₦airaland Forum

Once again, it is budget season. Ministers, Heads of government Departments, Parastatals etc are streaming to the National Assembly to defend their budget for the following year. As is usual, the MDAs are in a contract awarding frenzy with just few days to the end of the fiscal year.


This is common with civil servants who deliberately cause “system go-slow” almost all year round, targeting that with few days to go, they will rush out rounds of contracts, sometimes to their cronies and even themselves, all in a way to burn-out the funds allocated to them, so that such funds are not returned to the treasury, after December 31. Thus as they prepare to defend the budget of the following year, they ensure that they “clean out” the budget of the outgoing year, by hook or crook. Are you still wondering why budgetary allocations tend to raise our hopes and civil servants dutifully dash such hopes?


One their part, the National lawmakers sit like Pilate, in judgement over the Heads of the MDAs, as is statutorily prescribed. In some of the reports from such budget defence sessions, one gets the impression of an effective gate-keeping arm of government in scrutinizing every figure in the budgetary allocations. A lot of times, we hear the lawmakers ask brilliant questions, raise informed issues etc. but that is as far as it goes. The untoward deals are not struck under the klieglight of the photo journalists. Whether a fiscal year will be successful or not, begins from the appropriation stage of the year’s budget.


The bit I don’t get with budget appropriation is when a ministry or parastatal says we are proposing to spend xyz in the next fiscal year, and submits same to the National Assembly to appropriate. And by the time the lawmakers finish the appropriation the amount has jumped from xyz to xyz2 . Rather than trim the figures, the lawmakers bloat it up. And our commonwealth is circumscribed away. The lawmakers strike several deals with the MDAs. It is either they appropriate some of the projects as theirs, or they pad up the figures for the projects with the understanding that the difference between what is proposed and what is appropriated is theirs. Worse still, even when the projects are given to them, they do it perfunctorily or not do it  at all, yet the money leaves the system unchecked. And at the end of the year, so much money would have left the system with little work on the ground to show for it.


This is a true story: some three years back one of the lawmakers who was heading a crucial committee had whimsically added N4 billion to the budget of a core agency of government—in the presidency. The head of the department concerned was to be informed later that the amount has been sent into his budget. Though stunned, the Department’s head soon understood the game and they struck a deal on the sharing formula. The terms and conditions of operation were respected, and quietly, the deal was done. Their pockets got enriched, but Nigeria shrunk lower.  The President mouths a programme of transformation as a mantra every day. It is, and may remain futile until we break the template of corruption in the system.  If only 40% of the country’s budget gets used for Nigeria, the country would have witnessed electrifying transformation years ago.


I know of an agency under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism whose head refused to play ball with the lawmakers last year. And his budget got slashed to 21% as a punishment for his intransigence. Already, in preparing for this year’s defence, the HoD has been under pressure from his staff to “co-operate with them, so that we do not suffer again this year”.
Recently too, a senator had forced his project into the budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)--- to build the perimeter fence of his community school at—wait for it, N350 million! College fence! What is the worth of the entire college!


Pray, when lawmakers have compromised their roles this deeply from the appropriation stage of the budget, what moral right would they have later to perform their statutory over-sight functions on the MDAs? How can they reasonably later indict their business partners? Needless to say that the executive arm of government, seeing how the lawmakers may have illicitly helped themselves under the cloak of the law, will, in greater zest, short-circuit the budget to their selfish advantage. And no one will dare squeak, for obvious reasons. Have you ever wondered why nobody has ever been sanctioned for not implementing the budget as passed, given that it is a law?
With such stories, the impression we get is that the few sparks of inquisition we hear about the lawmakers is only when the MDAs in question either did not play ball or did not keep faith with the unofficial MoU they jointly “signed” earlier.


All said, the highway to budget failure, most times, starts from how clinically sincere the lawmakers are in appropriating the figures sent to them by the executive arm of government.
These stories sadden my heart, and that of many Nigerians. They explain why we are where we are as opposed to where we ought to be. May God help Nigeria!

Babalakin: When it Rains, it Pours

These are hardly the best of times for Dr Wale Babalakin, the Chairman of Bi-Courtney Limited. Late last month, his treasured contract as a concessionaire of the Lagos-Ibadan express way was revoked, ostensibly  because of tardiness in delivery. And just before people stopped clapping at the long-awaited decision of the federal government, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) slammed a 27–count charge on him, accusing him and four others of laundering  N4.7 billion for the former Delta State governor, James Ibori. The co-incidence of the charge with the termination of the contract was curious. Did the federal government use the money laundering charge as a means of containing Babalakin from kicking over the termination of the contract? Why were the charges filed only after the contract was terminated, and Babalakin was sure to legally institute a fight?  Was it a mere coincidence?


But the more fundamental question is whether or not the charges are true. That will be for the courts to determine.
But as if all that was not trouble enough for the Oxford-trained lawyer, he very suddenly took ill and got hospitalized at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). And worse still, the Police are laying siege on the hospital, ready to grab him soon as he “gets fit”.


Many have argued that Babalakin is feigning illness, just to avoid arraignment. Some even say he had pulled similar stunt in the days of Abacha and the failed bank tribunals, and thus avoided appearing before the failed bank tribunal, then sitting in Enugu. But Babalakin had argued that the matter for which he was being arraigned had been settled several years ago. However, most Nigerians do not know how it was settled. Did he launder money for Ibori or not? That is the question.
Those who say he is scheming to avoid arraignment point out the fact that on the same day he said he was ill and hospitalized, and could not appear in the Ikeja High Court, Lagos, was the same day he rushed to the Federal High Court, Lagos.   to secure injunction forbidding the EFCC from arraigning him.


Babalakin was to later advertise a full page defence of why the Ibadan express way contract was delayed declaring that the delay was caused by the Federal Government and not Bi-Courtney.  Not many Nigerians were convinced on Babalakin’s tepid defence. How can it be explained that between early 2009 and last month when the contract was terminated, Bi-Courtney was merely pursuing clerical routines in the Ministry of Works? Even if it was a world bank project , would it require over three years to perfect documentation? If documentation takes three years, how many years will executing the project itself take? Are we not witnesses to how the Ministry of Works had threatened Bi Courtney a couple of times, whereupon it will send some empty pick-up vans and idle diggers to the highway, patch up a few pot holes here and there for some days and then return to status quo ante? Was it for nothing that Nigerians greatly lauded the revocation of the contract?
With the template of the company’s operational pattern, they will still be perfecting documentation long after Jonathan would have served and left office.


The ministry of Works has even faulted Bi-Courtney’s submission. The ministry noted that” Article 7.1a of the Agreement provides for 3 months project Preliminary Period for the Concessionaire to confirm the exact conditions of the road and to submit a revised work programme with milestone dates, timelines, project scheduling and completion. This was not achieved even after 1 year after the handover of the site to Bi-Courtney on 3rd September 2009”. Mr Babalakin, is this true or not?   The FMW further alleged that Bi-Courtney virtually breached all the provisions of the articles of the agreement like failure to submit approved design within a given time.


Babalakin, a typical Nigerian “Big man” is a business man who had had many dealings with the Federal Government, from which he has evidently prospered so much. 


Whatever it is, the Lagos-Ibadan express way is all too important to be left in the hands of a construction laggard, whilst the road was faithfully sending Nigerians to early grave every day. It is the busiest road in the country. And no serious government worth its name should be intimidated by the antics and whims of anybody to shut its eyes to the crying shame that road had been. I have a colleague whose both parents died on that road on two different occasions and dates.


