₦airaland Forum

Arresa /Aresa take note.


Hatred for achievements not from Lagos and/or APC is an affront to the collective good of Nigerians.

wirinet:
i think Tonyebarcanista should change his mind on the use of sabotage by Avengers to achieve their demands, since most of our eastern brothers support their methods, but he should suggest that the Avengers bomb some infrastructures in the east like the Niger bridge and Aba Market, they should also cripple economic activities in the east too, so that their people can share in the sufferings and sacrifices of the struggle also.

Unfortunately, they are looking for places with Federal presence and those places you mentioned have none.

If I may ask, can I have the link to the poll you conducted for the alleged support for the Avengers.

Somebody should tell CNBC that Nigeria has recovered more than $88 billions looted by Jonathan's administration hence no shaking.

Our foreign reserves is now $118 billions - Lai Mohammed

See who Ijaw Elders are suspecting in this letter written to President Buhari

Ijaw Elders Write Buhari On Tompolo And Pipeline Vandalism

The Ijaw Council of Elders- Delta State has written to President Muhammadu Buhari on Tompolo, alleged arrest of Ijaw elders, and other issues. In the letter titled 'Pipeline Attacks: Ijaw Elders Say No To Another Military Invasion of Gbaramatu Kingdom', it stated that,"While not holding brief for Tompolo, the ex-militant leader and contractor to the Federal Government had the backing of former President Goodluck Jonathan in policing the pipelines during which period he stepped on toes of many big time oil bunkerers across the nation. That way, oil production was raised to a record height. As one now in opposition party, could agents of the present ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) whose toes he stepped on, be fighting back with actions for smear campaign."


On the threat to arrest Ijaw elders, the letter further stated that,"It is sad to note that Commanding Officers of the military in occupation threatened to arrest elders of the Ijaw communities where there was vandalization of oil installations. No such threat was issued to elders of communities in the North East where Boko Haram has held sway for years with sustained capacity for wrecking occasional and spectacular havocs on the populace till now. It should be noted that elders have words, not guns to confront arms and angry youths and can only deploy words, to effect, only if the youths believe the Federal Government would respect the words of the Ijaw elders. The seeming treatment that the Ijaw/Niger Delta is a conquered territory in the Nigerian nation is unfortunate and does not promote a sense of belonging."

I hereby condemn the wanton destruction of public infrastructures and oil installations by the Avengers.

Decibel:
Lies, poorly written conjectures, if the weapons were procured as you claimed, it would have been all over the media with Lai Mohammed and his lying crew claiming that it was because of Buhari's body language that made it so. Finally, remember facts are SACRED!!

Don't mind the Liars, all weapons delivered so far were ordered by Dasuki but the delivery were delayed.

Dasuki listed the items expected in the coming days to include “Alpha jets, APCs, MRAP vehicles, advanced artillery pieces, assorted arms and ammunitions, highly sophisticated surveillance drones, T72 and carried out modification of F7 supersonic jet fighters.”

The arms also included armoured tanks with comprehensive NBC protection system, Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles with capacity to withstand explosions, Improvised Explosive Devices and assorted Armoured Personnel Carriers with effective protective system against small arms fire and shrapnel.

Caseless:
name one LG thats under boko Haram control.

See what APC Senator said recently as reported by punchng

Boko Haram controls half of Borno, says Senator Garbai

February 7, 2016

PunchNG: The Senator representing Borno Central, Baba Kaka Garbai has said that the story that the insurgents have been degraded is nothing but a lie as the terror group still hold on strong to about 50 percent of troubled Borno State.

Garbai who spoke to journalists on Saturday evening during a condolence visit to Dalori village where 65 persons were reported killed last week by the insurgents said, the truth about the accomplishment of the military in Borno State was never truly spoken as the Boko Haram and the Nigerian nation are presently administering about the same territories in the state.

He said both the military and Boko Haram have full control of three separate local governments in troubled Borno State and share control in all the 21 other local governments.

Garbai, who was in Dalori with financial and material assistance to the people of the village, said: “I feel highly demoralized, devastated in the sense that this is the village we came during the election and they were going about their normal business. The activities that were ongoing was like confidence building.

“They actually got the signal a few days before the attack that the insurgents were likely to attack them,they reported to the constituted authorities but nothing was done.

I will like to appeal to the military to intensify their effort in ensuring they beef up security around the villages and communities that share borders with Maiduguri metropolis. It is very important and more so that this place is porous, there could be attack from any direction.”

He said it was a lie and misconception that the insurgents have largely be overpowered by the military, insisting that:
“It is a wrong assumption that most of the local governments in Borno are recapturedfrom the Boko Haram. In reality this is not true in the sense that apart from Maiduguri Metropolis, Bayo and Kwaya Kusar, these are the three local government that are under the occupation of the Nigerian government where the military and police are maintaining law and order.

“Mobbar, Abadam and Kala Balge are 100 percent occupied by the insurgents. There are some local governments that are partially occupied by the insurgents especially as the local government secretariats have been liberated but their hither-lands are still controlled by the insurgents.”

