₦airaland Forum

1. Section 2C of fourth schedule of the constitution which AMAC is relying upon never gave AMAC the right to impose any Ecological or Environmental levy. That section 2C only prescribed for provision and maintenance of health services as part of the functions of Local Governments in the constitution.

2. AMAC can not rely on Taxes and Levies approved list for collection because Gaseous Emission Permit Levy is not listed under Taxes and Levies approved list for collection. Moreover, Taxes and Levies approved list for collection has been nullified by court of appeal. It is dead.

3. AMAC can not rely on section 25 of Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act. That act has been nullified and replaced by National Environmental Standards Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA)

*NESREA is the only body now that has the responsibility to regulate Gaseous Emissions Permit Levy through standard technological and scientific measurements of gas emissions and billing systems*

4. AMAC can not get involved in Ecological levy legislation. Ecological levy is the responsibility of State governments and not local

5. AMAC can not rely on the National Environmental Health Practice Regulations of 2016 because because it is a subsidiary legislation. A subsidiary legislation that is inconsistent with an act of national assembly or the constitution of the country is null and void.

Thank you
Dr Kennedy Iwundu

By Philip Agbese

Very often, it's dispiriting to turn your eyes off certain public slights and denigrations in a jiffy. I prayed fervently that my attention be distracted from Matthew T.Page's wicked and self-mollifying lies against me, since it surfaced on the internet recently, despite its hyperbolic ease in falsity.

But day in, day out, and in good conscience, I feel there are several angles still untouched by me, in spite of previous replies. And I graciously obliged my conscience.

Let me again recall that in a published research paper, July 28, 2021, Mr. Page, a scholar and researcher at Carnegie Institute for International Peace (CEIP) bizarrely brought me into public searchlight in a scathing and damning manner. The research protruded with a style only suggestive of someone attempting to repress one group in favour of another.

I am not in a position to doubt the factuality of all the contents of Mr. Page's thesis. But I have the onerous obligation to repeatedly articulate certain maliciously veiled and twisted sacred truths on my person, as propagated by Page, at the point he drew my shadow into the battle ring.

Page, also a fellow at other international research institutes wrote on the subject; "Fake Civil Society: The Rise of Pro-Government NGOs in Nigeria." Therein, he narrowed and inaccurately portraited my personage and activities as young Nigerian scholar, rights activist and intellectual of international repute.

With a distinctive yardstick, Page generously categorised Non-Governmental Organisations, (NGOs) into mainstream and fake or "briefcase" entities. In what appeared like a sworn vow to demolish an enemy in a battle scenario, the researcher descended a destructive force in vile aspersions on the "briefcase" NGOs, he conspicuously repulsed, evidently resplendent even in his branding/ explication of their delineations.

The angst is that the researcher tongue-lashed me and a few others, whom he accused of inordinate distortions in the space of genuine NGOs/ Nigeria's Civil Society Organisation's (CSOs) agitations for popular or masses inclined causes. I couldn't fathom why Page came to the dubious conclusion that any of the identified NGOs by the fresh status and redefinition he conferred on them was better atuned to the mindset of Nigerians than the other.

However, I am concerned at pulling a respected scholar like myself out of my shell, honest struggles, and patriotic deeds to support my fatherland to demeaning lambasts by Page. His resistable branding of me as the patriarch of "briefcase" NGOs, which repress good public cause in favour of government's obnoxious policies in exchange for what Nigerians call "patronage," thoroughly misrepresented my good nurtured self and is out rightly misleading.


By such posturing, Page never accurately reflected my existential vassicitudes. I also observed with keen interest, his witty and subtle campaigns to paint a portrait of me as someone who operates a surfeit of fake NGOs under the Buhari Presidency to attract patronage from foreign donors.

Honestly, Page misfired by pinning and aligning me down to such an absurd reasoning. Of course, if President Muhammadu Buhari's appointees, surrogates and lackeys in government are funding my NGOs as Page thoughtlessly declared, it's logical that I would not starve of funds to necessarily knock on the gates of either London or Washington DC or anywhere else to fund my operations in Nigeria.

What Page didn't know about me; is my total repulsion for foreign aids to Africa in whatever guise. I don’t believe, aids/ grants from foreign countries can help Africa to grow or attain its full potentials and will never ask for any as far as I am concerned to support any NGO operating under my inspiration as a practitioner. It has not helped Africa in the past and it will not assist us in anyway today. My perception of aids to Africa is that of exploitative vassels perched on our burdened backs by disguised forces of neocolonialism, who blindfold us with very little, but extract so much from us.

It is therefore clear that the news platform -The NigerianNews, myself and other inspired young Nigerians founded, more as a leisure activity, but with the lofty ideals and philosophy of promoting the beauty of Africa, it's potentials and her outstanding patriots has become a source of worry to the colonialists and their minions. But the actions of colonialists against Africa inflamed and triggered the passion by their consistent portrayal of this rich fatherland as a dark continent. Through TheNigerian, we have been able to fruitfully tell our story to the world as a continent full of goodies; a land flowing with milk and honey; aside disasters, evils and self-destruction.

And we are not indebted to anyone in terms of apology over our standpoint or perception of the African continent. Anyone can hum all his disillusionment. But I thank the Almighty God, the father of Osiroko, Osilagama and all the prophets because certainly, we have never been alone in the battles against the immolation of Africa by the western world.

Some African patriots, nationalists and leaders have walked this path before today. And many more are still crossing the same path by raising a voice. We want to be the mouthpiece of our gores or fables and other narratives, reflecting all its enriching allures.

So, Libya's Moummar Ghadaffi vehemently kicked against the relentless portrayal of Africa as a continent peopled by dark hearts and minds. Ghana's Dr. Kwame Nkrumah raised a voice of consciousness; Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe vigorously campaigned against it to his grave; and Tanzania's Dr. John Magufuli was never fooled either. Burkina Faso's Capt. Thomas Sankara renounced it strongly.

Even in contemporary times, Kenya's anti-West evangelist, Prof. PLO Lumumba is not just sermonizing, but also, angry about it; ditto for South Africa's forthright parliamentarian, Julius Malema and many others. Another whom I have tremendous respect for, Ousman Touray from the Gambian is out inspiring young Africans not to love their country alone but to love and stand for the continent. We shall continue to sing this song of our enduring heritage and patriotism in diverse ways.

Therefore, Mr. Page captured my philosophy of patriotism and loyalty wrongly. His reflections of my personage is different from my convictions on patriotism. And this, I am honoured to articulate to him now.

The American writer and public speaker, George William Curtis captured my deepest thoughts and application of patriotism, when he echoed that; "A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods; but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle." I am a patriot who stands up for country anytime it is threatened by enemy or anti-democratic forces. I love my country and the compatriots regardless of ancestry.

I am a stickler to justice, equity and fairplay. I have fought several battles against national malaises in the past, even at the risk of my personal life. I am infinitely concerned with the human rights of my compatriots and it's practice in Nigeria is a function of the knowledge I have acquired formally.

I should be pardoned if I sound braggish. But I was the best student in human rights law module at the Middlesex University, United Kingdom during my undergraduate days. It propelled my passion to do a masters degree in law, also in human rights laws. My dissertation was focused on non-state actors and the war against insurgency in Nigeria. So, I know exactly, the nuances of the causes I support in Nigeria.
Largely, the thinking by Page that I supported the Nigerian Military in the counter-insurgency operations against terrorists and bandits was for the bait of personal monetary inducements is flawed. I didn’t just transfix myself in Abuja or Agila, in Benue State to support the Nigerian military in the war against insurgency for pecuniary gains. I took pains, endured the hardships, committed time and resources to travel to the nooks and crannies of the Northeast epicentre of the counter-insurgency combats operations countless times.

I am not blowing my trumpet, but in my little way, I have also supported the troops in the frontlines and our IDPs in the area of ameliorating the humanitarian crises in the region. Many of the operators of mainstream NGOs/CSOs who sit in cosy enclaves to belittle our military and the efforts of the Buhari presidency over insecurities haven’t crossed Jos, Plateau State, but deliberately distort the realities of these insurgencies and insurrectional war. Let me assert that there is no obstacle strong enough to restrain me from countering the conjured negative narratives by these mercantile arm-chair groups in tacit promotion of terrorists campaigns against national interest on security.

In one of my opinion articles captioned; " My Stand for Nigeria, My beloved Country!," published on November 9, 2020, I made my stand on the issue of my patriotism and loyalty to Nigeria with every lucidity.

I solemnly declared to some specific renegades ( details in the article)as reflected in this excerpts; 'I have sworn never to be a party to anything that will destroy my country. My patriotic spirit won’t allow me the liberty of such generous indulgence.... I can’t enlist in the deviousness of conspiring with outsiders to build enemy camps against Nigeria... I will not bow to their unpatriotic gods within and outside Nigeria. The Almighty God in whom I serve... I put my trust forever for love of country."

Richard Rorty, an American philosopher wrote in his book,
"Achieving Our Country," that "National pride is to countries what self-respect is to individuals: a necessary condition for self-improvement." So, wherever the Nigerian ship hangs after turbulent seawaves, I am there to pair up with others to render my little assurance in order to anchor it on the safe harbour.

More so, the likes of Page and others are still clinging unto the expired notions and in fact, still burdened by the mistaken illusion that everything about the whiteman is white and supreme; whilst everything about the blackman is black and evil. These were notions of yore, as decried by renowned civil rights activists.

Martin Luther King Jr, saliently decried this inclination, but cautioned decades back in this popular quote; "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Therefore, this conscious criminalization of blacks is no longer tenable as conveyed by the message of the global protests induced by George Floyd's brutal death in the hands of American police. Page must be reminded that the colour of the brain is white and this is irrespective of one’s colour of the skin. Whitemen have also failed where the Blackman failed. It therefore means that anyone can do well and also, fail or fumble. Through my lenses, Matthew Page is indeed a failure as manifest in the published research work.

Notwithstanding, my loyalty at all times and circumstances must remain to my country. Nothing will change it. Not even a million Pages can influence a change of my mindset and preparing myself to face all odds. I am currently researching on my Ph.D in international humanitarian law which is in line with my father’s wish for his son. And I have vowed to see it to the end in order to further expose Page and his sponsors that are still deceiving Africa with grant .

Agbese, a Human rights scholar wrote this piece from Agila, Benue State.

Popular Nigerian artiste, Tope Olajengbesi, has dropped a new single.

The song titled “Mantle of fire” is produced by ace beat maker “Blangothech”.

The act is renowned for embracing different genres of music style and his ability to appeal to all classes of people while on stage.

According to him “Mantle Of Fire” was inspired by his recent experiences and a way to appreciate God for his love and mercy.

As part of efforts to promote the single, the ace musician shall be featuring it in his stage performances across the nation.

Mantle Of Fire is one of the tracks on Tope
Olajengbesi's forthcoming album, it's slated for an end of the year release.

With about two decades of experience in the music industry. Tope Olajengbesi has released more than 14 albums alongside a plethora of singles. The Ijebu Ijesha born but Ondo/Zaria raised act has shared the stage with the likes of Juju maestro, King Sunny Ade (KSA), Afro Juju exponent, Sir Shina Peters, Fuji musician Pasuma Wonder, and Saheed Osupa, Afro-fusion act, 9ice just to mention a few.

His first headline show in Ibadan, Oyo State, is slated for February 2022.

TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD, FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW:

https://push.fm/fl/dq2b65cs

By Andrew Hwande

The governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, is indeed a brave man. The circumstances surrounding his elections as governor in 2015 under the umbrella of the All-Progressive Congress (APC) is a story for another day.

The question is, who is Samuel Ortom? A man with principles or a man without principles? These questions ran in my mind as a result of his recent posturing regarding the state of security in the county and the constant attack on the personality of President Muhammadu Buhari.

As a governor, don't get me wrong; he has a right to say things the way he perceives them. However, I am not convinced that he has that right to turn the truth on its head, especially with the farmer/herders' conflict in Benue State. I think this obsession with President Muhammadu Buhari started in 2018 when he sense possible defeat for the ticket of the APC for the gubernatorial elections on account of poor performance. And since then, all hell has been let loose, like President Muhammadu Buhari is the chairman of the APC.

I like to call a spade a spade. Governor Samuel Ortom is the most intellectually deficient individual to govern Benue state. He is uncouth; he is cunny, deceptive and highly skilled in divide and rule. I say all of these after a critical assessment of Benue State before he became governor and what is obtainable in the state six years after.

Workers are owed several months salaries; pensioners are languishing in abject poverty due to the non-payment of their pension and gratuity, there is a dearth of infrastructure, the educational and health sectors are in a deplorable state.

Most times, I wonder how and where he gets the guts to issue public statements castigating the federal government's efforts in addressing the security challenges in the state. Is he mindful that his actions have led to an unprecedented level of poverty in the state and a factor for the frequent clashes between farmers/herders? Is he also mindful that his land grabbing drive and desire to take over the cattle ranching business in Benue and North Central could also be another factor why there seem not to be peace in Benue state?

Samuel Ortom is a typical example of a dirty politician that thrives in grandstanding. He is in my opinion only clever by his diversionary methodology from his atrocities. The recent one that got me wondering was when he said the Nigerian government didn't go after Fulani militiamen as it went after Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho.

The governor said, “I see a lot of lack of commitment on the part of the Federal Government in ensuring that we have security in this country. I will give an example: recently, the Federal Government has demonstrated the capacity by going after Nnamdi Kanu, leading IPOB. I am told he was even arrested in a foreign land with the cooperation of Interpol and so on.”

In my opinion, this is quite a callous statement from the governor of a state. He should know better about the dynamics in the security sector and the government's efforts in this regard. I am not surprised, to say the least, owing to the cantankerous nature of the governor and his penchant for sponsoring ethnic militias in Benue and some states in Northcentral.

