₦airaland Forum

CanineOfJackal:
Oga ban yourself with your grammatical blunders

Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, has hired two American lobbying and public relations firm to plant opinion article favourable to the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in American newspapers, PREMIUM TIMES can report today.

Mr. Malami’s action came to light more than five years after this newspaper exposed the Goodluck Jonathan government for spending several thousand dollars on arranging interviews for administration’s officials on U.S. media outlets.

Officials at the Nigerian embassy in Washington have always wondered why administration officials preferred to waste public funds on American lobbyists rather than take advantage of the resources at the country’s diplomatic mission there.

“One of our jobs is to relate with American institutions on behalf of our country, but we are hardly used,” one embassy official said, asking not to be named for fear of being victimised. “We have extensive contacts within the media here . So why our people keep wasting money on hiring lobbyists remain unclear.”

Investigations by this newspaper showed that in the latest case, Mr. Malami, in May this year, verbally contracted a Nigerian public relations firm, Channel Koos, to help him identify American firms that could insert pro-Buhari opinion article in a major U.S. publication.

The article, Mr. Malami demanded, must showcase the administration’s ‘reforms’.

It is unclear how much the minister paid Channel Koos. But the company spent $8,000 of its earning on hiring two U.S. firms to deliver on the project.

The company hired Mount Olive LLC, a Maryland-based PR firm owned by Nigerian-American businessman, Olufemi Soneye, according to details submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice in compliance with the US Foreign Agents Registrations Act (FARA).

Mount Olive in turn subcontracted the job to Prime Policy, a Delaware Corporation, for $5,000. According to the signed agreement between the two firms, Prime Policy was mandated to draft and place “an opinion editorial for the Nigerian Attorney General”.

Details seen by PREMIUM TIMES suggests that the Buhari government awarded the PR contract to “inform the international community about reforms in Nigeria, regarding the rule of law.”

“The agreement is oral stating that Mount Olive LLC should help arrange an op-ed for the Attorney General of Nigeria in a major US newspaper,” the filings by Mr. Soneye said.

“The op-ed is to inform the international community about reforms in Nigeria, regarding the rule of law. The fees is $8000 of which $5000 was to be paid to Prime Policy to market and $3000 for Mount Olive.

“The consultant firm, Channel Koos is working with the Attorney general’s Office as a media consultant locally. It is controlled by the Nigerian government. I was engaged to handle the international media engagements for Mount Olive. The process will be financed by the government to inform the international community about progress in the fight against corruption and rule of law.”

Mr. Soneye explains

Further explaining the reason for the contract, Mr Soneye said the Nigerian government decided to commission the drafting and circulation of the opinion article “in response to allegations of human rights abuses” against the current administration by international organisations.

Curiously however, he added that the opinion article was yet to be published, four months after payment was finalised and the contract was said to have been concluded.

Mr Soneye’s explanation was communicated in an email he sent to PREMIUM TIMES regarding the contract.

“Mount Olive is a duly registered PR, Communications firm in the state of Maryland. We duly received an article for publication on behalf of the AGF for publication in international media in response to some allegation by some international organization’s criticism of the administration’s human rights abuse, according to the brief. The brief was from a third party and not directly from the AGF.

“We negotiated for $8,000 of which $3,000 was paid to us at Mount Olives and the rest $5,000 went to the firm (Prime Policy).

“The article was however, withdrawn as recent incidents have overshadowed it and it is right now being updated and we await the updated article,” Mr Soneye said.

He however declined a request by PREMIUM TIMES to provide a copy of the opinion initially intended for publication, saying doing so would be a “breach of contract.”

Government’s silence

Mr Malami did not answer or return calls made to him by our reporter. He also did not respond to text messages sent to him.

The minister’s media assistant, Salihu Isah, said he knew nothing about the contract.

“I have also not been able to access any information on your request.” Mr Isah told PREMIUM TIMES.

It is unclear why the minister would spend about N2.5 million (at the current exchange rates of N306.2 to a US dollar) for the publication of a single opinion.

Speaking to Nigerians through in foreign media

President Buhari has been criticised for consistently making major pronouncements on key national issues through foreign media.

Shortly after his first major appointments in 2015 for example, Nigerians criticised the composition of the appointees, describing them as lopsided in favour of Mr Buhari’s northern region.

Despite the widespread condemnations across he country, Mr Buhari kept mute. He only responded to critics during an interview with the British Broadcasting Cooperation, weeks after the outrage began across the country.

In April, Mr Buhari was widely condemned for describing Nigerian youth as lazy during a meeting with commonwealth leaders in London. The President only clarified his comments two weeks later during an interview with the Voice of America.

