₦airaland Forum

Let Iweala release the full report to the House of Representatives, if the government has nothing to hide. So far they have verified 1.4bn dollars as missing but I'm certain there is more in the report, and that is why the government is delaying making it available even to our elected representatives.

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Just imagine the impression his foreign partners would have of Nigeria, after seeing their colleague pulverised by the armed forces.

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bushdoc9919:
Not exactly....although he should have let them go ahead.

The sad thing is GEJ may have postponed the elections driven by the Nigerian desire that if our son does not win....there will be trouble.

You know....when Buhari made the assertion about two animals...what he really meant was that elections in Nigeria have to be free and fair. The trouble is,......most Nigerians define a free and fair election as one in which their tribesman wins. And this 2015 election is shaping up to be that kind of election.

Sometimes, I think Nigerians do not deserve democracy. Maybe a Tito-like dictator, or even a Park Chung hee type dictator might be better.....until we learn to value democracy well. Yes....we have not been under autocratic rule long enough to value democracy. Which is why Niger Delta Militants and Northern Hegomonists feel comfortable chanting for war...as if war is a fun game played on Playstation 3.

Ultimately we have to get off oil....and work for our money.

I strongly disagree with what you have in bold. Most normal Nigerians accept that the Presidency is rotated between North and south. In 2011 over 8 million Northern votes were for Jonathan /pdp. And the West never voted for obasanjo until he came on his crooked knees. The east has also never given the majority of its votes to their ethnic candidate, so what you say cannot possibly be true.

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It is bad manners really, irritating for someone to do that in public without using a handkerchief, but otherwise not a big deal.

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Keneking:
I conclude 90%

Based on the following parameters:

1. Organisation of thoughts: 18%
2. Ability to take the "heat": 18%
3. Clarity of ideas: 18%
4. Time management:18%
5. Overall Delivery: 18%

Finally....... that he is heading to Nigeria for the final onslaught against PDP ...really made my day

God Bless Buhari.Amen

Fully seconded, AMEN.

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Inspiring speech for sure. I am highly impressed with his simplicity and passion. Better days are coming. Nigerians need to vote wisely, vote for a better future, vote for the candidate with a purpose, and that candidate is Buhari.

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http://www.punchng.com/feature/interview/ibb-not-buhari-overthrew-shagaris-govt-col-nyiam/

IBB, not Buhari, overthrew Shagari’s govt — Col. Nyiam
August 25, 2013 by WAHEED BAKARE and ALLWELL OKPI
Col. Tony Nyiam

Col. Tony Nyiam

In this interview, Col. Tony Nyiam, who was part of the failed attempt to oust the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s military government in 1990, tells WAHEED BAKARE and ALLWELL OKPI, how the Orkar coup originated and its relevance to Nigerian politics

You said what has come to be known as the Orkar coup was not a coup but an action. What is the difference between the two?

I said it was a pro-democracy action to stop a situation where there would have been perpetual diarchy in Nigeria, where politicians in uniform would have put a system in place for them to rule forever. I’m talking about a system similar to what the Arab uprising dismantled in Egypt.

But a more senior military officer, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, referred to it as a coup.

It is because in our setting we misuse words. And because we are used to misusing words, we believe even words that are not really the truth. A military coup would be a coup against an elected government. Our action was not against an elected government. In fact, it’s the responsibility of a military officer to rise up against anybody who takes over power from an elected government, which the government we took action against did. The government we took action against, which was part of the Muhammadu Buhari to Ibrahim Babangida regime, had usurped power from the elected government of Shehu Shagari. If there is a coup that overthrows an elected government, it is the duty of a military officer to do a counter-coup to restore democracy.

Would you have done the same thing if Buhari had remained in power to that time?

If we had seen the same indications during Buhari’s time, the plan by the military to perpetuate itself, we would have done that. But Buhari wasn’t of that kind of mould.

Are you saying your stay in power would have been brief, only long enough to prepare for elections?

Yes. We would have stayed just 18 months to do basically three things, which Nigeria still needs to do. They are: a national census, a proper headcount. I’m happy that as I’ve been saying for years, Festus Odimegwu, the new chairman of the National Population Commission, clearly said there has been no credible census in Nigeria since 1816. The fact is that Nigerians have been so ignorant and have refused to deal with the crucial matter. The census, right from the British time, has always been used to perpetuate the internal colonisers over the rest of Nigeria. The three things we would have done; first a proper national census, so we can know how many we are and how we are spread. If we truly know what the Nigerian population is, over 40 per cent of the constituencies in the North-West and North-East, would not exist. We can only know that if we do a proper census and that is why today, Festus Odimegwu’s life is being threatened because he wants to give us a true count for the first time.

The second thing would have been a conference, which would allow Nigerians to negotiate how they want to coexist. Today, we have a situation where there are abuses of the federal character system. For example, a candidate from say Delta State has to score 170 to pass, while another from another part of the country is required to score eight. Such abuses cannot really be acceptable by a people who have a nation. We are yet to have a nation. The imperative of a conference cannot be ruled out; people need to negotiate. The third thing was to conduct a free and fair election, which has eluded Nigeria for long. In all the regimes, a semblance of free and fair election we see only in a few states in Nigeria basically Lagos and the other states in the South-West. I’m not saying they have achieved it, but we see relatively free and fair elections in these regions. It is not surprising why these regions are the most developing, South-West is the most peaceful, relatively compared to other regions and of course it is the region, where there is relative collective governance of the people. I must give credit to this government, led by President Goodluck Jonathan. The Ondo and Edo states governorship elections, which were relatively free and fair, are credit to Jonathan’s government. These are the things we would have done in those 18 months and those three things whether we like it or not, have to be done. First, we must have a proper census and that is why all Nigerians must support Festus Odimegwu to give us a proper census. Two, we must sit down and negotiate our corporate existence. We must stop deceiving ourselves with these fraudulent elections we’ve been having.

