₦airaland Forum

Agency Reporter



There was a mild drama at Court 7, Federal High Court, Abuja, as application by the Department of State Services (DSS) counsel, Hassan Liman, to take witnesses in the ongoing trial of Omoyele Sowore, Convener, #RevolutionNow Protest, in camera failed.

Sowore, alongside Olawale Bakare, is charged by the DSS with treasonable felony, money laundering, among others.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu had, on Oct. 21, adjourned commencement of trial till Nov. 6 and Nov. 7, after varying the bail conditions granted Sowore, and his co-defendant, Bakare.

Justice Ojukwu had granted the order in a ruling on the application for bail variation by the duo.

However, on Wednesday before the commencement of the trial, screen shield was already set up in the court for witnesses to be taken.

But it was dismantled shortly before Justice Ojukwu took her seat.

As soon as court proceeding started, DSS Counsel, Liman, SAN, told the court that the agency was ready to commence the trial based on the order of the court in the last sitting.

However, Counsel to the 1st defendant, Femi Falana, SAN, prayed the court for an adjournment of the matter to enable them perfect the defendants’ bail conditions.

Falana, who told the court that the security outfit had made it difficult for them to have access to the defendants to prepare for the trial, said even in court, they were only given less than five minutes to converse with them.

Quoting the law, he said defendants are expected to be given adequate time and facilities for their defence.

Falana hinted that all the bail conditions have been met but they needed time to perfect them.
He also accused the DSS of planning a secret trail for his client.

However, Counsel to the DSS, Liman, SAN, objected to the application for adjournment, saying the defendants counsel had had ample time to perfect the bail conditions and prepare for the trial.

Liman, who disagreed that the DSS had not given them opportunity to meet the defendants, said they were given unrestricted access to them.

Unhappy with Liman’s response, Falana told Justice Ojukwu that the prosecution counsel had told him before the commencement of the trial that their witnesses would be taken in camera.

He said Liman’s statement was evident with the setting up of screen shield by the witness box close to the judge’s door.

According to Falana, I was told that the witnesses will come in through My Lord’s door to the screen shield where they will testify.

“They have made arrangement with the deputy chief registrar to take the witnesses on camera without our knowledge.

“This is an ambush. But all of a sudden, the court Clark dismantled the shield,” he said.

The lawyer said when Liman discovered that the plan did not, he approached him for a cooperation.
He said the act was meant to embarrass the court and the defendants.

When Justice Ojukwu asked Liman on what transpired, the DSS told the court that an application was made to take the witnesses in camera.

He said though it was not a judicial arrangement, an administrative arrangement was made in that regard through the Deputy Chief Registrar (DCR) of the court, Mr Femi Ekperobe.

Justice Ojukwu, therefore, summoned the DCR to explained why such arrangement was made without the court’s knowledge.

Ekperobe, who confirmed the development, told the court that such arrangement is meant for high profile cases.

He said “the prosecution counsel made an application to the effect to which an approval was given in view of high profile nature of the case.”

The judge, who was unaware of the arrangement, asked the prosecution counsel “who is in charge of the court?”

Liman, who responded that the judge was in charge of the court, said they would appropriately apply to the court.

Then the DCR was asked to go.

However, Justice Ojukwu, who asked the prosecution counsel to call the first witness, ruled that the court was of the view to commence trial because when the court granted defendants bail in the last adjourned date, the court ordered accelerated hearing on the case.

Liman then read the charges against the defendants.

While he was about to call the 1st witness, Falana objected to the move.

Falana, in response, told the court that the DSS had not served them with the witnesses’ statements and the video recordings to enable the defence counsel prepare for the trial contrary to the ACJA Act.

The human rights lawyer, who described the act as plans by the security agency to ambush them, said the DSS was not ready for the trial.

Justice Ojukwu assured that justice would be done in the case despite the decision to continue with the case.

“This court does not condone frivolity. Neither the prosecution nor the defence counsel can control this court.

“The court has final decision whether anyone has made arrangement or not,” she said.
Ojukwu said that every trial has a constitutional background.

The judge, therefore, asked if the prosecution counsel had served the defence counsel with the documents and attached the video recordings.

She said the prosecution counsel ought to have served the defendants with all the documents that would assist them in the defence.

The judge, who said it was the right of the defence counsel to request for any document that would assist them, said no one can waste the precious time of the court.

On his part, Liman said there was no legal requirement that required the defence to be served the written statements of witnesses since they would have been served with their names and briefs.

The judge asked if they were not entitled to the documents and Liman gave a yes response.
The DSS counsel, therefore, applied for more time to continue the trial and Falana did not object it.

Justice Ojukwu adjourned the matter till Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 for commencement of trial.
(NAN)

Isaac Anumihe, Abuja



Federal Government has given priority to the completion of six federal secretariats in six states.

The secretariats are located in Anambra, Bayelsa, Gombe , Nassarawa, Osun and Zamfara states.

Other priority areas of the 2020 Budget, according to the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, include, fulfilment of Nigeria’s financial obligations to Shelter Afrique for the construction of affordable housing of which Nigeria is a key player.

Fashola, who fielded questions at the National Assembly Joint Committee to defend the Ministry’s 2020 Budget, said that the government also plans to install solar panels as alternative source of energy at the ministry’s headquarters, Abuja.

The Minister also mentioned in the priority list: the provision of infrastructure by building access roads, drainages for erosion control for social housing schemes in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, Kwara and Osun states, and settlement of liabilities incurred under the Special Projects Unit, which caters for project under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Minister, however, faulted the practice of measuring budget performance by funds expended on projects but not on the actual work done. He explained that most times the projects were carried out on priority bases. Therefore, the fund made available might not be enough to carry out all the projects needed by Nigerians.

Fashola charged members of the joint committee to encourage members of their constituencies to form cooperative groups through which land could be acquired from states to access credit and build genuine houses of choice.

He further revealed that the ministry was planning to launch the co-operative system for ease of accessing land and credit for providing affordable houses for Nigerians.

Chinelo Obogo



A major disaster was averted after a serious incident involving a Boeing 737-500 aircraft operated by Air Peace, with registration marks, 5N-BUJ developed engine failure shortly after takeoff.

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has said it was investigating a serious incident involving a Boeing 737-500 aircraft operated by Air Peace, with registration marks, 5N-BUJ.

The General Manager, Public Affairs of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) Tunji Oketunbi, said the aircraft which departed Murtala Muhammad Airport at 07:35 am local time was en route Owerri from Lagos with 90 passengers and six crew members on board.

From the information provided by the Air Traffic Control (ATC), the flight crew declared engine failure at 07:47 local time and subsequently made an air return to Lagos. The aircraft landed safely at 08:06 local time. All the occupants disembarked with no injury.

“The AIB team of safety investigators has commenced an investigation.

As the sole agency mandated to undertake the investigation of aircraft accidents and serious incidents, the bureau wants the public to know that it would be open to receiving any video clip, relevant evidence or information that may assist in this investigation.

The bureau appeals to the press and the public to respect the privacy of the people involved and not to pre-empt the cause of the serious incident,” Oketunbi said.

The Corporate Communications Executive for the airline, Stanley Olisa, confirmed the incident, but said no life was lost and no one sustained injuries.

He said: “Today at about 07:47 local time, our Lagos to Owerri flight, which was already airborne was aborted when the pilot in command noticed a change in the parameter of one of the engines.

“He reported the incident, took precautionary measure and returned to base in line with Air Peace safety operational procedures.

“The aircraft safely landed in Lagos at about 08: 06 local time. There were no injuries as the passengers were safely deboarded from the aircraft.

“The pilot has reported the incident to appropriate authorities.

“Air Peace apologises for the incident and assures its customers and other Nigerians that it continues to maintain a high-safety standard in its operations.”

Fred Itua , Abuja



Barring any last minute change, the leadership of the National Assembly may pass a no confidence vote on the Clerk to the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani Omolori, Daily Sun has learnt.

The planned vote is a fallout of a stormy meeting between the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and Omolori held in Abuja last Wednesday.

It was learnt that during the meeting, both parties disagreed on issues relating to illegal recruitment into the National Assembly by the clerk, alleged tenure elongation of Omolori and contract awards without recourse to due process.

A source said the meeting was called at the behest of Lawan. Omolori who was invited to brief Lawan on recruitments made without approvals from the National Assembly Service Commission, was reported to have absolved himself from blames regarding the exercise.

It was learnt that Lawan queried the clerk on why he was yet to offset the severance package of aides to senators who served between 2015-2019.

However, an angry Lawan shouted at the clerk and threatened to get him out of office, even as Omolori reportedly dismissed Lawan’s threat and insisted that all he did were in compliance with the rules governing his office.

Prior to Omolori’s invitation, a former chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission, Adamu Fika, was asked to furnish the Senate President with information on the recruitments.
Fika, who dissociated himself from the exercise, said recruitments were done without the knowledge of the National Assembly Service Commission.

The tenure of the last chairman and members of the National Assembly Service Commission ended July, 2018. In January this year, former president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, forwarded names of proposed members of the Commission to President Muhammadu Buhari in accordance with the constitution.

President Buhari did not send names to the National Assembly for confirmation before the expiration of the last Senate. Saraki in the list, had recommended a former senator, Joy Emordi, as chairman.

Five months into the tenure of Lawan as president of the Senate, Buhari is yet to send the names to the upper legislative chamber. No replacement has so far been announced by Lawan.

In the absence of a substantive Commission, the continuous stay of Omolori in power may not be challenged. Only the Commission can sanction or compel him to proceed on terminal leave.
When contacted Director of Information, National Assembly, Rawlings Emmanuel Agada, said he was unaware of the issues raised.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives have waded into the non-payment of severance allowances for legislative aides who served in the Eighth National Assembly between 2015 and 2019.

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, met with Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed of the debt.

The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, was also attended by principal officers of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Also present at the meeting was the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze.

Lawan, said the essence of the meeting was to clear the backlog of debts owed the legislative aides.

“The tenure of legislative aides employed by the National Assembly Commission and posted to members of the National Assembly is tied to the tenure of the National Assembly. Therefore, they are entitled to severance allowance,” he said.

According to Lawan, prior to the intervention by both chambers, the Senate leadership last week had a meeting with the management of the National Assembly and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) led by chairman of the Commission, Elias Mbam.

“It is only fair that we give them what is due to them (aides). We realise there was need to bring on board for this discussion the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the National Assembly Service Commission as well, so that in this meeting we are able to discuss and finalise where the source of the severance allowance for the legislative aides will be.
“And the presence of both chambers here tells us that this is a matter that affects the entire National Assembly.

“All the aides of the Senators and House of representatives who completed their assignment are affected on both sides. That is why the principal officers of both chambers are here,” Lawan said.

An analysis by The Africa Report suggests Nigeria’s 2023 presidential race, especially in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), will be down to the trio of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Pastor Tunde Bakare and APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. According to the analysis, Tinubu is already picking up endorsements from Nigerians in the corridors of power who wants a bite of the proverbial national cake.

The report also mentioned the recent tactic endorsement of celebrity journalist and columnist, Dele Momodu, who seem to have bought into the Tinubu presidential project. Last month, a campaign office purportedly for the 2023 presidential ambition of Tinubu was opened in Osun state.

The campaign office had pictures of Tinubu as well as his name written all over the place with a massive banner with the inscription: ‘Tinubu 2023 Non-Negotiable.’

Recently, Pastor Bakare threw a brickbat at Tinubu, complaining about the gargantuan levels of corruption since he was governor of Lagos state and installed his protégés. Bakare is said to see himself as a rival to Tinubu.

In a 2015 interview, the fiery preacher said he had been pressured in the run-up to the elections in 2011, by unnamed politicians, to sign a dated resignation letter. The deal was designed to make Bakare go quietly should that prove necessary for Buhari’s handlers.

Osinbajo is also believed to be the victim of a concerted effort to reduce his goodwill and sellability ahead of 2023. “Some whisper that Osinbajo’s erstwhile political benefactor Tinubu is at the centre of that campaign,” the report noted. Osinbajo himself told the press at the latter’s birthday colloquium earlier this year that Tinubu’s political trajectory has just begun.

