₦airaland Forum

The Senate has commenced the process of amending the Nigeria Customs Service Act which aims at preventing appointment of Comptroller General from outside the Service.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff, Senator Hope Uzodinma (PDP, Imo) disclosed this during a meeting with five former Comptroller-Generals of Customs on the amendment of NCS Act.

Uzodinma said a Customs Commission will be established to replace the board of the NCS. The commission when established would be headed by a retired Customs CG.

“The commission would monitor the NCS activities and replace the board of the NCS. The appointment of an outsider to head the NCS has derailed the country’s revenue generation,” he said.

Seeking for the input of the retired CGs on the amendment of the NCS Act, Uzodinma said with proper supervision of the NCS, the country’s revenue would be stabilised.

The five former CGs that attended the meeting are Bello Haliru, Jacob Gyang Buba (Gbong Gwon Jos), Nwadialo Benard-Shaw, A. Mustapha and A Kajoli.

Speaking at the meeting, Haliru advocated for building of the capacities of personnel of the NCS.

“The present boss of the NCS should be called Sole Administrator and not Comptroller-General. Critical changes needed to be done on the service to strengthen it,” he said.

lalasticlala

Dominic Adewole


There was anger in parts of Delta State yesterday as operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) detained a cleric, Pastor Tarere, son of Archbishop Goddo- well Awomakpai, over his comments on the issue of herdsmen’s attacks in the country and reactions to it.

Stakeholders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the South-South yesterday protested against the detention of Tarere by the DSS.

The protesters, numbering 70, including bishops, pastors, evangelists, deacons, reverend sisters and their lawyers, wondered why security agencies in the country have become instruments of witch-hunt and threat to the common men.

The protest took a new twist when Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who Archbishop Awomakpai described as ‘my son,’ swiftly intervened in the situation via a text message.

The clerics stormed the yard of the DSS in Asaba around 11a.m. clad in their cassocks, but could not secure Tarere’s bail even when they were subjected to five hours of interrogation.

The detained cleric (Tarere) allegedly approved the self-defence approach of Apostle John Suleiman of the Omega Fire Ministries (OFM), which suggested self-defence as a solution to the activities of Fulani herdsmen during his crusade in Ekiti State.

lalasticlala

A 27-year-old man, Buhari Hamisu, was manhandled by vigilantes after he allegedly sneaked into a housewife’s bedroom in the early morning of Wednesday at Unguwar Abattoir in Abaji town.

A resident of the area, identified only as Aliyu, said the suspect was arrested by members of the vigilante group on patrol at about 4:00am.

The woman’s husband, it was gathered, was then sleeping in another room.

He said the housewife, who was sleeping in her bed, along with three of her children, was startled when the intruder sneaked into her room.

He said the woman raised an alarm which woke up her husband and made him rush out of his room.

But the suspect attempted to escape before vigilantes arrested him at Unguwar Gbakya. They tied the suspect’s legs and hands before they later handed him over to the police, he said.

When contacted, the Abaji Divisional Police Officer (DPO), CSP David Kolo, confirmed the arrest of the suspect, saying he will be charged to court after police investigations are concluded.

By Chibuzo Ukaibe

The 2015 general election has been adjudged the costliest in the history of Nigeria, with a ‘core cost’ of $547 million, while political parties and their candidates spent between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.

The Westminster Foundation for Democracy, which revealed this, also said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spent N8.74billion while all the opposition parties put together spent N2.91billion in 2015.

This comes as 75 associations have so far applied for registration as political parties, an increase from the 60 political associations as at December last year.

The chief technical adviser to the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Bolade Eyinla, gave these figures in Abuja, yesterday, at the opening of a two-day learning conference on the regional cost of politics organised by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.

Eyinla said: “In the last general election in Benin Republic, the core cost was $15 million and then you had a candidate who, alone, spent about $32 million.

“In Nigeria, our core cost was $547 million. It is perhaps the most expensive election that we have ever seen. I have seen figures somewhere of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion and, believe me, it is true if we really knew what happened. In one scandal, we heard of $115 million.”

He also disclosed that the political scene may soon swell further as 75 groups had requested INEC to register them as political parties.

Eyinla explained that the existing laws in Nigeria do not give the electoral commission the authority to restrict the political space to fewer parties.

Expatiating on spending by political parties during the last general election, country representative of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Adebowale Olorunmola, noted that the cost of election in Nigeria in 2015 was higher than that of 2011.

According to him: “In 2011, all the opposition parties put together spent N2.04 billion in traceable expenditure while the then ruling PDP spent N5.01 billion. In 2015, all the opposition parties spent N2.91 billion while PDP spent N8.74 billion.”

Olorunmola explained that the above figures were traceable expenses which were spent on media advertisements and campaign materials, among others. He, however, noted that the figures did not capture money spent in underhand dealings and the use of state-owned facilities, including stadiums, for campaigns and other political activities.

In her remark, one of INEC’s national commissioners, Prof. Anthonia Simbine, decried the level of money use in politics, saying that it is the reason political leaders look only to their selfish interests rather than serve the people.

“It (money politics) is responsible for the kind of governance we have at any given time; if you make an investment, you would want to reap from that.

“We have existing limits in the legal framework but this has become somehow very unrealistic because there are no enforcement frameworks or capacity when people do what they are not supposed to do. This is more because our society is cash-based, and so the capacity of INEC is still very weak in tracking and monitoring party financing.

