₦airaland Forum

President Goodluck Jonathan said on Friday that he would sack all Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who lobbied the National Assembly to distort the 2012 budget. The President stated this in his remarks shortly after signing the 2012 appropriation bill into law at the State House in Abuja. Mr. Jonathan said the attitude of MDAs lobbying for increase of their budget by the National Assembly had been responsible for the difficulties in budget implementation. He said that he already had security information on some heads of Parastatals and Agencies who lobbied the National Assembly to increase the 2012 Budget and says he will make scapegoats of them. “One of the greatest problems I have noticed from the day I resumed office as a vice president in 2007 till date is that Federal Government budgets have not been based on proper planning. “In most cases, when the budget comes out from the Planning Ministry and Finance, along the line, people distort the budget, especially some heads of MDAs go to lobby the National Assembly to put figures that are not based on planning. “And that is why it has been very difficult for federal government to achieve targets.
http://naijaparrot.com/throwback-news-on-what-gej-said-about-budget-padding/

One day Naija shall be great

Some of the protesters hired by embattled
Senate President Bukola Saraki to protest
his corruption trial are disaffected because
the N1000 per day they were promised has
not been paid for a few days.
A key player in the staged protests told
SaharaReporters participants were recruited and
paid N1000 per day to demonstrate their
solidarity with Mr. Saraki, who is charged with
false declaration of assets. He added that the
fees had not been forthcoming for a few days,
leading to disaffection among the rented
protesters.
The source said he was one of a few men tasked
with mobilizing poor or unemployed youngsters
to mount protests against the senator’s trial.
“We arranged for [recruited] for these, food
vendors, sachet water sellers, mai-barrow (truck
pushers) and mai- boiler (scavengers). They no
longer went to their normal businesses because
we were paying them N1000 each,” the source
said.
He accused Mr. Saraki’s aides of suddenly
cutting off the cash to pay the demonstrators.
“As you can see, all of them [the protesters] are
sitting over there angry because they have not
been paid for some days now. They are not
happy. I have appealed to them but they remain
adamant and even go to the extent of destroying
the placards and banners that we gave to them,”
said the source.
Our correspondent found torn pieces of posters
and banners strewn all over the ground while
some of the angry protesters were seen under
the tree looking downcast.
Our correspondent talked to some of the
disgruntled protesters. Asked if they knew who
Mr. Saraki was or the crimes for which he was
being tried, several of them said they had no
idea.
“All I want is the money they promised to give
us every day,” one dismayed protester who
identified himself simply as Sule, said.
Our source said he was among several contacts
contracted by the senator’s aides to rent
protesters. He told SaharaReporters that one of
the recruiters was almost manhandled one day
when the people he hired accused him of
collecting as much as N3000 per head and
paying them only N1000. He said some of the
protesters are armed with such weapons as
sharp knives and cudgels, adding that some of
them also carry “charms.” Last week, the police
arrested one protester after spotting a weapon
on him. Our source said the protester was
released after the group leader who recruited him
pleaded with the police on his behalf.
One protester decried the fact that they stayed in
the sun all day but were not paid at the end of
the day. He insisted that they must get paid their
arrears. The protesters sometimes stay out in
the sweltering heat from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., often
without food or water.
Our source disclosed that Mr. Saraki’s aides had
initially provided two 18-seater buses to
transport hired protesters from the outskirts of
Abuja.
In a related development, an editor of a major
newspaper based in Lagos told our
correspondent that Mr. Saraki’s bid to shape the
media’s coverage of his trial has had little effect.
“The senator’s media team has been working
round the clock to bribe editors here in Lagos
and in Abuja in order to influence the reportage
of his trial. But I know that most of the media
executive turned down the offer as they don't
want to be caught up in any mess.”
SaharaReporters had earlier revealed that Mr.
Saraki’s media team had held a meeting with
various judicial correspondents at a garden near
the International Conference Center in Abuja.
Each correspondent was given N50, 000 to
ensure that they would not carry negative
accounts of the trial.
However, today Mr. Saraki media team issued a
statement claiming the government witness
could not give an accurate account of his
"AMEX" account, the press release was already
being passed off as a real story by some media
outlets.
http://saharareporters.com/2016/04/21/senator-saraki’s-rented-protesters-unhappy-over-absent-pay

– The EFCC has arrested Nenadi Usman,
former Goodluck Jonathan’s
campaign director
– The sum of N2.5 billion was
allegedly transferred from a ‘mysterious
account’ account to her company
– A reliable source said Femi Fani-Kayode
received N840 million
– Chief Olu Falae was alleged to have gotten
N100 million through the same account
EFCC arrests Nenadi Usman, former President
Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign director
Emerging reports has it that officials of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) have arrested Nenadi Usman, the
director of finance of the former President
Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday, April 21.
The former minister of states for finance was
alleged to have received the sum of N2.5
billion from the Central bank of Nigeria
(CBN), The Punch reports.
A source at the EFCC said N4 billion was
transferred from the account of the CBN into
a mysterious account known as the Ministry
of External Affairs Library.
It was gathered that the mysterious
account was believed to have been a channel
put in place by the office of the national
security adviser on the instructions of the
presidency.
The source noted that the N2.5 billion was
said to have been transferred from the
account to the her company account while
N140 million was allegedly paid into her
Zenith Bank account with number,
1000158311, domiciled in 7 Kachia road,
Kaduna.
Usman allegedly transferred money to several
persons through the bank account of a
company, Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria
Limited.
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, the director of
publicity of the Jonathan Campaign
Organisation, was said to have received N840
million through the same account.
According to the documents he money was
deposited into Fani-Kayode’s Zenith Bank
account, Maitama branch with account
number 1004735721 on February 19, 2015.
Further investigation reveals that a former
secretary to the government of the federation
and Chief Olu Falae, the national chairman of
the Social Democratic Party, received N100m
through a company, Marreco Limited.
A detective at the EFCC who described
Usman’s arrest as a breakthrough, added
that she would be able to shed more light on
the controversy.
“A lot of people who received money during
the campaign claimed to have received
money from Nenadi Usman. Since she was in
charge of funds, she will be able to list the
names of those who collected money and if
the money was approved by Jonathan.
“There is no part of the constitution which
gives the CBN the right to fund a political
party. Usman must therefore tell us why the
CBN gave her money,” he said.

https://www.naij.com/807651-n2-5bn-fraud-efcc-arrests-jonathans-campaign-director-fingers-ffk-falae-others.html?source=index_trending

Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama has said the currency deal Nigeria signed with China during President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit was not a swap as widely reported. He briefed State House correspondents yesterday at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on the gains of the one week visit. According to him, the deal was a way for Nigeria to benefit from the internationalisation of the Chinese currency. He said: “It’s not really a swap. What it takes is that as the Chinese economy goes strong, there is some pressure on them from the trading partners, international financial institutions. They agreed that the money should be internationalised. “So, they started that for a while. They were protecting it also. They did not allow it to be fully exchangeable. But now, their economy is fully strong, they are looking for a way to internationalise the currency. Now, they were saying essentially that they wanted to segment it. “For Southern Africa, South Africa is going to be the sort of a hub for the currency. So, they are going to be the focal point for the Chinese to make that available for trade in that area. “In West Africa, they are looking for a hub. Ghana is interested in being the hub for the currency, to circulate it for those who want to use it. It is not compulsory. But Nigeria is a bigger country with bigger economy. So that does make sense. “And they became a kind of attracted to Nigeria to be the hub. “So, for us, the benefit is that it gives us small flexibility. So, if Nigeria is buying Chinese goods, for instance, it will in our interest to use the Yuan because we know there is a lot of squeeze for the dollar. “But we still use the dollar. But if it not enough and there are some people who want to invest in the country, instead of crying that they cannot take dollar out, there might be Yaun that they would be happy to take out because it is now internationalized as a currency and they can use it. So, it gives us a much larger option. “As you know, a lot of importers now are complaining that they are not able to access the dollars to buy good and things like that. So, if we have in addition to dollar, we have Yaun, then they can also have that available. “So, it has given us a greater opportunity for our economy so that those people can also now import not withstanding the shortage of dollars. “So, that is really what it’s more about rather than a swap deal or any such thing.” He stated
http://thenationonlineng.net/deal-china-yuan-not-currency-swap-says-minister/

Thank God 4 his grace nd d victory. Congrats 2 Enyimba

CFCman:
If it remains 3-0, there will be 30 mins of extra time. Enyimba beat this same team 3-0 in PH

bros it seems u don't get me, considering the fact dat d 2nd leg is being played in Tunisia nd u know of North African Antics, it will take only d Grace of God for Enyimba 2 scale through. I watched d 1st leg nd am watching d second leg.

With d 3rd goal b4 d regulation time, Enyimba is technically out. That is African football 4 u.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on today denied reports it decorated Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu as “Anti-Corruption Ambassador”.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the Deputy Senate President, Uche Anichukwu, had announced that the decoration was undertaken by the EFCC National Assembly Liaison Officer, Suleiman Bakari, acting on behalf of EFCC Acting Chairman Ibrahim Mustafa Magu and the management and staff of the commission.

In its rebuttal, the EFCC totally dissociated itself from the purported action of Bakari, saying he acted entirely on his own and beyond his brief at the Assembly as he was never authorized to decorate Ekweremadu or any officer of the National Assembly as ‘Anti- Corruption Ambassador.'

“The Commission views this highly unprofessional and conduct of the officer as yet another manifestation of ‘Corruption Fighting Back,’ it declared. “This leg of the despicable campaign, which is, unfortunately, being carried out by a staff of the Commission, had been foreshadowed in recent weeks by other questionable acts.”

The agency cited curious anti-EFCC rulings last week, characterizing them as calculated attempts to derail the anti-corruption war, and even observing indications of the capture of a prominent section of the media by what it called “dark forces.”

It said the picture of organized corruption marshaling its evil forces to launch a sustained fightback becomes clearer if cognizance is taken off the bewildering insistence of the Senate to carry on with the ill-advised amendment of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Code of Conduct Tribunal Act, as well as the inexplicable provisions proposed for amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

“Let it be underscored that the statutory mandate of the EFCC is the investigation and prosecution of all economic and financial crimes cases, which does not include phoney decoration of any individual as “Anti-corruption Ambassador,” the agency said. “That award and title are unknown to the EFCC and could not have been invested as purported, on behalf of the Acting Chairman, Management and staff of the EFCC.”

It further pointed out that the EFCC is not in the habit of awarding titles to individuals.

“Those who seek titles for reasons of waging a counter-onslaught against the war on corruption in addition to massaging inflated sense of influence know the quarters to approach for such dubious honors,” it advised, and then affirmed, “Not the EFCC.”

It urged the public and stakeholders in the fight against corruption to disregard the so-called decoration, adding that “stern administrative action” will be taken against Mr. Bakari.

http://saharareporters.com/2016/04/20/efcc-deal-staff-who-decorated-ekweremadu-its-%E2%80%98anti-corruption-ambassador

– Nigerian Senate has withdrawn its
summon to Justice Danladi Umar, the
chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal
– Senate committee on ethics, privileges,
and public petitions, composed of 11
members took the decision after a meeting
at the National Assembly
– Senate has suspended the ongoing
amendment of the Code of Conduct Bureau
(CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal
acts
The Nigerian Senate has reportedly bowed to
pressure and called off its plan to summon
Justice Danladi Umar, the chairman of the
Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
Sahara Reporters reports that the Senate
committee on ethics, privileges, and public
petitions, composed of 11 members met
today at the National Assembly in Abuja and
hastily decided to drop the summon issued to
CCT chairman.
Meanwhile, the Senate has suspended the
ongoing amendments of the Code of Conduct
Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal
acts, following an outcry by Nigerians who
accused the Senate of trying to shield its
president, Bukola Saraki.
Senate also suspends the Amendment of
the CCB/T Act and the ACJ Act.
— Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) April 20,
2016
We spoke where it matters, to conform to
the wishes of Nigerians;We dissolved the
amendment of the CCB and CCT act.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@shehusani) April
20, 2016
Conforming to the will and wishes of the
majority is the highest respect to the
principles of democracy.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@shehusani) April
20, 2016
A bill for an act to amend the Administration
of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and other
related matters, seeks to remove the CCT
from the list of courts statutorily empowered
to initiate criminal proceedings against
accused persons and it has already passed
its second reading.
A civil society group, Friends in the Gap
Advocacy Initiative (FGAI) described the
move by the Nigerian Senate to amend the
CCB and the Code of Conduct Acts as ill-
timed and ill-motivated.
Recall that on Monday, April 18, the Senate
ethics committee summoned Umar to appear
before it unfailingly on Thursday to answer
questions on allegations of bribery against
him.
The summon came on the heels of Justice
Umar’s order that Bukola Saraki, the Senate
president’s trial will be held daily from 10am
to 6pm.

https://www.naij.com/805462-summon-issued-cct-chairman-senate-makes-u-turn-bows-pressure.html?source=index_main

