m was voted for books and periodicals, besides the N200m earmarked for “purchase of books for National Assembly library.”

Checks at the library, however, revealed that the library had neither been expanded nor had new books worth N200m been purchased by officials.

The “maintenance of computers and other information technology equipment” at the House cost N360m in 2009. Next year, N952.7m will be spent to procure new ones.

The total budget of the House for 2010 is N58.1bn

BREAKING NEWS!! Yar'adua 'unconscious' In Saudi Arabia: Fears Mount In Nigeria.

Written by Sahara Reporters, New York
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 18:26

There has been palpable anxiety all over Nigeria in the last 24 hours over the health of Nigeria's sickly leader, Umaru Yar'Adua, who was admitted to the King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah on Monday after he was evacuated from Nigeria on medical emergency. It is his third medical trip in four months. The presidency always gives the impression that he is in the country for something else, although Nigerians now know better.

After Saharareporters broke the story of his latest medical evacuation two days ago, his office issued a statement admitting that he would be visiting his doctors in Jeddah.

Yar'adua suffers from a degenerative disease known as Churg Strauss syndrome. Saharareporters sources said Yar'Adua, who appears increasingly gaunt for a man who is not yet 60, was unconscious for about four hours last night, fueling widespread rumors that he had died in Saudi Arabia. Saharareporters received thousands of inquiries from readers, including government officials who claimed they had not heard from the "president".

Characteristically, Yar'Adua did not hand over to his vice, Jonathan Goodluck, a man he either fears, or holds in contempt, as he never hands the constitutional batton of power to him. In the corridors of power, the lackluster deputy is generally referred to as the "Social Prefect" because of his powerlessness and lack of influence in the presidency. Even the presentation of the 2010budget was done by Yar'Adua aides on Tuesday. His most powerful political performance this year was at the final match of the just-concluded Under-17 World Cup event in Abuja, where he represented Yar'Adua.

Source: http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4347:yaradua-unconsciousq-in-saudi-arabia-fears-mount-in-nigeria&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18

Abubakar Umar, Special Assistant to CAC boss, brutally murdered and burnt

Abubakar Umar, a lawyer and special assistant to Ahmeed Al Mustapha, registrar of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) was found brutally assassinated yesterday in Abuja. Abubakar was trailed by unknown assailants after he left work last night, abducted, shot to death, and set ablaze. His badly burnt body was found near Utako Market in the opposite direction of his residence in Maitama.

Already, the Nigerian police has been quick to claim that Mr. Umar died in auto accident, saying that his body was burnt because it was trapped in his burning car. But family members suspect a cover-up, contending that Abubakar's body was riddled with bullets and that the police recovered expended bullet shells from the scene where his body was recovered

Saharareporters learnt from a source at the National Assembly that the lawyer, described as a brilliant civil servant, had recently acquired a piece of land bordering the official residence of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in Abuja. In an attempt to develop the land, Abubakar applied to the National Assembly leadership to grant access to him to take materials meant for development of his land through the property of the National Assembly in the Apo legislative village.

Abubakar was reportedly directed to meet with the office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Usman Bayero Nafada, to seek the necessary approval. But his agents who met with Mr. Nafada were shocked to find out that he was only interested in taking over the land.

He (Nafada) offered to pay for it and asked Abubakar's representatives to name their price, but Abubakar refused to sell his prized possession. The deputy speaker denied the application for access and promptly requested the minster of the Federal capital territory to revoke the land allocation to Mr. Umar for "security reason".

Things took a curious turn two weeks ago when the land allocation was revoked by the Minister of the Federal capital Territory (FCT), Adamu Aliero, and re-allocated to Mr. Nafada.

Abubakar Umar, was considering challenging the FCT in court over the revocation but had not yet been able to obtain the revocation paperwork to enable him commence legal action.

Another source also told Saharareporters that his death might be connected with the arrest and prosecution of some persons involved in forging CAC documents. Last month, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested two lawyers, George Ihijirika Okechukwu and Nwaroh Emmanuel, as well as Tolulope Akeju, alias C and C. They were charged before a Federal High Court in Abuja for making a false certificate of registration of increase in shares capital serial number 756501 of the Corporate Affairs Commission in respect of Jeruzeth International Engineering Company Limited, from N1,000,000 to N25,000,000.

