₦airaland Forum

Armed robbers on Sunday stormed the Marine Police Post of the Lagos State Police Command in the Epe area, exchanging gunfire with the policemen.

During the attack, the robbers attempted to steal the station’s gunboat and other ammunition.

Our correspondent learnt that the robbers, said to number about 20, came in a speedboat to the Marine beach at about 12.30am.

It was gathered that policemen from the Epe division, the Rapid Response Squad and the Counter-Terrorism Unit, were mobilised to the scene to repel the attack.

A police source told our correspondent that the robbers, who escaped in their boat, riddled the station with bullets. The gunboat, which they attempted to steal, sank in the water.

He said, “It was at about 12am that the militants invaded the Marine Police Post, Epe. Their mission was to kill the policemen and dismantle the security structures around the place so that they could embark on a bank robbery maybe on Monday.

“The gunfire lasted for several minutes, and the whole area was riddled with bullets. Eventually, they succeeded in sinking the gunboat. No policeman was killed but some might have been injured by the bullets.”

Our correspondent learnt that the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, went to the station on Sunday and assessed the damage.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor, who confirmed the attack, said the CP had directed that the area be electrified and the gunboat replaced.

Offor added that the police had increased surveillance in the area and normalcy had been restored.

He said, “The Epe Divisional Police Officer, the Rapid Response Squad and the CTU repelled the gunmen. The CP visited the place and ordered that the beach be electrified.

“The area commander, the DPO and other officers have made efforts to recover the gunboat. We are still working on it and we have fortified the area. Banks have been asked to go on with their usual activities, and there is no cause for alarm.

“No arrests have been made so far. Efforts are on to replace the gunboat.”


Source: http://punchng.com/robbers-attack-lagos-police-station-sink-gunboat/

Government might take over the land on which the house is built..


Who knows!

May the occupants find supply that overtakes their losses.

Noted

Contrary to the alarm raised by the Senate over the alleged illegality and exorbitant commission charged for the deployment of Remita, an e-payment software, used for the transfer of Federal Government’s funds from financial institutions into a single treasury account (TSA), PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report that the use of the software is not only legal but also represents a drastic cut of the commission previously charged by banks for collection of government revenues.

Also, findings reveal that the commission collected by SystemSpecs, the owners/developers of Remita, is nowhere near the N25 billion Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) alleged to have been collected by the firm. It was Mr. Melaye, who originally moved the motion on the Senate floor for the payment to be investigated.

Last Wednesday, following Mr. Melaye’s motion, the senate ordered its committee on finance and public accounts to immediately commence an investigation into use of Remita (which it erroneously described as an e-collection agent) for remitting government funds into the TSA; and its alleged collection of N25 billion commission being one per cent of the alleged N2.5 trillion it remitted into the TSA.

Mr. Melaye had argued that the use of Remita was a violation of Section 162(1) of the constitution, which stated that “the federation shall maintain a special account to be called the federation account into which all revenues collected by the government of the federation except the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the ministry or department of government charged with foreign affairs and the residents of the FCT, Abuja.”

Mr. Melaye further stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, could only appoint a registered bank as an agent for collecting and disbursing the funds.

He said that since Remita is not a bank, its appointment as a collection agent is in violation of the CBN Act and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2007.

According to him, Remita collected N25 billion “for doing nothing.”

However, documents, including the service agreement between SystemSpecs and CBN; correspondence between the company and the office of the Accountant General/ CBN as well as a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, seen by PREMIUM TIMES show that not only was the commission charged backed by law, it is shared by the company, commercial banks and the CBN.

Though the commission is nowhere near the exaggerated N25 billion touted by Mr. Melaye, the one per cent charge also represent a drastic reduction from between 2 per cent and 46 per cent commission charged by commercial banks in some instances for collecting government revenues.

In a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the CBN Director for public communications, Ibrahim Muazu, dismissed the amount quoted on the floor of the senate as “completely misleading.”

“That is false. That is false,” he repeated for emphasis.

“It is grossly exaggerated. We are talking of one per cent. What is one per cent of the money? Have we collected up to a trillion? That is a completely misleading information. Even at the beginning of the TSA the estimation of all the movement of federal government funds into the account is N1.2 trillion,” he added.

When asked to tell the total amount moved into the TSA, Mr Muazu said: “I cannot give you the exact amount now but I know it is far, far, far lower than N2.5 trillion.”

THE AGREEMENT

According to the service agreement between the parties, signed by Eunice Ikekhuah and Aderemi Atanda of SystemSpecs on December 4, 2013, and H.M Yusuf and R.A Olaniyan of the CBN on December 11, 2013, Systemspecs, the CBN will deploy Remita, a T24 banking application, for executing payment instructions and collection of government revenue.