“A review we did in 2015 showed that there is largely no record-keeping, including keeping receipts of financial support by political parties,” she said.

On his part, regional director, Africa and Europe, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, George Kunnath, urged countries in the region to critically examine the overall cost of politics, saying it has negative implications for the independence and performance of legislators.

lalasticlala

BY SAM EGWU

There was a mild drama at the venue of the Kogi State staff screening appeal committee yesterday when a lady, Alalonu Vivian Salawu, confessed how one-time deputy governor of the state, Dr. Philip Salawu, approved her appointment as medical officer on grade level 13, step 6 despite her having only a secondary school certificate with four credits.

Immediately the anomaly was discovered, the lady who hails from Imo State, was referred to the quality assurance team of the committee where, on further interrogation, the fraud was uncovered.

She said, “The former deputy governor, Dr Philip Salawu, directed his personal assistant to write the application on my behalf and I was asked to sign. Salawu immediately recommended me for employment as medical officer, a directive which was immediately carried out by the permanent secretary.

“I was taking the salary to the wife of the former deputy governor’s wife through her personal assistant while they gave me only N15,000 every month. When they were about to leave government, Salawu quickly directed that I be converted to a clerical officer and I was posted out of his office to the Office of the Head of Service.”

“He was accused of impregnating his own blood sister. People have been mocking him since the incident happened and he has been crying,” the source said.

The text message seeking to chat up a willing female was intended to be sent to one girl at a time. However, lover boy only realised his error when the backlash began to pour in like floods of water!

At the end of the day, he failed to hook up with any of the girls.

The young man who refused to be named texted 32 girls simultaneously.

The idea was to spread his ‘ net ’ as far as far possible , hoping that out of the 32 ladies he had tried to ‘toast," at least one would click
The message, “ You're cute, where are you from?” was supposed to initiate a conversation, which he thought he could improve on.

He, however, ran out of luck when he sent the message to a group.

He had clicked on all the names of his targets , expecting the text message to be delivered in ones.

The text messages were delivered to individual phones , really, except that each recipient was informed that “ there are 32 persons in this group . ”

Each girl quickly understood the game of chance that the playboy had intended , sending them into a fury .

And , probably still thinking he could remedy the situation, he quickly sent an explanatory text saying he thought he had sent the message separately. But the deed was already done.

One of them posted a screenshot of this epic fail on Imgur — an online image -sharing community, where it attracted all sorts of acidic commentaries .

Some of the responses are as follow:
“ RIP this guy. He died doing what he loved, ” wrote one Imgur user.

Another wrote : “ But why would anyone want to message 32 different people ? Talking to three people is already exhausting. ”

Yet another wrote : “ Rip him he died . ”

From Obinna Odogwu, Ekwulobia

Mrs. Cordelia Umeh, a native of Umuinem village, Umuonyiuka, in Ufuma, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State is distraught. She cannot be consoled because her eldest son, Mr. Chuks Umeh, was recently murdered in cold blood a few strides from their home.

The deceased, 30, was a member of the community’s vigilance group. On the night he was murdered, he had allegedly rung the village bell at about 10pm, signalling the commencement of duty; but unknown to him death was lurking at the corner.

Before his tragic death, his kinsman, Mr. Ezechukwu Okechukwu, had allegedly threatened on different occasions to deal with him over a series of issues. Some of their kinsmen, including the chairman of their vigilance group, Mr. Andy Nwankwo Eze, corroborated the allegation.

The accused, Ezechukwu Okechukwu, has, however, dismissed every allegation against him as false. Ezechukwu, who visited The Sun office in Awka, maintained that he was innocent of the crime. He, however, alleged that one Chibuike Akamnonu, had confessed to the police of committing the crime.

The Anambra State Police Command, which has been accused of complicities in the murder incident now generating serious tension in the community declined to speak on the matter when our reporter called him.

The Police Commissioner, Mr. Sam Okaula, told our reporter that he would not comment on the matter.

The deceased’s mother, Mrs. Umeh, a widow, and other members f the family told Daily Sun that the accused, Mr. Okechukwu, and his wife, Ifeyinwa, a police sergeant, had some questions to answer over Chuks’ death.

“On October 2, 2016, Chuks had gone to the village square to charge his electric torch but he never returned alive” the deceased’s mother began.

“Owners of the house where he went to recharge his torch empathetically said that he collected the torch a few minutes past 10pm that night. Afterwards he proceeded to ring the security bell, as he was the one in charge of it.

“While he was out for security duty, some people swooped on him on the lonely route, leading to the village square.
“People are testifying that they saw two dreadful persons come into the village that night.

“From what we saw in the morning, Chuks was strangled to death behind a house whose owners live abroad. They later deposited his body on the road, wore him his foot wear and put his security torchlight in his hand. They later inflicted deep cuts in the head with axe and scooped out his brain.”

Recalling how both families got at the crossroads, she said that they had been enmeshed in bitter quarrel before the incident happened over a missing fowl. Okechukwu, she said, had accused the deceased of stealing his broiler, an allegation she dismissed.

“One day, he locked up all the members of the community’s vigilance group. But the community bailed them all. We were at Eke square when they returned and everybody clearly heard Okechukwu and his wife, saying that they had been spiritually targeting Chuks but he could not get him.

“He personally tried using the police to intimidate him but could not succeed. He said that the next step was to spill blood.