While he has appeared on Aljazeera, CNN, BBC and VOA, Mr Buhari is not known to have granted interviews to any major Nigerian publication since he came to office in 2015. He has held only one media chat, in December 2015.

saintjimos:
A FOOD FOR THOUGHT





Let the south unite

9japarrot:
I bleed red...

#YNWA

A former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has said that his “heart was with President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 presidential election.”

Akpabio was a two-time governor on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

He was also the Senate Minority leader before he dumped the PDP for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in August.

The former governor, who spoke when he led elders and leaders of the APC in the state on a visit to President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, alleged that throughout the PDP’s 16 years in office at the federal level, “there was not even one kilometre road project by the central government in Akwa Ibom.”

Akpabio, who was Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, boasted that he would deliver Akwa Ibom for APC in 2019.

He stressed that what “remained of the PDP in the state was mere carcass as the body and soul of the party had joined the APC.”

He said that over 260,000 new members have registered with the APC after him and some other people dumped the PDP.

The former Senate Minority Leader assured Buhari that no single indigene of South South will vote against him in 2019.

The former Governor said that “there would not be any defection from the APC that will affect the chances of the party in the forthcoming elections.”

The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of projecting an Islamic agenda.

The body said the President has made three key appointments in the last few days, but that none is from the South or a Christian.

Buhari recently appointed Yusuf Magaji Bichi, a Muslim, from Kano State to replace Matthew Seiyefa, a Christian from Bayelsa who had been operating in an acting capacity since Lawal Daura was sacked.

Mr Abbas Umar Masanawa was also named the Managing Director of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, just as Hajiya Zainab Ahmed was appointed the acting Finance Minister to replace Mrs Kemi Adeosun who resigned.

CAN spokesman, Bayo Oladeji, in a statement on Monday alleged that the marginalisation of the Christians is deliberate to heighten the tension in the land for whatever reasons.

He said: “CAN notes with disappointments, shocks and surprises that despite our appeal to President Buhari to break the domination of the country’ security council by people of the same religion and language in a multi-religious and multi-ethnic groups that make up Nigeria, he still derives pleasure in turning a deaf ear to the Voice of Wisdom and Reason as manifested in the three appointments.

“The President, who at his inauguration three years ago promised to be fair to all, has been consistently and persistently discriminating against Christians and Southerners in all his appointments and policies.

“CAN is also disappointed with the justification of the illegalities being perpetrated by Buhari in the lopsided appointments by the Presidency including a handful Christians in his government who are doing so primarily to keep their jobs, at the expense of the majority.

“For anyone to be asking all well-meaning Nigerians, including some media houses, to stop complaining of the lopsided appointments in the security apparatus of the country is reprehensible, insensitive, and wicked.

“Perhaps, if there was no undeclared systematic ethnic cleansing and genocide in the predominantly Christian communities in the country, as rightly observed by the likes of Prof Wole Soyinka and General T. Y. Danjuma of recent, we would have turned a blind eye to the unlawful action of the President.

“The notorious Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has been threatening those who condemn their nefarious activities in the Middle belt where thousands of our members are being killed with impunity, yet the association that has a lot of things in common with terrorist organisations are not only being treated with kid gloves by the security agencies, but their aggressive attacks on the innocent people are being justified by the President, the Defence Minister, the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Information and the Inspector General of Police.

“The Boko Haram Islamic terrorist organisation has not ceased attacking and killing our people, they are abducting our members on a daily basis and despite all our hues and cries, the Federal Government and the security agencies have refused to liberate Leah Sharibu and others in the enclave of this blood-sucking terrorist group because of their faith.

“CAN is fully persuaded beyond any reasonable doubt that it is the lopsided appointments in the security agencies that is largely responsible why Christians have become endangered species in their Fatherland under the leadership of Buhari.
CAN also wishes to observe that the lopsided appointments is a hallmark of the Federal Government in other key ministries like Interior, Defence, Education and Information.

“We challenge the Federal Ministry of Information and the Presidency to contradict this fact with evidences by publishing names of all heads of the parastatals and agencies including their states of origins and religions.

“These are all parts of the gradual and subtle islamisation agenda, but we are sad that those who are benefitting from the existing order, Christians inclusive, have been dismissing this alert with a wave of hands.”

Members of the political family of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu have threatened to vote against his choice, should he back the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, for a second term. The decision followed pressures being mounted on the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tinubu, from different quarters to back Ambode for second term.