As an influential and established lawyer, I do not believe Babalakin is feigning illness at LUTH, all to avoid prosecution. That is why I wish the rich lawyer a quick recovery from the undisclosed ailment, so he can fitfully stand trial and clear his name and image of all the charges filed against him, and confirm whether it is true or not that he has used his rich legal background and knowledge to undermine the Nigerian system . Indeed, when it rains, it pours. Babalakin is a witness..

Who is sure of the Sure-P?
Sure-P is Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme. It is a child of circumstance. The idea for Sure-P came after Nigerians had protested the removal of subsidy from the price of petrol last January.


In a flurry of panic measures to assuage angry Nigerians, several palliative committees were set up. Sure-P was one of them. It was essentially meant to mitigate the immediate impact of the petroleum subsidy discontinuation on the population;  accelerate economic transformation, and to lay a foundation for the successful development of a national safety net programme that is better targeted at the poor and most vulnerable on a continuous basis.


Almost ten months after, not many are sure if Sure-P exists let alone make any impressive impact by way of delivering on its mandate. It had carried on like one of those bureaucracies, until it encountered a National Assembly committee to defend its 2013 budget. That encounter unearthed its operations.


Headed by the respected Dr Christopher Kolade, it is difficult to understand how in four months the committee spent N2.2 Billion on “secretariat expenses” and another N75million on travels and tours. It also came to light that the committee was just creating a parallel bureaucracy by so-to-say, duplicating the works of the Ministry of Works. Its claim of working on East West road beggars belief. That road is in complete shambles especially after the floods. These revelations surely contrast with the image of Kolade in the public domain. The lawmakers who listened to him were thoroughly embarrassed by the profligate expenditure profile of the committee.
It is supposed to create jobs, we have not seen any. It is supposed to reinvest the proceeds of the subsidy. We have seen no investment. It is supposed to empower Nigerian youths. That is yet on the plate.


It is the expectation that all these will be achieved that made Jonathan proclaim that with the Sure-P, “we have to show that we are committed to delivering on our promises, in order to win back public confidence in our government”
Almost a year after, more public confidence has been lost, not won, by the unseen acts of Sure-P. We are not sure if Sure-P is for us.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lawmakers-budget-season-fraud-season/132935/

[quote author=rick.ross]Rochas is on point. I wish the FG will start to make such publications because there are many projects that are awarded and rewarded several times without accountability.

Within the past few years the East West road in the Niger Delta has been awarded to different contractors by different governments, yet the road is a death trap till now. From OBJ to Yaradua and now GEJ, till date we dont know how much was paid and what % of job done. DAYLIGHT ROBBERY if you ask me...

The Second Niger bridge project was announced to have been awarded by OBJ, then Yaradua awarded the same contract and now GEJ is awarding the same contract again. WE NIGERIANS ARE DUMB, WE DESERVE THE KIND OF LEADERS WE HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY...

From this list now I know the truth about the 4 road projects Rochas is constructing in my village. We were told they stopped work bc of the rainy season, some contractors said they were never paid any money. But from this list now I know the contractors has been lying all along. IF THE CONTRACTOR GIVE US SUB STANDARD ROAD WE WILL MAKE THEIR LIFE MISERABLE. THIS MUST BE ENCOURAGED AT FEDERAL LEVEL. Kudos to Rochas[/quote]we should learn to get our facts right when we critize it an open secret the EAST-WEST road is an NDDC project.obj,yar adua never awarded any contract for the contruction of the 2nd niger bridge this is an interesting alligation I would appreciate if u provide a link for those of us that don't knw about this contract

odum desmond: The days of military coup are over, any attempt to foist military regime in Nigeria by any group will lead to blood bath that will quicken Nigeria's disintegration. It is happening elsewhere in Africa and Nigeria cannot be left out. Military coup will be viewed as attempt by a group of coupist to impose their religion or ethnic affliation on other tribes and religion whose foundation is already weaken. Gone are those days when a military man would announce to us that he has single handedly taken over government. Nigeria is now structured in a way that you reign on the basis of what you have whether population or reource base. This is what is keeping GEJ , a minority as president of Nigeria; his region has got the oil, remove him unceremoniously and the boys retreat to the creeks and cripple the entire oil platform in Nigeria, and which Nigerian government can survive a month without oil export? So there is no possibility of coup again here, the casualty will be high, even the military knows that, there is no more unity in the armed forces, if say Yoruba man emerges president by coup, do you think that Hausa or Ibo or South south military officer wouldn't wage war against him like it happened during Gideon Orkar's coup?

don't mind them.

Jeboy: D very same folks that will magnify corruption report if Nigeria has gotten a rating that is tandem with increase in corruption even with a small margin of 0.0001 but will never deem it appropriate to acknowledge improvement when corruption decreases by increased Transparancy from 2.4 to 2.7. Isn't that pessimism and unconstructive criticism?. If truly as Gbawe and the rest claims Diezanni Madueke and GEJ ministers have really embezzled so much why is TI rating showing otherwise. By their propangada report, I thought Nigeria should be at the bottom of the table. You can't work against the truth.

that's the reasoning of the so called critics we have on nairaland especially the hypocrites and brainwashed AC.N goons on nairaland.if this achievement was recorded by fashola or any of the over hyped AC.N governor u would see how they would sing their praises to high heaven.gradually their lies and propoganda are been exposed.

Sincere 9gerian: There is a dangerous and SAD trend in the manner of reporting by most media organisations in Nig . They seem to CELEBRATE bad or negative reporting while at the same time finding it difficult to even REPORT good or positive news. This is trend is playing out in the manner of reporting this latest TI corruption index ranking. Rather than report the obvious slight improvement, most media organisation will add the caveat "it is difficult to say" if there was improvement this yr. I'm sure if Nigeria had moved down the ladder, it wouldn't have been "difficult to say" corruption has worsened? Is it difficult to appreciate that 2.7 is an improvement over 2.4? It seems that any seemingly good news cannot get out of the media, except it is PAID FOR

is like that because this administration would not pay them for propoganda.that is why the opposition have the media in their pocket cos they are ready to pay to push their propoganda on the media

PointB: That's a very skewed way of putting it.

The score was 27% whereas the previous one was 24%. The percentage is regardless of number of countries involved. It is an absolute value!

those are the type of retards that call GEJ all sorts of name people that are as dull and gullible as a simpleton! They only read and understand wiff there anus!.I don't pay attention to such dullards and his fellow opposition critics.

jmaine: You dey mind them . .blatantly displaying unnecessary bias

don't worry their deceits and ranting would soon die with them.bunch of hypocrites!

gregg2: You are wrong. We have rather improved alot.
Check TI's website yourself on http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results

gregg2: You are wrong. We have rather improved alot.
Check TI's website yourself on http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results

just ignore the loser by 2015 u won't see them on nairaland. U recommened a link for him trust me he won't read it cos its a big pill for him to swallow

Yes we would dance azonto the way your paymasters has been chunking out imaginary corruption stories on the pages of their newspaper.and the way those beer parlour gist were spread by fools on nairaland one does not expect our corruption index to improve ! Hence why were dancing azonto.judging by the propoganda that your paymasters spread on internet and their newspapers about how corrupt this government is! And nigeria still improved in the corruption index next year we would do better and the shame would be on u hypocrites.

gregg2: Premiumtimes and the nation newspaper are devils.
Nigeria moved up 6 places to 137 not 139 as these
mischief-making press are reporting.

I have created a thread here: https://www.nairaland.com/1123521/nigeria-moves-up-6-places#13249262
with facts lifted from transparency international website including a full list of countries as they rank.

thank you my brother that is to show you how the opposition and their supporters feed the public with lies and deceit and promote their theiving paymasters as angel. Nigerians are wiser they would soon be consumed by all this lies and propoganda that they peddle.

taharqa: @sincere9jerian, i sincerely thank u for this comment....its only a mata of time, PROPAGANDA almost always fails eventuali..

the funny thing is that they started their propoganda too early bunch of hypocrites

Demdem: These are probably part of the reasons why Nigeria didnt have a better score no doubt. We could have done better.



