₦airaland Forum

The State Security Service (SSS) embarked on an unprecedented "crackdown" on allegedly corrupt judicial officers across the country over the weekend. Among the judicial officers whose houses were searched and thereafter arrested and detained are two Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria; Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro.
As expected, the action has polarised lawyers, commentators, the media, civil society and the public. Differing views have been expressed on the constitutionality or otherwise of the steps and procedures adopted by the SSS. Sadly, the public has been deprived of opinions that are rooted in law owing largely to the belligerent and sentimental posturing and aggressive grandstanding that has impaired commentaries on the issues in controversy.
My task in this essay is simply to offer a legal opinion on the following four issues: First, are judicial officers in Nigeria immune from the criminal justice system?; Second, is it mandatory for security agencies to seek the consent/intervention of the National Judicial Council (NJC) before investigating, arresting, detaining or prosecuting a judicial officer over alleged crimes?; Three, did the SSS act within its statutory powers and acceptable legal procedures? Four, is evidence that is obtained illegally admissible in law?
The above questions or issues are in my considered view the crux-es of the matter.
Before I proceed further, may I respectfully issue a caution: This op-ed is one of the longest that I have written in recent times. It is not for the lazy mind or for those who are easily irritated by long essays and exposition. The nature of the issues under consideration necessarily made it a detailed essay. I solicit the indulgence of readers.
Resolution of the issues:
First, are judicial officers in Nigeria immune from the criminal justice system?
The only constitutional provision relating to immunity from civil and criminal proceedings and processes for certain public office holders in Nigeria is Section 308 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) (hereinafter referred to as the Constitution). Based on that provision, only the President, the Vice-President, Governors and Deputy Governors are shielded from civil and criminal proceedings and processes in limited circumstances.
It is an elementary rule of interpretation that the express mention of one person or thing is the exclusion of another. The maxim is expressio unius personae vel, est exclusio alterius. In the case of Ehuwa v. O.S.I.E.C. (2006) 10 NWLR (Pt.1012) 544, the Supreme Court stated the position thus:
"It is now firmly established that in the construction of a Statutory provision, where a statute mentions specific things or persons, the intention is that those not mentioned are not intended to be included..." Per OGBUAGU, JSC.
The implication is that every person apart from the four public officers expressly mentioned in Section 308 of the Constitution are subject to investigation, arrest, detention and prosecution. Judicial Officers from the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to High Court Judges do not enjoy any special protection from criminal proceedings and processes. Immunity cannot be inferred, it must be specifically granted.
Those suggesting that judicial officers in Nigeria are entitled to special protection or immunity should be kind enough to cite the enabling constitutional or statutory provision that supports their position. The truth is that there is none.
Second, is it mandatory for security agencies to seek the consent/intervention of the NJC before investigating, arresting, detaining or prosecuting a judicial officer over alleged crimes?
The NJC is one of the institutions established by Section 153 of the Constitution. The power of the Council is provided for in Paragraph 21 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution. The NJC is empowered inter alia, to recommend the removal from office of judicial officers and exercise disciplinary control over them. By virtue of Section 158 (1) of the Constitution, the NJC is guaranteed constitutional independence and is not subject to the control of any other authority or person when exercising its disciplinary control.
There is no dispute on the disciplinary control of the NJC over judicial officers. What is disputed by some legal commentators is the extent of the disciplinary control. Is it correct to aver that no criminal proceedings or action can be initiated or taken against a judicial officer except on the invitation/directive of the NJC?
At the risk of repetition, where a judicial officer is alleged to have committed a crime, is it mandatory for law enforcement agencies to go through the disciplinary instrumentality of the NJC before taking actions against the erring judicial officer?
There is nothing in the provisions of Paragraph 21 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution that precludes law enforcement agencies from investigating, arresting, detaining or prosecuting a judicial officer in Nigeria for alleged corrupt practices or for other sundry offences. It is my view that a contrary interpretation will have the inescapable effect of conferring an extra-constitutional immunity on judicial officers.
In rule seven (7) of the famous twelve (12) point rule of constitutional interpretation propounded by OBASEKI, JSC in the celebrated case of Attorney-General of Bendel State vs. Attorney-General of the Federation (1981) 10 SC. 1; (1981) 1 FNLR 179, the Supreme Court declared thus:
"A constitutional provision should not be construed in such a way as to defeat its evident purpose."
The purpose of Section 308 of the Constitution as evidently enshrined therein is to protect ONLY the President, Vice-President, Governors and Deputy Governors from arrest, detention, and prosecution. I submit that any construction on the disciplinary power of the NJC that tends to shield judicial officers from arrest, detention, and prosecution will automatically defeat the purpose of Section 308 of the Constitution.
It is my humble view that where the wrongful act of a judicial officer is merely a misconduct and nothing more, the NJC is vested with the power to recommend such offending judicial officer for removal from office and exercise disciplinary control over him. The NJC's independence from control guaranteed and envisaged by Section 158 of the Constitution does not, and cannot be construed to mean totality or absoluteness of control over judicial officers where the misconduct complained of also constitute a crime.
Before concluding on this point, there is a widely propagated misconception that needs to be corrected.
It has been argued by some persons that the procedure on how erring judges should be dealt with requires that even when a judge is found or alleged to have committed a crime, a petition must first be written to the NJC and that the petitioner and the law enforcement agencies like the police, the EFCC, the SSS and others must patiently wait for the determination of the petition by the NJC before activating the criminal process. With respect, that cannot be the correct position.
Ostensibly, this misconception stems from a misunderstanding of the relationship between the constitutional procedure for removal of judicial officers and the liability of judges for criminal offences committed by them.
The procedure for removal of judicial officers in Nigeria is as contained in Section 292 of the Constitution. In brevity, the provision is to the effect that the NJC may recommend to the President or Governor, as the case may be, the removal from office of erring judicial officers for inability to perform the functions of their office due to infirmity (whether of the body or mind) or misconduct or contravention of the Code of Conduct. Note that the NJC only recommends, it does not and cannot remove any judicial officer solely on its own.
There is nothing in Section 292 of the Constitution that makes the removal of an erring judicial officer a condition precedent to his investigation, arrest, detention and prosecution by law enforcement agencies.

charix:
All these fake story-peddling, attention-seeking females on Twitter and instagram wouldn't kill somebody. All a matter of time before confirmation would appear stating it was only a stunt. Not going to waste time reading the story nor the brainpower to come up with a related comment.
Off to the next thread.

Same handle did these....ALWAYS PEDDLING BIG LIES:

FrankSean:
First and foremost did they agreed on marriage before the program started. what did she mean by saying the guy has finish her life? there is still other guyz out there why what to kill herself over one please don't be stupid girl. boy for here are still single find another and give your love he will appreciate more than this player babe.

Don't fall for this..That handle is know on twitter to tweet LIES...pathological liar doing what she knows how to do best.

madridguy:
Some guys wicked pass serpent. If tomorrow now the lady in question pour him acid or stab him to death people will be blaming the innocent lady.
My fear for woman will not even allow me to act funny. I pray the guy escape justice sha

That fellow MIRIAM...is known on twitter as pathological liar doing what she knows how to do best. Don't fall for this....

I hereby REGRET voting for BUHARI.....

Haaaaa, finally, the charm don dey comot dem eyes ooo. "We told you so"...Sebi you did not listen to us?
Yep, our Bishop/imam said so that they will all regret it.........
Hehehehe, ‪#‎NotMe‬

REGRET voting for Buhari ke?
NAY, just look for another Toddler enclosed in Adult's body but #NotMe
I mean that Social Media "big boy" you always take his word to be superior to your brain but, #NotMe
Na me marry my wife ‪#‎Myself‬
Na my wife marry me ‪#‎Herself‬
Nobody deceived me to marry her
No Prophet manipulated her to say ‪#‎YesIDo‬
But wait, have I disappointed her severally? O YEA
Has she disappointed me on many occasion? YES she has.
Did I regret marrying her instead of others?
Sorry to disappoint you, If I have known these her flaws, I would have married her,
and still preferred to have her far above your "Harvard qualified nigga"
That is the difference between ‪#‎DisappointmentAndRegret‬
That is the difference between ‪#‎DeepThinkers‬ and ‪#‎ShallowFellows‬

But toddlers enclosed and enslaved in grown up human body can't differentiate that...Very simple.
Democracy gives us options and alternatives based on available products per time.
You tell me to my face that you don't give a damn and still want me to reward you for that?
You rewarded looters, miscreants, militants and evil doers, and expect me to reward you with another TERM?
You punished Men of Integrity for standing upright, rewarded the crooks and gave National honor to thieves in broad day light and asked me to REWARD you with another Loyalty?
You redefined ‪#‎MoralDictionary‬ by saying stealing is not corruption and still ask me to follow you?
You even made religion to be about regular pilgrimage with big "god of men" while increasing the loot...Yet asked for my vote again? Hmmm

Let me tell you again, "Fulani herdman" is too decent to be considered ahead of your hero.
I will vote "Foganaisa or Battery rewire" instead of Mr anything goes with PHD degrees surrounded with "HalfHard University crooks".
You can not mess up four/five years and suddenly wake up in threee months to election and still be posing for my vote, @NaYourHouseYouDeyGo
A few disappointment can never define a noble, better superior decision of voting Buhari to office, sorry cucumber generation preferred to go back to Egypt when they saw the Red Sea.
They almost cursed Moses, just because of initial disappointment of their expectation of "entering" the promise land as soon as they left Egypt o....They prefer the past, they remembered cucumber, and free food...But they forgot the burden of slavery under the a perverted leadership that gave free food but, corrupt their DESTINY....Moses, where is the change oooooo.