They said that many families would cry soon. The villagers replied him immediately, urging him to get ready to buy a shovel and a hoe with which he would use to bury his victims.

“Each time he saw Chuks, he would be pointing at him, threatening that he should get ready for him.

“Now that he has been killed, the villagers have gone to Okechukwu’s house to ask him what had transpired. Okechukwu replied that maybe the deity he had commissioned to kill his enemies had begun working, starting with Chuks.

“Puzzled, our people asked him whether idols had cutlasses, axes and arrows. He said he did not know – that maybe Chuks was killed by hired assassins.”

Daily Sun learned that Eze’s wife, Ifeyinwa, a police woman, was alleged to have been boasting that nothing would happen. She was also accused of blocking police men, who were supposed to investigate the matter.

“They have a close relationship with a top police officer attached to Ajalli Police Station.

The deceased’s sibling, Ekpereamaka, told Daily Sun that Mr. Okechukwu had in the past told him to warn his brother to stop collaborating with the villagers against him otherwise he would deal decisively with him.

He also accused the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of the case of being partial.

“When the community’s vigilance group chairman narrated to him how Eze and his wife had been threatening Chuks, the DCP ordered for his detention.

“Before the community constituted the members of the vigilance group, it was noticed that Okechukwu and his wife usually visited the market square to perform some incantations, usually naked.

To stop that, the vigilance group was constituted. He was not comfortable with that and vowed to stop the security. He said that once he killed my brother, who was their main man others would be easier to deal with.”

Another villager, Mrs. Philomena Nkwo, whom the couple had allegedly beaten up on different occasions and had her clothes torn corroborated the accusation, narrating how she once became the couple’s victim.
“Barely three days after Mrs. Okechukwu vowed that many families would cry, Chuks was murdered in cold blood,” she recalled tearfully.

The Chairperson of the community, Mrs. Felicia C. Okoli, added that she was once a victim of Okechukwu’s brutality.
“Okechukwu said that my husband and I were also part of the people whose names he sent to the deity to kill.”

The Chairman of the community’s vigilance group, Mr. Andy Nwankwo Eze, alleged that “Mr Ezechukwu Okechukwu has been threatening to wipe out members of our group.

“He told the villagers openly that he would kill all of us before December 2016. He named about six people that he would mow down.

“On October 2, 2016, he came home in a strange car in the evening about 8pm. I saw them while standing opposite his house, which is located adjacent to the village junction. I saw everything clearly, as our security light illuminated everywhere. When he alighted, two hefty men were with him. They were strange faces.

“He had kept on threatening that he would kill Chuks. He threatened that he would deal with some villagers; and that I was the next person to follow.

“The wife, as a police woman, had started manipulating the statements that people made. She brought one lunatic in the village, claiming that it was he that killed Chuks.”

However, the accused couple had dismissed every allegation against them as baseless. Mrs. Okechukwu, alleged that one Chike Atamnonu, popularly known as Nazareth, had confessed to have committed the murder.

“As I am talking to you now, the murderer is at the state CID and he has made a confessional statement to the police. Even his father was arrested because he killed the young man (Chuks) and later informed the father.”

Corroborating his wife’s statement, Okechukwu lamented that: “It is sad to note that even when the culprit willingly surrendered himself to the police, they are still accusing me.

“On October, 2, I was in Onitsha buying some vehicle parts to repair my car when I received a call that one Andy was at the market square, beating my mother with knife and destroyed a lot property, belonging to one Hyacinth Okoli and inflicted wounds on my mother.

“On my way back that evening, I saw the said Andy, one Martin and some other persons opposite the church drinking. But I drove into my house and slept. It was in the morning that I heard the tragedy that happened.

“Ever since, nobody had accompanied me to this village. They said I came back home between 8pm and 8:30pm, but the truth is that I returned about 9:30pm, 10pm that very day.

“The real culprit is one Chibuike Atamnonu, our kinsman. He had an issue with the mother of the diseased over plantain.

“One Wasky Nwankwo, popularly known as Mayor, told them that morning that he knew the person who killed Chuks, that it was Chibuike; that he had been telling him that he would kill Chuks. He said he had to ask Chuks about the threat and Chuks told Wasky that it was as a result of the vigilance work,” he narrated.

When contacted on the telephone, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sam Okaula, after listening to our reporter’s narrations and subsequent inquiry about what the police were doing to ensure the perpetrators were brought to book, hung up his phone. The reporter called him again and offered to repeat his narration so that he could respond accordingly and the following exchange ensued:

Our reporter: “Hello sir.”

Police Commissioner: “I am hearing you.”
Our reporter: “Sir, may I repeat what I earlier sir?”
Police Commissioner: “No, you don’t have to. I don’t have the time. What do you want me to do?”

Our reporter: “What has the command under your able watch been able to do, regarding the murder incident?”
The Police Commissioner hung up the phone for the second time.

Meanwhile, after waiting for his call back to no avail our reporter sent him an sms message but he did not reply to it as at the time of filing this report.

INTROVERT:
Just 50k.

Say Letter Deflates Anti-Corruption War

Insist Babachir Must Go

Buhari Will Ensure Justice - Presidency

Since the commencement of this administration, nothing has pitched President Muhammadu Buhari against the National Assembly, members of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition and civil society groups like his last week’s response to the Senate’s recommendation to sack the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engr. David Babachir Lawal.