Abubakar has been buried according to Muslim rites at the Abuja cemetry.
http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4219:abubakar-umar-special-assistant-to-cac-boss-brutally-murdered-burnt&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18

Top Nollywood actor, Nkem Owoh kidnapped
By AZUH AMATUS
Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Nkem Owoh Photo: Sun News Publishing

Heavily armed kidnappers plied their evil trade in Enugu State over the weekend, abducting popular actor and comic star, Nkem Owoh, famously known as Osuofia in Nollywood movies. According to an insider, who spoke with Daily Sun, Owoh, unarguably one of the most popular names in the nation’s movie industry, was abducted last Saturday afternoon along the busy Enugu/Port Harcourt Road.

Speaking further, the source who pleaded anonymity disclosed that the abductors are demanding for N15 million ransom.
Confirming the sad news, which many in Nollywood are still oblivious of, Mr. Segun Arinze, the National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), said he received the news with a rude shock. “I’m perplexed,” he said.

He, however, promised to issue an official statement after due consultations with his executives and members of Owoh’s family.
Also in an emotion-laden voice, Mr. Ofiafuluagu Mbaka, the Enugu State Chapter chairman of AGN, regretted the kidnappers action, describing it as devilish and wicked. “We are on our toes here in Enugu trying our best to see how Nkem Owoh will be out of the kidnappers den unhurt. We are also in touch with his immediate family. This is a trying moment for all actors. However, we are very positive and hopeful.”

Mr. Chuma Onwudiwe, the National Secretary of AGN, while reacting to Owoh’s abduction, called on the relevant authorities to join them in securing the immediate release of the actor from his abductors.
He also assured that the national secretariat is already working with the Enugu State chapter to ensure that Owoh regains his freedom soon.
It would be recalled that another popular actor in Nollywood, Pete Edochie, was kidnapped and later released by his abductors, a couple of months ago.
Nkem Owoh, from Enugu State, gained prominence in acting with his superb role in Kingsley Ogoro’s blockbuster – Osuofia in London, a comic movie that has grossed over a million copies. He has acted in over 1000 Nollywood movies, in a successful career spanning over two decades.

Bankole, Deputy Buy 18 Bullet-proof Vehicles - Each Costs N85m

Dimeji Bankole, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and his deputy, Honourable Usman Bayero Nafada, are said to have acquired nine bullet-proof cars each for their official use and in preparation for 2011 governorship elections in their respective states.

Bankole is from Ogun State while Nafada is from Gombe. Their governors are respectively serving second terms and their seats will be vacant in 2011.

The Speaker had, on many occassions, denied eyeing the governorship seat, but sources in his state have continued to link him with a possible shot at the Ogun Government House. The multi-million naira vehicles are now in Abuja, while the presiding officers sometimes put some of the cars in their official fleet.

Sources confirmed in Abuja that each of the vehicles was acquired for between N50 and N85 million and that the deputy speaker, most of the times, acted as a catalyst for the acquisition.It was also gathered in Abuja that the cars are mostly parked at a rented apartment being used as a Guest House by the Speaker.

Saturday Tribune reports that the speaker acquired the first bullet-proof car shortly after he resumed office in November, 2007, adding that the car was in his fleet during his first official trip to Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.It was gathered that because of the sensitive nature of the cars, the National Assembly had, through the outgoing Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA), Alhaji Nasiru Arab, requested for End Users Certificate (EUC) from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to ensure the clearance of the first bullet-proof car acquired for the Speaker.

It is not clear whether those acquired after that were also granted the required EUC. A source said that some of the cars in the fleet of the speaker and his deputy included two Range Rover Sport cars each; Two Mercedes Benz bullet-proof cars and two Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps each.

It was gathered that three of such cars each are also being cleared for the use of the officers.

A source said: There is a lot of secrecy about the location of many of the cars, but there is nothing to hide about the ambition of these two presiding officers. Initially, they were said to be seeking a return to the National Assembly to retain their seats so as to help the president in his second term bid, but the conclusions have been reached now with the lavish acquisition of bullet-proof cars.