The cane we used for the senior wife is still very fresh and intact where it was kept. It will also be used to measure "salad" for the new wife if the initial disappointments lead to fatal error...That is DEMOCRACY.
Just to annoy you again, if the events of 2015 were to happen today again, I won't reward a man that is so "peaceful" but shared money meant for peace with crooked allies and sent gallant soldiers to untimely death in the hand of Boko Haram. I prefer the alternative...‪#‎Whoever‬

I won't reward a man that borrowed to pay salary in the period of ‪#‎OilBoom‬ and ‪#‎LargestEconomy‬ they so much touted, I will vote a frugal farmer whose sense of achievement is not what he can acquire....Na your house you dey go.
No, I won't vote a man who is interested in "window shopping, photo shopping and window dressing" everything about tomorrow. ‪#‎ShareTheLoot‬ ‪#‎ShareTheBillions‬ ‪#‎MorePrivateJets‬ ‪#‎MilitantsProsper‬ ‪#‎AnythingGoes‬

A grown up man, who don ask for another woman hand for marriage no fit manage crisis, come dey blow grammar on Social media fa say ‪#‎iRegretVotingBuhari‬
Why you no go regret, azzin na somebody dey think for you. Una no get shame shishi. You rate somebody brain better your own on Social media? Kai......Brain dn suffer!
‪#‎CryCryBaby‬ keep your regret to yourself, I am still very happy I sent the ineffectual back to his house....Governance is a serious business, If u no do am wella, na ya house you dey go!! ‪#‎NoApology‬
Oya Buhari ‪#‎ChangeGear‬ and carry go jareeee

Now that Aisha Buahri is in Washington DC, what else do you have to say? Another excuse?

http://saharareporters.com/2016/08/03/aisha-wife-nigerias-president-muhammadu-buhari-arrives-washington-dc

In a development with significant political implications, Nigeria’s First Lady Aisha Buhari on Wednesday evening arrived in Washington DC on a weeklong visit. She is billed to attend a number of events in the area.

Sources at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC said Mrs. Buhari arrived on a British Airways flight from London.

Her visit is of tremendous interest in Nigeria where Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayose alleged in June that Mrs. Buhari was involved in the infamous Halliburton scandal, and is the “Aisha Buhari” mentioned in related court documents.

Our investigations show that there is no “Aisha Buhari” mentioned in the Halliburton scandal. However, there is one mentioned in the case of former United States congressman William Jefferson, who was convicted on corruption charges in 2009, and to whom “Aisha Buhari” wired the sum of $170,000. It is to that matter the governor mistakenly appears to allude.

On several occasions, Governor Fayose asserted that Mrs. Buhari could not enter the US, suggesting she would be arrested, a bluff she has now called. Investigations by SaharaReporters and the New York Times have categorically stated that the Aisha Buhari mentioned in the court document in reference is not President Buhari's wife. Nonetheless, Mrs. Buhari has sued Governor Fayose concerning his allegations.

According to an official invitation letter to her, obtained by SaharaReporters, Mrs. Buhari was expected to have arrived in the United Stastes two days ago, but was held back by official delays in Nigeria.

Among others, she is expected during her visit to attend meetings at the George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She will also be hosted by the United States Institute of Peace, in collaboration with Voice of America, and attend the 25th Anniversary celebration of Zumunta Association USA Inc.

When next Akinwumi Ambode wants to commission any project started by Fashola (Fashola was sensible and active enough not to allow Ambode inherit Tinubu's unfinished projects), we will be singing ‪#‎ThankYouFashola‬.

11 Years, August 9, 2006, the rail project was initiated and flagged off by President Obasanjo....11 years, was not enough to finish a rail project between Abuja and Kaduna, as if they were connecting Abuja and NewYork city....Who stopped them? ‪#‎Corruption‬

For your information, the generation to come will read something like this on the inscription: ABUJA-KADUNA rail project, initiated & flagged off by FGN under the leadership of President Obasanjo on August 9, 2006, finished and commissioned by FGN under the leadership of CinC President BUHARI....Minister of Transport being Rotimi Amaechi....‪#‎DealWithThat‬. Simply put FGN finished a project FGN started 11 years ago!

Mr ‪#‎iWantedToStart‬ BVN, ‪#‎iWantedTo‬ start anti-corruption #iwantedTo start TSA, #iWantedTo start start Ogoni cleanup; #iWantedTo start ghost workers cleanups; #iWantedTo finish Lagos Ibadan express #iWantedTo SAVE; #iWantedTo stop subsidy; #iwantedTo start fighting Boko Haram; #iWantedTo diversify economy; #iWantedTo have legacy.....but ‪#‎BUTiNeverDidAny‬
By the way, Barnitez started UCL season with Real Madrid; Zidane Finished and won UCL for Real Madrid.....

With this your ‪#‎LogicOfKagawa‬ I should have said ‪#‎ThankYouBarnitez‬.....Reality still dey pain you...‪#‎CryMeRiver‬

Court grants Senate President, Ekweremadu, ex-Clerk, Dep. Clerk bail

The gloves were off yesterday.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is facing trial for alleged forgery of the Senate Rules, accused the Executive of being the architect of his travails.

He spoke of “a government within the government of President Buhari, which has seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue a nefarious agenda”.

But the Presidency would not allow the allegation to go undenied.

It challenged Saraki to name the cabal in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Saraki’s claim would have been more worthwhile if it had been backed with more information.

He issued a statement, saying: “If he had proceeded to identify those who constitute the ‘government within the government’, it would have taken the issue beyond the realm of fiction and mere conjecture.

“But as it stands, the allegation is not even worth the paper on which it was written, as anybody can wake from a troubled sleep and say anything.

“The Attorney-General of the Federation is the Chief Law Officer of the state. It is within his constitutional powers to determine who has infringed upon the law, and who has not.

“Pretending to carry an imaginary cross is mere obfuscation, if, indeed, a criminal act has been committed.  But we leave the courts to judge.”

To claim that President Muhammadu Buhari is anybody’s stooge, the statement said, is not only ridiculous, but also preposterous.

“It is not in the character of our President,” Adesina added.

Saraki accused the Executive arm of the government of bring up “trumped up’ charges against him.

In a statement he signed, Saraki described his trial as a cross he was prepared to carry.

The statement reads: “Today, we the leaders of the Nigerian Senate reiterate our innocence against the charges filed by the Attorney General of the Federal Government of Nigeria at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on the allegations of forgery of the Senate Standing Rules document.

”In our view, the charges filed by the Attorney General represent a violation of the principle of the Separation of Powers between the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch as enshrined in our Constitution.

“Furthermore, it is farcical to allege that a criminal act occurred during Senate procedural actions and the mere suggestion demonstrates a desperate overreach by the office of the Attorney General.

“These trumped up charges is only another phase in the relentless persecution of the leadership of the Senate

”This misguided action by the Attorney General begs the question, how does this promote the public interest and benefit the nation?

“At a time when the whole of government should be working together to meet Nigeria’s many challenges, we are once again distracted by the Executive Branch’s inability to move beyond a leadership election among Senate peers.

“It was not an election of Senate peers and Executive Branch participants.

”Over the past year the Senate has worked to foster good relations with the Executive Branch.  It is in all of our collective interests to put aside divisions and get on with the nation’s business.

“We risk alienating and losing the support of the very people who have entrusted their national leaders to seek new and creative ways to promote a secure and prosperous Nigeria.

“As leaders and patriots, it is time to rise above partisanship and to move forward together.

”However, what has become clear is that there is now a government within the government of President Buhari who have seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue their nefarious agenda.

”This latest onslaught on the Legislature represents a clear and present danger to the democracy Nigerians fought hard to win and preserve.

“The suit filed on behalf of the Federal Government suggests that perhaps some forces in the Federal Republic have not fully embraced the fact that the Senate’s rules and procedures govern how the legislative body adjudicates and resolves its own disputes.

”Let it be abundantly clear, both as a citizen and as a foremost Legislator, I will continue to rise above all the persecution and distraction that have been visited on me.

“In the words of Martin Luther King Junior, ”the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at a time of challenge and controversy”.

“I will remain true and committed to the responsibilities that my citizenship and my office impose on me.

“Without doubt, the highest of those responsibilities is the steadfast refusal to surrender to the subversion of our democracy and the desecration of the Senate.

“This is a cross I am prepared to carry. If yielding to the nefarious agenda of a few individuals who are bent in undermining our democracy and destabilising the Federal Government to satisfy their selfish interests is the alternative to losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest.

The Managing Director of Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, Benjamin Joseph, has accused the immediate past Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, of frustrating a case of fraud against some suspects.

Joseph said Arase allegedly refused to release the case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions which had ordered the prosecution of the suspects in its legal advice.

He said after the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, referred the case to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the ex-IG, three days to his retirement, ordered that he (Joseph) should be arraigned on trumped-up charges.

Joseph said his persecution started after he allegedly refused the plea of the former IG and the “powerful suspects” to take N10m as settlement for the case of fraud.

Our correspondent learnt that Joseph’s company had been awarded a contract worth N216m by the Federal Inland Revenue Service on December 6, 2012.

However, a syndicate reportedly approached Joseph, saying his company would not execute the contract, but that he would be paid N15m as settlement.

Our correspondent was told that Joseph refused the offer, saying he preferred to lose the contract than accept the arrangement.

He was reportedly told later that the contract had been awarded to another firm.

However, nine months later, the FIRS was said to have accused Joseph’s company of “under-declaring” during an audit of its account.

Our correspondent gathered that during an examination of documents, Joseph was told that the contract awarded to his company was actually executed in his company’s name and N216m paid into the company’s account.

PUNCH Metro was told in the course of investigation, Joseph discovered that a fraudulent account had been opened in his company’s name, with his signature forged to perpetrate the crime.

Our correspondent gathered that the names of those who opened the account were later discovered to be those of the suspected members of the syndicate.

The group allegedly begged Joseph to collect N5.7m as settlement, which was later increased to N10m.

Joseph told PUNCH Metro that he refused the offers because his company’s reputation was at stake over a project it did not execute.