– The publisher of Sahara Reporters,
Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that Bukola
Saraki is using fake ‘Sahara Reporters’
accounts to circulate contents
– Sowore says his team has so far blocked
three fake websites since January 2015
– Expresses concern that the public might
mistake the fake page for the original
Sahara Reporters
The publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele
Sowore has accused Senator Bukola Saraki of
creating fake versions of his website by
cloning his newspaper and stealing his brand
identities.
According to Premium Times, Sowore alleged
that the Senate president has been
masterminding the proliferation of imitation
of cloned versions of the newspaper aimed at
circulating lies to the public while disguising
as Sahara Reporters.
Sowore said Saraki who is facing charges of
false asset declaration is using the fake
‘Sahara Reporters’ accounts to circulate
contents praising and defending the interest
of Saraki on various issues.
The publisher said his team had so far
blocked three fake websites since January
2015, adding that the fake websites were
blocked from Google, Web4Africa and Twitter.
According to Sowore the only fake account
left is a Facebook account named Sahara
Reporters Rescue.
He said the fake site, Sahara Reporter
Rescue, had succeeded in deceiving about 30
thousand people while circulating contents
praising and defending Saraki.
“I know Saraki is directly behind it,” Sowore
said. He expressed concerns that the public
might mistake the fake page for the original
Sahara Reporters.
Sahara Reporters is a US based news
website with special focus on Nigeria. The
site has consistently featured news stories on
Saraki’s trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal
(CCT).
Meanwhile, The Nigerian Senate on Thursday,
April 14, passed the Code of Conduct act for
second reading under less than 72 hours.
The bill is titled a bill for an act to amend the
Code of Conduct Bureau and tribunal act CAP
C15 LFN 2004 and for other related matters,
2016.
The bill was sponsored by Peter Nwaoboshi
representing Delta north senatorial district
who said that the act does not contemplate
criminal trial.

https://www.naij.com/799774-exposed-bukola-saraki-allegedly-planning-kill-sahara-reporters.html?source=index_trending

30 Final Answer.

30 Final Answer.

30 Final Answer.

By Felix Onuah BEIJING, April 12 (Reuters) - Nigeria on Tuesday agreed a currency swap deal with China, officials said, as it looks for ways to shore up its ailing currency and fund a record budget deficit, possibly by issuing yuan-denominated bonds in China. The West African nation is facing its worst economic crisis in decades as sinking oil prices eat into its foreign reserves and the naira weakens against other currencies. Nigeria has been for months looking for sources to help plug a projected 2016 deficit of 2.2 trillion naira ($11.1 billion) as President Muhammadu Buhari plans to triple capital spending. During Buhari's visit to Beijing, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) , the world's biggest lender, and Nigeria's central bank signed a deal on yuan transactions. "It means that the renminbi (yuan) is free to flow among different banks in Nigeria, and the renminbi has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria," Lin Songtian, director general of the African affairs department of China's foreign ministry, told reporters. The agreement was reached following a meeting between Buhari and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The move comes after Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said on Saturday that Nigeria was looking at panda bonds - yuan-denominated bonds sold by overseas entities on the mainland -saying they that would be cheaper than Eurobonds. Nigeria's central bank has said it plans to diversify its foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar by switching a stockpile into yuan. It converted up to a tenth of its reserves into yuan five years ago. Lin said a framework on currency swaps has been agreed with Nigeria, making it easier to settle trade deals in yuan. China has signed currency swap deals with countries ranging from Kazakhstan to Argentina as it promotes wider use of its yuan. Beijing also signed agreements to develop infrastructure in Nigeria, part of a drive to deepen its ties with Africa. ICBC signed a $2 billion loan deal with Dangote group , the company owned by Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, to fund two cement plans it plans, he told Reuters. China's official Xinhua news agency cited President Xi as telling Buhari that there was huge potential for economic cooperation, naming oil refining and mining. In a speech to business leaders, Buhari said both countries wanted to work together in the areas of agriculture, fishing and the manufacturing of cars, construction materials and textiles. Aly Khan Satchu, a portfolio manager at Rich Management, said the deal would pave the way for panda bonds but this would not be enough to ease pressure on the naira. Buhari has rejected calls to devalue the currency. "Nigerian FX policy remains the elephant in the room and China or a panda bond is not going to be enough to stop what will eventually become a tsunami of a devaluation," he said. ($1 = 198.8000 naira) (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Chijioke Ohuocha; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSL3N17F3AG?rpc=401&

Onetime Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said governors were the reason former President, Goodluck Jonathan could not save for the future. Okonjo-Iweala in an interview with an International Magazine, Le Monde said “some economists are very concerned for Nigeria, which could greatly suffer from the fall in oil prices. Others say the contrary, that its economy is strong enough to turn the corner. “Both are right. But one thing saddens me. When I was finance minister the first time, the volatility of oil prices, and therefore state resources, cost at least three points of growth in the country. “We then established a stabilisation mechanism and opened an account for the oil surplus, which posted up to $22 billion. In 2008, when prices fell from 148 to $38 a barrel, no one had heard of Nigeria because the country was able to tap into this fund. And that, I am very proud [of]. “When I returned to the department in 2011, there remained only $4 billion on this account while the price of oil was very high! I tried again to put money aside. The president agreed, but the governors did not accept. “I suffered a lot of attacks from them and now that the country would really need this account, these same people accuse me of not having saved. If Nigeria had been more careful, we would not be here today. It hurts me. We have the mechanism, we had the experience, but we were prevented to act.”
http://dailypost.ng/2016/04/07/why-jonathan-did-not-save-okonjo-iweala/

Whether the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will hire a foreign coach for the Super Eagles ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, will be known after the scheduled meeting with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung today. NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, last week gave a strong indication that the employment of a foreign manager for the national team will be confirmed today. Former Oman and Cameroon national team coach, Paul Le Guen, has been touted as the NFF choice for the job, even as there are indications that some members of the NFF board are not in support of the move to bring a foreigner to coach the Super Eagles. Dalung, whose body language recently suggested that he is not impressed with the idea of a foreign coach for the Super Eagles, had frowned at the high turnover of coaches for the national team. Aside the employment of Frenchman Le Guen, the NFF is expected to submit the report of the bungled 2017 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers to the minister, as well as the plan of action toward the World Cup qualifications. The minister had dismissed Pinnick’s statement that a foreign coach will be named this week as mere rumour as he had not been briefed. “Whatever they have said now about coaches are not to be taken seriously until after our meeting on Tuesday. I think what they are doing is trying to test the opinion of Nigerians on the issue of foreign coach. “This is because as far as I am concerned, there has been no decision on that and Coach Siasia still remains the Super Eagles coach until we meet on Tuesday. I need also to be carried along and be convinced on why we will need a foreign coach.” Dalung said. He explained that today would try to look at the causes of repeated failure in football, internal squabbles which had been affecting the administration of the game in the country. There are fears of the unexpected as the NFF may be forced to forget the hiring of a foreign coach for the Super Eagles and look inwards for a coach
http://www.thebreakingtimes.com/foreign-coach-or-not-nigeria-decides-today/

The country really need serious prayers as Cabals are working hard to frustrate the President.