There are also issues with the pricing of the cars, which sources said, are on the high side. It was gathered that costs of new vehicles are not supposed to be more than N15 million higher than the regular ones, but that most of the ones purchased by the legislators have been bought at exorbitant prices.

There were also allegations, during the week, that the House of Representatives was short of cash, prompting some unusual borrowings.

But the spokesman of the House, Honourable Eseme Eyiboh, told the Saturday Tribune that the allegations against the speaker and his deputy as well as the allegations that the House was lacking fund were unfounded.

Eyiboh denied knowledge of the importation of 18 bullet-proof Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) by the presiding officers of the House for the 2011 general elections.

He also rejected speculations that the House has overshot its budget, prompting it to engage in borrowing to meet up its expenditure. Eyiboh, Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, who spoke with Saturday Tribune in Abuja, said that it was not possible for either the Speaker or his deputy to import such vehicles as there was no budgetary allocation for them.

Sources at the Office of the Speaker are insisting that the vehicles in question were those that had earlier generated controversy following the decision of the National Assembly management to replace the vehicles in the convoys of the principal officers of the House earlier in the year.

The sources noted that the vehicles, which were ordered at the time, were only just being delivered and argued that they were certainly not as many as 18 that had been rumoured, maintaining that they had nothing to do with the 2011 ambitions of the officers.

According to sources, which spoke with Saturday Tribune in confidence, the purchase of the vehicles followed a presentation by security details attached to the Speaker, who have strongly recommended the replacement of fleet of vehicles because they had gone out of shape.

The particular incident, which prompted that recommendation, was when the flag-bearing car of the Deputy Speaker had to be towed from Gombe to Aso Rock Villa for repairs after it broke down, the sources disclosed.

Speaking on the allegation, Mr. Hameed Bello, Special Adviser on Media to the Deputy Speaker, dismissed the existence of the bullet-proof vehicles for the principal officers as he observed the speculation was the handiwork of mischievous politicians.

The onus is on those who are saying it to prove the allegations. We have to be careful what we do because this is the era of politics, he told Saturday Tribune.

However, he remarked that if individual members were to buy vehicles that were personal to them, it was not the business of the House of Representatives.

Elombah.com asks:

On the current matter of Bankole and his deputy purchasing numerous armoured vehicles (at a minimum of 85 million Naira each)

Where are we going in Nigeria? All these and yet we are talking of oil subsidy.

Can we as members of the Nigerian Diaspora community not sign a petition letter demanding some explanations from Mr Bankole--demanding answers to the following questions:

a) is it true the armoured vehicles were purchased as reported in the newspapers?

b) If the news story of the purchase is true --for what purpose would so many armoured vehicles have been purchased considering that Mr Bankole and his Deputy could only ride in one vehicle at any given moment?

c) Under what budgetary allocation(s) were the vehicles purchased?

d) Did the purchase of the armoured vehicles follow proper regulatory and procedural processes including--appearing as line items in the budget, proper approval of the budget by the HOR members and that the purchase followed proper tendering processes as required by the law?

e) Is the purchase of t he armoured vehicles in keeping with the letter and the spirit of the austerity measures recently announced by President Yar’Adua in the wake of the dwindling economic fortunes of Nigeria and the falling revenues from crude oil?

In addition to the above direct questions directed at Mr Bankole, the Nigerian Diaspora community could also do the following:

a) request that the EFCC look into the matter

b) request that the auditor general of the federation pay special attention to the matter during preparations for its annual report.

http://www.elombah.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2127:bankole-deputy-buy-18-bullet-proof-vehicles-each-costs-n85m-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=67

Crooks & Crooks INC. The EFCC's 10% game .

The EFCC, which energetically jumped into the banking crisis and whose chairman moved over 100 agents to Lagos at the height of the financial sector meltdown,is collecting 10 percent of all the monies recovered from debtors on behalf of banks, according to industry and EFCC sources.