There is the argument that we don’t need to have another conference since we have representatives at the National Assembly.

It is the most ignorant assumption. Why do I say it is ignorant? With all the political scientists we have in our midst, people forget that what we are practising is what we call indirect democracy. What do I mean? The proprietary right over people’s sovereignty is delegated to people we elect to make laws for us. When it comes to making constitutional reforms or constitution making, you go to what is called direct democracy. Direct democracy means direct voting by the people in the form of a referendum and that is why the universal practice is that a constitution making process that does not go through a constituent assembly, whose decisions are approved by a referendum, is null and void. We see the examples. Look at South Sudan; it’s creation resulted from a referendum. How is it that Nigerians do not understand that for a constitution to be legitimate, it has to be driven by the people, and the people are usually represented by a constituent assembly? And this constituent assembly is usually made up of non-partisan politicians, because partisan politicians are only concerned with the next election. They are not concerned about posterity or long-term issues in the country. So, constitution which outlives people and a generation should be driven by civil society, collection of every nationality in the country and clerics. I would cite an example. My second home is in Scotland and in Scotland those who drove for the national conference were the clerics of the Church of Scotland, they were at the forefront. We also saw it in Ireland. Britain has the oldest parliament in the world, why are they allowing a constituent assembly to go ahead, while there are parliaments? It is only in Nigeria that such argument is raised because of the ignorance of the difference between direct and indirect democracy. That’s why I have tried to do an aide-memoir to aid constitution- making. There are certain basic principles of constitution-making, which if we do not follow, would be like building a house on quicksand.

Do you think we would have been able to tackle these problems if the June 12 election had not been annulled by Babangida?

The thing is, Chief MKO Abiola, who I had the opportunity to work with when he escaped from Nigeria to UK, was a man that we lost because his plan was to correct the national issues and start democracy in Nigeria. But because some western interests in Nigeria did not want this, they colluded to do away with him.

[b]You once said soldiers could be recruited for a coup without their knowledge. How is that possible?

Yes, there are many instances. You might want to verify this from Gen. Buhari, he was not the initiator of that coup that brought him in as Head of State, it was Gen. Ibrahim Bako and Babangida that initiated it. But because they wanted a credible figure as a face, he was brought in. He did not know the genesis of that coup. He was not quite aware of the original idea behind the coup and that was why when he decided to make a change, he was forced to step aside. So, if this could happen to a whole Gen. Buhari, who was supposedly the leader of a coup, it shows how many soldiers can be brought in that way.

Does that mean overthrowing Shagari’s government was IBB’s idea?

It was the idea of late Gen. Bako and IBB. Buhari was only brought in because they needed a face with integrity.

Can you give other instances?

Gen. Yakubu Gowon was not part of the coup that brought him in. He was a decent man. Nigerians like to play what the Yoruba people call bojuboju; they bring a figure with integrity to cover up their real intention; the real intention of politicians in uniform who have found cheap party. Many elements of them are in our partisan politics today.[/b]

That means such heads of states were under the control of the coup plotters that installed them.

Obviously. And these people are still the reason why we are not allowed to have a proper census, they are still the ones ensuring that we don’t have a conference as well as a free and fair election because if you give the people their rights to choose who to governs them, you have freed them and these oligarchs don’t want that.

Could it be a defence in the military to say I wasn’t part of a coup, I was just brought in?

It couldn’t be a defence because at the point you know that it is a coup, you should do everything possible to resist it.

Even at the risk of taking your life?

That was what we did. At the point when we realised that they were going to perpetuate the military government in Nigeria, we took the risk.

Can we say this plan was an Hausa-Fulani agenda, since most of these military leaders are northerners?

We cannot reduce this thing to an issue of a peaceful Hausa-Fulani man or a peaceful Yoruba man or a peaceful Igbo man. I think we are above that. What we see is an interest of oligarchs, who think power and money controls and there are all sorts of people in that fold. For a long time, you may say one ethnic group has a preponderant membership of that group.

It was reported that the late Gideon Orkar wanted to excise northern Nigeria from the country. Was it part of the agenda?

The unsung hero, Gideon Orkar, was far from anybody who wanted to divide the country. He was calling all regions of the country to some conditionality that they have to meet, if they want us to coexist. It was because that was an era when certain people were saying that they were superior, and that power was their prerogative and that they had the monopoly of power.

Would that have been due to the ethnic coloration of previous coups?

Sure. It is sad that democrats are missing the issue that we were fighting against, which we still need to fight against. It is a situation where they take over power and give advantage to their people to the extent that today if we count the local governments we have in Kano and Jigawa which are states not up to Lagos in population, the local governments are up to three to five times the number of local government areas in Lagos. Lagos is a place, apart from the Niger Delta which gives us foreign exchange earner. Lagos contributes over 70 per cent of our non-oil revenue generation and the same Lagos gets less than what Kano, which produces less than two per cent, gets. This is why I must say Lagos State made a mistake, instead of relocating the problem where it lies; it is not about deporting Igbo beggars to Onitsha end of the Niger Bridge. Lagos should take the right steps legally or otherwise to assert the rights of the state which is being the owner of the Value Added Tax and the sales tax generated in Lagos. The things we fought against are still structurally within our polity. Today, you cannot pass a bill at the National Assembly, if two zones — North-East and North-West — do not agree. So, two zones can stop four zones — South-East, South-West, South-South and North-Central — from moving forward. The irony of this is that these zones are in the semi-desert areas that are usually less populated going by all empirical evidence. We have problems with our census figure; that is why they have all those constituencies and that is why they planned coups to perpetuate that.