President Muhammadu Buhari, according to a government source has withheld his assent to the 2016 budget, a development that may set the executive on another collision course with the legislature. The executive and legislature once again are set for another collision path on the 2016 budget which is threatening to put pressure on the not so cordial relationship between the two arms of government. The 2016 budget tagged the budget of change is proving to be a jinxed budget going by the controversies surrounding the budget since it was laid by President Muhammadu Buhari to a joint session of the National Assembly in December last year. For the first time in the history of the nation, in a country where the ridiculous seems to be the norm, the 2016 budget was declared missing by the National Assembly. After a series of denials, accusations and counter-accusations by both parties, the budget was found after the Senate President, Bukola Saraki had accused the special adviser on Senate matters, Senator Ita Enang of being the culprit in chief in the missing budget saga. Political pundits posited that Enang was being used as a scapegoat in the missing budget scandal as it was very unlikely that Enang will withdraw the budget without the backing of some powerful forces in the executive. The missing budget scandal put a dent on the relationship between the Presidency and the National Assembly which was struggling to fit into a resemblance of normalcy after the leadership saga that rocked the National Assembly. It will be recalled that the emergence of Senator Saraki and Hon Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker against the wishes of their party, the National Assembly and the legislature were pitched against each other.Although in the build up to the leadership elections in the National Assembly, President Buhari maintained neutrality and declared that he is ready to work with whoever emerges as leaders of the legislature. However, the emergence of Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the opposition, PDP as the Deputy Senate President was seen as slap in the face of the ruling party who see is emergence as the height of political betrayal by the actors in the saga. It's instructive to note that relationships between the executive and legislature in developed climes are often described as a cat and mouse relationship as political pundits say that's how democracy will thrive. An ideal relationship between the two arms of government, observers say is not healthy for the growth of democracy as the legislature is suppose to always keep the executive on their toes through their oversight functions. However in Nigeria,the independence of the legislature is seen as a mirage by keen observers of the polity as often the legislature is often the "Ying" to the executive "Yang " in the country. Monitors reveal that efforts were made by both parties to smoothen the relationship between the 8th National Assembly and the Presidency after the leadership saga. After some weeks, the efforts began to pay off as the National Assembly began to enjoy some form of cordial relationship with the Presidency. As Nigerians were coming to terms with the missing budget scandal, the budget padding scandal dominated the media waves as it was discovered that some suspicious allocations and projects were smuggled into the budget. The budget padding scandal resulted to the federal government relieved the Director General of the Budget of his duties with President Buhari vowing to punish the perpetrators of the padding scandal. After weeks of horsetrading, the National Assembly, last week passed a N6.06 trillion 2016 budget into law, following a motion by the Chairman, Joint Committee on Appropriations, Senator Danjuma Goje, seconded by Senator Andy Uba, thus reducing the President's proposal by N17 billion. While the President proposed a budget of N6.07 trillion, the National Assembly slashed it to N6.06trillion. The highlight is as follows: N351bn for statutory transfers, N1.4trn for debt service, N2.6trn for recurrent expenditure, and N1.5trn as capital expenditure. The N17 billion reduction in the aggregate expenditure of the budget was taken from overhead votes component of the N2.65 trillion recurrent expenditure of the budget which has now been reduced to N2.646 trillion. N2.2trillion fiscal deficit was retained. Also retained, were the parameters of $38 per barrel oil price bench mark for the budget, 2.2million barrels of oil production per day, exchange rate of N197 to a US dollar and deficit GDP of 2.14 per cent. Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief when the budget was passed as then can the change agenda Nigerians voted massively for begin to manifest. However, a new twist emerged during the week as it was discovered that the 2016 budget which was passed by the National Assembly last week has suffered another setback as the legislature sent highlights without the budget details to President Buhari. The failure of the National Assembly to send the budget details has put President Buhari in a spot and has for now withhold his assent to the bill. A top Federal government source who spoke to selected journalist on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the President is withholding his assent because he does not know what is contained in the details and what adjustments the National Assembly must have made to the proposal sent to them. The source said, "The President has just received the transmission of the Appropriation Bill (2016 Budget) from the National Assembly and is very anxious to sign it into law, but the National Assembly only sent in the highlights without the details of the budget. "As result, the President has been handicapped in signing the Bill because he does not know what is contained in the details and what adjustments the National Assembly must have made to the proposal sent to them. " "Although he is anxious to sign the document so that implementation of the provisions could start immediately and ease the tension in the economy and polity, he is afraid he may later discover, when the details are sent, the what is contained therein is not implementable. " According to the source, President Buhari wished the National Assembly could send in the details speedily so that it could be considered for assent. He also added that Ministers are also eager that the budget be signed so they could start implementing their programmes, but they are unable to push the President to sign what has been transmitted because they also do not know what is contained in the details. "They are particularly worried that the year is gradually aging and the provision of the law in respect of spending the previous year's budget is not helping matters because of the low Capital provision for 2015." "Because of the low provision made last year for capital expenditure, spending 50% of that provision for the first half of this year will make no impact on provision of infrastructure. He also noted that the Budget Office cannot also work on the Budget for implementation because it is the details, and not the highlights, that they convert into implementable templates for the respective MDAs. This development he contended ,confirms speculations that the National Assembly either did not complete work on the budget or are playing politics with the documents which affects the life of both the country and its citizens. "The National Assembly may just have passed the bill to pass the buck to the executive and escape the wrath of the public which was gradually suspecting it of sabotage." The passage of the budget may now be extended to next week as President Buhari is attending the Nuclear Summit in Washington DC, and is expected back on Sunday. Reacting to the allegations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, chairman, House of Representatives committee on appropriation said the national assembly is still working on the details of the 2016 budget even after passing it last week. But in a statement on Wednesday, Jibrin said "there is nothing abnormal" for the president to assent to the bill before receiving its details. The lawmaker explained that there were inconsistencies and anomalies in budget, hence the need for a thorough job to be done on it. "We wish to make the some clarifications, following media reports suggesting that withholding of assent to the 2016 appropriation bill by the presidency is due to the failure of the national assembly to send the budget details to the presidency alongside the appropriation bill," Jibrin said. According to him ordinarily, the national assembly should not have responded to the issues raised, but they are duty-bound to put the issues into perspective and put records straights even though they doubt very much if the presidency will issue such statement knowing full well the challenges the budget has faced so far. He explained that the general public should note that the MTEF and 2016 budget proposal came to NASS very late. Jibrinn recalled that a lot of dust was raised over different versions of the budget circulated in the national assembly. Further, some ministers disowned the content of the budget during defence before NASS. He contended that amid these inconsistencies and discrepancies, the NASS had been deeply engrossed in perfecting the anomalies, ironing out of the wrinkles and stretching the twists inherent in the 2016 appropriation bill. He said"In order for the nation to move forward and avoid stagnation of administrative processes, the tradition is that the bill is passed and forwarded to the presidency for assent, while the lawmakers continue to work on the details. There is nothing abnormal about this practice and yet nothing abnormal about a president assenting a budget before or after seeing the details. In any case, the budget details are usually sent within a week or two after passing the budget. "In view of the inconsistencies, errors, omissions and padding that characterised the 2016 budget, it would be unpatriotic of NASS to forward the budget details without being extra-careful, meticulous and cautious in discharging its duties. This is to ensure we do not make same mistake that the executive made. "The appropriation committee needs to scrutinise the original proposal sent by the president vis-à- vis the reports of various standing committees of the house of representatives and the senate to arrive at a clean copy of the budget details. This will in no way affect any envelop already passed or the aggregate expenditure. He reaffirmed that the NASS holds the president in high esteem and will continue to support him adding that there were several instances where they demonstrated their support to the present administrations in the past. At the risk of sounding immodest, he further explained that the NASS approved the President's Special Advisers without hitch, approved ministerial nominees without rancour, approved supplementary budget without delay and displayed a rare show of patriotism in the receipt and passage of the 2016 MTEF and budget. Jibrin argued that the 2016 budget is the most challenging budget the NASS has ever passed in its recent history. Taking into account the many controversies and omissions, particularly in NYSC, prisons, pensions, personnel shortfalls, among others, the budget failed in many respects to connect with the policy thrust of the government. "The NASS appropriation committees worked round the clock to address some of the omissions, bring up to date allocations in the budget towards the policy direction of Mr. President, particularly issues relating to security, anti-corruption and economic diversification. "Given the foregoing efforts, it is therefore unfair for accusing fingers to be pointed at NASS when the presidency defers or delays assent to the budget. Nowhere in the world that a budget is presented to the parliament, and expect it to be passed warts and all without subjecting it to the rigours of scrutiny, debate and painstaking processes and inputs of the parliament. Jibrin added that the NASS will continue to exercise its constitutional duty of appropriation to the latter, while recognising the President's power to withhold assent, the NASS is also constitutionally required and has power to veto saying But they don't want that to happen and don't see this happening in this case. He lamented that it is obvious that some fifth columnists are crying wolf where there is none and are also bent on creating friction and disharmony between the NASS and the presidency. Some public analyst pointed out that President Buhari is trying to avoid another budget padding scandal by seeing the details of the budget before signing as the padding scandal put a serious dent on the anti- corruption stance of the President. Also speaking on the saga,President Buhari in Washington DC during the week said that he will critically review the 2016 Appropriation Bill passed by the National Assembly before assenting to it. Speaking at a meeting with the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, President Buhari in a statement by his special adviser media, Femi Adesina, said that in view of the controversial alteration and padding of the budget proposals, he needed to review the appropriation bill to be certain that its contents tallied with the authentic budget proposal presented to the National Assembly. "Some bureaucrats removed what we put in the proposal and replaced it with what they wanted. I have to look at the bill that has been passed by the National Assembly, ministry by ministry, to be sure that what has been brought back for me to sign is in line with our original submission," the President said. http://allafrica.com/stories/201604050008.html