It is obvious that various groups within the National Assembly and other places are looking for a way to fight back since the Secretary to the Government of the Federation was given a ‘clean bill’ by the Presidency.

In the past one week, many pundits have not minced words in accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of shifting the goalpost as far as his much-celebrated anti-corruption crusade is concerned. They accused the president of selective justice, saying it was an opportunity for him to prove his ardent critics wrong.

Some senators who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday threatened that if nothing is done about their recommendations, they may suspend approval of funds to the office of the SGF. Senator Isa Hamma Misau (APC, Bauchi) had advocated the withholding of capital allocation to all agencies under the supervision of the SGF.

Speaking, he said, “Only allocation for salaries and other recurrent expenditures should be appropriated for all agencies under the supervision of a corrupt person”.

“Buhari claims to be a pious leader, but what we see these days clearly violate the concept of fair treatment. It is short of the ideal, and I think he is really caught up somewhere. It is wrong to say that Babachir cannot be prosecuted because the allegations against him were not proven. As you can see, all the clarifications given in the past few days are afterthoughts. Those handling the president have goofed.

“Hundreds of PDP members were arrested and locked, even before any investigation was carried out. They were kept in prison custody before investigation commenced and many are still behind bars. It is only in Nigeria that you see this kind of thing - selective justice, if you like,” A.A Uba, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said.

The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led PDP was equally not mild in its response. “The Presidency, in today’s dispensation, is the ‘judicial clearing house,’ issuing clean bill of health to all accused corrupt officials who are members of the APC and friends of the administration.

“It is quite disturbing that the president cleared his SGF of wrongdoing despite the weighty evidence of his ‘grass-cutting abilities’ uncovered by the Senate. He was also accused of complicity in the award of contracts relating to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Borno State, amounting to over N200 million,” the party stated in a press release issued by its spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.

Buhari was misled into signing ‘exoneration’ letter

It was gathered that already, many members of the National Assembly and those close to President Buhari within the party are aware of the “diminishing rating” of the ongoing anti-corruption fight. Some ranking senators who are of the APC said the SGF must be sacked for the president to be taken seriously.

The senators, who spoke to our correspondent in separate interviews, expressed shock over the president’s response, which defended the SGF.

Buhari had, in the letter to the Senate, dated January 17, faulted the resolution of the Upper Chamber on Babachir, saying the senators were not fair to the SGF.

The Senate had, in December, called for the sack of Babachir, following the interim report of an ad hoc committee constituted to investigate the N1.3billion contract scandal that rocked the Presidential Initiative on North-East (PINE) under his supervision.

Specifically, the Senate said the SGF’s company, Rholavision Engineering Limited, was awarded consultancy contract for the removal of the invasive plant species in Yobe State.

Speaking to our correspondent, a senator said the president was misled into signing the letter. “Somebody wrote the letter, gave it to him to sign and he did that hastily without knowing the content of the communication. They are saying the Senate’s report was an interim report. Was the report that sent Dasuki to prison not an interim report?
“Buhari’s letter has already deflated his anti-corruption war. The only way out is for him to sack the SGF because aside from the fight against terrorism in the North-East, the anti-corruption war is our selling point, nothing else,” he said.

The ranking senator, who is from the North, said they were totally disappointed with the president’s position on the matter and how it is being handled.

“How do we explain this? We are fighting corruption and the SGF has been found wanting from all angles, yet the president is defending him. Facts are sacred, he should go,” he said.

While admitting that the resolution of the Senate was advisory, he said Buhari must act on it. “He can simply ask the SGF to step down so that investigation can be completed. This can give credibility to the whole thing and the outcome can determine the faith of the embattled SGF.

“Yes, we know our resolution is advisory, but a government that has corruption fight as its policy thrust must act on it,” he said.
Another ranking senator who is close to the Presidency said Buhari’s letter negated the moves to cement the crack between the Executive and the Legislature.

“The letter came at a time when we are trying to bring our caucuses together to work for the country. With this letter now, a new battle-line has been drawn.

You know that before now, there were issues frustrating us in our caucuses. Frankly speaking, the letter was unnecessary and those that wrote it are enemies of the president,” he said.

Rather than send the letter, he said the president should have invited the leadership of the Senate alongside the party (APC) top echelon to thrash out the issue.

He said that with the new development, it would be difficult to convince the senators to have a rethink on the issue.

Meanwhile, our reporter gathered that the final report of the ad hoc committee chaired by Senator Shehu Sani would be ready by the end of February.

The report would be considered when the Senate resumes plenary. The Senate suspended plenary till February 21 for budget defence.

A source close to the committee said, “Another public hearing will be organised because a lot of prominent personalities have been mentioned in the PINE contracts scandal. The final report will shake the country.”

But another senator said the SGF issue was dead. “I have been in the National Assembly for 12 years and I have never heard of interim report. Why are they rushing? If the allegations are facts, they don’t need to rush into considering the interim report,” he said.

President caught between loyalty and morality

Sources said President Buhari was not unaware of the weighty allegations against Babachir and their implications on his personal integrity and the “plummeting rating” of his government. A senior official of the APC, who does not want to be named, said the grass cutting allegation was just one out of many contentious issues that would have warranted the sack of the SGF.
“So many issues are waiting for presidential action. One of them is the messing up of board appointments by the SGF-led committee, which is now being handled by the vice president.