Garbai gave an instance of Konduga which was liberated but still has many communities in the local government area under the insurgents.

He also said “though Gwoza town has been liberated there still remain six wards in Gwoza local government area still occupied by the insurgents.”

He said: “From my count, only three local government are fully liberated, 21 local governments partially occupied by insurgents, that is there is still some level of Boko Haram occupation side by side the military or any other constituted authority. The local government fully occupied by Boko Haram are Abadam, Mobbar and Kala Balge.’He advised that: “We should not live under the illusion that Boko Haram are decimated or weaken, these are not reality and neither a true reflection of the reality. The reality is that most of the local government in Borno is partially occupied by Boko Haram.”

On the proposed reconstruction, rehabilitation and relocation in the troubled areas, Garbai said it was inadvisable at least for now.

He said: “If the people are moved back to their homelands you are making them vulnerable to attack. Unless you provide maximum security and return of law and order in these areas, relocating these people would be endangering their lives.”

The Senate Leader, Mohammed Ndume, representing Borno South in the Senate however believed that much had been achieved by the military in retrieving captured Borno communities from the insurgents.

He also said it was not out of place to begin the reconstruction, rehabilitation and relocation of the destroyed communities.

He told journalists in Maiduguri on Sunday that: “I still have confidence in our military, I still want to believe that our military are on top of the situation. What is happening these days is the issue of intermittent suicide bombing and desperate attacks by the insurgents because their supply routes have been cut off and they attack in other to get supplies. They have been carting away foodstuffs of attacked communities.”

He said that the reconstruction and relocation should still continue in spite of recent attacks. He however admitted that if not immediately, at least the preparation should not be set aside.

The Senate Leader while arguing that the insurgency is winding out, said the recent setbacks are not limited to Nigeria alone, insisting that United States and recently France have come under isolated terrorist attacks.

He noted that the people of Borno displaced by insurgency are willing to go back to their homelands. He particularly mentioned that the people of Gwoza, his homelands are ready to return home, insisting that arrangements have already been concluded for this.

http://www.punchng.com/boko-haram-controls-half-of-borno-senator-garbai/

07 August, 2015

Many sophisticated arms and ammunition ordered by Jonathan still yet to arrive - Ex-NSA Sambo Dasuki


07 August, 2015
Many sophisticated arms and ammunition ordered by Jonathan still yet to arrive - Ex-NSA Sambo Dasuki


The immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki(retd.), has said some arms and ammunition, ordered during the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, have yet to arrive in country.

The former NSA said some elements, whose identities he did not disclose, were frustrating the nation’s efforts to get the critically needed equipment to fight the terror sect, Boko Haram.

Dasuki said these in an interview with PR Nigeria, an Abuja-based media consultancy outfit, consulting for the Nigerian military and security agencies.



According to him, the former government, a a point, queried some arm suppliers for the delay in the supply of the items paid for by the government.

He said some of the equipment procured by the Jonathan administration would arrive the country soon, but was not specific about the time.

“It was unfortunate that some elements are frustrating the efforts as we even had to query some suppliers for the delay in the delivery of arms and ammunition,” Dasuki said.

The former security chief, whose Abuja and Sokoto residences were raided by operatives of the Department of State Services recently, explained that the previous administration acquired a lot of highly sophisticated equipment to fight and reclaim 22 local government areas from the insurgents after years of frustration by some countries.

He listed the items to include “Alpha jets, APCs, MRAP vehicles, advanced artillery pieces, assorted arms and ammunitions, highly sophisticated surveillance drones, T72 and carried out modification of F7 supersonic jet fighters.”

The arms also included armoured tanks with comprehensive NBC protection system, Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles with capacity to withstand explosions, Improvised Explosive Devices and assorted Armoured Personnel Carriers with effective protective system against small arms fire and shrapnel.

He said the equipment were effectively utilised to recover 22 local government areas then under Boko Haram’s control and prevented the Boko Haram from disrupting the 2015 election.

Dasuki added that the security forces were able to use the equipment to prevent the leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau, from releasing videos of threats against the country.

at Friday, August 07, 2015

LRNZH:
Airforce: https://beegeagle./2015/12/29/discussion-thread-nigerian-airforce-2016-procurement-plan-details-the-acquisition-of-jf17-thunderfc-1-multirole-jets-super-mukshak-trainer-aircraft-and-mi-35m-attack-helicopters/

The applicable numbers detailed for acquisition in the 2016 tranche are as follows

– 10 units of Super Mukshak trainer aircraft

– 2 units of Mi-35M attack helicopters

– 3 units of JF17 Thunder multirole combat jets

The JF-17 have been delivered: http://defence-blog.com/news/nigeria-air-force-expected-deliveries-first-three-jf-17-thunders-in-2016.html

There are other ones minor ones (like artillery armament) that are not documented in public media and I am not privileged to release information on the working of the Nigeria security apparatus.

All delivery of ammunitions were budgeted for and ordered by Jonathan before he left office on 29th May, 2015.

