₦airaland Forum

The children of the late Lt-Col Ochigbo who died in the June 3, Dana Plane Crash have been adopted by Senate President David Mark.
The late military officer held his last duty post as the Commanding Officer, 6 Battalion, Nigerian Army, Abak , Akwa Ibom State. He was laid to rest at the weekend in his hometown, Oturkpo, Benue State.
Mark, a retired Brig-G, announced the gesture at the burial where, in a tribute, he described the deceased as an officer and a gentleman.
His words: “Lt. Col Jumbo Ochigbo was clearly an officer and a gentleman in every sense of the word. He was passionate about the development of the Nigerian Army. He was an intelligent young man with a very bright future who conducted himself in an exemplary manner.”
He counselled the bereaved family and the Nigerian Army to take solace in the fact that the deceased lived an exemplary life worthy of emulation. He pledged to train the children to university level.
In his tribute, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika, said the late Ochigbo would be greatly remembered for his gallantry, good sense of purpose and selfless service to the country.
In the tribute read on his behalf, Ihejirika said: “He was a worthy son of Nigeria, an officer and a gentleman. His calling is beyond man’s ability and imagination.”
Minister of Interior Abba Morro said Ochigbo lived a short but eventful life and impacted positively on the society.
Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State who had earlier paid a condolence visit to the bereaved family in Otukpo, described the late Ochigbo as a very committed officer who would be missed.

Theben: Sanusi is just a mere politician who knows the best answer to give at any time. That is not to say all he said was right. Does he know better than the professors in Economics who are advocating against this new currency introduction?