New Telegraph gathered from a reliable source in the party that Tinubu’s loyalists, who are majorly in Mandate Movement, held a meeting in Lagos yesterday and unanimously decided to challenge their leader if he backpedals to support Ambode. Tinubu is believed to be backing the Managing Director of Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC), Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The supporters of the APC national leader are mobilising for Sanwo-Olu to emerge as APC governorship candidate during the party’s primary election on September 25. According to the source, Tinubu’s loyalists said they were dissatisfied with the way they were treated by the governor despite supporting him at the expense of other aspirants during the 2015 elections. They, therefore, said that they were now solidly behind Sanwo-Olu.

“We have gone far in our support for Sanwo- Olu and at present, it will be difficult for us to back out from our desire to stop Ambode’s re-election. “In fact, some of the party leaders resolved at the meeting that they are ready to challenge Tinubu for the first time since 1999 if he decides to support Ambode’s re-election.

They said they would embark on protest votes if Tinubu asks Sanwo-Olu to withdraw from the governorship race. “The present situation has nothing to do with Tinubu alone; it is about key leaders of the APC, who are not happy about how they were treated by the governor. They worked hard for Ambode, but despite their support for the governor, he abandoned them and treated them badly.

The party leaders resolved at the meeting that if Tinubu supports Ambode, they would embark on protest votes against him,” he said. New Telegraph learnt that Ambode met with Tinubu in Abuja on Friday for five hours where the governor made efforts to appease the APC National Leader. Sources told our correspondent that after the meeting, Tinubu softened his hard stance against the governor, but without concrete support on his reelection bid. Tinubu reportedly told Ambode that the final decision is with the party leaders. Consequently, the former governor asked Ambode to go and dialogue with the party leaders in the state.

“There was no concrete commitment after the meeting. For five hours, Ambode tried hard to sort out his disagreement with his political benefactor. The governor was told to go and appease the Lagos APC leaders. “We are hopeful that the issues would be resolved, probably after the Osun governorship election holding this Saturday,” the source told New Telegraph.

Meanwhile, in what seems to be a test of might, top APC leaders, members of National and State Assemblies, council chairmen and thousands of APC members and supporters yesterday shunned the heavy rain and trooped out to attend Sanwo-Olu’s formal declaration to vie for the Lagos State governorship ticket of the party. Among prominent personalities at the declaration held at City Hall, Lagos Island, were Lagos APC deputy chairman, Chief Sunday Ajose; Senator Gbenga Ashafa, representing Lagos East Senatorial District; members of House of Representatives, Hon. James Faleke and Hon. Rotimi Agunsoye; former Lagos APC deputy chairman, Cardinal James Odunmbaku; former Minister of State for Defence, Chief Demola Seriki; APC Vice Chairman (Lagos- East), Chief Kaoli Olusanya; Director-General of Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu Campaign Organisation, Mr. Tayo Ayinde; former Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale Edun and Chairman of Conference 57, Hon. Omolola Essien, among others. Speaking during the declaration, Sanwo-Olu promised the party leaders and the electorate that he would run an all-inclusive government if voted as next governor of Lagos. Sanwo-Olu, who paid tributes to all the former governors in Lagos State, was silent about Ambode, without crediting anything to him like he did for his predecessors. He called on party members and Lagos citizens to join him to elevate the state in all facets of human endeavour through improvements, enlightenment and development by voting for him at the forthcoming governorship primaries and next year’s gubernatorial elections. Sanwo-Olu, who said he has garnered a lot of experience, having served in the cabinets of three governors from 1999 till date, also promised to restore the lost glory of Lagos State.

His words: “The APC has been established as a grassroots party of the workers, artisans, middle class professionals and all those who desire the progressive development of Nigeria. The manifesto of our party promises welfarist programmes and building the capacity of our economy so that we can provide jobs for the youth and make our country stable and secure.

“These are the values that I believe in. These are the values I am ready to defend. These are the values I am determined to propagate. These are the values that drive my present desire. “If elected, I shall immediately embark on the full restoration of the glory of Lagos and make you the people the cornerstone of government, revamp the environment that has become a cause of serious anxiety to Lagosians and relieve Lagos of the persistent gridlocks that have made our lives brutish and nasty.”

He stressed further that: “Our government’s focal point shall be to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of the people of Lagos State. “I have invited you here today to join me in the journey to take Lagos State to a new dimension by transforming the manifesto of our party to the programme of action. I am sending a clarion call to our party members, men and women, youths and the elderly, that there is a lot of work to be done to achieve the Lagos of our dreams.

