The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and owner of the Nation Newspaper, Bola Tinubu has returned its own share of the N9 million received from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, through the Newspaper Proprietor Association of Nigeria, NPAN.
The is coming after the Sun Newspaper also surrendered its own share to the Federal Government and as the Punch Newspaper also suspended its membership from the association following its involvement in the arms scandal. Recall that investigations from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had traced a suspicious transfer of funds from the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki to Newspaper outlets including Tinubu’s own Nation Newspaper. Obviously embarrassed by the trend of events following the arms scandal, Tinubu may have pressed on his company directors to file an explanation and immediately return it’s own share of N9 million received. “We are again compelled to comment on the N9 million received by Vintage Press Limited as compensation from the government of ex- President Goodluck Jonathan through the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) for the seizure of our publications, The Nation and Sporting
Life in June, 2014.
“We do this for two reasons. First, to restate the sequence of events that culminated in the payment , thereby debunking insinuations about the motive for the compensation. Second,
to inform the public that the N9 million collected from NPAN on behalf of the Jonathan government has been returned to the association .
“This decision was arrived at on Wednesday by the Board and Management of Vintage Press Limited
after a painstaking examination of the
legal and moral issues arising from the compensation.”
“In our first comment published in the Saturday, December 12 edition of The Nation, we provided the background to the compensation. We recalled the
mindless, illegal and unjustified seizure of thousands of copies of both titles by soldiers in major cities and towns across the country.
“Not only were copies of both papers impounded, our vehicles and drivers were arrested and detained in military barracks. They were released very late,
in some instances at 7pm, when it was practically impossible to put the consignments in the market.
“We know of no other newspaper that was so harassed and maltreated by soldiers who claimed that they had intelligence reports that newspapers
vehicles were to be used by insurgents to ferry arms. “Our response to this unjustifiable
infringement of our rights was go to court to get justice and ask for Compensation. We briefed the legal firm of Femi Falana (SAN) to institute
an action against the government and
the military authorities and demand N300 million compensation.” “Soon after the clampdown, Jonathan hosted the NPAN in Lagos and the
issue of compensation was raised with him. He promised to get back to the association through its president, Nduka Obaigbena the publisher of
Thisday. ” Obaigbena later briefed members
that the government had agreed to pay
N10 million to each newspaper. A mail
followed from the association asking
newspapers to submit their statements
of claims for compensation. “This development was discussed with our lawyer who advised that the N10
million compensation was reasonable, following which we resolved to stay action on the suit .
“At subsequent meetings in Lagos and Abuja , NPAN assured members that the government had not changed its mind . At the Abuja meeting in March but year, the association resolved that
N1million be paid by each newspaper on receipt of the N10 million towards the acquisition of a befitting corporate office for it.
“In May, the secretary of NPAN, Mr. Feyi Smith, brought a draft for N9 million to Vintage Press Limited. The draft was accepted in good faith,
believing it was from the account of the association and also from the appropriate department of
government. “Who was in a better position to deliver a draft from NPAN to Vintage Press
than the NPAN secretary? Vintage Press, like other newspapers that received drafts/cheques from the
NPAN, did not know that the money was paid to a private company by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and from funds collected by that office specifically for the procurement of arms ? ”This was until The Nation, in its edition of Friday, December 4, published details of the stupendous sums of money collected by individuals
and organisations from the ONSA.”
“Now, the source of the payment to us is beyond contention. We now know it came from the ONSA and routed through a private company, General
Hydrocarbon Limited.
”This company is unknown to NPAN. Facts in the public domain show clearly that the money the company collected was for ‘energy consultancy.
”That this company would collect the
compensation on NPAN’s behalf was never disclosed to the association in line with corporate best practice. As a business that subscribes fully to the tenets of sound governance, we are not
at ease with this revelation.
“We are also uncomfortable with the
revelation that the compensation was
from the money earmarked for the
purchase of arms for troops fighting
insurgency.
“This point was stated clearly in our
editorial of Wednesday, December 23
in which we said: ‘it is unclear to what
extent the extension of the anti- terror
war was due to fraud – related factors.
But it is clear enough that the war
effort was deliberately hampered by
fraudulent activities.”
“It is a shame,” we said further, “that
there is even a possibility, however
slim, that media players helped to
create an enabling environment for
terrorists, wittingly or unwittingly, by
linkage with Dasuki.
“In the light of the foregoing, Vintage
Press Limited, publishers of The Nation
and Sportinglife, on Wednesday
resolved that the N9 million
compensation be returned to the NPAN
for onward delivery to the source of the
money. A draft for N9million was
handed over to Mr Smith today in
Lagos.
“The Board and Management of
Vintage Press have also resolved not to
resume the legal action it asked the
firm of Femi Falana (SAN) to initiate
against the government and the
military authorities but to regard the
losses incurred during the period as
part of the sacrifice The Nation has
made to the enthronement of a new
order in our country.
“It was noted with satisfaction that no
law of the land was breached in asking
for compensation and receiving same
from the government but that with the
sordid disclosures about the ONSA,
Vintage Press cannot in good
conscience regard the compensation as
a closed case on which nothing can be
done.
“However,, we find most uncharitable
the infantile claim that the
compensation was meant to
compromise us.”

Only ?

More people died in the land of Biafra from Tinubuphobia than from fighting a good cause. The trend is likely to continue in the new year.

You have been noticed

NEXT.

DIVINE78:

More people has died in the east from Tinubuphobia than from fighting a good cause. The trend is likely to continue in the new year.

The PMB I know will not shield friends and associates who have soiled their hands in this Dasukigate brouhaha.

I am sure Tinubu knows it better. Jagaban's caller tune by now should be "I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody".

Now he is doing the needful;responding to the wise saying on his caller tune before it gets too late.

whoever has taken money from the office of the NSA should return it else the blood of those who has died fighting the course of this war will be standing against them. its a good thing a lot is changing in Nigeria. now we have to ask the national assembly not to buy those cars they are planning to buy. the country needs all the monies they can save

At last sanity is gradually returning.

Cock and bull story... no source.... a mere write up...