Do you think the action failed because the northerners were not involved and because of the conditions given to them to be part of Nigeria?

First of all, our action and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu’s action were the only actions that were not palace coup. The likes of Bako and IBB’s coup which brought in Buhari wer. The fact is that the government of Shagari was a government that the military was highly involved in because of the ethnic kinsmanship. There was a fight over contracts that broke the coup. It was an in-house thing. So, the coup was driven by people’s selfish interests and that is why I don’t call it a military coup, I call it a politicians-in-uniform coup. Nzeogwu’s action and our action were done by outsiders, who felt this cash-and-carry ruling and stealing would not be allowed to continue.

If the action had been successful, who would have been the head of state?

It would have been Maj. Saliba Mukoro. He was the initiator. They heard about me and they wanted some senior people to be part of the action. When they approached me, I didn’t accept immediately because I wasn’t the type that will go for a coup or any action. But when I heard the strength of the argument, and in line with my insight as to what was happening in government because I was a close aide to Babangida and Sani Abacha. It would have been immoral of me to report the young officers. I was torn in-between reporting these young, overzealous and selfless boys, who wanted certain issues solved and maitaining loyalty to the military government. People forget that it was because of the action that Delta State was created. And the system in Delta State today has fraudulently prevented one of the people who initiated it, Great Ogboru, to govern. People forget that Bayelsa State was created because of the action. And that’s why I still find it sad that till today, even with the President coming from Bayelsa, no Bayelsan government has honoured those boys who sacrificed their lives for the Niger Delta. I have said it over and over that these chaps deserve to be honoured. I think the Niger Deltans, President Jonathan and the Ijaw should take cue from the Yoruba and honour those boys. The majority of the boys in our action were Niger Deltans for obvious reasons.

Were you the only colonel in the action?

We were two lieutenant colonels. I was brought in by another lieutenant colonel. But that lieutenant colonel sold out and that was why there was a leakage and we had to rush. The person who recruited me had sold out.

Is he a Niger Deltan?

Yes. His name was Lt. Col. Patrick Oketa.

When you were pardoned, what was your feeling?

First of all, we were grateful to Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and Admiral Mike Akhigbe, who were the initiators of the pardon. These were two gentlemen who were never part of any coup. Power was just dumped on Abdulsalami and true to his character; he wasted no time in returning power to civillians. The system of returning power to civilians should have been better but because he didn’t want to stay a day longer, he left and this is a reflection of his character.

Do you still relate with your colleagues?

Sure, what we didn’t realise is that most of our colleagues who were travelling were very helpful to us, because they knew what we fought for. If our actions were not taken, you would never have had the chance of having an Igbo man as Chief of Army Staff. No Yoruba man would have had that chance either. Why do I say so? Some of us had insight as to a succession plan in the army for the next 50 years. You would never have had the likes of Gen. Martin Agwai being the Chief of Army Staff and Defence Staff, because he belongs to the northern Christian minority. The army, after General T.Y. Danjuma’s time became an army that was to be led by only an ethnic group. People forget that there is a linkage between our action and the chance that MKO Abiola was given for the election.

Now that we have Delta and Bayelsa states and we have the Ministry of Niger Delta and an Ijaw man is the head. Do you think these are enough to right the wrongs of the past?

Those issues are again the usual Nigerian way of dealing with things; rather than go for a holistic tactic. A fundamental thing essentially is to restore power. Once power is restored to the people it is left to them. All these things are just temporal measures. The fundamental issue is to return Nigeria to true federalism. This talk of diversifying our economy cannot happen if we do not have fiscal federalism. People forget that when we had proper federalism, the main foreign exchange for Nigeria was agriculture. So, we have to go back to that.

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The first thing you need to do is learn the history of your nation. Buhari was made head of state by the coup plotters IBB, Bako etc. They were the the ones who plotted and executed the coup. Buhari was only asked to serve as head of state because he had the best reputation among the likely candidates, and there was some opposition within the plotters to IBB becoming head of state at that time. However as we all know, IBB was to wait only another 20 months to achieve his aim.

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None of the Igbo people I know with relatives in the armed forces is supporting GEJ. I understand your point. The stories they tell of military corruption and their mistreatment are just hard to imagine. Their senior commanders get all the benefits while they put the lives on the line for a system they abhor. Still I know many are planning to vote if not on duty.

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Very very pertinent questions indeed. Over to you TANistas...

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I think at this moment, our hopes lie heavy on Buhari’s shoulders. The presidency is not a job that should be limited to the political class only, but even then of all the governors I would have to say Fashola is my preferred choice as successor to Buhari. At no point have I seen him unable to explain a situation in lagos or be unaware of some issue of relevance to the public. We had had endless excuses from the president over the last six years, and we are just tired of his lack of enthusiasm for real work. Voting him out, is really a mercy operation for him.

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This simple video tells a mighty truth about the people GEJ can rally to his cause: only through ignorance and greed! I am horribly ashamed that not one of them could even explain what they were doing there. No pdp talking points were issued in time? God save us from the wretched leadership we are under. I salute the interviewer for her cool and yet devastating expose of this fraudulent demonstration.

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Swizdoe:
And do you think koro would take that lying down if it was the truth..... He would definitely strike back.
Besides gej already promised him a ministerial slot before the tape came out.

If the president had a brain, he should simply have said the DSS is looking into the matter and then ignored it. Then he could send Koro back to Ghana or somewhere more distant and remote. A few quiet threats and Koro will stay silent and drop all legal cases to avoid embarrassing the government.

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There was no fight. People who know the couple know he is a serial wife beater. Perhaps he will learn humility when her prediction comes true.

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Thanks, but the answer is No!