Who do we believe?

NNPC Made No Dollar Remittance To Federation Account For 8 Months

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC has swept all the proceeds it made from oil and gas exports since April, 2015 to service Joint Venture (JV) Cash Call funding, implying, according to the report, a zero remittance to Federation Account from its operations.

The oil company report made available yesterday showed that it’s losses rose to N255.28 billion from N240.98bn recorded in October. The firm’s loss for the month of November alone was N14.29bn up from N12.22bn recorded in October.

For instance, in November, the corporation recorded $402.55 million as proceeds from Crude oil sales, LPG, NLNG Feedstock as well as miscellaneous receipts.

It diverted all the $402.55 million receipts to fund JV Cash Call obligation. It said the $402.55m even fell short of the $615.8m monthly requirement to fund its JV cash call.

A total of N255.28bn was lost by the NNPC between January and November this year, latest figures from the firm’s monthly financial and operations report for November 2015 have shown.

The last remittance to the Federation Account by the corporation was $184.9bn in April.

59.6% of the losses were attributed to mainly claimable pipeline repairs/management cost of N95.37bn, crude and product losses of N56.68bn due to vandalized pipelines.

The corporate headquarters of the oil firm posted the heaviest loss till date with N153.32bn. Its product supply and distribution arm, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) posted N69.60bn while all the three refineries are listed to have lost over N70bn till date.

Like in October, the refineries also recorded zero capacity utilisation in the month of November just as they recorded a loss of N7.21 billion for the latest month.

“Total crude processed by the three refineries for the month of November 2015 was zero,” the report said.

NNPC blamed the continued decline on oil price and consequent deterioration in crude oil and gas receipt as the major reasons for the shortfall and subsequent non- remittance to the federation account.

The report said, “Total export crude oil and gas receipt for the period of January - November 2015 is $4.54 billion. Of the total receipts, the sum of $0.61 billion was remitted to Federation Account while the balance of $3.94 billion was used to fund the JV Cash Call for the period. Thus JV funding has gulped more than 86% of the proceeds”

Giving explanations for the decline, it said, “The deterioration in Crude Oil and Gas receipt is in response to continued decline in oil price. Thus the proceeds are no longer sufficient to service the JV Cash Call obligation and remit to Federation Account. JV cash call is a first line charge to Federation Account and 2015 Approved Budget requires monthly funding of about $615.8m.

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/business/nnpc-made-no-dollar-remittance-to-federation-account-for-8-months/126896.html

AnanseK:
I don't understand what you mean by sychopanthy ( I am sure you don't either). But as Nigerians with good will towards our country we must remain optimistic when for once a President comes out and starts fighting corruption. You may not like it, you may not believe it , you may wish it away but majority Nigerians are cheering the President on and wishing him success in this fight. As for your misuse of the word " sychopancy" I don't know the president and have no plan of getting access to him for any favor but it's my duty to encourage his good will and more effort from him and from us all.
Please google : Jonathan’s Government Is The Most Corrupt Since 1960 – New York Times

Read more http://newswirengr.com/2014/11/24/jonathans-government-is-the-most-corrupt-since-1960-new-york-times/

When you have been brainwashed into believing propaganda, lies and media trials then there is nothing anyone can tell you on the contrary.

Buhari's Government at present is incubating the most form of institutionalized corruption through its policies and programs while the masses suffer in darkness, hunger, heat and hopelessness.

As for your second reply, where lies your patriotism? Is it the one compromised with absolute hate on everything Jonathan represented? This is just an accusation and as such remains so until an internal audit commissioned by the present minister is conducted and criminal investigation carried out as stipulated, there is no fraud established.

There is no response yet from Nigeria officials as per the allegations. Just because Nigeria is now synonymous with corruption, thanks to APC in opposition, GFATM wants to take advantage of perception to ripe Nigeria and withdraw their assistance because Nigeria ignored their complaints on ban on Gay Marriage and related offences law.

What actually is the problem when GFATM has agreed that there is no adequate mechanism to adequately measure the success and the degree of implementation of the programs?

Finally, we cited the GAC as saying that the Federal Government will need to be persuaded to take action to ensure that its grants are more effectively managed. ‘Recognising that a standard approach to risk mitigation will not be adequate for Nigeria, the Secretariat and OIG will work with the government and development partners to develop a strategic risk management framework tailored to Nigeria’s particular needs. The framework will include laying out a roadmap and milestones for the medium and long-term.’

http://africa-health.com/new/global-fund-wrestling-with-continuing-problems-in-its-nigerian-disbursements/

Until former Ministers and heads of the agencies concerned from 2010 - 2014 are given the opportunity to answer for the allegations, it remains null and void.

Nigeria's objections to LGBT activities are the reasons GFATM is coming up with these nonsense allegations and lame excuses to stop the aids because their sponsors are Gay marriage promoters - this is international politics, don't fall for it.

