₦airaland Forum

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed the
commitment of his administration to create a
public registry of beneficial owners of companies
in Nigeria.
The President’s promise followed a PREMIUM
TIMES publication of the names of 106 Nigerians
and firms who own companies and assets in
offshore tax havens.
The revelation is part of the biggest data leak in
history now known as the PanamaPapers.
The leaked database contained the internal data
of Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, which
was obtained by German newspaper,
Süddeutsche Zeitunge, and shared by the
International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists (ICIJ) with PREMIUM TIMES and other
media organizations around the world.
The President’s commitment alongside other far-
reaching measures to combat corruption and
improve transparency was contained in the
country’s draft statement during the anti-
corruption summit in London on Thursday.
Mr. Buhari said to enhance transparency in assets
ownership, his administration would establish a
public central register of beneficial owners of
companies.
Suggesting that the process of creating the
register was already underway, Mr. Buhari said
the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition
Bill he sent to the national assembly in February
defined beneficial ownership in line with the
expectations of the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF).
Established in 1989, the FATF is an inter-
governmental body that sets standards and
promote effective implementation of legal,
regulatory and operational measures for
combating money laundering, terrorist financing
and other related threats to the integrity of the
international financial system.

…it is evident that the closer one is
to government the less possible it is to
see reality and feel the people’s pulse.
The ordering of policies – however
necessary they are – is a bit reckless. A
carrot-and-stick policy should have some
carrots. Where are the carrots here? All
we see is the stick. Poor Nigerians are
being made to feel like they are the
cause of Nigeria’s malaise. All we hear is
how we should bear more and more
pains, because ‘Baba is working hard for
all of us’.
The Federal Government, after a meeting with
unions, NNPC and other stakeholders, yesterday
announced that it will now ‘fully deregulate’
Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) prices, because it
has come to the conclusion that Nigeria cannot
continue subsidising that subsector, among other
reasons. This action has met with kudos from
many quarters, and knocks from others.
I happen to be one of those who opposed the
removal of subsidies in January 2012, but for me,
the chief reason then was that I believed we
should not be bamboozled into overlooking the
massive fraud that had happened under the so-
called subsidy regime. Nigerians later found out
that N2.3Trillion was paid out as subsidies in
2011 – an unprecedented figure, and a record-
breaking fraud, as most of that were for phantom
fuel supplies. The irony is that today, all the
perpetrators of the heist are still walking around
free, and most of the cases have gone cold –
including the one involving one Honourable
Farouk Lawan who was caught with $600,000 in
his Shagari-type hat, in a sting set up by the SSS
allegedly on the orders of former President
Goodluck Jonathan. Meanwhile, our best shot at
tackling corruption is to pursue one man for false
asset declaration. But I digress.
By every means, the government should exit this
business of ‘subsidy’ because it has enabled
criminals to feed fat on the blood, sweat and tears
of hapless Nigerians. I had advised that
government removed its hands entirely when
crude oil dropped to $28/barrel. That was the
perfect time. But the next best time, is now.
However, trust Nigerians, if government says ‘not
more than N145, hardly will anyone sell below
that upper limit. My observation of the type of
economic system we have been running for the
past decade is one which enables superrich
people to take advantage of the poor. It is
scorched-earth capitalism.
There are many issues that need to be carefully
considered, this morning after the government
‘bit the bullet’. First, how did PMS prices climb up
to N145 in Nigeria in a time when crude oil – and
PMS prices – are at all-time-lows elsewhere? What
happens when crude oil climbs to $80 or more?
Officially, naira has devalued by about 33 percent
since 2011 when fuel sold at N65 (even though
with much subsidy). The point is that we were
never able to shake this subsidy thing. Even
when crude oil price went as low as $28, the
PPPRA still alleged that subsidy was being paid –
even though they claim that 80 percent of pump
price depends on global crude prices. The bond
between the regulators and importers/marketers
is so strong, and the poorest of the poor bear the
brunt of their incest. An importer told me over
the weekend how he imports at anything
between N86 and N150 per litre (landing price),
with his transportation cost from the ports to
filling station being N14 per litre, and I asked how
come their prices never go down even though in
the countries where they buy these refined
crude, prices have crashed – sometimes up to 70
percent!
I pity the poor in Nigeria. If fuel has
moved from N3.00 in the time of
Obasanjo, to N65 under Yar’Adua, to N97
under Jonathan (whom we fought to a
standstill for trying to move it to N140)
and now N145 without debate, BY HOW
MUCH HAVE PEOPLE’S SALARIES GROWN?
… I just feel like living standards are
dropping; a helpless, sinking feeling like
it will all catch up with one soon enough.
Crude oil prices determine pump price in other
places. I recall that two years ago, PMS was $4.00
per gallon in Houston, TX, USA. The last time I
was there – two weeks ago – it was $1.80. In
London, the pump price is presently an average
of GBP1.08 (or $1.50 per litre). It used to be over
GBP2.00. In the UK, 61 percent of fuel price is
taxes (partly to discourage people from driving
but to instead use the train and buses). So, the
real price is much less than what appears at the
filling station.
The reality – to Nigerians – is that as the price falls
elsewhere, it climbs in Nigeria. Mind you, in these
other countries, not only is per capita GDP (or
average income), like 100 times more than
Nigeria, but they also (like London) have fantastic
and cheap transport systems that makes it totally
optional for one to drive into any filling station. In
fact most workers have no cars, and when they
do, they use them sparingly. We can see Mayors
(Governors), and even their Prime Ministers,
inside trains and buses. This way, they use the
services they provide and are able to assess their
efficacy. The story is different here. Government
hardly exists for the poor.
The other issue is how this pans out from today. I
bought fuel in Minna about a month ago at N300
per litre. In Kaduna three weeks ago it was N230.
Those guys are not going to listen to this ‘NOT
MORE THAN N145’ business. Will petrol stations
selling above N145 in most places in Nigeria
suddenly reduce their prices? I doubt it. When
Kachikwu came with ‘price modulation’ I said it
was meaningless then, but the crowd of
cheerleaders, cheered him on. Then they ran into
a sandbank and have had to now ‘deregulate’.
But is this full deregulation? Why should
government have anything to say about prices in
a full deregulation regime? Regulation should be
about quality, but we know – in a country where
PPPRA and co issue certificates of delivery for
empty tankers and tankers laden with water –
that no one will regulate any quality. All sorts of
fuel will make it into Nigeria. From red, to pink, to
yellow, to colourless PMS. We are used to all that.
But if the NNPC says nothing about prices, do our
wonderful importers and marketers want to sell
PMS at N2,000 per litre?