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NOI, poor thing, after bamboozling Jonathan with heavy economic terms she is now in the firing line. Some people have been shouting themselves hoarse over Freedom of information law, oya please, explain NOI's reluctance to share the report with our elected representatives. March 28th will come and we will have our say about this gang of rogues in government.

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The current power plants are complaining of poor gas supply and yet more generating plants are being commissioned some without pipes to supply the gas they need to operate. So there is likely to be little improvement in the power supply for some time yet. Sorry.

As for the prior comment about not knowing ministers names, can the citizens be blamed when hardly any of them have distinguished themselves in any way that the public may notice, unless we are talking about their notoriety.

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That's our amazing soon to be ex-president!

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If I was a criminal, I would love Jonathan’s transformation agenda style. But I have decided...

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Orunto:
The problem here is that the two States compared are really not compatible in terms of Obedience and Implementation of laws.

That needs to change if we are to prosper and develop. Even Clinton and his wife were investigated when he was president, and Nixon resigned because of criminal complicity in a political operation. The only major casualty here has been Ibori, who fled Nigeria because he quarrelled with Jonathan and didn't want him made acting-president. And it was the British courts that tried and jailed him for corruption, not us. Alams who also fled ball in Britain, like Dariye, was quickly pardoned by the president and spent barely 24 hours in prison despite being convicted. Jonathan does not set a good example for the nation.

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#APC

lovat:
if the man can't come out then evry thing will still be termed *hearsay*

Hearsay is giving unsubstantiated evidence about what one heard, in this case, a tape recording exists and the participants in the recording have all (excluding momah and abdulkareem) admitted a meeting took place but dispute the implications of what was said. That is not hearsay, when there is a degree of corroboratory evidence.

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http://royaldutchshellplc.com/2011/11/16/allegations-surrounding-shell-malabu-1-3-billion-nigerian-oil-deal/

Whistle Blower Spills Secret of Denziani Allison-Madueke’s New-Found Wealth

Friday, 11 November 2011 18:42

– President Jonathan, Obasanjo, Etete and Lagos Attorney Listed as Part of a Corrupt Ring
– Allison-Madueke Denies Owning Vienna Mansion

There are strong indications that the proceeds of an alleged bribe by Nigerian big oil players may have helped to finance the cost of a twenty million dollar Vienna home whose purchase was recently traced to the country’s Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke.

Private investigators working the line on the level of deceit and hypocrisy attending the policy thrust of the Goodluck Jonathan administration, known as the transformation agenda, have also stumbled on disturbing connection of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on the affair, saying he may have collected as much as fifty million dollars to switch sides in the Malabu Oil and Shell Petroleum Development over an oil block identified as OPL 245.

British and Nigeria sources told sharpedgenews.com that President Jonathan, Deziani Allison-Madueke, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, one-time Minister for Petroleum, Mr. Dan Etete and Lagos Lawyer Dele Adesina & Co may have benefitted in the deal to the tune of a hundred and twenty million dollars, catching in on the indigenization provision which precludes foreign companies from owning more than forty percent share of oil investments in Nigeria.

Documents made available to sharpedgenews.com showed that Allison-Madueke was the singular beneficiary of forty million dollars. It was also alleged that a section of the local media in Nigeria was co-opted and settled by the legal consultant who is desperate to keep things under the wraps. In the cause of investigating these claims, it was discovered that Ms. Allison-Madueke tries to insulate herself from every possibility of being personally accountable to the Nigeria people by avoiding direct questions from the media. Instead, NNPC’s public affairs aparatchicks are deployed to respond to questions, even when they know little about her modes of operation.

Below is the detailed report from one of our sources over the matter.

After the world has discovered the true size of the 9 billion Oil block and the dealings in regard to the owners and Shell Agip bid for the oil block, Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, a Dan Etete company, in 2005 enlisted the services of Dele Adesina & Co. to help represent Malabu Oil and Gas in its case against the Government when the Government revoked the Oil license OPL 245. This decision was taken because Dele Adesina & Co, had worked and represented the Federal Government in the past, and Mr. Adesina was very close to the then Attorney General of the Federation Bayo Ojo, Obasanjo and Edmund Daukoru.

Although, legally, Malabu was in the right, but just to make sure it secured the out of court settlement between it and the Nigerian Government, Malabu signed an agreement with Dele Adesina & Co. for services of $29 million USD. Out of this money, Adesina was to spread substantial amounts to Bayo Ojo, Obasanjo and Edmund Daukoro. It later turned out that Edmund Daukoro wanted about $20 million USD for himself, so an additional contract was signed with Malabu to increase the $29 million to $50 Million.

So if NNPC approves the Shell/ Agip deal these players are mentioned are going to make a lot of money. Some companies who have invested directly in Malabu Oil and Gas have already taken legal action in the USA and the UK to secure their share of the money, should the government approve the $1.3 billion USD Shell/Agip deal.

In regards to the Shell/ Agip deal, and the current President’s involvement as we all know, there is evidence even written in news papers in Nigeria that President Goodluck Johnathan, because of his long standing Friendship with Chief Dr. Dan Etete, put pressure on Shell to solve the problems with Malabu and NNPC or face further problems in Nigeria. What people do not know is that Malabu again has through back room deals agreed to pay the President $50 million USD for his support and now, through the same players who helped Malabu sort out the settlement issue as mentioned above, have offered $30 million USD to the current Minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison- Madueke to secure the Government approval of the Shell/Agip offer.

The Minister has already collected $40 million USD from Agip for her to approve 50% of the OPL 245 License to Agip (How do you think she can buy a house for 20 million Euro in Austria?) Also there is Mr. Adenuga, a close friend of Chief Dan Etete, who is also trying to offer the Minister of Petroleum a substantial amount of money for NNPC to give up their right as operator in the Shell oil block he bid for and put in a Deposit of more than $100m USD. Other groups who also bid for the Shell assets are also coming forward to offer the Minister of Petroleum serious money to back down and give up NNPC right as Operator in order to save the deals. Now there is an echo of finding a solution to the failed Shell asset sales.