AnanseK:
Sorry to say that with due respect you are wrong. You cannot divert HIV funds or polio eradication funds to cover the outbreak of lass a fever or cholera , certainly not without due process and donor approval. The minister of health, the organizations involved and the government are brainstorming on how to recover the funds. They are not disputing the clear audit report from GF.

Did you comprehend the comment you quoted? I'm certain you didn't and moreover, who told you the nonsense that they are not disputing the reports?

AnanseK:
Jonathan had no capacity and never really tried to check corruption anywhere . We saw how he pardoned corrupt public servants and punished those who cautioned government about corruption. We saw how he supported and tolerated a female minister who was openly and confirmed corrupt. I doubt if he cared to know how GAVI and Global fund money as well as other multilateral and bilateral international support funds were spent. The buck stops at his desk and it's you who needs education. The ECONOMIST magazine did not describe Jonathan as an "ineffectual Buffoon" for nothing.

Sometimes you people carry this your sycophancy to astronomical level. You mean Buhari is checking corruption now in Nigeria ministries and parastatals? In Police Force or where exactly? For your information corruption in Nigeria public service is increasing and there is no end in sight.

Buhari body language is nonsense and has no effect on fuel marketers or service stations selling fuel above N200 even after receiving subsidy payment.

What exactly are you talking about? Corruption in CBN issuance of Forex to cronies of politicians?

Helena6:
Well, being "predictable" as in the bolded is not clear to me. If my understanding of that statement is that my comment is based on political, ethnic or religious interest, read my comment again
Lest you run into error of generalisation, this is my own 1st hand experience in a state being ravaged by Polio.
I followed the GAVI report quite a bit and I can say the last administration didn't want to be "distracted" from the election job which was quite close then.
In the corporate world today, my organisation/brand has also sponsored so many NGO events, the story is same. Some of their staff will rather cart away gifts meant for the event rather than share it.

Most time the corruption allegations are primarily based on embezzlement of funds meant for logistics and purchases but your argument is on administration and application which petty workers divert to their advantage. While I don't support diversion or enrichment of oneself at the expense of the poor population. I am of the opinion that such responsibility as distribution should be monitored by the government or local authorities.

It is expected that the utilization of the drugs should be the agency's primary concern. Whether those drugs were administered free of charge or sold to people who used them in the same target zone means success because the purpose was never defeated though you may argue otherwise.

It is the responsibility of our government to check if the beneficiaries are the targeted population.

The choice of Op's title is absolutely ridiculous and has no bearing on the report.

Babacele:
Madam if you know how NGOs operate, u ll understand that if in writing your reports, your M/E, impacts ,results and lessons must synergize with reality and the methodology of actuality...so if there are wide discrepancies in what was given ,spent and the result ehn something big is fishy and an audit could be called for . An audit usually involve a thorough scrutiny of the books submitted by all the parties involved........read again but slowly where the article talked about auditing. see am below:



“The audit report on Nigeria
covered US$889 million of
Global Fund grants, and
found systemic weakness in
the controls in various
government entities,” he
said.
“The investigation report
found fraud and collusion in
the amount of US$3.8
million.”
Dybul said the audit
reviewed multiple grants
between 2013 and 2015,
and identified significant
problems with internal
controls relating to
procurement conducted by
government agencies like
the National Agency for
Control of AIDS (NACA) and
the National Malaria
Elimination Programme
(NMEP).
The audit identified $20
million as expenditure for
which NACA was unable to
provide supporting
documentation.

Take your time to read this related report/controversy below between Nigeria Health Ministry and a donor agency (GAVI) to understand more of the game and be considerate in buying to my side of the argument.

A PREMIUM TIMES e-mail to GAVI, since May 26, seeking explanations for their alleged refusal to entertain explanations from Nigerian officials or organisations over the report remains unacknowledged and unreplied.

Between 2002 and 2014, the Nigerian government, through the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, received vaccine and cash-based support from GAVI Alliance to the tune of over US$100 million.

While US$165 million was disbursed for vaccines, US$143.5 million was for cash support through a number of mechanisms, including Health Systems Strengthening, Immunization System Support, operations costs for vaccine campaigns (Measles, Meningitis, and Yellow Fever), and Vaccine Introduction Grants.

Previous audits by GAVI had raised concerns about how Nigerian officials utilize disbursed funds.

For instance, a four-year audit between 2008 and 2011 revealed about US$300,000 unsubstantiated expenditures relating to the Immunization System Support programmes from 2009 to 2011.
In October 2014, GAVI released its findings from a Cash Programme Audit, CPA, of US$29 million it disbursed to Nigeria between 2011 and 2013.

The CPA findings claimed that funds – running into millions of dollars – meant for the procurement of vaccines and other immunization support activities in the period under review were mismanaged.

Of the total expenditure (US$29 million) stated in the period under review, 32 percent (US$9 million) was examined in the audit of which 87 percent (US$8.1 million) was found to be questionable.

The remaining US$20 million reported expenditure for the period could not be verified, according to GAVI, because of a number of limitations that included outstanding returns from states and poor security levels in some states which could not be visited.