He said he had demanded a letter of apology and an indemnity from the suspects, but they refused, saying he should only take the money, assuring him that there would be no repercussions.

The matter was said to have been taken to the Special Fraud Unit, Lagos, which then wrote the DPP for legal advice at the end of its investigation.

Joseph said, “After the SFU concluded its investigation, it applied for a legal advice from the DPP, Lagos State.

“When I, however, saw the way the matter was going, I wrote a protest letter to the then Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, on July 3, 2014, and he asked that the case file be sent to him.

“I later went to see him on the case, together with my lawyers, to explain my plight to him.

“He said he had spoken with the suspects and they told him that they had offered me money, but I refused it. I said money was not my problem, but I just wanted to clear my name. He (Arase) said I should take the N10m and avoid trouble.”

Joseph said he asked Arase to put it into writing that he was the one giving the instruction, adding that he declined the request.

He explained that a few weeks later, the Investigating Police Officer assigned to handle the case in the office of the DIG, one Sergeant Dare Emmanuel, called sometime in March 2015, saying the DPP’s legal advice was out.

He added that the legal advice, dated March 9, 2015, with file number DPP/ADV:1009/14, signed by one Muhammed Diri and addressed to the Officer-in-Charge, Special Enquiry Bureau, established a prima facie case of fraud, forgery, among others, against the suspects.

Joseph said the IPO assured him that he had already drafted charges against the suspects based on the advice, adding that the case file would be transferred to the Ministry of Justice as soon as the DIG, Arase, gave his approval.

PUNCH Metro was told that the IPO, however, did not get back to Joseph.

As the case was going on, Arase was reportedly promoted to the post of the IG, and a new DIG, Dan Doma, assumed office.

“In May, I went to Abuja and met with Doma over the case. After narrating everything to him, he called the IPO and recounted my story, which the IPO confirmed.

“Doma stood up in anger and asked Emmanuel, ‘What is the case file still doing here?’ The IPO said it was because Arase had not given approval for the transfer of the case,” Joseph added.

Our correspondent was told that the DIG ordered Emmanuel to take the case file to the Ministry of Justice and arraign the suspects the following morning, with an instruction to Joseph to report to him the following day if the order was not carried out.

Joseph said he was, however, surprised when he got to the Force headquarters the following day and met the IPO in a sad mood.

He said, “His eyeballs were red from crying. I asked him what the matter was and he said Arase invited him that morning and threatened to dismiss him for wanting to embarrass him. Emmanuel said he didn’t know how the ex-IG got to know about the decision of the DIG to transfer the case and arraign the suspects.

“I couldn’t believe him, so I decided to see the DIG myself. I told the DIG what Emmanuel told me. He smiled and said the IG called him that morning over the matter, (saying) that I should hold on.”

That week, Emmanuel was reportedly transferred to Kano State.

Joseph said while returning to Lagos on a flight, he sent a text message to Arase to register his displeasure over the manner the case was being handled, adding that the ex-IG asked to see him three days later.

However, it was learnt that Arase refused to see him when he returned to Abuja with his lawyers.

The ex-IG was said to have asked him to conclude a civil suit he (Joseph) had instituted against the suspects before the criminal process would start.

Our correspondent was told that Joseph had filed a civil suit on May 14, 2014 against the suspects, but the matter had yet to be heard due to preliminary objections and applications filed by the defence counsel.

It was learnt that Joseph’s lawyers demanded that the case file be released to the DPP and when their appeals failed, a writ of Mandamus was filed before an FCT High Court, Abuja in July 2015.

PUNCH Metro was told that the court had also yet to hear the case.

Joseph said he engaged the ex-IG in another chat after he (Joseph) travelled to the US sometime in July 2015, saying his efforts were futile.

He said in December, he was told that the ex-IG wrote the DPP that there was no need to send the case file again as the suspects had already been arraigned by the police.

Joseph said, “I asked the DPP in Abuja to show me the case number the police were talking about. It turned out to be the case number of my civil suit, which had not been heard since 2014.”

He said he wrote a letter to Vice-President, Osinbajo, on the matter, who then referred the case to the EFCC.

A letter from the State House, Abuja, dated December 21, 2015 and signed by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the VP, Ade Ipaye, stated in part, “I have been asked to inform you that your submission has since been forwarded to the EFCC for due consideration.”

It was gathered that while the EFCC was inviting the parties for interrogation, Arase filed a charge against Joseph less than a week to his retirement.

The charge, which was filed before an Abuja High Court, and served on Joseph on Thursday, June 16, 2016, is slated for hearing on Monday, June 27, 2016.

The ex-IG, who retired on Tuesday, June 21, accused Joseph of lying that his signature was forged to open his account.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the police based the charge on a forensic report from Lagos, dated March 12, 2014 and issued by one R.A. Onwuzuligbo.

The report, which compared Joseph’s signature and the alleged forged signature, stated, “In my opinion, there are several features of similarity between questioned and standard signatures on documents marked appendix ‘X2-X3’ and ‘X1’.”

However, another forensic report, by one ASP Reginald Udunze of the Nigeria Police Force, Forensic Section, Imo State, dated June 11, 2015, said, “The writer of the signature on the document dated June 20, 2008 and marked A3, did not sign the signature on the document marked A1-A2 (alleged forged document).”

On the impending arraignment, Joseph wondered why he would forge his own signature to open an account in Ikoyi, Lagos, when he had two accounts already opened in Ibadan, Oyo State, where he was based.

The spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, Abuja, Olabisi Kolawole, asked Joseph to face the police charge and clear his name.

She said, “Though I am not privy to the details of this case, but if he has been asked to go and face a charge, then he should do so and clear himself. It means that is the outcome of police investigation into the case and he should not start finding faults. There have been cases where complainants became suspects.”

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, promised to get back to our correspondent on the case, but he had yet to do so as of press time.

Efforts to reach the immediate past IG, Arase, were abortive as he didn’t pick his calls or reply to a text sent to him on the matter.

Flash:
Union Bank sacks workers nationwide due to unpaid N11B loan.

Depositors' life savings gone, and Nigerians wailing and public unrest.

Bank shuts down (e.g Savanna Bank).

Ben Bruce on Twitter @Benmurraybruce Blames PMB's awkward economic policies, and blasts APC lack of economic direction!

Now assuming you don't know that Ben took N11B loan that wrecked such havoc on the Bank, what will you also say about Ben10 common sense on this?
Thank God, e no happen!

Now judge the scenario.
Note:
In Nigeria, Be rich anyhow, or by wealth transfer.
Then take a very huge loan from Banks.
Then settle a few and Government officials.
Then live big, travel wide, be a public speaker on how to make it....
Then The Bank grounded, and shuts down, depositors' money gone forever...(Savanna Bank and co)
Then you are free "FOREVER"!

Love Machine:
There are more of Ben Murray bruce's type who are in apc as well.The chief of staff to pmb,Abba kyari is one out of thousands,but the president is turning a blind eye on them.

Pls, try and STEAL, then make sure that you are caught. When you get to the Police Station, be kind enough to tell them that there are several robbery events around the Police station that same week, and they choose to turn a blind eyes...Why should they arrest you anyway? Common Sense abi

So you took N11Billion Naira loan from Union Bank since 2007.
Sorry that Billion is not from Bank, but from millions of Nigerians who deposited N200, N600, N10,000, N20,000,000 etc.

You refused to pay back, and the money domiciled in your family alone for a decade.
You are part of those killing the economy.
You are part of those who wrecked havoc on Banking sector.

But you are loud on Buhari. You keep finding fault on a man who is trying to clean the mess you and others defecated on the Economy over the years.
You are against his "Noise" on corruption....All you want him to do is to revive the economy that is hurting....

Excuse me, who took N11B away from Nigerians and halted the economy?
N1M loan to SMEs will amount to 11,000 small businesses having access to loan from Union Bank....But you alone cornered such fund for a decade.
Now I understand why Ben keeps wailing that Jonathan lost....AMCON can't do Nada as long as Jona and Ngozi were in power.

For the first time, @Benmurraybruce twitter handle was silent for more than 18Hours.
He was scared what to say as common sense...then he crawled out to say he was on international flight since, and the issue will be settle.

You can not manage popcorn and Cinema business without destroying Banking sector and depositors. Yet you keep telling Buhari on how to manage a Nation?
You belong to the corrupt, who killed our economy.
Buhari will keep fighting corruption. Keep your common sense to yourself.

By the way, Osun State should be ready to donate also to Ben Bruce. After all, he promised to donate his ward robe allowance during Osun salary crisis.
Aregbe and other workers in Osun should donate their salaries also on PROMISE PREMISE!

Buhari keeps minding his own business: Presidency;

Ben Bruce keeps minding Bihari as his business, and left his business unattended to;

His Business he left unattended was taken by AMCON, minding their own business.

Well, legislative business is another business you have in Nigeria... Very lucrative you know.

Moral of the lesson: MIND YA BUSINESS

So Ronaldo Made it, despite all this hatred.....Sigh!

Pius Adesanmi I congratulate the aides, relatives and trusted associates of State Governors. Many of them will become overnight billionaires before 2019. As a Governor or political office holder, it is becoming almost impossible to operate illegal foreign accounts. Between Panama papers and Sahara Reporters and sharp diaspora citizens, you will be exposed. Ask Dino Melaye and his illegal American account. You realize the dangers and keep it local. EFCC won't let you rest with investigation. So, your only real option now is to deposit your loot in the names of aides, relatives, and associates. These people have been known to loot the loot as Bukola Saraki recently found out. I congratulate these future billionaires. So, was N1.2 billion really found in Fayose's account? Has he explained the source of the money? Has he denied the presence of that money in his account? You, my friend from Ekiti, who has been screaming since yesterday - I sympathized with you when your mother died in January. Medication worth less than a hundred thousand naira could have saved her. Now you are more bothered about the politics of theft than the fact of theft. You cannot ask: did Fayose steal that money or not? I am asking these questions that you may understand the critical connection between Fayose's bank account and Mama's death. You may also try to remember the connection between that money and those who perished under Boko Haram's strikes. I know that making these connections is a difficult intellectual stretch but you can do it if you try. Just try. Anyway, go and read Inibehe Effiong's effort this morning so that we can get past your worries for Fayose and focus on the question: has he denied that Dasuki's funds were found in his account? Only one question for EFCC: did you obtain the requisite court order to freeze the account as part of your lawful right to investigate a citizen who enjoys immunity from prosecution? Do not spoil a straight forward case with this matter o.