“The vice-president, Osinbajo, will have the last laugh – they think I’m stupid – except he has violated his oath,” Pastor Bakare said while speaking of the vice president’s political ordeal recently. “The dynamics among the Lagos trio – Osinbajo, Tinubu and Bakare – point to a deal to pass the presidency on to the south-west after Buhari leaves.

“That may cause resentment in the south-south and south-east geopolitical zones which have produced one president each – and are less favoured than the other geopolitical zones.

Gombe- Former Governor of Gombe State and a serving Senator, Mohammad Danjuma Goje has called on President Muhammdu Buhari to quickly intervene and douse the lingering tension between Gombe and Bauchi States over the ownership of some oil wells recently discovered in the two States.

There was wide jubilation in the two States and the North in general over the discovery of oil in some border communities in the two Northeastern states of the federation.

Senator Goje made the call while chairing the opening ceremony of a two-day retreat for Commissioner-designate, Advisers and Permanent Secretaries in the Gombe State Civil Service which began in Gombe Monday afternoon.

According to the former Governor, the discovery of the oil should rather be seen as something that should further strengthen the unity and stability of the country since it is now creating a balance for wealth creation for the country.

Senator Goje, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently intervene in resolving the dispute about the location of the wells found in Communities that are located in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State and Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State.

In his address, the Special Guest of Honour at the occasion and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Gida Mustapha, commended the Gombe State Government for organizing the retreat which he said is a veritable tool in ensuring good governance that will, in turn, ensure improvement in addressing the basic needs of the people of the State.

He said the new cabinet members must work together, give in their best in ensuring that they improve on the security of lives and property of the people as well as their living conditions.

In his address, the State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya said the retreat was organized to get the new cabinet members in tune with the policies and programmes of the new administration in the State.

By Olakunle Maruf .


Following the closure of land borders nationwide by the Federal Government, most smugglers of banned items have devised a new method to beat the security authorities.

Sunday Tribune investigation at Illela, in Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State, a border town between Nigeria and Niger Republic, has revealed.

Sunday Tribune learnt that more than 100 illegal routes are now being used by the smugglers to bring banned items such as rice, vegetable oil and even second hand clothes, among others, into the country.

A security official who spoke with Sunday Tribune on condition of anonymity disclosed that the border closure had no major effects on the smugglers, saying they were making use of illegal routes.

He said: “we are here monitoring the activities of these people, but we have limited power to do much.

“Our duty is to man this border and ensure that no one crosses or passes through it, but we cannot go and monitor illegal routes which are not part of our duty,” he added.

Meanwhile, the spokesman of the customs in the state, Mailafiya Magaji, referred Sunday Tribune to the National spokesman, Mr John Attah.
When contacted, Attah assured that all the illegal routes would be looked into as soon as possible.

He assured that the office of the National Security Adviser is monitoring the joint operations, which he said, were aimed at curbing all the illegal routes and stopping the importation of all the banned items into the country.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Mustapha Shehuri, on Saturday reassured farmers on accessibility of better farming equipment and government support.

Shehuri gave the assurance when he visited the Livestock House of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Kaduna.

Shehuri said that the visit was to make sure that the staff and management team were working in line with the objectives of government on improving the farmers capacity toward food production.

Shehuri said that the farming equipment being procured by the ministry would be sold to farmers at 50 per cent discount to improve their production amidst the border closure saga.

“We will make sure the equipment go to the people they are meant for because procurement of the equipment is an investment by the government to achieve its policy of diversification through the agricultural sector.

“With the border closure and diversification policy, we now produce the rice we consume, which is a positive result as against two to three years ago when we were importing 90 per cent of our rice.

“The border closure has now made rice farmers to be smiling to the banks, it has created more jobs, not only on rice but also other commodities that we consume,” he said.

Shehuri described Nigerian farmers as the most hard working people in the country, saying, “they work tirelessly even without assistance from the government to improve the country’s economy.
“We look at agriculture as a business and we assure Nigerians of better jobs from the type of growth that will result from it.”

Responding, the North West Zonal Director of the ministry, Mr Owolabi Mathew described the minister’s visit as a good omen which would enhance the capability of staff of the ministry.

“The visit will help the minister forward our challenges in relations to farmers and suggest viable means of addressing them at the headquarters for development of agricultural sector,” he said.

Femi Asu


Dangote Group has said it plans to export petroleum products from its refinery to Europe , South America , West Africa and Central Africa .

The company stated this on Sunday during a visit by a delegation led by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources , Chief Timipre Sylva, to the refinery site in Lagos .

The Executive Director , Strategy , Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Dangote Group , Devakumar Edwin , said products from the refinery , with a capacity to process 650 ,000 barrels per day , could be marketed anywhere in the world .

He said, “ It is one of our targets to take diesel to Europe . Our equipment is already being designed to do this . We can take surplus petrol to South America , apart from West African countries and Central African countries . That is why decided to go for Euro V .

“ The refinery can handle all the Nigerian crude grades and all the African crude grades , as well as some of the Middle East grades and the US light oil . ”

According to him, the refinery can meet 100 per cent of the Nigerian requirements of all the liquid products and will have surplus to export.

The minister , after the tour of the project , said, “ This is one of the impressive projects, if not the most impressive project , we have seen done by a Nigerian. It is a very encouraging development , and for us as government , we have also resolved to support this project fully .

“ In terms of support , it will be in the areas of feedstock and off -take . Government will guarantee some of these things . But all these will come out of discussions with the President of Dangote Group. Once they put their needs on the table , we will look at them and see how to narrow the gap .”

The President , Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote , said, “ We believe in Nigeria , and if we don ’t do it by ourselves , nobody will come down here and do it for us. Nigeria is actually supposed to feed the entire West and Central Africa and that is what we are trying to do . That is why went for this massive capacity .”

The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23, 2019 poll, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has spent six months in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Atiku, a former vice president, who jetted out of the country since April, has not returned. His political associates said Atiku had remained in Dubai following alleged plots by some bigwigs in the ruling APC and top officials of government to “blackmail” him.

One of his allies said, “After the February 23 election, don’t forget that was a very hectic process, physically, spiritually, emotionally and otherwise. So, he took a break to go and rest. All of us did, I did it too.”

But another highly placed source close to the former vice president who spoke on condition of anonimity said, “He took a break after the elections and was planning to come back to attend a programme at the AUN and that was in May, he travelled in April.

“But there was credible information on the evil plots of these people. And they were planning the MKO Abiola model. We all know what happened in the case of MKO Abiola, contrived allegations, arrest, and all of that, and he stayed away.

“That situation has not changed. We know the character of this administration, what they are capable of doing and we didn’t want him to be the issue. The issue now is the democracy that was at a crossroad. And that is what everybody was focused on, it was only common sense for him to stay away while all the processes were playing out.

“So, that is why he has continued to stay away. He is in Dubai,” he said.

By Kolade Adeyemi,



Former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, has expressed fear that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may lose power in 2023 if nothing is done urgently to re-position its leadership.

Okorocha, who spoke in Kano yesterday against the back drop of the protracted feud between the APC National Chairman, Adams Aliyu Oshiomole and Governor Godwin Obasaki of Edo state, warned against internal crisis within the ranks of the APC leadership.

According to him, “a political party should be a group of people who share common political interest and beliefs; people who pursue a common goal or common objective for the good of the common man.

“That will be my understanding of a political party, but any political party that is full of internal crisis is no longer a political party in the real sense of a political party.

“This idea of crisis and idea of commotions show that the said party does not have a common ideology. If the ideology is one and you believe in one thing, there should not be reason for disagreement at that level. You might have a minor disagreement, but when it comes to the issue of do-or-die, it is no longer a political party.

“So, let us see what we can do in this country to redefine what we mean by internal democracy. This is why people have options; this is why we don’t believe in one party system. We must have different political parties and identify the one that is in line with our vision, the one that is line with our political belief.

“Talking about what is happening in Edo State, it is unfortunate but a true political party cannot work against itself. So, I want to advise that they reconcile and relax their differences. The truth is that a party that is divided among it can never stand.”

Okorocha further stated that, “I have said this earlier, APC is a party that we hurriedly put together when we were governors because we felt that the government at that time was not living up to expectation and we wanted to make sure that we brought about change at that time.

“That is why we came together and formed the All Progressives Congress and we ensured that the party got power in 2015. That was how it was then and we achieved that.

“Right now, I think we should continue with the same pace that we started with in 2015 election but that does not seem to be the case. President Muhammadu Buhari gave character to APC. He brought his integrity to bear on the party. He made the party what it is in the northern part of the country and the masses of the North who saw him as a true leader, and we all rode on that to achieve that victory, but after the credibility of Buhari into this party, there seem to be no alternative in the same manner that will drive this party to 2023 victory.

“This is why I expressed my concern that if we are not very careful, APC might go with Buhari in 2023, and that will be a very unfortunate situation for the founding fathers of APC. The party needs to show purposeful leadership, show character,” Okorocha said.

Senator Okorocha, who is the Senate Committee Chairman on Culture and Tourism, also urged the federal government to be more practical on its policy on border closure, pointing out the need to monitor smuggling of goods from illegal borders in the bushes around neighbouring countries, adding, “I think border closure means that we should begin to look inward on better ways to feed ourselves. By creating that kind of atmosphere, people will now begin to understand why we should be self-reliant and ensure food security.

A recent claim by the Nigeria Customs Service that it seized 33 containers of rice from Masters Energy, whereas the seizure was made in 2016 shows that several other claims of seizures made by the service over the years leave much to be desired, writes Eromosele Abiodun

As customary to Nigeria’s security services, the Nigeria Customs Service paraded containers of rice it claimed to have seized last October. Customs’ Comptroller-General, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), while parading 54 containers of spoilt rice and other commodities, including fake pharmaceutical products and vegetable oil worth about N2.7 billion in Lagos, said: “One significant finding about this seizure is that all the rice have expired or about to expire.”

The retired army colonel claimed the rice was re-bagged as local products, though they were from China and Thailand.

A closer look at the bags shows that they bore Masters Energy with GRA Ikeja, Lagos and another, Dr. Chang by Yunfei International Trading Co Limited in Jabi, Abuja as companies and addresses, respectively.

However, as the dust had yet to settle over the claim by the customs that 33 of the 54 containers were rotten rice, the issue drew the ire of industry stakeholders and observers, who maintained that the rice was seized in 2016 and had rotten in custody.

Ali had while addressing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday stated that 33 containers of expired and spoilt rice, alongside 11 containers of unregistered pharmaceutical products, two containers of used tires, four containers of refined vegetable oil in retail packs, were seized at the Tin-Can Island ports by the Tin-Can Customs Command.

Masters Energy Commodities Trading Limited and others would be investigated over connections to the seized expired bags of rice, he had threatened.

Ali stated that in all, 54 containers comprising of 15 by 40ft and 39 by 20ft containers with a duty paid value of N2,713,865,051.00 were seized in line with the provisions of the Customs & Excise Management Act (CEMA) Cap C45 LFN 2004 section 46 and 161.

“One significant finding of this seizure is that all the rice are expired or about to expire. Also remarkable is the seizures of Tramadol variants and unregistered performance-enhancing drugs among the pharmaceutical.

“You will recall that in the past, the service has raised the alarm and drew the attention of the general public to the fact that most of the imported rice is expired.

“Some of the rice allegedly imported from overseas had Nigerian addresses, and the service will be going after these addresses to investigate their connections to the importation of these expired rice. Some of the addresses include Masters Energy Commodities Trading Limited located at 31A, Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos and 103, Ebitu Ukiwe Street, Jabi, Abuja. We will be going after these addresses and investigating their connections with these expired bags of rice in 33 containers.

“I want to commend officers and men of the Tin-Can Island Port Command of the NCS for a job well done. I am also aware of the commands contribution to the Service revenue collection drive. Statistics in my office shows the command has so far collected N286,742,551,443.00 from January 2019 till date. I, therefore, urge the Command to keep up the good work and possibly surpass its target,” explained the Customs boss.