The issue that is very disturbing is that the OPL 245 oil block in the Niger Delta of Nigeria is under an indigenous license. This program was created to protect local oil company participation in the oil industry. Under the guideline with oil blocks under this program, foreign companies cannot take more than 40% interest in the oil block. Because of the huge amount of money paid under the table to the Minister of petroleum and the President of Nigeria, NNPC has promised to give Agip 50% of the oil block, including that Agip is the operator of the block (this was the $40 million the Minister collected from Agip already) and is also set to approve the joint Shell/Agip bid of $1.3 billion for the reminder of the oil block.

Which goes contrary to the laws and intentions of which the license of the oil block was initially given. Doing this is just pure circumvention of the laws and greed. This is how the Minister of Petroleum is able to pay for her house. People should ask how much money did she have before becoming Minister of Petroleum and also with her current salary as Minister how can she afford this house in Vienna!!! Nigerians should raise their voices against all this corrupt practices or the country will never stand strong.

I hope this could be of help to all who want fair play and justice in Nigeria. Also, Dele Adesina & Co. should show receipts of payments made to it by Malabu and even their contract with Malabu, if they can’t that is because the fees in the contract between both parties are so high that it does not confirm with any sort of legal fees comparable with any legal work or law firm in Nigeria or abroad, Who pays a law firm over $30 million USD to negotiate a settlement in a case like this?

In addition to the above, it has come to our attention that the great lawyer Mr. Adesina has started a media black out of this story and similar stories on this topic brought forth by us, by trying to bribe news companies in and around the country. Shell and Agip are also complicit in the bribery of officials in Nigeria through their greed to take as much of the oil rights and licenses as possible.

http://247ureports.com/counting-the-cost-of-deziani-alison-maduekes-sins/

Counting The Cost Of Diezani Alison-Madueke’s Sins
by 247ureports
November 16, 2012
News
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1413 views

Nigeria was rated the second most corrupt country in the world by the latest Gallup Poll no thanks to Denziani Alison-Madueke’s leadership of the petroleum ministry that has been shrouded in monumental corruption. According to the Ribadu report that the Presidency is now trying so hard to discredit, Nigeria’s long history of corruption in the oil sector continued with billions of dollars in signature bonuses paid by oil companies to the federation missing and to think of the list of unresolved oil scams such as the Halliburton, Siemens, Wilbros, Panalpina and A.G Daimler scandals, the Nigerian bribe takers as usual are walking scot free, mingling, wining and dining in Nigeria’s corridors of power while the United States, France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany have long punished companies and individuals involved in handing bribes to Nigerians.

From the false and jumbled dates of graduation and work experience in her CV to the arbitrary awards of crude lifting contracts to “brief case” companies, fraudulent assignment of prospective rights in five lucrative oil blocks to two barely established companies and extortion of bribes from marketers there have been calls from Nigerians for Alison Madueke’s sack or honourable resignation not because “she is guilty” but because “from the series of revelations coming from the probe, she is not innocent.” Its been one fraud after another, her continued presence in the cabinet makes a mockery of President Jonathan’s fight against corruption.

From the outset, she has always generated controversy. Needless it was to lie but she decieved Nigerians when she backdated her year of graduation from Howard University from 1992 to 1987 to connote she had work experience, giving the impression she skipped national youth service on her return to the country. She was actually 32years upon graduation in 1992 and hence the national youth service exemption rule applied to her. Obviously this must have misled Shell into giving her an appointment back then and subsequently as a minister of the federal republic of Nigeria. “What she has done is perjury. It is criminal and punishable by law and such a person is not fit to hold public office.” Said an official of NNPC at that time. She equally misled the Senate and the Nation during her ministerial appointment. It was a fraudulent representation, a criminal offence punishable by law.

As the Minister of Transport in 2007, she shed crocodile tears at the sight of the deplorable Benin-Shagamu expressway promising to rehabilitate it. It turned out to be business as usual as she payed N30.9billion to contractors between 26 and 31 December of thesame year for doing nothing as the road remained in thesame deplorable state she met it.

The Senate, in October 2009, probed the questionable spending of N300 billion naira in the transport sector, Alison-Madueke was the only serving minister among five former ministers of state and four permanent secretaries indicted and recommended for prosecution. Vanguard newspapers also reported she allegedly transferred N1.2 billion naira into the private account of a toll company without due process and in breach of concession agreement.

As the minister of mines and steel development, the moribund next newspaper investigation brought her improriety to the public for the umpteenth time, exposing her under-arm dealings with US-based jeweller Chris Aire who out of the blues boycotted due process to register and gain approval pronto for his two brief case companies to lift Nigeria’s sweet crude. As usual no charges were filed and the allegations were considered false.

A more serious allegation in 2010 was the KPMG report on the “process and forensic review” of NNPC which opened a pandora’s box of stunning verdict on every aspect of the oil industry. Regrettably, in a calculated attempt to truncate the investigation NNPC process owners’, by extension the petroleum ministry, refused to provide “supporting documents”. The KPMG report was considered inconclusive in critical areas such as issue and renewal of importation supply contracts, evaluation of petroleum products importation bids, criteria for allocation of products and volumes to importers, and prequalification of approved importers.

