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ADEOLA ADEROUNMU
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Posted by Adeola Aderounmu
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March 08, 2015
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African Independent Television (AIT) is running
a documentary on Bola Ahmed Tinubu or a
man they also claimed is Yekini Ogunleye.
It’s been over 5 years since l last watched any
program on AIT. I gave up on them when
Ibrahim Babangida, Nigeria’s foremost tropical
gangster, bought Raymond Dokpesi, the owner
of DAAR Communications and AIT.
Bola Tinubu has taken his case to court. That
is not unexpected. He is a grown man and his
lawyers are at it.
I may have seen an abridged version of the
documentary. I was disappointed that l did not
see the names of the producers of the Lion Of
Bourdillion. I did not see the name of the
narrator. The year of production and all other
details that usually go with such a production
were missing from the version l saw online.
I simply hope that the original version
contains these information.
Some footages that need acknowledgement
were also used. It will amount to an extremely
poor piece of journalism if the version l saw
was the original version.
In any case, l imagined if Nigerian private
television stations have been airing these types
of documentaries since 1960, maybe Nigeria
would have been a saner country, a better
place.
I don’t know what proportion of the report is
true or false. That is Tinubu’s headache. He
and his legal team can roll with that.
The short arm of the law system in Nigeria has
really made a mess of many court cases and
proceedings. I am not a fan of the Nigerian
judiciary that is heavily compromised and
saddled with corruption. I wish Tinubu and
Daar Communications/AIT a wonderful time at
the endless proceedings at the ridiculous
Nigerian court of law.
Irrespective of what is true or false in the
Tinubu documentary which partly looks like an
advertorial for the government of Lagos State,
it is a welcome development. If the PDP paid
for the production and airing of the
documentary, it will be a pinch of salt from
the 21 billion naira raised in one day by
various criminals and vested interests
supporting Jonathan’s re-election. I wish AIT
goodluck.
Since AIT has now ventured into investigative
journalism and digging up both the past and
present, it would be more interesting to see
the follow up episodes.
I will like to see The Crook On The Minna Hill.
In this anticipated episode, AIT should tell us
how Ibrahim Babangida stole the money that
Nigeria made during the gulf war. They should
tell us why or how the same law system that
failed to catch up with Tinubu failed to catch
up with Babangida. AIT can even extend the
documentary on how one Mr. Raymond
Dokpesi could have benefitted from the stolen
12 billion dollars several years later. It will be
a blockbuster!
I will like to see the Criminal Couple From
Otuoke. In this story AIT can tell us how one
Patience Jonathan was investigated on several
occasions by the EFCC while her husband was
the deputy governor and later governor of
Bayelsa State.
AIT super investigators can tell us whose
money she was looting and under whose watch
they were been stolen. An update of the story
can include how the Jonathans have looted the
Nigerian treasuries directly and indirectly since
they got promoted to Aso Rock by Obasanjo.
A documentary closely related to the Criminal
Couple From Otueke will be How Nigerian
Transgender, Alamieyeseigha Fled London. AIT
may find the connection between the father
(Alams) and son (Jonathan) of Bayelsans.
Sometimes it is the prodigal son that forgives
the unrepentant father.
Since AIT knows about Tinubu’s drug business,
they may also probably highlight Jonathan’s
drinking problems as well as his domestic and
official weaknesses. If some serious
investigative journalism is carried out AIT may
be the first company to publish Jonathan’s Phd
thesis online.
Good luck AIT, hope you hit another
blockbuster!
The people of Nigeria will like to see the
documentary titled; Telephone Is Not For The
Poor -David Mark. When AIT is done with this
production they will be able to explain to
millions of middle and low class households
how there landlines vanished from the
telephone catalogues and for real in the
twinkle of an eye.
By doing some serious journalistic work like
they did with Tinubu, AIT may sucessfully trace
Nigeria’s budget for communication under
David Mark and Babangida to some Islands or
Tax Havens around the world. Let the search
begins!
AIT can even continue with the story of Mark
by analysing how much money has disappeared
from the Senate under his watch. They may
even uncover his plot to rule Nigeria under the
rumoured interim government. Who knows?
In the world of documentaries and
investigative journalism, there are no limits.
AIT can look at the option of making a
documentary titled: OBJ, Poor Farmer, Rich
President. They may uncover how Obasanjo’s
salaries helped him to rejuvenate his farm.
To make the documentary interesting they
should look at the role of Obasanjo in the
emergence of Yar Adua and Jonathan. Where
did the money for the campaigns come from
and which state suffered for it? AIT can even
tell those who do not know where the man
who sponsored the campaign is today.
There are so many attack and watch dogs in
and around Aso rock today.
What about AIT trying to make a documentary
about a story or two that I’d written about.
Imagine Sex, Drugs and Aviation! AIT, you have
my permission to use my research material to
do a series on Femi Fani-Kayode . He is a drug
abuser, a woman beater and a former looter of
the Ministry of Aviation. Don’t you think it will
be an interesting investigative documentary to
see the kind of campaign coordinator
superivsing the Otueke couple?
One Doyin Okupe was alleged to have stolen
from the people and government of Imo and
Benue States. For him, you can do the Tiger Of
Aso Rock. The documentary will show where to
run for cover after perpetrating crimes at the
state levels, a kind of graduation that is.
My parents are from the South Western part of
Nigeria which makes me a yoruba by birth. I
will like to see a documentary on The Drug
Baron Leading The Yoruba PDP in South
Western Nigeria. As my contribution to this
documentary, I will like to pay for his return
trip to the United States. Please mail me when
he’s ready to fly, it seems you have him in
your good books.
AIT common now, there are many, many series
you can run. Your followership will grow
nationally and internationally you’ll never go
bankrupt again even after Jonathan’s reign of
tyranny.
There is a man called Ali Modu Sheriff. He is a
close associate of Jonathan and an alleged
sponsor of Boko Haram. Go deeper into the
allegation and tell us what you find in the
Revelation Of Sambissa.
An alternative to the above will be How The
Opposition Sponsors Terror . I think Nigeria
and Nigerians will be intellectually richer when
you have produced all the above
documentaries. Perhaps you’ll help clueless
Jonathan unravel the missing links between the
opposition parties and Boko Haram.
Oh, l almost forgot. You should make a series
on Nigeria’s House Of Representa-thieves and
Legis-looters. You will not lack the materials to
work with on this one. You just need to prove
or disprove that the Nigerian National
Assembly for example is the most expensive to
run in the world.
You need to help Nigerians uncover the
mysterious sums that go down the drain daily.
Do a statistical analysis and see if the amount
of wastage is positively or negatively
correlated to laziness and the sleeping hours in
both houses.
What about a neutral topic like Religous
Country, Wicked People ? Make several visits to
the churches and mosques, try to explain the
poverty index, crime rate and mumuism
followership both religiously and politically.
You can show or disprove that religion leads to
intellectual laziness, negligence of social
obligations, lack of tolerance, bad government,
blind faith and organized political crime.
To ensure that your documentary series last
for several seasons, here are more suggestions:
Memory Lane, the Politicians And Soldiers
Who Looted and Destroyed Nigeria,
1960-2015 (Part 1-20)
The Chibok Girls, Jonathan’s Changing Tunes
A Dictator Turned Democrat-Mission
Impossible 4
Boko Haram Is In My Government-The
Inside Story
Fashola: Productive or Destructive Product
Of the Lion Of Bourdillion
APC States Versus PDP States: The Lions And
The Tigers
Multiple Cross-Carpeting And Mental Health
In Nigeria-A Political Approach To Medicine
APC To PDP And Vice Versa: The Recyling of
Political Morons In A People Passive Society
Clueless Personified: Stealing Is Not
Corruption-Evidence of Stupidity
Mrs. Patience Jonathan, From National To
International Embarrassment
30 Trillion Subsidy Scams-How PDP And
Jonathan’s Economy Team Raped Nigeria
The Jet-Age Of Looting NNPC, A Diezani
history
The Useless Roles Of Private and Public
Media In Nigeria
Dear AIT and management, these suggestions
should keep you busy for the next 10 years.
When you start, you will see that there are
several more areas of investigative journalism
that will make your station the envy of global
journalism.
Please feel free to contact me for more
suggestions should you and your production
crew run of of ideas or scripts.
I hope you find genuine sponsors from around
the globe and that your employees will receive
local and international awards for their
investigations. This will move you and your
employees away from the disgraceful brown
enevelope, food-for-the-belly syndrome.
Nigerians will be more enlightened, the
politicians may sit up. The judiciary may have
finally met their own watch dogs. The
disoriented police force may find their lost
ryhthms and start doing their jobs rather than
shooting civilians at the ratio of 20:1.
The documentary on Tinubu should not be the
end. DAAR Communications, go to court and
fight your case.
I wish you goodluck at AIT and at the trial.
The pen is mightier than the sword!
aderounmu@gmail.com
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/ait-s-upcoming-documentaries.html