The case of the late notorious militia leader in Benue State, Terwase Akwaza, aka Gana, who met his end on his way to a reception put together by the governor in Markurdi, the state capital, indeed calls to questions on the sincerity of Governor Samuel Ortom in addressing the security challenges in the state. It is also baffling how a governor can throw caution into the wind in categorising the Fulani ethnic group. This is also a story for another day.

I would, at this point, advise Governor Samuel Ortom to come out and tell the world that all the noise he has been making about Fulani herders is to give a dog a bad name to hang it. He must also say to the world how much of Benue money he has invested in cattle rearing. To consolidate his grip on the business in the North Central, he must do all to paint the herders in a bad light and also pitch the people against them.

This is the summation of it all and the obsession of governor Samuel Ortom with herders and President Muhammadu Buhari. And against what he has made the unsuspecting members of the general public believe. But for how long does he intend to continue in this deceit? As funny as this might sound, the governor recently commissioned a borehole as his capital project. In an attempt to divert attention from the backlash, he brought a new dimension to the security situation and tried to lump Igboho and Kanu's arrest as a most suitable topic, and not the fact that he cannot govern Benue state.

For Governor Samuel Ortom, it's one day, one lie. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the attacks on farmers in Benue state were planned by his team to attract public sympathy and divert attention from his crass ineptitude. Governor Samuel Ortom is a man without principles. After all, he is a professional driver with a Diploma in Salesmanship. Such a man cannot be circumspect in his public conduct.

Hwande wrote this piece from High Level, Makurdi.

The former Chairman of the Board of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Chief Olabode George, has been criticised for his “ unpatriotic comments” as it relates to his interview on Arise TV. Earlier today.

Bode George, had in an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday said that the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has no certificate to run for Presidential election in 2023 and that he will renounce his Nigerian citizenship if Asiwaju becomes Nigeria's president.

Tinubu Support Group in a statement issued on Wednesday by its Director General, Umar Ibrahim, said the PDP chieftain need to look far away from Asiwaju in search of his enemy.

“Our Leader will not be distracted either on the task at hand or on the well-intentioned to rebuild our Nation Nigeria.”

According to him, "We understand how terribly you've been diagnosed with envy against the achievement of Asiwaju which your retrogressive political will can never match. It was the same comment you made in 2015 against President Muhammadu Buhari if he wins re election"

“In a saner clime, people like Bode George, an ex-convict, is supposed to take the back seat, as he lacks political credibility already.

He added, “The gap between Asiwaju and Chief Bode George in terms of political acceptance, leadership, achievements, followership, capacity, credibility etc is huge in favour of Asiwaju.

“We want to remind Chief George of his "ex-convict" stigma which can not be said against our leader".

The group while responding to Chief Bode George’s claim that he would renounce his Nigerian citizenship if Asiwaju becomes President, said “your gullibility will shame you soon as patriotic Nigerians will rejoice over your shame."

By Ernest Adadu

I do not know whether the NYSC acknowledges the ‘fame’ it has achieved as a Government Agency that has trudged on for close to five decades. Secondly, I do not know whether critics of the Scheme have carried out any objective assessment on whether the NYSC should continue to exist or not. Thirdly, I am not certain what role, if any, the 2023 Elections have in the current travails facing the NYSC.
In as much as I do not have answers to the above, I know that the NYSC was established as part of solutions in a period of crisis in the country. Controversies and protests against its establishment soon followed. Therefore, it may be safe to advise the Scheme to strengthen the resolve to live and probably die mired in controversies.
Currently, there is a lot of debate on the Scheme with the most uncharitable, calling for its outright proscription. The debates revolve around the many aspects of the Scheme . For instance, many have argued that the current insecurity bedevilling the country makes it ‘unwise’ for the government to continue exposing the lives of innocent children to danger. Others argue that the poor state of Nigerian roads makes it ‘reckless’ for the Government to continue subjecting graduate youths to travel on these roads to various states of posting for National Service. Others say the conduct of Orientation exercise for Corps members amid the resurgence of the third wave of COVID-19 is reckless. In fact, agents of fake news have since found another avenue for selling their stock in trade spreading news of killing of corps members and the infection of a large but unspecified number with COVID-19, as well as other calamities befalling corps members.
At the heart of this debate however is the dilemma of the NYSC as to whether these resentments represent the opinion of the silent majority in the country. Whether the opinions are right or wrong, the sentiments from most Government officials at all levels, beneficiaries of the services of corps members and even Countries who have approached the NYSC for technical assistance in the establishment of similar institution gives the NYSC the impression that it is delivering in its mandate of serving as catalyst for national development especially at the grassroots. A case in point is that those at the helm of affairs of the NYSC are always under pressure from Governments at various levels and other private entities requiring the services of Corps members.
For instance, at the onset of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east, Management of the NYSC took the wise decision of suspending the posting and conduct of orientation exercise in the affected States in the North-east. However, the NYSC Management was under serious pressure from Governments of the affected States for the return of the posting and hosting of the orientation of the corps members in such states. I recall when this was extended to one of states, the then governor of the State, took the NYSC up and demanded the immediate return of NYSC activities in his State. While this resulted in the restoration of activities of the corps members in the affected States, it also made the return of posting and conduct of orientation in those states – albeit, with the dislodgement of the orientation exercise to other States.
Even though NYSC orientation exercise for corps members posted to security challenged takes, place in relatively more peaceful states, the Governors of the dislodged states and/or State Government officials have always visited them on camp, with a view to encouraging them not to seek redeployment out of the states. These visits have always yielded the desired results as a good number of the corps members opt to stay back and serve their fatherland in their original states of deployment.
Therefore, whereas it is not the question of the importance and contributions of the NYSC that is in question, it is perhaps the divisions that were hitherto buried through its establishment and the many successes the Country has recorded in the close to the five decades of the existence of the NYSC that is giving people who do not mean well for the Country cause for concern. It may also be safe to speculate that some Nigerians who for one reason or another circumvented the law by not participating in the one-year compulsory national service and have their eyes on elective or appointive positions in 2023 may be part of those sponsoring these campaigns so that the NYSC will be weakened and/or distracted.
In the end, the dilemma of the NYSC is, do we scrap it so that Nigeria will live in peace again? Do we scrap it so that nobody will die again? Do we scrap it so that there won’t be crises in any part of the country again? Do we scrap it so that southerners will have no reason coming to the north, and vice versa? Do we scrap it so that nobody will be kidnapped again? Do we scrap it so that the Corona virus will not spread? Maybe, without the NYSC, Nigeria will be better off – just maybe.
If power, education and other sectors receive the critical attention the NYSC is receiving from the polity, I think Nigeria would have attained greater heights. The NYSC has been subjected to all shades of opinion from the mundane to the downright hypocritical which does nothing but add to the dilemma of whether to heed the calls of the detractors or the overall interest of bringing development across all sectors through the services of the corps members.
Amidst all these, I recommend that results of opinion surveys, as well as statements and comments from individuals, governments and non-governmental organizations on the contributions of the NYSC be compiled and made available to the public. Also, the statistics of non-corps members involved in road accidents and those of the corps members. The NYSC should also provide, alongside the NCDC, the statistics on corona virus infections on corps members and non-corps members or even the number of students kidnapped right in their schools.
Only if we can decipher all these, then we will know that our problem is not the Scheme. Finally, the Federal Government should mandate the NYSC Authorities to publish names of those that have issues with the Scheme along with names of VIPs that attempted to circumvent the system for us to know who are behind the recent attacks on the NYSC. This, if done, will make the public get a clearer picture of the motives behind the recent rantings and whether they are justified.


Adadu is a researcher in peace and conflict resolution writing from Abuja.

... urge the agency to uphold transparency

No fewer than 21 civil society organizations have adopted the resolution of the House of Representatives on the North East Development Commission (NEDC).

The CSOs under the auspices of the Coalition of Human Rights Groups and Independent Monitors, therefore, urged the commission to sustainin its mantra of accountability and transparency.

The group, which made this known at a press conference on Monday in Abuja, said it came to this conclusion after a systematic appraisal of the activities of the agency.

In a report co-signed by convener, Comrade Bassey Ukpong, secretary, Barr Joy Gonzwak alongside the heads of other groups, the CSOs hailed the NEDC for its strategic interventions, urging international partners to maintain their relationship with the agency.

According to the report, the NEDC under the leadership of its MD/CEO, Mohammed G. Alkali, has been outstanding in the areas of accountability/ transparency, project implementation, organisational structure among others.

The group said after it embarked on an assessment tour of the region, it discovered an overwhelming presence of the agency in most communities, especially in terms of infrastructures.

On the report of corruption, the CSOs said the allegations was sponsored by some disgruntled politicians given Alkali's tough stance with regards to the finances of the agency.

As part of its recommendation, the group however, urged the NEDC to constantly engage critical media constituency in carrying out of its various interventions in North-East Nigeria.

Read Full Report Below

The Coalition of Human Rights Groups and Independent Monitors is a coalition of 21 civil Iociety organisations devoted to the preservation of human rights, which includes but not limited to scrutinizing the efforts of government and her institutions in the conservation of the rights of its citizens as enshrined in the Constitution, as well as the actions of the government in the rendering of humanitarian assistance to communities in need across the country.

In fulfilment of one of its strategic mandates, the Coalition of Human Rights Groups and Independent Monitors undertook a systematic appraisal of the North East Development Commission in its efforts to address the developmental challenges in North-East Nigeria, occasioned by several years of Boko Haram insurgency.

Its strategic importance informed the choice of North East Development Commission in addressing the humanitarian challenges in North-East Nigeria and also to put issues in proper perspective for the general public to form their opinion on the journey so far in the NEDC through its various intervention in addressing the myriad of developmental challenges in North-East Nigeria.

For the records, The North-East Development Commission (NEDC) is the focal organisation charged with the responsibility to assess, coordinate, harmonise and report on all intervention programs and initiatives by the Federal Government or any of its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), States; and other Development Partners and for the implementation of all programs and initiatives for the North East states; Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe, respectively.

Key Governance Indices:

In assessing the impact of the NEDC since inception, the Coalition of Human Rights Groups and Independent Monitors scrutinised the NEDC using the following governance indices:

Organisational Structure

The act establishing the NEDC was explicit in its organisational structure, which was designed to ensure productivity and ensure checks and balances amongst the various departments in the organisation. After a detailed scrutiny of the organisation l s operations, it was realised that the various departments operate under an open policy that emphasizes accountability and transparency.

The Managing Director of the NEDC though the administrative head of the organisation, is also subjected to scrutiny and supervision by the board that constitutes Nigerians with impeccable personalities that have distinguished themselves in their various careers. The management team also consists of three executive directors and representatives of each geopolitical zones in the country.

From our findings, it was observed that there had been an excellent relationship between the management staff and the generality of the staffers. Duties are well spelt out, and the various checks and balances mechanism in place ensures strict adherence to the rules.

Project Implementation:

It was also observed that the NEDC has in place a robust project conception and implementation policy that ensures that projects embarked on achieve the desired objectives. This is indeed a plus for the organisation in the sense that white elephant projects are not undertaken, which would lead to a waste of the resources of the organisation.

The organisation also has in place a project monitoring team that consists of staffers from all the departments. It was designed to ensure that the project monitoring team must certify such before monies are disbursed for projects that reach completion. It is instructive to state that the managing director is not a part of the project monitoring team. In his capacity as the managing director, he only relies on the judgement of the project monitoring team.

Accountability and Transparency:

From our findings, the NEDC is a bastion of accountability and transparency. This much was evident in the way and manner the resources of the agency are judiciously utilized. This much was gathered after extensive interaction with contractors, staffers, religious and community leaders in communities in North-East states, and other relevant stakeholders.

It is not business as usual in the agency due to the robust institutional framework that ensures that processes are adhered to. All staffers are constantly reminded of the overarching objective of the agency, which is bringing succour to the people of North-East Nigeria that have suffered years of hardship and socio-economic losses as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Commendable Feats:

In the appraisal of the activities of the NEDC since inception, the Coalition of Human Rights Groups and Independent Monitors undertook an on the spot visit to select communities in North-East Nigeria, and the result was overwhelmingly positive. The impact of the NEDC in North-East Nigeria within a short period was very commendable as its presence was felt in almost all communities straddling the states in North-East Nigeria.

The provision of critical infrastructures topped the list of projects embarked on by the NEDC. The educational and health sectors were also not left out. It was recorded that the NEDC has been proactive in the areas mentioned above. Our findings also revealed that the NEDC has continually engaged the host communities in their various projects. It was discovered that it put in place to accommodate inputs from beneficiary communities. In most instances, this methodology has given them a sense of belonging, which is mainly responsible for the successes recorded in achieving the agency's mandate.

Stories of Corruption at the NEDC:

The Coalition of Human Rights Groups and Independent Monitors also took out time to investigate some of the allegations of corrupt practices at the agency. It was realised that the allegations were of mischief purposes. The generality of the allegations was not based on any substantial evidence but rather insinuations, given the tough stance of the managing director with regards to the finances of the agency. It was also observed that some politicians with ulterior motives were responsible for the news making the rounds as it appears it is not business as usual, a prevalent practice in most government agencies.

Recommendations:

As a result of the appraisal of the operations of the NEDC with regards fulfilling its mandate, e herby make the following recommendations:

That the NEDC should constantly engage the critical media constituency in the carrying out of its various interventions in North-East Nigeria.

That the NEDC should convoke a periodic town hall meeting with critical stakeholders to keep them abreast of its activities.

The NEDC should strengthen its public relations unit through training to strengthen its capacity for strategic communication.

The NEDC should set up advocacy units to drum support from international partners for its activities in North-East Nigeria.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the Coalition of Human Rights Groups and Independent Monitors gives the management of the NEDC a pass mark for its strategic interventions in North-East Nigeria. We are also calling on international partners to continue to have confidence in the activities of the NEDC as one of the best and most accountable intervention agencies in Nigeria, given the above mentioned.