Another demonstration of President Jonathan Administration’s resolve to thread softly with corrupt cases and dine with a short spoon with such individuals is the poor handling of the N155billion Malabu Oil scam as Mrs Alison-Madueke continue to play hanky panky with sensitive documents needed for full scale investigation into the case by the House of Representatives committee set up to probe the oil scam. On October 4, 2012, hardly had the committee began its public hearing than it noticed the conspicuous absence of Alison-Madueke and Bello Adoke, minister of Justice. Sources privy to the investigation said “there is high-level complicity in the deal and there is therefore high-level cover up”. Investigation by the EFCC clearly established that Mr. Etete’s Malabu only served as a money laundering machine, as substantial parts of the funds was later transferred to various accounts owned by “real and artificial persons”.

An eye popping scam perpetrated under the Minister’s watchful eyes was the award of N1.1 billion naira contract to a contractor for the supply of a dive support sea-going vessel to the Federal Government-owned Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun, in Delta State, which was never supplied. Top officials of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources were said to have conspired with a contractor in the scam .

Inspite of her numerous sins, the President deemed it appropriate to leave her in office making a mockery of his touted fight against corruption as other ministers in the cabinet at different point in time have been eased out but the most controversial, maligned, criticised, indicted but never found guilty and beloved minister of the Presidency, Denziani Alison-Madueke has remained untouchable. Her immortality and invincibility is gobsmacking and obfuscating. It is absolutely ridiculous for President Jonathan to think Alison-Madueke remains the right choice to steer the affairs of the ministry of petroleum resources and only Jonathan thinks so.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/malabu-corrupt-nigerian-officials-bought-jets-armoured-cars-with-533m-bribe/190515/

Malabu: Corrupt Nigerian Officials Bought Jets, Armoured Cars with $533m Bribe

04 Oct 2014


Yemi Adebowale with agency

More than half of the N171.32 billion ($1.1 billion) paid to Malabu Oil and Gas for the procurement of one of Nigeria’s richest oil fields, OPL 245 by Shell and Eni was used to bribe Nigerian politicians and intermediaries who helped to secure the controversial deal, reports Reuters.

According to a letter seeking the help of UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to freeze the assets of those involved, Italian prosecutors said some of the N83 billion ($533 million) slush money was used to buy private jets and armored vehicles.

“We are investigating many money transfers to many people in various countries who received sums that vary from millions of dollars to thousands of dollars,” Italian prosecutors told Reuters.

British prosecutors acting on the request have already frozen two accounts with combined sum of N29.5 billion ($190 million) allegedly belonging to the chief intermediary, Emeka Obi.

Former oil minister, who was convicted for money laundering in France, Dan Etete, owns Malabu Oil and Gas. The company was allegedly incorporated five days before the oil block was awarded to it in 1998 during the regime of late military dictator, Sani Abacha.

While trying to cover his link with the company, Etete registered the company with a fictitious director, Kweku Amafegha. The company also allegedly listed a fake address in the registration documents.

Etete confessed to a British court in 2013 that former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, demanded a slice of the oil block as bribe.
The federal government acted as a conduit for the fund after Shell and Eni raised concerns over transferring the money directly to Malabu due to Etete’s conviction.

Despite overwhelming evidences showing that Shell and Eni were aware that the money would be paid to a character with a shady background, officials of the companies have denied any wrong doing in the affair.

For instance, prosecutors said that a senior official of Shell had a face-to-face meeting with Etete over expensive “lunch and lots of iced champagne” few months before the money was transferred to the Nigerian government.

An email presented during the trial also mentioned that the Shell official who feted with Etete would refer to someone in The Hague known as “Peter” over the terms of the deal. Curiously, Shell’s CEO is named Peter Voser.

The Italian prosecutors are investigating the role of Eni’s former CEO, Paola Scaroni and his successor Claudio Descalzi, for alleged international corruption over the scandal.

1bn for governorship ticket! Oya pdp, continue. The president has promised to settle them how?

#change
#GMB
#APC

Trouble in the enemy camp! Good morning, good news.

#change
#GMB
#APC

barcanista:
Sometimes some of you just want to argue. Do you think Security Agencies will just swoop in without petition? Do you think Security Agencies will successfully prosecute a case just like that without the coorperation of relevant state agencies and government? I told Mynd of Ibori's case as a case study. The FOI simply means I can demand for relevant infor and documents. If I'm unsatisfied, I will approach the EFCC and say see this and that....If a case is established by them, they will carry further investigation and institute lawsuit. That is how things work

Before you prosecute, you must investigate. Did the DSS use FOI when they raided the lagos State apc office? A petition (not required) is not dependent on FOI, people troop to the police and EFCC daily without using FOI. All the information that Sanusi revealed about the banks when he was cbn governor did not require FOI to investigate or prosecute. All the policing authorities need is reasonable suspicion and then they can demand whatever documents that will aid their investigation. It may or may not lead to prosecution, that is a decision that the director of public prosecution/attorney-general makes, based on the work/recommendations of the investigating authority and the likelihood of a successful prosecution. You need to understand the process better.
When customs, stops drivers on the road looking for smuggled vehicles is that based on a petition or FOI? If foreign furniture is banned and the police observe an outlet that always has new stock of such items, does that require a petition or FOI?

#change
#GMB
#APC

barcanista:
Which investigation should the President launch when the case is in court? If Fayemi and APC so believe in the tape why can't they present it to CÓurt? Do you know that it amounts to illegality when a government raise a tribunal for a case that is before a court?
On the issue of Chibok, I initially "doubted" the story before I had to change opinion. Truthfully, the President did not do so well by not taking speedy action but with due respect I didn't see where he said it never happened, except your President is Asari and Kema Chikwe(or so).