“The report describes systemic weaknesses regarding the operation of controls and procedures in national systems used to manage Gavi cash-based support,” GAVI said in a statement following the report.


“As a result of specific findings the Government of Nigeria has agreed to repay funds deemed to have been misused, which are quantified as US$2.2 million.”

According to the report, 40 percent of the total expenditure of US$29 million (about N4.5 billion) within the two year period was spent on procurement.
GAVI further stated that based on its preliminary findings, cash-based support to Nigeria was suspended in April 2014 and funds previously disbursed but not yet used were immediately frozen.

The audit stated that there were fundamental weaknesses in the area of procurement which included collusion between government officials and contractors.

In certain instances, it stated, assets – such as incinerators, boreholes, and medical equipment – which had been delivered and full payments made were found to be non-functional.

The audit further established that several suppliers shared the same addresses and telephone numbers and that documents of different suppliers were signed by the same people.

“However, these related suppliers submitted separate quotations/bids in order to create the appearance of competition,” the report stated.

“Multiple companies registered to one individual are used to increase the chances of obtaining contracts at inflated prices – this was observed for procurement relating to printing, motor vehicles and incinerators. Some of the suppliers could not be located at the addresses provided to the NPHCDA.

“The audit noted inflated costs of assets/goods. An example is the purchase of motor vehicles where third parties purchased Toyota cars from a licensed Toyota dealer and sold the same cars to NPHCDA at double the price.”

In the area of tax payments on goods and services, the audit stated that it could not verify whether payments were correctly made to the relevant tax authorities. But it found out that from a sample of 184 companies with which NPHCDA transacted, the registration of 97 of them with FIRS (Federal Inland Revenue Service) could not be confirmed.

“In addition, NPHCDA records indicated that they had made VAT (Value Added Tax) and WHT (Withholding Tax) payments of approximately US$950,000 to FIRS in the period 2011 and 2013; independent validation of amounts received by FIRS indicates that only approximately US$70,000 is recognized as being received by them from NPHCDA,” the audit said.

“Specific accounts are not maintained in the accounting system for VAT and WHT to record and monitor the taxes paid.

“NPHCDA did not provide a statement or receipts from FIRS confirming how much has been paid to the tax authorities and if indeed the payments were received by FIRS – it was not clear how payments to FIRS for VAT and WHT could be made on behalf of companies whose existence was questionable.”

The report called for the suspension of disbursements to NPHCDA until it put in place a prudent management of GAVI funds.

It also sought for a reimbursement of US$2.2 million from the Nigerian government being the amount it claimed Nigerian officials mismanaged.

The report also requested the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to carry out a detailed investigation of the GAVI grants disbursed to Nigeria.
Before the completion of the GAVI audit, a Joint Letter of Understanding had been signed by Nigeria’s former Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu, and GAVI’s Chief Executive Officer, Seth Berkley.
In the letter, Dr. Chukwu admitted that there had been systemic weaknesses which may have led to inappropriate use of funds.

Dr. Chukwu also agreed that the Nigerian government “agrees on principle” to reimburse GAVI for any amounts identified as inappropriately used for the period under review.

At the time of the release of the GAVI report, the Civil Society Network Against Corruption, CSNAC, filed a petition to the EFCC demanding the investigation of Dr. Chukwu over the alleged mismanagement of the GAVI funds.
In a letter dated November 19, 2014, CSNAC stated that the alleged misused funds should not be refunded from Nigeria’s coffers, but rather from the individuals involved in the misappropriation.

Nigerian officials’ fury

When GAVI released its final report in late October 2014, it sparked anger among Nigerian health officials who accused the organization of unilaterally arriving at conclusions without giving them a chance for a reconciliatory exercise.

While noting the shortcomings and recommendations from the CPA, Nigeria’s implementing agencies insisted that the sum of US$233,000 remained unaccounted for as at June 30, 2014, and not the US$8.2 million claimed by GAVI in its May report or the US$2.2 million in the published report.

An angry Dr. Chukwu said his ministry’s zero tolerance for corruption was the reason he signed the joint agreement with GAVI, which committed both sides to transparency and integrity in transactions.

“That was also why in principle he signed the joint statement,” Dan Nwomeh, who was Special Assistant to the former minister at the time, said one month after the final audit report was released.

“That if at the end of the review of the audit including the responses of Nigeria and there are areas where funds may not have been spent in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding with GAVI, those funds would be refunded by Nigeria (that is, the NPHCDA).

“In fact, at the time the joint statement was signed, GAVI never informed the former minister that they had about 2 million dollars they were still querying.”
In addition to its petition to the EFCC, CSNAC had also followed up with a similar letter to the Nigerian government demanding explanations over the conduct of its officials in what it described as an “international embarrassment”.

In its response to CSNAC, the Nigerian government stated that it “strongly objected” to GAVI’s final report and accused the donor of “unilateral conclusion and publication”.

“The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) stands by its earlier response to the initial CPA Report issued by GAVI in May 2014,” the Nigerian government stated.