Seizure That Never Was

However, a source in Masters Energy told THISDAY that the product was impounded in 2016, wondering what the Customs hoped to achieve by parading same items as imported spoilt goods three years later.

THISDAY learnt that Masters Energy Commodity Trading Limited had without being compelled to, petitioned the House Committee on Customs Excise and Tariff, that its agent made false declaration in order to cut tariff for the 30 containers of rice. It had also indicated willingness to pay but the NCS curiously turned down their request.

The letter, signed by the then Managing Director, Mr. Chukwudi Otigba, said: “Sometimes in May 2016, we entered into a business transaction with a Thailand company known as Asia Inter Trade Rice Export Co Limited, for the importation of 30 containers of Thai Parboiled Rice to be delivered at the Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos as contained in the bill of laden.

“We contracted Destiny Impex Limited, a clearing company registered and licensed by customs with registration number…. As our clearing agent to clear the 30 containers of rice in accordance with Customs tariff and classifications.”

During the parade of the seized containers last week, Ali neither mentioned when the consignment was intercepted nor who imported the rice, as all efforts to ascertain the date of interception proved abortive.

This, analysts asserted, was deliberately done to make it look like the closure of the border was yielding positive results.

In a swift response to Customs’ claims, lawyer to Masters Energy, Monday Ubani, said there was no truth in Ali’s claims.

Ubani stated, “I do not know how many of you listened to this piece of news yesterday in various television channels and radio stations where the Comptroller General, Retired Col Ahmed Ali, showed 54 containers of spoilt rice and other commodities including fake pharmaceutical products and vegetable oil allegedly worth 2.7 billion Naira in Lagos.

According to him “One significant finding about this seizure is that all the rice have expired or about to expire”. The retired army colonel said that the rice was re-bagged as local ones even they were coming all the way from China and Thailand. There is no single truth in what Col. Ahmed Ali was trying to make the whole world to believe in the said press conference.

“If you Google, you will find out that sometime in 2016 it was widely reported in the news that about 30 containers of rice belonging and imported by Masters Energy Commodity Trading Limited through Nigerian port, Tin Can Island, Apapa were impounded for failure to pay the correct tariff when clearing them by the Customs’ licensed agent. It was even reported that Masters Energy then petitioned the House Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff that its agent Messrs Destiny Impex Limited, a clearing company registered and licensed by the Customs made a false declaration in order to cut tariffs for the 30 containers of rice.

“The company indicated willingness to pay the correct tariff as the agent was paid full money but decided to cut down the tariffs in order to avoid paying full value of the tariffs. This request was turned down and the company was later informed through anonymous source that the same rice had been shared to the internally displaced persons’ homes in northern Nigeria. It is important we point out here that this parboiled rice was purchased from Thailand from a company known as Asia Inter Trade Rice Export Co, Limited with a disclosed address and there is bill of lading to that effect.”

He disclosed further that the quantity the company imported were 60 containers but 30 containers were seized due to the under declaration by the agent while the remaining 30 containers arrived later at the port by which time the federal government had put rice as one of the famous 41 Items that will not enjoy forex of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Because of the policy the remaining 30 containers remained uncleared and abandoned.
Ubani added: “We have letter from Customs Authority asking Masters Energy to seek the approval of Central Bank of Nigeria before they could clear the remaining rice. These events took place in 2016.

“The issues begging for questions really with this emergency press briefing by the retired colonel are as follows: Why was it convenient for the Comptroller General to withhold the date of the said interception? These containers belonging to Masters Energy was impounded since 2016.

“What point did the comptroller-ceneral of Customs want to achieve by this emergency press briefing in 2019 over a seizure that was made in 2016 and already in the news? Is it to prove to the gullible Nigerians that Nigerian Customs Service that is under ‘heavy fire’ for its excesses is really working and saving Nigeria’s economy?

“What was also intended to be achieved by saying that the rice has expired or about to expire when it failed to disclose when the seizure was done and whether the life span of rice was supposed to be forever?”

Continuing, he said, “That Nigeria should clap for the comptroller-general, who has wasted such quantity of rice that should have been donated to the internally displaced people in Nigeria, who are dying of hunger every day? Why do we choose to run government by sheer propaganda in this Internet age where lies and falsehood can easily be detected by discernible minds?”


Controversy Galore

The NCS seems to like controversy. This is because before the disputed seizure was announced last week, a directive by the customs management in Abuja had unsettled shipping agents and stakeholders in the maritime sector,
The CG of Customs had recently directed that 100 percent examination should be conducted on cargoes destined for inland ports in the country including the Kaduna Inland Dry Port (KIDP).

He said: “All importation are to be unsealed, opened, examined to ascertain the contents and resealed before exiting the mother port. Such consignment shall be escorted by the FOU Escort Personnel to their various destinations without compromise.”

But shippers and importers in the country, who have benefited from the services of these inland ports, especially KIDP, raised concerns over the order saying it negates international best practices.

The stakeholders, which also include freight forwarders, asserted that the directive would amount to multiple screening or examination of cargoes meant for the inland ports since officials of federal agencies such as the NCS are also at the dry ports to carry out proper examination of the cargoes.

Speaking on the matter, the President of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Tony Uju Nwabunike, cautioned the NCS, saying that such a directive will affect trade facilitation.

He said: “I think we (ANLCA) should look into the principles and guidelines that cover transit cargoes to see if it is proper, but we will send a position to the government through the Customs on the issue.

We think if there is any reason to take that decision, they should go through the principles of import guidelines as they affect dry ports.

“So many of our members that are into exports have said if that is the case, there is no need for a second examination of cargoes. The Customs, from the grapevine, said they just want to open to know what is inside the containers and re-seal them. But whichever way it is, it will be much clearer in a number of days now.”

A fresh twist to the impact of the border closure by the Federal Government emerged last night as investigations revealed that suspected thieves have started descending on trapped lorries-load of goods, trapped at some of the major border points across the country, including that of Cotonu, Benin Republic.

Findings by this newspaper revealed that these suspected thieves reportedly took advantage of the continuous closure of the borders to perpetrate the heinous crime, since most of the goods cannot be conveyed to their final destinations. It was further learnt that the development has further heightened fears in the minds of some of the businessmen and women whose goods are trapped at the borders as some told this newspaper that their inability to the transport their goods to their respective destinations had made them incur huge losses and debt.

The traders maintained that the huge losses, which run into millions of naira, had also made some of the financial institutions, which obliged them loan facilities, to run their businesses prior to the border closure, to now resort to running after them, since most of them have defaulted in the repayment of the money borrowed to execute such businesses.

The Federal Government had on August 19, announced the closure of all land borders across the country to help check the increasing incidences of smugglings of “prohibited goods and services” across the country. The action, according to the government, is to assist it, among other reasons, check the smuggling of rice, cars, petroleum products, human trafficking, and other goods which are being smuggled from neighbouring countries, especially Benin Republic among others.

While the government order is receiving mixed reactions among Nigerians across the country, statutory agencies saddled with the task of checking these arbitrary practices, such as the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), appear to be discharging the presidential directive with all sense of responsibility.

There were reports of remarkable improvement in government’s revenue profile, according to the NCS helmsman, Col. Hammed Ali (rtd), who said his agency was raking in close to N5 billion on a daily basis, while others on the divide, such as the manufacturing sector believe the effect of the border closure was impacting on their businesses with the sum of N2 billion been lost every day since the action commenced.

However, Saturday Telegraph gathered further that the inability to get the true identity of the suspected thieves had made the whole issue complex, thereby aggravating the lamentations of these traders, who argued that the continuous closure of the borders further impoverish them since their goods are stuck at the borders.

One of the traders, who deals on tomato pastes, sugar, butter, vegetable oil among others, told Saturday Telegraph that as at the lost count, most of his goods which were trapped at the Seme border, have been stolen since there were no security checks for the trucks. The trader, who could not stomach his disdain and frustration, said he was at a loss as to the next line of action, given the fact that he was hugely indebted to a micro-finance bank, which availed him with a N15 million loan facility.

“I am finished. The bank I obtained loan from is after me. Every minute, my telephone rings and the next thing I hear is when are you paying our money. I didn’t envisage this,” the trader, who pleaded anonymity, told this reporter. He added: “ Our goods that trapped at the border are being stoln by thieves who take advantage of the situatin to further inflict pains on us. Even if the borders are opened today, it may take a long time before some of us recover and that is if some will ever reover from this mess.”

Collaborating this, another trader who identified herself simply as Mrs. Oluyomi, said about 120 bags of rice, which were supposed to have been ‘transported’ to her in Ijeshatedo, were stuck at the border but what baffled her was that when she called to know the state of her goods, she was told the bags (rice) had been stolen with only 15 bags left.

On hearing this, she said she didn’t know when she collapsed even though she is hypertensive and diabetic and a widow with five children with the last child aged four. According to her, she is using a the popular Micro- Finance scheme to run the business, which has already cast doubt on her ability to be able to offset the huge debt or not.

“Everyday, I sit at home to bemoan my fate. What is the net thing to do…I do not know? Even though the goods have been stolen, how will I repay the debt is what I don’t know,” she lamented.

However, the case of one Modupe Ilori, which appeared to be more pathetic as she told Saturday Telegraph that she collected a loan facility to buy goods worth over N80 million from Cotonu, barely one week before the borders were closed. She noted that the goods were yet to be delivered to her, courtesy of the border closure. “They (bank) are after me.

The bank, which gave me the loan has started chasing me to collect its money. I just don’t know what to do,” she cried out. While these traders appear helpless in the wake of the development, investigations by this newspaper revealed that these traders have resorted to “spiritual” campaign to the appropriate authorities to look into the issue with a view to addressing the challenges that have stalled the re-opening of the borders.

A concerned trader, who identified himself simply as Shehu told Saturday Telegraph that the huge debts incurred by these traders would have a spiral effect on the economy as most of the goods may lose the economic value. He added that, “should we continue to hurt ourselves in the name of border closure when the economy is in tatters? What is the market value of the policy? To me, this is not addressing the real issue the way it should be.”

The dust recently raised by the sharing formula of the job slots allegedly allocated to the Senate by the board of Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS) appears to have settled temporarily with a promise that aggrieved senators will be compensated with impending slots from other federal government agencies.

A dependable source at the upper chamber of the National Assembly informed SENTRY that new job slots meant for the Senate would soon arrive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) with assurance by the Senate leadership that aggrieved members will be “settled”.

The source , who described the sharing of job slots among senators as a tradition, however, said the aggrieved senators have insisted the sharing formula for the job slots must be made clear unlike what happened in the lopsided sharing of those of the FIRS.

The source added that only 40 job slots were given to the Senate by FIRS, contrary to the 100 that was earlier reported. The Senate President Alhaji Ahmad Lawan, it was learnt, got 23 of the slots contrary to the 26 reported; the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, got three, while the remaining slots were shared among the principal officers. With more slots to follow, those who were unhappy that they were sidelined during the last job bonanza are patiently waiting.

By Balarabe Alkassim, Clement A. Oloyede, Ronald Mutum (Abuja) & Abdullateef Aliyu


Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Army yesterday expressed reservations about the Operation Positive Identification which the military begins nationwide today.

The lawmakers had earlier called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the army not to embark on the exercise by which Nigerians are required to move about with means of identification.

But the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-General Tukur Buratai, yesterday told the lawmakers that Buhari and the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, were in support of the operation.

He said first launched in the northeast in September, would be conducted nationwide to intercept Boko Haram insurgents who had relocated from their enclaves to other parts of the country.

Buratai, represented by the Head of Civil-Military Affairs, Army Headquarters, Major-General U.S Usman, noted that the exercise would not involve movement of troops or their presence in communities. Rather, he emphasised, it is a special operation fused into ongoing operations.

He repeated that the operation did not involve mounting of checkpoints or military incursions into communities.

According to him, it is an intelligence-based operation to intercept insurgents and other criminal elements relocating from the army’s theatres of operations to other parts of the country.

He said the precarious situation of the nation prompted the army to initiate various operations to tackle the security challenges facing the country.