What professors abegiiiiii

Seriously? This page made front page

It will be unfair and totally an act of ingratitude for
one not to appreciate the ingenuity of those behind
the invention of Blackberry. Their effort towards
unifying the world and simplifying man’s work through
the use of the smart phone cannot be appreciated
enough.
I have been inspired by one of our prolific writers,
Rita Okoye who recently wrote on how young ladies
engage young men in a relationship through the use of
blackberry phone. In her write-up, Rita carefully
expunged how these girls play their game in the most
disapproving way. Her write-up did not only open my
eyes to the extent these desperate girls could go in
their search for money, husband and connection, but
was an eye opener to the general evil associated
with the use of that witty machine called blackberry .
In this article, I will slightly disagree with Rita who
held unto one side of her argument without
necessarily looking at the angle where the men also
got it wrong and become guilty as well as the ladies.
I have looked at several arising issues in this modern
day Nigeria. I have seen that Nigerians are real
extremists in so many things. I have weighed the
importance attached to one’s Blackberry phone and
one’s wife, and the difference is clear. I have also
weighed the difference between one’s food on the
table and the smart phone, and the difference is
obvious. It really doesn’t matter whether your wife is
falling into a pit, so long as a man can hold on to his
blackberry phone, there is no problem. It doesn’t
matter if a man stays awake throughout the night
viewing display pictures of his contacts so long as
some naughty pictures are displayed and some of the
girls are willing to send their nude pictures to satisfy
him. It doesn’t matter if a man drives into a pit or
into another car so long as he responds to chats while
he moves on the road. These are some of the things
that are possible while using a blackberry mart phone.
But aside playing against the natural rules of life as
a result of blackberry addiction, some other issues of
reckless spending and financial indiscipline are very
important issues to be addressed in relation to the
use of blackberry in Nigeria. A man can abandon his
responsibility in his home simply because his
Blackberry internet service (BIS) has expired. Young
people no longer read because they spend their time
both day and night chatting with friends through the
use of the blackberry phone. Pictures and music are
downloaded on the go. Research has shown that most
young people’s phones are full of depraved pictures
downloaded from the internet; it’s quite easy to go to
wapking and waptrick to get all sorts of terrible
pictures downloaded into one’s bb phone.
Aside the above issues raised, masturbation has
become the order of the day as young people share
erotic pictures while in a distant relationship. The
amount of time dedicated to blackberry cannot be
compared to the few hours spent reading, and
researching. I know a child who can stay awake all
through the night chatting with some faceless friends
on her bb, and I keep wondering what she learns from
the chats.
Investigation has recently revealed in Nigeria that
blackberry has caused more evil than good. It has
heated up the polity; it has led to broken marriages.
Wives have been confronted by husbands why they
can’t just let them have access to their phones. Men
sleep with their heads on their blackberry phones.
Analysis has shown that blackberry has got spirit that
can easily possess someone. Recently, about 20
percent of road accidents within towns are caused by
the use of this mobile device.
Rumour mongering has taken over the country, most
of which are unfounded and baseless. If it is not by
copying Charlyboy’s pictures from his DP and
syndicating online with the ryder, “Charlyboy goes
nude again” it will be“ 2face Idibia is dead” or
Chimaroke Nnamani is dead. The incessant
broadcasts on security matters and on Boko Haram
have actually downplayed the seriousness of the
trouble we face in terms of security in the country at
the moment. Why will people make senseless jokes out
of what is gradually killing them? BB has made all of us
talkative. On Blackberry, We talk so much, boast so
much and cry so much about our situation, yet we do
not act in relation to the same problems. One thing I
know has happened to us is that action has been de-
emphasized due to our plenty talk. We can criticize
on BB, forward messages, instructing others to
forward until it gets to the authority, but what