Apart from the collection of revenue, Remita is also used for payment of salaries, payment of taxes, payment of pension, payroll processing biometric verification, among other uses.

In a letter dated November 6, 2015, to Mr. Buhari, SystemSpecs explained that “all commercial banks and over 400 Micro Finance Banks in Nigeria” are connected to the software. The company also explained that 705 Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDA) are currently using the software as payment and collection platform.

So, contrary to Mr Melaye’s argument in the senate, Remita is indeed a software that facilitates the payment of government revenue from financial institutions to a TSA in the CBN and not a revenue collection agent.

Also, contrary to Mr. Melaye’s submission, the entire 1 per cent commission does not go to SystemSpecs, the commission is shared between the CBN, commercial banks, and the CBN.

“A tariff of 1% of the funds collected shall be charged for the government revenue collections: i. Platform Owner/SystemSpecs: 50%, ii. Collecting Agents/DMBs (banks): 40%, iii. Introducer? CBN: 10%,” the agreement reads.

SystemSpecs further explained that at a seminar organised by the CBN and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) between May27-28, 2013, it actually proposed a commission of 1.5 per cent, It explained that commercial banks actually proposed 5 per cent, while a committee set up by the CBN and the OAGF, actually proposed 2.5 per cent. It explained that it was the then Accountant-General of the Federation that actually overruled all the suggested commission and reduced it to 1 per cent.

However, the company said it was surprised to receive a letter from CBN signed by Dipo Fatokun, Director, Banking and Payments System Department, on October 27, 2015 directing it to refund all charges it collected from MDAs for implementation of the TSA.

“I have been directed to inform you that you should refund all charges (1% cost of collection) made into the MDAs accounts as a result of the implementation of the TSA,” the letter reads.

“The total amount should be credited into the account mentioned below:

“FGN Revenue e-Collection Pool Account at the Central Bank of Nigeria Account Number: 0020054161043

“Since the cost of the collection must have been shared by all the stakeholders, you Are hereby required to also provide a schedule of the total amount collected and the portion that was shared to each of the three participants. The schedule should be prepared on month by month basis, from the commencement of the TSA implementation in March 2015, to date. We will recover the share to the CBN and the DMBs,” the letter explains.

SystemSpecs explained that after the kick off of the TSA following a deadline announced by Mr Buhari, it was invited for a meeting by OAGF where they were told that following the enlarged scope of the TSA, the government wanted to review the charges.

“We wrote to the CBN to give a brief on the meeting with OAGF and said inter-alia that, while on our part, SystemSpecs is not averse to a review of the existing transaction fee to a figure that is agreeable to all parties, we would however, advise of the need to carry along the DMBs as you will recall that the current fees were agreed with the banks and communicated by CBN via a circular in December 2013,” the firm stated in a letter to the CBN governor.

REDUCTION OF COST

In the same letter to the CBN Governor, SystemSpecs further explained that the 1 per cent charge actually represents a drastic reduction of the amount the Federal Government had to pay for the collection of its revenue before the implementation of the TSA.

“Your Excellency will recall that one of the primary focus of the TSA project is to retrieve funds from the banks who were indirectly lending the government money back to government at about 15%. Hidden cost to government? Arguably 15%.

“Remita provided a technology to empower government retrieve her funds immediately customers pay at Deposit Money Banks. No overnight stay at any bank. Is 1% to be shared by all parties really too high to pay for such a service?”

For instance, the firm explained, banks charge as high as 46 per cent for National Open University (NOUN) charges, nine per cent for Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) fees, and six per cent on Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) National Drivers’ License charges.

Thus in its letter to the President, SystemSpecs appealed for the return of its fees and those earned by the partner banks seized by the CBN.

Mr. Muazu corroborated SystemSpecs position during the telephone chat with Premium Times

“The information you are given is in line with the agreement dating back to 2011. That is a fact. They started it actually when the TSA came up. The one per cent was, yes, agreed at that time. But now with the issue at hand everything needs to be reviewed and agreed.

“But truly the banks, the CBN and themselves are stakeholders. What is it that we are talking about? It is the software or the platform. You can’t do everything free for doing any business. The banks that are doing the e-collection they pursue agencies and other sources of revenue. Not just taking the value. So it is actually an arrangement for the service to be provided. That software that is being used by the platform has to be maintained apart from the initial design,” he said.

He said CBN asked SysytemSpecs to return the commission already collected to enable it renegotiate the terms of the contract.