On Monday 20th June, 2016 the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Peter Fayose, alerted the nation that his personal bank account domiciled with Zenith Bank of Nigeria Plc has been frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mr. Fayose excoriated the anti-graft agency and the Federal Government of Nigeria for taking such “illegal” and “criminal” action without reference or regard to the immunity clause in the Constitution which protects him during the currency and subsistence of his tenure as the Executive Governor of Ekiti State.

In his response, the Spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren told Vanguard Newspaper that the anti-graft agency has the right to investigate any governor whose account is being used to move funds. “Immunity does not prevent EFCC from investigating suspicious accounts of those enjoying immunity and Fayose cannot be an exception, “Mr. Uwujaren said.

Before delving into the substance of this legal controversy, it should be noted from the beginning that this essay is strictly aimed at dissecting the constitutionality or otherwise of the freezing of the bank account of a sitting governor by the EFCC. The temptation to meddle into any alleged, conceivable or ostensible political undertone in the matter will be resisted.

I need to also caution that this piece requires patience and clarity of thoughts, devoid of emotions and sentiments for proper digestion and comprehension. The issue at stake deserves a detailed examination. In resolving this controversy, I have formulated two relevant questions or issues for determination, namely:

1. Whether the EFCC have the powers under the law to freeze the bank account(s) of persons who are under criminal investigation by the commission? 2. Whether a sitting governor of a State in Nigeria can be investigated for alleged crimes, and his bank account(s) frozen by the EFCC in the course or under the pretext of criminal investigation?

The answer to issue 1 supra (above) is found in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004 (subsequently referred to as the EFCC Act). In recognition of the serious nature of economic and financial crimes, the National Assembly vested the EFCC with far reaching powers to enable the commission discharge its mandate of ridding the country of corruption. Among the powers conferred on the commission as part of its general investigative powers, is the power to freeze the bank account of persons who are subject of investigation by the commission.

Specifically, Section 34 (1) of the EFCC Act with the heading: “Freezing order on banks or other other financial institutions”, provides as follows: “Notwithstanding anything contained in any other enactment or law, the Chairman of the Commission or any officer authorised by him may, if satisfied that the money in the account of a person is made through the commission of an offence under this Act and or any of the enactments specified under section 7 (2) (a)-(f) of this Act, apply to the Court ex-parte for power to issue an order as specified in Form B of the Schedule to this Act, addressed to the manager of the bank or any person in control of the financial institution or designated non-financial institution where the account is or believed by him to be or the head office of the bank, other financial institution or designated non- financial institution to freeze the account.”

The above provision is self-explanatory. For emphasis, I will elucidate on two principles arising from the provision. Firstly, the EFCC Chairman or any other officer of the commission authorised by him can order any financial institution (including Zenith Bank of Nigeria Plc where governor Fayose’s account is domiciled) to freeze any account with money which he is satisfied is made through the commission of an offence under the EFCC Act, the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, etc. Satisfaction within the contemplation of this section is entirely a matter of opinion which may be formed based on the existence of certain facts and circumstances that are within the knowledge of the chairman of the commission. The Act has not set out any condition that should guide the chairman in determining which account to freeze.

In other words, it is a matter of discretion whether any account should be freezed or not. All that is required of the chairman is for him to be satisfied that the money in the account is a product of crime and corruption. The second principle that deserves reiteration is that before the chairman of the commission can order a financial institution to freeze any account, he must first apply to the Court ex-parte (without the attendance of the owner of the account or the financial institution in court) for power to issue the order.

Simply put, an application to the court for power to freeze an account and the granting of same, are conditions precedent to the issuance of an order to freeze under Section 34 (1) of the EFCC Act. At the risk of repetition, I submit that the EFCC has no power to order any financial institution or designated non-financial institution to freeze any account without obtaining the consent of the Court. On issue 2, so much has been said about the immunity clause enshrined in Section 308 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) (subsequently referred to as the Constitution). For ease of comprehension, the said provisions are reproduced verbatim below:

308. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Constitution, but subject to subsection (2) of this section – (a) no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against a person to whom this section applies during his period of office; (b) a person to whom this section applies shall not be arrested or imprisoned during that period either in pursuance of the process of any court or otherwise; and (c) no process of any court requiring or compelling the appearance of a person to whom this section applies, shall be applied for or issued: Provided that in ascertaining whether any period of limitation has expired for the purposes of any proceedings against a person to whom this section applies, no account shall be taken of his period of office.

(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to civil proceedings against a person to whom this section applies in his official capacity or to civil or criminal proceedings in which such a person is only a nominal party. (3) This section applies to a person holding the office of President or Vice President, Governor or Deputy Governor; and the reference in this section to “period of office” is a reference to the period during which the person holding such office is required to perform the functions of the office.

In view of the above constitutional provisions, can Mr Fayose be investigated by the EFCC for commission of an offence under the EFCC Act, the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act or any other law that is within the investigative or prosecutorial authority of the commission while he is still the governor of Ekiti State? This question was answered emphatically in the affirmative by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the celebrated case of Fawehinmi v. Inspector General of Police (2002) 7 NWLR (Pt.767) 606. The brief facts were that the late renowned human rights lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAM SAN, by a letter dated 21st September, 1999 brought a criminal complaint against the former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, alleging grave criminal infractions and asked the police to investigate the allegations.

Following the refusal by the police to accede to his request, Chief Gani filed an originating summons on the 7th of October, 1999 at the Federal High Court, Lagos wherein he sought among others, an order of mandamus compelling the Inspector General of Police, the Commisioner of Police Lagos State and the Nigeria Police Force (respondents) to investigate his allegations. The suit was dimissed by the Federal High Court following a preliminary objection by the respondents on the ground that by virtue of the immunity provisions in Section 308 of the Constitution, Tinubu who had assumed office as the governor of Lagos State could not be investigated on the said allegations.

Dissatisfied, the appellant challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal. In its judgment, the Appeal Court held that Section 308 of the Constitution does not protect a governor and the other persons covered by it from criminal investigation. However, an order of mandamus was refused. Still dissatisfied, Gani approached the Supreme Court on the issue of mandamus. The respondents (the police) on their part filed a cross appeal against the part of the judgment of the Court of Appeal which declared that immunity does not cover investigation.

Delivering the leading judgment of the seven man panel of the Supreme Court on Friday 10th day of May, 2002 on whether a governor can be investigated, Justice S.O. Uwaifo, J.S.C (as he then was), held inter alia: “That a person protected under section 308 of the 1999 constitution, going by its provisions, can be investigated by the police for an alleged crime or offence is, in my view, beyond dispute. To hold otherwise is to create a monstrous situation whose manifestation may not be fully appreciated until illustrated. I shall give three possible instances.

Suppose it is alleged that a Governor, in the course of driving his personal car, recklessly ran over a man, killing him; he sends the car to a workshop for the repairs of the dented or damaged part or parts. Or that he used a pistol to shoot a man dead and threw the gun into a nearby bush. OR THAT HE STOLE PUBLIC MONEY AND KEPT IT IN A PARTICULAR BANK or used it to acquire property. Now, if the police became aware, could it be suggested in an open and democratic society like ours that they would be precluded by section 308 from investigating to know the identity of the man killed, the cause of death from autopsy report, the owner of the car taken to the workshop and if there is any evidence from the inspection of the car that it hit an object recently, more particularly a human being; or to take steps to recover the gun and test for ballistic evidence; and generally to take statements from eye witnesses of either incident of killing.

OR TO FIND OUT (IF POSSIBLE) ABOUT THE MONEY LODGED IN THE BANK or for acquiring property, AND TO GET PARTICULARS OF THE ACCOUNT AND THE SOURCE OF THE MONEY; or of the property acquired? The police clearly have a duty under section 4 of the Police Act to do all they can to investigate and preserve whatever evidence is available. The evidence or some aspect of it may be the type which might be lost forever if not preserved while it is available…” (Emphasis mine).

In the instant case, does the freezing of the account of Governor Fayose fall within the investigative powers of the EFCC or is it illegal as declared by Fayose? The Supreme Court had correctly stated the position in Fawehinmi’s case supra that “criminal proceedings” as envisaged by Section 308 (1) (a) of the Constitution will only arise when a charge is brought. In rejecting the respondents’ argument that investigation was part of criminal proceedings, the Apex Court cited with approval the decision in the American case of Post v. United States (1896) 161. U.S. 583; 16 Court Reporter, page 611 at 613, in which it was held – “Criminal proceedings cannot be said to be brought or instituted until a formal charge is openly made against the accused, either by indictment presented or information filed in court, or at the least, by complaint before a magistrate…”

Since investigating a governor is permissible, does an application to the court for power to freeze the account of a governor under Section 34 (1) of the EFCC Act violate Section 308 (1) (c) of the Constitution which states that “no process of any court requiring or compelling the appearance of a person to whom this section applies, shall be applied for or issued”?

The answer is indisputably in the negative (it is “Capital No”). This is because the law expressly states that the application should be made in the absence of the owner of the account, that is, ex-parte. If the EFCC seeks to freeze the account of a governor, there will be no process requiring or compelling the attendance of the governor since same is ex- parte and not on notice. Therefore, Section 308 (1) (c) is neither applicable nor violated in any way.