Nigeria remained rooted to the bottom of the global corruption ranking Wednesday as global corruption watchdog, Transparency International, rated it the 35th most corrupt country in the world.

In a report released at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks to clinch the 139th position out of the 176 countries surveyed for the report. It shared that position with Azerbaijan, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan.

Countries such as Togo, Mali, Niger and Benin fared better than Nigeria.

Nigeria placed 143rd in the 2011 ranking, making it the 37th most corrupt country. It is difficult to say Nigeria has improved in the ranking this year because 182, six more than this year’s, were ranked in 2011.

This year’s index ranks 176 countries/territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, TI explained in the report.
The index draws on 13 surveys covering expert assessments and surveys of businesspeople.
The Corruption Perceptions Index is the leading indicator of public sector corruption, offering a yearly snapshot of the relative degree of the corruption problem by ranking countries from all over the globe.
Nigeria’s woeful performance in this year’s survey is not entirely surprising.

Since assuming office in 2010, President Jonathan has not shown vigour in the fight against corruption – including corruption involving past and current actors in his administration.
The tipping point in the president’s profile, regarding reluctance in promoting transparency, came when, in televised media chat in June, he scoffed at a question on why he had not publicly declared his asset. On live television, the president snapped “I don’t give a damn!”

The petroleum minister, Diezani Madueke, a close ally of the president, has heaps of established corruption allegations against her, but none has been investigated by Mr. Jonathan’s administration; while she still remains in office as one of the favorite ministers.
In August 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan secretly ordered the payment of $155 million to Malabu oil, a firm owned by an ex-convict and former petroleum minister, Dan Etete. Not only was the payment done without the knowledge of the Finance Minister, as revealed by PREMIUM TIMES, Malabu transferred the money into dubious accounts including that owned by a man with links to Mr. Jonathan. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have agreed to investigate the Malabu scandal.

Ranging from the monumental fuel subsidy scam to the massive corruption uncovered in pension administration to the scams at the Security and Exchange Commission and the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Nigeria stinks with graft. Government officials, including some of Mr. Jonathan’s favourite appointees have been named in the brazen theft of public funds.

Two members of the President’s cabinet, Godsday Orubebe and Stella Oduah, illegally registered an NGO, Neighbour to Neighbour, on whose board they sit, and which they then used in campaigning for the President’s election; in contravention of CAC registration guidelines and the CAMA Act. The presidency has kept mum on this.

There have been several cases of visitors to the Presidential Villa offered huge sums of money after their visits. The Save Nigeria Group was offered $30 thousand, and the Northern elders N20 million; both groups rejected the cash gifts given to them by the presidency.
There are also piles of corruption cases involving government officials, politicians and ‘friends of the government’ that have been lingering for years while perpetrators roam free.

Yet, in his Independence Day anniversary speech to Nigerians, President Jonathan claimed his administration had made substantial gains in the fight against corruption, saying TI had endorsed and praised his administration’s war against corruption.
Transparency International promptly replied, disowning Mr. Jonathan and saying it had no such report.


TI described this year’s report as an indication that “corruption is a major threat facing humanity. Corruption destroys lives and communities, and undermines countries and institutions. It generates popular anger that threatens to further destabilise societies and exacerbate violent conflicts.”
The organization added, “Corruption translates into human suffering, with poor families being extorted for bribes to see doctors or to get access to clean drinking water. It leads to failure in the delivery of basic services like education or healthcare. It derails the building of essential infrastructure, as corrupt leaders skim funds.

“Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all aspects of decision-making. They must prioritise better rules on lobbying and political financing, make public spending and contracting more transparent, and make public bodies more accountable.”

http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109853-nigeria-is-35th-most-corrupt-in-the-world-says-transparency-international-2012-report.html

all beer parlour gist where is your proof! all this happened and our corruption index still improved this same year that you paymasters circulated this gist.like u retards always defend ur paymaster when corruption aticle are published against them let me say it as u simpleton say it.WHERE IS YOUR PROOF?.WHY IS THE EFCC AND ICPC NOT GONE AFTER THOSE your beer parlour gist mentioned or if premiumtimes is ur proof use it to sue the names u mentioned in your paid article ur a citizen of this great nation u owe the nation a civic responsibity those people who u mentioned in your tales by moonlite article.like you hypocrites always scream when an article on corruption is written about your thieving Godfather SHOW US PROOF.

That's the north for u. they are also responsible for the huge personnel and over head cost that this present government is trying to cut down in the federal system. cause is during their misrule that we had all sorts of ministries and fraudulent agencies which they see as an avenue to squander our collective national wealth that is why they see the presidency as their birthright.

They read the news but too ashamed to comment.if the headline had read NIGERIA ANTICORRUPTION INDEX reduce. The witches would be all over the thread .now that all their fallacy about this government being the most corrupt and not doing enough about corruption has been disproved by TI.come 2015 they would abandon nairaland the way they're avoiding this thread then the Good work of this government would be seen by nigerians and the international community.

I will keep pushing this thread till I get a response from those simpletons respond they knw themselves

I expected to see those clowns that called this government all sorts of name. When. The result of 2011 was posted on this forum by some disgruntled retards who call themselves critic.go and tell ur paymasters that come 2015 their lies and deceits would be exposed for all to see. nigerians are gettin wiser now you can say what u want about this government they still remain the best so far.just travelled to east with my car and the ore-benin express road is wearing a better look compared to the 8years a certain OBJ spent in office and work is still on going this decemeber a lot of people travelling to the east would travel and praise this administration and the press is not reporting about the massive work going on there all they write about is propoganda payed for by the opposition.

WEDNESDAY, 05 DECEMBER 2012 00:00 TELIAT SULE

The state governments in the North-East and North-West geopolitical zones were the most expensive states in Nigeria in 2011 when measured in terms of personnel and overhead costs, data compiled by BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU) have revealed.

The data was compiled from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Annual Report 2011.

Based on combined regional personnel and overhead costs, the six states in the North-East zone, comprising Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe spent N182 billion out of N360.6 billion realised as revenue for the year 2011, which means that 51 percent of the revenue made by the zone ended up as personnel and overhead costs.

Also, the North-West geopolitical zone, which is made up of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara expended 44.8  percent as cost, which translated to N217 billion out of N485 billion total yearly revenue realised by state governments in the region. The North- Central was third with 41.4 percent of its 2011 receipts or N196 billion, incurred as the cost of governance.  Cost of governance is the money spent on salaries and administrative expenses.

The South-West, South-East and South-South ranked 4th, 5th and 6th with 37.3 percent, 27.5 percent and 21.9 percent of their total annual revenues for 2011 ending up as the cost of governance. In other words, N230 billion, N89 billion and N251 billion respectively were the combined expenses incurred by state governments in the three geopolitical zones in the south.

On state-by-state analysis, the combined personnel and overhead cost of Kano State was the highest in the country, translating to 75 percent (N72.4 billion) of its 2011 total annual receipts, being used in paying personnel and overhead costs. The state was left with N24.6 billion for developmental projects. Kano was closely trailed by Bauchi (70%) and Plateau (68%) in that order, which amounted to N45.4 billion and N42.8 billion respectively of the total money received by the aforementioned state governments being spent on administrative costs. In the South-West region, Oyo State (63%) and Ogun State (57%) were the most expensive state governments, while Akwa-Ibom State was the least expensive (9%) among the states analysed.