“Although the SGF had denied compromising the list of the prospective appointees, many APC members across the 36 states of the federation are not happy with him,” he said.

Another APC source said even members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) are at a crossroad with the SGF.

“He really looks down on some ministers, making their work extremely difficult because they don’t have access to the president. Nothing is moving; the government is at a standstill,” he said.

In a recent interview, Chief Ikeobasi Mokelu, a chieftain of the APC who served as the late President Sani Abacha’s last information and culture minister between 1997 and 1998, said, “you can always assess the weaknesses and strengths of a president or head of state from the perspective of the engine of the government proper. When a government is perceived to be weak, it’s because the engine of the government is not driven properly, or is driven by inexperience or by ineptitude. The Presidency is not the engine of government. The engine of government is the cabinet office (Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation),” he said.

But another source said Buhari was caught between rewarding loyalty and morality.
“The president is morally bound to suspend the SGF, but Babachir is one his closest allies who sacrificed a lot during difficult times,” he said, adding that Buhari has never doubted his loyalty, and if recent events are anything to go by, he will sack virtually everyone close to him.

“And by sacking the likes of Babachir, the president will literally strip himself of immunity because the odds are many,” he said.

Presidency to decide SGF’s fate

A senior Presidency official told Daily Trust on Sunday that Buhari would ensure that the matter is concluded with fairness to all involved. The official, who asked not to be named, said the president’s recent letter to the Senate, rejecting its recommendation to remove and prosecute the SGF, did not indicate his ultimate decision on the substantive allegations against Babachir.

The official clarified: “In his letter to the Senate, the president explained why he could not accede to the request by the Senate based on the circumstances, clearly leaving open the conclusion of the matter by other means.

“He (Buhari) said he could not accede to the recommendation of the Senate on grounds of lack of fair hearing, and that the resolution was signed by a minority of the Senate panel, and that the panel report itself was an interim one.

“This does not mean that President Buhari is done with the investigation of the said allegations, or that he has condoned alleged corrupt actions by the SGF. What this means is that the president wants to be able to handle the matter on his own terms, based purely on proper adherence to extant public rules and procedures relating to the abuse of office by public officers.

“If he is going to discipline his own appointee, he would rather do it properly, not railroaded. No one should be in doubt of the resolve of Mr. President to sustain his long-held reputation for integrity and his zero-level tolerance for corruption. But things must be done properly, and seen to be so. And that is what the president is keen on ensuring.

“Actually, the president had expected the Senate to conclude its report substantively and tender a full report while he continues his own investigation through a team he had set up to review the matter with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

“The president’s letter to the Senate was very clear, even though media reports focused only on a few aspects of it. For instance, in the second paragraph of the letter to the Senate President, President Buhari explained thus: ‘I set up a review team to consider the recommendations from the Senate committee. I have also conducted further investigations based on Engineer Lawal’s response to the allegations and issues raised in the Senate’s resolution, and I have come to the conclusion that I believe will guide the Senate in the proper review of its interim report.

“This is a forward-looking indication. The president expected a broader and thorough job from the Senate, and he won’t be opposed to a broader job by the legislative chamber. Besides, the president is determined to get to the root of the matter, considering the weight of the allegations.

“In the letter to the Senate, the president noted that a final report ‘ought to have been presented to the Senate in plenary for adoption as a binding and final report before submission to the presidency, given the weight of allegations in the report.’

“No one who knows the president very well will think this case is over. Wait and see; this case will be concluded with fairness to all involved, including the Nigerian people.”

The south-west zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says some of its members have stopped lifting fuel because the official pump price of N145 per litre is “no longer sustainable”.

According to PUNCH , the marketers stopped dispensing fuel last week and have also not lifted new product “because they are no longer breaking even”.

Debo Ahmed, IPMAN chairman in the south-west, said 90 percent of its members can no longer continue with the business.

He advised the federal government to deregulate the petroleum sector so that marketers could buy and sell the product at a price that will be fair to everyone.

“The result of this is that about 90 percent of our members who can no longer continue with the business, have already stopped lifting fuel while the remaining 10 percent have threatened to also close down their stations if nothing is done to remedy the situation this (last) week.

“Unfortunately we cannot sell above the pump price of N145 per litre in the south-west if we don’t want to incur the wrath of the Department of Petroleum Resources.

Our colleagues in the north, south-east and south-south are running their own businesses because they are selling above the pump price.”

Not less than 3,000 fuel dealers are under the south-west IPMAN.

Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo are the south-west states that would be affected by the scarcity that could arise from the marketers’ decision.

dominique:
All these fake Twitter stories sha. Some people can concoct anything to trend

One of the sources involved in the probe said: “A governor from an oil-producing state is in soup and under probe by some security agencies.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan created his personal twitter account in November of 2015.

The account which has long since been verified has posts, quotes and statement of the former president as he attends different public events.

Curiously Jonathan follows only seven other accounts, owned by one female, three male, and three foundations / organization.
Amongst the males are the present and past presidents of the United States of America, Donald Trump and Barrack Obama.

Although their accounts he follows are the official ones: President Trump @POTUS, President Obama @POTUS44
President Goodluck also follows former minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala and Senator Ben Murray-Bruce @BenMurrayBruce.

The others are a library and a movement handle.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that his mouth was badly damaged such that he could not properly eat and drink.