This legally dubious and ethically questionable practice means that the EFCC has now profited to the tune of N17 billion from the total of N171 billion it says it has helped collect from some of the biggest debtors in the land, a list that is a who is who of Nigeria's business and political elite.

We have no evidence to suggest that senior EFCC officials, including its chairman, Farida Waziri, are personally benefiting from the windfall. But the practice suggests that the EFCC now sees itself as a debt collector rather than a crime buster. And the law setting up the commission, clearly written to avoid a potential moral quandry, does not allow it take such self compensation from targets of law enforcement.

The ten per cent charge

This revelation introduces a new dynamics to the banking crisis, the role of the EFCC, the current ethical complexion of the agency, and the integrity of regulatory agencies in the country."We of course collect 10 per cent administrative charges for all our labour" an EFCC operative told NEXT, on condition of anonymity, in Abuja at the weekend insisting that "it is not a bribe, it's just administrative, and it's done everywhere in the world, even the police do it here."

Spokesman of the Commission, Femi Babafemi who announced to reporters on Monday, November 2, in Abuja that it had so far recovered N171 billion from the debtors of the banks, vigorously denied that a portion of this had gone into the private pockets of EFCC officials.Mr Babafemiasked: "How can that be? There is absolutely nothing like that. The money is paid into the banks directly. EFCC has agents in those banks and they only co-ordinate the payment directly into the banks. Most of these transactions are not cash based. Whether formally or informally, it is not possible. Anyone who does that in this agency will go to jail. It is an allegation that we have heard and it is an allegation that we have investigated. There is no law allowing us to do that so how will the EFCC do that?" Mr. Babafemi stated.

Scripted Muteness:

NEXT received hostile responses from officials at the distressed banks when this question was posed to them. However, independent investigations confirmed that the practice is widespread."We pay them 10 percent of whatever they recover for us. But it is not only us, go and find out from other banks, we all pay the 10 percent," a spring bank official told NEXT.

Francis Barde, the of Head corporate affairs of Union Bank, however, claims that Union bank does not pay a commission to the EFCC or the Nigerian police. "No charge has been sent to Union Bank for payment by any of the law enforcement agencies.

Therefore, we have paid nothing," Mr. Barde told NEXT in response to our enquiries.

Jude Nwauzor, a corporate communications officer at Spring bank failed to respond to repeated enquiries via text messages, email, and phone calls after an initial pledge to respond to our questions, if we would send them to him by email.

While official Spring Bank response was not forthcoming, inside sources insisted that "this is not the first time we are paying 10 percent to government agencies, we have always paid 10 percent to the police force at any rate, if they help us recover our bad loans. We don't ask questions because what is more important is to recover the money," the bank official told us.

NEXT has documentary evidence of these transactions.In a deal that occurred on October 28, 2009, Spring Bank paid a commission of N50,000 for a 500,000 recovery. The money was paid to the police. This practice, bank officials confess, has been going on for years, even though they are aware that the practice is illegal. They also explain a preference for law enforcement recoveries over those of attorneys. "If we go to recovery agents, we will still pay the 10 percent, so why not give it to the police or the EFCC since they will still help us get our money albeit in a shorter time," a bank chief told NEXT.

While the EFCC denies that they collect the commission, the police, speaking through its public relations chief, Emmanuel Ojukwu, confirmed that they sometimes get paid for their services, though he declined to state the percentage they collect. "Police can collect money for some services rendered, and such is receipted for and paid to the Police Reward fund," he said but distanced the police from debt recovery business. "The police is not employed to collect debts," Mr Ojukwu stated in response to our enquiries.

Mr. Babafemi of the EFCC said he was unaware of police culpability. "I don't speak for any other agency but I can speak for the EFCC. If any other agency is collecting 10 percent, not the EFCC," Mr. Babafemi stressed .

The Spring Bank headache

An indication that the stressed banks are not comfortable with paying a 10 percent commission to the EFCC and another 10 percent to their recovery agents emerged at a meeting the new chief executive of the troubled Spring Bank Plc Olusola Ayodele, had on Wednesday, October 28,in the board room of the bank at its corporate headquarters in Lagos. In attendance were other top executives of the bank and senior management aides. "The mood was typically uneven between our spring bank old hands and the Bank PHB arrivals who we call gold diggers," recalled a senior bank aide who spoke to NEXT in strict confidence, "top on the agenda was how the bank would debrief its recovery agents, law firms, that help us recover our bad loans."