He said soldiers had been deployed to 34 states of the federation owing to the spate of insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other crimes.

He noted that the army does not operate in isolation, but always works with other security agencies in its operations.

According to him, if the army arrests criminals, it hands them over to the police except for insurgents detained and profiled by the army depending on the situation.

The committee chairman, Abdulrazak Namdaz, said the House was concerned with the issue of identification during the operations which, he said, was not in the purview of the army but should have been left for the police, the Nigerian Immigration Service and other security agencies.

“It cannot take effect from tomorrow (today). We have actually told them that this thing requires sensitisation, will require a lot of media work, press conferences and Nigerians need to be fully informed; we will talk to relevant authorities to see that this thing is shifted in terms of identification,” he said.

A member of the committee, Ahmed Jaha, said though the need for the operation was understandable, its concept and approach should be adjusted since it was being extended to other areas outside the main theatres of operations.

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has sued the army and the Attorney-General of the Federation over the army’s planned Operation Positive Identification (OPI) across the nation.

In the suit, which also joined the Chief of Army Staff as respondent and filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos on October 25, Falana prayed for an order of the court stopping the army from going ahead with the OPI.

He told the court that the planned nationwide operation scheduled for November 1 to December 23, 2019, “is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.”

He argued that going by Section 217(1) of the Constitution, the Nigerian President could only deploy the armed forces for the suppression of insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore law and order. But that “There is no insurrection in every part of the country which the Nigeria police cannot contain to warrant the deployment of armed troops all over the country from November 1, 2019 to December 23, 2019.”

Falana therefore urged the court to declare that the army is not empowered to take over police duties.

Also reacting yesterday, a former Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olabode George, described the operation as “totally wrong footed, dangerous, unprecedented, a flagrant assault upon constitutional democracy.”

Raheem Ibrahim



LAGOS – The alleged defilement scandals bedeviling a popular Pentecostal Church, Mount Zion Prayer And Deliverance Ministry, Ijegun, Lagos State has caused a big crisis among church members as some support the accused Pastor while others against.

The lingering crisis was due to the continued Police detention of their hitherto respected Prophet and General Overseer, Prophet Dickson Ayooluwa Ajigbare, over the allegations of impregnating and abortions carried out on a 13-year-old girl, named Abigail (surname with held), who happens to be one of his members daughter.

The popular clergyman is also facing accusations of defiling 15 other underage daughters of his members, whose ages were given as between 5 years to 22 years old.

It was gathered that since Friday last week, Prophet Dickson has been facing a difficult task, trying to convince Police Investigators at Ikotun Police Division, Lagos State, that he knew nothing about the allegations.

When our correspondent visited the Church premises located at No. 21 Irawo Owuro Street, Ijegun, Lagos, it was obvious that the crisis has taken its toll on the church activities, as members appear to have deserted all church programmes, while the church building was under lock.

However, at the Police station there was clear evidence of disunity and divided loyalty among the members. While one camp was busy contributing money for his release from detention, the other camp who insisted their Prophet must face prosecution for the alleged crimes, were busy providing evidence and bringing more victims of the said defilement, including a new survivor named Deborah.

Dickson’s journey to the police cell started on Friday, October 18th, 2019, following a complaint of child molestation reported at the Family Support Unit, Ikotun Police Division, by one Mrs. Toyin Abodunrin, mother of a 5-year-old girl, victim of alleged defilement.

Toyin, who claimed to be an Evangelist and Resident worker in the Prophets Church, was brought to the police station by a Non–Governmental Organization (NGO), Precious Eyes Foundation, a member of Child Advocate And Vulnerable Persons Network Of Nigeria.

Confirming the allegations against the Prophet, Leader of the NGO, Mrs Precious Ndukwu, told our correspondent that the embattled Cleric has allegedly defiled 15 little girls in the church and impregnated and aborted one Abigail three times.

Ndukwu, noted that initial efforts to arrest the Prophet from his church and house was unsuccessful, after which he voluntarily honoured police invitation with two of his lawyers.

However, the Prophet in a telephone conversation with our correspondent before his detention denied all the allegations.

Meanwhile, Toyins’ 5-year-old daughter in her statement narrated how the Prophet removed her pant and penetrated her private part in the church, when her mother had gone to work.

Collaborating her daughter’s evidence, Toyin confirmed that the medical test conducted on her, indicated that she was no longer a virgin, due to the alleged defilement by the Prophet.

“He took the advantage of our living in the church premises, to defile my daughter. We usually leave for work in the morning and return in the evening.

“When I discovered this evil act on my daughter, I raised the alarm but many Church members and pastors came pleading with me to forgive, but when I now realised that my daughter was not the only child defiled by the Prophet, I decided to take action “, Toyin said.

As at the time of going to press, Prophet Dickson was still cooling off his heels inside cell.

Attempts to get the comments of the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, CSP Emmanuel Onah, was not successful, as he was said to be away on official assignment.

However, reliable police source, said that the Prophet would be charged to court at the conclusion of investigation.

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says the implementation and targets of the economic and recovery growth plan (ERGP) has been at risk since 2017 because of underfunding.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) peer-learning event, Ahmed said the federal government had recorded 42% revenue shortfall as at June 30.

“Regarding the 2019 budget, as at 30th June, the actual aggregate revenue as per our fiscal accounts was N2.04 trillion, indicating a revenue shortfall of 42%, due to underperformance of both oil and non-oil revenue targets,” Ahmed, represented by Israel Igwe, a director in the ministry, said.

“Similar revenue shortfalls have been experienced since 2017, when the ERGP was launched, resulting in serious deviations from our targeted revenue and expenditure projections.
“We currently have a pervasive revenue generation problem that must change to successfully finance our development plans.

“Speaking to the facts, our current revenue to GDP of 8% is sub-optimal and a comparison of oil revenue to oil GDP and non-oil revenue to non-oil GDP performance reveals the significant area that requires immediate and dire intervention as the non-oil sector.”

Although the minister said there is a need to build fiscal buoyancy through domestic revenue, she admitted that the incentives given to companies are constraining the fiscal space.

“Nigeria, when compared with peers, shows that we are lagging on most revenue streams including VAT and excise revenues as we not only by far have, one of the lowest VAT rates in the world but weak collection efficiencies”
“So also, do we have a lot of incentives and deductions that further constrain the fiscal space that is given in the hope of stimulating the growth of our industries and to reduce hardship for the poor and vuInerable”

“The key question is why do we keep performing poorly? And what can we do differently this time to effectively turnaround without any relapse even in successive governments?

“Simply put, we have very low effective tax rates, archaic tax laws that are not evolving at commensurate pace with businesses, leakages in our revenue collection systems, low tax compliance rates and poor tax morale to mention a few.

“With numerous complex issues at hand, Nigeria must do things differently which requires robust, tough, well-coordinated and multi-faceted reforms.”

Also speaking at the event, Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank country director, urged the government to invest in both human and infrastructural development, noting that the investments would require a lot of revenue that Nigeria does not have enough of.

“Raising Nigeria’s GDP is important because it will ultimately lift Nigerians out of poverty,” Chaudhuri said.

“The role of government is to do two things, invest in Nigeria people, that is the youths, the children, health care, education, social protection and two is to invest in infrastructure which requires revenue.

“But right now, Nigeria does not have enough of it, most of the investments will come at the state level. the best measure of development is of a country is not per capita GDP, but the quality of the services that the sub national government provide.”

Chaudhuri stressed the need for sub-national government to deliver on its promises and expectations of citizens.

by Taiwo Adebulu



While Nigeria is still struggling to untie the legal knots around the controversial P&ID gas and supply processing agreement (GSPA), another sloppy deal has boxed the country into a tight corner, TheCable can report.

A gas supply agreement (GSA) between the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Ltd and Accugas Ltd has gone sour, forcing the federal government to keep paying over $10 million monthly with or without gas supply to the Calabar Electricity Generation Company (CEGC) Ltd by Accugas.

The GSA has a take-or-pay obligation of 803 of the daily 104.8mmscf/day of gas and is backed by World Bank partial risk guarantee (PRG) as payment security.

If Nigeria is reported for defaulting in payment, the country’s credit rating will not only be downgraded, the $118 million sovereign guarantee will be called in, thereby putting the nation’s foreign assets at risk.

Although this is nowhere near the calamitous $9 billion award to P&ID by a London commercial court — currently being challenged by the federal government — there will still be questions as to how Nigeria persistently enters into agreements that are apparently skewed against the country.

One question that industry watchers have been asking is: why did Nigeria proceed to sign the PRG in spite of the objections raised by virtually every party involved — excluding, of course, Accugas but including the World Bank itself?


WHAT IS THE AGREEMENT?

On December 8, 2011, NDPHC signed the GSA with Accugas Ltd for gas supply to the 561MW Calabar power station — one of power projects under the national integrated power project (NIPP) initiated by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 under the power sector reform.
Accugas was to supply 131MMSCF of natural gas per day to Calabar, which will in turn generate electricity for supply to the national grid.

As payment security for the gas, the GSA provided for a “take-or-pay” obligation on NDPHC, owners of the Calabar GenCo, backed by a World Bank partial risk guarantee (PRG).
That means whether or not Calabar takes gas from Accugas, NDPHC will pay for it.


WHAT COMPLICATIONS AROSE?

Originally, gas was to be supplied to the Calabar GenCo by Addax Petroleum from its offshore Adanga field, but there was a breakdown in negotiations between Addax and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) joint venture (JV) while the 107km gas pipeline from the Adanga field to the Calabar plant was being constructed.

Because Addax and NNPC JV could not sign their own gas development agreement (GDA), the Chinese company notified NDPHC that it could not meet the deadline to supply gas to the Calabar plant, which was at the time nearing completion.

Addax said even if the GDA was signed and the development of the field started, it would still take three years to get the gas to Calabar.

According to documents seen by TheCable, it was at this stage that NDPHC decided to approach Accugas –a consortium of Frontier Oil Ltd, Seven Energy and Accugas Ltd — as an alternative arrangement to get Calabar up and running.

Accugas also had operations close to the Calabar plant and was already supplying gas to Ibom Power Station and UNICEM.

It would only have to build a dedicated pipeline from its processing plant to join NDPHC’s planned onshore pipeline segment at Oron, Akwa Ibom state.


DEVIL IN THE DETAILS

After the necessary approvals from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), NDPHC entered into the 20-year GSA with Accugas in 2011, with NDPHC and Calabar as the buyers and Accugas as the sellers.

The GSA was an omnibus deal with several components usually described as “side letters”, notably the account charge agreement and direct agreement.

In what it argued then as the need to prevent further delays in obtaining letters of credit for construction, testing and commissioning of its facilities, Accugas developed side agreements with alternative payment security.

This was to make NDPHC as the guarantor of Accugas’ loans and, curiously, bring in the lenders as parties to the GSA — even though it was Accugas, not NDPHC, that was taking the credit.


RAISING THE RED FLAG

In June 2013, NDPHC, through Mohammed Mahmud, the company secretary and legal adviser, forwarded the initial GSA and the “side” agreements to Mohammed Bello Adoke, then attorney-general of the federation, for review before execution.

Adoke advised NDPHC not to sign the agreements because the terms were skewed against the country, maintaining that they should be reviewed to protect the interest of the government subject to an “express approval” from the board of directors.

Curiously, again, Mahmud wrote back to Adoke on September 12, 2013 saying “all draft agreements connected to the gas supply by Accusgas, including Direct Agreement and the Account Charge Agreement, have been extensively amended to make it clear in every instance that the security granted to Accusgas is limited to the funds they are entitled to be paid as the gas seller”.

Mahmud also asked Adoke to direct the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) “to execute the Payment Security Agreement [which] has been with them for a while without response despite His Excellency, the Vice President’s directive that they execute the agreement immediately”.

The vice-president at the time was Namadi Sambo, who was by law the chairman of NDPHC and also of the NIPP.

Adoke responded again, in a memo dated October 4, 2013, saying the amended agreement “in reality puts the Contractor (NDPHC) in the position of the Borrower’s (Accugas) financial surety as well as its guarantor for performance under the GSA, thereby effectively transferring to the Contractor obligations that customarily should be borne by the Borrower”.