Freezing of accounts serves principally two purposes. First, by freezing a suspect’s account, the commission prevents the suspect from accessing, operating and drawing money from the account which may ultimately be forfeited to the government if the suspect is eventually prosecuted and convicted. Immunity clause cannot prevent the EFCC from securing and preserving monies found in the account of a governor provided the Chairman of the EFCC is satisfied that the money is proceeds of crime. Second, the money is freezed for preservation and use as evidence during trial.

From the foregoing, it is clear that there is no provision in Section 308 of the Constitution that is offended by the freezing of the account of a governor. There is no argument about the fact that freezing of bank accounts of persons who are under criminal investigation is merely an interim, precautionary and necessary step preparatory to arraignment and prosecution. Interestingly, an illustration was given by Justice Uwaifo J.S.C. (as he then was) in Fawehinmi’s case of an instance where it is alleged that a governor “STOLE PUBLIC MONEY AND KEPT IT IN A PARTICULAR BANK”. His Lordship in his prophetic wisdom rightly stated that a “monstrous situation” will be created if the police (in this case the EFCC) is unable “TO FIND OUT (IF POSSIBLE) ABOUT THE MONEY LODGED IN THE BANK” or “AND TO GET PARTICULARS OF THE ACCOUNT AND THE SOURCE OF THE MONEY”.

According to an online newspaper, Sahara Reporters, “Sources at Nigeria’s premier anti- corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have revealed that a personal account at the Zenith Bank of Nigeria of Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, was frozen in connection with over N1.2billion he took in 2014 from the disgraced National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, to prosecute his re-election as governor.” If this was the basis upon which the EFCC Chairman became satisfied that the money in Fayose’s bank account is/was made through commission of an offence under the EFCC Act or other applicable laws, nobody can question him, except the court.

Governor Fayose has not been invited for interrogation by the EFCC; he has not been arrested or imprisoned; no criminal proceedings has been commenced against him, and clearly no process of court requiring or compelling his attendance in court has been issued or applied for. These are the only things and actions that Section 308 of the Constitution forbids. The Supreme Court in Fawehinmi’s case supra declared that a governor can be investigated in any manner, provided it does not lead to any these limited situations. The Apex Court emphasised that these limited situations must not be extended under the guise of liberal interpretation of the Constitution.

The question then is? Has any of the protections given to Governor Fayose by Section 308 of the Constitution been taken away by the EFCC? The answer is NO. However, the EFCC must exhibit an order of the Court that empowered it to freeze Fayose’s account. In the absence of such authorisation, the action is illegal, ultra vires, oppressive, undemocratic, null and void and of no effect whatsoever. If the condition precedent was not complied with, the account should be de-freezed immediately without delay with an apology to the governor.

Fayose has the right to seek legal redress in the absence of an order of the court. In the case of Mobil v. LASEPA (2003) 104 LRCN 240, the Supreme Court held that failure to comply with a condition precedent is fatal and renders an action a nullity. One does not need to be a lawyer to know that law enforcement agencies, including the EFCC, in the course of investigation of crime usually and are legally empowered to take possession of material evidence. Freezing of a suspect’s bank account is undoubtedly an integral part of the investigation process and procedure. If it were not so, Section 34 (1) of the EFCC Act would only been invokable when a charge or an information has been filed. I submit however that the Court has the supervisory jurisdiction to examine, review and or revoke any freezing order issued by the EFCC chairman depending on the circumstances and the justice of each case. The order itself it interim in nature and not absolute or perpetual.

As a postscript, I further submit that any reference to the immunity clause in Section 308 of the Constitution that is outside the limited protection in the express provisions of that section is legally indefensible and baseless. The President, Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors only enjoy limited immunity. There is nothing dictatorial, “illegal” or “criminal” in investigating a governor for alleged offences.

Let it be known that immunity is not a license to commit crimes or engage in wanton corruption. Section 308 of the Constitution only offers limited protection. It was never the intention of the framers of the 1999 Constitution for the clause to be exploited as a weapon for impunity, executive lawlessness and self-enrichment.

Inibehe Effiong is a Legal Practitioner and Convener of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (COHRD) and can be reached at: inibehe.effiong@gmail.com

Smartanthony:
good infor,but i don read tire guy

Pls keep reading, no crime in knowing more....Try a little bit, it is worth reading....

OlujobaSamuel:
long but fun reading through. will continue later.

Pls read it, so that u can explain to others in simple language also....

You need to read this...#CBNnairaFloating Made very simple!

I feel like the last year has been one maddeningly long and unending conversation about the exchange rate of the Nigerian Naira. In all that time, I always found it difficult to argue for a full float of the naira. That’s what I wanted but it felt like asking for too much. So devaluation seemed like a halfway house that would ease things a bit. The main thing being that the fixed rate of N199 to $1 was completely ridiculous and untenable.


“I don float am. Una dey craze. Make una free me”

But look at God.

Today, the CBN jumped the shark and went for a float. To be clear, nobody ever floats their currency willingly — you are always forced into it. An example was ‘Black Wednesday’ which forced the UK to float the Pound in 1992. It was painful and embarrassing but you won’t find anyone who wants to go back to pre-1992 here anymore.

So what did CBN just do? Let’s get into the meat of the matter based on what was in their circular.

Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Club

Let’s be honest here — this is nothing new in particular. We’ve had Inter-Bank markets before but the CBN shut it down last year when it didn’t like the rates the market was giving it. But given that the last year has been so abnormal, the mere presence of something so normal…my goodness. It feels like clean fresh air after being locked inside a damp house for years.

The gist of the ‘new’ market is pretty straightforward — it’s a market where people can buy and sell dollars. Think of it as a pool. All the forex coming into the country will be dumped into that pool. From there, those who want to buy will buy at whatever the price is. Before you put your forex in the pool, you will get a price from people who are waiting to buy it.


Previously the CBN only allowed banks to buy and sell forex at N197.50 and N199 respectively. Nobody was allowed to trade outside of these prices (at least not legally). This meant that a lot of the people who would normally have poured their money into the pool decided not to do so. As such, CBN was the only one filling the pool from time to time.

That’s gone now. First of all, the spread between buying and selling will be determined by the market (Point 2.1.4). Feel free to charge a N4 spread to win market share if others are charging a N5 spread. What will be the new spread? We shall see when the market kicks off next week.

Last time I was in Nigeria, I wrote about how I made a card payment and the money got converted at N288 to £1 when I had gotten N450 to £1 the same day at the airport. This was because the banks were only allowed to buy £s at the official rate (although they found ways to sell it at the unofficial rate). That too is gone now. If you visit Nigeria from abroad and you use your card, you will get a market rate i.e. the rate at the interbank determined by the market. Same goes for Western Union. I doubt anyone has been sending money to Nigeria using Western Union and MoneyGram lately. Now you can — your money will be converted to naira at the interbank rate.

This is all good stuff.

The VIP Section

The CBN has introduced something ‘new’ to the market, however. A new creature to be known as Foreign Exchange Primary Dealer (FXPD) has been created. CBN released a separate set of guidelines for these creatures.


In the club, these FXPDs are the guys who will sit in the VIP section with CBN. If forex is champagne, these creatures will be served first before anybody else. But don’t panic, this is a good thing.


These guys are not going to be dealing in small small stuff. Minimum is $10m to sit in this club. That is, to buy dollars from the CBN, they will have to quote in batches of $10m. But remember CBN is no longer going to be the sole source of dollars — so these creatures will also get to buy from oil companies and exporters.

What will they do with all that money? From the FXPDs, the money will flow downwards till it gets to you or anyone else who needs it. Not every bank will qualify for this FXPD creature status — the VIP section can only take so many people. So banks who are not FXPDs will get to buy from FXPDs.

What of Bureau De Change? They are not even allowed in the club talk less of sitting in the VIP section. Having said that, I’m told that people sometimes jump the fence to enter clubs in Lagos. Or stand outside the gate hoping to be let inside at some point. Ultimately, they will get money but only after it has flowed down from CBN to FXPDs to Non-FXPDs. Don’t cry for them — they will be ok.

These FXPD creatures can be kicked out of the VIP section by the CBN if they misbehave. I imagine no one wants to leave the VIP section to mingle with the sweaty masses on the crowded floor so hopefully, they behave. But there will always be that one fly who is not satisfied just watching the dead body being lowered into the grave…

Hedging As A Product

How do people in countries with a floating currency cope with wild swings? I mean, if you leave the currency to market forces, in theory, you can just wake up one morning and the currency has dropped by 50% ke? In theory, yes, in practice, no.


When a currency moves about wildly, that is a risk. This risk brings up different opportunities for risk management products. Imagine you’re a guy who needs to order a container from America in November this year. You know the exchange rate today but you don’t know what it will be in November. You can leave it in God’s hands and take whatever the rate is in November when you need to pay.

But maybe the rate is N350 to $1 today and you think it will rise to N400 to $1 by November when you need it. To avoid that, you buy a hedge for N350 to $1 to pay out on the day you need it in November. This service will not be free —you will have to pay a fee for it. But it guarantees that one the day you need the dollars in November, you will get it at N350 to $1. Remember that you can’t see the future (well, maybe you have ‘washed’ your eyes sha) so on the appointed day in November, it might be that the dollar is actually N320. Sorry. You still have to pay the N350 you agreed to and you have lost money. But it might also be N400 on the day as you guessed. More power to you — you have saved money.


The risk in you people’s country is too much. Your container can be on the high sea on the way to Nigeria minding its business when some attention seeking militant decides to blow a pipeline just for fun. You have not finished paying for the goods when this happens. The market hears it and decides that this means that oil income will drop in the next few months, as such the price of the dollar goes up by 10%. Now, something that does not concern you at all will cost you 10% more.

