No evidence against Obasanjo, Files on ex-governors missing, says EFCC

By John Ameh, Abuja

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Faraday Waziri, on Monday said that the former state governors investigated by the commission were still walking about freely because files on their alleged misdeeds were either "missing or distorted."







Waziri, who spoke at a national round table on "Millennium Development Goals and Challenges of Anti-Corruption, "organised by the House of Representatives Faculty Board of Initiatives in Abuja, also said the commission had no evidence against a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Her predecessor, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had once told the Senate in 2007 that the EFCC had concluded investigations into the corrupt activities of about 31 former and serving governors.

Only a few of the former governors - Chief James Ibori (Delta), Chief Orji Kalu (Abia), Chief Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu), Mr. Ayo Fayose (Ekiti), Chief Joshua Dariye (Plateau), Mr. Jolly Nyame (Taraba), Alhaji Saminu Turaki (Jigawa), Mr. Boni Haruna (Adamawa), have since been arraigned by the anti-graft agency.

But at the rountable, Waziri stunned the audience that included the Speaker of the House, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, lawmakers and some governors, when she said, "I don't have 31 files ( on the former governors); there is no prima-facie case against them.

"It is trite law that we must hear all sides, but here we have distorted files and statements."

She said that the commission's predicament was worsened by the unwillingness of people to assist it with vital proof that would have hastened the effort to bring the former governors to justice.

Waziri cited one major bottleneck as the uncooperative attitude of witnesses who refuse to appear in court and testify against those under the EFCC's watch.

The EFCC chairman also said that she neither met any petition against Obasanjo when she assumed office nor had any been sent to her since she became the head of the commission early this year.

"I am working on what I have found; I have not received any petition against Obasanjo and there is no case file there (at the EFCC's office)," she stated.

But the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, disagreed with Waziri when it pointed out that she was merely making excuses.

The CNPP's representative at the roundtable, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, drew her attention to three petitions the conference sent to the EFCC calling for the probe of Obasanjo's administration.

Okechukwu said, "We sent petitions to the EFCC, Madam; they are there before you.

"The EFCC didn't do anything about those petitions. How can you be talking about fighting corruption when you have consistently ignored the petitions we sent to your commission calling for the probe of Obasanjo's tenure?"

Instead of admitting or denying the claim, Waziri rather spoke elaborately on the agency's new anti-corruption "proactive" style, which she said was to prevent an act of corruption before it took place.

She explained that ex-public officers had learnt smarter ideas of making the agency's prosecution and recovery of stolen money more difficult.

She stated that prevention and prosecution of established cases would go hand-in-hand, contrary to the public perception that the EFCC under her, was not interested in arresting and prosecuting suspects.

Waziri defended the agency's desire to have the Nigerian Civil Forfeiture bill passed by the National Assembly to empower the agency to confiscate the assets of public officers protected by immunity even while in office.

She told the gathering that the commission was already turning its searchlight on state and local governments as a mark of its concern over how the billions of naira allocated monthly to them from the Federation Account were utilised.

She said, "Enough is enough; we are also communicating the MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) to provide us with the list of companies they have awarded contracts.

"We are checking whether the companies are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. We want to know so that if there is a problem with a particular contract, we can begin to ask the right questions immediately.

"We hope that together, we will win the war against corruption."

Bankole, in his remarks, observed that the collapse of basic infrastructure in the country was a testimony to the fact that the funds appropriated over the years to revive them were "diverted into private pockets or stolen."

The speaker noted that the revelations that came out of the probe of the power sector by the House and the ongoing investigations of the oil sector had told the story of how the country had been run aground.

He, therefore, urged the Presidency to summon the courage to implement the reports on the various probes by the House when debated and passed over to it.

Bankole also appealed to Nigerians to ask questions on the status of unspent funds held by states and local governments.

He said, "Nigeria is facing monumental corruption; this year, we recovered about N450bn unspent funds at the Federal level.