If the level of expenses and internally generated revenue (IGR) remain unchanged for some time, only two states in Nigeria would comfortably pay their personnel and overhead costs without having to rely on the monthly federal allocation. These are Lagos and Abia States.  In 2011, Lagos State realised N147 billion as IGR, whereas its combined personnel and overhead costs amounted to N70 billion, while Abia State made N31 billion as IGR whereas its combined personnel and administrative cost was N26 billion.

At the Annual Capital Market Committee retreat in Warri, Delta State recently, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi called for a reduction in the cost of governance. He said   “at the moment, 70 per cent of the Federal Government’s revenue goes for payment of salaries and entitlement of civil servants, leaving 30 percent for development of 167 million Nigerians. That means that for every naira government earns, 70 kobo is consumed by civil servants”.

Another research report supports the observation made by the CBN governor about the high cost of governance. According to the research work of Stephen Ejuvbekpokpo published in the Global Journal of Management and Business Research in 2012 entitled “Cost of governance on economic development in Nigeria”, he found that “a unit rise in recurrent administrative expenditure would lead to a 0.52 unit fall in gross domestic product (GDP). Conversely, he found that a unit rise in capital administrative expenditure would cause gross domestic product to fall by 0.45 units”. Put in another way, if recurrent administrative expenditure rises by 100 percent, GDP will fall by 52 percent, just as if the capital administrative expenditure surges by 100 percent, GDP will fall by 45 percent.

The cost managing the economy formed part of the speech given by the Chairman of NESG, Foluso Phillips.

He told  participants at the recent NES18 that The cost of managing the Nigerian Economy at present is larger than its productive base.

“We cannot defend an unsustainable situation.  We cannot sustain this model. We all have to fix this problem faster than we are currently addressing it.”

Phillips, who was addressing dignitaries at the Nigeria Economic Summit (NES #18) at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja told the gathering that the current reality surrounding the cost of managing the country presents a situation where the three million or so people who work for the federal, states’ and local government, not forgetting the legislature, consume about 70 percent of the annual budget on salaries, allowances and overheads, while the rest of the 160 million odd Nigerians depend on the balance of 30 percent to provide the infrastructure, education, health and other services which most governments have a responsibility for.




http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/48522-north-east-north-west-zones-lead-in-personnel-and-overhead-costs

Abdulsalami and obasanjo should tell nigerians what happened to this monies instead obasanjo is running around calling for revolution and lying about how 1 billion dollars is still in swiss bank..... His planting another deceit that he wants to use againt this Government!!....obasanjo would be exposed pretty soon

By Damilola Oyedele

The  Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Dr. Hans-Rudolf Hodel has disclosed that a total of $700 million deposited in Swiss banks by the late former military President, General Sani Abacha have so far been returned to the Nigerian government even as proceedings are still pending in Geneva against Abacha's son, Abba, for support of a criminal organization.

He added that in the last 15 years, Switzerland has so far returned about $1.7 billion of illicit money to their countries of origin including Angola, Peru, Nigeria and the Philippines.

Hodel made this disclosure in Abuja, Tuesday, when he briefed newsmen about an upcoming seminar  by the  Switzerland embassy and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Launring in West Africa (GIABA) on Anti - Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism where he noted that he is not aware of the existence of $1 billion alluded to by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as still being held in the Swiss banks.

More to follow...

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/swiss-envoy-we-have-returned-700m-abacha-loot/132526/

Here is the cost of the contract of apapa-oshodi express road since some nairalander like to just critize without even doing the simple task of Following up on event going on in their country.implications.

"The apapa oshodi express road was a N6billion-contract awarded by the Federal Government in November 2010 for the rehabilitation of the expressway. The contract, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), involves the rehabilitation of the road from Km 0 to Km 15. While Borini Prono starts from Km 0 and ends at Km 7 (Apapa-Tin Can Island Port to the Sunrise Bridge/Beach Land Estate junction); Julius Berger, the German construction giant, starts from here to  Cele Bus-Stop (Km 7 to Km 15)".

karl max: "The minister, who inspected the rehabilitation works being carried out by the two contractors, Messrs Julius Berger Plc, and Reynolds Construction Company Limited yesterday, said the cost of rehabilitating failed sections of the road was the same rate applied in 2010 in carrying out similar works on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.

He said: “Our engineers are right on plan with the contractors.  If you are doing an emergency work, as it is in this case, what is important is that you have a contractor who is already deplored in that part of the country and in this case, Julius Berger Nig. Plc., that is working for us in Lagos at the Oshodi-Apapa expressway and the rate that was given to them in 2010 is the rate we are applying in rehabilitating section one of this expressway.”

The rate adopted for RCC in section two, he said was that of the Ilorin-Ogbomosho expressway rehabilitation, which the company used in 2010, saying it was a good deal for the government to use 2010 rate to do emergency work on the Lagos-Ibadan road in 2012".

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-ibadan-road-repairs-to-last-8-weeks/132462/

So do ur investigation how much the apapa-oshodi express way rehabilitation contract was awaded in 2010.

This should answer ur question and your other die hard critics of this government.

sorry sir I no know say u be VIP,why not send ur address to the Federal ministry of works or the minister so that he would mail u a total breakdown.

take dat: Its a good thing that the FG has decided to embark on the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan express way but I have a lot of reservations about its implementation:

1. Why is the cost of the rehabilitation shrouded in secrecy? Thought the government acclaims itself of always adhering to Due Process, I feel this is wrong cos we should be running an Open government.

2. Why didn't the government give room for interested bidders rather than just hand picking the two selected companies? While one can make a case for JB, same cannot be said of RCC. When did the two companies submit their design plan and their cost. It is unheard of to submit a plan after the completion of a project. Is this what due process is all about?

3. How much was paid to the contractors as mobilisation fee?



This government needs to be thoroughly scrutinised. It seems there are some "mago mago" in their dealings.

"The minister, who inspected the rehabilitation works being carried out by the two contractors, Messrs Julius Berger Plc, and Reynolds Construction Company Limited yesterday, said the cost of rehabilitating failed sections of the road was the same rate applied in 2010 in carrying out similar works on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.

He said: “Our engineers are right on plan with the contractors.  If you are doing an emergency work, as it is in this case, what is important is that you have a contractor who is already deplored in that part of the country and in this case, Julius Berger Nig. Plc., that is working for us in Lagos at the Oshodi-Apapa expressway and the rate that was given to them in 2010 is the rate we are applying in rehabilitating section one of this expressway.”

The rate adopted for RCC in section two, he said was that of the Ilorin-Ogbomosho expressway rehabilitation, which the company used in 2010, saying it was a good deal for the government to use 2010 rate to do emergency work on the Lagos-Ibadan road in 2012".

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-ibadan-road-repairs-to-last-8-weeks/132462/

So do ur investigation how much the apapa-oshodi express way rehabilitation contract was awaded in 2010.

This should answer ur question and your other die hard critics of this government.

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

ADO-EKITI — An 85-year old man, Pa  Samuel Oladipupo, was nabbed by the men of Ekiti State Police Command for allegedly defiling a 12 year old girl (names withheld)

The octogenarian  suspect, however, confessed to have made an attempt to make love with the girl, but  denied  ever having carnal  knowledge  of Junior Secondary School girl.

The suspect who allegedly committed the crime last Sunday  at his No. 9 Barrack Road, Ado Ekiti and now being detained at the police headquarters, claimed that the junior secondary school girl had  seduced him  into making love with her.

Father of the girl, Mr. Ojo Ajijola, however, countered the claim of the suspect.

The Police image maker,  Victor  Babayemi  Olu, an Assistant Super- intendent of Police, said the victim had been taken  to Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, where series of tests were  conducted on her to ascertain whether she was actually raped or not.