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre (SHAC) has cautioned Amnesty International and other non-governmental organisations in the country against attempts to distract and undermine the troops on the frontline.

According to the centre, the allegation of excessive use of force by security agents in the South-East is another scheme targeted at dampening the morale of security personnel helping to restore sanity across the country .

The group made this known at a press conference on Monday in Abuja to address the systematic attack on the Armed Forces' efforts in addressing the security challenges in the country.

Comrade Paul Ikyado, the Executive Director of the SHAC, said that the rights group have consistently displayed deep-seated anger against the security agencies in Nigeria for inexplicable reasons.

Ikyado noted that in the past, this has given insurgents and other criminal elements the impetus to further carry out deadly attacks on innocent Nigerians, including women and children in the North-East

The group wondered why the heinous crimes committed by the Eastern Security Network, the militant wing of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra has been overlooked by the rights group.

The SHAC, therefore, warned Amnesty International that any more act of sabotage against troops will not be tolerated.

It further charged the leadership of the various security agencies in the country to continue to give their best in this critical point by not succumbing to the cheap blackmail perpetrated by Amnesty

The centre, however, advised Amnesty International to be circumspect in its public outings and retrace its steps, calling a spade a spade and not taking sides with terrorists and criminal groups under the guise of human rights advocates

Read the full statement below:

The leadership of the Save Humanity Advocacy Centre warmly welcomes you all to this press conference put together to put issues in proper perspectives with regards to the recent press statement credited to Amnesty International on the excessive use of force by security operatives in South-East Nigeria.

Amnesty International has consistently displayed deep-seated anger against the security agencies in Nigeria for inexplicable reasons. It is on record that Amnesty International, over the years, have engaged in acts that undermine national security in Nigeria and the efforts of the security agencies in addressing the security challenges in the country.
This act is worrisome because whenever the security agencies are recording gains in the fight against insurgency and other acts of criminalities, Amnesty International would come up with trumped-up allegations that aim to cause a distraction for the security agencies.

The recent press statement alleged that the security agencies employed excessive force in South-East Nigeria. This is an example of the ignoble role of Amnesty International in festering conflict in Nigeria.

This trend has in times past given insurgents and other criminal elements the impetus to further carry out deadly attacks on innocent Nigerians, including women and children in North-East Nigeria and other parts of the country.

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre frowns at such disposition from an organization that claims to be advocating for respect for human rights across the globe, whereas it has been covertly providing intellectual support for terrorist groups and fueling conflict in countries where they operate.

This recent case is indeed an assault on the sensibilities of Nigerians and a systematic attack on the Armed Forces' efforts in addressing the security challenges in the country. This is indeed condemnable and an act of terrorism in itself.

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre is indeed alarmed that Amnesty International could issue such a statement accusing the Armed Forces of using excessive force in its operations to rid South-East Nigeria of criminal elements.

The tactic support for the Eastern Security Network by Amnesty International leaves a lot to the imagination in the sense that they have either by commission or omission refused to condemn the atrocities perpetrated by this group of an armed militia group, whose activities have resulted in arson, looting, and destruction of government infrastructures in some states in South-East Nigeria.

Amnesty International has also feigned ignorance to the heinous crimes committed by the Eastern Security Network, the militant wing of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra and tactically given their support for the rise of militancy and insurrection in Nigeria.

Amnesty International is quick to assert “human rights violations and crimes under international law in Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi and Abia state from January 2021”, but it is blind to the burning down of police stations, courts, killing of security agents, and attack on government properties by members of the Eastern Security Network.

This is indeed conceivable and a reason for the generality of Nigerians to see through the veiled deceit in the activities of Amnesty International in Nigeria over the years.

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre views the statement of Amnesty International as deliberate and too much of a coincidence in its constant criticism of the Armed Forces, especially in times where gains are recorded in the prosecution of the war against crime and criminalities in Nigeria. It is thus succinct to state that enough is enough for Amnesty International and their conspirators in Nigeria, for we shall no longer tolerate acts of sabotage.

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre indeed stands with the renewed efforts of the security agencies in addressing the security challenges in South-East and Nigeria at large, especially when the terrorist, bandits and other criminal elements are already feeling the heat.

We consequently charge the leadership of the various security agencies in the country to continue to give their best in this critical point of our existence by not succumbing to the cheap blackmail perpetrated by Amnesty International and their sponsors.

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre also encourages those patriotic and dedicated security operatives in the line of duty to continue to render selfless service to the country by not been distracted by the disjointed narrative of Amnesty International that aims to give support to terrorists and militant groups in the country.

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre wishes to use this medium to advise Amnesty International to be circumspect in its public outings and retrace its steps by calling a spade a spade and not taking sides with terrorists and criminal groups under the guise of human rights advocates. The era of masquerading as human rights advocates is gone as Nigerians are now aware of their antics and more committed to resisting their shenanigans.

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre extends its appreciation to all present. It wishes to pledge its unalloyed support to the security agencies in their noble effort at the riding country of terrorist and criminal elements.
Thank you all, and God bless Nigeria.

By Michael Attah

Three weeks today; precisely, it’s more than three clear weeks, after the House of Representatives gave its verdict of a clean bill of health to the management of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), over alleged financial heist at the commission involving a whopping sum of N100 billion.

Surprisingly, but not unexpected, the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and its allied vuvuzelas who led the defamatory assaults are silent. They unconscionably blew the false alarm bordering on spurious, mendacious, politically -motivated and malicious allegations on the commission’s management.

But the CSOs have been humbled with the House’s exonerative verdict on the commission and so, have now chosen the wise path in the wisdom of “silence is golden.” Had the verdict turned against the NEDC management, the fury of hell would not have contained their loud rantings.

The NEDC’s management led by the Managing Director, Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali, a stickler to standards, anti-corruption czar, a renowned evangelist of transparency and accountability in public service was alarmed and astonished with the bogus allegations raised against him and members of the NEDC management team in July 2020. But he was unperturbed!

As a first reaction to the spurious garbage spilled by an obscure group, North East Vanguard for Good Governance (NEVGG), Alkali, an astute public administrator and world-class manager of human and material resources, retorted calmly, “Nobody gave us up to N100 billion; I really don’t know how they got that figure.” Armed with this truth and confidence in his leadership of the commission, Alkali was ever willing to appear before the National Assembly Committee to respond to the allegations and redeem the image of the commission from politically-induced brickbats.

But the figure of N100 billion, within span of barely a year, alleged on Alkali by his adversaries, who accused him of corrupt practices was an amount too huge to be ignored by anybody. A synopsis of the allegations fingered Alkali in embezzlement, high handedness, abuse of office, over inflation of contracts, awards of non-existent contracts, massive contract splitting and flagrant disregard for due process or procurement laws in the award of contracts among others. So, the news went viral instantaneously.

Recount that President Muhammadu Buhari had signed the “Northeast Development Commission Bill” into law in October 2017, as a replacement for other existing support initiatives such as the Presidential Initiative on Northeast and the Victims Support Fund for victims of insurgency in the Northeast. The NEDC board of management was later inaugurated in May 2019, with Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali as the Managing Director.

But early in July 2020, a year later, NEVGG generated, fabricated, and publicized damaging allegations against the NEDC management and bluntly called for the sack of the NEDC boss and its management for the abuse of the funds voted for the settlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Northeast region ravaged by Boko Haram terrorists.

And the allegations whirled instantly because it coincided with the frenzy of the probe of the over N1trillion massive and multi-layered financial sleazes at the management of NDDC, another commission with a mandate to spearhead infrastructural development in the Niger Delta region.

Therefore, the House of Representatives picked up the gauntlet to investigate the alleged financial heist, two weeks later in the same month of July 2020. The issue was brought before the House in a motion by the Minority Leader, Hon.Ndudi Elumelu and it was unanimously adopted. The House mandated its Committees on Finance, Procurement and the NEDC to meticulously investigate these allegations and submit its findings to the Green Chamber, thus setting the stage for the investigation of the commission.

But the truth deliberately undermined by the petitioners ‘was that when the management of the NEDC commenced operations in 2019 upon inauguration, the released take-off grant was N10 billion only, though N45 billion was the entire sum budgeted for the commission in 2019. Other piecemeal releases later cumulatively pegged the total figure released to the NEDC at N25 billion in the 2019 fiscal year. And for the 2020 budget, fresh funds had not been released to the commission at the time the allegations were raised and mainly due to the exigencies of Covid-19 pandemic.

Therefore, the figure of N100 billion bandied as allegedly embezzled sounded hollow and betrayed the concealed intention of the petitioners as conspiracists after the malicious persecution of Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali and the management of NEDC. So, the antagonists of Alkali only stirred the honest nest with such damning frivolities for selfish reasons.

But come to think of it, a peep into the books of account of the commission displays an impressive adherence to every financial management, disbursement and procurement law, which Alkali was accused of violating flagrantly. The attacks on his person were carefully crafted.

For instance, Alkali was alleged to have conspired with the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar-Farouk to withdraw and squander N5 billion for the procurement of vehicles for the military without approval of the NEDC board. But the decision to support the military operations in Northeast did not emanate from the NEDC management, but it came from recommendations of a communique of a Security Summit of the relevant stakeholders in Maiduguri, which pressed on the NEDC to support logistics for the Military.

And the NEDC board too was duly informed and gave its nod; but the amount expended for the purchase of vehicles was less than N5 billion as alleged. But since it was over the approval limits of the commission, due process was adhered, as the matter was referred to the ministerial tender’s board to the Bureau for Public Procurement. And advice was sought in the process and the approval granted.

Interestingly too, the probe established nowhere where Alkali neither committed funds of the commission to acquire landed properties in Abuja, Kaduna or Maiduguri nor paid himself monthly salaries and allowances amounting to N8.5 million, without recourse to the Salaries and Wages Commission as alleged by the petitioners. Thus, the otherwise serious investigation of the NEDC management over misappropriated N100 billion and abuse of procurement laws morphed into a comic show.

In the NASS correspondence with ref. No; NASS/CAN/35/Vol.1/153, dated July 8, 2021, to the NEDC Managing Director, it communicated the decisions of the House of Representatives resolutions on the probe of the alleged misappropriation of 100 billion as follows; (a) Commend the North East Development Commission for their due diligence in the execution of the projects; and also, directed the management to hasten to utilize other released, but unspent funds in the commission’s custody.

In clear terms, the House of Representatives found out the truth and absolved the NEDC Managing Director, Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali and his management team of any complicity in the handling of the commission’s finances. Therefore, the NEDC under the leadership of Alkali remains a doyen of accountability and transparency in the execution of projects, as it seeks to ameliorate the sufferings and pains of people of the Northeast region devastated by more than 10 years of Boko Haram insurgency.


Attah is a legislative staff at the National Assembly and wrote this piece from Abuja.

By Israel Abiodun

Like a half-drunk arousing from a stupor, Amnesty International is finally exiting a self-inflicted reverie by returning to the trenches against the Nigerian state and the institutions entrusted with maintaining the country’s sovereignty, law enforcement and military agencies. It is an assignment at which it failed in the past and has apparently also failed in this instance even before it has properly relaunched itself.

The international human rights monitoring non-governmental organization was apparently dazed by a quick series of events: the former service chiefs left office on excellent notes and got higher national assignments contrary to its expected outcome from the campaign of calumny against them during their tenure; the legacy of these former service chiefs was sustained by their successors, which means terrorists that are Amnesty International’s clients continued to receive heavy punishment at the hands of government forces; and against the lies told to block Nigeria from acquiring military hardware, the country successfully bought attack aircrafts that has further tipped the equation against terrorists.

Caught out in this manner, the folks at Amnesty International, possibly hard pressed for a strategy to roll back the progress recorded by the government against the terrorists it has always been sympathetic to, the NGO dug up its old style book and resorted to a worn tactic of presenting Nigeria’s military and law enforcement organizations as being tools in the hands of a government it has done everything to cast as repressive and murderous against the citizens.

A first manifestation of this was the publication of its trademark hasty report titled “Nigeria: At least 115 people killed by security forces in four months in country’s Southeast”. The story touted that ‘“The evidence gathered by Amnesty International paints a damning picture of ruthless excessive force by Nigerian security forces in Imo, Anambra and Abia states,” said Osai Ojigho, Country Director at Amnesty International.’

That report, scanty on facts and heavy on conjectures, tenuously attempted to present all those in the figures it cited as innocent. The impression it created was that member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a designated terrorist organization, and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), were innocent of the carnage they claimed responsibility for in the southeast. Perhaps Amnesty International has a database of all IPOB/ESN members against which it was able to verify the identities of the casualties from the security operations against terrorists in the region and that it was also able to crosscheck its database about the membership of the 500 persons it reported as arrested.

It used the testimony of two persons, with a mix of faceless and nameless persons thrown in, as a basis for establishing the innocence of the people that were unfortunately killed or arrested in these operations. This alone is reason to be suspicious of whatever figures Amnesty International throws around – a population sample that is statistically flawed and conclusions that are overly reliant on anecdotal reckonings that it makes no efforts to substantiate.

What should set the alarm bells tolling for any conscientious Nigeria, however, is this organization’s subtle but insidious pitching of citizens against each other by creating the impression that the terrorists, their innocent victims, and the government forces that are protecting innocent citizens from terrorists are different breeds of humans that should be accorded different level of human rights. The group overly focused on the killing and arrest of suspected terrorists while glossing over other fundamentals.