He said in view of the reasons he listed in his two-page letter, “it is my considered opinion that the execution of the Agreements is not in the interest of the Contractor (NDPHC/CEGE)… I am therefore unable to consent to the Draft Agreements”.

In November 2013, the managing director of NDPHC, James Olotu, wrote to Adoke saying all the agreements had been reviewed and changes made to protect the country, but Adoke wrote back that the “securitization agreements” allowed Accugas to draw down on funds provided by NDPHC in the designated accounts and that the issues he raised had not been sufficiently addressed.

In all, the renegotiation of the agreements took about three years, the touchy issue being the payment security in the “side” agreements.
However, by 2014, NDPHC had completed the construction of the Calabar plant.

With the station facing idleness, NDPHC/CGCL and Accugas signed an interim gas sales agreement for gas supply.


NEW LEASE OF LIFE?

In 2015, Accugas was offered what was supposed to be a new life with the World Bank PRG under the Nigerian Electricity and Gas Improvement Project (NEGIP) facility granted to the country.

While this would address concerns over the previous agreements that would have put the repayment burden on NDPHC, the PRG could open up Nigeria as a sovereign entity to possible international consequences in the event of a default.

More so, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) and NDPHC were not comfortable with the new arrangement.
NBET is the body that buys power from the generating companies through power purchase agreements (PPAs) and sells to the distribution companies through vesting contracts.

Documents seen by TheCable revealed that both bodies pointed out adverse liquidity challenges in the Nigeria electricity supply industry which would affect the performance of the payment obligation under the GSA.

In a November 21, 2016 memo to Marilyn Amobi, the NBET managing director, Ade Ipaye, the deputy chief of staff in the office of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, expressed disappointment that despite the signing of the PRG at the state house on November 3, 2016, NBET was yet to endorse three “vital documents” — (1) the GSA and related deed of amendment (2) the support agreement and (3) the reimbursement and credit agreement.

Reminding her that the minister of finance, then Kemi Adeosu, and the World Bank had signed the agreement, Ipaye said Osinbajo had “directed that all stakeholders work together assiduously on sorting out all outstanding disputes and execute the required documents no later than the 24th November 2016. Copies of the executed documents should also be sent to the office of the Vice President by the 25th November 2016”.

Ipaye attached a copy of the complaint sent to Osinbajo by Philip Iheanacho, the CEO of Seven Energy International, a member of the Accugas consortium, over the delay in signing the PRG.


AMOBI STANDS HER GROUND

In her response to Ipaye, dated November 28, 2016, Amobi said NBET had signed its own portions of the support agreements and the reimbursement and credit agreement — it is not a party to the GSA — but warned that there was trouble ahead.

According to her, NBET was worried about the “sustainability of the transaction”, pointing out such issues as “the near insolvency situation of the electricity market, the absent immediate market liquidity solution”.

She said NBET and NDPHC would not be able to honour the associated financial obligations to Accugas under the “take-or-pay” GSA.

“The transaction is only sustainable if the distribution companies are fully settling their invoices by NBET for the electricity delivered at their respective grid supply points (GSPs). The electricity market is currently collecting less than 25% of the aggregated invoices,” she said.

She also warned that except “very significant improvements are made in revenue collection and remittances by DisCos, the entire remittances currently received by NBET would barely be sufficient to pay for gas volumes to run the five GE Frane 9E gas turbines at Calabar. This has serious implications not only for other GenCos but for the other seven (7) NIPP plants in commercial operation”.

In other words, the entire revenue from electricity in the country was not enough to pay Accugas for gas supply to Calabar GenCo alone, much less those of the other GenCos, both government-owned and private.

She warned that given the financial state of the industry, “it is reasonable to assume that NDPHC/NBET will default in paying for the gas and Accugas Ltd will definitely draw on the Letter of Credit to be established with JP Morgan Chase, consequently causing the downgrading of Nigeria’s Sovereign Credit Rating”.

“This would be worsened when eventually JP Morgan Chase calls on the World Bank Partial Risk Guarantee to recover its full exposure in the payment default. The projected monthly default is in the region of US$8m monthly at the current market settlement rate whereas the World Bank has placed the limit on the PRG for this project at US$112Million,” she added.

Despite all the red flags spotted by NBET, NDPHC and even the World Bank over the likelihood that there would be a default, Accugas and the World Bank, in February 2017, approached federal government again with a proposal to sign the PRG agreement.

In May 2017, NDPHC was cleared to sign the PRG by Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation.

Osinbajo, as chairman of the board of directors of NDPHC, then gave the anticipatory approval for the signing of the PRG, sending it for another endorsement by President Muhammadu Buhari who was on medical leave in the UK. Osinbajo was the acting president.


AND NOW, TROUBLE KNOCKS ON THE DOOR…

The project is now facing challenges on several fronts — as a result of the inability of the Transmission Company of Nigeria to transport power from the Calabar plant because of capacity issues and others because of low tariffs in the country which are not cost-reflective.
NDPHC had managed to pay Accugas under the N701 billion power intervention fund of the federal government which terminated in December 2018.

After that, it began to default and the federal government had to start making payments of over $10 million monthly to prevent the activation of the default clause by Accugas.

TheCable understands that since the amended GSA became effective, TCN has been dispatching power at a very low level — a situation that means less use of gas even though NDPHC must continue to pay in full under the take-or-pay obligation in the GSA.

While Calabar itself does not have issues, TCN could only take 70MW instead of the capacity of 115MW of each turbine. The turbines have a total capacity of 561MW.

As a result, the turbines have been regularly required to shut down and start up, with loads lowered or raised frequently as requested by TCN but outside of the technical limits stipulated by the manufacturers, TheCable understands.

These incidents have increased maintenance costs incurred by NDPHC and are beginning to impact on the efficiency of the plants.
NDPHC has been groaning under low tariff, making it virtually impossible to meet its financial obligations.

According to insiders at the ministry of power, the generation tariff of N18 per kilowatt hour (kWh) paid by NBET for the NDPHC plants is among the lowest of all centrally-dispatched gas thermal plants in the country. NBET pays other gas-fired plants N23/kWh.

NBET has refused to enter into a PPA with NDPHC because Calabar is still government-owned and until it is privastised, it is not entitled to a fully commercial power purchase agreement that would have boosted its tariff revenue.


ANY WAY OUT?

TheCable understands that the federal government is worried over the developments.
NDPHC was, at a point, indebted to Accugas to the tune of $70 million, but there is an outstanding of $30 million after the ministry of power had stepped in to settle some of the claims.

A possible solution, according to industry experts, is for NDPHC to raise at least $10 million from its current revenue to offset part of the cost in the hope that the federal government will raise the balance of $30 million to pay off Accugas.

TheCable understands that all options are now being weighed as the sloppy deal weighs heavily on Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Nigeria must continue to pay the full current gas bill of over $10 million monthly to Accugas, failing which JP Morgan Chase may call in the PRG.

Two safety agencies of Lagos State Government on Monday discovered five containers laden with rotten fish and other edibles in Apapa area of the state .

The News Agency of Nigeria learnt that the shocking discovery was made during a site inspection of the containers following reports of air pollution and release of toxic gas into the environment at one of the off -dock terminals in Apapa .

NAN gathered that the site inspection was conducted jointly by Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and
Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency .

“ The joint- team discovered edibles , including fish , which had become rotten due to faulty refrigerators .

“ The LASEMA team observed the absence of emergency action as well as preparedness plan and appropriate safety measures in place to curtail such incidence and guard against recurrence.

“ A total number of 25 containers was located and five containers laden with edibles have faulty refrigerators .

“ The edibles have therefore defrosted and have become rotten, causing severe health hazard to the environment , ” Dr Olufemi Oke -Osanyintolu , LASEMA Director General, told NAN on Monday .

The LASEMA boss said that the rotten edibles inside the containers left huge impact on four of the affected 13 houses located on the street at Trinity Close, Apapa .
( NAN )

By Collins Nweze



The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) are working for the application of remittance processes to ensure the seamless collection of stamp duty charges for PoS.

Many filing stations and supermarkets are already adding the new fee to the customer’s purchases.

To avoid dispute with its customers, filling stations have pasted notices on their pumps.
In a notice to its customers, a filling station official said: “N50 Stamp Duty Charge on PoS Transactions. Folliwing the CBN directive of September 17, 2019 to charge applicable taxes and duties on individual electronic transcations, all Hayden Retail Stations shall henceforth charge N50 extra on all PoS transactions from N1, 000.”

Before now, the fee paid by merchants on the aggregate PoS transactions carried out on a particular period, which was never passed to customers.

The extra charge on customer’s transaction followed a CBN’s directive to banks to charge N50 Stamp Duty on individual transactions, rather than merchants’ accounts.

The directive on the Unbundling of Merchant Settlement Amounts was contained in the CBN circular to banks, processors and switches, titled: “Review of Process for Merchants Collections on Electronic Transactions”.

The policy stipulates Stamp Duties Payment on individual transactions that occur on PoS, rather than previous plans where charges occurred on aggregate transactions.

The circular signed by CBN Director, Payments System Management Department, Sam Okojere, authorised banks to unbundle merchant settlement amounts and charge applicable taxes and duties on individual transactions as stipulated by regulators.

Merchant Service Charge was also reviewed downward from 0.75 per cent (capped at N1, 200) to 0.50 per cent (capped at N1, 000).
In a NIBSS report titled: “Returns on Stamp Duty Collection for Merchant Transactions”, the payment agency said the new stamp duty payment plan is in line with the provision of the Stamp Duties Act and Federal Government Financial Regulation 2009.

The policy, it added, was aimed at ensuring strict adherence to the CBN guideline communication on the subject, collection and Remittance of Statutory Charges on receipts to Nigeria postal Service under the Stamp Duties Act dated 15th January 2016.

The procedural processing guide for stamp duty Charges for PoS, web merchant and all deposit money banks (DMBs) should download daily PoS/Web settlement report from their respective processors settlement file transfer portal.

Also, the PoS and web settlement processing officer shall ensure that stamp duties are correctly processed daily by downloading daily PoS/web transactions valued at N1, 000 and above, noting the count of these transactions; multiply the count of these transactions by N50 and pass the corresponding debit/charge to the respective merchant accounts.

The apex bank guideline said: “The debit should be passed to the merchant accounts account at the point of PoS/ Web merchant

Credit/Settlement to mitigate against the inability of the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to successfully secure these daily stamp duties charges and remit as expected.

“These charges are expected to be deposited into the already opened stamp duty collections account at the various DMBs and should form part of the weekly Stamp Duty rendition by the DMBs to NIBSS.”

The NIBSS data showed the total volumes of PoS transactions for 2017 stood at 146.3 million which was worth N1.4 trillion; 285.9 million transactions in 2018 worth N2.3 trillion and 187.7 million for six months- January to June 2019 worth N1.4 trillion.

Eniola Akinkuotu



Governor Babajide Sanwo -Olu of Lagos State says the appellation , ‘ Excellency ’ , should only be used for executive officers who have performed well .

Sanwo - Olu said he was working on an executive order to ensure that a person will be referred to as ‘ Excellency ’ only after doing well .

The governor said this while addressing a congregation at the King ’s Court Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lagos , on Sunday .

The church is headed by Pastor Ben Akabueze , who is also the Director -General of the Budget office and former commissioner to ex -govs Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State .

Addressing the church , Sanwo -Olu said, “ I don ’t want title in front of my name. I am actually going to come up with an executive order . This Excellency thing, I think it is when you have finished and if you earn it , then you should be called Excellency .

“ If you haven ’t earned it , if you haven ’t delivered , there is nothing excellent in the Excellency . You are just Mr Governor for crying out loud and it is only when you have finished the kingdom assignment , when you have finished God’ s work in the chosen place that you have been called to do that people can say in truth that you are a good representation and you deserve to be called ‘Excellency ’.

Sanwo - Olu , who has been governor for five months , has come under intense criticism in the last few weeks over the poor state of roads and public infrastructure in the state as well as the filthy state of Lagos .