Since she arrived at Spring Bank, sources at the bank told us, Mrs. Ayodele has been gingely finding her way through the vestiges of institutional landmines that line all the operational pathways of the bank since the banking consolidation exercise of 2006.

The 2006 exercise sought to fuse sometimes radically dissimilar institutions into one healthy family but the Spring Bank experiment consistently proved to be a poster-child of institutional chaos. The peak of the turmoil came with the 51 per cent acquisition of Spring Bank by Bank PHB shortly before Christmas last year. The new banking crisis that came with the sacking of the board and management of eight banks including Spring Bank and PHB, racheted up the troubles of the bank,

Faced with a staggering N96 billion debt profile, Mrs. Ayodele thought, according to aides, that the bank was overly haemorrhaging, trying too hard to service her 15 or so debt recovery agents, all of which are major law firms who took 10% of all debt recovered.

"At the end of the meeting, the decision was reached" according to a source at the table, that the bank could not afford to pay this ten per cent agency fees twice, since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commsissions [EFCC] would also receive 10 percent of the recovered sum.""Madam has asked us to stay all our relationships with our recovery agents. You know they were initially helping us on some of these loans. But so as not to make double 10 percent payment, to the agent and the EFCC, we had to terminate all our agreement with the recovery agents," a top bank chief told NEXT.

Lawyers disgust:

Commercial, and criminal lawyers moved swiftly to condemn these charges being collected by the anti-graft agencies. Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos human rights lawyer described the police spokesman's statement as ill advised, and asked a series of question. "Why must you reward the police? Does it have a legal or statutory backing? It is only calling an act of corruption by another name. A police reward fund? Who utilises the fund, what do the police use the money for? Do they use the money to buy guns, or buy vehicles or run their police stations or what? Do they use it to pay their salaries?" Mr. Ogunye asked rhetorically stating that "our superior courts, particularly the court of appeal has said that the police is not a debt recovery agency."

Nevertheless, Mr. Ogunye stated that it was illegal for the EFCC or any agency to collect such funds. "There is no law in Nigeria today that allows security agencies or anticorruption agencies to take any percentage of the money that is recovered in the course of their investigation or in the course of their work" adding that "it is just an act of corruption."

Charles Musa, a criminal law expert speaking from Abuja, said "If it is true, it is most unfortunate. They have no legal basis. It is a flagrant breach of the police act and that will be a very corrupt practice, for the police to collect any money out of money it covers for banks."

Mr. Musa said "the police should not be involved in recovering money because it is a civil matter. If there is a criminal aspect to the case, it is the duty of the police to prosecute that criminal aspect, and leave the negotiation and recovery of money. No money should even be paid to the police or paid to the police station, or even to EFCC."

Regarding the police reward fund, Mr. Musa admitted that "I've not done any research into police reward fund, and I don't know the legal basis" thinking "maybe it is an NGO registered with the CAC" but adding that "If police collect police reward fund, do they give you receipt, and on what basis, is it voluntary. I still think it sounds like a corrupt practice."

Speaking specifically of the EFCC, Mr. Musa said he hoped they were not collecting such money. "EFCC or any law enforcement agency has no basis to collect any such money. No basis to collect any money at all. That is why the EFCC probably denied it. They are aware of that, I will be surprised if they will ever admit to such a thing," he stated.

A case of growing rot in the system

Shortly after arriving back from a trip to the Unites States, the executive Chairman of the agency, Farida Waziri, on Monday November 02, huddled with her operational chiefs in a meeting at the EFCC's training and research Institute in karu, near Abuja. Mrs Waziri complained bitterly about corruption in the ranks.She threatened to get stern on future reports of corruption but insiders say she has given a veil of protection to operatives found guilty but who are from the police ranks. "There is a blatant rank polling here. If you are from the police you are okay but if you come from other institutions, you are held to impossible standards," said a bitter seconded staff. The case of an operative who collected a N13 million bribe who was merely shuffled from one department to another was offered to NEXT an illustrative example of the systemic rot now in the ranks of the agency.