"The question to ask is why have we not had cases of unspent funds from the states and local governments, especially when the two collect about 48 per cent of our allocations?

"If the money appropriated to the power sector had been utilised, we would have gone a long way in achieving the Millennium Development Goals."


http://odili.net/news/source/2008/oct/14/417.html

Obasanjo rejects Reps indictment on power projects
Written by Emmanuel Aziken
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo rejected, yesterday, the report of the House of Representatives Committee on Power which indicted him and several others for their roles in the award and execution of contracts for the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs).

The House report, he said in a statement by his Special Assistant, Mr. Adeoba Ojekunle reeked of “wild, wicked, unsubstantiated and unsupported allegations.”

Even as General Obasanjo spoke, Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, gave reasons for Senate’s recent investigation of the Obasanjo administration, saying it was to give him (Obasanjo) and other former public officers mentioned in the enquiries the opportunity to clear their names.

Obasanjo rejects indictment

Ojekunle in the statement said:

“Gen. Obasanjo rejects the allegation in its entirety and regards the report as working to a preconceived and afterthought conclusion reached by the leadership of the House and Committee before the so-called investigation took place.

“Nothing can be more reckless than casting aspersion on the person and the intention of the former President.

“The former President pursued the issue of power, which had been previously neglected for 20 years, with high dedication, commitment, prudence, utmost integrity, aggressiveness and diligence required and the best judgement and in the best interest of the nation.”

According to him, there was no substitute for the programme left by that administration to move the power sector forward, adding: “The programme was comprehensive to include government participation on its own, private participation on its own and public-private partnership. What is necessary for all concerned is to help the present administration to move forward expeditiously on the power programme.”

He said as one of the initiators of Transparency International and the chairman of its advisory council until he became President of the country, Obasanjo was one of those who defined “grand corruption” and fought it globally.

“Grand corruption, or any corruption for the matter, must have the ‘giver’ and ‘taker’ for it to exist. “The fact that contracts were awarded does not in itself amount to corruption or grand corruption.”

He wondered why the honourable committee which could not establish a “giver” or a “taker”, could proceed to make wild allegations to support its publicly declared position taken before the investigation began.

The panel in its report had said: “In view of the enormity of issues entailed in the findings above, it is recommended that former President Olusegun Obasanjo be called to account for the recklessness in power sector during his time. The committee recommends that EFCC and the ICPC should investigate him.”

Gen. Obasanjo had in a 5018-word May 2008 letter to the Power Public Panel denied any untoward action in the award/execution of power projects during his tenure.

My scorecard on power —OBJ

He said inter alia: “When our administration came in 1999, we met seven power stations —Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro, Egbin, Afam, Sapele and Delta — all together in different stages of disrepair and obsolescence, generating about 1500MW.

“By 2007, we have added six new stations as follows with the seventh almost completed at Alaoji: Okpai in Delta - 480MW by Agip; Afam II - 276MW; Omotosho - 330MW; Palalanto - 330MW; Geregu - 414MW; Ikot Abasi-Ibom Power - 145MW — to which Federal Government is a partner; Alaoji - 545MW; To these must be added about 2000MW produced by Rivers State.

“We must also take cognizance of the heavy rehabilitation works in all the existing power stations: increasing their available capacity significantly.

“There are six NIPP projects in the pipeline and the expansion of Omotosho, Papalanto, Geregu and Alaoji to about 1000MW each by combined cycle and 2500MW from Mambilla.

“In other words, in eight years of our administration, we have provided six new power generating units of almost 2000MW.

“There was no transmission work embarked upon between 1982 and 2000. But by May 2007, we have taken transmission to Bayelsa State for the first time, double the transmission from Shiroro to Abuja to ensure stability of supply.

“We have also awarded all the transmission contracts to close the transmission loop and ensure that vandalism of transmission or any fault in the transmission line will no longer keep any part of the country in the dark if there is adequate power generation. This is to ensure stability of power supply nationwide.