“I present myself as a capable, competent and tested hand to make Lagos greater. I declare that I, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu shall be a true party man in the real definition of the word by running an inclusive government according to the ideology of the APC and the long-term benefits of the great citizens of Lagos State. Loyalty is the currency of politics. I shall be loyal to the people of Lagos State, the organs and the leadership of the party.” Also speaking at the declaration, Seriki called on party members to vote massively for Sanwo-Olu during the forthcoming APC governorship primary election. He also urged party members and his loyalists not to rest on their oars.

The former minister implored them to start campaigning vigorously for Sanwo-Olu to win the 2019 governorship election. He said this is the first time that someone from Lagos Island is being positioned for Lagos State governorship and, therefore, demanded massive support for Sanwo-Olu.

The Peoples Democratic Party has said the former Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, who resigned her appointment on Friday, must be made to refund the salaries and allowances that she collected.

The party said the refund should start from her days as commissioner in Ogun State from where she was appointed as the minister of finance.

The main opposition party also said Adeosun, who has dual citizenship, must be made to name those who assisted her to allegedly forge her National Youth Service Corps exemption certificate.

The National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, stated this in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja on Sunday.

He said if Adeosun named those that helped her, she would save the country from embarrassment arising from activities that members of the cartel would carry out in the future.

Secondus said it was not enough for Adeosun to resign, she must be made to face the law to serve as a deterrent to others.

He added that failure to take action would show that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari remained partial in its fight against corruption.

Secondus said, “With the impunity that this government is known for, there is no way the minister would have resigned if not because we are in an election year.”

The PDP boss stated that if the minister were to be a woman of honour and the Buhari administration was serious about the fight against corruption, Adeosun ought to have resigned from her job or be sacked the day the scandal became public knowledge.

He said, “We expect the minister return all the money she had collected either as salaries or allowances before this scandal.

“She must calculate what she collected since her days as a commissioner in Ogun State up till the day she packed her belongings and left the ministry of finance and pay same to the coffers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“She must show Nigerians the teller with which she paid the money. This will enable Nigerians to know that she has done the needful.

“Also, we need to know the identities of those who helped her procure the fake NYSC discharged certificate. The government needs to clean the place of such characters.”

Secondus also asked Adeosun to return to Nigeria and serve her fatherland since the law did not exempt her from taking part in the NYSC scheme.

SERAP, CACOL seek further probe, Adeosun’s extradition

Also, two civil society organisations – the Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project and the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership – said Adeosun’s leaving Nigeria should not stall her prosecution for certificate forgery.

They added that Nigeria should begin the process of her extradition from the United Kingdom.

The SERAP Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said, “The former minister’s exit from the country must not stop the prosecution of a forgery case. I understand that Nigeria has a good relationship with the United Kingdom and could extradite anyone wanted for any criminal allegation in the country.”

Also, the CACOL Director, Debo Adeniran, said, “We desire that she should be prosecuted, and that she was able to flee the country is a tragedy. It is an affront on the anti-corruption efforts of the present administration. We thought that as soon as she admitted the matter, she should have been promptly invited. This should not be the end of the case.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Chief Okey Nwosu, said systemic failure in the Federal Government allowed the former minister to scale through her screening and later escape from the country after the certificate forgery allegation was confirmed.

Nwosu said, “There was supposed to be a thorough screening and I wonder if that was done. Also, the allegation had been on for more than two months and the law enforcement agencies kept mute about it. They did not need her resignation before inviting her. The system is not working and the leaders who said they are fighting corruption are not truthful.”

APC says ex-minister’s action honourable

But the APC said Adeosun’s resignation and the acceptance of same by President Muhammadu Buhari demonstrated the strength of character and integrity of the Buhari-led administration.

This was contained in a statement by the acting National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Yekini Nabena, on Sunday.

In the statement titled, ‘Kemi Adeosun: Salute to Honour and Integrity,’ Nabena said the actions of the former minister and the President exemplified the administration’s responsiveness to issues of national importance.

The statement read in part, “The news that the National Youth Service Corps exemption certificate tendered by the former finance minister was not genuine has been well-reported.

“Like all responsive and responsible governments concerned about the truth and due process, the Federal Government undertook a diligent investigation into the allegation. Now that the report of the investigation is out, the right thing has been done.

“The honorable minister has taken the path of honour and resigned. We congratulate Mrs Adeosun for her action.

“In President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration of integrity and transparency, no officer of government with a modicum of questionable conduct or integrity should stay in office.

“In the past PDP-led administrations, the country was held down by corrupt and irresponsible public officers who refused to honour invitations from the National Assembly; who closed down national airports against perceived political adversaries; bought luxurious bullet-proof vehicles with public funds at inflated prices; locked out National Assembly members, forcing federal lawmakers to climb high barricades in order to assess the legislative chamber.