Its reports said _”Nigeria’s government has responded with a heavy hand to killings and violence widely attributed to the armed group calling itself Eastern Security Network (ESN), the armed wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a pro-Biafra movement. According to government officials, the ESN killed dozens of security operatives and attacked at least ten public buildings, including prisons and police stations, from January to June. In response, security forces comprising military, police, and Department of State Services (DSS) have killed dozens of gunmen, as well as civilians, where attacks have been committed.”_

Thus, Amnesty International accused the government of responding to terrorist acts “with a heavy hand” while it glossed over the fact that those killed were mostly during gunfights that ensued when they attacked security formations in the southeast. It trivialized that civilian that refused to subscribe to IPOB/ESN’s preference for violence were summarily executed by these terrorists in the goriest manner. It equally attempted to be clever by half when it admitted that “the ESN killed dozens of security operatives and attacked at least ten public buildings, including prisons and police stations, from January to June” yet was critical of the response to these crimes. Can Amnesty International name one country that would allow crimes of this magnitude against the state and citizens to be treated with kids’ gloves?

In what could possibly be the most perverted instance of revisionism recorded in the year 2021, Amnesty International flippantly dismissed the casualty on government side as “dozens of security operatives”. For the avoidance of doubt, The Brigade Commander of 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Owerri, Imo State, Brig. Gen. Raymond Utsaha reported that IPOB/ESN “gunmen had killed 78 police officers, 38 army officers, five Naval officers, seven Air Force officers, 15 Nigeria Security and Civil Defence officers, 31 community policing members and over 100 innocent citizens in the five states of the South-East region since the unrest (January to the first week of June 2021).” Who should Nigeria hold responsible for these atrocities? Would the criminals, bold enough to commit these kinds of atrocities, allow themselves to be taken in without a fight or alive for that matter?

The reality, irrespective of the spin by Amnesty International, is that the more than 262 people that IPOB/ESN killed under the franchise of “unknown gunmen” were Nigerians, they had names and identities with families and loved ones that have remained in mourning. It is appalling that this so-called human rights NGO has behaved in a manner that confirms that it places terrorists above these deceased Nigerians in terms of value and the need to safeguard their lives. It is an irresponsible act of misplacing human right monitoring and reporting that the entire world should rise and condemn.

Of greater concern is the long-term damage that Amnesty international is attempting to inflict with the questionable report, as it has done in the past. Its mainstream and social media circuits have already picked up this piece of trash without interrogation and are running with it to perpetrate the fable of “a repressive government” while proxy and franchise NGOs are already keening on the report in the hope of hobbling the government to give free reign to IPOB/ESN’s desired reign of terror. A whole lot of pseudo activists, who are in the real sense opposition politicians and crises entrepreneurs, are already running all over the place as end users of Amnesty International’s poisoned chalice.

It is thus pertinent to caution those celebrating the Amnesty International’s report that there is absolute need for circumspection. The report from this organization, like many before it, is not meant to serve the interest of Nigeria. Rather, it is geared as part of a larger effort to promote chaos in the country by petrifying personnel of law enforcement agency into not being willing to fight terrorism so that terrorists can gain the upper hand and consequently achieve the breakup of Nigeria: by now it should be clear to all that Amnesty International has routed for Boko Haram/ISWAP to form an Islamic (Sharia) republic in the northeast of the country, IPOB/ESN in the southeast and who knows what else they will back in other parts of the country while exploiting ethno-sectarian schisms that were never there prior to its deep state operation in Nigeria.

Let us all agreed that Amnesty International’s human rights campaign in Nigeria is misplaced to the extent that it has deployed its work for diabolical purposes that are against the interest of Nigeria. We should tell this organization to cease and desist so that government forces can restore normalcy in our security situation.

Abiodun wrote this piece from Ibadan.

By Philip Agbese


Still on the research paper titled, “Fake Civil Society: The Rise of Pro-Government NGOs in Nigeria,” written by a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), scholar, Mr. Matthew T.Page. I promised to examine another dimension of the issues I still find germane for interrogation in the piece.

The research paper essentially de-marketed the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as cultivating pro-government or “briefcase,” Non-Governmental Organizations’ (NGOs) to blur authentic NGOs at the detriment of popular agitations in Nigeria’s civic space.

In this phase of my reply, I will expose Mr. Page’s fraudulent and criminal parameters and conclusions on the output of what he flaunts as “mainstream” NGOs. Particularly, I will x-ray the named foreign organizations in the research which have also passed his credibility test, but perceived by an appreciable percentage of Nigerians as the external masked vehicles of destabilization and forces campaigning for the breakup of Nigeria.

We should also not forget that I faulted Mr. Page’s hypothesis that the authenticity of NGOs operating in Nigeria is not determined solely by the outputs, as echoed by the self-acclaimed researcher. I judge them in this light because they also goof and derail, especially, when they embrace other ulterior motives as often experienced in our clime.

A scrutiny of some of the mainstream NGOs consistently reveals veiled postures and inordinate sympathy for opposition elements in the country. Quite a number of these mainstream NGOs and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have also assumed the toga of alternate governments and mouthpiece of the opposition in Nigeria, while they pretend as organizations servicing public interests. I have been to their stockyards and I know what I see.

However, I observed that the so-called researcher was very reserved in mentioning the names of the mainstream NGOs/CSOs he aligned with impeccable credentials, but wrote splendidly in their defence. Nonetheless, Mr. Page mentioned Amnesty International (AI) and the CNN. He portrayed these organizations as among the victims or those frequently harangued or attacked by the pro-government or fake NGOs over their position in promoting good governance in Nigeria.

I feel, it is unfair to drag unnamed organizations into the furnace of this conversation, but restrict myself to the ones mentioned by Page and his sponsors . I will endeavour to point out a few instances where the organizations cited by Page, incited and displayed partiality, rather than perform neutrally in accordance with the laid down procedures of these organizations. They rather promoted civil unrest, clandestinely supported Boko Haram terrorists and other dissident groups in conspiratorial style against Nigeria.

In the estimation of Page and the CEIP, Amnesty International (AI) is a credible international human rights organization operating in Nigeria. But in the course of executing its assignment, AI has dispensed itself as a force aligned to partisan and incendiary pursuits in the country.

The AI’s reports of 2015/2016/2017 on human rights violations in Nigeria were heavily centered on the unprovable indictments of security forces in the prosecution of counter-insurgency operations and allied unrests in parts of the country.

I stand to be corrected that since 2015, AI has not proved a single allegation it has made against Nigeria. In one of the reports, AI wrote; “Torture and other ill-treatment by police and military remained pervasive. Extrajudicial executions, extortion, and arbitrary and prolonged detention were rife.”

It is not new to all laws that the person who alleges, shoulder the onus of proving his case. The Federal Government of Nigeria under President Buhari was shocked with the AI’s report and least believed the alleged atrocities ever occurred, especially, perpetrated by the Nigerian Military prosecuting the war against Boko Haram in the Northeast.

The Nigerian Army was figured prominently in the allegations. In a bid to ascertain the veracity of the claims, the then, COAS, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai (rtd) instituted a special military probe panel. The internal Army probe panel into AI’s allegations comprised representatives from the legal and human rights communities. AI shunned the probe panel’s sittings and refused to substantiate its allegations. I don’t think it is proper that simply because an organization has the power to speak to the listenership of the world, it has the liberty to churn out unverified deadly claims.


The Federal Government of Nigeria also constituted another Presidential Probe panel as ordered by the then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to also pry into AI’s allegations. For the second time, AI turned it down. It raised suspicious dust about the real motive of AI in Nigeria. AI cannot lead campaigns on lawful engagement between the Military and civilians in wartimes, but brazenly show disregard to our internal laws and constituted authority, whilst its reports drapes with insidious support for dissident groups troubling the country.

Again, during the #EndSARS protests in October 2020, AI displayed this disdain and the inclination to peddle lies ostensibly to please certain veiled interests. Firstly, AI defended the protests as peaceful to its end. But there were abundant evidences that the protests turned bloody from the fourth day, with the protesters involvement into unlawful and undemocratic acts, such as killing of security agents, vandalism, arson, rape of women and looting of private and public buildings.

To further push the game to attract the international community, AI reported the alleged killing of 38 protesters by Nigerian soldiers deployed to Lekki Tollgate in the heat of the mutation of the protests into violence to maintain peace and security. This report has begged for authentication from AI to this day. But it damaged national coherence and engendered incitement.

AI’s official website screamed of massacres at Lekki tollgate. When tension calmed, the Lagos State Government instituted a Judicial Commission of inquiry into the incident. For the umpteenth time, AI could not establish the massacres at the Lekki tollgate by armed soldiers. It rather relied on secondary reports such as the misrepresentations and uncertain figures bandied by sponsors of the protests.

To straighten the fight against the FGN by external organizations, the Cable News Network ( CNN), came on stage to bolster AI. The CNN tweeted on its official website on October 22, 2020 that, “At least 56 people have died across Nigeria since the #EndSARS protests began on October 8, with 38 killed across the country on Tuesday alone, according to human rights group Amnesty International.” (Check this link: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/22/africa/nigeria-protests-56-dead-jail-fire-intl/index.html).



But BBC’s reporter and editor who covered the Lekki tollgate incident live, disputed the claims of AI in a separate report. However, when the falsity of these reports generated tension across the country, CNN employed the trick of profuse denials, by muddling up the facts contained in the reports it aired! Is Page and his sponsors also alleging that BBC has joined the league of pro-government NGOs since it refused to be part of the fraudulent claims by AI and CNN?

Again, CNN's rejigged story on the incident on October 22, 2020, claimed, the 38 deaths it reported on October 20, 2020 was across the nation. But its tweet on October 23, 2020 was that the military did the killing on the said day. It also credited the source of death of the 56 persons in its report to Amnesty International, only to recant it in a hazy fashion the next day in a "clarification" tweet which rather confirmed the falsified casualty figures!

Therefore, on one incident, both AI and CNN could neither investigate the true death figures nor agree on the figures they concocted and published for public consumption. I have no doubt that both organizations were conscious and deliberate about the damage they plotted to trigger on Nigeria.

We knew and patriotic Nigerians discerned sinister motives of AI and CNN. They were after the agenda of projecting Nigeria as a country consistently violating human rights of Nigerians even under the Buhari Presidency.

This effectively sealed, the Leahy Law would be invoked against Nigeria and the country would continue to be denied both military technical assistance and weapons to battle Boko Haram and sister insurgencies plaguing the people. This was AI and CNN's veiled, but manifested support for terror sects tormenting Nigeria.

And Page and his co-travelers, at CEIP expected patriotic Nigerians like myself not to voice out against this evil? Like I emphasized in the earlier piece, we were obliged to use any weapon at our disposal to stop the traitors in amplifying degree of our plight!

And Page's claim on the "briefcase" groups did not invalidate the genuine and patriotic actions. But CESJET, one of the NGOs in the category of Mr. Page's one-man or "briefcase" group took the bold step to petition the ICC over the partisan derailment of AI and others in the performance of their duties in Nigeria in 2016.


CESJET's petition was duly acknowledged in a "letter with reference number OTP-CR+265/16 was dated September 9, 2016 and was signed by Mr. Mark Dillon, head of Information and Evidence in the Office of the Prosecutor, ICC, and alleged that AI in “…promoting and protecting human rights has been derailed into an incendiary and partisan goal...For now, lopsided views, shortsighted and hasty conclusions, some not backed by facts are Amnesty International’s hallmark instead of bold objectivity in the pursuit of its vision."

Therefore, it is erroneous for Page to postulate that "... the activities of mainstream NGOs are typically constructive and contribute to good governance, sustainable development, and economic prosperity."

Quite frankly, I perceive the glaring compromises and abuses by the so-called mainstream NGOs/ organizations that Page sees as holy or saintly as extremely injurious to the stability, peace and security of Nigeria. The disappointment and frustrations they wrought on the Nigerian Military in fighting the multiple insurgencies were also destructive of national interest.

Each time I read some of their reports and outings on insecurities in Nigeria, it aligned with the preference for terrorists to win the war against Nigeria, than the country's triumph. The immediate consequence of these aberrational actions has been the prolongation of the counter-terrorism war in the country, which is still with us today!

I dare say, AI and its allies are agents of Page and his financiers. With Page's submissions, I am prodded to question the neutrality and credibility of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP). Let me conclude by advising Page, his cohorts in Nigeria and CEIP to come out clean from the advertised bias, clandestine and, sometimes subversive disposition against Nigeria. They should promote international peace from the standpoint of neutrality and truth.

Agbese, is a UK trained human rights researcher and wrote this piece from Agila.