happens after it gets to the authority? It simply
explains that you are merely aware of the problems
and some of their antics, but it further explains that
we are incapable of asking direct questions because
we are simply gullible-simply put, we as clueless as
they are.
In Nigeria, Blackberry broadcasts spread rumour of
crisis where there is no crisis; it talks about war
where there is no war, and possibly about bomb blast
where there is none. Some of the broadcasts are
capable of steering more crisis and hatred in a
country that is already on the verge of collapse.
You may want to argue that the problem is not
peculiar to Nigeria, and I will disagree with you.
Nigerians do not use blackberry in the most moderate
way. The question any reasonable person should ask
at the process of acquiring a blackberry phone is “why
do I need it?” If you do not have a tangible answer
why you have chosen to use the smart phone, don’t use
it. This is not a campaign against blackberry; it’s
rather a campaign against our wavering objective;
our wobbly purpose and mission. We tend to become
group souls in what we do. We always go with the
crowd; we are not exceptional in our standing. We
feel ashamed each time we stand alone in a group,
even when our reason for standing alone is genuine.
Must we always go with the crowd if we must not?
Must I use the smart phone because friends tab the
buttons away while walking through the streets, inside
moluwe, or sitting at the owner’s corner of a Keke
Napepe? Blackberry accident is funny but disastrous;
the next step you are about to take while tapping
away with rapt attention is taking you into a gutter;
a woman could burn her pot while cooking because she
is tapping away-sad day for the husband and the
children.
I use blackberry, but I do not allow Blackberry to use
me. The day Blackberry will use me is the day I will
drop it. If we cannot be moderate with the use of this
phone, then my next memo to the government is to
push for the ban of this seductive mobile phone. Thank
God, I have someone like David Mark who will always
support my motion. My imagination speaks “Those in
support of the continuous use of BB in Nigeria should
say “I” – “IIIIIIIIII” those against should say
“nay” -“nay” Gbam…the“I’s have it… Gbam…

Up to 31 people including at least one Sudanese
minister were killed when a plane taking them to an
Islamic festival crashed in the south of the country,
an official and state media said on Sunday.
The plane went down into mountains around Talodi, a
town in the border state of South Kordofan, while
bringing a government delegation there to celebrate
the festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month
of Ramadan, state news agency SUNA said.
SUNA said 26 passengers were killed and that the
dead included ministers but did not name them.
Abdel Hafiz Abdel Rahim, a civil aviation spokesman,
told Reuters that 31 people were killed including the
crew, but had no details about their identities.
Arabic satellite channel Al Arabiya said the plane
was carrying Guidance and Endowments Minister
Khalil Abdalla. Al Jazeera reported two ministers
were on board, but did not name them.
Citing Sudanese authorities, Al Jazeera reported
that security personnel and a media team were also
killed in the crash. The report did not say whether the
plane involved belonged to the state-owned Sudan
Airways or another carrier.
There have been several crashes in recent years
involving Sudan Airways, which has been worn down by
years of U.S. sanctions and other issues.
A Sudan Airways cargo plane crashed when it was
taking off in the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and
another cargo plane crashed shortly after take-off
from Khartoum in 2008.
Oil-producing South Kordofan borders South Sudan,
which seceded over a year ago. The border state has
been the site of an insurgency since shortly before
South Sudan's independence.
Sudan's government accused rebels of killing a state
official and seven other people there in July. A
spokesman for the main rebel group in the area, the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement North, said the
insurgents had nothing to do with the plane crash on
Sunday.
http://believeafrica.net/including-a-minister-killed-in-
sudan-plane-crash-p120-94.htm

Am not a religious person or sort, but isn't this one of T.B joshua's predict, like few months a go or is it weeks that, he sees another plane crash but its not for the poor, but for government official and he said something like they will be going for a conference or so. By the way just passing by...