“At the same time, we have embarked on pre-paid meter system to reduce non-payment of electricity bills and eliminate unauthorised connection. We moved from revenue generation of about N2 billion per month in year 2000 to about N7 billion per month in 2007. Repairs on the pipeline that was vandalised in February 2006 and which began immediately were completed only in March 2008.

“Finally, let me come to the quantum of money spent on power from 1999 to 2007. Various figures have been banded around ranging from US$4 billion to US$16 billion. They may all be right or they may all be wrong depending on what anybody takes as expenditure most of which is constant no matter what amount of power is generated, transmitted or distributed, your figure can be as high as you want to make it.

“That figure will include personal emolument of staff, pensions, gratuities, transportation, maintenance, rural electrification, etc. If you take staff emolument, etc, out and limit expenditure to only running or operating costs and capital expenditure for generation, transmission and distribution, you will get a new set of figures.

“If you add power-related training and expenditure in other ministries and departments such as education, NNPC and industry you will get yet another set of figures. If you limit yourself to capital expenditure and running costs you will get a set of figures that can truly be said to be really expenditure on power.

Capital expenditure: $6.5bn spent on power

“I have been told that the figure in this regard from 1999 to 2007 is in the region of $6.5 billion including outstanding letters of credit. But whatever figure you choose to take, to say that there is little or nothing to show for it is the greatest understatement of the year which will tend to portray inadequate knowledge or ignorance.

“From what I have said above, there are results to show for the expenditure. What is required is serious, adequate and committed follow-up and sustenance from where we stopped.

“If the total expenditure has not translated to power availability at our homes and for our industries, it is because the little additional expenditure that is necessary for completion or for sustenance has not been made.

“For example, if you spend $200 million on a power station and the switch gear costing less than half a million dollar is not installed, you will not get the benefit of the $200 million already invested. For the uninitiated, nothing has happened.

“Let me, at this juncture, crave the Committee’s indulgence to express appreciation, once again, to those my colleagues, collaborators and assistants who joined hands with me in serving Nigeria loyally, committedly, honestly and sacrificially.

“You have done your best for your country, you have made your mark and I am sure the fruits of your labour will continue to be seen and surely appreciated. I am proud of the achievement we have made together.

One thing that anybody may charge against almost all of us under our Administration who were involved in solving the power problem from 1999 to 2007 is passion and zealousness.

“I will, however, accept such a charge without any apologies as I see passion and zealousness for the good of Nigeria as a virtue worthy of emulation.

No regrets

“I thank friends, relations, well-wishers and concerned citizens who have got in touch with me byletters, telephone calls, e-mails and text messages to express their feelings and concerns. The lot of reformers must be understood is not without its pain and stress.

“We have no regret for all that we have done for our country and humanity. We thank God for the opportunity to serve Him by devotedly serving our country and we thank Him for His grace. We also thank Nigerians and friends outside Nigeria who appreciate what we have done.

“I am so confirmed and encouraged by the good we have done for this country politically, economically and socially that I have no regret whatsoever. We have taken Nigeria to where it should be within the limited time we had.

“Honourable Chairman and Honourable Members, thank you. I am ready to deal with any allegations or approvals which my presentation to you so far has not clarified or adequately explained. But let me just add that no approval or programme or policy was granted or embarked upon for personal enrichment or aggrandisement.

“If, however, any official or public officer has made a genuine mistake, he or she should be sanctioned and corrected at the same time.

“I understand that threats for all sorts of spurious reasons are being issued for other investigations, no honest officials or political officers who served in my Administration should feel threatened by such threats if their hands are clean and clear.”

Ekweremadu justifies probe

Meanwhile, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ekweremadu, yesterday, justified Senate's recent probes of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, saying they were to give the former President and other public officials mentioned in the enquiries the opportunity to clear their names.