NLC: We’re yet to respond to FG’s
overtures on deregulation, pump price
hike
Chineme Okafor and Paul Obi in Abuja
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory
Agency (PPPRA) last night announced a new
pump price for petrol, saying that in a new
pricing template which it reviewed, filling stations
in the country are now to sell at a maximum of
N145 per litre.
The new pump price is N58.50 different from the
previous price of N86.50. PPPRA indicated that
the sector was still under the government’s price
modulation policy and not deregulated.

It also indicated that there is no subsidy for
importation of petrol, adding that the price will
reflect extant market realities.
PPPRA also stated that henceforth, petrol
marketers will be allowed to independently source
for foreign exchange to import products into the
country, and that retail stations owned by the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
are advised to sell at pump prices below N145 per
litre.
The PPPRA made this disclosure in a statement in
Abuja. The statement was signed by its acting
Executive Secretary, Mrs. Sotonye Iyoyo.
The statement read: “Statutorily enshrined in the
PPPRA Act No 8, 2003, is the responsibility to
moderate pricing for the Industry. In performing
this role, the PPPRA commenced a petroleum
products price modulation framework on the 1st
of January, 2016, with the aim of ensuring a ‘fit-
for-all’ approach that seeks to serve the interest
of the Nigerian consumers, marketers and the
economy.
“In furtherance of its mandate to ensure the
efficient supply and distribution of petroleum
products, the PPPRA hereby announces, effective
immediately that the new price band for PMS
shall be at a maximum of N145/litre. However,
NNPC Retail stations on the outskirts of major
cities are advised to sell at price lower than N145/
litre.”
FURTHER DETAILS LATER

Lere Olayinka, Special Assistant to Governor Ayodele Fayose on Public Communication and New Media, is one of the serious contenders for the post of the National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party. In an interview, he affirmed that his mission as National Publicity Secretary of the PDP would be to de-market the ruling All Progressive Congress. He speaks on his plans and strategies.

By Rotimi Omoyela

Why do you want to be the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party?

I’m a committed member of the PDP. I have never belonged to any other party since I joined party politics. Again, I will say that I have paid my dues in terms of projecting the PDP, in Ekiti State, Southwest and Nigeria as a whole. Most importantly, the leader of the party in this state, Dr. Ayodele Fayose is interested in me becoming the National Publicity Secretary of the party.

How would you assess the present Publicity Secretary of your party, Chief Olisa Metuh performance?


Lere Olayinka
I’m a forward looking person, I don’t dwell on the past, I don’t go about condemning and castigating people, the environment in which Mr. A operated last week, may be different from which Mr. B is operating now and the environment in which Mr. C will operate tomorrow might be different. So the strategy that worked yesterday would obviously be different from the one that might be applied tomorrow. I’m not saying those who have handled the media in the past have not done their best, in the political environment they operated, they did their best, I’m willing to pick up from where they stopped.

Do you think you have what it takes to be Publicity Secretary of a Political Party?

I’m a journalist and have been in this job for 19 years. I started active journalism since my days in the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, I have practiced as a publisher, as a reporter, I have been involved in broadcast journalism, print journalism and even social media journalism.

The Peoples Democratic Party as at now appeared to be riddled with crisis and internal strife, what image do you intend to give a party of this nature?

Politics is about conflict and conflict resolution when you have an organisation with varieties of interest there will always be conflicts. Unfortunately, we allowed minor crises to balloon into a major issue. Like every other political party, we have our share of crises in the PDP, and it is normal in politics, because of the divergent interests. The APC that is the ruling party today has its share of crises because of the divergent interests in that party. You must be aware of what is going on within the APC, and it has not been consumed by the crisis, PDP too will not be consumed by its crisis.

Some say that the consensus arrangement used in the last congresses in Ekiti State is akin to imposition?

I can tell you that there was no imposition of anyone. Don’t get it wrong. Consensus is never an imposition; they are not the same thing. Consensus is a mechanism put in place to discourage acrimony and rancour among contenders for a particular position.

Political communication

It’s an arrangement put in place to encourage contestants to step down for each other and allow the best candidate who is properly fit for a position to emerge, but in a situation where nobody wants to step down, we can call for the outright election to settle the matter.

What are your other plans for the projection of the image of your party?

Political communication is simple, you tell the people what your party is capable of doing, you tell the people what your party would have done differently, by making the people see that if our party is the party in government, we would have done things differently. It is about marketing your party and de-marketing your competitors; my job is to market the PDP and de-market APC.



The latest crisis in PDP has to do with zoning and gladiators in Southwest want the chairmanship zoned to the area. But Governor Fayose has a different opinion, what is your take?

The Chief Executive Officer of any political party is the Secretary, are you saying this position is not important? The National Publicity Secretary is the mouthpiece of the party, are you saying that is not important too?