So funny this topic didn't make front page, but if na, who wears it better Nnaji genevieve or ngozi iweala sharp sharp u go see am. *smh for admin

Am not a religious person or sort, but isn't this one of T.B joshua's predict, like few months ago or is it weeks that, he sees another plane crash but its not for the poor, but for government official and he said something like they will be going for a conference or so. By the way just passing by...

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One person has been confirmed dead after the
Atlantic Ocean charged into Kuramo Beach in Lagos.
The National Emergency Management Agency
confirmed the death, saying 15 others are still
missing in the incident.
More details to follow shortly.
Source
premium times

It is simply called re branding

Everybody don't interpret the bible the same way, which atimes lead people astray only the holy spirit can teach and guide us to know the real truth

The young hawk swooped on the ground and snatched a chick. When he
presented his trophy to the mother hawk, she asked, “What did the
mother say when you snatched the chick?” “Nothing!” “Nothing?” “Yes,
nothing.” “In that case return the chick!” exhorted the mother hawk.
“Never you eat a chick you snatched from a mother who offers no
protest.” This is merely a paraphrase of a parable from one of Chinua
Achebe’s novels.
The import of the parable is that the man who offers no protest to a
brazen attack is perhaps far more dangerous than he is letting out.
Fear the silent man far more than the noisy ones. Silence is not always
a response of cowardice but at times, the calm that envelopes the
thunder. The General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life
Ministry, Pastor W. F. Kumuyi is not your rabble-rousing pastor who
turns his platform into a bully pulpit from which he rails against the ills
of the society. He does rail though, in his soft, mellow voice, against
sins.
In over four decades of ministry, he has proved himself most pious,
least ostentatious, most conservative, seemingly ascetic and highly
disciplined. He is the classic turn-the-other-cheek kind of prelate
whose values and ultra-fundamentalist theology seem unaffected in
any significant way by the dynamic phases of evangelical-cum-
Pentecostal hubbub. If Kumuyi holds a political opinion, you never heard
of it beyond his routine homilies about how righteousness exalts a nation
and the need to pray more for the leaders.
It is therefore incomprehensible that in the long-running season of
madness, it is the church of such a peaceful man that Boko Haram
terrorists targeted for a most gruesome attack. Last Monday night,
Deeper Life Bible Church in Otite, Okene, Kogi State, was invaded by
terrorists who put out the generating set supplying light and in the
ensuing darkness and pandemonium, slaughtered in cold blood, 20
Christians who were studying their Bible during a vigil. The victims were
mostly women and children.
Their crime? They were studying the Bible! A crime more heinous can
hardly be found. The Boko Haram fanatics who claim credit for this
mayhem are employing this blood-curdling evil tactics to convert us all
into their variant of Islamic state, and you shudder at, what a way to
market a religion!
The attack on Deeper Life might represent a new low in evil, but it is
just another spot in a widespread carnage orchestrated by the
fanatics. As a matter of fact, it is coming on the heels of unprovoked
slaughter in Plateau State that claimed 100 lives including a senator
and a state legislator who attended the burial of victims of the same
terror.
For the first time in my experience, Kumuyi was so enraged that he
issued a statement that not only captured his outrage, but dismay at
the government’s inability to protect its citizens. “It is hard to
reconcile,” Kumuyi said, “that peace loving people, sitting in their
church, and listening to Bible Study were gunned down in cold blood by
people they had done nothing to provoke.”
Well, that’s why they are Boko Haram. Unknown to Kumuyi, with Boko
Haram, it is enough provocation that you are a human being at all, yet,
not a fanatic! For a man for whom it seems, that sugar may not melt in
his mouth, a man who weighs every word to ensure it has no
connotation of sin before he utters it, the next statement carries
more weight than what would have been the case coming from ordinary
people like us. The attack, Kumuyi deadpanned, “is not only wicked, but
utterly premeditated.”
I pity the souls of these fanatics. “The government must now come to
terms with the fact that a large swathe of Nigerians are being sent to
the grave early,” Kumuyi excoriated, “even as law enforcement agents
seem unable to provide the required protection for all of them. Without
doubt, this callous event has great negative implications for the
progress, development and well being of the nation.”
From the mouth of a well-known critic like Pastor Tunde Bakare, this
statement would have passed unnoticed, but in my memory, this must
pass as Kumuyi’s harshest indictment of government’s ineptitude in the
face of endemic national insecurity. But even then, Kumuyi was not yet
done. “This spate of killings and destructions have been going on
particularly in the northern part of our country for too long,” he added,
I suspect, with a lot of emphasis on “too long” without the government
coming up with an “enough is enough” stand.
If anything, the government has only prevaricated, not sure whether
Boko Haram is a terrorist group as Americans are demanding, a
nationalist agitators as some aggrieved political bigots would want us to
believe or an infernal religious extremists stretching the bounds of
Islamic extremism as many fear. “Each time they (killings and
destructions) occurred,” Kumuyi continued with the unfamiliar tone of
an incensed activist, no doubt, a potentially sinful imputation, I agree,
“the usual condemnations are made, but thereafter, the people are
left without any assurance of their security and safety. No nation can
continue this way.”
Taken, either as a warning or a prophetic declaration from a respected
prelate who carefully chooses his words, conscious of the fact that no
words of the Lord coming out of the mouth of His prophets must go
unfulfilled, Kumuyi’s last sentence is pregnant with meaning: “No nation
can continue this way.”
Pray, what is President Goodluck Jonathan’s answer to Kumuyi’s
challenge? If it is merely about those empty presidential rhetorics and
promises to hunt down the “perpetrators of this heinous crime and
bring them to justice” then the president should forget them. After
9/11, President George Bush found the mission of his presidency: to
defeat al-Queda and ensure they never strike again in American soil.
Over a decade down the line, not only has the leadership of al-Queda
been decapitated and the group’s evil capabilities degraded, the
terrorists have not been able to strike again at American soil, despite
all their attempts to do so. In Nigeria, what do we have? A confused,
weak and dithering leadership that does not even know whether to
declare total war on Boko Haram or to negotiate with the sect. The
absence of such tactical and strategic clarity must cascade confusion
down the hierarchy, making nonsense of the whooping N925 billion
security budget for 2012.
With porous borders stretching 4,000 kilometers and multiple
unmanned secret entry points into the country, Nigeria seems to have
descended into nestling ground for diverse global terrorism who
officially, have now infiltrated our nation with dangerous rocket
launchers (rocket propelled grenades). If the government does not act
fast to stop the terrorists from deploying their RPGs, then it means
that in the days ahead, nobody is safe from any distance. If that
happens, Kumuyi’s prophecy may turn out to be the nation’s swan
song!