The explanation by Senator Ekweremadu came as the Senate commenced an investigation into the inflation by N561 billion ($4.8 billion) of the Escravos Gas To Liquid (EGTL) Project operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The Escravos project which was conceived after a similar project in Qatar that cost $900 million in 2005 was awarded for a lump sum of $1.749 billion by the Funso Kupolokun-led management of the NNPC.

The project which has so far consumed $2.217 billion with 68% project completion was unilaterally altered by Chevron in 2006 to a cost of $5.905 billion. Concurrent with the unilateral hike of the project cost was the alteration of the contracting strategy from a lump basis to a reimbursable basis, to wit, making the contract open ended.

Mr. Supo Shadiya, the Acting Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria Limited, who represented the company when pressed on the finality of the contentious $5.9 billion figure would not give a definite word, asserting that the final cost of the project could depend on extraneous factors.

The EGTL plant which is being constructed next to the Escravos Gas Processing Plant in Delta State was conceived to convert natural gas into liquid fuels and is estimated to produce about 33,000 barrels per day of Gas to Liquid (GTL) fuel (Diesel), Naphtha and a little quantity of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Yesterday’s hearing was attended by the two immediate past Group Managing Directors of the NNPC— Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki and Engr. Funso Kupolokun.

Gaius-Obaseki under whose tenure the project was fully conceived affirmed that he would under no circumstances have allowed the contract to go beyond $1.1 billion. His successor, Kupolokun under whose tenure the contract was awarded for $2.217 billion cited consultants and other mitigating factors that compelled his management to award the contract at that cost.

He, like the present management of NNPC, denied giving the approval for the hike in the contract cost to $5.9 billion. Shadiya also affirmed that Chevron did not get an approval from the NNPC in raising the total project cost.

Flagging off the public hearing being conducted by the Senator Osita Izunaso-led Committee on Gas, Ekweremadu gave insight into why the National Assembly was probing the financial affairs of the immediate past administration.

“We are trying to look at public expenditure especially those that we have been opportune to appropriate how they were utilised in the past. It appears that the country is expectant about the delivery in respect of some of these enquiries.

“They may be slow but I can assure you that we are steady about it because when people’s names built over the years are involved, it is better to be painstaking that people are not ordinarily and otherwise embarrassed and their names dragged to the mud.

“So, we want to assure that in all respects that in all the enquiries going on in the National Assembly especially the Senate, we will get to the root of the matter at the appropriate time and we will ensure as well that nobody suffers unjustly and that only justice will be the watchword,” he said.

Earlier, the Committee chairman, Senator Izunaso, had given the Committee’s brief to include among others to know “the reasons, benefit to Nigeria, process, authority and justification for the upward review of project cost especially in light of the fact that similar 34,000 bpd capacity Qatar Oryx GTL cost just USD 750 million and that of Qatar Pearl with a capacity 4 times bigger than our own is estimated at a cost of USD 3 billion.”


http://odili.net/news/source/2008/oct/14/304.html

The CNPP's representative at the roundtable, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, drew her attention to three petitions the conference sent to the EFCC calling for the probe of Obasanjo's administration.

Okechukwu said, "We sent petitions to the EFCC, Madam; they are there before you.

"The EFCC didn't do anything about those petitions. How can you be talking about fighting corruption when you have consistently ignored the petitions we sent to your commission calling for the probe of Obasanjo's tenure?"

Instead of admitting or denying the claim, Waziri rather spoke elaborately on the agency's new anti-corruption "proactive" style, which she said was to prevent an act of corruption before it took place.

Roflmao

No comment!

Instead of admitting or denying the claim, Waziri rather spoke elaborately on the agency's new anti-corruption "proactive" style, which she said was to prevent an act of corruption before it took place.

Waziri's proactive measures were designed for others - not for those wey dey "see road"!

And some blind patriots will be quick to tell us how nigeria is making progress.

Bunch of baloney!!!