“The FMOH and NPHCDA strongly objected to GAVI’s final report which it released and published without carrying out a post audit reconciliation exercise (a standard audit practice); and without incorporating the Government of Nigeria response to the CPA as agreed withGAVI.”

According to the government, a significant downward revision of the ‘unaccounted sum’ of US$8.2 million in the audit’s initial report (in May) to US$2.2 million in the final report raised questions on the basis of the reduction without a reconciliatory process.
The government said that it became obvious from the GAVI report that any document not placed before the CPA Team was deemed ‘non-existent’.

It also said the CPA Team did not make any specific request for additional information and refused to engage senior management to seek clarifications on specific issues.

“In the CPA report, it was noted that there was no evidence for the transfer of N44.5 million to UNICEF, whereas no senior management staff in the Finance and Accounts Department was contacted for this document. UNICEF has since confirmed (in writing) receipt of the said funds,” the government said.

“The CPA Team performed field visits without informing the Federal Ministry of Health or NPHCDA of the locations and gave no feedback on return. Government of Nigeria provided evidence to show that the team in some instances visited wrong locations and interviewed wrong persons.

“The report claimed that incinerators were not delivered whereas all were delivered at the time of the CPA.

“In its final report, GAVI maintained that only $70,000 (about N11 million) was remitted to Internal Revenue body. FIRS has since confirmed in writing that over N237 million was received by it on the GAVI Alliance funded projects.”

The Nigerian government further stated that GAVI refused to conduct reconciliatory exercise following its response to the audit, turned down invitations for joint site visits for verification, and therefore had no basis to demand for a refund.

The government also stated that it went ahead to contact the Corporate Affairs Commission, FIRS, UNICEF, EFCC, and other agencies mentioned in the GAVI report.

“Contrary to GAVI’s allegation of NPHCDA engaging companies without appropriate registration, the Corporate Affairs Commission through a letter dated Wednesday, 25th June, 2014, in response to a request for the verification and confirmation of status of the companies by the NPHCDA, listed the names of those companies as duly registered with the Commission,” the Nigerian government said.

“The Federal Inland Revenue controverted GAVI’s assertion of failure to remit taxes vide a letter dated November 6, 2014, confirming the agency paid due taxes, even beyond GAVI quoted amount, as at when due.”

The federal government also stated that the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Agency and Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency in letters dated 10th October, 2013, and 26th June, 2013, respectively wrote to confirm the receipt of 7,140,278 units of vaccination cards in Kaduna and 1,105,300 units of Non Polio SIAs Vaccination cards in Bauchi.

These were contrary to claims in the GAVI report that those cards were neither produced nor delivered by the NPHCDA.

The Nigerian government also said that no petition, oral or written, had been submitted at the EFCC contrary to claims in the GAVI report that an official report had been lodged.

“Contrary to claims of failure to disburse fund by GAVI, UNICEF also wrote via its New York office to confirm receipt of funds from the NPHCDA as reported by the agency.”

GAVI’s silence

Following the responses by the Nigerian government, CSNAC led other civil society organizations to carry out an independent investigation into some of the claims made in GAVI’s final report.

Olanrewaju Suraju, CSNAC’s Chairman, said his organization solicited, free of charge, the support of civil society partners domiciled in states where NPHCDA claimed they had executed its incinerator projects.

“Responses were received from some committed and reliable networking partners and their officers were dispatched as field investigators who visited sites to verify the status of projects, and presented the findings from their sites visits,” said Mr. Suraju.

“CSNAC received support from CSOs and individuals who volunteered and assisted with visiting locations of incinerators constructed by the NPHCDA across the northern states of Nigeria.”

Civil society investigators visited 13 incinerator sites in seven northern states, including the Federal Capital Territory.

In Kano, for instance, the five sites visited – in Gwale, Municipal, Dambatta, Bichi, and Wudil – showed all the incinerators had been completed.

However, the incinerators at Numan in Adamawa State, and Wukari in Taraba State had not been built, according to the private investigators.

In November last year, CSNAC opened communication with GAVI’s Geneva office with a view to compare notes and share information regarding the report.
“We got no positive response,” Mr. Suraju said.

“We then reached out to GAVI’s American office via telephone in December and got a promise of an official response by January 2015.

“On January 8, 2015, CSNAC received a response from GAVI saying it had no further information to give on the issue beyond what it published on its website.”

Mr. Suraju said that it was unacceptable for any foreign organization to hide under Nigeria’s perceived corrupt status to level corruption charges against its government without providing verifiable evidence to support their claims.

“We are seriously concerned by GAVI’s adamant and uncooperative posture in spite of the apparent weight of evidence provided by the NPHCDA in the Nigerian government’s comprehensive response with attached documentations, the site visitations by CSNAC; confirmation of receipt of funds by UNICEF, tax remittances to FIRS, and authenticity of agencies by the CAC,” said Mr. Suraju.
“In the extant case, since the Government of Nigeria has refuted GAVI’s claims and provided documentary and other evidence which contradict GAVI’s claims, it is therefore surprising that GAVI has held on to its position as shown by the GAVI Management’s repeated utterances that ‘there was no significant change in their position.’
“GAVI needs to respond to charges by the Government of Nigeria that ‘many of the actions of the CPA team were not in tandem with expected level of professionalism; and may have been premeditated on a mindset”.