“It was these acts of corruption, impunity, irresponsibility and executive rascality that made Nigerians to vote in the President Buhari administration in 2015… to put a stop to such undemocratic practices.”

PDP wants N10trn presidency fraud probed

Meanwhile, the PDP has asked the National Assembly to open an investigation into alleged stealing of over N10trn by the cabal in the presidency.

The party alleged that the fraud took place under Adeosun’s watch as finance minister.

The PDP said its position was predicated on allegations that the Presidency and the APC, being aware of the former minister’s NYSC exemption certificate liability, used her to steal trillions of naira from the national treasury.

The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday, urged the parliament to probe the books of the finance ministry during Adeosun’s tenure, as well as the ministry of petroleum resources, which is under Buhari.

The PDP said the probe would expose those behind the alleged N9trn fraudulent oil contracts detailed in a leaked NNPC memo, the N1.4trn fraudulent oil subsidy regime and the alleged diverted N1.1trn worth of crude oil through 18 illegal companies linked with APC interests, among others.

The statement read in part, “The PDP also insists that Mrs Adeosun must be made to explain how the $321m repatriated by Switzerland was opened up for re-looting by the presidency cabal and corrupt APC leaders while she told Nigerians through the media that the fund was being transferred to the poor and vulnerable household under a discredited social safety nets system.

“Adeosun must be made to tell Nigerians how a cabinet minister close to President Buhari directly stole $16.9m (about N7bn) from the returned $321m as non-existent legal fees before the fund became an Automated Teller Machine for members of the presidency cabal and the APC leaders.

“The former minister should also be made to expose where the pressure that compromised the system for the stealing of over N25bn National Health Insurance Scheme fund from the Treasury Single Account was initiated.”

The acting National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Yekini Nabena, had yet to respond as of press time.

A text message sent to him was not replied to as of 9.15pm.

The nation’s polity is set to witness fresh gale of defections as a result of the resolve of more senators to dump their parties after their governors have indicated interest in or planning to take over their tickets ahead of the 2019 elections.

Investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH revealed that many of the senators, especially members of the All Progressives Congress, had relied on the assurances of the national leadership of the party that they would be given automatic tickets to return to the red chamber next year if they did not join their colleagues to the Peoples Democratic Party in July.

Many of them, however, started making last-minute arrangements last week after it had become clear that the governors, some of who are determined to unseat them, would determine their political fate.

Some of the affected senators are Adesoji Akanbi (Oyo South), Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South), Lanre Tejuoso (Ogun Central), Hope Uzodinma (Imo West), Ahmed Rufai (Zamfara West), Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe North) and Baba Garbai ( Borno Central).

Pressure mounts on Tejuoso to leave APC

Investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH in Ogun State revealed that Tejuoso, who was among the APC senators that shelved their planned defection to the PDP on the floor of the Senate in July, was shocked last week when he was not listed as one of the consensus candidates announced by the party.

According to a source, Tejuoso, who had thought that he would get the ticket based on the agreement reached between the APC senators and the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, attended the stakeholders meeting in Abeokuta, in high hopes.

He was said to have told some of his associates that he would purchase his nomination form after the meeting not aware that the governor had perfected a smart arrangement to ease him out of the race.

The source said, “The only option available to him now is to test his political popularity by seeking reelection on the platform of another party. I think that is why he refused to obtain the form before the meeting.”

Another source, who claimed to be an associate of the senator, told one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity that Tejuoso would realise his ambition on the platform of another party.

The source said, “The party leadership, including President Muhammadu Buhari, appealed to the senator to rescind his decision to defect when his other aggrieved colleagues did so with an assurance that he and other would get automatic tickets.

“He is a popular candidate. He will realise his ambition on another platform. Other parties are talking to him already.”

Tejuoso had yet to respond to a message sent to his mobile as of the time of filing this report. Persistent efforts to speak with him on the telephone also failed.

However, the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Mr. Wole Elegbede, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the issue would not affect the party.

He said, “There is no crisis with respect to that issue. Senator Lanre Tejuoso has not indicated his interest to seek reelection. He was at the stakeholders meeting where we agreed to go for consensus.

“When they called for consensus, Tejuoso raised his hand in support of the idea. He has not even obtained his nomination form as I talk to you today (Thursday evening).

Akanbi to dump APC this week

In Oyo State, the APC chairman in the state, Dr AbdulAzeez Olatunde, told one of our correspondents that Governor Abiola Ajimobi had purchased nomination forms to enable him to contest the Oyo South Senatorial seat next year.

Ajimobi’s action had, therefore, set the stage for him to vie for the party’s ticket with Soji Akanbi, the current occupant of the seat.