And some blind patriots will be quick to tell us how nigeria is making progress.

Should he be found guilty assuming he is innocent just to prove we are making progress?

DeepZone:

Should he be found guilty assuming he is innocent just to prove we are making progress?

ODI GENOCIDE alone qualifies him for the gallows. . . Olusegun Obusonjo is guilty of genocide, murder, theft, racketeering and every vice known and unknown to man. He is GUILTY until proven innocent (which is very impossible in a NORMAL country).

@Poster-

If you have one - send it to them.

ODI GENOCIDE alone qualifies him for the gallows. . . Olusegun Obusonjo is guilty of genocide, murder, theft, racketeering and every vice known and unknown to man. He is GUILTY until proven innocent (which is very impossible in a NORMAL country).

ODI? Didn't he order the Odi massacre when he had diplomatic immunity? Will you try GW Bush for the killings in Iraq as long as they were done for national security. Odi indigenes were becoming a security risk to the nation and he may have over reacted but he was still within his diplomatic powers. Charge him with that crime and see? The real people that should be tried by EFCC should be the likes of IBB, Ibori, Orji Kalu,Peter Odili, Josh Dariye, Mohammed Abacha, Buhari, Abdulsalaami Abubakar, Atiku Abubakar etc.

grafikdon:

ODI GENOCIDE alone qualifies him for the gallows. . . Olusegun Obusonjo is guilty of genocide, murder, theft, racketeering and every vice known and unknown to man. He is GUILTY until proven innocent (which is very impossible in a NORMAL country).

my aunt used to called him
Olisie ego unu  (olusegun)
obulu so njo   (Obasanjo)

If you speak Igbo this is hialarious for non Igbo speakers
Olisie ego unu means "after chopping your money"
obulu so n jo means "he'll become uglier than ever"

@Deepzone,

Why was Saddam Hussein tried? was it not for crimes he committed while he had immunity? Kurds were becoming security risks too

Why was Milosevic and other Serbian Generals tried? was it not for crimes they committed while they were immune?

The Balkans was even in a state of war yet these generals were tried for Genocide!!!

plus_Queen:



my aunt used to called him
Olisie ego unu  (olusegun)
obulu so njo   (Obasanjo)

If you speak Igbo this is hialarious for non Igbo speakers
Olisie ego unu means "after chopping your money"
obulu so n jo means    "he'll become uglier than ever"

  Usually, a man compensates for his physical ugliness with  commendable character, but Olisiego Obulusonjo's  physical wugliness is the impeccable reflection of his inner ooglayness. . . sheesh! Round the clock fugliness that defies the world of plastic surgery. . . Enwe Imoka is more handsome in my book

@Deepzone,

Why was Saddam Hussein tried? was it not for crimes he committed while he had immunity? Kurds were becoming security risks too

Why was Milosevic and other Serbian Generals tried? was it not for crimes they committed while they were immune?

The Balkans was even in a state of war yet these generals were tried for Genocide!!!

Sadaam and Hussein ordered the execution of many innocent citizens that spoke out against them BUT Obasanjo ordered the Odi killings because of security reasons. The Odi people were fast becoming a security risk according to the Nigerian intelligence service and the president has the utmost authority to order their killings before things get out of hand.
I believe MEND was forming by then and ODI was their capital for hiring these thugs causing Nigeria a lot of trouble.

grafikdon:

Usually, a man compensates for his physical ugliness with commendable character, but Olisiego Obulusonjo's physical wugliness is the impeccable reflection of his inner ooglayness. . . sheesh! Round the clock fugliness that defies the world of plastic surgery. . . Enwe Imoka is more handsome in my book

My brother na wa!
who is uglier?
There is no African alive that's uglier than obulusonjo.
Prove it!

Saddam considered Kurds a security risk according to his intelligence chiefs. They were allying with their brothers in southern turkey to head a rebbelion against Saddam and possibly topple his Government or Break away.