Change2015:
I'm sorry but this is rubbish. The legislature cannot make laws in violation of the constitution, and thus they cannot transfer the power to amend the constitution to another body, in contradiction to the means of altering the constitution specified in the constitution! So the confab for all the money spent was just a useless talking shop that has no authority and little foundation. It certainly was not representing me, especially with a significant number of government appointees. I had no choice in who represented me, and on that ground it fails for me.

The nation has an Attorney - General who should ideally provide clear legal advice on what is legal for the government to do, and obviously he has been derelict in his duties.

#change
#GMB
#APC

As in,that guy can say rubbish a lot.Always believing what he feels or thinks is the position of the law.He doesn't even bother looking up relevant portions of the law before making his asinine positions known.

barcanista:
First, the PIB is a Parliamentary bill and not a Presidential fiat. 2/3rd members of Parliament need to pass it and then transmit it to the President for him to sign it into law. Musa Yaradua sent the bill to NASS in 2007(or 2008), the NASS members have been acting funny and tribalising issues. The Minister of Petroleum has on several occasions stated the FG's readiness to implement the bill/law, but till date it hasn't been passed. I throw one question at you... What has APC legislators done with respect to the bill? What should the President do when it hasn't got to his desk? What is his own sin here?

Btw check my first reply

Get your facts right,buster.A bill for an Act need only a simple majority of members present and voting,not 2/3.2/3rd only applies to constitutional amendment bills.Last time I checked,the PDP still holds a simple majority of the NASS.Look for another excuse,this one won't wash.
"Never ascribe to malice that which is best explained by incompetence" - Napoleon Bonaparte

How abouy this one for another excuse?.
Seplat shut down cuts 528mw from national
grid
 February 27, 2015
By Anayo Korie / Ag Energy Editor
The Seplat Petroleum Company recent shut
down is costing the nation 528ww of
electricity daily. The company shut down the
Oben gas plant for 10 days to enable it expand
the gas facility to meet demand for its
customers . The facility which was initially
owned by Shell Nigeria before divestment to
the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) is vital in the supply of gas needed for
power generation.
Seplat Petroleum Company
The 10-day long shut-down, will enable the
company to complete its expansion unit with
the existing plant, The exercise will reduce gas
supply to the country’s power generating
plants by 135 million standard cubic feet of
gas per day..
Though, several power plants fired on gas in
the country consume different brands of gas
depending on their location,Daily independent
learnt that over 135mmscf per day generates
an average of 528 megawatts of electricity .
Before the shut-down, power generation stood
at 4,000 mw , due to persistence of vandalism
of gas supply pipelines by unpatriotic
Nigerians .
The Chief Executive Officer of Seplat
Petroleum, operators of NPDC/Seplat Joint
Venture, Mr. Austin Avuru, in a statement
made public recently said that the shutdown,
which will end by March 5, will enable the
company to complete its newly installed, 2 x
75 million standard cubic feet of gas daily unit
into the company’s existing gas plant.
He said that the exercise will allow , Seplat
operate a single homogenous plant consisting
of 2 by 45 million standard cubic feet and 2
by75 million standard cubic feet trains and will
be able to supply 240million standard cubic
daily, . This facility expansion and upgrades
will bring the company’s overall daily gas
production capacity to over 300million
standard cubic daily.
Avuru further stated that during the shutdown,
Seplat’s current daily production of 135
mmscf, from Oben node will “not be available,
however, the company will maintain gas
availability of 60mmscf daily from its Sapele
node.”
According to him, the shut-down provides the
company an opportunity to enhance its current
gas delivery into the national gas grid.
He added that this achievement aligns with
Seplat’s short to medium term domestic gas
commercialisation strategy, while facilitating
greater power generation in the country.
http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/02/seplat-shut-cuts-528mw-national-grid/
"Never ascribe to malice what is best explained by incompetence" - Napoleon Bonaparte

chukwudi44:
Bros we work with constitution and not emotions,only an election petition tribunal can adjudicate on this matter. That is the law.Since the tribunal have finished sitting and given their judgment APC has no case.

Seriously do you mind pointing out any thing said on the tape that suggests the elections were rigged? Did you see the army at the polling booths? Is Gen Momoh the REC for ekiti state?