Some former ministers have been asked by the legislature to return unaccounted funds from the $470million Lagos and Abuja Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV) contract.

The House of Representatives adhoc committee’s report indicted the ministers who served between 2010 and 2014 in the Ministry of Police Affairs, which handled the project during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

They are Alhaji Adamu Waziri, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (retd) and Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, as well as a former Permanent Secretary of the defunct ministry, Mr. James Obeigbu.

Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ahmed Yerima, yesterday presented the report which was was put off till next week for debate.

The report recommends that: “the former ministers and officials of the defunct Ministry of Police Affairs (who served between 2010 and 2014) should be prosecuted over the rationale and motive for the removal and or disappearance of the operational and maintenance costs of the project from its initial proposals, as that singular act contributed to the non-performance of the network;

“Former Permanent Secretary of the defunct ministry Mr. James Obeigbu be prosecuted for deliberately refusing to release N3billion meant for network operations and maintenance; ZTE Nigeria Limited, which was awarded the contract, should refund the discrepancy amount certified after the audit exercise or supply equipment and spares of commensurate value as may be required by the ministry, otherwise, the figure should be deducted from the outstanding debt of US$20,247,172.00 certified by the Ministry of Police Affairs as being owed ZTE for running the network from January to June, 2013;

“Forensic audit of the outstanding debt being owed ZTE for running the system for several months should be conducted and the actual cost be verified and considered at the exchange rate of US dollar at that period (2013). Thus, the equivalent of the cost established after the verification in USD in year 2013, should be calculated and paid to ZTE to save the country the extra cost.

“The Executive should not privatise the National Public Security Communication-System (NPSCS). It should be ceded to the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), which is the statutory body overseeing all security agencies; and
“The Office of the NSA should set up a department that reports directly to the NSA.
It will direct the activities of the NPSCS by utilising the trained engineers on the system from NIGCOMSAT and the Police to maintain the active elements, as well as, training of other security agencies to join the operations, and to supervise the activities of Managed Service Providers.”

The CCTV contract was awarded in 2008 for $470 million under the National Public Security Communications System (NPSCS).

Only 40 cameras were working, of the 1000 installed in Abuja. The contractors said they were in the process of re-activating the remaining 960, which they claimed were vandalised.

Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio has said 20 serving senators of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are ready to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) once the leadership crisis in the PDP is resolved.

Also the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu dismissed defectors from PDP to APC in the South East, describing them as contract and employment seekers.

Ekweremadu added that those who left PDP from the region have no electoral value.

The duo spoke on Thursday at the expanded caucus meeting of the PDP held in Abuja.

Akpabio, who said that PDP senators in the National Assembly are intact and supportive of the National Caretaker Committee of the party, noted that all the APC senators want is a return of peace to the PDP.

“As I speak, so many senators from the opposing party are eager to join PDP. All they want is return of peace to the party. Once that is done I can assure that 20 senators are on their way to joining the PDP,” he added.

BY ADEBIYI ADEDAPO

The House of Representatives has begun investigation of the allegedly missing $1.1billion signature bonuses which accrued to the country from Oil Prospecting Licences (OPLs).

Consequently, the House has invited the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele; the group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, and the executive secretary, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr Mordecai Baba Ladan to come and explain the whereabouts of the money.

The chief executives are expected to appear before the ad-hoc committee of the House on Oil Prospecting Licences (OPLs) and Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) on Monday, February 1, 2017.

The committee yesterday refused to grant audience to representatives of the agencies, as they observed that none of them could present a letter authorising them to represent their chief executives in that capacity.

The committee particularly complained that the CBN boss had ignored the three letters it had written to the apex bank and threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on Emefiele should he fail to appear before it as scheduled.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Gideon Gwani, noted that the signature bonuses paid by owners of some OPLs, which amounted to over $1billion, could not be traced.

According to Gwani, all efforts to trace the money were futile as the DPR, CBN, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), NNPC and the accountant-general’s office denied the committee details of the transaction.

He explained that the DPR could not confirm if the fees claimed to have been paid by the oil companies had actually been received by the government through the CBN, the banker to the federal government.

“It has been realised through our investigation that we need, seriously, evidence to prove that signature bonuses are paid,” he said.

Gwani stated further that the DPR advised the committee to request the information directly from the CBN, while the CBN told the committee to liaise with the NNPC on OPLs and OMLs, with the DPR on royalties, and with the accountant-general of the federation on signature bonuses.

The committee established that signature bonuses amounting to $835 million, which accrued from OPL 250, 291, 332, 276, 321,323,283,315, 257, 279, 285, 288, 298, 471, 289, 284 and 236, as well as part payment of $271.18 million signature bonuses from OPL 214, 324, 320, 318, 256, 242, 223, 221, 245, 247, 322, 248 and 249, could not be traced.

“We need evidence that full payments were made for OPLs 250, 291, 332, 276, 321, 323, 283, 315, 257, 279, 285, 288, 298, 471, 289, 284 and 236, and the total amount we are looking for is $835 million.

“We also need evidence of part payments of OPLs 214, 324, 320, 318, 256, 242, 223, 221, 245, 247, 322, 248 and 249, which amount to $271.18 million, leaving the balance of $648.2million,” Gwani said.

Although the committee acknowledged that most of the OPLs had been converted to OMLs, Gwani said they were listed at their state when the transactions took place.

“Most of the OPLs have been converted to OMLs, but we have chosen to list them at the state at which the debt and payment occurred,” he clarified.