‘No case of fraud’

In the midst of the dispute between the NPHCDA and GAVI, the Nigerian government, led by Ms. Okonjo-Iweala still went ahead to refund the alleged misused funds of US$2.2 million to the organization.

[b]On August 11, the EFCC responded to CSNAC’s petition over the alleged mismanagement of the GAVI funds stating that no prima facie case of fraud, diversion of funds, or other crimes had been established in relation to the project.

“Our investigation confirmed that the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) paid all due taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service. The NPHCDA also paid required funds to UNICEF in 2012 for meningitis vaccine campaign (MENAFRIVAC),” the EFCC said in its response signed by Olaolu Adegbite, on behalf of the Executive Chairman.

“All contracts under the project were duly executed while the provisions of the Nigerian financial regulations for the public service were duly followed in the disbursement of duty tour allowances and other incidental expenses for the staff.”

The anti-graft agency stated that the findings of GAVI’s initial audit report was based on an unfounded suspicion of fraud and called for the ongoing reconciliation between the organisation and the NPHCDA to be concluded.
“We believe that the GAVI report underscores the effect of negative media coverage of events on our national reputation,” the EFCC stated.

“It is unfortunate that some reputable foreign organizations continue to perceive most Nigerians as corrupt and fraudulent in spite of contrary evidence.”[/b]

But despite the EFCC report, GAVI stuck to its claims. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala believed the donor agency despite protests by a government she served.

She brushed aside the concerns and proceeded to refund $2.2million to the organisation, even without clearance from the health ministry.

BetaThings:
Madam, I am sorry but you are the ignorant one
These criminals have been stealing for years and they are reported to Ministry of Health and nothing gets done

Let me tell you something that deserves summary execution that you are not aware of
MDR TB patients are usuyally quarantined and not allowed to go home
Their drugs must not run out and six-month are arranged for them as soon as they are checked in

Yet health workers are stealing the drugs from the quarantine centres and selling them ta pharmacies because some people who have MDR TB don't want to be quarantined want take their drugs at home, thereby exposing others to the disease
The protocol is that ALL MDR TB patients be quarantined

When Ministry of Health was told that some pharmacies are selling these drugs, it did nothing
MOH is just incubating a deadly epidemic and the earlier those people are shot, the better for the country

This subject under discussion is not some current affairs hence what health workers did or not isn't a problem here provided the drugs were used to prevent or eradicate the disease. The issue here is mainly about procurement and the utilization of the funds. Were the funds (not medicines) diverted or embezzled.

It is not conclusively all about health, medicine and administration rather accountability, trust and results.

The truth is that the above listed qualities and measurements cannot be ascertain without verifiable records hence an audit from both sides and eventual reconciliation of discrepancies is needed.

Helena6:
I believe this story because I had opportunity of volunteering for WHO-sponsored Immunizations Plus Days (IPD or polio Immunization) in a North-east state as a corp member and I wept for Nigeria! Against the slogan of "kick polio out" the fund administrators were "kicking polio around".
Vaccine being diverted, plus (milk, candy, cookies, detergents, etc) being cornered and shared after review meetings.
I also remember a cry out by a certain organisation earlier this year or late last year that NACA is sourcing substandard HIV test kit.
We can go on and on but the truth is that most NGO and donor-funded projects in Nigeria live large at the expense of the cause they are supposed to be promoting.

This your line of thought was adopted by Okonjo Iweala on Nigeria vs GAVI but Nigeria stood against GAVI and believed the reports of health ministry.

You see, Nigerians are predictable, they adopt a line of thought based on politics, religion or interest.

SLIDEwaxie:

But they spent 90 billion and we all know why that amount shot up that much...

The sudden passage of supplementary budged just for the purpose of embezzling for election caused that...

What type of reasoning faculty do you people possess?

The subject here is 2015 budget.

A budget signed 19 days to Buhari's inauguration was shot up?

Supplementary budget by who?

Keep babbling, Nairalanders dey hear you. Deceiving yourself thinking you're making a defence for Buhari's 19th generation policies and lying charades.

Nigeria should transform some parts of the creeks into a cosmopolitan cities like it built Lagos and Abuja.

Nigeria needs to decentralize its operational headquarters.

Administrative headquarters - North

Seat of Government - North Central

Agriculture - North East/Central/West

Heavy industries (Steel, Nuclear etc) - North


Economic Headquarters - South

Financial Capital - West

Trade - South East

Investments - South South

How much will this government returned being unspent 2015 budget?

The truth is that 2015 budget was signed on 10th May, 2016 and Buhari was sworn in on 29th of the same May, 2016 and this very capital budget was sparingly implemented.

Where is our money?

AnanseK:
Jonathan's diabolical legacy will linger on for years. The Global fund should punish Jonathan and his criminal gang who de flowered Everyday for six years .