Speaking under interrogation, Pa Oladipupo  said  he had sent  Esther to buy  recharge card at a nearby phone booth on that fateful day and allowed her to go home after she helped him to load it.

“To let you know that I never  intended to commit the crime, after she had  helped me load  the  recharge card on my phone right in my house, I allowed her to go without making any overture.

“But later, Esther resurfaced and came to tell me that she was famished and ask me what kind of food I had at home. I told her I only had bread and stew and she followed me inside and ate the food.

“After she finished with the food, she rested on the chair and then pulled off her clothes and told me to examine her  pubic hairs. Later, she told me to examine her boobs and asked me why the two breasts were not the same, but I told  her  that it was natural to be so.

“As a man, I began to lose control. I then pushed her onto the bed and climbed  on her.

But as I was about inserting my penis into her vagina, I quickly remembered that this might  be a plan to frame me and I quickly stood up, so I didn’t enter her”, Pa Oladipupo explained.

But the girl denied ever  seducing the old man. She said that the man first accused her of stealing his phone, but when he found it in his house, he began handling with her.

“I had earlier helped him to buy a recharge card, and he later accused  me of stealing his phone,”she said.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/85-year-old-man-nabbed-for-defiling-12-year-old-girl/

Akinwale Akintunde


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Monday re-arraigned Mamman Nasir Ali, the son of the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ahmadu Ali and three others before an Ikeja High Court over an alleged N4.4 billion fuel subsidy fraud.


The defendants were re-arraigned before Jusice Adeniyi Onigbanjo on a 13-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence, forgery and the use of false documents.


One of the defendants, Abdulazeez Afis is said to still be at large. Others arraigned alongside Ali were Christian Taylor, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Nasaman Oil Services.


EFCC had initially arraigned Ali  alongside Christian Taylor and Nasaman Oil Services on July 26 for an alleged N2.2 billion fuel subsidy fraud before amending the charge which led to their re-arraignment yesterday.


The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges as Justice Onigbanjo ordered that Ali and Taylor should continue to enjoy the N20 million bail earlier granted them by the court on July 26 when they were first arraigned.


The judge also fixed November 28 for ruling on the bail application filed by Ogunbambo’s counsel, Mr. Adebayo Adenipekun (SAN).
In the amended charge of 13 counts, the anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants were involved in subsidy fraud amounting to about N4.4 billion.


According to EFCC, the defendants had conspired to obtain the money from the Federal Government for the purported importation of 30.5million litres of Premium Motor Spirits (PMS).


The EFCC said their alleged offences contravened Sections 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fuel-subsidy-scam-efcc-re-arraigns-ahmadu-ali-s-son-others/131831/

By Dele Ogbodo
The perennial conflict between the executive and the legislature over which arm of government wields the power of appropriation reared its head again On Monady as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture drew the battle line over the ministry’s budget for next year.


Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina had at a budget defence session Monday expressed disapproval of the moves by some agencies in the ministry to increase their budgetary allocations in collusion with the legislature.


In a letter dated November 20, 2012 and addressed to all the 39 agencies under the ministry, Adesina had threatened to impose sanctions on any agency that attempted to seek an increase of its budget beyond what the executive had submitted to the National Assembly in the 2013 Appropriation Bill.


Adesina asked all the agencies to submit to his office their proposals to the House Committee on Agriculture, as a way of ensuring that none of the agencies seeks an increase of their “envelopes”.


The ministerial directive signed by one Idris Mamman and read at the budget defence session stated as follows: “I am directed to request you (agencies) to submit to the Office of the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development soft and hard copies of documents prepared for 2013 budget defence with National Assembly for his information and record purposes.


“You are also to ensure that your programmes/projects and capital ceilings are at par with what was approved in the Executive Bill as any deviation from the 2013 Executive Bill will be viewed as serious misconduct. Please ensure compliance.”


However, Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture, Hon. Tahir Mohammed Monguno, dismissed the ministerial warning to the agencies, insisting that the National Assembly had the powers to increase or shrink budget estimates where and when necessary.


Monguno advised the agencies to disregard the warning and suggested increases in their budget estimates would be approved if they had projects and programmes that required higher budgetary allocations.


“I have a copy of the minister's letter here warning the agencies before us here not to seek to exceed their budget envelopes for 2013, and that if they do so, they would face consequences.


“But I want to stress here that the issue of budgeting remains within the power of the National Assembly.


“It is us that would decide what the budget would look like. The duty of the executive is to just present estimates and nothing more, so I want you to disregard what the minister has written and go ahead with your proposals,” he said.


Since 1999, budget rows have become an annual ritual, as the National Assembly has insisted on making amendments to the budget estimates presented to it by the executive arm of government.


In turn, the executive has viewed these amendments as distortions to its economic plans for the country.


But as the lower chamber of the National Assembly and the minister bickered over where the power of appropriation resides, Senate President David Mark yesterday also chastised Adesina over the ministry’s 2012 budget implementation, saying its performance was below expectations.


Senator Mark, who made the disclosure during the 2013 budget defence of the agriculture ministry, also expressed concern over the ministry’s failure to give prominence to constituency projects, despite the provisions for them in the budget.


Lamenting the poor implementation of the ministry’s budget in this fiscal year, Mark said: “When you remember that you have less than 30 working days to the end of 2012, what can you do to remedy the situation?


“Your budget performance is very low. We want to look at the performance based on the real number of people it has affected. At the end of the day, it is not the statistics on paper.


“If the statistics don't translate to changes in the lives of Nigerians, it has not done what it was supposed to do. And they will notice it at that level.


“We have gotten used to treating the budget like a mere document. If you like it, you treat it, and if you don't, you just throw it away. But once we append our signatures to it, it becomes a law.”


The senate president, who was not convinced with the minister’s explanation that there was a mix up with constituency projects in the second and third quarters of the year, insisted that there was no mix up, adding that funds had been made available for the projects in the 2012 budget.


“You did not give constituency projects any priority. Only in the third quarter and some were only awarded on 3rd of November,” he said. 
He advised the minister to be careful in the administration of the fertiliser distribution scheme, warning that fertiliser should get to real farmers and should not be hijacked by middlemen as had obtained in the past.


Defending the performance of the ministry, Adesina said the fertiliser distribution scheme had been able to ensure that a total of 1.39 metric tonnes of fertiliser were distributed in the last year.


He complained that of the N43.9 billion budgeted for agriculture, only N23 billion was released to the ministry.
Defending his policy on the introduction of bread partly baked with cassava, he said cassava bread would save Nigeria N250 billion.
He, however, apologised to the senate for not prioritising constituency projects, stressing that the decision was based on the need to prioritise a sustainable food chain for the country.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/agric-minister-lawmakers-bicker-over-budget-padding/131838/

Those northerners who compare mend and boko haram hope u can read!.

By Tobi Soniyi

The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has accused Boko Haram of engaging in crimes against humanity.

The ICC, in its report of preliminary examination activities dated November 2012, a copy of which THISDAY obtained at the weekend, said its investigations had shown that the Islamic sect was involved in murder and persecution.

The report also said the alleged crimes committed by Niger Delta militants and the activities of security agencies during the militancy era in the oil-rich region did not amount to war crimes.

“The office has determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in Nigeria, namely acts of murder and persecution attributed to Boko Haram.

“Therefore, the prosecutor has decided that the preliminary examination of the situation in Nigeria should advance to phase 3 (admissibility) with a view to assessing whether the national authorities are conducting genuine proceedings in relation to those who appear to bear the greatest responsibility for such crimes, and the gravity of such crimes,” the report said.

According to it, from November 10, 2005 to September 2012, OTP received 59 articles and 15 communications in relation to killings and violence in Nigeria.