Conspiracy to commit a crime,whether such get carried out or not,is a crime in our criminal codes.It's both civil n criminal offence,in this instance,as it concerns elections.The window for the civil part may or may not have passed,but the criminal part still subsists n is a matter for regular courts.This,all right thinking Nigerians,with heads screwed on straight,well know.
The question you should ask yourself,why are you stridently supporting a glaring evil deed?.Is that mess of porridge worth this low you've sunk?

chukwudi44:
Bros if you want me to lecture you then you have to pay for it.It is only an election petition tribunal that can nullify the results of an election. A normal court does not have that mandate

This has gone beyond election thing and well you know it,nodcock.
We're talking about a seeming conspiracy to commit a crime here,which in itself is a crime.The parties involved have come out to admit such a meeting held,only protesting their innocence as per the criminal intent.The only logical,legal thing to do is investigate.
But as always,you will defend even the devil before the Judgement Seat,insofar as he has your bread buttered.

The most asinine smear campaign I've yet come across.Thisday went all the way for an "Arab diplomat" to analyse Buhari's bow tie?.
In one breath,radical Muslims think it resembles the cross and won't have anything to do with it.In another breath,it's what they choose to wear if push comes to shove and they have to wear one?.
Who do you people think will swallow this stite,pigs?.

Thou dost protest overmuch,Mr.Indeed,thou hast proveth thine chase has a beast in view.
Gratification,mayhaps?

WTF!
This report is pure fabrication,something paid for to achieve sinister ends.Says the rally held on SATURDAY,Modu-Sheriffs office torched same day,when we just watched it being held today.Or you guys so blinded by hate y'all missed that?.
Even says Osinbajo was there,smh

WombRaiders:
No. The maitassine uprising met a stiff ressistance from northern Nigeria as a whole.

Buhari still struggled to quench the group and in less than 4 months from the last recorded major uprising by the group in Gombe 1985, Buhari was overthrown.

Maitassine was contained by the north and it soon lost steam and disappeared from the landscape.

Firstly, you first have to understand what the ideology and make up of the maitassine group to understand why the northern oligarchy supported the government to quell the group. The sect was against established order in the north and appealled to the down trodden of society.

This is far at varriance with Boko Haram that enjoys tacit and financial support from powerful elements in the north.

This is where and how Boko differs from the Maitassine sect.

See how you're tying yourself up in a knot.The question I asked was simple enough,who was the Head of State when the last Maitatsine uprising,according to your post,was put down?.
And no,the uprisings were not put down by your nebulous "northern establishment",but by regular law enforcement agencies.First the police,then combined teams of Army and Airforce.It says so right there in your post(s) or you now have issues with basic comprehension?.
Also,note that Maitatsine uprisings started way before '84/85,as early as '78 even,yet we didn't get to hear Shagari nor Buhari complain of them being setup to make the country ungovernable for them.They rose up to their responsibilities in varying degrees,not making excuses.
Lastly,I so detest people throwing accusations around without any shred of evidence.If you know any of these "northern elements" backing boko haram,as opposed to the few we already know enjoying state support,kindly name them.

According to this thread,the last that was heard of the Maitatsine was in April 1985,when they were finally crushed.Somebody remind me,who was Head of State April 1985?.

PIUS ADESANMI
 CREATED: 13 FEBRUARY 2015

Posted by Pius Adesanmi
in Pius Adesanmi
February 13, 2015
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Ipile ti Jesu
Fi lele leyi
Ti Baba Aladura n to,
Keda mase ro pe
O ye kuro nibe
O duro le Kristi apata
Kerubu e yo
Serafu e yo!
A o fi ipile lele lori otito
A o fi ipile lele lori otito
After I finished singing this song, the angel
with the seventh seal appeared to me and
saith: remove your white garment, put on a
red garment, discard your white candles,
replace them with red candles and repeat the
song.
And I did.
After I finished singing the song a second time,
the angel with the seventh seal appeared to me
and saith: remove your red garment, put on a
yellow garment, discard your red candles,
replace them with yellow candles and repeat
the song.
And I did.
After I finished singing the song a third time,
the angel with the seventh seal appeared to me
and saith: now put on your white garment
again, take your white candles, take your
spiritual soap and sponge and proceed to the
river for a spiritual bath.
And I did.
After my spiritual bath, the angel with the
seventh seal appeared to me and saith: now
take anointed oil and proceed to the mountain
top where you shall pray and fast unceasingly
for seven days and seven nights. Only after this
shall I have a word with thee.
And I went to the mountain top and did
accordingly.
After seven days and seven nights of praying
and fasting, my white garment had gathered
dust. The angel with the seventh seal appeared
to me and saith: now, ask thine questions.
And I did obeisance and asked him why King
Jona looks upon us of the white garment faith
with hostility and apartheid eyes. For under no
other King in the entire history of Nigeria hath
the Christian faith or any faith enjoyed the
status of official state religion. In four years
King Jona has spent more quality time kneeling
or standing on the altar of every church in the
land. He has wined and dined with every mega-
Pastor in the land. He is more at home inside
prosperity Pentecostal churches than he is
inside the King’s office. When he gets tired of
crisscrossing Nigeria with prosperity Pastors,
King Jona gathers them in a jet and flies with
them to Jerusalem to pollute with aviation jet
fumes all the spaces made pure by the green
and environment-friendly mode of travel of
our Lord Jesus Christ who preferred donkeys
and trekking. Although the Bible says in
Mathew 6:24 that “ye cannot serve both God
and money”, the President of the Christian
Association of Nigeria has found a way to settle
the feud between God and money. He has
found a way to serve God and Marmon and has
transformed Nigerian Christianity to the
political floor mat of King Jona.
Now that we are in election season, the only
place where the people see and hear from King
Jona is on the pulpit of prosperity Pentecostal
pastors. This is the space from which he has
been governing the land. King Jona has freed
Nigerian prosperity mega-Pastors of decades of
bondage to the tithe of their followers. They
have been set free because King Jona has
opened up the floodgates of the money of
Nigeria to them.
And the angel with the seventh seal interrupted
me and asked: Aladura my son, what is wrong
with the Federal Christian theocracy of Nigeria
that King Jona is running? Shouldn’t you be
happy? They said they were going to bury the
Koran in the Atlantic Ocean. Now, I have given
you a King who is burying the Bible in the
Sahara desert. Shouldn’t you be happy?
And I did obeisance again and replied the angel
with the seventh seal. King Jona is not burying
the Bible in the Sahara desert. He is burying
even more naira in the hearts of prosperity
Pastors. He drives the Bible away from every
church he visits and installs naira in its stead.
The Word of the Lord is now homeless in
Nigeria because King Jona has expelled it from
virtually every church.
And the angel with the seventh seal saith to me
again: but he is still running a Federal Christian
theocracy of Nigeria. You should be happy.
And I replied: that is the problem my Lord.
The political Christianity he is running is an
apartheid Christianity. It is an undemocratic
Christianity. For someone who has slept in
every church since he became King, for
someone who has spent more time in churches
than he has ever spent in his office, for
someone who is running an election on
Christianity and not on any issue, he has never
visited an Aladura church. He has never been
photographed kneeling down before any of our
Prophets, Woolis, Aladuras, and Iya ni Israelis.
He has never worn a white garment to come
and worship with us or make political
campaign statements from our altars. Yet you’d
think that he’d take care of us because we are
really his closest kinsmen in Christianity. He
said he had no shoes and we wear no shoes in
our white garment Aladura churches. Is he
perhaps running away from us because we
remind him of his shoeless poverty days? How
can you run a Federal Christian theocracy and
discriminate against a particular segment of
Christianity? Why are prosperity Pentecostal
Pastors more equal than Aladura prophets in
King Jona’s court?
And the angel with the seventh seal looked
upon me and saith: son, as an Aladura
prophet, whenever you wear your white
garment and take candles and ororo and head
to the mountain top for prayer and fasting,
what do you normally do afterwards?
And I replied: the spirit of the lord descends
on me and I prophesy in the name of the Lord
for woe unto him who is sent but does not
deliver the message and woe unto him who is
not sent but who delivers the message.
And the angel with the seventh seal said to me:
King Jona snubs you and you ask why. Can you
be bought? Does your message have a price?
And I descend from the mountain top singing:
Ipile ti Jesu
Fi lele leyi
Ti Baba Aladura n to,
Keda mase ro pe
O ye kuro nibe
O duro le Kristi apata
Kerubu e yo
Serafu e yo!
A o fi ipile lele lori otito
A o fi ipile lele lori otito
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/pius-adesanmi/king-jona-s-snub.html