Do u guys know how much the guy could own, or what comes with what she's doing? Abegii we still get sum nigerian girls with good heart out there. It might be true love ooh, but ...

How much does your bold 6 goes for? And does it come with any accessory?

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price 3.4m
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The report says, “Some of the drivers claimed
they were usually forced to drive above the
stipulated speed limits to catch up appointments
and that safety was not always the major
concern of their principals."
State governors’ drivers, often accused of reckless
road use and seen as masterminds of several deadly
crashes, have directed the blame at their principals,
accusing the state executives of compelling them to
violate speed limits and undermine safety.
The drivers say time and again, in a bid to keep with
schedules or skirt exigencies, the governors
encourage over speeding, and sometimes assume the
wheels themselves under an apparently unfit state of
mind, according to the Federal Road Safety
Commission (FRSC).
The findings came as part of observations compiled
by the commission during weeks of training organised
late last year for hundreds of governors’ drivers
across the nation.
The training held at 12 locations, and 22 states took
part in the sessions.
Between 2008 to date, 12 state governors’ convoys
were involved in accidents, many of them fatal, with
2012 alone recording three, as of June.
The crashes have killed 17 people and left many
injured. And in nearly all of the cases, witnesses
blamed the convoys.
The FRSC report, parts of it earlier published
exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES, highlighted much of the
behind-the scenes activities of the racy convoys, which
other motorists and commuters accuse of
recklessness and harassment.
The commission said it found that dozens of the
drivers, many who are poorly remunerated, to have
abnormal eyesight and dangerously high blood
pressure, with nearly 300 drivers having got their
jobs either without a driver’s licenses or with expired
permits.
One driver from Yobe state, apparently the worst
case, had his last licence renewal in1998.
Besides the physical and medical examinations, the
drivers were interviewed to establish their
psychological wellbeing as well as the relationship with
their bosses.
Many complained of being forced to work under
unsafe conditions and hours.
“Some of the drivers claimed they were usually
forced to drive above the stipulated speed limits to
catch up appointments and that safety was not
always the major concern of their principals,” the
FRSC said in its report, a copy which was sent to
Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who heads the
Governors’ Forum.
In virtually all the states, provisions were not made
for rest rooms for the drivers where they can
refresh themselves while on duty in their primary
offices as well as out stations, the report adds.
There were no safety managers in the convoys’ pool
to ensure pre-trip, vehicle, driver and the route
assessments as prescribed in the Road Transport
Safety Standardization Scheme (RTSSS).
The drivers themselves are randomly selected with no
guidelines of processes stated for their appointment.
While majority of the drivers were employed with
Ordinary National Diploma, Senior Secondary School
Certificate, and Training Test, some got the job
without any qualification at all.
In written test, out of the 604 that enrolled, only 72
scored A while 137 recorded B and 207, C. Eleven
were earned E while 20 failed.
But spokesperson for the FRSC, Julius Agu, told
PREMIUM TIMES the commission remained committed
to enforcing its laws, suggesting that where violations
were confirmed, there would be penalties.
Mr. Agu did not say what the commission was doing to
compel governors to treat convoy drivers better and
comply with traffic rule.
He simply said, “It’s the same law for everybody; it
does not matter whether it is a governor’s convoy.
For driving without a driver’s license, there will be
sanctions.”

Many of us know the game called truth or dare, for those that don't know, its a game were u choose either truth or dare. It can be played any number of persons obviously more than 2. If you choose truth, you will be ask a question and required to answer which is expected to be the truth and if you choose Dare hmmm, u will be dared to do anything let's say kiss a girl/guy in the room or u know Many of us know the game called truth or dare, for those that don't know, its a game were u choose either truth or dare. It can be played any number of persons obviously more than 2. If you choose truth, you will be ask a question and required to answer which is expected to be the truth and if you choose Dare hmmm, u will be dared to do anything let's say kiss a girl/guy in the room or u know. So for those that have play this game before, share your crazy experience. Mine; my ex was dared to kiss me in the mist of all, I couldn't believe she said she will pay the fine of 500naira. Ooucchh!!! I sha treated her 4ukup later sha. So guys say share yours

Information has it that the  Zonal Co-ordinator, Mr Alozie N.U decided to share and reveal the full statictics of the 2012/2013 Waec examination of her candidates.
This information was claimed to have been sent directly from the Nigerian Open University Educational News Broadcasting Team
A total of 324,998 candidates registered for the examination.
Now, out of these 310. 077 candidates, here are their gender statictics:
168,835 are Males:
while 141,242 are Females: candidates who registered for the waec examination.
WITHHELD RESULTS:
The results of 51,876 candidates, representing 16. 73% of candidates are being withheld by the waec Board, based on various reports, mostly for these candidates alleged involvement in examination malpractice.
While another Statistics shows that a Whooping Number of 250,487 candidates representing 80. 78% have 2 credits and above.
While 217,161candidates, representing 70. 03 of the total 2012 WAEC candidates, have three credits and above.
Yet, another statictics shows that 180,480 candidates, which represented 58. 20% of this year’s candidates, have four credits and above in their results.
Further Stats shows that 141,167 candidates representing 45. 52% of candidates who registered for this year’s examination, obtained the following:
five (5) credits and above.
While 99,750 candidates representing 32. 16%, did obtained six credits and above.
While on the basis of University admission qualifications, The Zonal Co-ordinator, Mr Alozie shed more light on this:
A total of 133,507 candidates representing 43. 06% obtained credit and above in English Language.
While a total of 151,569 candidates representing 48. 88% of candidates, has obtained credit and above in Mathematics.
While 62,295 candidates, representing 20. 04%, obtained credits in the following subjects:
English language,
Mathematics and at least three other Subjects.
A whooping sum total of 33 blind candidates sat for this year’s examination, and from this figure, 4 candidates, representing (12. 12%), obtained credits in five subjects.
Which include the following:
English Language.
Important Notice:
Blind candidates are exempted from taking mathematics and science practicals in WASSCE diets.
That is the total stats of candidates performance in the 2012/2013 Waec Examination.
Candidates who sat for the 2012/2013 waec examination can now check their results at the waec official website.