Though this issue has been resolved, and I would not like to go into it. With two governors in the Southwest are they complaining? Those are the major stakeholders in the party as at today.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has once again expressed hope that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will regain its lost glory at the federal level in 2019. PDP, which was hitherto referred to as the largest party in Africa, was defeated in the 2015 presidential election by the All Progressives Congress, APC, after 16 years in power. Addressing delegates of the PDP at the Rivers State Congress of the party at the Obi Wali Cultural Centre in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Governor Wike said the reorganisation of the party will place it on a sound position to attain victory in 2019. He said: “The PDP will return to the seat of power at the Federal level by 2019. This congress is part of the process of repositioning the party.” The governor assured the people of Rivers State that the party will continue to deliver on all fronts in line with the pledges contained in the New Rivers Development Blueprint. He added, “This administration will showcase our superlative performance in the last one year between May 23 and May 29. The people will know firsthand the quality projects we have executed.”

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The Nigerian Presidency on Tuesday said it found as “embarrassing” a statement credited to the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, describing Nigeria as a “fantastically corrupt” country.
In a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Garba Shehu, shortly after the news of the Prime Minister’s comment went viral on the Internet, the presidency said, “This is embarrassing to us, to us say the least, given the good work that the President is doing, Mr. Buhari said. “The eyes of the world are on what is happening here.”
The presidency argued that the “Prime Minister must be looking at an old snapshot of Nigeria. Things are changing with corruption and everything else.”
The statement, however, welcomed the remarks by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who said President Buhari was not corrupt.
“Thank you to the Archbishop. We have great admiration for the good relationship between our two countries,” the presidency said.
Mr. Cameron was caught on camera ridiculing Nigeria as a “fantastically corrupt” country on Tuesday afternoon.
In the short footage, published by British television station, ITV News, Mr. Cameron told the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, that Nigeria and Afghanistan are “two of the most corrupt countries in the world”.
Mr. Cameron’s comment was published just as President Muhammadu Buhari departed Nigeria Tuesday to attend an anti-corruption summit organised by the UK government to be held in London on Thursday.


Mr. Cameron was briefing the Queen on the notoriety of countries expected to attend the summit during an event at the Buckingham Palace to celebrate the monarch’s 90th birthday, ITV News reported.
Mr. Welby, however, said Mr. Buhari is not a corrupt person.
“But this particular president is actually not corrupt,” the religious leader said. “Oh yes, he’s trying very hard this one.”

According to a statement which the ministry
issued in Abuja on Monday, the strategic
implementation plan of the budget would also be
presented on the same day.
The statement signed by James Akpandem,
Udoma’s media aide, said the minister would
perform the assignment with Zainab Ahmed,
minister of state of budget and planning.
Akpandem said the budget breakdown will take
place at the banquet hall of the state house at 10
am.
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2016
appropriation bill into law on Friday.

Abuja—President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate how billions of Naira in grants donated by Global Fund to Nigeria disappeared and bring the culprits to book with immediate effect. The probe covers spending between 2010 and 2014. Global Fund, which gives funds for health and medical interventions in Nigeria, has reported a huge discrepancy between the funds it donated to the health sector and the amount actually spent on drugs and has expressed worry over the trend. “The auditors found discrepancies of over US$4 million between drugs ordered and delivered; US$ 20 million paid to suppliers without confirmation of delivery; stock-outs of eight months for critical medicines; and a total of US$7.65 million in unsupported expenditures,” the funds auditors reported. Confirming the probe, Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, said: “President Muhammadu Buhari gave the directive as part of government’s effort to fight corruption in the country. The President has also directed the Secretary to the Government of Federation to review earlier audit reports from the Office of Inspector General.” Acting on the presidential directive, the Secretary to the Federal Government has set-up two investigative panels to look into the affected programmes and the financial transactions. The first panel, which is headed by Mr. Adewole, will conduct in-depth review of all programmes carried out with the funds, while the second panel to be chaired by the Auditor General of the Federation, Mr Samuel Ukura, will review all financial transactions during the period. The minister said the two committees were expected to submit their reports within four weeks, adding that all those indicted would be severely dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others. It will be recalled that Global Fund announced last week that that its Inspector General audit of grants in Nigeria discovered significant problems in procurement, supply chain, financial and programme management.

Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom was over the weekend reportedly booed by angry residents in Otukpo over the failure of the State government to ensure the released of a kidnapped Catholic priest. Residents of the area were angry with the governor for refusing to react to the abduction of the Vicar General of the Diocese, Reverend Fr. John Adeyi two weeks after. Governor Ortom, who was on a solidarity visit to the Bishop of Otukpo Diocese, Most Reverend Dr. Michael Apochi, said the State Security Council had met and directed that everything lawful should be done to ensure that Fr. Adeyi regained freedom. However, his assurance did not go down well with some residents who booed him. When Ortom mounted the podium to address the already disappointed congregation, the chorus of ‘ohoo ohoo! noo!’, rented the air. It took the intervention of the protocol officials to calm the irate congregation, who insisted that the governor should keep his assurances. When he was eventually allowed to speak, Governor Ortom stressed the commitment of his administration to the security of lives and property, disclosing that part of the measures taken was the introduction of the anti-kidnapping law, which will soon be enacted in the state. Responding, the Bishop of Otukpo Diocese, Most Reverend Dr. Michael Apochi, thanked Governor Ortom for the visit and his prompt action to have Fr. Adeyi released by his abductors. He said the Church will continue to pray for the safe return of the Vicar General.