Posted by Pius Adesanmi
in Pius Adesanmi
February 12, 2015
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My grandmother of blessed memory, Mama
Isanlu, was not like Unoka! She was not always
owing everybody in Isanlu and looking for
corner-corner ways to pay only her big debts
first.
I tell her story here. Listen to it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofrxl7zDh_
Q
She was not like Okonkwo either. Yam, the
exacting king of crops, was not something
whose cultivation she surrendered to the
exclusive patriarchal sphere of the men of her
generation in Isanlu.
Mama Isanlu had two big yam farms back in
the day. Francis Okonkwo, Igbo son born of an
Isanlu mother and raised in Isanlu like my
sibling, if you are reading this, do you
remember Mama Isanlu marching us so early
in the morning to her yam farms at Omfun or
Oko l'okanla during our formative years in the
village?
Do you remember the long trek back home in
the evening - one or two yams in the baskets
that we each carried on our heads?
Do you remember Mama Isanlu's goats and
their relentless appetite for Mama Isanlu's yam
barns?
Ah! Those goats! They were stubborn. No
matter how much we fed them with yam
peelings, leaves, and other stuff Mama Isanlu
prepared for them, they always wanted the
real deal. They always wanted the haute cuisine
and the fine dining that was direct access to
Mama Isanlu's raw yarms in the barns.
No manner of ruse was beyond those goats.
Francis, It was your duty and mine to keep
them at bay. We had to constantly separate the
goats from the yams.
But we were barely ten years old. Between
village football with other kids, hunting emo,
okete, and other rodents, and so many other
distractions, the goats always ended up gaining
illegal access to the barns behind our backs.
Mama Isanlu would contemplate the wreckage.
Mama Isanlu would deal with you and I first.
Generous strokes of the cane.
Mama Isanlu would wait patiently for the goats
to retire to their shed for the night. Then she
would drag the offending goat to the yam
shed, show her the damage, and flog the
bejesus out of the poor animal - as if a goat
could ever learn to desist from stealing yams.
Mama Isanlu did not just insist on separating
the goats from the yams.
She always punished us for letting the stealing
happen in the first place.
And she always punished the goats for doing
the stealing. Always.
And one thing Mama Isanlu never did after
punishing a goat for stealing her yams was to
invite the offending goat to be the custodian of
an even bigger and juicier barn of yams. And
she never pardoned any condemned goat guilty
of theft.
What then is this disturbing news I hear with
one ear that a strange creature has been
talking about yams and goats lately?
Should this creature really be talking about
yams and goats?
I remember:
A goat steals plenty of aviation yams.
The process of crime and punishment is still
being determined by his own crime and
punishment machinery.
Suddenly he yanks the goat accused of stealing
aviation yams from the crime and punishment
scene and places the said offending goat closer
to his heart in charge of bigger and juicier
campaign yams.
And he now goes to lecture people about
separating goats from yams? This man - whose
moral universe can only think of finding juicier
yams for offending goats or pardoning
condemned looting goats?
This man - whose instinct is to always
condemn the yam for roaming too close to the
goat's mouth?
This man - whose psychology is to accuse
anybody who warns him that goats steal yams
of attempting to bring down his barn by
smearing the good name of his goats?
Maybe he should leave goats and yams alone?
Maybe he should just kuku shut up entirely
about this stealing business because his record
in that department is so awful that every time
he opens his mouth, he worsens the situation?
Maybe...
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/pius-adesanmi/president-jonathan-s-aviation-goat-president-jonathan-s-campaign-yams.html