“Now we are having a new arrangement. It’s not just e-collection. Central bank is now in charge of government revenue. So the old arrangement cannot continue. So when the issue started the central bank gave the order and the money were all paid back to the government.

“Look at it this way, you have a product that you are allowing someone to use, it can’t be free,” he said.


Source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/11/15/full-details-tsa-dino-melaye-misleads-nigerian-senate-n25-billion-claim

modath:
Learnt something, thanks OP.....


& that Dino of unverifiable & shrouded in mystery income stream is a straight up MOFO....

Trying to get back at Jagaban but has set the polity on fire with his high level ignorance. ...

He will get all he deserves soon, Abokaku special..

You're welcome

I stumbled on that and thought it's worth sharing!

Nice one...




Equip your info, Read more about Remita cum FG at : https://www.nairaland.com/2734670/putting-records-straight...what-know-remita

Beautiful t-shirt. Love that, at the the walk would ease some tension and help them stretch the muscles...


Btw:


For more news on the real source, contract terms and initial thoughts leading to the Remita brouhaha, click on:

https://www.nairaland.com/2734670/putting-records-straight...what-know-remita

Hope Seun and Co do something about this undue privilege enjoyed by some select individuals.

Abi nairaland is now discriminatory? Suppressing a section against the other.

By standards, the Internet should be secular!

Cc:Lalasticlala, Seun, administrators

Is he eating from a buka? I mean aa local canteen?

N87/litre, Marina, Lagos

PUTTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT...WHAT I KNOW ABOUT REMITA....

(Please be alert to my emphasis on some words and phrases using capital letters)

Some years back...I suppose a little more than 5 yrs but preceding the GEJ era, I saw an advert in the newspapers....a new epayment/collection system developed locally by a Nigerian, with a brand name REMITA was advertised. It sought to bring additional innovation to the landscape dominated by Interswitch but focused on the Corporate epayment solutions.
The solution was developed to help corporate organizations leverage online platform to drive collections especially from distributors of their products in order to eliminate leakages and fraud...and also for govts to drive collections....I checked the Company that developed it, it was no other than...SYSTEM SPECS...A Technology innovation and solutions company that is one of the early local technology developers in Nigeria owned by Mr John Obaro.........

ROLL BACKWARD TO LATE 90S
Mr Obaro's company SYSTEM SPECS had about 15 + years ago developed the first Human Capital Management solution in Nigeria called HUMAN MANAGER...the first to compete with similar solutions owned by foreign Hi-Tech companies like SAP and SAGE....being a cheaper solution, it caught the waves and many corporates bought the solution to manage their HR. I recall that when Capital Alliance Private Equity set-up in Nigeria in late 90s, SYSTEM SPECS was one of the first Technology companies they wanted to invest in because of their forward looking business, but it eventually did not happen...........

FAST FORWARD TO 2014....
When the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy , Ngozi Okonjo Iwela came up the the TSA policy in 2014, she of course knew that the only way it will be efficient was to drive it through an eCollection /ePayment platform so that Revenue agencies and collection banks can automatically remit funds to the TSAs in CBN without much of human intervention and to avoid revenue leakages. So I think sometime in Oct/Nov 2014, NOI through the approval of former President GEJ signed the contract with SYSTEM SPECS to leverage the REMITA SOLUTIONS....(Our own home grown solution in promotion of local content in Technology adoption) to be the eCollection platform....

Now by all local and global standards, eCollection platforms typically charge between 1%-3% of total value of transactions...so I do believe that NOI agreed to the lower band...1% and signed the deal. That means REMITA platform, owned by SYSTEM SPECS will charge 1% of total revenues collected through it!..... It is imperative to note here that THIS CONTRACT WAS SIGNED BY NOI UNDER GEJ GOVT ....and that is the subsisting contract till date...... I suppose because the TSA compliance under GEJ was very low, the charges may not have been so high enough in one swoop to warrant the "eagle eye" of Nigerians...or better put, news fabricators! propagandists!! and News Mongers!!!

ROLL FORWARD CURRENT DAY....
Naturally when PMB ordered for full compliance of TSA....I honestly would not know if the transfers were made through REMITA or not, but I suppose being the ecollection platform they applied 1% charge on the transfers!....leading to about N25B income, that many have criminalized and came up with spurious allegations and fabricated lies on......Suddenly, a deal contracted and signed by NOI and approved by GEJ.........SYSTEM SPECS (Erroneously called REMITA, the brand name of the solution); has been baptised and transfigured by some rumour hungry Nigerians to now be ALPHA BETA (company alleged to be owned by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu) and deal trending to be a PMB deal!!!......