A Reuters Exclusive should get us all, Nigerians, worried. The headline reads, “U.S. seeks to approve attack aircraft for Nigeria in Boko Haram fight”. When someone insists you should hire tarpaulin tents from them for a night time event in the dry season then one must find out their relationship with rainmakers. The development around the United States of America’s reported (possible) acquiescence to sell weapons to Nigeria has all the markings of a red flag operation that should send all those responsible for our security into panic mode. First, the story cited sources that spoke on condition of anonymity for aspects pertaining to the possible aircraft sales while the analysts that provided clarity were clearly named. In the event that decision makers in Nigeria have cause to reject the crazy demands that will come attached to the several millions dollars bill for the 12 units of A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft we could be buying, the story has already created grounds for deniability. All the US administration has to do is to carry on as if nothing of such was ever discussed since no senior officials were named speaking on the plan. As a guarantee that Nigeria would be boxed into a corner should we be unwilling to smooch the devil in the deal, “The possible sale — which the officials said was favored within the U.S. administration but is subject to review by Congress,” is another groundwork that ensures the deal can be easily torpedoed should President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration fail to deliver on some conditions that could amount to Nigeria having resident colonial masters. The brightest red flag is perhaps to be seen in the comments of J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council think tank, which the Reuters report acknowledged as cautioning that the Super Tucano aircraft “ability to counter Boko Haram could be limited.” “When you’re fighting a group that’s no longer holding towns and villages, that’s no longer massing forces in a conventional way, the aircraft – attack aircraft – have a much more limited role in that kind of fight,” Pham was reported as saying. So why is the US suddenly willing to assist Nigeria when their support to Nigeria is coming too late? If it is that they find a darling in President Buhari why did it take the whole of one year before the so call support is coming? We all know that in the one year, despite Mr President’s pleas during several visits to USA, UK, France and Germany no support came. The recall threshold of Nigerians is not that short that they would have forgotten the humiliation heaped on the country as it struggled to procure weapons to stop the killing machine that Boko Haram became. The Nigerian Air Force suffered several frustrations and outright blockade to procure needed platforms to fight the insurgent Boko Haram in the country. Things went tough enough that a local automobile company has to start fabricating spare parts for Nigeria’s fighter jets in what has emerged as a blessing in disguise. All manners of excuses were cooked up to ensure the Nigerian military could not get direly needed hardware. This was at the same time that “moderate” terrorists were able to get their hands on state of the art weaponry, some of which ended up with Boko Haram to further compound the difficulty the military had in fighting them. Then just when Nigeria is winning the war without tangible support from the USA, now that the Nigerian military is in the heart of Sambisa on its own, the leading nation in the free world has found a voice and willingness to support the Nigerian government. This is too little too late. Those who hold unto this announcement of US support will soon discover it is a mirage, a mere rhetoric with no concrete and actionable support. It is like scrambling to sign onto a winning team just when the garlands are about to be handed out. To get a sense of what Nigeria is being offered, the Afghan Air Force ordered for 20 Super Tucano aircraft in 2012 and only began taking delivery in January 2016. That is a waiting time of four years. So, assuming the US Congress gives approval for sales to Nigeria under six months and we factor in three years for delivery; we will be looking at getting the aircraft into service in 2020. At the current rate of the success of Nigeria’s military, even with the cancerous nature of terrorism, the concern by year 2020 should be very different in terms of improvement. We would have thus helped oil the US economy and sustaining jobs in that country by paying for what we no longer need, the same ones they had once refused to sell to us. We must also of necessity send pilots for training in flying the aircraft. (Something that will provide them opportunity to recruit spies right inside our Armed Forces and that Malian coupist, General Amadou Sanogo is a ready reminder) Except the US know something they are working on that they have not shared with us like propping up Boko Haram to remain a credible threat in the region to ensure their defence industry can continue to sell weapons to lackey nations. What is driving this zeal to sell us wartime aircraft at a time we are hopeful of entering peacetime? As an expert pointed out, if we get the aircraft this minute it would not contribute anything meaningful to the current stage of military operations and it definitely will be even more pointless by 2020 when agricultural aircraft would be the need in the northeast of the country. Post degradation of Boko Haram, surveillance would become priority and the country may just as well order Rotorway Helicopters at $100,000 apiece instead of selling ourselves down the river. The Reuters report alluded to the convincing anti- corruption fight of the current administration as part of the factors that brought about the change of mind that is making the US consider selling the aircraft to Nigeria. That is an angle that simply doesn’t wash. One must urge at this point that President Buhari, while he may not be able to go public, must be on the same page as his security chiefs on this matter and hold nothing back from them. If the noxious U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) is part of the sweetener for this deal, Nigeria wants no part of it. The military chiefs have discharged their duties credibly to the admiration of Nigerians who have acknowledged that Mr President got it right with their appointment. He should listen to them. If the US is truly committed to rendering assistance in finishing off Boko Haram, considering the progress our military has made on their own, there are several other areas it can step in. The first is to champion a global drive at recovering the weapons in the hands of “moderate” rebels since they have an uncanny way of ending up in the hands of Boko Haram insurgents.