The governor appealed to parishioners to be patient , promising to ensure that the roads are repaired after the rains may have subsided .

Tunde Bakare, serving overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly (LRA), has sent a cryptic message to Bourdillon, saying he who stole will vomit all he has stolen before he goes.

Speaking during a sermon at the Latter Rain Assembly on Sunday, Bakare said the people are praising the one who stole from them, and regarding him as a generous man.

The fiery preacher, who also spoke about the race to 2023, added that a truly generous man is a man who “devises generous things, and by generosity, he shall stand”.

“The eyes of those who see will not be dim. The ears of those who hear will listen. Also, the heart of the rash will understand knowledge and the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly,” Bakare said.

“The foolish person would no longer be called generous. You can say ‘so so and so’ has stolen all the money in the state, but he is a very generous man, you are foolish.

“That’s why potholes are killing you, that’s what pools of water… you can’t drive now anymore because what is meant for road has been stolen since democracy began, they are living larger than life having jets here, having jets there, having house in Bourdillon, having house in this place, having house in that place, having house in every place at the expense of the public.

“You will not go without vomiting what you have stolen. Wait, and see. Because a king will reign in righteousness and princes will rule with justice. Unfortunately, Nigeria people, you celebrate your villains and crucify your heroes.”



SPEAKS ON LAGOS FLOOD

Speaking about the floods in Lagos, the convener of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) added that the government has not done right by the people.

“You’re complaining about Flood. Since 1999 the condition of this road for 30 years now since I’ve been here has remained the same. They’ll do patch-patch, join-join, until rain comes and reveal that they have not been right with the people,” Bakare added.

“And you think your children will stand shoulder high above the perversity you have created? I see the race to 2023, congratulations Presidential ‘hope-fools’. You cannot, you have stolen what belong to all.

“You can tell the man, he is a very generous man, he would pay for your hospital bill. Because he didn’t build hospitals. The foolish person will no longer be called generous.

“Woe betides the government that does not know that the purpose of government is the welfare of the people.”

Bakare, who ran alongside President Muhammadu Buhari in 2011, said some people came to him in 2011, and just told him to sign that I would step down after a few days as VP and get a house in Abuja and another one in “Banana Republic”.

Bakare was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) — also known as SSS — in 2002 for his sermons, which were seen as very critical of the government of the day.

Yusuf Alli,




The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has so far interrogated about 50 people as it revs up its probe of the alleged $9billion power project scandal, The Nation gathered last night.

Top on the list of the interrogees are contractors and top government officials including a Permanent Secretary, functionaries of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and those of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Fresh revelations from the probe paint a picture of how contractors and top officials of the NDPHC feasted on about $8.5billion spent on the power project.

Contractors are alleged to have collected huge cash upfront for some projects without doing anything while NDPHC officials hijacked funds meant for compensation to host communities of the projects.

The officials also took humongous bribe sums from many contractors which they allegedly paid into their personal accounts.

Already, the EFCC has traced about N1.5billion to the accounts of an official of NDPHC.
The suspect, who is currently hospitalized, was said to be in charge of paying the compensation which was eventually diverted.

The suspect, according to sources, prostrated before EFCC detectives, and opened up on the list of top directors that benefitted from the cash in his accounts
.
Although some of the NDPHC directors have retired, the EFCC is already going after them.
Besides, the EFCC has grilled officials of three of the four firms so far short listed for investigation on the matter.

The companies are Pivot Engineering Company Limited, Hiquado Limited and Chris-Ejik International Agencies Limited.

The EFCC has summoned the Chairman of Rockson Engineering Company Limited, Mr. Joseph Arumemi Ikhide, whose company got about $2billion of the votes for the power project with only about 40per cent job done.
Ikhide has written to the EFCC saying he has a cardiac challenge.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that although the power probe started about 10 years ago, this is the first time the anti-graft commission has recorded a breakthrough.

Some of the shock findings by detectives border on alleged refurbishing of existing transmission lines after money has been collected for new ones; massive diversion of project funds; outright non-implementation of projects;
The intensity of the probe has made some government officials taking pre-emptive steps to resign or retire.

Some contractors have also volunteered to refund some funds.

A brief obtained by The Nation reads in part: “Based on project status report, we have so far closed in on four companies including Pivot Engineering Company Limited, Hiquado Limited, Chris-Ejik International Agencies Limited and Rockson Engineering Company Limited.

“As for Pivot Engineering Company Limited, it collected the following: N2, 636,660, 463.21 and $31.518, 868.15(Ihovbo Sub-station; N452, 935,050.58 and $5,588,738.16(Ihiala Line Bay Extension). On Ihovbo projects, out of five lots, it completed four remaining one. But at Ihiala axis, out of three projects, one was about 40% completed, another at 20%completion stage and the third at 0%.

“As for Chris-Ejik, it handled Obudu new Sub-Station with 35 % of the job done after being paid N1, 034,292,598.52 and $4,945,087.16. The company complained of Way Leave problem. The same company collected N500million for Lot Trx (Lekki-Ajah /Ota-Ogba-Papalanto. Nothing was done by our investigation but the onus is on the company to come up with proof

“Regarding Hiquado Limited, it executed Ikot Abasi new Sub-Station, Adiabo Sub-Station and Calabar Sub-Station. It got paid as follows: Ikot Abasi( N4,485,695,913.93 and $59,317,649.31) ; Adiabo( N893, 281,533.80 and $7, 811,597.26. The company did well in these two sub-stations. At Ikot Abasi, the company bought materials but could not use because of the existing lines. All the materials will be used.

“But for Calabar EPZ Sub-Station, the completion rate was at 35% because of erosion challenge. The materials were bought but the environmental challenge affected the project. Although these materials had been vandalized, Hiquado Limited has approached the NDPHC to refund the cost of the materials to the agency.”

The EFCC however said Rockson Engineering Company Limited, which received a huge chunk of power project cash (allegedly about $1.5b-$2b) has not gone beyond 30-40 % in the projects it won.

It said all attempts to interact with Chairman of Rockson Engineering Construction Limited, Mr. Joseph Arumemi Ikhide, has failed.

Ikhide’s last contact with the EFCC was on September 26th, 2019 through his lawyer, Mr. Babajide Koku (SAN) claiming that he is abroad for medical treatment.

Notwithstanding, the EFCC insisted that Rockson Engineering has to account for about $1.5billion to $2billion.

The agency’s brief said: “Rockson Engineering Company Limited was the only company awarded both power generation and transmission contracts.

“In respect of generation, the company collected these payments for gas turbines for the following plants: Egbema ( $146, 398,039.39 and N2,097,601,956.89); Gbarain($171,322,997,87 and N2,788, 607,806.23); Omoku ($184,365, 659.02) and N3, 009, 617,903.88); and Alaoji ($752, 940,405.97 and N1, 999, 208, 968.16). Altogether, Rockson has executed about 40% of the generation contracts.”

“Concerning transmission projects managed by Rockson Engineering, it was paid $24, 908, 235.85 and N6,126, 615,461. 05 for Owerri-Alaoji-Omoku-Egbema and Ihiala-Nnewi-Onitsha. All the jobs done were not up to 30%.

“From investigation, it was discovered that part of the cash paid to Rockson Engineering Company Limited was channeled to Rockson International, of which Ikhide is the chairman, to acquire aircraft for Arik Air which has been taken over by Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).”

As at press time, documents showed that the EFCC has been on the trail of Ikhide for interaction.

In a September 17, 2019 to Ikhide, EFCC said: “The commission is investigating a case in which the need to obtain certain clarifications from your organization becomes imperative.
“In view of the above, you are kindly requested to attend an interview with the undersigned, Abubakar Madaki.”

In a September 26, 2019 response to EFCC’s invitation, Ikhide through his counsel, Mr. Babajide Koku said: “We regret to advise that Sir Joseph Arumemi Ikhide is indisposed and currently undergoing medical treatment abroad as such unable to attend interview as stipulated in your letter.

“We have assured that Sir Joseph Arumemi Ikhide will be available to attend the interview as soon as he is well enough to do so.”

An attached letter from BUPA Cromwell Hospital in London said Ikhide was “presented with severe central chest pain and exertion shortness of breath. He has been advised to complete his cardiac investigation.”

The probe of the $16billion power projects had dominated the nation’s national discourse since 2006 until the EFCC team led by its Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu made a breakthrough in the last few weeks.

The anti-graft agency initially closed in on 20 suspects including two former governors and a former chairman of a bank.

But the number of those interrogated has risen to 50 with more high-profile Nigerians on EFCC’s radar.

The list is apart from about 17 companies whose roles in the power contracts will also be investigated.

But those in charge of the projects said only $8.58billion was actually allocated between 2005 and 2018.

The said the breakdown is as follows: $2.2billion from 2005- 2007; $600million in 2008; about $5.37b from 2010/2011 to date; $150m-$200m made available to NNPC by CBN; and about $80million for Ibom Plant.

The $8.58billion was allocated as follows:

*About $4.4billion—Power Plants (5,000MW at less than $1m per Megawatt

*About $2billion for Transmission Lines

*About $1.5billion for 350 distribution projects

*$600million -$700million for gas pipelines

*$80million loan from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for Ibom Power Plant which resulted in an interest-free debenture.

By Romoke W. Ahmad,




The Saraki dynasty no doubt existed and ruled the North-central state of Kwara for many decades through the late Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki’s linage.

The dynasty before now faced a lot of challenges but was able to surmount them and always bounced back without any major defeat.

The late Saraki in 2003 picked his biological son to contest against late Muhammed Lawal, who was at loggerheads with ‘Baba Oloye’ over his style of leadership, which made the latter part ways with him.

The decision of Saraki to bring his son was taken after his followers advised him to nominate his own for the position of governor.

No doubt, Dr. Bukola Saraki got people’s sympathy and support because of his father on one hand and his youthfulness on the other, being under 40 years of age at the time of his election.

The dynasty later suffered an internal crisis when the junior Saraki rounded off his tenure as governor and ‘Baba Oloye’ came up with the idea of his daughter, Gbemisola Saraki, succeeding her brother as governor of the state.

Information has it that Bukola Saraki kicked against it because he wanted the post to be rotated among the three senatorial districts of the state and since he was completing his tenure as a Kwara Central candidate, he supported another candidate from Kwara South which produced Alhaji Abdulfattah Ahmed as the governor to succeed him while Baba moved to another political party with Gbemi.

The issue was later resolved since it was more of a family affair, but Bukola Saraki already took charge of the leadership of the political structure.
From 2011, things started getting out of hand in the area of development of the state, payment of salaries, which threatened the dynasty and resulted in attacks on some political leaders during a Muslim festival at the Eid praying ground, with people hurling insults on Saraki.

The local government election that took place on November 2017 was another pointer to the threat on the Saraki dynasty, which their supporters and even the political leaders didn’t believe could happen.

Those in the opposition claimed to have won most of the local governments but the results were upturned to favour Saraki’s party since they were still in power while permutations continued within and outside the state on how to oust Saraki from political affairs of the state.

The dynasty also suffered huge membership loss when Saraki decamped to the PDP from APC a few months to the 2019 elections. Saraki’s exit from the APC gave different interest groups in Kwara to come together as a force with the assistance of the federal might to lay off the dynasty’s hand in the affairs of the over 50-year-old state.

Kwarans showed their anger against the Saraki dynasty with their votes in the 2019 general elections.

Saraki’s party, the PDP, suffered defeat in the presidential and state assembly elections while the final blow was dealt on the dynasty by voting out Saraki in the NASS election while his candidate for the governorship election also lost.
But despite the losses, some supporters and those who still believe in the Saraki system of leadership have started regrouping and working to ensure that the dynasty not only sustains but bounces back to power in the state and nation.

One of such supporters who spoke to Daily Trust Saturday is the PDP chairman in Ilorin West LGA, Hon. Aminullah Babaopota. He said the Saraki dynasty is still very intact and the supporters are not relenting.