Educate yourself to avoid speaking out of ignorance as it pertains to the subject matter.

Have you heard about GAVI, the response of ministry of health, public opinions of Nigerians regarding the controversy and Government's response? What have now changed? Jonathan is now the issue hence opposition now turns to proposition. This is not only inhumane but wickedness and unpatriotic.

Babacele:
Madam NGO........shey u read this from the article:



Mark Dybul, an executive
director at Global Fund, said
an audit report exposed
“challenges of grants not
achieving impact targets,
poor quality of health
services, treatment
disruptions and fraud,
corruption and misuse of
funds”.

And why believe their side of the story without a response from ministry of health?

The size and population of Nigeria is so large and diverse for an organization to make such allegation based on assumption.

Fraud is a relative word here. Nothing has been proved yet, not even diversion to other related illnesses or mismanagement. Fraud is for now out of question until proper investigation is conducted. Results achieved in Southwest or eastern Nigeria may not be replicated in northern Nigeria for instance hence let's allow the government to investigate.

For your information, if there is an outbreak of any life threatening sickness never foreseen, diversion is necessary for which reconciliation is needed or maybe a refund.

Can someone tell me something spectacular about this news?

Before you dabble into a subject you know nothing about, this is a conditional grant and there are specifics and standard procedures and practices involved in it's application. The donor wants explanations and relevant records to support judicious use of the funds according to terms they stipulated and from the available records there are discrepancies hence they are not satisfied because reconciliation is needed but not forth coming.

What is at stake?

It doesn't mean explicitly that the money was embezzled or mismanaged rather the donor agency is not convinced hence the need for government auditors to weigh in and provide satisfactory records or at worst reimburse them where the funds where diverted for another purpose.

It has happened before where Nigeria reimbursed donor agency and this is not something new. It is part of the terms and conditions attached.

hmuhammad:
"more than once" do you know how many times they struck the IDP camp during GEJ's regime? We saw hell during the last administration, then we used to sleep with one of our eyes opened. You can't even travel by air, traveling by road was very risky.

I am only here to prove that Bokoharam was technically defeated few weeks before the 2015 election by Goodluck Jonathan's regime and I am sure I have achieved that.

Thanks and have a nice day.

Why should signing a controversial budget be applauded?

APC's infighting and corruption padded, delayed, re-engineered and frustrated the budget until now.

Did PDP opposed the budget from day one? No, certainly not. How then is this national embarrassment worth celebrating?

Wonders they say, shall never end.

hmuhammad:
Ogbeni swerve, all the elections were conducted in MMC, Biu, Hawwul, Shani, Beni sheik. All constituencies you claimed elections were conducted was inside IDP camps in maiduguri metropolitan council... I should be educating you on what happened during GEJ reign, we now sleep with our two eyes closed in maiduguri. NA have recorded a massive success in the fight against terrorism, come and see for yourself and stop posting lies on social media

Why was Bokoharam incapacitated if they weren't defeated then?

Bokoharam has struck IDP camp more than once in this present Buhari's regime, what paralyzed them then from bombing or attacking IDP Camps during the elections??

hmuhammad:
[s][/s]have you visited northeastern Nigeria before? I've been in maiduguri since 2010. You shouldn't come here to lie

Was there any constituency in Maiduguri or Borno State that elections weren't conducted in 2015?


Swerve, did Bokoharam vote to send Jonathan back to Otueke?

Is the Oil and Gas wells on the highways?

What is the distance between those Oil installations and your proposed major highways?

Maybe, why not suggest to the government to build highways along those pipelines instead?

Your points are purely academic and wouldn't reduced vandalism.

Patriotism is the answer, make everybody, region, ethnicity and religion fully participate in governance.

Nigeria is too diverse to forge a common interest. Many waters have already crossed under the bridge.

What effect has you comment on recent developments in Nigeria?



Always say something meaningful

He is just doing Fayemi's job.

If Hon Chibuike Amaechi can alter the budget to get Lagos Calabar Railway rolling then Fayemi should be ashamed for not doing enough for a State he impoverished with his extravagant lifestyle.

Jonathan handed over all Nigerian territories to President Buhari while the leftover Bokoharam boys are on the run.

The morals of Nigerian Soldiers were at all time high. Don't forget - Never Again.

It is worthy to note that Elections were conducted in 774 Local Government Councils of Nigeria without exemption - This is the fact

Make no mistake, the use of South African Air Support mercenaries worked and saved a lot of would-be casualties on the side of Nigerian Soldiers.

The escalation, regrouping and comeback of Bokoharam which the present government is fighting was caused by Buhari's change of gear and abrupt termination of South African Air-support military contractors.

Why is Shettima yet to answer for the kidnap of Chibok Girls? #shettimabringbackchibokgirls.

Shettima reopened schools the Federal Government ordered closed.

WAEC warned Shettima on the dangers of conducting WAEC Examination and he ignored the warnings even when Federal Government Colleges in the region are still under lock and key.