The establishment of 26 institutes in Kano State by the immediate-past governor, Dr. Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, was aimed at reducing unemployment among youths and women. Daily Trust gathered that they were established within the three-and-a-half years of Kwankwaso's second tenure. The first, established by the former governor, was Institute of Information Technology, in Kura local government. Others include North-West University, Hospitality & Tourism Institute, Poultry Institute Dambatta, Institute of Qur'anic & Western Education, Fisheries Institute Bagauda, Farm Mechanization Institute Danbatta, College of Nursing And Midwifery, Madobi and Kano Corporate Security Training Institute, Gabasawa. There are also: Kano Reformatory Institute Kiru, Film Academy Tiga Rockcastle, Informatics Institute Kura, Kano Sport Academy Karfi, Driving Institute Kumbotso, Irrigation Training Institute Kadawa, Entrepreneurship Development Institute Dawakin Tofa and Kano Post-Basic Midwifery School Gezawa. Also on the list are Kano Institute of Horticulture Bagauda, Livestock Institute Bagauda, Kano Development Journalism Institute, School of Health Technology Bebeji and School of Basic Remedial Studies Tudun-Wada, among others. The former governor also established two bilingual boarding colleges in Niamey, Niger Republic; one each for males and females students. They were meant to teach Kano indigenes French and English languages. However, Daily Trust observed that not a single school of the two categories was fully completed before he handed over mantle of leadership to his successor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on May 29, 2015. Undisclosed billions of naira were sunk into the numerous projects, sources revealed, even as most of them remain deserted. ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT In some local governments, work was abandoned at early stages, in other places at roofing level and in a few local governments at foundation level. Many of the post-secondary school institutes the former governor established have not been put to use, even while he was in office, while the few he commissioned have ceased operations. Daily Trust findings revealed that the few still functioning include Northwest University, School of Basic Studies Tudun-Wada, College of Nursing and Midwifery Madobi, Corporate Security Training Institute Gabasawa, Driving Institute Kumbotso and Informatics Institute Kura. Checks indicated that most of the locations are empty, with no equipment or manpower.

All things being equal, President Muhammadu
Buhari will sign the 2016 Appropriation Bill into
law on Friday.
A source, who spoke on a condition of anonymity
on Thursday, said the President is now “ready” to
sign the budget on Friday.
According to him, a clean copy has been sent to
the Presidency from the National Assembly.
He said: “All things being equal, the President will
on Friday assent the 2016 Budget.”
“The two committees have finished their work
and a clean copy is now with the Presidency.”
Many grey areas in the Budget passed by the
National Assembly and the N6.08 trillion proposal
presented by President Buhari on December 22
last year had stalled the signing of the
appropriation bill.
Apart from reducing the proposal by N17 billion,
the lawmakers also introduced new projects,
while it removed other critical projects in the
President’s proposal.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, on Thursday, expressed optimism that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will win all the states of the federation in the 2019 general elections.

He spoke in Owa, Ika North-East local government area of Delta State, while addressing PDP members after the local government congress in the area.

The governor said though Delta State was the home of PDP, the peaceful ward and local government congresses were clear evidence that the reconciliation and consensus efforts of the party was effective.

Okowa congratulated the chairman and those who were elected into the executive committee of the party at the local government areas, including the national delegates.

“I must thank our party leaders because what we witnessed today, shows unity and strength.

“We had very peaceful congresses not only in Ika North-East but the 25 local government areas of Delta State.

“We have engaged in the process of reconciliation and building consensus and the peace we are enjoying in our party today is a product of hard work.

“Because we worked hard, we had a peaceful congress and we have seen a wonderful showing that we love ourselves and the consensus we have built is good for us.

“We are confident that going into the future, we will win all the states of the federation we must continue to build consensus, we must be able to build friendship and ensure that every voice is heard.

“We have always won elections in Delta State, but we cannot go to sleep.”

The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company,
NPDC, is yet to pay $3.3 billion (about N650.1
billion), being balance for eight oil licenses
acquired between 2010 and 2012, a revised
report by the Natural Resource Governance
Institute, NRGI, has revealed.
The NPDC is the upstream subsidiary of the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
The national oil company had transferred 55 per
cent of its equity stakeholding in eight oil blocks
to NPDC, which had signed a number of strategic
alliance agreements with some indigenous oil
firms.
The oil blocks, previously vacated by Shell
Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, include
oil mining leases, OMLs 4, 38 and 41 allocated to
Atlantic Energy and Septa Energy; OML 42 to
Neconde and Kulcyzk Oil; OML 40 to Elcrest and
Band Oil and Gas; OML 34 to ND Western and
Petrolin; OML 30 to Shoreline and Heritage Oil,
and OML 26 to First Hydrocarbon Nigeria and
Afren.
The total valuation for the eight licenses was
estimated at about $3.4 billion.
But, an extract from the Nigerian Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI audit
report indicated that the NNPC had charged
NPDC only $1.85 billion.
But, the NRGI said NNPC officials recently
disclosed that only $100 million of the amount
was paid for the oil blocks.
The institute said the officials had confirmed the
corporation was involved in an ongoing process
led by the Department of Petroleum Resources,
DPR to get the NPDC pay the full value (about $
3.3 billion) for the assets transferred to it.
The NRGI’s report entitled “NNPC Still Holds Blank
Check” showed that NNPC, in the last half of
2015, continued to retain and spend a huge
portion of revenues from its crude oil sales.
Although NNPC had disputed some of the findings
in the report, the NRGI said in the revised report
that it stood by its analysis and conclusions.
It however pointed out that additional information
from NNPC during a reconciliation meeting over
the report had necessitated the revision of the
value of oil lifted by the NPDC during the period
as captured in the original report.
In the original report, NRGI had put the estimated
value of NPDC’s oil sales in 2015 at $2.687 billion,
made up of $1.178 billion in the first and second
quarter, and $1.509 billion in the third and fourth
quarter quarters.
The NRGI said the total figures include oil
produced from a number of producing oil licenses
controlled by the NPDC, including the sales of
government equity crude from three joint venture
oil blocks, namely OMLs 18, 24 and 29.
It said available information indicate that NNPC
had, early in 2015, transferred to NPDC its
interest in the blocks operated by Newcross,
Eroton and AITEO respectively.
However, following further inquiries, NRGI said the
NNPC clarified that the three oil blocks remained
government assets, as they were yet to transfer
its equity in them to NPDC.
Regardless, the NRGI noted the huge revenue still
withheld by the NNPC, describing as “ill-suited”
the existing system governing the flow of such
revenues, particularly as it allowed for too much
discretion.
The NNPC, which maintained that all its
expenditure were legitimate, pointed out that
“the large differences between the value of
government oil it sells and the proceeds it remits
to the treasury d[o] not amount to retention and
spending of Federation funds discretionary”.