Nigerians have rejected the highlights of the
forensic audit report on the operations of the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC, released last Thursday by the federal
government.
The report presented by the Auditor General of
the Federation, AuGF, Samuel Ukura, showed
that total revenue generated from crude oil
lifting by NNPC on behalf of the Federal
Government was $69.34billion (about
N11.65trillion) as against $67 billion
(N11.26trillion) reported at the end of the
Senate probe.
Besides, the report also found out that a total
cash of $50.81billion (N8.53trillion) and not $
47billion (about N7.90trillion) remitted to the
Federation Account from the crude oil lifting
for the period under review.
According to the AuGF, based on the
information available to the auditing firm, the
conclusion from the audit was that NNPC and
its upstream industry subsidiary, Nigerian
Petroleum Development Company, NPDC,
would refund a minimum of $1.48billion
(N248.6billion).
Mr. Ukura said his presentation was made at
the instance of President Goodluck Jonathan,
who requested that only the highlights of the
findings should be presented to the public.
However, a cross-section of Nigerians,
including civil society groups, have faulted the
presentation of only the highlights of the
report, saying it amounted to a disservice to
democracy, transparency and openness,
Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative
Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani,
that the president asked the AuGF to release
only the highlights and not the entire report is
suggestive that government has something to
hide.
“The whole process was stage-managed,” Mr.
Rafsanjani said. “Government hurriedly put the
report together. Remember there was so much
reluctance to even order the audit till
Nigerians pressurized them into it.
“After the audit, the report should have been
submitted since September last year, but, they
kept it until Nigerians began to demand for it.
So, Nigerians are not satisfied with the report.
It does not meet the minimum standard for
transparency and accountability.”
The Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice,
CENSOJ, Eze Onyekpere, said Nigerians
deserved to be given the details of the findings
to enable them make their objective decision
on what’s going on.
“There is no reason why the whole report
should not be in the public domain,” Mr.
Onyekpere said. “The report of the audit
should not be given in snippets. Most
Nigerians are all reasonable and matured
enough to read and draw their independent
conclusions.
Though he supported the idea of the Auditor
General, as the Chief auditor of the federation”
studying the report, Mr. Ukura said the report
should equally be available in the public
domain for their appraisal.
“There are many Nigerians not in government,
who are auditors, who can give government
their own independent recommendations.
“The report should published through the
website of the Federal Government, Federal
Ministries of Finance, Information or Office of
Accountant General and Auditor General, so
that as the Auditor General is studying the
report as a technocrat to make his own
recommendations, Nigerian would also study
to make their input,” he said.
For the Chief Executive Officer, Global
Analytics Consulting Limited, Tope Fasua, the
refusal of government to release the full
report is a reflection of the culture of disdain
for full disclosure in the country.
According to Mr. Fasua, if total government
revenue for 2013 budget was N10trillion, and
the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, alone
accounted for more than 50 per cent,
government, over time have has refused to
disclose the contributions of other revenue
agencies like Nigeria Customs Service, NCS; and
Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA,
“That lends credence to what former CBN
governor, Charles Soludo, said. It seems the
country is making a lot of money than
government is willing to let people know,” he
said.
“The government cannot be said to be running
the country when one cannot give out
information. The country cannot be run as a
fiefdom. The report was conducted with the
people’s commonwealth.”
Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, said it was
improper to make only the highlights available
to Nigerians, adding that it was left for
Nigerians to rise up and take advantage of the
Freedom of Information, FOI, law and demand
for the release of entire report.
But, Mr. Fasua said Nigerians should not be
subjected to the idea of using the, FOI, law to
access the report, pointing out that it was
totally unacceptable to run the country like a
jungle.
The Nigerian Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative, NEITI, the
transparency and accountability agency in
charge of oil and gas industry operations
auditing, was not involved in the process.
Asked whether the non-involvement of NEITI
would not affect the integrity of the report,
the Director of Communications, NEITI,
Ogbonnanya Orji, said other government
agencies could conduct independent
investigations on any institution.
The audit ordered by the Federal Government
April 2014 followed allegations by the former
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN governor, Lamido
Sanusi, that as much as $49 billion revenue
from crude oil liftings between January 2012
and July 2013 was diverted by the NNPC.
Though the figures put forward by the CBN,
Finance Ministry and NNPC were reconciled,
further reconciliation was required to between
the balance of $12 billion by the CBN
governor and $10.8billion by the Minister of
Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Mr. Sanusi, who called for a broad based
investigations into the controversy, had
reviewed his figure to $20 billion when he
appeared before the Senate Committee that
probed the issues.
When Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, announced the
appointment of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, PwC
Nigeria, to conduct a detailed investigation
into the accounts and activities of NNPC for
the period, the auditors were given 16 weeks
to complete the assignment and turn in its
report.
The report was behind the September 2014
deadline by a few weeks. But, the Federal
appeared to have dragged its feet on the
decision to make the report public, stirring
demands by concerned Nigerians for its
release.
Apart from the Presidential candidate of the
All Progressives Congress, APC, Muhammadu
Buhari, who made the call on government to
publish the report, the former Vice President
of the World Bank, Oby Ezekwesili also joined
to demand for the report.
The former CBN governor, Chukwuma Soludo,
also touched on the issue in his recent article
accusing the managers of the Nigerian
economy of not accounting for several billions
of oil money.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/176725-20-billion-audit-report-nigerians-demand-full-disclosure-findings.html

onatisi:
pvc issue is inec problem. Boko haram is the military issue and they will deal with it. This nation cannot afford another constitutional case crisis after elections. Therefore let all eligibility cases be settled before elections. Buhari should just produce that certificate and allow nigerians to move on, the case is in court and the law court will decide.

Let me indulge you a lil bit,see how far you're willing to stick out your neck for this foolishness.
Did the Constitution,especially section 318 say he has to produce a certificate?.Do you even have a copy?.
Again,what was the Court of Appeal's ruling on educational qualification vis a vis contesting for office?.If you're not aware of that one already,I'll point you in the way of Oshiomhole case.A little googling ought to help you out.
This issue,fully adjudicated on,will land a terrible blow on PDP's campaign.Jonathan knows this,Muazu does.Only footsoldiers like you are yet to get the memo.

onatisi:
There will be no elections until the court determines the eligibility of buhari to contest. so buhari better produce that certificate fast to save his face and his party.

That the new excuse now?.No longer pvc distribution and insecurity in the northeast?

There is a split in the camp of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) over the eligibility suit filed against All Progressives Congress(APC) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Some PDP stalwarts, especially those from the North, are opposed to the four matters pending in court over Gen. Buhari’s certificate, The Nation learnt yesterday.

It was also learnt that the Presidency is not keen to “support all the applications in court” as it sees the suits as “mere distractions”.
There are three suits at the Federal High Court against Gen. Buhari and a criminal matter at a Magistrate’s Court on APC’s candidate’s eligibility.

Some PDP chiefs, especially those from the North and some retired Generals, are uncomfortable with the legal actions.
It was learnt that the grouse of the PDP stalwarts is on the misinterpretation of Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution by those questioning Gen. Buhari’s certificate.

Some of the aggrieved PDP leaders and some strategists of the President were also angry that a case of alleged forgery / perjury could be raised against Gen. Buhari.

It was learnt that those unhappy with the suits have started reading “ethnic meanings into the whole drama”.
A source said: “Those from the North are shocked that those behind the applications are mostly from the Southeast and a negligible few from the Southsouth. They are seeing everything from the ethnic angle.

“They also said the matters accounted for part of the reasons Jonathan is losing ground in the North because Northerners see it as signs of desperation.”