Michael Emenalo is set to become a casualty of Antonio Conte’s arrival at Chelsea, reports said. Chelsea’s technical director has come under fire for making a series of poor signings in recent months and for the role he played in Jose Mourinho’s sacking. Conte wants to bring Roma’s sporting director with him to Stamford Bridge. And if, as expected, that deal is tied up, Emenalo is likely to depart the club, according to the Daily Star. Emenalo pushed for Manuel Pellegrini to be hired as Chelsea manager but was overruled with Conte handed the role instead. The former Nigeria defender has been on Chelsea’s staff since 2007 after beginning life there as a scout. But a series of poor decisions combined with Conte’s arrival look set to spell the end of his time at the club. The Italian manager, who confirmed earlier in the week that he will step down from his post after Euro 2016, is also ready to recall the forgotten Blues pair to his squad for next season.
http://www.thebreakingtimes.com/poor-chelsea-signings-emenalo-under-fire/

– Arsenal was defeated by Watford with 1:2 score – Arsene Wenger has hit out at further speculation regarding his future as Arsenal The Arsenal’s hopes for winning the FA Cup for a third consecutive year were dashed on Sunday. Watford won with 2:1 score. The Gunners remain eight points off top spot in the Premier League and face an uphill task when they head to the Camp Nou to take on La Liga leaders Barcelona in the Champions League last-16 in midweek. Reacting to the rumours about his job and the Arsenal’s defeat, Wenger said: “The next game is always a big challenge and you are always in the middle of a drama. It is becoming a farce. We have lost a game. We are sad and we want to focus on the next game. Arsenal have lost games before in history and we will lose again in the future. We will stick together and cope with it and prepare for the next one with complete belief.We want to make the impossible possible [in Barcelona] and we know we play against a very strong, strong side and it’s important we go there and focus and show a very good response.” “Supporters stand behind the club and we want to fight until the end of the season for every single game. That is what we did. What is going on at the moment is very, very difficult to take for the players but judge us at the end of the season.We have come to the end of a very, very long run in the FA Cup, so it is very sad, but we want now to focus on the next game,” he concluded.
https://www.naij.com/762890-wenger-reacts-job-speculation-becoming-farce.html

More photos

It was quite an unusual scene yesterday in Ado – Ekiti, as the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, was spotted in the street driving a Truck. This happened during a meeting with some of the tipper drivers in the state. The controversial governor revealed that, he was once a truck driver, encouraging the drivers not to give up hope in life. “This is what I do. I sell trucks, I’m involved in haulage. I can even drive this truck to Ibadan and even Lagos. This is what I was doing before I became governor and I must continue working even after my tenure, so I don’t see anything special in this,” he said. See photos below: http://dailypost.ng/2016/03/11/photonews-fayose-becomes-a-truck-in-ado-ekiti/

A South African prophet who said he was filled with the Holy Spirit recently ‘challenged’ a lion to do battle in the Kruger National Park.