When contacted, an aide to the Senator, Wole Ajayi, said it would be suicidal for Akanbi to compete with Ajimobi who already had the party structure in his custody.

He, however, said a modality was being worked out that would ensure that Akanbi returns to the Senate in 2019.

He said, “We did not make any comment on the issue because the coast was not clear. But today, we know where we are going since the governor has obtained the forms.

“We are not going to contest in the primary with the governor; that will be suicidal. We don’t have the party structure and the financial strength to contend with him.

“We are making consultations on the next move and by Sunday (today) or Monday, we will have an answer to some of the questions being asked by our supporters.

“We will surely make a statement soon. The truth is that Senator Akanbi will participate in the election. He will seek a return to the Senate. How that will manifest will be made known in a few days.”

Buka Ibrahim may join SDP soon

Although a former Yobe State Governor, who is currently representing the Yobe East Senatorial District in the Senate, Bukar Ibrahim, has obtained and submitted his forms, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that he was also planning to defect if Governor Ibrahim Geidam ‘manipulates’ the primary.

It was learnt that Ibrahim, who plans to return to the red chamber for the fourth time in 2019, had mapped out another option to dump the ruling party to test his popularity in another credible political party.

The Senator, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, however, said, “My chances of returning to the Senate are very high because of my performance as a third term Senator. The unpopularity of Governor Geidam in the state now is another plus for me.

“The issue of someone hijacking delegate list will be eliminated by direct primaries which the national secretariat has directed state chapters to adopt.”

On the rumours that he is planning to defect to the Social Democratic Party to actualise his dreams if he fails to get the APC ticket, the senator said, “In politics, there are always options. Let’s wait and see the decision of my party, the APC.

“Every option will be looked into because there is sufficient time between now and the time for the election.”

One of the political associates of the Senator from the Busari Local Government Area, who simply gave his name as Abacha, told one of our correspondents that the senator might defect to the SDP to actual his dream if he failed to get the APC ticket.

Abacha said the senator was perfecting plans to seek re-election on another party platform because there were insinuations that Geidam might manipulate the APC structure in his favour.

He said, “It is not clear yet whether Senator Bukar Ibrahim will get the ticket of the APC because of the governor’s interest in the seat, so since none of them will want to take chances, they will slug it out at the polls in 2019 on different platforms.”

One of the aides of Geidam, who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, told one of our correspondents that the governor was doing everything possible to unseat the Senator at all cost.

He added, “Governor Geidam wanted to run for Senate in 2003, but Bukar Ibrahim, who was the governor, then dismissed his ambition, saying Gaidam was unfit to be elected even as a councillor.

“However, as fate would have it, he is today a governor with the party structure in his hands. So, if you like, call it a payback time.”

Saraki’s favourites battle Ahmed in Kwara

The Senator representing Kwara South Senatorial District, Rafiu Ibrahim, said he was banking on his investments in human capital development and infrastructure and his relationship with his constituents and party members to secure the ticket of the PDP for his reelection.

The state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, has, however, gone ahead to perfect his plans on how to replace Ibrahim, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions, in 2019.

Apart from Ibrahim, the governor is also contending with the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Gbenga Makanjuola, who alongside Ibrahim, is commonly referred to as Saraki’s favourites.

Investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH revealed that some political parties had started making overtures to the senator with a view to using his popularity to contest on their platform but the senator was said to have shunned their offers.

Rather, he had been giving out scholarships and organising empowerments schemes in his constituency apart from his display of loyalty to Saraki.

Ibrahim, who spoke with one of our correspondents, said, “I have enough legislative capability and human relations capability among the constituents and the party to be able to win the election for our party.

“My governor, who is my leader in Kwara South as of today, has constitutional rights to contest too. We belong to the same family. Our leader (Saraki) knows how to build consensus.

“I believe that the most acceptable candidate of the people, the party and the constituents will be chosen. I have no grudge against either the governor or Mr. Gbenga Makunjuola. The best will come out from the PDP so that we will defeat anybody that comes out from the other side.”

Uzodinma in a fix, mulls defection

The Senator representing Imo West, Hope Uzodinma, left the PDP and defected to the APC in order to actualise his dreams of contesting the governorship of the state in 2019.

Investigations revealed that Governor Rochas Okorocha ignored appeals made to him by party leaders to rescind his decision to field his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, as the candidate of the APC in the state and endorse Uzodinma.

With the current development, an associate of Uzodinma told SUNDAY PUNCH on condition of anonymity on Friday that the senator was already considering defecting to another party to realise his ambition.