I am stating this again that my support for Jonathan doesn't mean I see him as Mr. Perfect or a Saint, I see potentials in him to lead the real change after appreciating the undemocratic and hypocritical/corrupt character of the Broom party which I refer to as "Old PDP" and her allies. The case of Oduah though unfortunate but notwithstanding is no different from the cover-ups by APC States and their Chiefs. Key example was Admiral Nyako. Despite the allegation before him, the APC couldn't call for him to clear his name but Kwankwaso even boasted that they are behind him. His case is worse than Oduah. Today he's in exile, yet the APC still supports him. If you are proposing Change, you must offer something better than what the incumbent is offering and not worse.

For the EFCC/ICPC the court cannot force any government to release any document when there is no law to back it on. This was the reason FOI was passed and signed by Jonathan. The EFCC will just be helpless and put up show by prosecuting cases without relevant documented evidence. All over the world, real progressive governments at all levels practice the FOI. It is only in Nigeria that our own Progressives are going to court to deny it and reject enquiries.

The External Reserve depletion is one area I am not happy with government coupled with increased debt, but the ECA depletion should be blamed on both the FG and the Govs. The Govs led by Amaechi called for the sharing of Excess Crude Account which the President Obliged. I repeat that the Opposition looks worse than the incumbent otherwise they'd have proferred solutions within their own level and not perpetrate worse.

The FG was stealing monies from the states and local governments which is why the ECA ended up in court. I'm sure you know this!

http://m.allafrica.com/stories/201209260165.html/

Nigeria: Excess Crude Account - States Offer New Settlement Terms
26 September 2012 , By Tobi Soniyi, Source: This Day
(Photo: Vanguard)

States are demanding a sweeping change in the way the Federal Government has been handling monies accruing to the central purse as part of their condition to drop their suit challenging the legality of the Excess Crude Account (ECA).

They have proposed new conditions to resolve the lingering dispute between them and the Federal Government over illegal deductions from the Federation Account.

Counsel to the Federal Government, Mr. Austin Aleghe, Tuesday informed the Supreme Court of the new development when hearing resumed in the suit filed by the states seeking, among others, an order of the court to stop further deductions from the ECA to fund payment for fuel subsidy pending the determination of the suit.

According to the proposed new terms of agreement, the Federal Government will undertake and agree that upon the execution of the terms of settlement, it shall cause all sums standing to the credit of the ECA to be transferred to the Federation Account and distributed within 10 days from the execution of the terms of settlement to the three tiers of government-federal, state and local governments.

Under the new terms, the states are demanding that a limited liability company be established to take over the operations of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) and the $8.425 billion invested in it.

They are also demanding that the shares be allotted to the Federal Government, the states and the 774 local government areas with the rights and obligation of each shareholder spelt out.

Similarly, the states are demanding that the $250 million invested in the railway modernisation projects be transferred to a limited liability company, to be formed, in which the Federal Government, the states and the local government areas shall be the shareholders.

Both the $8.425 billion invested in the NIPP and the $250 million invested in the railway modernisation project were illegally deducted from the Federation Account and were monies that should have been shared among the three tiers of government.

Under the new terms, the Federal Government is being requested to allocate shares to all the states and the local government councils in the country under the Ibom Power Project since the money ($80 million) that was used to fund it was illegally deducted from the Federation Account.

They asked the Federal Government to stop the payment of signature bonuses accruing from oil block tenders into other accounts other than the Federation Account, in accordance with Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.

Within 30 days after the execution of the terms of settlement, the states are asking the Federal Government to submit two amendments bill to the National Assembly to amend the Petroleum Trust Development Act and Petroleum Act to bring their provisions in conformity with the constitution, a demand that might be deemed curious given that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), when passed into law, would abrogate both Acts.

They also demanded that dividends accruing to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporations (NNPC) through the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited should henceforth be paid into the Federation Account as against the illegal practice by the Federal Government of holding on to the money.

On proceeds realised from the sale of government property, the states agreed to continue to negotiate with the Federal Government to reach an amicable settlement.

They, however, added a clause that if within six months they cannot reach any agreement, the dispute would be submitted to the Supreme Court for adjudication.

Meanwhile, the case instituted at the Supreme Court by the 36 states of the federation challenging the legality of the ECA and the decision of the Federal Government to transfer $1 billion from the account as take-off grant to the newly created Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF), was yesterday further stalled following a passionate appeal by the Federal Government that it is genuinely committed to settling the matter out of court.

When the case was called Tuesday, Aleghe, who represented the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice in the matter, told a seven-man panel of the court, led by Justice Chukwuma Eneh, that the series of attempts being made by the Federal Government aimed at resolving the dispute amicably, had started yielding fruits.

He said: "We are happy to report that the settlement moves have started yielding results. We received only last week, new proposed terms of settlement by the plaintiffs and the Attorney General is currently studying the new terms of settlement and we believe now, more than ever before, that the settlement is yielding very useful results."

He therefore pleaded with the court to further extend the time for the parties to reach an amicable resolution of the dispute and to adjourn the matter to enable them reach a settlement.

The case as instituted by the states is aimed at resolving the dispute over the retention of the ECA and the transfer of $1 billion to the recently created SWF.

The states had approached the apex court for an order compelling the government of the Federation to pay into the Federation Account, N5.51 trillion, being the balance of the money that accrued to the central purse between 2004 and 2007 from the proceeds of crude oil sales, petroleum profit tax and oil royalties.

The Federal Government had classified such earnings as "excess crude proceeds" and "excess PPT and royalties" which were paid into an account termed the "Excess Crude Account."

The states also want the apex court to order the Federal Government to transfer to the Federation Account all sums standing to the credit of the ECA.

Responding to Aleghe's plead for an adjournment, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo who represented the plaintiffs, reminded the court that the plaintiffs had approached the court since 2008 over the issue and that there had been discussions, offers, counter offers and moves to resolve the matter.

He expressed satisfaction with the genuine commitment by the Federal Government to resolve the matter and promised that his team would embrace such moves.