The Registered Trustees of the Socio-Economic
Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have
dragged the Federal Government to the ECOWAS
Community Court of Justice in Abuja over “failure
to prevent, account for and investigate killings,
raping, maiming of Nigerians and other residents,
and destruction of property across the country by
herdsmen, the military and police.”
In the suit No ECW/CCJ/APP/15/16 and filed
yesterday by Solicitor to SERAP, Femi Falana SAN,
the Plaintiff contends “that the continuing
attacks, killings, raping, maiming of Nigerians and
other residents, and destruction of property by
the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown
perpetrators across the country amount to
serious violations of human rights of the rights to
life, to the security and dignity of the human
person, and to property.”
The suit reads in part: “The Plaintiff contends that
the Defendant is responsible for these human
rights violations and abuses by the military,
police, herdsmen and other unknown
perpetrators which have not been adequately
prevented, investigated or prosecuted by the
authorities. These responsibilities are heightened
when an observable pattern has been overlooked
or ignored, such as is the case in this suit.”
“The Plaintiff also contends that the obligation to
secure the right to life is not confined to cases
where it has been established that the killings
were caused by an agent of the State. Nor is it
decisive whether those affected or their families
have lodged a formal complaint about the killings
with the competent investigatory authority.”
“It is contended that the mere knowledge of the
killings by the military, police, herdsmen and
other unknown perpetrators on the part of the
authorities have ipso facto given rise to an
obligation under Article 4 of the African Charter
on Human and Peoples’ Rights to carry out an
effective investigation into the circumstances
surrounding the killings and to identify the
perpetrators and bring them to justice, and to
provide reparations to victims.”
“Moreover, the Defendant has a responsibility for
those killings, raping maiming and destruction of
property where authorities knew or ought to have
known of an immediate threat and failed to take
measures that might have been expected to
avoid those attacks and killings.”
“The Plaintiff further contends that the Defendant
has positive obligations to provide a framework of
security for the protection of life, and to protect
the lives of those individuals at risk from unlawful
attacks by the military, police, herdsmen and
other unknown perpetrators. The lack of
accountability for the attacks by the military,
police, herdsmen and other unknown
perpetrators across the country has continued to
create a culture of impunity which clearly is not
compatible with the rule of law in a democratic
society.”
“The Plaintiff contends that the Defendant has a
positive obligation to take measures to secure the
right to life, right to security and dignity of the
human person and right to property, and to
prevent attacks and killings by the military,
police, herdsmen and other unknown
perpetrators across Nigeria.”
“Human life has a special value and dignity which
requires legal protection. It should be pointed out
that those affected in the present case include
the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of
society.”
“By interpreting the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights so as to impose on the
Defendant obligations to prevent, account for and
investigate killings, raping, maiming of Nigerians
and other residents and destruction of property,
whether or not the Defendant is directly or
indirectly responsible, the ECOWAS Court of
Justice will be demanding from the Nigerian
government a commitment to securing these
rights and to the reform of the very structure and
modus operandi of its legal institutions. In so
doing, the ECOWAS Court will help to address the
systemic factors contributing to the attacks by
the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown
perpetrators.”
“A fundamental notion of contemporary human
rights law is that victims of violations enjoy an
independent right to effective remedies. This idea
is itself founded on another longstanding legal
principle: ubi ius ibi remedium (there is no right
without a remedy).”
SERAP therefore is asking the ECOWAS Court of
Justice for the following reliefs:
A DECLARATION that the attacks, killings, raping
and maiming of citizens and other residents and
destruction of property and other serious human
rights violations and abuses across the country by
the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown
perpetrators amount to failure by the Defendant
to exercise due diligence to prevent the attacks
and killings and cannot be justified under any
circumstances, and therefore constitutes a
serious breach of Nigeria’s international human
rights obligations and commitments to ensure
and secure the rights to life, to dignity and
security of the human person, and to property,
guaranteed under the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights, and the UN International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which
Nigeria is a state party;

PREMIUM TIMES will on Thursday make public the names of at least 100 Nigerians and companies so far identified in the leaked internal data of Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonsecca, as operators of offshore shell companies in tax havens.
The names will contain top business persons, and politicians, including those currently holding public offices.
The publication will detail names of companies, their owners and the particular tax havens the offshore firms were incorporated or domiciled.
PREMIUM TIMES Editor-in-Chief, Dapo Olorunyomi, said the planned release of the names was in response to widespread and relentless request by the paper’s readers for more of the Nigerian characters in the infamous database, now globally known as #PanamaPapers.
Mr. Olorunyomi said the release of the names will not end the paper’s reporting on a matter that has shocked the world and has intensified campaign for global action against notorious tax havens helping corrupt individuals to hide ill-gotten assets and evade tax.
“Our team will keep digging into the database,” Mr. Olorunyomi said. “As more revelations become public, we will make them public.”
He praised the professionalism of the five-man team at the paper that has worked for months pouring through the data, extracting what is relevant for Nigeria and investigating the individuals and the companies identified to add context to the revelations.
“The way our young but immensely talented team has worked on the challenging project has continued to amaze me and to be honest, this company cannot reward them enough,” he said.