Of this number, 26 were found to be manifestly outside the jurisdiction of the court, five were found to warrant analysis, while 28 were included in the preliminary examination carried out by the OTP.

While the report said Boko Haram had committed crimes against humanity, it however said that allegations that security agencies like the Joint Task Force (JTF) committed crimes against humanity were unsubstantiated.

The report further noted that even though there were allegations of serious human rights violations against the security agencies, information available at the stage of the investigation did not permit a conclusion that such violations were committed in furtherance of state’s policy.

The report states: “The office considers that there is a reasonable basis that since July 2009, Boko Haram has committed the following acts constituting crimes against humanity: Murder under article 7(1)(a) and (ii) persecution under article 7(1)(h) of the Statute. In particular, the information available provides a reasonable basis to believe that since July 2009, Boko Haram has launched a widespread and systematic attack that has resulted in the killing of more than 1,200 Christians and Muslims civilians in different locations throughout Nigeria, including Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna and Plateau States as well as Abuja.

“The consistent pattern of such incidents indicates that the group possesses the means to carry out widespread and/or systematic attacks, and displays internal coordination and organisational control required to that end.
“The attacks have been committed pursuant to the policy defined at the leadership level of Boko Haram, which aims at imposing an exclusive Islamic system of government on northern Nigeria at the expense of Christians specifically.

“Opponents to this goal have been targeted as well. Boko Haram leaders or spokesmen have issued public statements evincing the intention to attack civilians in furtherance of this policy, including a January 2012 ultimatum urging Christians to leave Northern Nigeria.

“The targeting of an identifiable group or collectively on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender or other grounds is a constitutive element of the crime of persecution under article 7(1).”
On the allegation that security agencies committed grave human rights violations, the report found as follow: “Although allegations against Nigerian security forces in the context of their operations against Boko Haram may reflect serious human rights violations, the information available at this stage does not permit a finding of a reasonable basis to believe that such acts were committed pursuant to or in furtherance of a state or organisational policy to attack the civilian population.
“There is also currently no reasonable basis to believe that the confrontations between the security forces and Boko Haram amount to an armed conflict. Again, these initial assessments may be revisited in the light of new facts or evidence.”
The report, which also examined the situation in the Niger Delta, indicated that no crimes against humanity were committed there.

“Based on the available information, there does not now appear to be a reasonable basis to believe that the alleged crimes committed in the Delta region could constitute war crimes. In particular, the violence in the Niger Delta, including the armed confrontation between MEND militants and the Nigerian Joint Task Force in 2009, does not appear to involve protracted armed violence between governmental authorities and organised armed groups or between such groups, as stipulated in article 8(20(f).
“This initial assessment may be revisited in light of new facts or evidence,” it stated.

Under the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, the Office of the Prosecutor is responsible for determining whether a situation meets the legal criteria established by the statute to warrant investigation by the court.

To do this, the office will conduct a preliminary examination of all situations that come to its attention based on the statutory criteria and the information available.



http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/-icc-accuses-boko-haram-of-crimes-against-humanity/131718/

Written by Hassan Ibrahim, Kaduna
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
CHAIRMAN of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Aliko Mohammed, said in Kaduna on Tuesday that the clamour for the creation of additional states in the country could only be successful if the North agreed.

He spoke at the headquarters of the ACF during the visit of a delegation from the South-South, led by Chief Isaac Jemide, urging for a state not to be created out of Delta State.

According to Aliko Mohammed, “I will like to say first and foremost that if North does not agree with any state of the federation, the issue of state creation will not happen because we represent 19 of the 36 States, and if this side of the country does not accept state creation, it will not happen. I will also like to say that ACF has already published its position about state creation. We do not believe that at this stage in Nigeria, we need any more states.

“ The 36 states are already enough, and so if you increase it more than this, like they are saying up to 50 states, it means there won’t be a place to even sit down and talk. So we have our position clear that for now Nigeria does not need more states. We are going to convince our governors and legislators not to accept creation of more states. Let’s maintain the ones that we have for now, and later we may consider more.”

But the Itsekiri ethnic nationality of Delta State under the auspices of Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, said they would resist the creation of new states in the country, particularly out of Delta State.

They also kicked against the inclusion of tenure elongation in the amended constitution for the offices of the president and the governors.

 Chief Jemide said the Ijaw people of Bayelsa State had dominated the Itsekiri people to the extent that other Nigerians saw them (Ijaws) as the only owners of Niger Delta and South–South region.

He alleged that the Itsekiri had been oppressed over the years by the dominant tribes in the area, adding that others in the South-South geopolitical zone were oppressors bent on wiping out Itsekiri people from the zone.

But the ACF chairman told them that Arewa had already taken a position against creation of new states in the country and assured the Itsekiri people of support.

 Chief Jemide said the purpose of their visit was to exchange ideas and seek for areas of cooperation between the Itsekiri ethnic nationality and their Arewa brothers.

“This is not novel. Such relationships once existed up to our Independence. Our link then was our late Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh whose relationship with the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello and our late Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa is well known. Such was the tie that they all suffered the same fate in the unfortunate and senseless coup of 1966. May their souls rest in perfect peace.

“One of the prominent children of the late Chief Okotie-Eboh is a member of our delegation present at this meeting. He is Chief Adolor Okotie-Eboh. Our other brothers, Mr Ejueyitsi and Allison Ayida as public servants also related with some of you during your public service years,” he stated.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/51203-north-has-final-say-on-state-creation-acf

Jonathan and war against corruption

Friday, 23 November 2012


Deputy Editor, Olawale Rasheed, unearths some insider details on the war against corruption and conclude that the president may have to move beyond exposure of corruption to shaking up the judiciary for convictions and deterrence.

THE Federal Government is increasingly worried about citizens` perception of the corruption war within the public sector even as the tactics and approach of the presidency to tackling the menace is coming under the scrutiny of stakeholders within the Nigerian project. From the Farouk Lawan probe of the oil sector and further revelations in the various sectors, the administration is under increasing pressure to re-assess its strategies, especially as the opposition is harping on public emotions to paint the government’s anti-graft campaign black.

Prior to the Jonathan presidency, most Nigerians were convinced that corruption was the most entrenched challenge drawing back the wheel of national development, with many examples of corrupt conducts in the past used as a basis for their assessment. Series of mind- boggling revelations from 1999 to 2007 also served to further harden the perception and later the belief of the citizenry that the public sector cannot be weaned away from corruption. Many local and international analysts are unrepentant in classifying Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

Such observers based their conclusions on alleged lack of transparency in the oil sector, foreign assets acquisition by Nigerian leaders, reports of one corrupt discovery or the other as well as confirmed loopholes in the nation`s budgetary processes. The situation was so bad that government`s spokesmen could not whitewash their principals,  and attempts to deny the existence of large scale corrupt practices in the public sector amounted to an exercise in futility.

The situation got to a head in early 2009 when the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative [NEITI] issued its audit report for the oil sector covering 2006 to 2008.The damning report catalogued a whole lot of shady deals demanding urgent rectifications. The audit report noted that ``the un-7reconciled ‘‘differences’’ between what was paid in by companies and what was declared as received by government were highlighted as follows:

Royalty in 2006: companies paid in $4,457.9million while government received $4,418.5million leaving an un-reconciled difference of $ 39.4 million. This difference in what companies paid in 2007 and 2008, and what government received was found to be below the set materiality level;
·Signature bonuses: From 2006 to 2008, the companies paid a total of $1,470.80million to government, while government received $1,523.3million as bonuses. This leaves a difference of $52.5million.The Audit report observed further listed cases of under assessments/underpayments as including:
· NNPC owed the Federation for domestic crude the sum of N842.7 billion as at 31st December, 2008;
·  NNPC deducted the subsidy claims of N816.55 billion directly from the domestic crude proceeds before remitting the balance to the Federation Account without authorization;
·NNPC receiving $3.789 billion dividends from NLNG for 2006-2008 did not confirm payments were made to the Federation account;
·  Audit recalculations of royalty for the years 2006-2008 estimate an underpayment of $2.33billion arising from subjective interpretation of volume, pricing and API;
· Underassessment of $690 million in Petroleum Profit Tax due to Pricing mechanism used (Realizable Price instead of Official Selling Price):
· Due to discrepancies between annual PPT returns and Annual Financial Statements there has been an underassessment of $424.6 million in the determination of PPT value; and
·Operating Expenses (OPEX) indicate a possible under assessment of $364.9 million.