By Terna Terka

The North East Development Commission, as an agency of government, is saddled with the responsibility of leading the socio-economic recovery of states in North-East Nigeria, ravaged by the Boko Haram crisis since 2009.
I have followed the activities of the NEDC closely since its inception, and I dare say that the way and manner the leadership has employed the use of Information and Communication Technology in carrying out its operations is indeed phenomenal. This much was indeed buttressed by the way it has continually engaged the youths through the instrument of ICT, with the various ICT centers established across states in North-East Nigeria.
The establishment of ICT centres across states in the North East is indeed a welcome development because it would allow the bustling youthful population the opportunity to be self-reliant. In the words of the managing director of the NEDC, he said that the objective of the NEDC ICT programme is to improve access to Information Technology resources within the North-East zone and empower the population with necessary vocational education, skills and tools that can make them self-reliant. Brilliant.
I am aware that the NEDC has made the training of youths on ICT a significant scope under its youth empowerment scheme. And the result has been phenomenal across states in North-East Nigeria. In Bauchi State, the NEDC trained 204 youths on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Agriculture.
At the presentation of certificates to the graduands, Governor Bala Mohammed explained that the NEDC has been thorough in the area of ICT training, provision of agricultural machinery and inputs, stressing that the two sectors are driven by the youths who suffer from the problem of unemployment, which has led a lot of them to restiveness and social vices.
I could not agree less with the statement of Governor Bala Mohammed in the sense that the management of the NEDC indeed realized the importance of engaging youths in these critical sectors with the ultimate aim of filling that gap which has been created over the years as a result of the crisis in the region.
No fewer than 197 youths have graduated from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training programme in Adamawa state. It is instructive to state that the ICT training programme encompasses entrepreneurial skills, bookkeeping and computer appreciation such as digital graphics design and smartphone repairs. Little wonder why a cross-section of youths in Taraba State commended the NEDC for training 331 of them in various skills.
The story is also the same in other North-East Nigeria states that have seen the youths embracing productivity while channelling their time and energies into making life meaningful for themselves in ways too numerous to mention.
In my opinion, this move by the NEDC is indeed strategic and aimed at reducing the venerability of youths being conscripted into insurgent groups. For those of us conversant with the methodology of the Boko Haram insurgents in recruiting fighters, I can say that with this initiative in place, not only would recruiting youths into terrorist gangs be daunting; it would also aid the reconstruction efforts of the federal government in North-East Nigeria. On the heels that the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has strong potential to transform economies and societies in several ways.
At this point, I must commend the NEDC for sound leadership with what I have called the ICT revolution at the grassroots level. We might not fully grasp the strategic importance of this because it is at the initial stages, but in the long run, the impact would be phenomenal.
I also think it won’t be a bad idea if the federal government replicates the NEDC ICT training model across the country to engage the curious minds of youths across the country, especially at the grassroots level.
This is also a lesson in leadership, where the conceptualization and implementation of policies with the target audience are at its core. This is what the NEDC has done with the ICT Training Programme, which is deserving of commendation.
The Mohammed Goni Alkali led NEDC has proven that they mean business with regards to fulfilling the commission's mandate. And the NEDC is indeed moving in the right direction, not just with the ICT revolution but also in other critical areas where its intervention has been felt.
The agricultural and educational sectors are other areas where the NEDC has introduced dynamism. I dare say that the leadership of the NEDC has indeed redefined leadership which should serve as an example to other intervention agencies in the country.
In conclusion, the takeaway from the NEDC ICT revolution is the creation of jobs for the youths in the North East that would translate to less restiveness and other vices that are inimical to the region's socio-economic development.
This is indeed a big one. And the charge to the Mohammed Alkali Goni led NEDC is to continue to do more now and in the years to come towards seeing to the revamping of the economy of North-East Nigeria.

Terka wrote this piece from ABTI, Yola.

NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim has advised Prospective Corps Members to utilise the opportunities of the service year to uphold National Unity and preach peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.

He said the NYSC Scheme was established for the promotion National Unity and integration.

Ibrahim stated this today while addressing the 2021 Batch 'B' Stream One Prospective Corps Members during his visit to NYSC Plateau State Orientation Camp in Mangu.

The Director-General also urged them to use the service year to build teamwork and preach against Nigeria's break-up.

"Take advantage of the Orientation Course to foster unity, national integration and peaceful co-existence."

"NYSC was established to promote national unity and the Scheme will continue to live up to its mandate," he said.

Speaking further, lbrahim appealed to the Prospective Corps Members to respect dignity of labour, have vision for excellent performance and drive it with passion.

He warned them against social vices saying, "Avoid cutting corners, respect the law, do the right thing and maintain good integrity", he said.

He added, "Avoid cyber crimes, drugs and don't allow any of your actions today haunt you tomorrow,"

General Ibrahim advised the Prospective Corps Members to be security conscious and adhere strictly to the security tips given to them in the camp by not exposing themselves to danger.

He warned them against embarking on authorized journeys, and advised that they must obtain permission from the NYSC if it becomes compelling to travel.

"Don't travel at night, avoid boarding vehicles by the roadside and don't take chances," the DG stated.

Ibrahim cautioned them against wrong usage of the Social Media, admonishing them to "Be careful on the way you use the Social Media. Don't post or share fake news."

During the visit, a minute silence was observed in memory of the five Prospective Corps Members that died recently in an auto-crash along Abaji/Kwali on their way to report at the Orientation Camp in Katsina State.

By Toby Prince

Truly, from the outset, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari knew Aso Rock is a hot seat and Nigeria, a very complex country to govern. He has millions of admirers, and enough political adversaries too.

President Buhari is not a leadership neophyte. So, despite the toughness of the game, he has refused to succumb to the fusillade of internal or external agents and forces of destabilization amassed against the nation. The surfeit of insecurities plaguing the country unyieldingly remains a big setback. But Mr President has refused to bulge, much as the anti-state antagonists are also ruthless and relentless.

Yet Buhari’s greatest burden emanates from the veiled external forces whose actions and utterances over time have betrayed sinister motives against the progressive ideals and continued existence of the country as one indivisible entity. So, they are quick to side with non-state actors back home in their crafted evil designs to destabilize Nigeria; but at the same time, portray President Buhari as Nigeria’s worst leader citing indiscernible reasons.

Under a democratic government, there is bound to be a clash of pro and anti-government forces. This posture borrows its strength from the inherent free exercise of citizens’ rights of association and expression which are doctrinal to democratic practice. The visible presence of Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) in the civil space under the Buhari Presidency reflects state respect for these appendages of democracy.

It is easily observable that on both sides of the coin, the NGOs in Nigeria have indulged in rancour-free exercises of their might in the defence of democracy, partisan interests, rule of law, and good governance. No human institution or system is perfect and so, no one expects the NGOs to be 100 per cent perfect either.

However, what is strange is the adroit defence of what a researcher, Mr Matthew T. Page, termed mainstream NGOs and his outright declassification or hard punches on those he considers “pariah” NGOs, tagged as pro-government, “dubious” or “briefcase entities.”

Mr Page is a non-resident scholar with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and some other foreign organizations. He is also a non-resident Fellow with the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja. On July 28, 2021, Mr Page published a paper with the title, “Fake Civil Society: The Rise of Pro-Government NGOs in Nigeria.”

He devoted time to throw darts at President Buhari for fueling pro-government NGOs through his appointees, sponsored mainly to choke the genuine civil society space in Nigeria and divert attention from poor leadership policies or other manifestations. “After a fifteen-year lull, pro-government NGO activity has reached new heights since Buhari took office in 2015,” Mr Page asserted.

One is not necessarily frowning at the thrust of the researcher’s paper on operations of NGOs in the country. It is, however, difficult to believe or even vouch for Mr Page’s postulated reasons for the existence of the NGOs he brands as “criminal” enterprises or state-sponsored “cookie-cutter” groups.

It’s ironic that the researcher was unconcerned with the defective nature or operations of NGOs he dubbed as mainstream in the country, but conferred on them the aura of perfection, despite their apparent gaffes most time. But in contrast, he specifically backlashed and tongue-lashed the other civil society groups simply because their views support President Buhari’s administration. That’s a partisan stand already.

Therefore, it is in bad taste for Mr Page to fail to perceive the existence of the mainstream and pro-government NGOs as exciting discourses on the democratic plane with the incongruent positions they take on national issues such as security, good governance, corruption, human rights and the rule of law. It is faulty for the paper to unbending project that pro-government NGOs are satanic on the simplistic basis of registration irregularities or defects; whilst their mainstream counterparts are exemplary messiahs in the views they canvass because they are lawfully registered.

To exculpate his preferred NGOs, Page backed it up with a few lines of hogwash that the “genuine” NGOs eulogize worthy government policies or actions when necessary. It is an implausible argument to claim the interpretation of government’s actions or policies as right or wrong in the sight of Nigerians can only be determined by Mr Page or his clan of so-called credible NGOs.

It is misplaced for Page to reason that President Buhari is such an awfully bad leader to the extent that himself or cronies must hire the services of these “fake” NGOs or briefcase entities to unjustifiably launder their public image, repress human rights abuses, scuttle popular opinions, serve as platforms for syncopating government officials’ illiberal causes for either political or financial gains. Or they are established to attract funds from international donors. Most times, the so-called credible NGOs also indulge in glaring subversive activities to sabotage the Buhari administration or commit deliberate destructive blunders.

But Page poured out his mind bizarrely; “Pro-government NGOs also frequently champion illiberal causes, pushing back against calls for reform, defending state repression, and absolving the government of responsibility for human rights abuses. Yet they also try to appear legitimate by adopting the mannerisms and lexicon of mainstream NGOs. Pro-government NGOs are also, by definition, opaquely funded, most likely by political appointees close to senior officials who seek to generate media attention for their views.”

This piece is hinged on two main aspects of the researcher’s ad hominem on discredited NGOs. Firstly, that pro-government NGOs engages in praise-singing of President Buhari, the Nigerian Military and its Service Chiefs, especially on issues of security. He singled out Chief Philip Agbese, a London-trained lawyer, public affairs analyst and rights activist as the kingpin of the pro-government NGOs in North of Nigeria, together with a handful of others who deploy them as platforms to meaninglessly applaud the performance of the President and the military handling the anti-terrorism operations in the country.

Like even the published paper hinted, Agbese performs this chore because of his abiding faith in the Buhari Presidency and the competence of the Nigerian military to defeat Boko Haram and allied insurgencies in Nigeria. Page and his sponsors must also acknowledge the existence of cyberspace terrorism, which is basically propaganda inclined and also lethal as battlefield terrorism. The activities of Agbese and his other compatriots should rather be seen as patriotism to one’s country in assisting the military to deflate the fake propaganda of cyberspace terrorists against Nigeria.

Nigerians must also know that there is no perfect administration anywhere in the world. But a leader who is meeting the minimal benchmarks in leadership should be supported and emboldened by the ruled to accomplish more. It is what makes leadership what it is and what it should be. Perhaps, Mr Page and his sponsors are unaware of the extent to which Boko Haram and banditry penetrated Nigeria before the Buhari Presidency, so he cannot notice the positive impact now.

Page needs another research to understand the efforts of Buhari and the Nigerian military, in pushing back these tormentors, reclaiming territories and the current stage, where insurgents are held to a standstill by soldiers. No sane Nigerian or anyone else anywhere can conscionably stoop low as to say the former Service Chiefs of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) has failed to perform credibly in quelling the multiple insurgencies in Nigeria under President Buhari.

That is not to say, President Buhari is a saint and Philip Agbese has never ascribed such status to him either. And it is doubtful if Agbese will ever say President Buhari is a saint. But if there is one national challenge that President Buhari has handled impressively is the fight against insurgencies. Nobody can take that away from Buhari and the likes of Matthew Page must also take time to commend, rather than squabble with NGOs trying to assist the country in battling cyberspace terrorism in wartimes like now.

The fixation of Page’s so-called credible NGOs to also undermine Nigeria most times is undisguised. Amnesty International (AI) for instance, had on several occasions morphed into a mouthpiece of terrorists in Nigeria. They also transcended to a parallel or opposition government in Nigeria, administering its Country Office in Abuja like a daily newspaper, churning out news reports only favourable to the insurgents to dampen the morale of troops.

This is the same AI, which twice, declined appearance before a probe panel to testify or substantiate its bogus claims of human rights violations by the Nigerian Military in the prosecution of counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast. Even if AI considered the composition of the probe panels as lopsided, one expected AI to respect the Nigerian Government by testifying and thereafter, writing and publishing its observations or report on the probe. But it failed disrespectfully.

So, outsiders thinking this posture by AI never angered Nigerians are untruthful to themselves and it is certain, they will never tolerate such an organization in their home countries. Again, let unbiased minds consider the haste with which AI reported killings at Lekki tollgate during the #EndSARS protests and the death toll? In the end, the organization could not even provide evidence of the 10 persons allegedly shot with live bullets by soldiers.

The CNN was later conscripted into this conspiracy by reporting staggering and uncertain figures of casualties in the Lekki incident ranging from the initial 78 to 35 persons, as brutally killed by soldiers. But to this minute none of these organizations has proven any death from the Lekki incident. That’s an unprofessional and mercantile display of journalism practice by CNN. In other climes, CNN would have been sanctioned. But truly, the U.S. State Department’s 2020 Human Rights Report on Nigeria over the October 2020 alleged killings of unarmed #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the Lekki tollgate, by its unambiguous declaration of lack of evidence vindicated the Nigerian Army.

So, indubitably, the outcome of this research work advertises Matthew T. Page and his sponsors at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a mutation of the external conspirators against the security, peace, stability and unity of Nigeria, like the other identified foreign organizations. It is curious why Page is blinded to the contributions of pro-government NGOs in pairing up with the military in fighting cyberspace terrorism, but unreservedly applauded international organizations whose operations bolster the terrorists’ tormenting Nigeria. Page should revisit the fallouts from the paper by exploring the deliberately excluded angles hinted in this piece or he will be reckoned as one of these paid foreign writers, who has also finished the job very poorly like CNN.

Prince is an editor based in Abuja.

RE: GUNMEN KILLED 344 CORPS MEMBERS IN THE NORTH-WEST ZONE IN JULY - THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

NYSC Management wishes to restate that the story with the above caption, peddled by Opera News, quoting The Punch Newspaper as source is very misleading.

This same medium on Thursday, 29th July, 2021 came up with a fake story with the caption: NEARLY 200 NYSC MEMBERS MURDERED ACROSS THE NORTH-EAST THIS YEAR AS KIDNAPPING ESCALATES

As earlier stated every discerning mind knows that story, as well as that of today are both false. No Corps Member deployed to the North-East and North-West geo-political zones of the country was killed, neither was any abducted by bandits in July, 2021, as reported.

Management would have ignored this story, but had to issue this rebuttal for the sake of undiscerning minds who may swallow the fake news, hook, line and sinker.

Management hereby passionately appeals to both the mainstream and new media, as opinion moulders and critical stakeholders in the polity to always place national interest above every other consideration in their reportage, as anything contrary has the propensity to create apprehension in the minds of parents, guardians and other stakeholders.

NYSC shall continue to prioritise the security and welfare of Corps Members which is the cardinal policy thrust of the Scheme.

Management.

Photo News: H.E. Amb Tukur Yusufu Buratai presented his Letter of Credence to Benin President

H.E. Amb Tukur Yusufu Buratai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Republic of Benin presented his Letter of Credence to the President, Republic of Benin Mr. Patrice Talon on 27 July 2021.