Prophet Alec Ndiwane who is based in the Pretoria Soshanguve was with fellow church members in the Kruger National Park where they were watching animals. It is believed the prophet went into a trance and started to speak in tongues. Ahead of them was a lion pride busy eating their impala.

According to DailyPostSA, Alec must have thought he was the biblical Samson as the prophet
opened the car door and went charging towards the lions. Upon seeing the man running towards them, the lions ran towards the prophet.

Alec must have then come to his senses as he quickly realised this was not going to end well and made an immediate turn and ran back to safety. But before he could safely reach the confines of the car, one lion had snapped its paws on him thus causing major damage to his toilet sitting tool. Also thanks to the game ranger who was near who fired some shots with his gun to scare the lion away.
So severe was the lion paw injury that Alec had to be rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. The man was fearing he would lose his Bvm but the doctor’s assured him he would still have his left Bvm intact
“I do not know what came over me’, Alec confessed, ‘I thought the Lord wanted to use me to show his power over animals. Is it not we were given dominion over all creatures of the earth’, Alec added.


http://in2tinx.com/must-read-how-a-prophet-challenges-lions-to-a-fight-to-prove-gods-power-almost-dies/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+onlinecareerpro%2FPgMJ+%28In2Tinx1%29

– A Swiss Embassy has been officially
opened in Lagos
– The Consulate-General’s office reopens
after it was shutdown 55-years ago
Fifty-five years ago, the Swiss government
shutdown its embassy in Nigeria, however, a
new Consulate-General’s Office has reopened
in Lagos.
The Vanguard reports that Switzerland’s
Federal Counsellor and Head of Foreign
Affairs, Mr Didier Burkhalter, before declaring
the office officially opened on Tuesday, March
8, said that it was currently Switzerland’s
second Consulate-General’s Office in Sub-
Saharan Africa.
“Switzerland is officially returning to the
place where its long-standing friendship with
Nigeria started 55 years ago: the exciting city
of Lagos!
“Ever since the opening of our embassy,
Nigeria has been at the heart of our foreign
policy on Africa,’’ he said.
According to him, the economic significance
of Nigeria could not be “overstated’’. He
added that it was “one of the main reasons’’
that the Consulate-General had been
reopened.
“As the biggest economy in the continent,
Nigeria not only plays a major role in shaping
developments in Africa, this position also
enables Nigeria to contribute to economic
growth worldwide,” he said.
In a related development, the Nigeria
government welcomed representatives of the
Swiss government on Tuesday, the two
governments discussed on the repatriation of
another tranche of huge public funds stolen
by late Head of State, Sani Abacha.
https://www.naij.com/758668-goodnews-55years-switzerland-embassy-reopens-lagos.html

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed yesterday supported anti- social media bill to stop the growing number of frivolous petitions. But the Attorney General of Federation (AGF) and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and Nigerian Law Reform Commission kicked against the bill saying the objectives of the bill are against public interest. Besides, Economic and Financial Crimes Commision (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Ministry of Information, Nigerian Police Force(NPF), Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) were absent at the public hearing of the frivolous petition bill. Mahmud who was represented by Justice Clara Ogunbiyi, said that frivolous petitions have been the order of the day across board in all tiers of government. She said although there is freedom of speech, there must be limits to its adhere especially with the exuberant, frivolous and unguarded write-ups in the print media, and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. She added that the right to freedom in Nigeria has been overlooked while many established democracies across the world have enacted freedom of information regime. “Before now, Nigerians regarded freedom of information as a luxury which was only practicable in the western world. “Citizens must rely on confirmed reports . In a country where freedom of information act is in operation, anyone can make a request for information. “There are no restrictions on your age, nationality or where you live. Although some information can be withheld to protect various interest which are allowed. “In a democratic world, the public is expected to have access to information not only on how they are governed but of interest to individual or group,” she said. The minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami represented by assistant director Legal Drafting Department, Mr Patrick Etta Oyong said, “The bill is not qualified to be used in a democratic society.” He informed the lawmakers that if the bill is passed into law it would violate the African charter adding that the bill is not necessary because there are other laws that can take care of that. Also, kicking against the bill, Nigerian Law Reform Commission, said the demerits of the bill, by far, outweigh its merit in a democratic system of governance where whistle blowing has become an integral part globally. Hon. Commisioner of Nigerian Law Reform Commission, Chibu Eze said the provision as currently couched, would affect the internal mechanisms of resolution of issues with government agencies.
http://leadership.ng/news/507357/cjn-agf-disagree-anti-social-media-bill