The lawmaker explained that the committee was mandated by the House of Representatives to investigate the award of all OPLs and OMLs granted to oil companies by the federal government, to, among other things, ascertain whether due process and guidelines for the acquisition of oil and gas assets were complied with.

“It is, therefore, noteworthy that payment of fees before and after the acquisition of oil blocks fall part of due process required to be fulfilled by the Petroleum Act, which this committee was mandated to investigate, “ he said.

Gwani pointed out that the agencies’ refusal to provide required information spoils the image of government and undermines its fight against corruption, adding that “The development is unfortunate especially at the time when the government is in dire need of money to fund its projects.”

lalasticlala

Four students of University of Abuja, have died in an accident which occurred on Tuesday night at Gwako village, on the Abuja-Lokoja road.

A witness said the accident, which happened about a kilometre to Gwagwalada occurred at about 10:12p.m. after a Peugeot 406 car coming from Zuba axis veered from its lane and collided with an oncoming trailer.

He said the Peugeot car driver ran into a deep pothole, lost control of his car and crashed head-on into the unmarked trailer, killing all its four occupants on the spot.

“The Peugeot car somersaulted after hitting a pothole and collided with a Daf trailer which was coming from Lokoja. The four occupants of the car and the driver died on the spot,” he said.

He said rescue team of the Gwagwalada unit command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), which was alerted, arrived the scene and evacuated the corpses to the mortuary in Gwagwalada.

Our reporter, who was at the scene at about 9:00a.m. yesterday, observed as some motorists stopped at the scene shaken by the wreckage of the Peugeot car, while some police officers were also seen at the scene.

Reacting, the FCT sector commander of the FRSC, Sunday E.Oghenekaro, confirmed the accident saying the four people who died were all students of the University of Abuja, Gwagwalada.

He blamed the accident on excessive speeding by the Peugeot driver.

“So the advice generally is that parents must ensure they avoid giving access to vehicles to their children when they have not been trained and licensed to drive,” he said.

He added that,“ it is very unfortunate that those children ought to have been in school at that time of the night.”

The Spokesperson of the university, Waziri Garba confirmed that four of their students died in the Tuesday night accident, which he described as unfortunate.

He however said the school authority is yet to identify the students and which departments they belong to. “We are told they are our students. Sometimes we don’t want to disclose it because we have to ascertain and inform the parents first of all,” he said.

The Department of State Security Services (DSS) yesterday implicated a Southsouth governor in a subversive plot against the Federal Government.

It also accused the governor of allegedly sponsoring those behind demanding the resignation of its Director- General, Mr. Lawan Daura.

The governor was said to be under investigation also for sponsoring violent demonstration.

A top official made the disclosures at a confidential briefing in Abuja against the backdrop of a protest on Monday by a pressure group, Lawyers in Defence of Democracy.

The official said unknown to Nigerians, the Monday protest had a hidden agenda.

The highly-placed source said: “The Monday protest by the so called Lawyers in Defence of Democracy was misplaced. We believe that that protest by the group, claiming to be acting on behalf of some aggrieved lawyers and Human Rights activists, has other hidden motives.

“The protesters’ main grouse was that some lawyers who are members of their group are being detained by the DSS. I wish to state categorically that no lawyer is in our custody. I repeat, no lawyer is being detained in DSS custody.

“The names like Ugochukwu Apumaga, Emeka Dibia and Ejike Nwachukwu that were paraded on Monday by the protesters as members of their group are not lawyers.

“They were arrested by the service for their role in the botched moves by a South-South Governor to orchestrate violent demonstration with inciting and subversive posters.

”Ikenga Ugochukwu was arrested with the trio.This is no longer secret because it was made public by the Service.

“In any case, the Service is not known to be in denial of any arrest it had ever made as it always avail members of the public of those it arrested and the reasons.

“It is therefore curious and even strange if these organizations being mentioned are not pseudo organizations being used by Ikenga, to carry out paid jobs.

“As far as the Service is concerned, there is no lawyer in detention and if these persons mentioned are lawyers, it will be helpful if any discerning person can inform the Nigerian public when they were called to the Bar or which law schools or Universities they attended.”

The DSS attributed the calls for the removal of its DG to the alleged subterranean activities of the governor.

The official added: “The entire campaign of calumny and calls for the resignation of the DG DSS are not supported with facts.

“They represent a familiar pattern from Ikenga, who is being sponsored by a South-South governor (his benefactor in Rivers state) to orchestrate violent demonstration to paint security agencies and government in bad light.”

A teenager has been allegedly raped to death by suspected cultists in Nnung Oku in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

According to a resident, Miss Enobong Essien, the body of the teenage girl was discovered in a small bush at the back of Nnung Oku Motor Park following intense search by community youths.

“After several searches, the remains of the deceased were finally discovered dumped by the hoodlums in a small bush at the back of Nnung Oku motor park,” the resident said.

The death of the teenager, which sparked outrage among the youth, according to Eseme Udo, a vigilance group member in the area, had reinforced agitations for effective policing of the community.

Udo noted that crimes, including burglary, cultism, drug abuse and kidnapping of teenagers and children, had become rife in Ibesikpo Asutan, calling on the government to come to residents’ aid.

Lamenting the upsurge of crime in his domain, the village head of Nnung Oku, Eteidung Clement Ekeng, stressed the need for effective security surveillance and community policing in the area.