Honourable Abdullahi Ilelah of the Magistrate Court, Zuba, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Monday ordered Solomon Adodo, remanded in Suleja Prison, while his trial for alleged impersonation, inciting public disturbance and forgery offences continue.

Adodo who was charged to court for impersonating the President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Amb. Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo declined to comment until his lawyer appeared.

The Prosecutor, A.S. Oyeyemi Esq who argued that Adodo's offences were contrary to sections 114, 179 and 364 of the Penal Code, submitted that it is the right of the defendant to get a lawyer.

Oyeyemi also requested Justice Ilelah to give a date for the case to come up for mention.

Consequently, Justice Abdullahi Ilelah adjourned the case till 2nd August, 2021 and the Judge directed that Solomon Adodo be remanded in Suleja Prison.

The political chicanery and the orchestrated machinations of some political leaders within the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC), to sideline the incumbent Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinabjo (SAN) from contesting the 2023 presidential election because of his positive mien and gentleman inclination to national development has been linked as the basis for the formation of a new group, the Osinbajo Solidarity Movement, OSM, to move forward from the shadows of political hibernation.
 
The leader of the new group, Hon. Adeola Jegede said that, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, (SAN) represents one of the best if we are looking forward to a better country.
 
In a statement made available through the Eastern Nigeria coordinator of the group, Hon. Chibuzor Omehiehukwu said that, Osinbajo Solidarity Movement is an offshoot of a collective decision of men and women both at home and in the Diaspora who are eminently qualified to speak and proffer solutions to the emergence of a new Nigeria where merit counts. He said that the group is poised to inform Nigerians about the huge assets they stand to lose if the vice president was denied an opportunity to showcase his untapped potentials which has been hidden for political arithmetics.
 
“Prof. Osinbajo is a rare and cerebral breed, whose experience over the last few years as number two citizen in the country should not be underestimated. His handling of the economy when uninhibited has always been adjourned excellent, even to the ordinary man on the street," says Chibuzor.
 
The group said, Osinbajo has traversed the length and breadth of the country and found out that his acceptability is not in doubt. We are aware of his political dillemma,  but for the sake of the country, we are urging the Vice President to brace the odds and clear the air on the issue.
 
Chibuzor asked Nigerians to team up with OSM, stressing that, for Nigeria to survive the siege,  we must look beyond poltics of stomach infrastructure, ethnicity, party affiliation and religious basis, but the best man for the job.
 
“Nigerians should see OSM as a vehicle to drive home the best beyond 2023. We need his intellectual charisma and experience, we need his strength and positive outlook, we cannot ignore these characters, that is why we want you to join us to ensure Osinbajo’s presidency is a success, the statement concluded.

By: Reno Omokri

I would like to thank Bashorun Dele Momodu for publishing my rejoinder to his Pendulum column of July 17, 2021. It was a honourable thing to do.

To those who have not read it, please find it below:

Dear Egbon Dele Momodu,

In your Pendulum column of Saturday, July 17, 2021, you wrote as follows:

“Many people felt that they were tired of the reckless profligacy and incredible corruption that pervaded the land under the Jonathan administration.”

The above statement is a historical revision and is not supported by facts.

There was no “reckless profligacy and incredible corruption” under former President Jonathan.

The only international institution accepted by the world as an objective arbiter on measuring corruption is Transparency International.

You may recall that under then President Jonathan, Nigeria made her best ever improvement on the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index till date, in 2014, moving from 144 the previous year, to 136, an 8 point improvement.

No other administration before then achieved that feat, and no other government afterwards has repeated it.

You may also recall that on February 1, 2021, Transparency International’s most recent Corruption Perception Index revealed that Nigeria is more corrupt today than it was under the previous administration, having moved 13 places backwards in the CPI, from 136 in 2014 to 149 in 2021 (our worst performance ever).

You will therefore agree with me that your assessment of the situation under former President Jonathan is faulty, especially when you take into effect that that administration eliminated the corruption in the fertiliser procurement regime, introduced the cashless policy and the Bank Verification Number to reduce opportunities for corruption, and eased out two ministers over conflict of interest, as well as probing the petroleum sector in a bid to rid it off the fraudulent subsidy regime.

Transparency International is a non governmental organisation based in Germany and has no affiliation with either the government of former President Jonathan, nor his political party. It is therefore prudent to accept their findings as an unbiased and non partisan body.

I do hope you would publish this to give your readers a more accurate picture of the period of our national life in question.

Thank you and may God bless you.

Reno

In addition to that rejoinder, I decided to write a more in-depth piece to generally address this myth of Dr. Jonathan’s corruption. A myth, for those who do not know, is a narrative that is not founded on facts or grounded in reality.


The idea that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan ran a corrupt administration is a myth. Nigeria was already a country battling endemic corruption before Dr. Jonathan took office on May 6, 2010 as President. That is a notorious fact.

Now, it is in the political interest of political opponents of Dr. Jonathan to sustain this myth, but let us instead focus on what cannot lie-the facts.

Year after year, Transparency International has maintained that Nigeria’s corruption is concentrated in two critical sectors, namely the petroleum sector and the civil service procurement regime.

And those two areas were the focus of the Jonathan administration’s efforts to rid the system of opportunistic corruption.

What is opportunistic corruption?

Let us take the oil sector. When you have a subsidy regime that is overseen by civil servants and supervised by politicians, you have a system that provides a lot of opportunities for corruption. Civil servants can cook and were in fact cooking the books, and politicians were approving their figures because they were getting a cut.

The Nigerian system of fighting corruption has been to go after those civil servants and politicians not sympathetic to his government and party with a sledge hammer. We have seen from Nigeria’s abysmal Corruption Perception Index report that that method is not working.

The Jonathan approach was more cerebral. He first set up the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, headed by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to expose corruption practices in the industry. Nobody appoints Nuhu Ribadu to probe a sector of his intention is to promote corruption. Nuhu Ribadu has an unshakable reputation as a straight arrow.

And after that Taskforce submitted their report on November 2, 2012, the President himself set up machinery in place to end the subsidy regime and completely privatise this sector rates as one of Nigeria’s most corrupt.

That singular act would have eliminated opportunities for corruption amongst civil servants, politicians and contractors.

But Nigerians misunderstood and felt that Jonathan wanted to benefit those who sponsored his election. If indeed that was the case, why would he want to end subsidy? The natural thing to do, if he wanted to reward people, would have been to sustain the policy.

It did not occur to Nigerians that if Dr. Jonathan wanted to pay back those who sponsored his election then the last thing he would want to do was end the subsidy regime.

As a result of the report of the Nuhu Ribadu led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, the President ordered the prosecution of Mahmud Tukur, the son of the then Chairman of the ruling party. Can that happen today? President Jonathan insisted that the High and mighty must be made an example of, and Abdullahi Alao, the son of another political elite (Arisekola Alao) was arrested and tried.

And lastly on this score, in 2012, then President Jonathan inaugurated a presidential committee, led by Access Bank Chief Executive Officer, Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede, to carry out a forensic audit to verify all subsidy claims before they could be paid. Anyone who knows Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede knows he is incorruptible. That is not the type of person to let things slide.

At the end of the day Nasir El-Rufai, Tunde Bakare and others rallied Nigerians and grounded the country.

Another attempt at fighting opportunistic corruption (this time successfully) was with the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which the Jonathan administration introduced in 2011, which required fingerprinting all civil servants as a prerequisite for salary payments.

This was to eliminate the corruption of ghost workers. Through IPPIS, Nigeria flushed out 50,000 ghost during the Jonathan administration’s pendency.

$800 million that would have been paid to them in annual salaries and entitlement was saved.

As a matter of fact, almost all the intellectual and scientific methods that Nigeria currently uses to fight corruption were initiated and implemented by the Jonathan government, including IPPIS, BVN, the cashless policy and the Treasury Single Account.

The TSA was a brainchild of President Goodluck Jonathan and Dr. Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; when they wanted to bring all the resources of the federal government of Nigeria under one account, and they wanted that account to be a single account so they could promote transparency.

However, because they knew that if we have this treasury single account, and we recall all the funds that the federal government has in banks and in different institutions, it is going to collapse the economy.

So they decided it was going to be done in phases. Maybe, five percent at given times of about six months.

The point I am trying to drive home here is that the Jonathan administration made immense progress in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index because that government was focused on preventing corruption by eliminating opportunities to be corrupt.

Some people mention Dasuki. This is now six years, and Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retired) is yet to be tried. He is ready. Like me, he is a meticulous record keeper. He had maintained that the charges are bogus and no $2.1 billion is missing.

We also had our faults. We were unaware of monies kept by Andrew Yakubu in his house. We were also not as forceful as we ought to have been in micromanaging some ministers that we now know were profligate. Nobody is perfect.

However, no administration has made the type of progress that we made in reducing Nigeria’s Corruption Perception Index ranking. And until anybody is able to beat us, with all due respect, they should give honour to whom it is due!


Reno Omokri
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Avid traveller. Hollywood Magazine Film Festival Humanitarian of the Year, 2019.

As the saying goes, "keeping fit is good business". This is what the Interim Administrator/CEO of the NDDC expounded upon at the end of a football tournament organised by the union of the NDDC for all its staff.

The tournament which was tagged "MD's cup 2021" kicked off at Itam West football field Akwa Ibom State on the 19th of July and ended on the 23rd of July. It was a refreshing time for the staff of the commission as it allowed them to interact with each other and network with visitors who came from far to witness the event.

During a press briefing with newsmen, the Special Adviser on Youth Matters to the Interim Administrator of NDDC, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, who spoke on behalf of his boss urged youths in the Niger Delta Region to take their minds away from mischief by engaging meaningfully in sporting activities.

Udengs advised at the end of the maiden edition of the five-day football tournament organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission, in Port Harcourt the Rivers State Capital, to enable staff of the commission to keep fit for effective productivity during work hours.

The S.A on youth appreciated his boss Barr. Efiong Akwa for participating fully during the opening and closing of the event. He said gestures like this do not only encourage staff but gives them a sense of belonging, promoting staff unity, a healthy workforce and motivation. He further enthused that the Niger Delta Region will only be great when youths from the area are determined and focused.

Adding that sports, like education, were veritable tools that could be used in realising the transformation of society. However, the Special Assistant on Youth reeled out plans of the commission to organize a football tournament among the nine states in the Niger Delta.

In his words, "the NDDC will soon organize a football competition among the nine states that make up the Niger Delta, This is to produce skilled individuals that will contribute positively to society through sports activities

“As we already know, sports create a veritable avenue for youths to discover their hidden talents. Sports all over the world today is no longer a pastime venture as it has become big business and now brings national and international recognition to those who give it the seriousness it deserves.”

While congratulating the Male and Female winners of the NDDC Football tournament, Eradiri commended the participants for the display of sportsmanship during the competition.

The Director General, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim,flagged-off the NYSC National Sanitation Exercise at the Palace of the Sa'Nyanyayi of Nyanya Abuja, today, 24th July, 2021.

In his address, the Director General pointed out that the need to enlighten the general public on the health risks of poor hygiene was based on the report of the last HIRD exercise which attributed most ailments diagnosed to poor sanitation habits.
The exercise according to the Director General was an avenue to empower the people with adequate information on personal and environmental hygiene with special focus on regular environmental sanitation and proper disposal of waste among others.

He commended the efforts of the NYSC Officers as well as corps members who put in their best in the humanitarian service to the community.

The Ogoga of Ikere, HRM Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado today showered encomium on the NYSC for the wonderful job the scheme is doing not only in keeping the country united but in the development of rural communities in Nigeria. The Kabiyesi in his address said this is a scheme I will want to continue because of its impact on the development of Nigeria especially in the rural areas. Kabiyesi commended the Director-General for his noble and notable initiatives ranging from the HIRD to this NYSC Environmental Sanitation Programme. He specifically commended corps members in Ikere-Ekiti for their different developmental initiatives like the construction of Speed Breakers, Construction and Renovation of Public Toilets, Health Initiative Programmes among others. The State Coordinator in her reaction appreciated the Kabiyesi for supporting the scheme as well as taking the corps members as his own children. The Kabiyesi in appreciation of the sanitation exercise entertained the State Coordinator and all the corps members in Ikere-Ekiti.

ITF: Disregard Sahara Reporters, 'invisible' staff's alarm against Ari, group tells Nigerians

The Coalition for Good Governance (CGG) has urged Nigerians to disregard the false alarm by Sahara Reporters and a faceless staff of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) against its Director-General/Chief Executive, Sir Joseph Ari.

The group, at a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, said after thorough investigation, it discovered no iota of truth in the claims of nepotism, favouritism and marginalisation against Sir Ari.

According to Secretary-General, Sola Olumese, Sahara Reporters was either misled by the hypothetical staff or is being mischievous in its reportage of events around the ITF.

On the issue of nepotism, the CGG noted that for the first time since the agency's creation, the management team cuts across all the six geopolitical zones of the nation.

The group further revealed that its research shows that promotion in the ITF is carried out in line with federal character principle without any preference for females as being reported.

It noted that accusations over promotion of women is preposterous and "only goes to show that we are fighting against ourselves, a battle we may likely never win".

The group also rubbished claims that Ari awarded contracts to his family, noting that it found no tangible proof.

Acknowledging the achievements of Ari, the CGG said the ITF boss has done remarkably well to rid the agency of nepotism, tribalism and the likes.

Under the current management, Olumese said ITF has become more focused, result-oriented, achievement-driven and strategically repositioned in the pursuit of its aims and objectives.

Olumese also said youth unemployment and paucity of critical technical skills for national development has been tactfully and strategically combated, therefore, bringing it to a minimal effect.

The group, however, urged Sir Ari not to relent on his good works, or get dissuaded by actions of different polluted media publications and charlatans surrounding him.

While calling on other agencies to emulate the ITF, the Coalition of Good Governance called on the Federal Government to show more commitment and support in the promotion of technical skills development as a panacea for the nation’s industrial development challenge.