Is this suppose to be a joke? Cuz I don't get it all

Access Bank financed the importation of about
40 per cent of the petrol brought into Nigeria in
2011 and received, into accounts at its
branches, a similar percentage of the N2trillion
the FG paid as subsidy during the period
Access Bank and other Nigerian banks played major
roles in the fuel subsidy scandal of 2011 and have
several questions to answer, a PREMIUM TIMES
investigation has shown.
Sources at Access Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), and the oil industry say that although there is
no apparent focus on the role of Nigerian banks in the
whole scandal, some of them, particularly the major
players like Access Bank helped perpetrate the
fraud.
While N240billion was approved in the 2011 budget as
petrol subsidy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s
finance minister last week told the Nigerian Senate
that the Federal Government actually paid 2.19
trillion as subsidy to petrol importers.
Following pressure on the administration by civil
society and other Nigerians over the implementation
of the recommendations of the House of
Representatives committee, which probed the fuel
subsidy payment for 2011, the government set up two
committees. A technical committee was first set up
by the Finance Ministry, followed by a presidential
committee, set up to review the work of the technical
committee. Both committees were headed by Access
Bank's Group Managing Director, Aigboje Aig-
Imoukhuede.
Investigating himself
Though Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede headed the two probes,
Access Bank, which he heads, financed the biggest
chunk of fuel importation for the 2011, which was
characterised by large-scale fraud, our investigation
has shown.
Sources at the CBN and documents have shown that
the bank financed close to 40 per cent of the petrol
imported to Nigeria, and for which subsidy was paid, in
2011.
“Access Bank financed about 40 per cent of the
deals in 2011," a top Access Bank staff familiar with
the deal said. "So, if there was fraud in the 2011
subsidy scheme, then companies finance by access
bank, even our bank or senior officials, perpetrated
or benefitted from 40 per cent of the fraud.”
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that about 400 cargoes of
petrol was imported into Nigerian in 2011 with almost
160 of them financed by Access. Some of the
importers financed by Access bank include Sahara
Energy, Eterna Plc, and Spog Petrochemicals Limited.
Eterna and Spog are two of the companies indicted by
the House of Representatives committee in its
report. Eterna was indicted for tax evasion; while
Spog, owned by controversial Jide Omokore, a major
financier of President Goodluck Jonathan’s election
and beneficiary of various government largesse
including juicy oil blocks, acquired in questionable
manners, was indicted for getting approval to import
petrol even before it was registered by the PPPRA.
How that was done is difficult to decipher. But Access
is its long-term financier.
Mr. Omokore is also married to Angela Jones, a
senior official of Access Bank, who is currently in
charge of Wealth Management at the bank. Ms.
Jones, alongside Aig Aig-Imoukhuede, younger
relative of the Access Bank GMD, also sits on the
board of another company, Marina Securities.
The younger Aig-Imoukhuede is a co-owner of Ice
Energy Petroleum Trading Company Limited which was
also indicted by the Lower House.
Another company owned by Mr. Omokore, Ceoti
International Limited, defaulted in its tax payment,
the House committee discovered.
Validating Spog
Spog Petrochemicals which was alleged in a petition to
the Attorney General of the Federation in 2011 to
have imported 3000 metric tones of petrol despite
receiving subsidy for 13,000 metric tonnes early
2011, came highly recommended by Mr. Aig-
Imoukhuede’s Access Bank.
In a letter addressed to the executive secretary of
PPPRA, dated May 31, 2011 and signed by Tope
Ogunfusika and Ojeifoh Okosun, Access Bank stated
that it had had a great relationship with Spog since
2006.
“We recommend the company (Spog) as being suitable
for normal business engagements with your company
(PPPRA),” the bank told PPPRA, in order to strengthen
the company's application to participate in the subsidy
regime.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that that letter helped shore-
up the image of Spog which at that time was almost
blacklisted by PPPRA over suspicion of underhand
dealings.
Access Bank made no reports
Investigations show that Access Bank, into whose
accounts the Federal Government paid about 40 per
cent of the N2trillion subsidy, never reported any
marketer either to the CBN or the PPPRA for
underhand dealings.
“The bank was just interested in its money. As long
as the marketers could get the money, even through
subsidy, we (Access Bank) didn’t see a reason to
report them to the CBN. Though we knew many of
them were not selling any products,” our source
stated.
Access wouldn't comment on its role in the subsidy
regime. Our reporter tried consistently for a week
to get the bank's reactions to the facts at our
disposal. Its spokesperson, Segun Fafore, demanded
an email enquiry on Thursday last week. By Thursday
evening, Mr. Fafore, after receiving our emailed
enquiry, called to say that the bank would respond to
our enquiry on Friday. After failing to respond on
Friday as promised, Mr. Fafore did not answer
subsequent calls from our reporter.
Covering-up the banks
When the technical committee, headed by Mr. Aig-
Imoukhuede, submitted its report, it identified 17
methods allegedly used by oil marketers to defraud
the Federal Government.
Although the report is yet to be made public, sources
knowledgeable about its content say the first method
identified is the lack of evidence of sale proceeds of
imported fuel with the financing banks.
In other words, though the banks paid for the
imported petroleum products, the marketers
probably sold the products behind the banks, diverted
them, or did not even do any importation. The total
sum for the unaccounted products according to the
committee is N158billion.
This finding was however faulted by senior bank
sources including top officials of the central bank of
Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s banking regulator.