How bad loans were recovered

Prior to the CBN wielding its axe on the management of five banks which it considered "stressed", banks in the country employed law firms as ‘recovery agents' to recover bad loans or non-performing loans from debtors.

Typically, law firms would seek to take debtor companies into receivership (a situation where the bank appoints a new management usually the law firm for the company), asking the court to declare the company bankrupt and thus not able to meet its financial commitments and thus sell the company among others.

These recovery agents, as part of their agency fee, were paid 10 percent of any money they helped the bank recover. However, since the EFCC was called into the case of the troubled banks, the recovery agents have had less to do.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5478507-146/story.csp

Coronation of Corruption: Delta State Deputy Governor, Prof. Utuama, at Umaru Abdullahi's coronation.

Professor Utuama coordinated series of criminal acts of bribery of the judiciary during Ibori’s tenure and was indicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the 170-count charge filed against Ibori first before the federal High Court in Kaduna and later before the Federal "kangaroo" court in Asaba, Delta state. His law firm, Prime Chambers was used as a conduit for money laundering and compromising of lawyers, judges and their shell companies. Several millions of Naira was shelled out through Utuama’s Prime Chambers account No: 6012901256 at Zenith Bank. However, Utuama enjoys absolute legal immunity therefore providing the cover he badly needs to continue facilitating judicial scams on behalf of Ibori using Delta State funds.

As Saharareporters has repeatedly reported, the outgoing President of the Federal Court of Appeal, Umaru Abdullahi, remains one of the most corrupt judicial officers in Nigeria’s history. Last week, the Emir of Daura in Katsina State, against judicial service rules, conferred him with the title of Wali Hausa. And who was at
Justice Abdullahi’s infamous coronation ceremony in Daura?

You guessed it: Prof. Utuama.

Photos show Prof. Utuama, in various attires, with his partners in crime at various special events sponsored by the Delta State government. It was a big thank you from the criminals that looted Delta State and successfully used Nigeria’s corrupt judiciary and twisted political processes to get away with these crimes.

Meanwhile, the Delta state governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan and Prof. Utuama are currently before election petition tribunals set up by Umaru Abdullahi, but that could not stop this show of shame and brazen impunity.

Utuama and Abdullahi: The meeting of corrupt officers of bar and bench

http://saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4151:photonews-coronation-of-corruption-delta-state-deputy-governor-prof-utuama-at-umaru-abdullahis-coronation&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18

The Crook And His Money.

Ribadu Lodged $15m Ibori’s Bribe With CBN – Waziri
Written by Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna
Monday, 02 November 2009 02:54

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has finally broken its silence on allegations by its former boss, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, that he lodged $15million bribe money from former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori, with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The EFCC's boss, Mrs Farida Waziri, stated this in Washington, while on a working tour to the United States. In an interview she granted the Hausa Service of the Voice of America which was monitored in Kaduna on Wednesday, Mrs Farida Waziri confirmed the insinuation saying, “Yes I confirmed that the money is in the Central Bank; yes you know when I came, the case was already in court and I read the allegation in the case file.”

Ribadu had in September alleged that Ibori induced him with $15 million to halt charges against the former governor. This allegation spawned a major controversy between the duo.

It would be recalled that Chief James Ibori had in September 2009, debunked Ribadu's bribe money allegation. But the former anti-crime czar said he received and lodged the money with the apex bank. In his self-defence, Ibori clarified that Ribadu had wanted him to influence his appointment as Inspector-General of Police, saying, "Yes, I maintain that I never, repeat never, bribed or attempted to bribe Ribadu, who, always loose with the facts, tried to hoodwink the public by alleging that I was speaking after two years of being investigated.

"Yet, the bribery allegation I reacted to publicly, was the one he made in a witness statement in London as recently as August 26th, 2009. I had to reply to that one publicly because, as Ribadu himself knows, that allegation will not be tested by any trial, as no charge whatsoever, whether related to that bribery allegation or not, has ever been leveled against me in any court of law in the entire United Kingdom.