Now, while I personally may have issue with the terms of charges, I think we should understand this is a CONTRACT signed by previous govt and stands to face serious legal issues if it was reversed or cancelled without due process......But I do also know for those who see everything wrong with PMB...or who are looking for ways to accuse him, ...had he cancelled the contract, they will still say he is REVERSING ALL THAT FORMER PRESIDENT GEJ DID!!!!......
May be Nigerians should be told, that the standard applied by SYSTEM SPECS is acceptable globally and various govt revenue agencies using online medium like Nigeria Immigration (ePassport) (never mind they have gone manual to enable the usual fraud to continue), have done similar things.....Blame should go the govt that signed the contract because they could have negotiated better and much lower charges considering the VOLUME OF TRANSACTIONS INVOLVED. Or even negotiate an outright purchase of the platform!!...I suppose should not have cost more than $10-20m to purchase it and then ask SYSTEM SPECS to operate it for annual fees!!

Surely, if some Nigerians are not careful, the way they are going they will use propaganda to set this nation on rage!!!,...I just can not fathom the level of bitterness......


Culled from a user on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10153362511258802&id=526368801

Now, we know who the sponsors are...

Rotemigen:
indication has emerged that the troops of indigenous people of Biafra have conquered owerri, overpowering the men of Nigerian army, police, civil defence and a combined term of IMO security network, millions of ipob took over the capital state of imo state as at 9am, forcing the Governor Owelle Rocha's okorocha to flee the state through back side of the Government house............

Have you finished lying?

Lai Kanufrauds!

You can twist story?

Where is d copy of the letter?

I smell fraud with this story without proof.

Sorry o

vosquare:
....

With all these now making rounds, I am sure they must have been deducting my credit balance without me knowing.

This is corporate thieving. Am sure they're playing with more fines by when NCC gets wind of this!

oyatmicah:
bt it came frm MTN N na

Maybe they are into yahoo yahoo

How much to clear a 2007 Ford SUV at Lagos?

How much to clear a Ford SUV at Lagos?

Owerri people refused to be duped by your Kanu

Always talking.

What has he done at the NASS?

The tone of that message does not sound professional.

It seems wrong somehow!

libertyfather:
Abule-Egba round about

What are rich guys doing at Abule-Egba?

benedictnsi:
I hope this list was compiled by an expert Olosho lady

Or maybe a marketing executive that has gone through the dimensions of this Lagos.

Hi peeps,

I got this in the social media and thought I should share it.

Which do you Agree with?
You may also mention other places...

Ladies married to rich husbands, where did you meet them.

jaxxy:
For 07 no possible sir.

But what's the mileage?

Comprehensive list of the new buari ministers & there respective portfolios
List of Ministers and Portfolios
Abubakar Malami – Justice
Geoffrey Onyeama – Foreign Affairs
Khadija Abubakar Abba Ibrahim – State
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Muhammad Dan Ali – Defence
Adamu Adamu – Education
Prof Anthony Onwuka – State Minister of
Education
Kemi Adeosun – Finance
Okechukwu Enelama – Industry, Trade
and Investment
Aisha Abubakar – State Minister of
Industry, Trade and Investment
Senator Chris Ngige – Labour and
Employment
James Ocholi – State Minister of Labour
and Employment
Muhammodu Bello – FCT
Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau – Interior
Senator Udo Udoma – Budget and
National Planning
Zainab Ahmed – State Minister of Budget
and National Planning
Ibe Kachikwu – State Minister of
Petroleum Resources
Babatunde Fashola – Power, Works and
Housing
Mustapha Baba Shehuri – State Minister
of Power, Works and Housing
Audu Ogbeh – Agricultural and Rural
Development
Heineken Lokpobiri – State Minister of
Agricultural and Rural Development
Rotimi Amaechi – Transportation
Hadi Sirika – State Minister of Aviation
Isaac Adewole – Health
Osagie Ehanire – State Minister of Health
Aisha Al-Hassan – Woman Affairs
Usani Uguru – Niger Delta
Claudius Daramola – State Minister of
Niger Delta
Adebayo Shittu – Communication
Lai Mohammed – Information
Amina Mohammed – Environment
Usman Jubril – State Minister of
Environment
Suleiman Adamu – Water Resources
Solomon Dalong – Youth and Sports
Kayode Fayemi – Solid Minerals
Abubakar Bwari – Minister Of States of
Solid Minerals
Ogbonaya Onu – Science and Technology

This their Oath is really heavy with binding statements!

You go against the content, you face your music!

bowler000000:
Pictures pls....

Here!