Following the failure to secure a safe landing for Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal penultimate week, members of the upper chamber of the National Assembly appear to be closing in on a successor in case the inevitable happens, SUNDAY ABORISAD E reports The Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his army of supporters across the two main political parties in the red chamber, the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress, would definitely had wished that the cup of this week should pass over them. The Code of Conduct Tribunal has fixed March 11 to start the trial of the number three citizen of Nigeria who is the head of the federal parliament. The Code of Conduct Bureau is prosecuting Saraki for alleged false declaration of his assets. Virtually all legal and political steps taken to stop Saraki’s trial by the Danladi Umar-led trial appeared to have hit the rocks. For instance, a last-minute hope of securing a judicial remedy through an Abuja Federal High Court after a devastating blow from the Supreme Court which allowed the CCT to continue with the trial, was dashed penultimate week, when the court failed to heed a fresh prayer seeking to stop the trial. The Senate President had sought an order quashing his trial before the CCT on ground, among others, that he was denied fair hearing in the course of investigations leading to the charges preferred against him. While necessary judicial solutions were being explored by the Saraki’s team of legal experts, his friends and political associates within and outside the National Assembly had equally intensified efforts to lobby the presidency to prevail on the CCT to stop the case. Part of the thinking of Saraki’s lobby team was that since an outright dismissal of the case would generate serious public outcry, especially when the case involved an alleged act of corruption, a deliberate delay through long adjournments of hearing dates could make Nigerians and the international community lose interest in it, while the Senate President enjoys his tenure. But feelers from some heavyweight politicians involved in the lobby showed that major political actors in the presidency claimed that their hands were tied on the matter because all facts were already in the public domain. A senator who claimed to be privy to the lobby option told SUNDAY PUNCH on condition of anonymity that Saraki’s emissary to the presidency said attempting a political solution at this stage would cause a setback for President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade. A presidency source had said, “If Saraki’s hands were not tied when he rejected the party’s nominations for the principal offices of the National Assembly, perhaps the rope would not have been tied tightly on our own hands at this moment too.” Saraki’s loyalists in the Senate, however, saw an opportunity to save their colleague when Umar appeared before the Senate Committee on Judiciary to defend the 2016 budget of his tribunal penultimate week. A senator, who would not want his name mentioned, confided in our correspondent that the Senate committee raised some issues in Umar’s budget and gave him a date to come back to defend the queries. The senator however said the plan failed when Umar refused to show up for the budget defence until the deadline for the submission of committee reports on MDAs budgets lapsed last Monday. Since the grand plot to bring Saraki and Umar together at the upper chamber failed, Saraki’s loyalists at both chambers are now allegedly mounting pressure on the House of Representatives’ Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions to intensify its probe of the alleged bribery allegation against Umar. Both chambers of the federal parliament had asked their ethics committees to investigate an allegation contained in a petition by the Anti- Corruption Network that the CCT boss allegedly demanded and collected a N10m bribe. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, told our correspondent last week that his panel would await the outcome of the House committee, which had already started work on the petition. But the spokesperson for the camp loyal to Sen. Ahmad Lawan, Saraki’s main opponent for the senate presidency seat, Senate Unity Forum, Sen. Kabir Marafa, said in an interview with our correspondent that the trial of Umar was politically motivated. He therefore reiterated his call for the resignation of the Senate President in order to enable him to attend to his case. It was learnt that part of the strategies of the SUF members was to constantly attack Saraki’s leadership, using the proposed purchase of exotic cars at a time when the Federal Government was finding it difficult to pay theN5, 000 meant for jobless Nigerians. But the Special Adviser to Saraki on Special Duties and Intra-Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Moshood Mustapha, described the public outcry over the reported purchase of some vehicles by the National Assembly for security operatives in the convoy of principal officers of both chambers of the legislature as “unnecessary.” Mustapha said critics of the project vehicles were not being fair to the federal parliamentarians, arguing that nobody was raising eyebrows when the political office holders in the executive arm of government were allocated at least two vehicles each. He said Saraki, for instance, had been using his personal cars since he was inaugurated as President of the Senate. He also cited instances where some of the vehicles he inherited in the convoy of his predecessor developed serious mechanical faults. The pro-Saraki lawmaker said the car transaction was purely between the National Assembly management and the beneficiaries of the vehicles who are not even lawmakers. Mustapha said Saraki was entitled to two vehicles but that only one was replaced in his convoy and that he chose so, on his own, because of the economic situation of the country and to minimise government expenses. Mustapha also said Saraki saved the country N5bn when he rejected the N6bn put in the budget of the Federal Capital Territory to build his official residence and reduced it to N1bn just to exhibit prudence. “Left to other people, they would have allowed it to go. As an individual, he doesn’t believe in that project but because a lot of money had gone into it; he believed that having N6bn in his official residence is a waste and decided on his own to take away N5bn from this project and put only N1bn. “So, what is the N200m used to buy vehicles for security personnel and protocol compared to the N5bn he had saved the nation. I wonder why people are talking as if the vehicles are his personal property or for his children.” He also said no form of bribery took place at the upper chamber during the screening of the ministers, contrary to insinuations in certain quarters. He added that no form of corrupt practice took place during the recently concluded budget defence by federal government agencies. Mustapha said, “Bukola Saraki had created the most democratised, participatory and rigorous budgeting process as we have all seen, this is perhaps the most disciplined senate since 1999. We have ministerial screening and budget approval process without bribery and other forms of corruption. It is a scandal free budget process. Nobody has ever said anybody brought money or anything. “Everybody has been busy doing his work and it was through this painstaking process that we were able to discover errors in the budget and even the president himself had said it that there are errors and that he would hold the culprits responsible.” Neverthless, having considered the sensitive nature of the case before the CCT, some senators were said to have been making frantic efforts to shop for Saraki’s successor. Findings by our correspondent showed that members of both the SUF and pro-Saraki senators under the aegis of Like Minds Senators had started making contacts on how to agree on an acceptable candidate. Some senators were also said to have agreed that the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, would not be affected by the change as he would be allowed to continue in office. “However, senators from the anti-Saraki’s SUF group were advocating the change of the principal officers to reflect the position of the leadership of APC,” one of those privy to the plan had told SUNDAY PUNCH . If the SUF members should have their way, the implication is that Lawan would take over from Sen. Ali Ndume as Senate Leader, while Sen. Bala Ibn N’Allah might lose his Deputy Leader seat to Sen. George Akume, who has not been attending activities in the Senate for some time. The newcomer from Edo State, Sen. Francis Alimikhena, might also be asked to vacate his seat as Deputy Whip for Sen. Abu Ibrahim. It is still not clear how the issue of principal officers would be resolved but one of the Like Minds Senators said Saraki’s successor might come from his state or from the neighbouring Nasarawa State. He said, “Both the SUF and Like Minds Senators had agreed to support the emergence of somebody from the North-Central geopolitical zone, a Muslim, who will be a bridge builder and acceptable to every senator.” He also said the Saraki loyalists, who were in the majority at the upper chamber, had insisted that his successor must also be a member of the ‘New PDP’, a breakaway faction of the PDP which joined the APC at its formation. The lawmaker said, “This issue had gone beyond SUF or LMS. We are coming together as one to ensure a rancour free arrangement that would lead to the emergence of a new senate president. Most of the people that we have consulted agreed that another senator from Kwara North should take over the mantle of leadership. “It has been agreed that with this, the people of Kwara would not feel too bad, while the current arrangement in the red chamber will remain as it is. ” Close watchers of the development at the senate were of the opinion that the resumption of Saraki’s trial at the CCT this week will obviously shape the nation’s political history.
http://www.punchng.com/senators-close-ranks-for-sarakis-successor/