“As you can see I have the chairman of Ilorin East, Ilorin South and Asa Local Government at the mandate constituency office of Dr Bukola Saraki. We are working day and night to sustain the dynasty. We meet at every ward as supporters of the dynasty. What happened during the 2019 election is a test and that had come and gone. The structure is still intact and we have been meeting with elders of the party to resolve some issues.

“We have different groups working to ensure the return of our leader because the dynasty has now gained more sympathy than ever before. The people of the state have started seeing the difference between Saraki’s leadership style and what is happening in the state now. For instance, during the last Muslim festival if we are no longer enjoying people’s support we won’t distribute cows and rams, but we distributed. They came from Saraki and people collected them.

“People still gather at the Ileloke residence of Saraki. We have the women’s groups that usually gather there every Thursday and Friday for prayers and it is still going on. Nothing has changed about the support the dynasty enjoys from the people. We also meet at wards. Stakeholders’ meetings are held there too,” Babaopota said.

Since the last elections, Bukola Saraki was said to have kept off Ilorin for no known reason, but his supporters denied that, saying he had been in Ilorin twice after the election to meet his supporters and even invited some of them to Lagos recently for a meeting where they told him to relax for some time. But they said he has been very eager to come home, but the supporters want him to stay and relax for now.

It was discovered that the dynasty has started taking a review of what happened, the challenges and where they failed and is consulting with some of the people who are aggrieved because of one issue or the other, and making them understand the problem.

Some of them believe that Kwarans are not angry with Saraki but are angry with some individuals who are close to him because some people lament that they are not getting anything but are getting something. The Director-General, ABS Mandate Constituency Office, Alhaji Musa Abdullahi, in his reaction, said despite the fact the Dr. Bukola Saraki is not in power now, he has been up to his responsibilities.

“People still come to this constituency office for empowerment and other assistance and they are being attended to. He did not neglect his people, even though he is no longer in government, he has continued to extend gestures to his people. The dynasty is as strong as it was before.

Without mincing words, no big deal in losing an election. In any competition, there is always a winner and a loser, come 2023, Saraki dynasty will reclaim the mandate,” Abdullahi said.
For Gbemisola Saraki, many believe and support her style of leadership because of her closeness to her father.

But some political analysts in the state say Kwara’s problem is not about an individual, but about the Saraki dynasty, which had subjected the state to hardships with the godfatherism syndrome. The return of the dynasty might also be difficult with the support the APC-led administration is enjoying from the people of the state.

One issue that might, however, favours the dynasty is when the APC-led administration and the party are unable to resolve the internal crisis brewing over the management of the state.

A former speaker of the state House of Assembly during a discussion, said: “We have decided that there will be a peaceful transition, which is happening. We will not at all interfere with the government. It is not that the people voted for the people who won during the election. It is us that people voted out.

They never care about who was on that ballot. It is the government that the people were tired of and booted out. We never had that feeling of disaffection or what we have done wrong. The people have ‘koboko’ (flogged) us. Now we are feeling the pains. We will correct ourselves and appeal to the people that we have changed for another comeback. The dynasty will bounce back.”

As it stands, the Saraki dynasty as the ‘Alpha and Omega’ of political happenings in Kwara may not be too visible, but, there are always Saraki’s hands in the affairs of the state.

Eight persons have been arrested by the police for allegedly selling the meat of the eight cows killed by lightening at Ekan-Ile area of Ikare, Akoko Northeast local government area of Ondo state.

It was gathered that the cows were killed on Tuesday, but instead of disposing them, herdsmen who owned the dead cows roasted them and started selling the meat to unsuspecting butchers in Akoko area.

Meanwhile, the Ondo state government has banned sales of cow meat allegedly struck to death by thunder in Ikare-Akoko.

The Director of Environmental Health Services in Akoko Northeast local government, Mrs Yemisi Adeniyi and her counterpart from Akoko Northwest, Mr Ojo Anthony, said they had arrested some butchers from taking the cow meat to markets.

They cautioned the people of Akoko to stay away from beef in the next few days to avoid consumption of the meat.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Butchers’ Association in Ikare, Mr Kabiru Ismaila said he was working with government’s environmental health officials to ensure such cow meat was not sold in Akoko markets in the next few days.

The Ondo state police command spokesman, Mr Femi Joseph confirmed the arrest of five persons in connection with the alleged sale of the dead cows.

By Hamisu Kabir Matazu

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management & Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Faruq, was turned back from defending the 2020 budget by the joint senate committee on poverty alleviation.

The chairman of the committee, Sen. Lawan Yahaya Gumau, said the action was taken because of the failure of the ministry to provide the committee with the copies of the 2019 budget presentation.

Gumau, who spoke on top of his voice said the committee will no longer tolerate the rude behaviour of the two Special Advisers to President Muhammadu Buhari who accompanied the Minister for the defense session.

“Hon Minister, we know you are new but the two SAs knew very well that 2019 budget must be presented before the 2020. We didn’t persuade them to bring it to the 2019 budget defense. We have tolerated them before and bring ourselves down in the interest of this country,” he said
He rescheduled the session to 10:00am on Monday and warned that all the budget documents must be available to the committee on the appointed date.

“I apologised to the minister because she is new but for the two SAs, I have no apology,” he added.
In her response, the minister apologised to the committee for not providing the hard copy of the 2019 budget.

“The hard copy of 2020 budget submitted earlier was attached with a flash drive that contains the 2019 budget,” she explained.

https://i1.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2019/10/Image-001.jpg?resize=768%2C434&ssl=1

In the afternoon of October 5, Peace Wisdom Ewinchola, a 25-year-old worker at Grand Ibro Hotel in Abuja, reported for work. When he closed late at night, he decided to stay over in one of the rooms used by staff members at the hotel.

By the next morning, colleagues who searched for the worker found his body in Room 122 with his phone by his side, according to official mortuary entry seen by PREMIUM TIMES. The police subsequently ruled Mr Ewinchola’s death as a homicide.

The death has shocked staff at the hotel at Wuse Zone 5, just blocks away from at least three key federal government offices. But the handling of the tragedy by the management of the facility has caused even more alarm and terrified the hotel community amid allegations of an attempt to cover up the killing.

The questions begin with how Mr Ewinchola’s body arrived at the mortuary. PREMIUM TIMES learned the body was kept at the hotel for several hours without the police being informed. When the body eventually arrived the Wuse District Hospital at Zone 3 late at night on October 6, it was accompanied by the hotel’s chief security officer and a man who claimed to be a police inspector. There was no formal police report as is required for such deposits, PREMIUM TIMES learned.

The hotel’s security chief was identified as Sule Onyido while the purported police officer was identified as Stephen Ugbaje, records seen by PREMIUM TIMES showed.

Although there was no formal police entry, hospital officials admitted the body, fulfilled clinical examinations and transferred it to the morgue after all payments had been made.

Hospital workers told PREMIUM TIMES they did not suspect any wrongdoing until a police team arrived days later to make enquiries about the death. PREMIUM TIMES learned someone had alerted homicide detectives with information that Mr Ewinchola’s death was unnatural and the hotel’s handling of it was problematic.

Detectives subsequently found that Mr Ewinchola had indeed been taken to the hospital without a police report and that the purported officer who signed documents depositing his body was at large.

Internal police records said two officials of Grand Ibro Hotel were immediately taken into custody: Obaje Aroma, the human resources manager, and Ben Ekwona, a security supervisor. At the time of the arrests, the police said a manhunt had been intensified for Mr Onyido, the chief security officer. It was unclear when the human resources manager was released, but PREMIUM TIMES learnt that he was at work on Thursday morning.


Fake phone numbers

Although the police have not officially declared Mr Ugbaje as a police impersonator, findings by PREMIUM TIMES indicate it would be difficult to track down whoever appeared as a police inspector with the hotel security chief to deposit Mr Ewinchola’s remains.

A review of the hospital’s record showed that the purported police officer listed fake telephone numbers in three separate entries of the hospital prior to the body being admitted.

The unknown officer provided two different telephone numbers in three records, but all had 10 digits. Nigeria’s standard mobile telephone lines carry 11-digits.

In the compound office mortuary register, the ‘officer’ listed his phone number as 0706743281. In the accident and emergency register, he listed his phone number as 0703497304. In the incident report book, he also listed 0703497304.

The listing of three invalid numbers appeared deliberate and aimed at making it difficult, if not impossible, to trace the author, detectives told PREMIUM TIMES. Also, the police service number 203032 which the person provided at the hospital could not be traced by the police weeks later.

Even though the police said Mr Onyido was being sought for his role in moving the remains to the hospital, PREMIUM TIMES met him during visits to Grand Ibro Hotel on October 18.

During another visit on October 23, front desk staffers at the hotel said Mr Onyido stepped out shortly before this reporter arrived, an explanation he confirmed in a telephone call on the spot. Hotel and police sources told PREMIUM TIMES Mr Onyido was never arrested since the incident, even though he continued to report for work.


Comments declined

Three weeks after Mr Ewinchola’s murder at his workplace, PREMIUM TIMES has not been able to reach his loved ones, and it remained unclear whether they had learnt of his fate. The police and the hotel declined to comment on the case.

PREMIUM TIMES visited Grand Ibro Hotel on October 18 and met with Mr Onyido, who said he could not comment on the murder although he was the most-senior official available at the time of the visit.

Mr Onyido said the hotel’s general manager had been hospitalised and would not be discharged until Saturday evening, October 19.

Mr Onyido gave his words that he would call back later that Friday or sometime during the weekend, but failed to do so. Several calls to his telephone number between October 18 and 22 were not answered.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited on Monday, security men at the hotel said Mr Onyido was not at the hotel. During another visit on Wednesday, front desk officers said he stepped out “10 minutes ago.” He confirmed this during a telephone call placed to him at the reception.

During the telephone call, he insisted that he could not speak for the hotel and the general manager was still at the hospital. When asked for the contact of the general manager, he abruptly disconnected the call and declined eight subsequent calls to his line over several hours.

Abuja police commissioner, Bala Ciroma, told PREMIUM TIMES the matter was being investigated and insisted he would not go beyond that.

Officials at the Wuse hospital declined to give comments to PREMIUM TIMES. But some workers there told PREMIUM TIMES the body was accepted because it was accompanied by a man they thought was a police officer.

The police and Grand Ibro Hotel officials declined to say whether or not the family of Mr Ewinchola had been notified of his death, but hospital officials stated under anonymity that no one had visited the hospital as a family member for enquiries about his remains.

Some workers at the hotel who interacted with PREMIUM TIMES over the past week expressed fears about their safety. One staff said it was not the first time someone died in a suspicious manner. PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify that claim.

The chief security officer did not return requests seeking comments about allegations of previous deaths at the hotel. The police commissioner also did not return requests seeking clarification on whether or not detectives had uncovered previous homicide cases in the course of their current investigation.

By BODE GBADEBO




The year is coming to an end and there are government agencies that have either woken up to their responsibilities or recorded spectacular achievements. In this report, BODE GBADEBO presents some government agencies with a difference.


Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)

With a N5 billion all-time high remittance in 2017, JAMB began a steady departure from the past by entrenching a new regime of transparency.

Sometime last month, the board introduced an innovative approach in curbing exam malpractices by directing all prospective candidates for its 2020 UTME to acquire the National Identification Number (NIN).

JAMB spokesman, Fabian Benjamin, said that the move was to ensure that the biometric and other necessary details of a candidate were captured to check examination malpractice.

“JAMB will, during the 2020 registration exercise, use the National Identity Number (NIN) generated after successful registration with the


National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

“This includes the capturing of biometric and other necessary details for the registration of all prospective candidates. Henceforth, the NIN will be compulsory for the UTME registration,” he said.


Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)

Nigeria Customs Service is an independent customs service under the supervisory oversight of the Nigerian Ministry of Finance, responsible for the collection of customs revenue and anti-smuggling efforts.

Few weeks ago, it stepped up its anti-smuggling efforts by closing all land borders in order to check smuggling and cross-border crimes, a development that has attracted criticism and complaints from within and outside the country.

With its anti-smuggling efforts and technology-driven revenue collections, NCS has raked in unprecedented amount of money for the government in the last four years or so.


Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)

This agency has, to an extent, reduced Nigeria’s dependence on oil revenue and the reasons for its success story is not far-fetched.

According to its chairman/CEO, Babatunde Fowler, a mixture of technology, new ways of taxation, ease of access to FIRS services by taxpayers, a sleuth of amnesty programmes, audit, collaboration with stakeholders in sharing data, a renewed focus on Value Added Tax (VAT) and taxation of idle property, taxpayer education and enlightenment, levying of tax on defaulting firms with idle property and targeting the bank accounts of billionaires and millionaires who are defaulting in tax, gave the nation N5.3 trillion in 2018, being the highest in the history of the FIRS, even with oil at $70 per barrel.

FIRS has not deviated from the above trajectory as it has consolidated on its achievements and is set to surpass its current record of unprecedented revenue collection in the years to come.


Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)

Federal Road Safety Corps is the federal government agency with statutory responsibilities for road safety administration in Nigeria. FRSC is committed to making Nigerian roads one of the top 20 safest roads to drive on in the world by the year 2020 as encapsulated in the road safety perspective of the vision 2020 of the federal government.


Independent Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)

Established in 2004 alongside EFCC, ICPC has always operated in the shadows unlike its sister agency. Recently though, the agency discovered itself and launched itself back to public consciousness.

To its credit, Nigerians are now aware that some lawmakers diverted multi-million-naira constituency projects to their personal use. The anti-graft agency had no problem naming and shaming the culprits as well as recovering the diverted items.

Currently, ICPC is on the trail of some former public officials who soiled their hands while in office.


Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

One outstanding role the EFCC has played this year is assisting Nigeria secure a temporary reprieve in the $9.6bn Process and Industrial Developments Limited arbitral award against Nigeria by a United Kingdom commercial court.

This followed the commission’s investigation and consequent arraignment of P&ID Limited and P&ID Nigeria Limited on charges of fraud, intent to defraud and dealing in petroleum product without license.

P&ID representatives pled guilty to the charges, leading to the court ordering the closure of the companies and the forfeiture of their properties to the federal government of Nigeria.

Also, it secured 312 convictions in 2018 and 882 convictions between January and October, 2019, which represents over 200 per cent improvement in less than one year.

Meanwhile, the anti-graft agency’s intervention in the 2019 elections was unprecedented. For the very first time in the 15 years history of the commission, the EFCC, under Ibrahim Magu, intervened in the electoral process following the scourge of vote buying that had become pervasive.

The last but not the least in feats recorded by EFCC in the area of asset recovery. From January to September 2019, the Commission made monetary recoveries for both the Federal Government and third-party recoveries in the following sums: N64,721,161,510.01; $14,030,512.32; £4,644,493.00; and €53,325.00.

While properties recovered within the period include 261 automobiles, with 13 out of this figure on interim forfeiture and 248 finally forfeited, one farmland (interim forfeiture), one hotel (interim forfeiture), 40 real estate (35 on interim forfeiture), 40,000 litres of diesel, three fuel stations (interim forfeiture), 11 shops (interim forfeiture), two barges, one plaza (interim forfeitures) and two lands.


Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON)

Despite its legal inhibitions, AMCON has been up and doing of recent. It threatened to publish, in Forbes-like manner, the names of who’s who on the corporation’s debtors’ list – few privileged Nigerians owing about N5trillion of bad loans from commercial banks.

The idea is to name and shame them, having exhausted all known tactics to no avail.

Perhaps AMCON’s last resort will work. Perhaps it will not work. Whatever it is, we wait and see.


Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)

Two weeks ago, the state-run oil corporation made a breakthrough in its years of oil exploration in the northern part of the country.

It announced the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough, Gongola Basin, in the North-East. Recall that drilling of the Kolmani River II Well was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on February 2, 2019.

LEADERSHIP Friday reports that the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantity in the Gongola Basin will attract foreign investment, generate employment for people to earn income and increase government revenues.


National Automotive Design And Development Council (NADDC)

Before now, the council was nowhere in the news for good or bad until now that it has a leadership with a requisite know-how of its core mandate.

The federal government has long talked about diversifying the nation’s oil-dependent economy but its actions have not always matched the talk.

Over the past few years, the automobile manufacturing industry has seemed like a plausible alternative. The hope is that it will help create thousands of jobs and draw large-scale investment from global car-makers, Nigeria’s government has been keen to tap into that potential.

To this end, NADDC was set up in May 2014 after a merger of previous agencies. Much of NADDC’s work has been guided by an automotive policy approved in 2013. The policy mainly aims to boost local car production and reduce vehicle imports.

To implement that policy over the coming years, the federal government turned to Jelani Aliyu, a Detroit-based car design veteran from General Motors (GM) who’s best known as the designer of its Chevy Volt, as the Director-General of NADDC and the story of the agency has been the same ever since.

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Belt of a grinding machine yesterday accidentally plucked-off the two testicles of a 14-year-old Junior Secondary School (JSS) student in Bauchi, Bashir Salisu.

Bashir, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), is a student of Government Day Secondary School, Tudun Salmanu area of Bauchi metropolis, who sat for his JSS examination (junior WAEC), preparatory to seeking admission to Senior Secondary School.

He engages in the grinding of grains under the tutelage of a man at the Muda Lawal market, Bauchi.


Narrating his ordeal in pains at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBU-TH), Bauchi, Bashir said the sad event occurred about 10a.m. on Friday, when, in the course of running the engine, the rotating belt mistakenly got in contact with his baggy trousers and pulled him.

“When my trousers got entangled as a result of the fast rotating belt, it instantly severed my testicles and inflicted grave injuries on my private part.

“The pain was unbearable and I was rushed to the hospital, where medical personnel started treating me.

“Unfortunately, the testicles had gone and can no longer be replaced; the doctors confirmed that the situation is irredeemable,” Bashir said in tears.

The victim said he engaged in grinding to learn trade which he could rely on as jobs were not easy to come by these days.

He added: “I engage in the trade after school hours and during holidays to enable me become self-reliant during and after my studies as white collar jobs are not easy to come by.

“My parents are poor and I need to prepare myself, not only to be self-employed, but also help them and my younger brothers and sisters.”

Bashir’s father, Malam Salisu Mohammed, a farmer, said when the accident occurred, he had to struggle to contain himself.

He said: “I felt highly disturbed initially but was able to collect myself later, believing that tragedies are ordained by God and must, therefore, be accepted when they happen.

“We have intensified prayers for his quick recovery, even though we have been made to understand by medical experts that his testicles are gone for good.

“We thank God that he survived the accident; he could have been dead by now and we must appreciate such luck.

“Our major challenge now is footing the bill of his treatment; we are therefore seizing this opportunity to appeal for assistance from government, individuals and organisations.”

On her part, Bashir’s mother, Mrs. Aisha Salisu, said she was traumatised by the ordeal of her son.

She said: “He had been weeping all through until now that he was able to collect himself. Seeing him wept profusely touched me a lot and made me to express some emotions, but thank God, he is now calm.”

A Consultant Urologist at the ATBU-TH, Dr. Liman Usman, said the student sustained injuries on his scrotum and testicles caused by the belt of a grinding machine.

He said: “His trousers got entangled in the belt of a grinding machine, leading to the complete abortion of the testicles and scrotum; both testicles were severed.

“He had lacerations on his private part but these were just bruises; the inner shaft was intact.”

The consultant said it was not possible to transplant the testicles because of their complex nature, adding that efforts should be geared towards making the student to psychologically accept the situation as it is.

Usman, however, said what could be done to address the psychological feeling of the boy, was to make provision for plastic scrotum, which could only be done in hospitals abroad.

He added: “What can be done is to attach plastic scrotum so that when he feels it, he will have the impression that he had his testicles intact.

“This is good for his psychological development, but this cannot be done in Nigeria, except overseas.”

By Hamisu Kabir Matazu & Balarabe Alkasim



The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, Bolaji Owasanoye, yesterday revealed that after the ICPC discovered N9.2bn as over-bloated personnel costs of the ministries, departments and agencies, the MDAs went on secret recruitments for a cover-up.

“They hurriedly started employing people. Appointments given yesterday were backdated one year, and ad hoc staff upgraded,” he revealed.

Speaking before the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crime at the 2020 budget defence, he said the ICPC had recovered the money from the various MDAs.

He said the money would have been “padded” as personnel costs if the commission had not discovered it.

“We got them to sign off the money. The money is now available for government to spend,” he stated.

He said he was embarrassed to see academic institutions involved in the sharp practice, calling for their inclusion in the IPPIS system before the October deadline.

He also advised that recruitment templates in all agencies of government be changed from offline to prevent recruitment scandal.

Suleiman Abdu Kwari, co-chairman of the committee, also confirmed that secret recruitment was ongoing in some MDAs. He said the committee would collaborate with the ICPC to enforce action and make the country a better place.

Nigerian banks proposed to telecom companies to charge customers directly for USSD services, a memo seen by TheCable has revealed.
This seems to contradict the public denial by bank CEOs on Monday.

They said the decision “on whether, and what amount, to charge a customer for accessing USSD is entirely that of the telco company, in the same way a customer is billed for calls, SMS and data”.

In a letter to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) by the Body of Banks’ Chief Executive Officers (BOBCEO) dated September 16, 2019, the bank MDs had proposed an “orderly implementation” of end-user billing for bank customers, “aligning with the standard practice for USSD billing.”

They said: “Customers using non-bank services already pay for USSD sessions.”


The letter was signed by 13 banks.

On Sunday, MTN sent this message to its customers: “Please note that from Oct 21, we will charge N4 per 20 seconds for USSD access to banking services. Thank you.”

Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the minister of communications, immediately directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to suspend the new charge.

In the memo to ALTON, the bank MDs had kicked against sharing the revenue from USSD transactions with the telcos.

GTBank, for instance, charges N50 plus VAT for instant transfers to other banks and N20 plus VAT for GTB-to-GTB transfers.

The telcos, who provide the platform for the USSD service, had proposed to take a cut of N4.50k per 20 seconds from the charges paid by customers to the banks.

However, the banks kicked against it, alleging that it would raise the cost by 450 per cent.


THE BANK CEOS’ LETTER IN FULL

Re: Anti-competitive practices on Reverse Corporate Billing for Bank USSD Services
We write with reference to instructions to our USSD aggregators, demanding Banks to subscribe to corporate-level billing for USSD services.

The demand forces us to a level where we will pay N4.5 per USSD session of 20 seconds, amounting for (to) around 450% increase in tariff.

Many transactions extend to two or three sessions. This is a cost that will destroy the financial inclusion strides made by banks where we have included almost 20m more citizens in the financial system by building services that run on USSD. Our partnership spirit and recognition of USSD as a critical national asset to drive financial inclusion has served all stakeholders well, especially those previously excluded Nigerians.

Beyond the huge cost-per-session, this would render the laudable financial inclusion initiatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria unsustainable which would impede development and economic growth. We will resist the move to reverse billing by multinational telecomms companies for the good of our National agenda.

Reverse billing gives no visibility to on actually sessions used forces to pay for failed sessions and leaves us exposed to spurious USSD usage that will increase costs.

We are proposing an orderly implementation end-user billing for bank customers, aligning with the standard practice for USSD billing.

Customers using non-bank services already pay for USSD sessions. It forces cost transparency between the Telecoms Company and customer, and will ensure the customer demands a reliable service that works when they need it at a price they can afford. In the Reverse Corporate Billing situation we are unable to attain competitiveness nor transparency.

We trust that on understanding our concern, and the perilous impact that your stated actions will have on the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, you will implement end-user billing to ensure customers have a fair deal and a choice. Our relationship until this juncture has been a symbiotic one that benefits the millions of users of cost-effective banking solutions, the banks and the telecom companies for whom Bank channels have become one of the biggest sellers of airtime using the same USSD channels and other applications or integrations. If USSD services are used to ransom banks into exiting our financial inclusion goals, everybody will lose out – most notably the vulnerable, financially excluded Nigerian.

We look forward to immediate dialogue and appreciate your response by Monday 23rd September. Yours faithfully,
Bank CEOs of Nigeria.



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