NEITI in the audit report promised to work with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to recover these underpayments from companies and remit same to the Federation account. The report also recommended reform of the petroleum laws to block loopholes for corrupt sharp practices. The report issued under the late Yar`Adua presidency was lying fallow when the transition caught up with the nation, leading to the acting presidency of Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

Investigations by The Friday Edition revealed that when the president assumed office in February 2010 under the acting president clause invoked by the National Assembly, the NEITI report was on his table alongside the Petroleum Industry Bill already submitted to the National Assembly by late president. NEITI had recommended the reform bill but records showed that the late president was yet to act on some issues contained in the report such as the recovery of underpayments and blocking of avenues that made it possible.

Those close to the president in his first few weeks as acting president noted that he, indeed, identified corruption, especially in the oil sector as the main problem that must be tackled.  As recently confirmed by the president himself, he actually ordered the then minister of finance to engage a reputable company to audit the petroleum sector in view of the public anger and available evidence as provided by the NEITI report. The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Finance, hired KPMG and another Nigerian auditing firm, S.S. Afemikhe & Co., in July 2010.

The KPMG report, when delivered, was however discovered to be more damning than even the NEITI report, as the 41-page report detailed  sharp business practices, violation of laid down rules and regulations, illegal deductions of funds belonging to the state, and failure to account for several billions of naira that should go to the federation account. The report alleged that the petroleum corporation has also severely defrauded the country in subsidy claims with auditors discovering that between 2007 and 2009 alone, the NNPC over-deducted funds in subsidy claims to the tune of N28.5bn.

The Friday Edition was told that the report commissioned by the president himself was about to be submitted to him for a consequent review panel when its existence was leaked to the public. The public reaction was then spontaneous with the political opposition appropriating the report in their war against the president. An administration source told The Friday Edition that the way and manner the report was leaked was designed to deny the President who commissioned the report of the credit.

``The president commissioned the report for a second view on the NEITI report. The report was yet to be handed over to him when the controversy started. If the president is not interested in stopping the rot in the oil industry, why will he insisted on contracting an international firm like KPMG to do audit?``, the official said angrily.

Checks showed that it was the KPMG report that first identified the detailed scams and fraud ongoing in the subsidy fund management alongside other shady deals in the oil industry. Division as to how best to address the report was said to have led to the original decision to remove the fuel subsidy. Findings showed that low level of coordination between the Ministry of Finance and Petroleum especially on the findings of the report rubbed the President of a major gain from his initiative on the KPMG report.


1. Namadi Sambo, Vice-President 2. Anyim Pius Anyim, SGF 3. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance Minister

To compound matters for the president, the other leg of anti-corruption efforts through the PIB bill was compromised, as forces against the oil sector reform infiltrated the National Assembly, leading to existence of various version of the bill in circulation. It was gathered that the withdrawal of the old bill  and the submission of a new one now under processing  allow for the operation of the subsisting petroleum law which allows for the many sharp practices. A player in the sector noted that ``as long as the current law subsists, corruption in the oil sector will be difficult to tame for there are many loopholes operators are exploiting.
‘’If you read the Ribadu report, he confessed that most shady deals are effected through loopholes in the laws. So, the road to go is to remove holes in the law. But that is outside the powers of the president. It is a legislative thing``, she noted.

The Friday Edition, in the course of putting up this report, actually sought to find out the administration`s approach and philosophy in the fight against corruption. Checks showed that the president had two options when he took over the fight against corruption, namely direct clampdown on corrupt spots and two exposure of corruption alongside strengthening of institutions.

Our findings revealed that the administration appeared to have rejected the first option because of many considerations. Some keen watchers noted that the circumstances under which the president assumed the mantle of leadership as well as challenges facing him demand he consolidates to withstand any fight back by corruption cabal. The second reason identified is said to be the fear that direct assault on the entrenched corruption spots may jeopardise the sustenance of the fragile democratic system. Last of the reason according to our checks was the reality that the corruption crisis is pervasive and could not be rooted out without first nationally sensitising the citizenry through exposure of those involved in the deals.

An administration source noted that the president is more disposed to the second option because it will guarantee stability of the polity, expose corruption for prosecution under due process and strengthen institutions to block avenues for corrupt practices. According to him, `` this is not a military regime. We cannot arrest on mere suspicion. Proper investigation has to be done to secure conviction``

'The option of fighting corruption through exposing actors is said to be designed to achieve many purposes. The first was to make similar acts unattractive because of public reproach and the second to entrench anti-corruption culture. As noted by another supporter of the president, ``all sectors notorious for corruption are now opened up to the public.
'

``Jonathan did not shield even his friends. The oil sector, power, fertilizer subsidy and others. Nigerians know everything now. That is exposure. Let me tell you, Nigerians won’t allow anybody to steal in any of those sectors again. As for those arrested, yes, the judiciary is handling that. Jonathan cannot arm-twist the judiciary. If he does that, you guys will call him a dictator``, the administration official said.

Critics are however unconvinced that the president`s approach is working. To them, corruption is increasing and spreading as actors believe there will be no consequence. In a recent media chat, the president directly replies critics when he declared that no administration in the recent past had done as much he has done to fight corruption.

Checks showed that the president based his declaration on some disclosure and ongoing actions in the various sectors of the economies. The first is an end to the fertilizer scam through which the nation loses fifteen to twenty billion annually. This step has however earned the administration more enemies than friends as those affected continue to sulk. The other example is the Aig Imoukuede report which has provided the basis for ongoing trial of alleged high profile subsidy scammers.

'The publication of names of indicted oil marketers was trumpeted by supporters of the president as the first of its kind in the nation`s history. Also flaunted is the decisive action in the power sector which saw a minister`s exit due to conflict of interest and eventual privatisation of the power firms. Very significant in the administration`s viewpoint is the new petroleum industry bill which is programmed to address all loopholes that allow for shady scams within the oil sector.

The worries of critics however persist as they would rather want sack of some high profile minister to show how decisive the president is. Fingered most of the time is the minister of petroleum, Mrs Dieziani Allison Maduake. Her supporters however see such clamour as unfair as they argued that nothing directly incriminating has been found against the oil chief.

The Ribadu report, her supporters noted, contained a disclaimer in the opening page which disqualified the report from being used to sanction any official. According to one of such supporter,`` the disclaimer notes that figures used in this report are not fully verified. The report had said due to time frame of the assignment, some of the data used could not be independently verified and the task force recommends that the government should conduct such necessary verifications and reconciliation.

``How do you sack a minister on account of such a report? That disclaimer means nothing in the report should be acted upon until further review are made. Yet some people want her sacked. The same thing can be said of the finance minister. See how she handled the subsidy scammers; see how she got the Presidential panel to do a thorough job.

``Yet some people want her sacked. I think those who hate Jonathan just want to destabilise his government``, the top politician said at the federal secretariat in Abuja.