He said, “Although Uzodinma and five others have obtained the party’s governorship forms to contest the primary, the senator will defect if the governor manipulates the process. He is a big fish for any party, any day.”

Uzodinma had yet to react to the message sent to his mobile as of the time of filing this report.

There appears to be no respite yet for the sacked Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS) Mallam Lawal Musa Daura as a preliminary report of investigation by a probe panel set up to investigate financial allegations against him has indicted him for alleged embezzlement and money laundering while in office.

Saturday Sun had last month reported exclusively the detention of Daura in DSS ‘protective custody’ after his initial arrest and release by the police to allow detectives carry out extensive investigations on some allegations against him.

This followed his sack by the then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, allegedly, on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari who was holidaying in London, and detained, on Tuesday, August 7, 2018. He has since remained in the DSS detention facility located in Gwarimpa, Abuja.

The team of investigators comprising operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and other security agencies in their report accused Daura of operating a phony account with a new generation bank, with a total in-flow of over N8.2 billion between November 2015 and April 2018 in five structured and systematic transactions. The account number is 1014481726 and is managed by one Miss Amara Maduagwu, a staff of the bank, believed to have a close relationship with Daura.

The investigators also established that the sacked DG gave directives for the opening of the account tagged ‘DSS Dedicated Pension Account’ on November 27, 2015 “without any form of documentation and approval from the Office of Accountant General of the Federation.”

A letter dated September 5, 2018 to the EFCC and signed by one M. Kalu for the Accountant General of the Federation with reference number OAGF/SD/ABJ/303/ VOL.1/22, says “The OAGF did not grant clearance and approval to the DSS to operate DSS Dedicated Pension Account No 1014881726 with…neither did the bank obtain clearance from OAGF to operate the said account.

Beside this, the investigators accused Daura of embarking on a pattern of cash withdrawals running into billions of naira. Specifically, the report said between January and December 2016, the embattled ex-intelligence chief approved and withdrew in cash the sum of N2, 675,858,185,09 from the accounts of DSS.

The report further disclosed that, while the Chief Security Officer to Daura, one Musa Garba had about a million naira in his bank account when he was appointed in 2015, investigation shows he now has a balance of N106 million in his naira account and another $120,000 in his domiciliary account.

The investigators also accused Daura of using a Lebanese, Mr Joseph Marc Khoury as a front to execute phony contracts. They said the Lebanese operates 36 different accounts in five banks.

bluefilm:
You're right.

Wetin fit am na Burnley or Bournemouth.

Lala abeg no take vex ban me o!

Na joke o, abeg.

bluefilm:
The thing surprised me o.

Or maybe, the guy is just deputizing for mukina2 today.

The All Progressives Congress has said the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, like the Senate President Bukola Saraki, must resign or be prepared to be impeached.

In separate telephone interviews with Saturday PUNCH, in Abuja, on Friday, the APC acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena and the National Vice Chairman (South-South), Hilliard Eta, said the Speaker was obviously aware of the implications of his decision before he took it.

Nabena said, “It should be obvious to Dogara that his various anti-party activities have reached a final destination with his reported decision to leave the APC.

“He became Speaker because he was a member of our party -even though he has not formally told us of his defection, now that he is reported to have left, the right thing for him to do is to vacate the seat.”

Speaking in a similar vein, Eta said the framers of the Nigerian constitution did not intend for a member of a minority party to superintend over the affairs of legislators of a party that has a clear majority.

He explained that it was against the law of natural justice for the minority, in this case, to preside over the affairs of the majority.

Eta said, “It is not in the intention of the framers of the Nigerian constitution that a member of a party that does not enjoy the majority in the National Assembly should head any of the arms of the National Assembly.

“We are going to impeach them and they will have their day in court. It is a directive of the party to members of our party in the National Assembly to impeach them and then they will have their day in court.”

According to him, the decision of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party which was in power in 2014 not to take issue with the defection of some of its members in the National Assembly from the PDP to the APC, does not prevent the APC from insisting that the right things should be done now.

An online newspaper The Cable, on Friday, reported that the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole had been meeting with party members, particularly members of the House of Representatives in a bid to remove Dogara.

Quoting a source, The Cable said the APC chairman had intensified efforts to oust the speaker after it became public that Dogara was seeking for reelection on the platform of the opposition PDP.

Some of the Speaker’s constituents had on Thursday presented PDP nomination form to him after urging him to leave the APC.