Another source added: “Some of us believe those behind the suits do not mean well for the President. They should have taken cognizance of past pronouncements by the court on Adams Oshiomhole and Section 131, which says the minimum requirement is the ability to be able to read and write”.

But a few others trying to please the President wanted the suits to be pursued to the logical conclusion.
A member of the NWC said: “If some APC sympathisers can go to court to challenge the President on his right to second term, then we felt we must also place some hurdles before Buhari.
“Some of our leaders do not like these suits but we cannot stop our supporters who have genuine reasons to challenge Buhari’s eligibility.
“This is politics. The onus is on Buhari to provide all necessary evidence.”
A highly-placed source in the Presidency said: “To the best of our knowledge, these suits are mere distractions. This is why the Presidency has nothing to do with it.
“Let me tell you, some of these applicants and their counsel have been advised by some government officials to drop the suits.”
Responding to a question, the source added: “When these suits get to advanced stage, they may not get the required support from the government.”

Section 131 says: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of forty (40) years; (c )he is a member of a political party; and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.

“In Section 318, School Certificate or equivalent means (a) a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or (b) education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or
“(c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and (i) service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) for a minimum of 10 years; and
“(ii) attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totaling up to a minimum of one year, and
“(iii) the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English Language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC); and “(d) Any other qualification acceptable by INEC.”


http://thenationonlineng.net/new/jonathans-camp-splits-anti-buhari-suits/

firstEVA:
see this bastãrd male disguising as female, you are the one exposing your ignorance and stupidity to the world, the op asked a simple question on why some people refer to some states in the south south as. East, even though south south is a Nigerian political creation, it has become a geographical zone, to keep referring to states which have been constitutionally recognised as South South as South east is foolishness, that will amount to living in the past. I wouldn't really expect a retärded bastãrd like you to understand, flaming fagggot.

Did you say constitutionally recognized?.Where n where did that happen in the CFRN,what sections?.
Not butting in on your spat with your fellow nodcock,but that...............smh

So,now we've gone global with our nonsense
http://www.ft.com/world/africa
And you people will wonder why the real world don't/won't take us serious.
For the blithely ignorant among us,that's the Financial Times.Not an opposition publication by any shot.

Believe this and you'll believe anything.INEC's meeting is yet to hold,it's slated for 2pm.

ARES:
dude do you have any idea that you live in 2015. why dont you go back to where you open your bank account to withdraw money..... when people are told to embrace technology they resort to name calling

Same way you apply for ATM card in Zenith bank,Trade fair n collect in UBA,Wuse,bah?.
You guys really give a bad name to ediots.

I believe the recording was made by the
General,to cover his ass should the sky cave in
on the conspirators.

I believe the recording was made by the General,to cover his ass should the sky cave in on the conspirators.

InglishTeechar:
Didnt know fools still exist until i found you...are you telling me the people in the econonist are not humans and cannot be bribed abi. Sometimes it baffles me that some Nigerians think bribery and corruption is only done in Nigeria...there is no place in these world that bribery and corruption dont exist, so open your eyes and mind, mumu.

Called me a fool,eh?.I'll let that lie for now.
Now Lackwit,what and what do you think the Economist got wrong as to arrive at their conclusion/endorsemen?.What's your contribution to the debate here?.

Collynzo9:
Let them stop deceiving themselves, Buhari wasn't just a dictator, he was also a failed head of state.

Yes,we have heard.
Now,what say you about this piece from the economist?.Were they bribed to write this too?.

Case won't fly,Jonathan is legally qualified to contest.He only completed a term for which Yar'Adua had already taken the Oath for 2010.
Now,whether he's qualified intellectually and in other ramifications is what Nigerians get to decide February 14

A rather lengthy piece,I'll say.Worth the read though,our country need serious help.
And if this is Soludo auditioning for a part in the next dispensation,as some will accuse,he's going about it right.These are the issues we should be talking about,not age or certificate.

Many of Madam’s responses were comical, but
this one is classic. According to her, the chief
economic adviser and NBS “worked hard to
determine how many jobs we need to create in
a year”, and went on to ask, “why didn’t
Soludo do this when he was CEA?” (Lol!).
Madam, any good economist needs less than
10 minutes to compute this figure, not the
(months? of) ‘hard work’ by your team. My
calculation is that the number of jobs Nigeria
needs to create each year to significantly
reduce unemployment rate to sustainable
levels in the next few years is at least 3
million, and not the 1.8 million by your team.
We are talking about the Nigerian economy,
please.
Your magic wand for mass housing is the
Mortgage Refinance Corporation with 23,000
mortgage offers—for a country with 17 million
housing deficit! Then, there is the pedestrian
proposal of a new development bank—
financed with loans from the World Bank, etc?
A World Bank loan to set up another
‘development bank’ where we already have
Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, NEXIM,
Federal Mortgage Bank, etc? People have
totally run out of ideas and can’t see anything
for Nigeria without through the prism of the
World Bank. I will offer you free consultancy
on how to set up a development bank without
a World Bank loan but we don’t need another
one now. I actually gave President Yar’adua a
two page note for a N3 trillion development
fund then, and if we plug your leaking pipes, it
could actually be a N10 trillion Fund. I
envisioned and set up the Africa Finance
Corporation (AFC)—Africa’s premier
infrastructure bank!
Frankly, I don’t understand why you seem
highly troubled that the Soludo you thought
had “disappeared from the political space”
seems to be still around. Well, let me assure
you that I will only ‘disappear’ in God’s own
time. I gave credit to two past presidents who
laid the foundation of the market economy we
operate today. You did not contest or
contradict any of my points. Rather, what you
see is that Soludo must be ‘looking for a
position’. Pity! If I am looking for a position, I
would be running around one of the candidates
now just as you are busy dancing Atilogwu
dance at TAN and PDP rallies, struggling to
keep your job. How Yar’adua drafted me to
contest for governor in Anambra and APGA
leadership as well and how I was “stopped” on
both occasions are in the public domain. But I
am not deterred for one minute. Chinua
Achebe said that on leadership, Nigeria is a
country that goes for a football match with its
10th Eleven. I am proud and happy to have
offered to serve my people, and for the service
of Nigeria, I will do it again and again. How
many times did Abraham Lincoln, Obama,
Reagan, etc contest before they got there? I
actually encourage everyone who believes he/
she has something to offer to get involved or
stop complaining. I am happy seeing the
increasing critical mass of professionals (like
you) now getting involved. It is good for
Nigeria!
What is at stake is the survival and prosperity
of Nigeria. Next elections are critical, and for
me the key is the ECONOMY. We must offer
Nigerians clarity on the choices before them.
Can I propose a three-way debate with you
(representing PDP/Federal Government),
nominee of APC (Utomi or Fayemi? or any
other), and myself (as independent citizen— I
don’t belong to any of the two). Let us have
two bouts of debate between now and 12th
February, 2015 focusing on: CBN/AMCON and
the financial system (if you want); our
economy and its outlook, and agenda/
alternative paths to sustainable prosperity post
elections. Choose the dates and times, and for
the sake of Nigeria, I will fly in. You can invite
any of your international media friends as
moderators. I feel the pain of the 180 million
Nigerians whose tomorrow you have carelessly
rendered bleak, and when I think of what the
missing trillions could do for them, it becomes
extremely urgent that we all must deepen the
debate. Eagerly waiting for your response,
please!