The #PanamaPapers series, which has run for more than a month now, has so far revealed how some Nigerian politicians, businessmen, a clergyman and relations of top government functionaries may have used offshore entities to conceal questionable wealth in tax havens around the world.
The Mossack Fonseca database, obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with PREMIUM TIMES and over 100 other media partners in 82 countries show how several individuals around the world used shell companies domiciled in controversial tax havens in their business transactions.
The unprecedented year-long investigation involving 11.5 million secret documents – which stretch from 1977 to December 2015 – expose the hidden underground of the world economy, a network of banks, law firms and other middlemen that utilize shell companies, sometimes using them to hide illegal wealth.
The 2.6 TB files, involving 214,488 entities, also reveal hundreds of details about how former gun-runners, contractors and other members of the spy world use offshore companies for personal and private gain.
The investigation unveiled the cloak of secrecy provided by Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm that specializes in creating offshore companies, some of which have been used by con men and women to hide Ponzi schemes, predatory lending scams, and other financial frauds from their victims and from the authorities.

Vice president Yemi Osinabjo has revealed
that a whooping sum of $15billion was lost to the
purchase of security equipment under the watch
of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan.
The Vice President spoke on Monday at the book
presentation of the Ibadan-based elite group,
House of Lords, titled "Nigeria: The Challenges of
Growth and Development, " at the University of
Ibadan.
He stated that the agenda of the president
government was to send strong message to
corrupt officials that corruption was no longer
fashionable.
He said: "When you look at the sheer amount of
money that has been embezzled, the sheer
amount of money lost from any of these various
cases of corruption, you will find that far too
much has been lost.
"It was discovered a few days ago that the total
amount of money lost just to corruption in part
of...and provision of security equipments in the
military is closer to 15 billion US dollars

Around $15 billion - equal to
about half the country's foreign currency reserves
- was stolen from Nigeria's public purse under the
previous government through fraudulent arms
procurement deals, the vice president said on
Monday.
Africa's top oil exporter is going through its worst
economic crisis in decades due to the drop in
global crude prices and ministers say these
problems have been exacerbated by the impact
of fraud under previous administrations.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who last year won
election fought on his vow to crackdown on
corruption, has said the theft of "mind boggling"
sums of oil money meant state coffers were
virtually empty in Africa's biggest economy when
he took office last May.
Corruption charges have been levelled against
former military chiefs and companies accused of
involvement in an alleged arms procurement
fraud during the tenure of Buhari's predecessor
Goodluck Jonathan. They have pleaded not
guilty..
The total sum lost to corruption related to the
provision of security equipment to the military
and amounted to around 15 billion US dollars,
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said.
Endemic corruption over decades has enriched a
small elite but left many Nigerians mired in
poverty despite the country's oil wealth.
Osinbajo's claims are the latest in a string of
allegations by members of Buhari's
administration.
In January, the information minister said 55
people who were government ministers, state
governors, public officials, bankers and
businessmen stole 1.34 trillion naira ($6.8 billion)
over a seven-year period.
The fall in crude prices has eroded Nigeria's
foreign reserves, since oil sales make up around
70 percent of national income, with the central
bank adopting fixed exchange rate to protect
further depletion of its reserves which stood at $
27 billion in April.
Osinbajo, who was speaking at a university in the
southwestern city of Ibadan, said the $15 billion
figure which he alleged had been stolen "is more
than half of the current foreign reserves of the
country".
"It is important to send a message that no public
officer can steal the resources of this country and
expect to escape," he said.
Buhari's presidency ended a period from the end
of military rule in 1999 until 2015 when the
People's Democratic Party (PDP) was in power.
The PDP, now in opposition, has accused the
president of mounting a witch-hunt against its
members.

iflywithbuhari:
APC tout, instead of focusing on your studies, you have allowed your APC father to use you as a political pawn to derail the good works of the governor. APC will use anybody, including children

The Ekiti State government had provided free
primary school education since 1955 when the
policy was introduced by the Obafemi Awolowo-
led administration. But Governor Ayo Fayose has
abolished free education in the State by imposing
a fee of N1,000 and N500 for pupils of private
schools and public schools, respectively.
BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK
MAY 02, 2016
In a fresh suit filed before an Ekiti State High
Court, a pupil of Divine Academy in Ekiti State,
Amidat Akingbolu, is seeking a determination of
the Court on whether the Ekiti State government
is under legal obligation to provide free,
compulsory and universal basic education for
every child of primary and junior secondary age
under the unambiguous provisions of the Free
Universal Basic Education and Child Rights Law of
Ekiti State. The case has yet to be assigned by
the Chief Judge.
Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose
The Ekiti State government had provided free
primary school education since 1955 when the
policy was introduced by the Obafemi Awolowo-
led administration. But Governor Ayo Fayose has
abolished free education in the State by imposing
a fee of N1,000 and N500 for pupils of private
schools and public schools, respectively. Ms.
Akingbolu is challenging that decision of the
government. According to the pupil and her
counsel, Kabir Akingbolu, this policy contravenes
section 2(1) of the Free Universal Basic Education
Act of 2004, and Section 15 of the Child Rights
Law of Ekiti State. The Catholic diocese of Ekiti
State has also approached the court to cancel the
policy.
Mr. Fayose is being accused of enforcing policies
that run contrary to the provision of the law. The
governor is accused of failing to pay counterpart
funding, under the Compulsory Universal Basic
Education Act of 2004, to access federal
government support to free primary and junior
secondary education in the State. He has also
been accused of wasting hundreds of millions of
naira in State funds on sponsoring political
newspaper adverts, radio and television jingles,
and renting private jets for political rallies.
The plaintiff, in her affidavit of support, further
claims the inability of herself and her siblings, like
any other indigent students of the State, to
attend schools since the introduction of the
obnoxious fee due to the financial burden it
imposed on their parents.
Considering the ongoing sealing of private schools
not in compliance with the policy, the plaintiff is
demanding a perpetual injunction restraining the
governor from locking or sealing off any private
school for the purpose of collecting fees from
students and from further collecting money
under any guise from any child of primary and
junior secondary school age in any of the schools
in the State.