All the grammar in the screenshot above is describing products that will protect against such unforeseen risks. For foreign investors, this will be a good thing. They know you can’t really trust Nigerian policymakers not to misbehave from time to time so products can be designed to reduce the kind of wild swings that cause painful losses.

I only ever check the £ to $ rate when I am about to make a trip to America. Beyond that, I don’t really care even though I have some $ exposure in some of my investments. I trust that the people who manage my small investments have protected it against wild swings. This is why countries with floating rates have the most stable exchange rates over the long term. It sounds counterintuitive but when you know the rate is determined by the market, it forces you to innovate in ways that reduces risks to manageable levels.

Friends, this is another very good thing that the CBN has done.

10 Things About The New Normal

Given the above, what will the future be like? In no particular order

This is good for governors and states. For April, the 3 tiers of governmentshared a total of N281.5bn. We know that this money was changed from dollars at around N199 so working backwards, this gives us $1.4bn that was available to share (some of the money is VAT which is in naira but let’s keep it simple). States and LGs got N144.2bn of that money or $725m if we work back to dollars. Now we know that the ‘real’ rate was around N350 at the time. But let’s say the interbank market settles at N310 when it opens, this means that the states and LGs would have gotten N225bn instead of N144.2bn they got. This is a big difference given that these states have been running around begging for money.
That said, a lot of these states are owing money in foreign currency for the foreign loans they have taken. To repay those loans, they have been converting their naira at the official N199 rate. Now they will also have to pay the interbank rate of N310 to buy their dollars. A state that has a lot of foreign currency loans will not see much of a difference from the new rate. But if you notice that your governor starts ‘carrying shoulder’ it might mean that your state doesn’t have too many foreign loans and is now ‘liquid’ as Nigerians like to say.
Unless you have not been reading this blog closely, you must have noticed that Alhaji Putin is my guy. As I’ve been saying, he has been getting roughly $15m per week at N199 for months now. That party is now over. He too will now be buying at the interbank rate like everyone else and there will no longer be a special rate. Glory be. At the post-MPC press conference where CBN trailed the new ‘flexible’ policy, Godwin Emefiele hinted that there would be a ‘critical’ rate for ‘critical’ people. No mention was made of that today. Thank God.
What of the federal budget? This will help the FG in the way it helps states above. If nothing else, it will be easier for it to pay salaries now and spend money on anything else that does not require imports. Last week, the government announced the Home Grown School Feeding Programme. An initial N93bn has been budgeted for the programme. Given that this is a priority programme for the government and most of the costs are in naira (if not all), there should be more funds available for the government to pursue programmes like these.
Petrol nko? When the N145 price was announced last month, it was said to have been calculated using a rate of N285 to $1. This is Nigeria’s biggest forex expense so it will be sensitive to whatever the exchange rate is. So what if the interbank rate goes above that? It’s an interesting question. But, until foreign investors return from their holding formation outside Nigeria, CBN will still be the biggest source of dollars in the market. I suspect (this is just my guess) that the CBN will keep one eye on the fuel price when selling its dollars to those FXPD creatures. At any rate, a few days ago, the petrol marketers cabal were wailing in the papers that petrol demand has dropped by 40%. There is only so much Nigerians can take so any further price increase will be met by reduced demand by Nigerians. I imagine that everyone is now watching their petrol usage more closely. Very good. The business of smuggling petrol across the border to Cameroun and Benin Republic is also now dead as the dodo bird. As long as the government holds its nerves and minds its business, Nigerians should be able to deal with the marketers themselves.
Quite a number of Nigerian companies (mostly oil and gas) borrowed from Nigerian banks in foreign currency. It is one thing to borrow money when oil is $100/barrel, it is quite another thing to repay that same money when oil is $50/barrel. At the end of 2015, CBN said the total amount of bad loans in the banking system — where the borrower is not making repayments — was N650bn. A few days ago, CBN released updated figures up to the end of April 2016. The bad loans in the system are now a shocking N1.38trn. If CBN is openly confessing to N1.38trn, do you think the actual number is higher or lower? Don’t forget that banks have already written off some of these bad loans. First Bank reported an 82% drop in profits for 2015 mainly because it had to put N119bn worth of loans on standby to go bad. It has promised to sack 1,000 workers to balance the books. Some of these bank debtors with foreign currency loans were still managing to get dollars at N199. Now that they will have to pay market rate, the bad loans in the system can only rise. Which means more job losses at banks. You have to feel sorry for people who will lose their jobs. But some of these banks need to learn a hard lesson and there is no other way to do it than this way.
And inflation? Latest numbers from the Nigerian Stats agency shows that inflation is running at 15.6%. If the exchange rate goes up officially, surely this can only mean prices of things will go up further stoking inflation right? Well, it’s not that straightforward. The truth is that hardly anyone was getting dollars at the N199 rate anyway. Most imported goods are already priced at the black market rate. My hunch is that the dollar will settle at a lower rate than it currently is so this new rate might even lead to slightly lower prices. Nigeria is also a poor country so you can’t keep increasing prices and expect people to take it. At some point, people will find alternatives or just eliminate that demand. I will stick my neck out and say inflation will go down from here.
There is a huge backlog of forex demand that remains unmet. This amount has been growing for a while now and some say it is now between $6bn — $9bn. The most ‘popular’ group in this constituency are the foreign airlines who now have around $600m trapped in Nigeria. Once the market opens next week, it will be like opening prison doors for prisoners — these guys will inundate the market and increase pressure on the naira. Unless CBN has some special plan to meet this likely demand head on (sauces tell me they have), the exchange rate may spike before it settles later. Keep calm. Once the mess is cleared, things should settle down.
Even though CBN will be in VIP section selling dollars to the FXPD creatures, from time to time, it will wander out into the main club and sell dollars if it feels the rate is doing wan kain. What is a Nigerian forex policy without a new acronym? We now have something the CBN calls Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS). That is, it will sell dollars directly to the main market where FXPDs and Non-FXPDs trade just to keep things stable.
If you need dollars, just go to your bank. If you want PTA or BTA or whatever you call it, just go there with your ticket and ask for it. If you need to pay school fees, just fill whatever form you need to fill. Those 41 items are still banned so if you want to import them, you will need to buy from the black market. But the days of dollar scarcity where you wanted PTA and couldn’t get it should be over. Whatever the supply of dollars is, the price will now reflect it. You will also see that export proceeds will ‘shoot up’. Those exporters who have been avoiding bringing back their export proceeds will now do so. So those export proceeds that have supposedly been collapsing, according to CBN, will be mysteriously revived now.
I’m Warning You

I’ve been telling a friend that President Buhari’s second coming to power was for him to learn economics and how markets work. One by one his shibboleths are tumbling down. Fuel subsidy has been forced out of his hands and now his beloved N199 to $1 has been taken away from him, too. The sad part is that this his education is quite expensive and Nigerians are the ones footing the bill.


We have now had 1 year of experiencing what government can do when it claims to have powers to control prices. We have seen what its like when one person is picking and choosing who should get dollars and who should not. President Buhari travelled the world speaking to the price of oil to rise. The price ignored him. Some of us ‘market fundamentalists’ have been calling for the government to let markets do their magic not because markets are perfect but because they are the best system we have to allocate resources fairly.

But some people never learn. So if and when exchange rates start to spike, you will start hearing these people making noise asking for government to come and ‘intervene’ to ‘control’ or keep market forces ‘in check’. The government has no such power and as such, it can only make a mess of things. You have my permission to issue such people a good and proper slap when they start calling on government. Let the slap ring and leave your hand on their face for good effect. Nigeria is marching towards a serious market economy. Anyone who looks back will turn to salt.

There are also those people who have turned twitter and facebook into a ‘live’ bureau de change — all they do is ask for the exchange rate everyday. You also have my permission to slap these people if they continue talking about the exchange rate everyday. I am not in Nigeria or else I would have done it myself. All those lies of ‘someone I know just changed money outsideIga Iduganran in Lagos for N400 to $1’ need to stop. You should now be able to see rates on your bank’s website or FMDQ’s website. Anyone who is worried about what the rate will be on 29th of August, is free to invest in a derivative to put their mind at rest.

All of this means that the government can now spend its time worrying about other problems aside the fx rate. Buhari’s ear problems should subside as well. You too have now been freed from spending your whole day watching exchange rates. You’re not a bureau de change. Face your work. What will be the price of the dollar next week when the market opens? I don’t know. The price will be the price. It will be what the market says it is.

The Nigerian economy is still in a terrible shape. This government has done real damage with their experiments in the last 1 year. But, at all at all na him bad pass as Uthman Dan Fodio famously said. Maybe the worst is now over (God, please don’t let this country make me eat my words, again).

Even if you are on a diet or just watching your weight closely, tonight, I give you permission to indulge in a small bit of Hope Ice Cream.

FF

P.S To the people who put this together for the CBN and have been fighting to have a better market system for a long time, you have done well. Thank you. @DoubleEph

warrenweste:
is these company still in service?

Multilinks is still in service, More of Enterprise Solution...Fibre and Internet to Companies etc

"Papa n para e, o loun npaja." A tick feeds on the dog thinking when the dog dies, it (the tick) would continue living. Common sense that is not common.

Niger Delta Avengers will soon liberate and save the South South Region.
Yea. That is why almost everybody from that region, mostly educated folks are supporting them as they claim success in blowing up more pipelines....
I even saw someone saying, Buhari caused it by talking about 5%, that alone is enough reason to show him pepper...
Somebody also said sebi Buhari was proving stubborn and wanted to use force before, who begged him to negotiate....
Do you notice also that Mr ConManSense, the Twitter Senator is very silent? Actually he is silently in support of them.
Clap for your self dear.

I understand the logic verywell.
When Boko Haram was disturbing Jonathan's regime, by killing Northerners and destroying their lands, imagine the Northerners singing victory of Boko Haram on their facebook page and twitter...Afterall, they are killing Nigeria.
So the 'illiterate North' formed Civilian JTF to face a common enemy, destroying their land, now victory is clear.
That is what "illiterates did" They faced those destroying their land, they didn't celebrate them....