"His allegation of two years ago, which I have not publicly reacted to, is being tested in court. I am a Christian and will not deny him. Very many times, he tried to get me to assist him in one way or the other, including his desire to become the Inspector General of Police.

"In his approach, he posited that in his estimation and knowledge of Nigerian politics, I was one of those who could help him achieve it. In fact, he promised that if I did, he would not file charges against me and would not prosecute me. I told him to give me time to reflect on it, but it would be stupid of me to have bought into his blackmail; so, I ignored him.

"When he then realized that I was not succumbing to his cheap blackmail, he decided to go ahead with his plan to humiliate me".

Malam Nuhu Ribadu, who also swiftly replied Chief Ibori's outburst, had argued "How could I have been seeking the assistance of a convicted felon for the highest police position in the country? If I wanted to be IG, he would be the last person I will consider to help me. Ibori, just like the others we tried to bring to justice, is desperate and would do anything to escape justice as he has always done.

"Nothing emphasizes Ibori's capacity for falsehood and felony than his claim at the press conference that I 'framed' him for attempting to bribe me with $15 million. As he told the lie, and as I write this, the $15 million remains as an exhibit deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria. I must state, however, that I am used to these types of allegations and fabrications by those who are struggling under the present circumstances to find a way out of their advertised felonies and crimes against the people.

"It has now become fashionable for all sorts of morally-bankrupt people to try to use me to do one thing or the other. Any close observer of the events in Nigeria in the last decade would agree that what we were able to achieve as founders and operators of the EFCC was of a more fundamental nature, in the context of our urgent national crisis, than becoming IGP.

“But that is a matter for another day. People understand what we tried to do and recognise that the felons must be brought to justice so as to allow millions of our compatriots to enjoy their God-given resources. Ibori claimed that he could trace 'the genesis of his ordeal to his staunch and uncompromising stance on a major electoral promise he made back in 1998 to the people of Delta State that he would champion the cause of redressing the injustice associated with resources derivable from their land.'

"I will only like to ask if it is in keeping with this 'promise' that he became a billionaire overnight 'on behalf' of the suffering masses of Delta State. Finally, Ibori said he remained my 'loyal friend'. I am also still open to his 'friendship', but that will never be at the expense of my loyalty to my fatherland and commitment to transparency and honesty in public office.

"I have a friendly advice for Ibori, though. Instead of wasting the money of Delta State people that he stole to pay lawyers all over the world, isn't it better as a 'Christian' that he claims to be to return his loot to the people of Delta State and have peace with his God? If he fails to do so, at the appropriate time, no matter how much the Iboris of this world run from the law, they would one day be made to atone for their sundry crimes.

"If they are able to bribe their way through in Nigeria and get men and women of questionable character appointed into office to shield themselves from prosecution, they cannot do the same in the United Kingdom and before God. But even in Nigeria, the protection that they enjoy today is temporary. Wait, James, still on our friendship, since I couldn't see you when I visited Lagos recently, why don't you visit me in London to catch up with your other friends".Reacting to the recent verdict meted out to Chief Olabode George and others, Waziri, said "Yes am happy because all that Nuhu Ribadu did were plea bargain and you know it is not in our law. I rejected plea bargain because how can someone loot and use the money to be free. In our following of rule of law we do not agree with it and so this is a big conviction and landmark."Commenting on her commission's progress, she noted: "We are doing our best and have shut down about 800 websites, and charging people of that character to court, and we had set up a mechanism, Transparency Clearing Desk. Any one that wants to do business in Nigeria should contact us if you give us address we go to Corporate Affairs and find out not for a company to register with the aim of selling fish only to be engaging with road construction.

"Yes I cannot imagine how some one will loot and rush abroad to America to buy posh house, and even when he comes he would not stay there. Do you know how much tax it is accruing? All these funds will develop our country. He will buy house in Dubai, South Africa and deposit money in bank and when he dies no one knows. So stealing will not just be allowed to continue. I think it is a psychological problem and something is wrong", she said.

http://www.nigeriamasterweb.com/paperfrmes.html