"Who did the banks complain to that there was no
evidence of sale? Since the subsidy money was paid
into the marketers’ accounts with the banks, why
didn’t the banks complain to the CBN or even PPPRA
that they had no evidence that any product was sold,”
a top CBN source said.
“The truth is we know they were all involved in the
scheme, they are just trying to exonerate
themselves.”
Another bank source made reference to the
membership of both the technical committee and the
Presidential committee as reasons the committee
would never indict or reveal the roles of the bank.
Apart from Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede, who heads both
committees, there are two other top bankers on the
two committees: Sola David-Borha, the MD of Stanbic
IBTC; and Onyinye Ahuchogu, a Deputy Director at
the CBN, are members of the two committees.
“How can you want to investigate a sector where
banks played a crucial role, and you appoint heads of
the same banks to lead the probe. Can they ever
probe themselves,” a top CBN source queried.
Ignoring the banks
Nigerian banks, described by a top industry source,
as “very complicit if thorough checks are done,” have
been overlooked by previous probes of the subsidy
scam, including the technical committee.
It is not only Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede’s committees that
avoided the complicity of the banks in the scandal, the
House of Representatives committee, which did a live
telecast of its probe, and whose report has been
widely acknowledged as thorough, also overlooked the
banks.
“We focused more on the marketers and regulators,"
a member of the House committee told PREMIUM
TIMES. "But while investigating, we knew there was
no way they could exclude themselves from the scam.
I just don’t know how they escaped our view. But I
can assure you, they are complicit.”
Analysts believe that without the banks, there
wouldn’t have been a basis for subsidy payment for
most of the oil marketers in the first place. They
provided the finances and now, sources say, the
banks, which industry sources say “are as complicit
as the marketers and the regulators” are going to
exclude themselves from the probe again.
How the banks get involved
After securing petroleum import licence from the
Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency
(PPPRA), an oil marketer approaches a bank to
finance the deal.
The bank “bids for forex (foreign exchange) for you
from the central bank on the basis that you obtained
a license,” a top official, of a major Nigerian bank,
involved in the energy sector said, while explaining the
process to our reporter.
The bank also opens a letter of credit (LC) with the
offshore oil supplier or its bank, from whom the
Nigerian company is buying the petroleum product.
The bank then provides evidence of financing to the
PPPRA. The evidence will contain the volume of product
paid for, volume imported, and so on.
In order to ensure the marketer does not default in
payment, and does not divert the products, the bank
ensures that both the subsidy sum to be paid by the
PPPRA, and the fee to be paid by local purchasers of
the imported fuel are paid into the oil marketer’s
account domiciled with the bank.
“The truth is the banks cannot claim not to know that
there is fraud going on. Sometimes, we (the banks)
even partake in it,” a senior banker said.
“There is no way a marketer will divert a product we
have paid for without us knowing. Sometimes, we even
appoint people to help us monitor the imported
product at the tank farms,” he said.
Sources in the oil industry also confirmed what the
bank officials said.
“Do you think a bank will use its own money to pay for
a product and let one marketer do what he likes with
it? They learnt from their earlier mistakes during the
banking crisis. Most of what goes on is with their
knowledge,” a top oil industry source, who did not
want her name mentioned for fear of victimization,
stated.
However, it is not only the Access Bank and other
commercial banks which should be investigated on the
subsidy scam; even the CBN was culpable.
See no evil
The CBN,
Nigeria’s apex bank and financial regulator, looked
away while marketers were colluding with bank
officials to dupe the nation, investigations reveal.
In at least one occasion, the PPPRA wrote to the CBN
when it suspected that some oil marketers were
playing pranks, submitting suspiciously fake bank
documents, in probable collusion with the affected
banks, in order to claim subsidy payments.
In a letter dated February 1, 2011, received by the
CBN on the same day and directed to the director in
charge of trade and exchange, the PPPRA told the CBN
that it “received documents from the indicated
marketers as part of the requirements for subsidy
claim.”
“In line with the policy of transparency, the Agency
deemed it necessary to request the verification of
authenticity of the attached documents from the
CBN,” the letter stated; the word, “authenticity”, was
in bold fonts. The documents suspected to be fake
and sent to the CBN included Form M, Letters of
Credit, and Evidence of Bank Finance.
Investigations at both the CBN and the PPPRA
revealed that the CBN never responded to the
request.
“That was a trying period, particularly for the banks
involved. We (the CBN) didn’t want anything that would
further erode public confidence in the banks. That is
why we didn’t respond to that request. Nobody knew
all these (the fuel subsidy scandal) would happen,” a
top CBN official said.
Following our email enquiry last Thursday, Ugochukwu
Okoroafor, CBN's director of corporate
communications, said (in an email) on Friday that the
apex bank would respond to our enquiry this week.
Mr. Okoroafor is however yet to respond to our
questions on the various roles of the CBN in the 2011
subsidy regime.
Despite the apparent complicity of the banks
however, the fate of the mismanaged trillions of
naira and the expectations of Nigerians is still being
managed by Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede and his other bank
colleagues in the Presidential probe panel.
“Anyone expecting any justice from Aig’s panel is
deceiving himself. He will never indict himself or his
colleagues. With that committee, President Jonathan
has dashed the hopes of Nigerians on the fuel subsidy
scandal,” a top CBN source stated.