Now come to the South South, where the "intelenshuals" with enough education reside.
What is their own logic? Drumming more support for the avengers both on facebook, and twitter so as to show how powerful the avengers are to cripple PMB government.

So Niger Delta Avengers want to save the South South.
So the way to do it is to destroy Niger Delta 1st, then save it..Wow!
Destroy more pipeline in the region; pollute more water in the region; poison more food in the region; increase insecurity in the region; and finally invite military presence to be their permanent neighbor in the region.....That way, they have finally saved the region. It is called #IntellectualPhylosophy
Please more support for them!

Pius Adesanmi # BringBackOurHumanity By Pius Adesanmi. Must everything be about politics? For political reasons, you have had no life in the last two years beyond the business of denying the experience of the Chibok girls. No girls were kidnapped. Fabrication. Oby Ezekwesili is crazy. What is this idea of girls writing exams in the North? Do they have schools in the North? On and on you droned, mocking everything that is mockable. You mocked the parents of the Chibok girls You mocked the # BringBackOurGirls campaign You mocked every effort to find the girls Whenever videos of the girls appeared, you mocked the girls Every emerging fact, every emerging evidence was just an inconvenient detail that could not stand in the way of your political and politicized denial of the fact that the girls were indeed taken. Then one girl is rescued. You continued your political denial until your stupidity began to embarrass even stupid you! So you switched from denial to whine! Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine! Only one girl? What's the big deal? Look at her photo self. She looks too well fed and comfortable. She is not fine. And why is she on camera? Really? Why is she on camera? Because even with her on camera, your stupid self still went on your political denialist voyage the first day she was rescued, claiming no girls were missing in Chibok! Imagine what you would have done, where you would have gone without visual evidence of the rescued girl on camera! Even Thomas believed after seeing and touching the nail holes in His hands. Not you. For you, Thomas na mugu. He should not have believed! Even with video evidence before your eyes, your song is denial! Then a second girl is rescued. And you drone on and on. Only two? What's the big deal? There are still so many missing. Listen up, you inhuman oaf. One life rescued is just as important as the other lives we are still waiting for. And we pray they are also rescued. It is only in your tortured brain that human life could be qualified with "only". So, once there was an opportunity to rescue one of the girls, the Nigerian Army should have left her there because rescuing one would mean that we would have to deal with your sick logic that only one was rescued? All you are doing now is struggling to force reality to conform with your denialist yarns instead of admitting that you had been wrong all along. Just because of politics. You don't even have to credit President Buhari if you don't want to. He doesn't need your credit anyway. You don't have to greet the rescuers. You don't have to celebrate that girls have been rescued. You don't have to congratulate the parents. You don't have to empathize or sympathize. Just shut the heck up for once in your denialist life! Insha Allah, when the girls have been rescued, we shall need the Nigerian Army to rescue the humanity of many of our people from the Sambisa forest of inhumanity where they reside and revel in evil. And we shall need therapists to teach many to be human again.

EbukaFran:
I can bet that the OP is from IPOB land

Only IPOBs will believe phantom killings of locals in Enugu by herdsmen but deny the adoption of these girls

Only IPOBs will turn the adoption of one southern girl - Ese into a melodramatic situation but will decidedly deny the adoption of over 200 Northern girls

IPOBs are callous wicked and inhuman

I'm happy that all these is on social media and other Nigerians especially the Northerners can read them

The day of reckoning is coming. The hunter will become the hunted

.Did you read at all before this comment?
Please read, understand, then comment again!

As you prepare to mark your one year of
Sadness:
Just in few days, Buhari will mark one year in
office. That same day, some will mark one full
year of successful sadness in 365 days. You
broke record.
Once I see your timeline in the past 354 days,
I know you have a bad News to share...That is
your Ministry to the saints, and you have kept
it constant.
So the rescue of two chibok girls yesterday
has increased your sadness...Let me help you
on what you said Buhari did:
Buhari, a private citizen kidnapped over 200
girls to tarnish GEJ;
Then Buhari planned the bombing of his SUV
to gain simpathy from Nigerians, so as not to
be called sponsors of Boko again;
Then Buhari, ordered the killings of some
school boys and the school burnt down;
Then Buhari sponsored them to kill
Northerners in Church and Mosques;
Then Buhari got to office, and allowed them
to still kill more people for almost one year;
Then Buhari paid some parents to wail openly about their daughters' abduction?
And suddenly, yesterday, Buhari ordered his
boys to bring out two of the Chibok girls to
score a political goal, and mark his one year
in office.
This is your narrative as you mark your one
year of sadness as a citizen.
You can wake a man that is fast asleep but,
even God can not succeed in waking up a man
who pretends to be sleeping.
The level your reasoning has gotten to since
yesterday, even Satan is afraid of your wicked
thoughts. You are higher in rank than
demons.
Keep celebrating your sadness about good
News.
We actually underrated your STUPIDITY, now
we know better!
If more good News will keep you sad for four years, may we have more good news so that you can remain sad!!

On Dino Melaye's Protest By Pius Adesanmi. I don't even know how I missed this one in all the recent back and forth but I have only just heard with one ear that the Senator Representing Bukola Saraki in the Senate, His Excellency Otunba Distinguished Senator Dino Melaye, is calling for protest and offering to lead it. Senator Melaye's call for protest is welcome on one count: we have had such a tough, stressful week that a little dosage of comic relief is in order. When the history of this past week is written, you cannot say that Okun land did not help Nigeria out by offering badly- needed national comedy in the person of Senator Dino Melaye. A people's misery, a people's weakest moment, is always a very fecund producer of opportunistic aspirant heroes and sheroes trying to embezzle such a people's legitimate struggles and triumphs. These are often prurient characters who sense an opportunity to smuggle themselves and their rottenness into nice positive corners in the people's memory. They want to be seen and known as liberators and freedom fighters. Dino Melaye comes from the worst of this tradition: a pro-corruption activist always ready to freelance on the side of the people whenever he senses an opportunity to embezzle the people's misery and frustration. You steal from the people all the time. You impoverish the people all the time. Even that poverty, you won't let them own it if embezzling it can burnish your ego and image. Original were ni Dino yi. Our friend, FFK, also belongs in this category of embezzlers. Whenever he is not eating at the centre, he becomes a champion of the people, especially on the ethnic front. When he lost out at the centre, he became a champion of Yoruba causes and very nearly won some of my personal people over. He was that good at fooling people. I told folks that this champion of the Yoruba people was just making noise to be noticed again at the centre and he would abandon that cause as soon as he was invited to Abuja. Goodluck Jonathan invited him... When Jonathan lost the election, he could not return to Yoruba nationalism. There was no way he would fool people twice on that front. So, he became the Aare Ona Kakanfo Gburugburu of Igbo land, fighting ethnic wars on behalf of the Igbo, hoping that the Igbo would forget slurs such as "the Bitter Truth about the Igbo" and the fact that he was very recently the shine-Congo-and-publicly-tell-in- Chief of Igbo land. But for the fact that FFK is currently undergoing degoatification, he would have taken a sabbatical leave from defending the Igbo to join up with Dino Melaye in being the liberators of the Nigerian people. And if the Igbo don't take him back after that, he would become the champion of Tiv nationalism. Naija youth, beware of these characters. Beware of cheap embezzlers of your legitimate grief. If you are an Okun youth especially, do not let me hear that you have signed up for Dino's protest o. He has no legitimacy. He is more your immediate problem than Buhari at the centre. He owes you explanations about his unaccountable wealth. He owes you explanations on the backwardness of Okun land. He is everything you should never aspire to be. If you follow him like the fly which has no advice and followed the corpse to the grave, we shall identify your immediate family, your idile, and your agbo ile and report you to them. Okun land is not that big.