Dogara is yet to make his decision to leave the APC official but he has kept away from the party’s activities over time. He neither participated in the party’s last congress in his constituency nor did he attend the last National Executive Council meeting of the party.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Kemi Adeosun says her NYSC exemption certificate was screened and cleared by the Department of State Services (DSS) before she was appointed minister by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

In her resignation letter dated September 14, 2018, she said she had no reason to believe her certificate was not genuine until it was reported by an “online medium” — a veiled reference to Premium Times which reported the infraction.

She wrote: “Your Excellency, kindly permit me to outline some of the background to this matter. I was born and raised in the United Kingdom, indeed my parental family home remains in London. My visits to Nigeria up until the age of thirty-four (34) were holidays, with visas obtained in my UK passport.

“I obtained my first Nigerian passport at the age of thirty-four (34) and when I relocated there was debate as to whether NYSC Law applied to me. Upon enquiry as to my status relating to NYSC, I was informed that due to my residency history and having exceeded the age of thirty (30), I was exempted from the requirement to serve. Until recent events, that remained my understanding.

“On the basis of that advice and with the guidance and assistance of those, I thought were trusted associates, NYSC were approached for documentary proof of status. I then received the certificate in question. Having never worked in NYSC, visited the premises, been privy to nor familiar with their operations, I had no reason to suspect that the certificate was anything but genuine.

“Indeed, I presented that certificate at the 2011 Ogun State House of Assembly and in 2015 for Directorate of State Services (DSS) Clearance as well as to the National Assembly for screening. Be that as it may, as someone totally committed to a culture of probity and accountability I have decided to resign with effect from Friday, 14th September, 2018.”

FULL TEXT OF ADEOSUN’S RESIGNATION LETTER

Dear Excellency,

Let me commence by thanking you profusely for the honour and privilege of serving under your inspirational leadership. It has been a truly rewarding experience to learn from you and to observe at close quarters your integrity and sense of duty.

I have, today, become privy to the findings of the investigation into the allegation made in an online medium that the Certificate of Exemption from National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) that I had presented was not genuine. This has come as a shock to me and I believe that in line with this administration’s focus on integrity, I must do the honourable thing and resign.

Your Excellency, kindly permit me to outline some of the background to this matter. I was born and raised in the United Kingdom, indeed my parental family home remains in London. My visits to Nigeria up until the age of thirty-four (34) were holidays, with visas obtained in my UK passport. I obtained my first Nigerian passport at the age of thirty-four (34) and when I relocated there was debate as to whether NYSC Law applied to me. Upon enquiry as to my status relating to NYSC, I was informed that due to my residency history and having exceeded the age of thirty (30), I was exempted from the requirement to serve. Until recent events, that remained my understanding.

On the basis of that advice and with the guidance and assistance of those, I thought were trusted associates, NYSC were approached for documentary proof of status. I then received the certificate in question. Having never worked in NYSC, visited the premises, been privy to nor familiar with their operations, I had no reason to suspect that the certificate was anything but genuine. Indeed, I presented that certificate at the 2011 Ogun State House of Assembly and in 2015 for Directorate of State Services (DSS) Clearance as well as to the National Assembly for screening. Be that as it may, as someone totally committed to a culture of probity and accountability I have decided to resign with effect from Friday, 14th September, 2018.

Your Excellency, it has been an exceptional privilege to have served our nation under your leadership and to have played a role in steering our economy at a very challenging time. I am proud that Nigeria has brought discipline into its finances, has identified and is pursuing a path to long term sustainable growth that will unlock the potential in this great economy. Under your leadership, Nigeria was able to exit recession and has now started to lay the foundations for lasting growth and wealth creation. Repositioning this huge economy is not a short term task and there are no short cuts, indeed there are tough decisions still to be made but I have no doubt that your focus on infrastructural investment, revenue mobilisation and value for money in public expenditure will deliver growth, wealth and opportunity for all Nigerians.

I thank His Excellency, the Vice President and my colleagues in the Federal Executive Council for the huge pleasure and honour of working with them. I also thank most specially, the team in the ‘Finance Family’ of advisers and heads of agencies under the Ministry of Finance. Your Excellency, this group of committed Nigerians represent a range of backgrounds, ethnicities and ages. They have worked well above and beyond the call of duty to support me in the tasks assigned. The diversity in my team and their ability to work cohesively to deliver reforms, convinces me that Nigeria has the human capital required to succeed.

Your Excellency, let me conclude by commending your patience and support, during the long search for the truth in this matter. I thank you again for giving me the honour of serving under your leadership, it is a rare privilege, which I do not take for granted. As a Nigerian and committed progressive, I appreciate you for your dogged commitment to improving this nation.

Please be assured, as always, of my highest regards and best wishes.

Kemi Adeosun (Mrs)

Lalasticlala, Mynd44