While debate rages on the effectiveness or otherwise of the president’s strategy in tackling corruption, The Friday Edition however discovered that the role of judiciary is the most over looked in the fight against corruption. As the executive and legislative arms are exposing corrupt acts and deeds, the judiciary seem to be slow in catching up with the process.
I

ncreasingly, there is a build up of opinion that the president`s strategy can only produce fast and efficient results if judicial reform is activated through executive and legislative push. Will the President be willing to venture into that area? Only time will tell.

By Linda Eroke

Workers in the civil engineering and construction industry have commended the decision of the Federal Government to revoke the concession agreement granted Bi-Courtney Highway Services for the expansion, repair and maintenance of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
President Goodluck Jonathan had last week re-awarded the contract for the repair and maintenance of the Expressway to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and RCC.


Responding to the cancellation, the workers, under the auspices of the National Union of Civil Engineering, Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), said the revocation has been long overdue; given that the concession agreement was granted four years ago without any visible work being done by Bi-Courtney on the Expressway.


The union’s General Secretary, Mr. Babatunde Liadi, explained that the company refused to commence any repair or maintenance on the road, while the road continues to be a death trap, killing and maiming many Nigerians and giving room to hoodlums and armed robbers to use the bad portions of the expressway to perpetrate their heinous acts.


The union spokesman however, condemned the deplorable state of roads across the country, calling on governments at all levels to embark on repairs and maintenance of roads and other infrastructural facilities without further delay.


On the Subsidy Re-Investment Programme (SURE-P), wherefrom state governments receive allocations for infrastructures and other developmental projects announced by the federal government in the wake of the fuel hike/fuel subsidy crises in January 2012, Liadi expressed regret that this allocation has not positively impacted on the infrastructure in many states.


The union scribe therefore demanded that all state governments’ must publish in Nigeria media projects executed with these allocations specifically.


Liadi further lamented the refusal of governments, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to pay for construction jobs that have been completed, noting that this singular action has stifled development in the civil engineering and construction sector and the nation’s economy as a whole.


“Governments, especially states and local governments as well as MDAs are withholding payment for contracts that have been certified completed, and this has really affected our employers and in turn affected our members who are being sacked everyday due to redundancy as there was no money to pay for their salaries and emoluments.


“This has also led to high rate of abandoned projects in the country as the construction companies can no longer muzzle the financial wherewithal for the payment for raw materials, labour and maintenance of machinery for the completion of the jobs,” he said.


The union leader, who frowned at the continuous casualisation of workers in the industry, said that non-payment for certified completed projects also contributed to increasing the rate of casualisation and unemployment in the country.


He called on employers involved in the casualisation and contract practices to respect the country’s labour laws, the international labour standards and conventions guiding casualisation and contract employment, as well as collective bargaining agreement.


He warned that as from January 2013, the union would tackle the casualisation and other anti-labour practices by any employer in the industry.


Liadi also noted that the tax burden on Nigerian workers is still unacceptable, calling on the government to further increase the tax relief to the workers, as the present tax relief is not commensurate to the tax paid by the workers.


On insecurity, he frowned at the general state of insecurity in the country, especially influx of fire arms and bombs, killings and community strives, among others, which made Nigeria to have gradually descended to break down of law and order wherein Nigerians are losing faith and trust in the government.


He therefore, recommended total overhaul of the Nigeria Police Force through decent and professional recruitment, training, empowerment, saying that emphasis should be placed on intelligence, surveillance and adequate policing (not excluding community policing), adequate funding of police force and employment creation to reduce or eliminate crimes. 

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-ibadan-expressway-construction-workers-hail-fg-decision/131661/

By Tobi Soniyi 

The Supreme Court Friday dismissed an appeal by former Kogi State governor, Abubakar Audu, challenging his trial for alleged embezzlement of N4 billion.

Audu was originally arraigned on December 1, 2006, on an 80-criminal count charge of fraud and embezzlement of public fund, to the tune of over N4 billion, while he was governor of Kogi State between 1999 and 2003.

Part of the setback suffered by the case was the filling of several applications for stay of proceedings at the high court pending the final determination of the appeal.

Audu had on December 12, 2011, through his lead counsel, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, filed the stay of proceedings motion supported by 11-paragraph affidavit.

This was 26 clear days after the Supreme Court of Nigeria on November 16, 2011, struck out a similar application he filed on January 24, 2011.

It will be recalled that Justice Husseini, in his ruling of June 10, 2011, had held that since the matter was starting afresh  "the starting point was the re-arraignment of the accused (ex- governor Abubakar Audu) by taking his plea afresh.

But Audu disagreed and filed an appeal. He also filed an application for a stay of the trial.

A third stay of proceeding which motion, the accused filed, was in relation to his appeal before the Court of Appeal.

"The case at the Court of Appeal is attacking the jurisdiction of the court to re-arraign the accused person; that motion is pending. The appellate courts are obliged to take these cases separately and determine its merit and demerit, no matter how frivolous it is. Like Pontius Pilate, wash your hands off until the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court concludes this case", Ozekhome told the court.

Five justices, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, sat in chambers and came up with their ruling, a copy of which was presented before Justice Saidu Tanko Husseini of High Court of Kogi State on December 9, 2011 when the case came up.

But Ozekhome had argued against the presentation of the ruling by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, as he said that in his about 30 years experience at the bar, he was unaware of such a legal jargon as "sitting in chambers".
He described the Supreme Court's ruling as a possible forgery which he must verify.

The judge obliged his prayers and adjourned till December 22, 2011. But three days after, (December 12, 2011), he filed another stay of proceedings at the high court.

Count one of the 80 count charges reads "that you, Prince Abubakar Audu on or about 6th day of Feb 2001 at Kogi State Judicial Div. by false pretence and with intent to fraud obtained from Kogi State Directorate of Rural Development, the sum of N6, 263.000 purporting same to be part payment made to Leo Flinch Nig. Ltd in respect of a contract allegedly awarded by Kogi State Directorate of Rural Development to the said Leo Flinch Nig. Ltd and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee fraud and other related offences Act 13 of 1995 as amended by Act No 62 of 1999".


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/n4bn-scam-supreme-court-clears-road-for-abubakar-audus-trial/131544/

By Daji Sani

The men of 23rd Armoured Brigade Yola, have arrested a 24years old member of dreaded Boko Haram insurgent Malam Muhhamed Ibrahim, in Mubi local government area of Adamawa State.

Ibrahim was intercepted at a military check point driving a Honda Hellsen saloon car with Lagos registration number CF 26 SMK and also in a possession of a pistol and sum of N3.5million.

During interrogation he gave useful information to the security men leading to discovery of  a bomb manufacturing company belonging to the sect located off Mubi Maiha Road.

Lately, Mubi LGA has come under series of attacks carried out by Muslim insurgent Boko Haram group which operational field is located in Borno state, a border state with Adamawa.

The Brigade commander of Nigeria Army 23 Armoured Brigade Yola, Brigadier John Nwoaga parading the suspect told journalists that a vehicle was intercepted by his men and found to be in possession of a pistol while his vehicle was stacked with money in different currencies was.

Nwoaga disclosed that the suspect gave useful information that led to a clampdown on a bomb factory located at a new layout, in an isolated area of the town where police uniforms, grenade, tear-gas gunboots, simcard were recovered.

He however called on well meaning Nigeria to join hand of fellowship with security operative  to fight the war against terrorism.

He cautioned people fabricating lies against security agents to desist from such an act which he said was of no good to the development of the nation.

According to him "Military will not be deterred by such fabricated stories, we will keep on protecting every citizens of this country irrespective of such person religious affiliation or tribe".

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/boko-haram-kingpin-arrested-in-adamawa-bomb-factory-closed/131541/