Japheth Omojuwa, omojuwa@gmail.com Having spent a whole week in Germany travelling through villages in Lusatia, Brandenburg and attending lectures in Berlin studying the German Energy Mix for the purpose of understanding lessons Nigeria could learn, today’s article was meant to start a conversation on that but one would be missing an opportunity to address the most pressing issue of the day: the petrol price hike. The conversation on the energy mix can happen at a later date. I have seen a lot of arguments around, “Why are you supporting subsidy removal now when you occupied Nigeria against it in 2012?” It is a valid question when asked by those who intend to indeed know the rationale behind such differing positions. There’d be a zero need to address those who ask the question, not because they indeed want to know why but because they see the question itself as a conviction of your person because as far as they are concerned, it does not matter what changed, you simply do not change your position on an issue. To this group of people, to change your position, you must have been paid – I even had one refer to me as a low grade paid agent of the government – because the fact that the realities surrounding one’s previous position have changed are not enough to necessitate a change of position. This article is not for those and their kind, instead, it is for those who are indeed interested in knowing one’s rational position. Former President Goodluck Jonathan increased the price of fuel in January 2012 and President Muhammadu Buhari did just that in May 2016. How can anyone react differently to the same action by these men? To a logical mind, you then have to go beyond both actions to “why they did what they did!” What is done cannot be as important as why it is done. The January 2012 increase was induced by the subsidy payments of 2011 that crossed the N1tn line. According to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Nigeria paid N198.11bn for subsidies in 2009, the sum went up to N416.45bn in 2010 and then some extraordinarily amazing thing happened in 2011, the subsidy numbers against reason shot up to N1.9tn! You need not be an expert in Mathematics to see that the 2011 number was way out of line. We paid just N219.72bn in 2006 and N236.64bn in 2007. What happened in 2011 to take the subsidy numbers to celestial realms? It was the 2011 elections. Not only did President Jonathan and his ill-fated co-travellers fund his 2011 election from the subsidy payments, they also depleted the Excess Crude Account to $3m in 2011 from almost $20bn in 2009. This was what happened before January 2012. Something had to give. It was too late to stop those who got the windfall of N1.9tn from getting something smaller the following year. The President then decided to transfer the burden to Nigerians. This was what Nigerians rejected in 2012! This was why there was a lot of argument on “Cut waste not subsidy” and “Kill corruption, not Nigerians” during the protests. These amongst other issues were the prevailing conversation. There is no need to state that something similar happened for the 2015 elections, only this time, the money mostly came from defence spending. Bottom line; President Jonathan increased petrol prices in January of 2012 because of the looting that had happened right under his nose and mostly for his own benefit. Several probes proved this in different ways; including the Nuhu Ribadu report, the KPMG report, and the ill-fated Farouk Lawan report that got shot down with the active connivance of the then Presidency. The people naturally protested the fuel price hike of 2012 because all of these were apparent to the general public. Despite the protests, the government succeeded in raising the fuel price. It set up a Subsidy Re- Investment Programme called SURE-P. The scheme was better known for the scams committed under it than for anything else. What then is inducing 2016’s fuel price hike? A global reality. Before addressing this global reality, I must address the failings of the Buhari government on this issue. You cannot find a more confusing situation than the dollar exchange regime. We have an official exchange rate of N199/$1, then petrol importers now have an exchange rate of N298/$1 while the parallel market continues to speak in different tongues; on Tuesday, it was about N350. Such a state of chaos and absolute uncertainty helps no one, certainly does not encourage private investment. The current FOREX regime is nothing but a form of subsidy for the rich and privileged, it has to end! Apart from this, I will reecho what Dr. Omano Edigheji stated in his recent article, “Where is the APC government’s Development Agenda?” How long are we going to be using piecemeal moves to fix a system that obviously craves a structural change? Something has to give! Back to the global reality, Venezuela has increased fuel prices by 6000 per cent. You read that right, six thousand per cent! It has also devalued its currency, the Bolivar. The government then increased the minimum wage by 30 per cent. This sounds amazing until you hear the new minimum wage is now just about $13! That is N4,550.00 at N350/ $1. Venezuelans despite the increase apparently still get to buy fuel at the world’s cheapest price but the reality should not be lost on anyone, arguably the world’s most socialist country today has been forced to make adjustments, increasing fuel prices for the first time since 1996! Qatar Petroleum laid off some 3000 people in 2015. RasGas, the gas company, did its own firings. Qatar Museum and other companies including the almighty AlJazeera have had to reduce their staff strength. The sackings continued into 2016.The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company laid off 2000 staff members about two weeks ago. In Kuwait, salaries and other benefits are being reduced while the oil company is sacking those even less fortunate. Kuwait is OPEC’s third largest producer, also holding eight per cent of the global oil reserves. Hardly any Nigerian conversation ends without comparisons to the United States, despite the obvious disparities in our realities. According to Houston- based Graves and co., Global Oil and Gas job losses have topped 350,000. As of the last report, it stood at 351,410 and counting. Between October 2014 and January 2016, the US alone accounted for nearly 100,000 job losses in oil and gas and supporting segments, understandably, more than half of these job losses are from Texas. This is according to the US Bureau of Labour. There are more examples to pick from but having outlined the reality in five countries above, anyone who cannot see a trend has either simply refused to see it or does not have the ability to see it. These global realities are one thing, Nigeria’s Dasuki-Dezianian exceptionalism is another. This country has been stolen dry to its bones. Nigerians have been left mostly poor and with frail hope. Despite selling oil above $100/barrel for the better part of the last half a decade, we went on a splurge where “people sat down and shared the money as if it was lunch or dinner.” We are here today with the price of oil and the attendant exchange rate dealing us twin blows! Surely, something has to give! Or the house will come down fast. No matter what happens, the poor must be protected. The government must make sure its N500bn intervention plan reaches the poorest of the masses; we cannot afford another Dasukian reality here. Apart from this, Nigeria must be intentional about strategically pursuing a structural change in its economic and development agenda. Even Saudi Arabia is advancing plans to restructure its economy and compared to Saudi Arabia, we earn peanuts from oil, even when we were earning a lot. In summary, the 2012 price increase was necessitated by election-induced corruption; the 2016 fuel price increase is being necessitated by the reality of oil’s dwindling fortunes globally and the effect it is having on foreign exchange earnings and exchange rates added with Nigeria’s poor choices of years past. One cannot protest like one did in 2012 for President Buhari to go after thieves, he appears more desperate to jail them than the average Nigerian. These are my explanations for those who were genuinely asleep and required assistance to be woken up to smell the coffee. Those pretending to be asleep need no such help.

Blizzy9ja:
All the hausa/fulani owned oil blocs in the Niger Delta should be shut down until the licenses are withdrawn and and handed over to the state govt

This is the issue: GEJ was there for five years. Niger Deltans, elders, militants etc turned Aso Rock to Hostel. They knew these oil blocks palaver. They took their own personal shares, looted individually with Jona but, what will benefit the entire region was never discussed.
And you think it is now that easy to discuss it? That is where we have big issue...We always delay what we can all cry about until it wears tribal lens...
Not that simple!

Criminals can be celebrated, just call them
another name:

Call criminals in the North religious fanatics,
Almajiri, herdsmen or something close, then
criminality will be okay.

Call criminals in the Southwest Omo onile, the
runs guys, yahooYahoo, or bigz boyz...infact,
nothing do you, they are legit.....

Call criminals in the south south Militants,
GEJ avengers, Niger Delta SCavengers,
kidnapper (don't put Fulani in front o)....Then
it is not only legit, it is godly....

I hear you saying "let the sleeping dog lie or
rest" after Tompolo boys blew the pipelines...I
also watched your foolishness when you
insisted that Buhari caused their anger, but
you didnt explain how....

The North has been taking advantage of our
political imbalance in the past..Yes, we know
and you know also. I agree with you on that.

But for five years, The Tompolos, Briggs, Evas,
Dokubo, Elders in the South South and
religious leaders almost made Aso Rock their
hostel.
They all know that the oil blocks were not
evenly distributed. In fact they knew other
stuffs they could push Jonathan to influence
for the benefit of all but, but.....

They got their own personal share: Militant
built University, Militant bought his own jet,
other religious leader also built Uni and
bought Jet, emm emm, emm Sorry I wont say
it. But you are online fighting, well done.

Suddenly you now see under Buhari why such
imbalance must be done NOW NOW without any
delay, Why Buhari must negotiate with
Militants instead of using force; Why Buhari
must redistribute the oil blocks or we break
every every...The Niger Delta SCavengers are right, they are legit, they represent "us" in the South South iu say.....

Wisdom say make I tell you say make you
check your TEMPERATURE, u no normal!
While I hope PMB should and must look into all these imbalances, it will never be at your "authority"....
Tell your SCavengers that they will be dealt with ACCORDINGLY! Time is up!!

Amitex:
Good you have accepted that you are bandying falsehood. Go do your homework before posting trash.

Meanwhile please can you respond to your self contradictory positions between December 2014 and May 2016? Again, do not forget to tell us how Buhari and Kachikwu made refineries to jump-start!!!

For your information, this is a public forum, so when you come here be ready to provide facts. We are all not robots!!! If you do not have concrete evidence, do not come here to write trash. No insult intended, but please go do your self soul searching and stop your misinformation and hatred for Jonathan. Election and campaigns are over. Let Buhari perform rather than this "try your luck" economic masturbation.

So is it difficult to read and understand English Language?
I simply asked you to dispute those figures instead of insults....
Did your hero spend N2.19trillion as subsidy in 2011?
Did your hero lie that we consumed 53M locally as against The lower figure Kachikwu gave?
See, you like corruption, and we don't like it.

Amitex:
Op on the bolded portion, can you tell me what companies Buhari contracted to refurbish the refineries and how much he and Kachikwu paid?? I need facts, not fiction...

Then, Op see how hypocrisy has blinded you In December 2014, you wrote this ...



Question is if oil is now selling for less than $42, what justification does Buhari have to increase fuel price going by your myopic analysis above?? Except HYPOCRISY!!!

As expected, Disciples of Corruption are here to defend their hero.
Your hero was a fraud, and no amount of noise will change facts.
1. Kachikwu exposed the fraud under your buffoon when he said we were not consuming close to what GEJ admin said we were, can you dispute that?
" “We first went on to the issue of the
subsidies that we inherited which, by the
way, were based on 50 to 55 million litres
consumption, and we said the number looked
bloated. So, we did an experiment and came
to a conclusion that this country doesn’t
consume more than 45 million litres a day."

2. Your hero is a fraud, if you want to know what Kachikwu did to make those refineries functioning little by little...Simple, he got his team to work, not scam.
So, the problems. is you want to allude it to your hero and said NAY....
Why did the refineries remain "shut" for the entire 5 yees of your hero, though we had oil boom? That is what you should ponder upon.

3. I have not given any wrong figures here, and non of you has denied the figure...Under the first year of Jonathan, subsidy jumped to N2.19 trillion.... Defend such please or remained. mute.

4. Stop hero worship. Read facts and get used to reality.
The vice President has answered your question about why the template is N145 but you won't read.
There is nothing much to subsidize now that oil is $40
The issue now is simple....Based on the mismanagement of your hero when we had oil boom, we don't have much in ECA to import fuel and remember your hero squandered the gains that would have been used to revive or build refineries during oil boom.
So removing subsidy now is not a function of high o low price of crude, rather, Nigeria can not afford to meet up with dollar needed to import...This is simple English.
So everyone can now source for their dollar in parallel market, import and make gain, that is why the template reads N135-145.

In it all, if your hero is the one still asking for removal today, we will resist it, because we know he will squander it like he did with Dasuki, Diazeni, exGenerals...
The palliative SureP set up as also proven to be another scam...That's why Baba Kolade resigned.
Thank God we sacked GEJ.
Deal with that, your insults won't change facts of history.