AMCON is a big topic (which I will address at a
later date) but her claims show either
ignorance or mischief. She claims that N5.7
trillion of AMCON funds was used to rescue
banks and the ‘bond issued’ as ‘cost to
taxpayers’. Really? I will deal with the AMCON I
envisaged and the AMCON under you later but
let me state that even if 100% of the banks’
NPL was offloaded on AMCON, it would not be
up to N5.7 trillion. Enough said for now. The
fact is that the Federal Government has not
put a penny in the AMCON fund: the banking
system is financing itself, and together with
the sinking fund by banks, AMCON surely can’t
default (thanks to consolidation that the banks
are now big enough to cough out such funds
to solve the system’s problem). Did you intend
to deceive the readers by refusing to tell them
that much of the AMCON fund is ‘investment’
and not ‘expense’. Am sure you heard the
IMF’s alarm about moral hazard? If you want,
we can have a focused debate on AMCON.
Next, let me briefly respond to a few
outlandish claims. She brags about ‘single-digit’
inflation rate ‘now’ and alleges that when I left
office, inflation was above 13%. I just laughed
at this one. In Nigeria’s history, no governor of
the Central Bank has delivered 24 consecutive
months of single digit inflation as I did until
the advent of the unprecedented global crisis
in 2008. It was not for nothing that the world
cheered us as monetary policy czar, Madam!
Perhaps you are also not aware that we broke
a world record by having a depreciated real
effective exchange rate during a time of export
boom and this was at the heart of our reserve
accumulation and the portfolio/FDI inflows. I
resisted the IMF advice to deplete reserves for
liquidity management, and Nigeria had enough
self-insurance to survive the global crisis. The
opposite has happened under you Madam, and
the Nigerian economy is in trouble. Naira
exchange rate appreciated under me from
N133 to N117 before the global crisis; and
reserves grew to all time high of $62 billion.
For the first time since 1986, the official,
interbank and parallel market exchange rates
converged under me. You can’t match these
records!
I hereby challenge your attempt to blame
others for not saving for the rainy day. It is
not a virtue when you are quick to appropriate
all the credit when things are going well, but
shift the blame when they go wrong. You
blame the state governors— who, according to
you, have taken the Federal Government to the
Supreme Court—not that a Supreme Court
judgment forced your hands. For your
information, the governors have never agreed
to savings and always threatened court action
even under Obasanjo. Why did we save under
Obasanjo but not under Jonathan? Two
keywords explain it: leadership and integrity.
Governor Amaechi said the governors insisted
on sharing the funds because they found out
that you were illegally fiddling with the
savings. So, as Nigerians still wonder, if billions
of dollars are now ‘missing’ under your nose,
why should governors trust you to keep their
money? Do the states that have taken the
federal government to the Supreme Court and
refused to save also include the PDP governors
—who are in the majority? If so, then it is
fatal: even governors of your own party, PDP,
do not trust you to keep their money!
Furthermore, did the governors also stop the
Federal Government from saving part of its
share? If you ran a surplus budget at the
Federal level, you would have had credibility to
blame others or to say they did not listen to
your advice. The key point is that since you
were running huge deficits yourself, it was also
in your own interest to share the ECA. You did
not show leadership or credibility, full stop!
Next, Madam, I was really embarrassed for you
to read that one of the reasons for declining
forex reserves is ‘oil theft’. Under you as
Minister of Finance and coordinator of the
economy, the basket of our national treasury
is leaking profusely from all sides. Just a few
illustrations! First, you admit that ‘oil theft’
has reduced oil output from the average 2.3 –
2.4 million barrels per day (mpd) to 1.95mpd
(meaning that at least 350,000 to 450,000
barrels per day are being ‘stolen’. On the
average of 400,000 per day and the oil prices
over the past four years, it comes to about $
60 billion ‘stolen’ in just four years. In today’s
exchange rate, that is about N12.6 trillion.
This is at a time of cessation of crisis in the
Niger Delta and amnesty programme. Can you
tell Nigerians how much the amnesty
programme costs, and also the annual cost for
‘protecting’ the pipelines and security of oil
wells? And the ‘thieves’ are spirits? Come on,
Madam!
Second, my earlier article stated that the
minimum forex reserves should have been at
least $90 billion by now and you did not
challenge it. Rather it is about $30 billion,
meaning that gross mismanagement has denied
the country some $60 billion or another
N12.6 trillion.
Now add the ‘missing’ $20 billion from the
NNPC. You promised a forensic audit report
‘soon’, and more than a year later the Report
itself is still ‘missing’. This is over N4 trillion,
and we don’t know how much more has
‘missed’ since Sanusi cried out. How many
trillions of naira were paid for oil subsidy
(unappropriated?). How many trillions (in
actual fact) have been ‘lost’ through customs
duty waivers over the last four years? As
coordinator of the economy, can you tell
Nigerians why the price of automotive gas oil
(AGO), popularly called diesel, has still not
come down despite the crash in global crude
oil prices, and how much is being appropriated
by friends in the process? Be honest: do you
really know (as coordinator and minister of
finance) how many trillions of Naira, self-
financing government agencies earn and
spend? I have a long list but let me wait for
now. I do not want to talk about other ‘black
pots’ that impinge on national security. My
estimate, Madam, is that probably more than
N30 trillion has either been stolen or lost or
unaccounted for or simply mismanaged under
your watchful eyes in the past four years.
Since you claim to be in charge, Nigerians are
right to ask you to account. Think about what
this amount could mean for the 112 million
poor Nigerians or for our schools, hospitals,
roads, etc. Soon, you will start asking the
citizens to pay this or that tax, while some
faceless “thieves” were pocketing over $40
million per day from oil alone.
You alluded to debt relief in your response and
tried to take credit. Well, your CV is honest
enough to admit that your two achievements in
office as Finance minister under Obasanjo were
that “you led the Nigerian team that struck a
deal with the Paris Club” and that you
“introduced the practice of publishing each
state’s monthly financial allocation in the
newspapers”. You are right about the two
achievements. Let me put on record that
Nigeria would have secured debt relief under
anyone as Minister of Finance. President
Obasanjo secured debt relief for Nigeria. Much
of his first term was used to get Nigeria back