Awomolo, however, reminded the court that the case was adjourned until yesterday for either the report of settlement or definite hearing of the matter on its merit, adding that he was ready to go on.

The court declined to commence hearing into the matter and observed that such a move would undermine the current attempts towards settling the matter amicably.

The court also noted that delving into the substance of the case would cast doubts on the preparedness of the AGF, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke's commitment to settle the matter.

Subsequently, the court adjourned the matter till November 22 for the parties to file the report of their settlement.

#change
#GMB
#APC

barcanista:
Which investigation should the President launch when the case is in court? If Fayemi and APC so believe in the tape why can't they present it to CÓurt? Do you know that it amounts to illegality when a government raise a tribunal for a case that is before a court?
On the issue of Chibok, I initially "doubted" the story before I had to change opinion. Truthfully, the President did not do so well by not taking speedy action but with due respect I didn't see where he said it never happened, except your President is Asari and Kema Chikwe(or so).

I am stating this again that my support for Jonathan doesn't mean I see him as Mr. Perfect or a Saint, I see potentials in him to lead the real change after appreciating the undemocratic and hypocritical/corrupt character of the Broom party which I refer to as "Old PDP" and her allies. The case of Oduah though unfortunate but notwithstanding is no different from the cover-ups by APC States and their Chiefs. Key example was Admiral Nyako. Despite the allegation before him, the APC couldn't call for him to clear his name but Kwankwaso even boasted that they are behind him. His case is worse than Oduah. Today he's in exile, yet the APC still supports him. If you are proposing Change, you must offer something better than what the incumbent is offering and not worse.

For the EFCC/ICPC the court cannot force any government to release any document when there is no law to back it on. This was the reason FOI was passed and signed by Jonathan. The EFCC will just be helpless and put up show by prosecuting cases without relevant documented evidence. All over the world, real progressive governments at all levels practice the FOI. It is only in Nigeria that our own Progressives are going to court to deny it and reject enquiries.

The External Reserve depletion is one area I am not happy with government coupled with increased debt, but the ECA depletion should be blamed on both the FG and the Govs. The Govs led by Amaechi called for the sharing of Excess Crude Account which the President Obliged. I repeat that the Opposition looks worse than the incumbent otherwise they'd have proferred solutions within their own level and not perpetrate worse.

On the EFCC etc you are plain wrong. The EFCC, regular police and security agencies have the power to demand and seize documents with a reasonable nexus to their investigations. The have never needed FOI for that. This shows your misunderstanding of the purpose of FOI. FOI is primarily intended for use by citizens and ngo's to facilitate increased transparency about the workings of government.

#change
#GMB
#APC

barcanista:
Alams pardon was not done through Presidential fiat but by the National Council of State(NCS). The NCS consists of all past Heads of State and Presidents, CJN, Speaker, Senate President and the 36 Governors. So far nobody came out to say they disagreed with his pardon. In fact, Yakubu Gowon came out to defend it. I am not holding brief for anyone but the responsibility should be shared by all of them and not President Jonathan alone.

As for Obanikoro alleged tape, I am yet to comment on it except on one occasion where I blamed Jonathan. However, he has gone to court arguing that the tape was doctored. Whether he's made a Minister or an SA is another issue as I believe there is the court to settle election matters. As for FFK, I recall when he was with APC, they said through elRufai that his trial was politically motivated. I want him to be brought to justice but I find it laughable the u-turn made by the same APC when he left them. Just the way they had backed Nyako rather than telling him to clear his name. Bro, APC is worse than PDP.

As for APC guys, lol....we know their antecedents and hypocrisy. Not forgeting their schemes. It is very easy to spot them. Haha.

MODIFIED

The only thing that Saharareporters.com has received from Obanikoro is a cease and desist letter which is not a court process. There is no court action by Obanikoro anywhere apart from posturing, because Omisore, The police affairs minister and fayose have all essentially admitted their part in the conversation, but dispute the interpretation.

You can rest assured that the press is salivating at the prospect of taking photos of FFK as he enters and exits the court this week as his money laundering trial continues. Does Jonathan need this kind of publicity?

More details on the metro bus launch here
http://africanspotlight.com/2015/02/23/photos-lagos-launches-100-air-conditioned-internet-enabled-metro-buses/

EDIT;
Speaking earlier, the State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa described the launch of the new high capacity buses as another firm demonstration of the readiness of the present administration to implement the multi- modal transportation system.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of the LAGBUS Asset Management Limited, Mr Babatunde Disu said the buses will start operation soon, servicing main routes namely ?Sango-Oshodi-Obalende- Ikorodu-Island–Epe.

He added that the 100 new Air Conditioned buses have been made possible by the partnership with a private concern called Metro Bus and would eventually have a total of 1800 buses servicing 47 routes to bring about comfort and safety as well as reduce congestion.

Mr Disu said ridership has increased by 31 per cent as 64.5 million passengers have been moved by Lagbus from 2012 to December 2015.

#change
#GMB
#APC

scribble:
Have you seen the way Nigerians are treated at their embassies?

Omotola even reported her son fainted whilst waiting in queue for visa

These people r mean

Is it only the US embassy? China and Dubai have announced curbs on visa issuance because too many Nigerians use the visas as a one way ticket. Do the citizens of all these countries have two heads that they have made themselves a magnet for so many of us? There are serious questions we need to ask ourselves first.

#change

jerflakes:
[size=15pt]Hahahahahahahahahaha

I marvel at APC mentality.

Even with glaring facts that GMB is half dead, this dimwit Governor still said he's healthy.

Thats the APC mentality.

They decieve everyone including themselves.

Please can someone post that " How to be an APC member"?

All facts are there. [/size]

The 'glaring facts' are only symptoms of your psychosis!

#change
#GMB
#APC