Four high court judges in the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) are currently under the radar of
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) for allegedly frustrating the probe of high-
profile corruption cases.
The judges are said to have developed a
penchant for going soft with suspects who
approach their courts to stop their trial for
corruption by EFCC.
Their courts, The Nation gathered yesterday, have
thus become an attraction for suspects who want
to frustrate their trials.
The anti- graft agency is already mulling the idea
of a tribunal to try suspects with overwhelming
evidence of corruption cases against them.
A well placed source in EFCC said the agency’s
suspicion was aroused by spurious injunctions’
persistently coming from the judges.
“In the past few weeks, we have discovered that
almost every day, there was one judgment or the
other against us. We have been subjected to
arrangee injunctions,” a well placed source said.
“Some judges in the FCT have been bought over
by some high-profile suspects on trial for
corruption. From our findings, four judges are
involved.
“We are trying to reach out to the Chief Judge of
FCT, Justice Ishaq Bello on our observations and
the ethics of the Bench.
What these big suspects do is that they always
try to compromise these four judges. Thereafter,
they bring applications to their courts under the
enforcement of fundamental human rights to get
reprieve and frustrate investigation by EFCC.
“Even before we interrogate these suspects, the
judges would have issued orders for their
release.”
The source said that although there are
designated judges handling corruption-related
matters “maybe we will come up with a tribunal
to fast-track the trial of all these suspects who
have looted our treasury.”
The source however said that “the judges at the
Federal High Court have improved on their
treatment of corruption cases.”
The EFCC recently lodged a formal complaint of
alleged misconduct against Justice M. N. Yunusa
(Federal High Court) with the National Judicial
Council (NJC).
He was alleged to have been bribed with
N225,000 by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN),
Mr. Rickey Tarfa.
It was not immediately clear if these four judges
might be referred to the NJC.
A petition against a judge passes through four
stages in NJC as follows:
Receipt of a petition by CJN.
Sending the petition to the Preliminary
Complaints Assessment Committee (PCAC) to
determine the merit or otherwise of the issues.
Genuine complaint goes to NJC Plenary
NJC raises Fact-Finding Committee to hear from
the petitioner(s) and the defendants and their
lawyers.
The NJC and the President are empowered to
determine a judge’s fate in line with the process
outlined by the Part I, Paragraph I, Section 21(b)
of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution
(as amended) and Section 292(1)( a)(i)
Part I, Paragraph I, Section 21(b) of the Third
Schedule to the Constitution reads: “For the
avoidance of doubt, the said Third Schedule, Part
I, Paragraph I, Section 21(b) of the Constitution
provides that “the NJC shall have power to
recommend to the President the removal from
office of (the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Justices
of the Supreme Court, the President and Justices
of the Court of Appeal, and the Chief Judge and
Judges of the Federal High Court) and to exercise
disciplinary control over such officers”
Section 292(1)( a)(i) says: “A judicial officer shall
not be removed from his office or appointment
before his age of retirement, except in the
following circumstances (a) in the case of the
Chief Justice of Nigeria, the President of the Court
of Appeal, the Chief Judge of the Federal High
Court, Chief Judge of the High Court of the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Grand Khadi of
the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja, and President, Customary Court
of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,
by the President( of Nigeria), acting on an
address supported by two-thirds majority of the
Senate, praying that he be so removed for his
inability to discharge the functions of his office or
appointment (whether arising from infirmity of
mind or body) or for misconduct or contravention
of the Code of Conduct.”

Dudeweedlmao:
That he was part of PDP is not enough for him to be on that list. Yar'adua was a good man.

Dudeweedlmao:
Now i'm starting to regret opposing that social media bill
I fvckin hate this people
Where did he mention yar'adua's name (of blessed memory)

Journalism and information manipulation

stevecantrell:
I don't want sour oranges from Obasanjo farms. No thanks-

MondeLuv:
"Ex-president"

Worried about the looming danger of
food insecurity in Nigeria, former President
Olusegun Obasanjo has called on the Federal
Government to, as a matter of urgency, ban
importation of vegetables, carrots, cucumber,
lettuce and other fruits into the nation.
Obasanjo, made the call weekend at the
International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
(IITA), in Ibadan at the inaugural meeting of the
'Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategic Review'
Committee, comprising representatives of the
World Food Programme, African Development
Bank, members of the diplomatic corps, captains
of industry as well as technocrats drawn from
both the public and private institutions across the
country.
Addressing the forum, Obasanjo, who is also the
convener of the initiative, called for collective
change of mind from all Nigerians, insisting that a
multi-stakeholder and multi-dimensional approach
is highly desirable to achieve the goal of a zero
hunger nation by 2025 ahead of the 2030
deadline given by the United Nations.
The former president said, "It is going to take the
collective effort of each and every citizen of this
great nation and our partners. It will require our
collective change of mindset to at first identify
the opportunities that abound. It is in this context
that we have invited you to this meeting."

Obasanjo expressed worry that in spite of the
present high rate of unemployment in Nigeria,
the vegetables, cucumber, carrots, lettuce and
other fruits being consumed in many hotels in the
country are imported saying this is not only
disgraceful to the economic sense of the nation
but also annoying.
He charged the Federal Government to stop
importation of European vegetables and fruits
without further delay, in the overall interest of
Nigerians.

Beeman1:
Jump in to lagoon and save ur self the agony cause this illiterate will rule over u for a very long time.

“I make no excuses as this government of the APC is determined to tackle headlong all socio- economic ills that have troubled our nation and we shall evolve solutions to emerging threats to our well-being and the realization of sustainable development as well as growth anchored on equity and social justice".