Read full statement below:

Protocols,

The leadership of The Coalition for Good Governance welcomes you all to this press conference convened to clear the air on some spurious allegations raised against the leadership of the Industrial Training Fund and the need to set the record straight.

Over the decades, there has been a recurrent and sustained argument that Nigerian agencies, like its counterparts in Africa and other countries of the developing world, underperformed due to mismanagement of public funds, nepotism, or lack of capacity to deal with the contemporary complexities of governance. The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has debunked many conflicting rumors and speculations through it's effective positive impact on our great Nation, Nigeria.

The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has been a great parastatal of the Federal Government of Nigeria under the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. In pursuant to its statutory responsibility over the years, the ITF has expanded its structures, developed training programmes, and fully reviewed its strategies, operations and services in order to meet the expanding, and changing demands for skilled manpower in the economy.

The Coalition for Good governance inclines to make us understand that, "on the re-appointment of Sir Joseph Ari, as the Director-General/Chief Executive, ITF has proven its essence of establishment by promoting and encouraging the development and acquisition of industrial and commercial skills required in various industries across the nation".

Under the current management , ITF has become more focused, result-oriented, achievement-driven and strategically repositioned in the pursuit of the aims and objectives of the ITF. The strides achieved in the development of critical and technically Skilled manpower for industries and national development are commendable and worthy of emulation.
The Coalition for Good Governance feels disturbed and very concerned about the awful reports given by Sahara Reporters and hypothetical action of the disgruntled staffs who spoke to Sahara reporters concerning the management and its administrative style.

The Coalition has taken its time to investigate the issues raised in that publication and can authoritatively confirm that there is no iota of truth in all that have been said. We can only say that it is either Sahara Reporters was misled by the hypothetical staff or is being mischievous in its reportage of events around the ITF.

It is not new to us, issues of pettiness, anger , pain and rumor mongering, especially in this part of the world where political rivalry comes to play even when there should be a common goal to be achieved by individuals, who knowing better should put aside all anger or petty rivalry.

On the issue of nepotism, the CGG wishes to state that, it is a fact that for the first time since the creation of the ITF, the management team cuts across all the six geopolitical zones of our nation, Nigeria. How then can same be accused of nepotism?

If the Director General, Sir Gawaski is accused of certain wrongdoings, isn’t it only fair to confirm stories before passing them on to be eaten up by the general public? The ITF’s management is at peace, the kind of peace never before experienced in any organization . It says much about their good work and efforts targeted at nation building, equity and fairness to all concerned parties in the country.
The Coalition therefore wishes to unequivocally commend this equitable principle that is at play at the ITF and call on other critical agencies to emulate them. If anything, it tells of how much of hardwork has been done to rid the organization of nepotism, tribalism and the likes.

It is not hidden, how our country has struggled with having women in leadership. An issue we address with future tenses as regards the solution. The ITF management under the able leadership of Sir Gawaski is not waiting for the future. He gives everyone a fair shot, male or female, no matter the tribe.

We struggle as a nation, trying to rid ourselves of sexist leaders who downplay the roles of women in our society and we as a governmental organization pride ourselves in having women at the front of our affairs.

Apparently, Like every other governmental organization in Nigeria, employment and promotion is carried out in line with the federal character principle and the ITF is no exception.

Accusations as regards promotion of women is preposterous and only goes to show that we are fighting against ourselves, a battle we may likely never win. Will there have been complaints of men getting promoted? We claim to be fighting against sexism and chauvinism when every time a woman forges ahead, all we see is someone undeserving.

The Coalition for Good Governance has spoken endlessly for decades about women becoming more active in politics and governance, why then are we embittered by deserving women who have been given a fair shot at things, isn’t only hypocritical and chauvinistic? Aren’t we the source of our own problems. Some men, most likely embittered by women forging ahead, thinking they are more deserving of the positions have come forward to speak , accusing the leadership wrongly, claiming these women were promoted for hidden reasons, how do they know of the ‘hidden’ reasons and the media has acted once again on mere hearsay.

On Sir Gawaski’s reappointment not following due process, the president of the nation reappointed him for a second term, it goes to show that the organization delivered properly under the DG’s rule in the first term. If we watch closely this allegations, it should be noted , how much anger these rumor mongers have harbored in their hearts, it is obvious they are not comfortable with the DG’s reappointment and his giant strides at the ITF.
This goes to show what length these people would go to just to give the organization a bad name.

If these people are unhappy about the second term, they should be picking their bone with the president who thought it wise to reappoint the hardworking DG. Harbored anger has slowly grown to become hate and resentment, nothing will ever be good enough.

These people have a deep seated feeling that the Director General is not worth his position and so it has become a problem for them , they will scrutinize and find faults even where none is. When one is considered not good enough, a lot of things can happen, a lot more can unfold. Accusations begin to fly because that is the only way to know to show their frustration and fight back.

The Coalition for Good Governance has openly declared that the ITF under sir Ari has been nothing short of upright and following the righttsaeps, in accordance with what is required of us as a governmental organization by the law, once again we stand by our word, stating clearly that the organization has been under nothing but good governance.

On giving out contracts to family members, where is the proof of that ? If Sir Gawaski ran the organization like his ‘personal estate’ , how are there people cutting across different tribes at the hem of affairs? Or is the DG now from all geopolitical zones in the country?

One question begs to be asked at this junction, if there is zero nepotism at the head, why should there be at other levels? Over the last two years, sir Ari has been commended for keeping his promise made to the nation as regards his leadership in the ITF.

One occasion comes to mind , his inaugural speech , Sir Ari made a promise after his heart felt appreciation to the president to take the organization to the next level, his promise has been kept and it is evident in how far the organization has come.

He had told the entire ITF family and the nation at large that he was willing to fulfill the Mandate thrust on his shoulders as the DG . He said ; “we cannot afford to betray the trust that is given to us. We must note that our activities must be carried out with utmost commitment and total dedication. I, therefore, call on the management and the entire staff of the ITF and other key stakeholders to contribute innovative ideas. The time has come for us to really come together as a family and do something meaningful and different.”

Sir Ari has brought the organization farther than it had ever been, making sure to remove nepotism and marginalization, the two things most dealt with in governance from this organization. Sir Ari has given Nigerian women a shot at leadership in the organization as well. A feat yet to be achieved by most political organizations in the country . Indeed, sir Ari so far base done an excellent job.

CGG wishes to state in unequivocal terms that the challenge of increasing youth unemployment and paucity of critical technical skills for national development has become an emergency which ITF has been tactfully and strategically combating, therefore , bringing it to a minimal effect in our dear Nation.

We therefore urge Sir Ari not to relent on his good works, or get dissuaded by actions of different polluted media publications and charlatans surrounding him. While the ITF, under Sir Joe Ari has done creditably well in performing above expectations, the Coalition of Good Governance urges the Government to show more commitment and support in the promotion of technical skills development as a panacea for the nation’s industrial development challenge.
The Coalition of Good Governance applauds Mr President for his unending support for ITF, and his precious love for our great Country.

God bless President Muhammadu Buhari, God bless Nigeria.

By Benedict Aguele

The Industrial Training Fund has been in the news of late for leading a revolution in the technological space in the country. One of the reasons is the recent launch of made in Nigeria Android phone, ITF Mobile with 100% locally sourced materials.
I was impressed, to say the least, and that ignited my interest in the ITF, and the revelations have been mind-boggling. As a start, the ITF, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, and established in 1971, has not only raised training consciousness in the economy but has also helped in generating a corps of skilled indigenous manpower which has been manning and managing various sectors of the national economy.
In those days, at the mention of ITF, the thought of students’ placement on industrial training readily comes to mind. This erroneous impression is that everything about the ITF starts and ends with certifying students' industrial training experience.
I dare say a lot has changed in the operations of the ITF under the leadership of Joseph Ari as the director-general. After detailed scrutiny of the ITF in the last five years, I speak on good authority that, indeed, there has been a revolution in the agency. One of the signs is the manufacturing of the ITF Mobile, the first made in Nigeria smartphone.
I gathered from reliable sources that the ITF had also been silently finetuning skilled indigenous manpower in various sectors of the economy through the revamping of the ITF Model Skills Training Centre.
The Model Skills Training Centre was established by the Industrial Training Fund as a Post-Secondary Technical Institution in 2011 to provide industry-relevant career and technical education programmes for secondary school leavers and adult learners. It was a two-pronged effort by the Federal government to actualise the millennium development goals. To date, the Model Skills Training Centre (MSTC) is progressing in developing the nation’s economy through its highly Skilled Human Resource.
In 2016, the MSTC formally applied to the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), which is mandated to accord approvals on prospective TVET programmes to include specific programmes for critique/vetting and development in the National Vocational Certificate (NVC) component. This was closely followed by another critique exercise request to add the National Innovative Diploma (NID) component to its certification status.
In 2017, the MSTC was granted approval to operate as an Innovative Enterprise Institute (IEI), with effect from December 2016, to offer programmes in the two components of NID/NVC. Admission into the MSTC is now through JAMB for the NID programmes that run for Two (2) years and direct admissions for the Modular programmes that run for four weeks to 24 weeks. Today the Centre is a Model in TVET Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
This brings me to the leadership question in Nigeria. I have long stated in numerous forums that leadership is required to set the country on the path of greatness. Using the ITF as an example, we could see how credible leadership has resulted in groundbreaking initiatives that make every Nigerian proud. Let's rewind; if the director-general of the ITF, Joseph Ari, had toed the line of his predecessors in office, I am sure the ITF would have remained that agency responsible for student's placement for industrial training exercises alone.
We should learn to call a spade a spade and celebrate those who have displayed acts of ingenuity in service to the country. The story of Joseph Ari at the ITF comes readily as a worthy example for leading the revolution at the agency in the last five years of his stewardship.
I gathered that it's about service for him, and this could be felt in the manner the agency has been able to carry out its mandate effortlessly. This, in my considered opinion, answers the leadership question that is needed in the country.
The likes of Joseph Ari have proven that leadership is not rocket science; therefore, there are no 'set' qualities that have to be present in all leaders. Instead, an effective leader draws from a range of personal qualities to help them deal with different circumstances and challenges. This is the Joseph Ari story at the ITF and why he should be celebrated and not castigated. Unfortunately, this is the country we have found ourselves in, where some does not want to see anything progress and where the ultimate aim is to pull down rather than uplift.
I have been reading some mischievous publications on Joseph Ari recently, and I could not help but laugh in utmost disbelief. And I said to myself, how can we make progress as a country when good deeds are detestable, and blackmail is the order of the day.
I hold the firm opinion that the media has a role to play in ensuring that malicious and mischievous intentions are not promoted at the expense of the integrity of those with a solid commitment to providing credible leadership in the country.
The implication of the above is that should mischievous elements get the upper hand, we can be assured that the country would be thrown to the dogs, and sustainable growth and development would elude us.
Those that are envious of the sterling leadership of Mr Joseph Ari at the ITF should do well to swallow their pride and desist from the well-orchestrated slander campaign launched in the media, which might be as a result of the exploits recorded by the agency under his watch and in record time.
In my considered opinion, I think the narrative on the Joseph Ari led ITF should be on how leadership has transformed a once docile agency to a proactive and result-oriented agency. My two cents.


Agule is a strategic communication expert and wrote this piece from Abuja.

The Director-General of NYSC Brig Gen Shuaibu Ibrahim, today made an emotional and historic visit to the writer and composer of the NYSC Anthem, Dr. Oluwole Adetiran at his Ibafo residence in Ogun State.

The visit was predicated on the news on the ill health of the great Music Legend who composed and produced the age-long NYSC anthem.

The Director General was received by the living music legend with joyous tunes from a group of choristers whom "Baba" himself has nurtured over time. The colourful reception was greeted by a majestic rendition of the 3-stanza NYSC Anthem, which Dr. Adetiran himself led in an astute orchestral manner.

The DG was full of praise for the man who single handedly composed what has now become a very famous anthem of the Nigerian youth in the NYSC Scheme. The Director General thanked Dr. Adetiran for this unforgettable, invaluable contribution to the Scheme via the composition of the Anthem.

Overwhelmed by the emotions of being recognised by the Chief Executive of NYSC, and the kind emotional words of the Director General to him, Dr. Adetiran then burst into tears of joy in appreciation of the visit. The Director-General assured him that the NYSC will forever stand by him and members of his family at all times. The NYSC Boss prayed to God Almighty to grant him speedy recovery and good health.

The Music Legend in appreciation, was full of excitement and fulfilment that the Director-General made out time to visit him and also thanked the Director General for sustaining the values of the scheme which motivated him to compose the Anthem in the first instance. He said "I am very proud to be part of the NYSC success story through the Anthem I composed. I am today fulfilled by this your visit"

The DG was accompanied by the Acting-Director, Special Duties and the State Coordinators of Ogun and Lagos.

FCT CORPS MEMBERS BEGIN ENUMERATION EXERCISE FOR THE NATIONAL HOME GROWN SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME.

Corps Members in the FCT have commenced the Enumeration exercise of the National Home Grown Feeding Programme.

The exercise which commenced on Tuesday July 13th saw the Enumeration exercise take place across a section of the FCT. These include schools in Bwari Central, Karshi, Gwagwalada Central and Lokogoma.

The LEA School Kutunku, LEA Gwako, Jahi Kadi Kuchi , LEA School for the blind Jabi and LEA Primary School Wuse, among others across Area Councils in the FCT, were issued the Enumeration Forms to start off the exercise.

The corps members are expected to carry out the enumeration process till Monday 19th July when the Programme closes. The following are photographs of the event.