The Nigerian army has reported that
following dislodgement of Boko Haram
terrorists camps in the border towns of
Kumshe and Talala by joint operations of
Nigerian and Cameroonian forces, the
terrorists made a futile attempt on Dikwa
early on Wednesday, February 24.
According to a statement by army
spokesman, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman,
the terrorists tried causing havoc at the
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp
located at Dikwa. However, unknown to the
fleeing Boko Haram terrorists, the armed
forces special forces in blocking positions
decisively dealt with the terrorists; killing
many, recovering vehicle, arms and
ammunition.
A soldier and a member of the local vigilante
(Civilian JTF) were reportedly killed during
the encounter, while 3 soldiers and 4
Internally Displaced Persons sustained
injuries.
Col Usman further disclosed in his statement
that a military vehicle was damaged by a
Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device
(VBIED) suicide bomber.
The troops recovered 26 bodies of the Boko
Haram terrorists, while others escaped with
gun shot wounds, destroyed 3 VIED, 1 MBIED
and 2 Gun trucks.
“The gallant troops recovered 1 gun truck
mounted with an anti-aircraft gun, 1 Dushka
anti-aircraft gun, 1 Browning anti-aircraft
gun, 1 Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) tube.
Others include 1 General Purpose Machine
Gun (GPMG), 4 AK 47 Rifles, 3 RPG bombs,
36 Hand Grenades, 1 Smoke Grenade and 8
AK-47 rifles magazines. The troops also
recovered 236 rounds of 12.7mm
ammunitions, 396 rounds of 7.62mm
ammunitions and 101 rounds of 762mm
(Special), ammunition,” the statement read in
parts.
The army spokesman reports that the
casualties have seen been evacuated while
the troops have been pursuing those
terrorists that escaped with gunshot
wounds.
“It is encouraging to note that despite loss of
colleague and the vigilante, the troops have
maintain dominating presence in the general
area and poised to continue to clear the
remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists,” Col
Usman noted.

https://www.naij.com/742739-just-in-army-thwart-boko-haram-attempt-on-dikwa-28-killed-photos.html

Last Wednesday, when prominent Nigerian
lawyer, Rickey Tarfa, was arraigned before
a Lagos High Court on charges of bribing
a judge, at least 90 fellow lawyers who, like him,
are Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), turned up
to defend him. It took the presiding judge close
to one hour to record the long list of lawyers
who had volunteered as Mr. Tarfa’s defense
team. On the side of the prosecution stood a
young lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo. In a previous
appearance in a fundamental rights case filed by
Mr. Tarfa before Justice Idris, Mr. Oyedepo had
sarcastically quipped, “We hope 34 senior
advocates will one day appear pro bono to join
the EFCC to prosecute an ex-governor charged
with stealing billions of naira.

Last Wednesday, Mr. Tarfa entered a plea of not
guilty to a 2-count charge of obstruction of
justice and corruption of a judge. His lawyers,
led by Adeniyi Akintola, argued for his bail, which
was opposed by the EFCC counsel. In his ruling
to grant bail to Mr. Tarfa, Justice Opesanwo
stated that the number of lawyers mobilized for
his defense seemed designed to intimidate the
court. At the end of the proceedings, Mr. Tarfa
beamed with smiles as he thanked his
colleagues. He also urged them to turn up en
masse at the Federal High Court on Friday.
But yesterday’s court session saw a twist to the
case. The apparent gang up of SANs and the
leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)
against the EFCC seemed to have angered many
lawyers. On Thursday, a well known human
rights advocate and lawyer, Femi Falana, himself
a SAN, led scores of lawyers who trooped to the
EFCC office in Ikoyi, Lagos to distance
themselves from the “celebration of criminality
by some senior lawyers.” The group of concerned
lawyers expressed solidarity with the EFCC in its
task to rid the Nigerian society, including the
legal profession, of corrupt elements.
EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, thanked the
lawyers for coming out to be counted at a time
that the powerful forces of corruption were
fighting back in the country.
In response to Mr. Tarfa’s N2.5 billion suit
against the EFCC, the anti-corruption agency
filed a detailed affidavit at the Federal High
Court. The affidavit alleged that Mr. Tarfa had
always bribed judges. The EFCC disclosed that
Mr. Tarfa had in January 2014 transferred a
bribe of N225, 000 to Justice Yunusa. In
addition, the agency alleged that Mr. Tarfa had
in 2006 collected $500,000 from one of his
clients ostensibly to “the court and EFCC
officials.” In addition, Mr. Tarfa and four other
SANs allegedly “donated” N7 million to launch a
book written in honor of Justice Ibrahim Auta,
Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
The EFCC’s affidavit also unveiled the call logs
between Justice Yunusa and Mr. Tarfa. The
document showed that the two men exchanged
regular phone conversations and text messages
while the cases filed by Mr. Tarfa against the
EFCC were pending before the judge. It also
revealed that even junior lawyers in Mr. Tarfa's
law office often sent text messages to the chief
registrar of the court to assign their cases to
Justice Yunusa. According to the EFCC, Mr.
Tarfa won all such cases heard by Justice
Yunusa on the basis of bribery and corruption.
The affidavit caused ripples in legal circles. Many
lawyers began to taunt the large team of SANs
who had appeared for Mr. Tarfa. Many of those
pro-Tarfa lawyers were so embarrassed that
only four of the 90 SANs showed up in court
yesterday. And as soon as one of the four SANs
found out about the EFCC’s affidavit, he quietly
left the court.
Some of the SANs told SaharaReporters that
they were ill informed when they appeared for
Mr. Tarfa, whom they had seen as a victim of
EFCC intimidation. “We were not aware that the
EFCC had such watertight evidence of possible
acts of corruption against Tarfa,” one of them
stated. Several of the pro-Tarfa lawyers said
they were in court to protest the manner of his
arrest in the court premises.
A move by the NBA’s national executive
committee to pass a resolution in support of Mr.
Tarfa failed. The group met in Jos, the capital of
Plateau State, from Wednesday to Thursday. At
the meeting, NBA President, Austin Alegbe, and
many other SANs had condemned the EFCC. But
SaharaReporters learned that a former Attorney-
General of Lagos State, Hairat Balogun, warned
her colleagues against defending members of the
NBA who have exposed the legal profession to
ridicule. Some of the junior lawyers at the
meeting also reportedly expressed concern that
many of the SANs had been mentioned as
participants in the criminal habit of bribing
judges.
Mr. Tarfa admitted that he gave the sum of
N225, 000 to Justice Yunusa, but claimed that
the money was not a bribe but a “gift” to help
out with a funeral of the judge’s in-law. But the
EFCC’s lawyer, W. K. Shittu, described Mr.
Tarfa’s claim as an afterthought. He wondered
whether Mr. Tarfa was not aware of Order 3 of
the code of conduct for judicial officers that bars
judges from asking for or accepting any gift or
reward in the course of performing their official
duties. He added that the EFCC has evidence of
large sums of money that Mr. Tarfa gave to a
few other judges and that the agency’s
investigation was ongoing.
Justice Idris, who had refused to stop the EFCC
from arraigning Mr. Tarfa last week, is scheduled
to deliver his judgment on February 29, 2016.
http://saharareporters.com/2016/02/20/efcc’s-prosecution-rickey-tarfa-exposes-crisis-bribery-judiciary