Source

Raymond Dokpesi and AIT....... PAY ME MY MONEY

I went to AIT's office in Lagos 2009 to pay for a nationwide advert for my event called most beautiful female picture competition..we met the executive director marketing Mr. John Iwuare who introduced us to a company named corporate touch and told us it was a subsisdiary of Daar Communications and they handles and accept payment of advert of such magnitude for Daar Communications, that we should pay them the money.

The advert campaign was 36million they told us to pay 60 percent first then the balance after a month, which was 21.5 m. When we did we noticed they did little or no advert, we had very poor turn ups far from what they promised so we refused to pay up the balance. I started suspecting foul play so I investigated and found out the company we paid to was owned by AIT marketing staff called Linda Ajunor and they tricked us to divert the money from daar communications to defraud us and gain access to the funds.

I wrote to their head office abuja to the MD who's the wife of Raymond Dokpesi the owner and they were shocked I also sent them documents and evidence of payment they went and sack the linda..and told me they are investigating and I should be patience..dear its over a year now I hav had no response from them and how they will pay back my 21.5m.

I hav suffered a lot cos of it because it was investors money, my company is Mashmir Entertainment. I am a rapper as well. I need Raymond Dokpesi and his Daar Communication to pay me back my money, my stage name is Fred. I have songs I want to promote and shoot video for. I almost drop out of school cos of the incident because at that time I was still a student at Igbinedion University I had huge debt on my neck and its killing me. Raymond Dokpesi is not encouraging youths at all by is turning deaf to my pleas.

I want to take legal actions and sue for damages..I had extra 2 years in the university where I was studying engineering and constant threat from investors. please I want us all to beg or force Raymond Rokpesi to tell me how is handling the issue and please pay me my money..thanks dear.

Aroro Fredrick Fejiro
08038029136