By Adamu Adamu


It appears that journalism has been thrown to the dogs in Nigeria with the array of disjointed publications that we are subjected to every passing hour. It gets to the point that one of the worse nightmares one might experience is having to go through some supposed news mediums.
In this ignoble category is Sahara Reporters, which can best be described as a platform for blackmail and sale to the highest bidder. To start with, Omoyele Sowore, its publisher, is reputed for using his medium as an avenue to extort gullible victims. This is aside from the fact that there is no record anywhere where it was stated that he studied journalism or cut his teeth with any reputable news medium.
The best of him was that he studied Geography and Planning at the University of Lagos from 1989 to 1995, with his academic program extended by two extra years after being expelled twice for political reasons and student activism. That is the ABCD of Omoyele Sowore and Sahara reporters.
I am writing this piece in reference to a story published by Sahara Reporters with the caption “North-East Development Commission Managing Director, Alkali in Alleged Multi-Billion Naira Corruption Scandal", quoting a group named North East Vanguard.
After reading the news story, I almost puked with the way and manner such gibberish was put out for public consumption and without recourse to the sensibilities of some of us from North-East Nigeria, and also conversant with the operations of the North East Development Commission.
As a start, the group North East Vanguard is a shadowy one promoted by a group of nonentities, that is, if they truly exist. Consequently, their submission reads more like tales by moonlight because of the litany of incoherency. The group claimed to have unearthed massive corruption involving billions of naira at the NEDC.
They took their idiocy further by stating that "The Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, takes home as monthly salary, N8.5 million without recourse to the Salaries and Wages Commission, apart from a whopping N300 million as running cost for his office per annum.”
I was stunned that I wonder which of the Mohammed Goni Alkali they were referring to in their submission. I consoled myself that maybe it was another Mohammed Goni Alkali and not the one that heads the NEDC. I said to myself that it must have been a case of mistaken identity or outright mischief.
I think both could suffice in this case because it remains a figment of the imagination with other wild allegations that reads more like a poorly written Nollywood script. And I am not surprised the group could find a willing collaborator in Sahara Reporters to churn out their illusions about the operations of the NEDC under Mohammed Goni Alkali.
To put it mildly, the shadowy group merely rehashed the propaganda published by some disgruntled politicians sometime back, who felt entitled to the finances of the NEDC meant for humanitarian interventions, and since they could not have their way, they went berserk.
I trust Alkali not to respond to gibberish, which has been his posture in over a decade that I have known him. However, I elected to send a message through this piece to those who think Alkali succumbs to blackmail. My question is, do they even know who Mohammed Goni Alkali is? I don't think so because if they knew who he is in terms of character and posture, they would try another customer willing to play ball.
Instructively, as close as some of us are to him, we know the limits in terms of asking for favours that would make him bend the rules or subvert the process. We also know that once our request goes against the common good, it is dead on arrival, and as such, we do not bother to even make such requests in the first place.
I can’t count the number of persons he has cut ties with for daring to ask for favours that undermine the objectives of the NEDC. I am sure some of these persons are behind the slander campaign. And to think they can link hi, Alkali to corrupt practice is almost laughable. The corruption toga doesn't fit him because all of his years in private and public service, he has remained aloft as a stickler for upholding what is right and detesting what isn't right. And his leadership of the NEDC is not an exception.
Some of us are aware of how he has been managing the affairs of the NEDC and constantly put him in our prayers for God to see him through the onerous task of leading the implementation of the developmental blueprint for the North-East geo-political zone that had been ravaged by over a decade of insurgency.
The promoters of North East Vanguard must realize that this is a tough nut to crack. It would be in their best interest to desist from further malicious enterprise targeted at tarnishing the image of Mohammed Goni Alkali. They should instead channel their resources to more charitable ventures that would serve good to humanity.
And my candid advice to Mohammed Goni Alkali is that the threat is real, and he must not get distracted by their shenanigans. He must maintain focus with his eyes on the ball in his characteristic manner. This is not a time for distractions. If the so-called North-East Vanguard has any documentary evidence, they should do well to present it to the general public and not crying wolf where none exist.

Adamu is a development researcher and wrote from Yola.

No fewer than 10 civil society groups have dismissed allegations of multi-billion Naira corruption scandal against the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) and its Managing Director, Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali.

The CSOs, in a joint press statement co-signed by Comrade Lawrence Audu and Comrade Bassey Ukpong for the Good Governance and Advocacy Network (GGAN) on behalf of other groups, on Tuesday, said the North-East Vanguard and its cohorts aim to distract Alkali by peddling falsehood.

According to the CSOs, the allegations of embezzlement of funds by the NEDC's MD was based on assumption, without a single strand of confirmable evidence.

The statement noted that the North-East Vanguard has decided to ignore some of the achievements of the NEDC, including hundreds of projects under education, health, agriculture, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and other social infrastructures.

The groups also recalled how the commission partnered the Borno State Government and others in the region under the Rapid Response Intervention (RRI) programme to address the challenge of damaged infrastructure and other facilities.


The statement further rubbished alleged nepotism in employment levelled against the MD, noting the NEDC Governing Board has all the six geo-political zones represented.


The CSOs, however, advised NEV and their cohorts to do more research on NEDC's activities under Alkali and if possible visit the North-East to see for themselves.

Read the full statement below:

Patriotic Nigerians from across the country and beyond have unceasingly drawn the attention of the leadership of the Good Governance Advocacy Network (GGAN) over the sabotaging activities of some mercantile and self-acclaimed society watch groups. These sponsored veiled demonic forces are still politicking with the security of lives, and the ensuing peace in the Northeast region, where Boko Haram formerly occupied swathes of territories, especially in Borno state.

The same emergency mercantilist groups are back with venomous attacks on whoever is responsible for bringing immediate reprieve to the war-torn, displaced and impoverished people of the region like the Hon. Minister, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiq Umar Farouk. It is also manifest in the sustained malicious propaganda on unsubstantiated and spurious allegations of embezzlement of public funds by the Managing Director, North East Development Commission (NEDC), Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali.

We are astonished at the level some Nigerians can stretch in the promotion of blatant chicanery and destructive campaigns targeted at certain public officials. It is wittingly crafted to distract these public servants from ensuring President Muhammadu Buhari does not take the obvious glory of defeating the insurgency in the region and rebuilding destroyed infrastructures. GGAN has realized that the NEDC boss is the latest victim of these hatchet civil groups.

In the inner fold of these ganged-conspirators against the FGN and its hardworking appointees in sensitive places, is another ambiguous NGO or some sort of advocates, by an innocuously fading identity of “North-East Vanguard (NEV).” By their watery outbursts in a recent public statement, NEV truly comprises vanguards, proponents and crusaders of falsehood against the NEDC boss, in the most disgraceful and de-estimating manner of their self-worth.

How could sane leaders of a pressure group accuse a boss of a federal commission, with unbridled allegations of his embezzlement or diversion of multi-billion-naira funds of the commission without a single strand of confirmable evidence, but dangling fluid statements or assumptions or seeking the assistance of others to unearth the truth? It is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse and betrayal of their malicious agenda.

NEV’s only evidence was that when President Buhari last visited Borno state shortly after June 12 Democracy Day, none of NEDC’s projects was commissioned. But let’s ask ourselves, how many capital projects was Mr. President able to commission on the last visit to Borno from the bulk of 576 projects presented by Gov. Babagana Zulum? Just about seven! Was President Buhari in Borno to commission NEDC projects or who has told these misinformed and misdirected NEV leaders that NEDC never contributed a dime or partnered with the state in the completed projects in Borno. Is NEDC meant for Borno state alone or the Northeast region? What sort of lowly priced nitwits is NEV? We shall soon add a syllabus to the acronym of “NEV” to read, NEV-ER, as nowhere the conduct of government business is aligned or espoused by their simplistic reliance on assumptions.

The allegations bandied by NEV started resonating in the media in 2020. It's the same allegations, rejigged over and over. NEV has voiced nothing new on the tenure of the NEDC boss, Alh. Mohammed Goni Alkali. And contrary to the false claims by NEV, the inaugurated board of the North East Development Commission Education Endowment Fund (NEDC-EF) since August 7, 2020, has launched numerous interventionist programmes in the education sector beginning with the initial seed amount of N6billion same year and replenishable yearly in scholarships. It has targeted and is progressively reaching out to over 20,000 beneficiaries annually across the region, with an overall target of 150 beneficiaries on the template of access to academic and professional capacity development opportunities in diverse fields. This intervention has engaged over 5 000 bachelor’s degree, 336 masters and 54 doctorate degree candidates as well as training of teachers/civil servants.

The NEDC under Alhaji Alkali trains people of the region in skills and acquisition, provides starter packs to over 5 000 Information Communication Technology (ICT) trainees every year. It has empowered a whooping 5000 women and youths on entrepreneurship, and another 2000 others for vocational skills in each of the 1,028 wards in the Northeast. NEV will decline acknowledgement of these programmes because it is at variance with the deliberate agenda to diminish the gains of the NEDC in public space, by creating a deceptive impression of embezzlement.

Certainly, NEV officials who raised the unfounded alarm of alleged embezzlement of billions of naira budgeted for the NEDC have never set their foot anywhere in the Northeast for years. Or else, it is noticeable that some of the 576 projects displayed by Gov. Zulum during the Presidential visit in Borno, includes partnership with NEDC’s intervention initiatives on infrastructures under the Rapid Response Intervention (RRI) programme in addressing the challenge of damaged infrastructure and other facilities in 112 LGAs of the region. The NEDC aggressively executed 224 projects under education, health, agriculture, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and other social infrastructures in two years.

The relaxed silence of international organizations and other indigenous NGOs over the threat of massive famine and starvation in the insurgency ravaged region is because of NEDC’s active intervention through the Integrated Agriculture Programme (IAP). Through it, agricultural machinery and equipment, varieties of seedlings, fertilizers, agrochemicals and extension service logistics vehicles to enhance the production capacity of smallholder farmers in the region are provided. Nigerians must know, solving the problem of mass hunger in the region is not achievable within two years as envisaged by NEV, but a gradual process and the impact is commendable so far.

Therefore, it defeats sound logic for a faceless group that values, even its veiled identity or image to make sweeping allegations that the NEDC boss collects millions of naira monthly or yearly as salary or office impress. Its same pettiness which compels NEV to assume support operational vehicles NEDC donated to the Military and other security agencies in the region to enhance their security duties and duly approved by the NEDC Governing Board were inflated.

And most laughably, NEV accused the NEDC management led by Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali of nepotism in employment or is it “sourcing” for staff of the commission from MDAs by handpicking. But the NEDC Governing Board has all the six geo-political zones represented, in addition to other federal MDAs. It is unrealistic to think that all of the members are blind to Alkali’s “glaring” nepotism without raising an eyebrow.

Lastly, NEV and their cohorts should do more research and investigations on NEDC activities under Alkali. If the pressure group feels the House of Reps abandoned its probe of NEDC, there must be a reason. It's either they have found nothing worthwhile in the allegations or they are still investigating. But as usual, vilifiers like NEV would not like to speak about the glowing commendation of the Senate Committee on Special Duties, led by its chairman, Sen. Yusuf Abubakar on the Alkali-led NEDC management for its “outstanding performance” in humanitarian interventions in the region with these profound words, “…it is just one year, but it has performed tremendously well in the past year; especially in the area of humanitarian intervention.” The detractors can continue, but they won’t distract the focus of the NEDC boss from performance.

The National Youth Service Corps has said it will not relent in complying with the provisions of the freedom of Information Act.

It also said adequate measures have been put in place to entrench transparency and accountability in the day-to-day running of the Scheme.

NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim disclosed this today during the opening ceremony of NYSC Freedom of Information Act Desk Officers' Workshop in Abuja.

The workshop with the theme; "Boosting Government's Fight against Corruption through the Freedom of Information Act", was organised for NYSC FOIA Desk Officers from all the NYSC State Secretariats and NYSC National Directorate Headquarters, Abuja.

The Director-General commended the commitment and resourcefulness of the Desk Officers, as well as the entire workforce of the Scheme, which has contributed immensely to the modest heights attained so far.

Ibrahim said NYSC has remained commited to the successful implementation of the FOI Act since it came into effect in 2011, in compliance with the Federal Government's directive on the domestication of the Act by all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

"This, coupled with our effective feedback mechanism, ensure prompt response to all FOI requests and timely rendition of annual reports to the Federal Ministry of Justice over the years", the DG said.

He urged the Freedom of Information Act Desk Officers to build on the successes recorded, through greater dedication to duties and also assist Management in sensitizing other members of staff to continue to adhere to the work ethics of probity and accountability.

Speaking further, General Ibrahim advised the FOIA Desk Officers to intensify efforts in the discharge of their duties, in order to achieve the Scheme's target of becoming the leading agency in FOIA compliance.

He added that in line with the provisions of the NYSC Act on proactive disclosure, information on the operations of the NYSC are regularly posted and updated on the Scheme's website and social media platforms, in addition to the usage of the traditional media.

"It is heartwarming to note that as a result of the vision-driven commitment of the Press and Public Relations Unit and the tenacity of the Desk Officers, NYSC has earned recognition as one of the best performing agencies in the FOIA compliance ranking", the DG added.

Ibrahim also reiterated that NYSC Management would resist any attempt to threaten the integrity of the Scheme's operations and processes, including the mobilization, deployment, relocaction and posting of Corps Members, adding that the Scheme remains committed to protecting the lives Corps Members.

The Director, Press and Public Relations, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, in her address said the NYSC FOIA Desk Officers' Workshop has become a yearly event in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2011, which prescribed continuous training and retraining of Desk Officers for optimal performance.

She said the Scheme has established FOIA Community Development Service groups in all its formations nationwide who engage in sensitizing members of the public on their rights under the Act.

"Recently, the FOIA CDS group in Ebonyi State was at the PRESCO High School, Abakaliki, where they sensitized the students on the FOI Act and the need to seek information from credible sources".

"The Gombe State FOIA CDS group did same at the Government Day Secondary Secondary School, Army Barracks in Gombe and was also at the National Orientation Agency Gombe, to seek collaboration to facilitate a wider reach for their awareness campaign", Adeyemi said.