Could any offence be greater than treason.

OBJ killed innocent people too in Odi just the way Saddam did in a way to quell militants in Odi and Militants in Kurd region.

Ekpo Abiriba

plus_Queen:

My brother na wa!
who is uglier?
There is no African alive that's uglier than obulusonjo.
Prove it!

I gave up a long time ago. Imagine my dismay when as a last resort I went to the Bronx zoo. . . all the apes were light years ahead of Olisiego, inwardly and outwardly . . . I mean. . . that was my last option to prove all the OBJ naysayers wrong. . .  

Saddam considered Kurds a security risk according to his intelligence chiefs. They were allying with their brothers in southern turkey to head a rebbelion against Saddam and possibly topple his Government or Break away.

Could any offence be greater than treason.

OBJ killed innocent people too in Odi just the way Saddam did in a way to quell militants in Odi and Militants in Kurd region.

Sadaam wouldn't have been tried anyway if America wasn't out to get him. Same goes for Milosevic, that being said, Obasanjo had no history of killing people that challenged his government. There could be innocent people involved in the Odi massacre and that was why I said he over reacted but the bottom line is that he had a very good reason to give our soldiers that order. That is why a president's judgment is put into perspective before election.

Make una consider his ageoo before judging him:

Physically he's always been ugly.
even in that picture.
But God would have helped him if he had a good heart.
the older he got,the meaner he got and the more money he stole,the more he stole,the uglier he got

Okechukwu said, "We sent petitions to the EFCC, Madam; they are there before you.

"The EFCC didn't do anything about those petitions. How can you be talking about fighting corruption when you have consistently ignored the petitions we sent to your commission calling for the probe of Obasanjo's tenure?"

Wow, it seems to me that the EFCC might actually be [b]EF[/b]fective [b]C[/b]orruption [b]C[/b]over-up. I get the feeling that unless someone can kill Obasanjo the way the did Abacha the man will live a long criminal life. Shameless.

Wow, it seems to me that the EFCC might actually be EFfective Corruption Cover-up. I get the feeling that unless someone can kill Obasanjo the way the did Abacha the man will live a long criminal life. Shameless.

RoflmaoPimp

plus_Queen:

Physically he's always been ugly.
even in that picture.
But God would have helped him if he had a good heart.
the older he got,the meaner he got and the  more money he stole,the more he stole,the uglier he got

And he lived up to his glorious name "Olisiego Obulusonjo" to the end.

If Waziri has the nerves to say that, then this only means she's fully corrupted herself. That's it! We're doomed! They bought her out!

If Waziri has the nerves to say that, then this only means she's fully corrupted herself. That's it! We're doomed! They bought her out!

What did he say?

Instead of admitting or denying the claim, Waziri rather spoke elaborately on the agency's new anti-corruption "proactive" style, which she said was to prevent an act of corruption before it took place.

Do you want her to incriminate herself? A national figure like that should not admit a crime if there are no basis for it. Women are smart.

NigEclipse:

If Waziri has the nerves to say that, then this only means she's fully corrupted herself. That's it! We're doomed! They bought her out!

Bought her out!! You mean to tell me that in a government that recycles thieves that the Chair of [b]EF[/b]fective [b]C[/b]orruptioin [b]C[/b]over-up is not a thief herself? I think her sole purpose of taking the job was to fatten her thighs with some stolen Nigerian money. Anyways I realize the saying "set a thief to catch a thief" is either flawed or they had not seen the crookery of the Nigerian government where you "set a thief to help out a thief"

grafikdon:

And he lived up to his glorious name "Olisiego Obulusonjo" to the end.

compare him to the good natured , kind hearted Gani Fawehimi.
Who at 70 still had his good looks

even Wole Soyinka still looks sexy as an old man

Amadi Ikwechegh is also an old man aging gracefully

na only OBJ old age quadrupled his wowority.
wickedness never pays
you'll look like monkey at old age