According to the traditional ruler, “a number of lives wasted to the activities of hoodlums in this area would have been avoided if adequate attention was paid to security.”

The traditional ruler, therefore, made a case for the establishment of a police post in Nnung Oku community, noting that such intervention would go a long way to deter evil doers from indulging in criminal tendencies.

Worried by the problem, the Chairman of the council area, Mr Ukana Udofia, who visited the scene of the incident, assured his constituents of improved security.

He disclosed that the remains of the deceased had been recovered and handed over to the police for investigation, while noting that the culprits would be brought to book soon.

Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District and Chairman Ad-hoc Committee on Humanitarian crises in the Northeast, Shehu Sani, has expressed disappointment at the presidency’s response to the committee’s report.

Reacting to President Buhari’s position, exonerating the SGF, Babachir Lawal of any wrongdoing in the award of contract in IDPs to his company, Rholavision Engineering Services Limited, Sani explained that something has gone wrong.

Sani said it amounts to using ‘insecticide’ when it comes to fighting corruption in the National Assembly and Judiciary, while using a ‘deodorant’, when it comes to fighting corruption at the Executive arm
“Mr. President, Distinguished Colleagues, I rise through Order 43 of Senate Rules and I want to submit that President Buhari’s reaction on SGF shows the use of insecticides when fighting corruption at the legislative arm, while he uses deodorant at the Executive arm,” he said.

Debunking claims that SGF was not given fair hearing before calling for his resignation in report, Sani explained that a public hearing was held, but the SGF did not honour the invitation which was given to him.

He also averred that copies of the report was signed by all the members of the Committee, while expressing shock at the version without his name which Mr. President relied on.

“Distinguished Colleagues, you realize that the copy which was read to us did not carry my name even as the Committee Chairman and I wonder where it emanated from,” he asked.

He insisted that the Committee did a thorough review of activities of government officials involving coordination of IDPs, adding that SGF remained indicted.

Etm Ekpimah , Uyo

The police in Akwa Ibom State have arrested three demonstrators and beaten up a number of others for protesting at the gate of the Government House , Uyo , over the non - payment of their late parents ’ gratuities by the state government.

The protesters , who were the next of kin of late primary school teachers in the state, were on Monday chased away from the areas around the Government House , as well as the adjoining streets.

Our correspondent observed an Assistant Commissioner of Police, C . Abibo , giving his officers and men the order to beat up the protesters . More than five policemen descended on the group ’ s leader, Benjamin Benson , and tore his clothes .

The police also used tear gas canisters and an Armoured Personnel Carrier to disperse the over 100 protesters.

They also threatened to beat up the journalists, who were on the ground, to cover the protest.

The ACP said , “ Beat up these people ; if you cannot beat them ; let me beat them myself . ”

The policemen needed no further encouragement as they battered protesters and bundled some into a waiting police patrol van.

The protesters , under the aegis of Coalition of Families : Next of Kin of Late Primary School Teachers in Akwa Ibom State, asked the police to immediately release their colleagues they arrested for demanding their rights.

The spokesman for the group, Aniekan Thompson , said the families of the dead teachers had obtained letters of administration from the court and had been screened by the State Universal Basic Education Board since 2010, which gave them clearance slips for payment.

He added that the police acted in a manner that was unbecoming of officers of the law .
“ They beat us up mercilessly, you need to see how they beat and bundled our colleagues – Enobong Kenneth , Benjamin Benson and Utibe – into their vehicle like criminals .

“ We asked them for our rights , but the government and the police were accusing us of being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress.

“ Ninety nine per cent of us are card - carrying members of the People ’ s Democratic Party. We belong to different groups that ensured the victory of the present Akwa Ibom State Governor , Mr . Udom Emmanuel, ” he said.

Thompson explained that in 2014, 185 names were authorised to be paid by SUBEB. He said only 42 of the number were cleared to receive their entitlements, adding that out of the 42, only four persons were identified as bona fide next of kin.

Thompson stated that the government never showed any commitment to the plight of the next of kin, noting that the governor had denied owing them a kobo when he spoke on the television a year ago.

He said, “ After numerous protests, a committee on pensions, headed by the leader of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Mr . Udo Kierian , invited us . We met on August 29 and September 19, 2016, and agreed that the government would pay the backlog of entitlements in batches from September.

“ Surprisingly , the government did not pay as agreed. On November 29, 2016, we had a meeting with the Head of Civil Service , Mrs . Ekerebong Akpan , and she said the government had set aside N 100m to commence the first batch of the payments.

“ After three weeks, we did not hear of any positive development on the matter. The government has always cited paucity of funds as hindrance , but we know of states that have tackled this problem even with less income than Akwa Ibom . ”

He urged the state government to use part of the “ N 14. 5bn Paris Club money” released to the state for payment.

The Information Officer for the Head of Service , Mr . Edem Okon , said the group actually came on a courtesy visit.

He said , “ The HoS assured them that their issues were being looked into along with others who have similar matters . ”

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Cordelia Nwawe , said she was not aware of the protest. She stated that the protesters did not inform the police.
“I am not aware of any protest. The protesters did not inform the police. I did not get any letter on my table from anybody.

“If anyone wants to embark on a protest , he should inform the police so that hoodlums won ’ t cash in on the situation. We will not allow any breakdown of law and order in Akwa Ibom , ” she said.