into the international community and to
campaign for debt relief. Before you were
sworn in as Minister of Finance, President
Bush visited Nigeria and both of us
accompanied President Obasanjo during the
meeting. There, Mr. Bush promised to support
Nigeria with debt relief and asked our
president to ensure that he met the conditions
of the Paris Club. Obasanjo mobilized the
global political support and coordinated all of
us to ensure that the government met the
check-list of ‘conditionalities’ as required. I
spent five weeks in the hotel with my team (as
coordinator/chairman for drafting the National
Economic Empowerment and Development
Strategy, NEEDS).
Some of the reform targets in NEEDS became
the ‘conditionalities’ Nigeria was required to
fulfil to merit debt relief. You and I signed the
various MoU with the IMF on behalf of Nigeria
(the policy support instrument). We had a
great team at work and each member of the
economic team had specific aspects of the
conditionalities to deliver: Bode Agusto was in-
charge of the budget; Oby Ezekwesili held sway
at Bureau of Public Procurement and later
Minister of Solid Mineral, and Education (but
specifically tasked with delivering on EITI and
procurement reforms); Nuhu Ribadu was at the
EFCC fighting corruption; I was at the Central
Bank delivering on monetary policy and
banking reforms; Steve Oronsaye worked hard
to delist Nigeria from the FATF; Nenadi Usman
was in-charge of the parastatals; El-Rufai held
forth at FCT and in charge of public sector
reforms; privatization programme went on,
etc. Did you know that the IMF wrote President
Obasanjo threatening that there would be no
debt relief if the CBN did not meet some
monetary targets, and do you know the magic
we performed to meet them? Can you tell
Nigerians which of the ‘conditionalities’ that
you personally implemented? With the
groundswell of political support and Nigeria
meeting all the ‘conditionalities’, debt relief
was assured.
Your major role as stated in your CV was to
lead the team to negotiate the specific terms
of the relief, having fulfilled the conditions. I
still believe that Nigeria should have gotten far
better terms than you negotiated. Of course,
with your eyes on returning to the World Bank
after office, I did not expect you to boldly
stand up to the donor community in defence
of Nigeria. Was there a conflict of interest on
your part?
By the way, can you tell Nigerians why you
were eased out as Finance Minister and you
cried like a baby begging OBJ to still allow you
remain in the Economic Management team—-
barely few weeks after the debt relief? Why
were you eventually also removed from the
economic management team if you were so
important? Ironically, President Jonathan has
recycled you, with a bigger title and greater
responsibilities. But the difference is that the
team that did the actual work is no longer
there, and the world has seen that the king is
naked.
You are brilliant Madam, but you need serious
help. Having spent all your life in the World
Bank bureaucracy largely in administration/
operations, no one will blame you if your
economics has become a bit rusty. There are
firebrand Nigerians all over the world to draft
to service. It is certainly embarrassing to
Nigeria for you to be bothering World Bank
economists to help you with most basic
economic analysis.
Your response on the poverty issue is deeply
troubling. You accuse me of using “2011
statistics on poverty by the NBS to support his
argument, while ignoring more recent figures”.
At least you did not refute the NBS figure as
valid. In the next sentence, Madam went ahead
to note that “as stated in the Nigeria Economic
Report 2014 by the World Bank, poverty in
Nigeria has dropped from 35.2 percent of
population in 2010/2011 to 33.1 percent in
2012/2013”. Did you notice that you have
quoted two figures for poverty for the same
year as being equally correct? So, for 2011,
was poverty 71% (according to NBS) or 35%
according to the World Bank? To the best of
my knowledge, the last published household
survey by NBS was in 2011. The World Bank
does not conduct household surveys in
member states to determine poverty incidence.
So, when and by whom was the survey that
gave the World Bank figures?
What worries me is that this government is the
first in our history to attempt to manipulate
our national statistics under Okonjo-Iweala.
When NBS published the poverty figures in
2011, she felt indicted and incensed. She
called upon the World Bank to come and
examine the ‘methodology’ and get NBS to
‘review’ its numbers. Oby Ezekwesili (as VP
Africa Region rejected the call to try to tamper
with a country’s statistics). Once Oby left, the
‘World Bank’ started talking about ‘new
figures’, without conducting any new surveys. I
was told about it by a World Bank economist,
and I cautioned that it was a dangerous gamble
that would damage the credibility of the NBS.
If you want to ‘review methodology’, you
conduct another survey but you can’t change
‘methodology’ because you don’t like the
published figures. No government in our
history has tried it: even Sani Abacha allowed a
poverty survey that put poverty at 67% under
his regime. At this rate, who will believe
statistics coming from the Nigerian
government again? Is it now the World Bank
that sits in Washington and allocates poverty
numbers to Nigeria? Something smells here!
Madam alleges that the NBS—as a parastatal
under the National Planning Commission
(under me) departed from the ‘international
standard method of poverty measurement’.
How and when, Madam? I was in office at
National Planning for 11 months from July
2003 to May 2004. A poverty survey was
conducted in 2004 and the results computed
and published in 2005/2006— more than a
year after I had gone to the Central Bank. Or
perhaps, it was a clever way to divert attention
from your manipulation of published economic
statistics. The NBS published its poverty data in
2006 when you were Minister of Finance, and
you did not question the ‘methodology’
because the figures looked good. In 2011, the
poverty numbers (using the same methodology
as in 2005/2006) indicted the government and
suddenly, the ‘methodology’ is wrong.
Interesting times!
Now that you decide which economic statistics
published by NBS to accept and which ones to
‘change the methodology’ to give favourable
figures, you can keep feeding your manipulated
figures to your international media circus for
the vain glorious awards to sustain an empty
hype, while Nigerians groan under hardship.
We can actually ask Nigerians whether they are
getting better off now contrary to your bogus
figures.

Now, to some skeletal facts of our stewardship!
I will be brief as I have a whole book to tell
my story. As chief economic adviser, I had
advised that our banking system could not
support the private sector-led economy
envisioned under NEEDS. When I assumed
office at CBN, I inherited 89 rickety, mostly
family banks (all of which put together were
not up to the size of number four bank in
South Africa). Many were insolvent, with
depositors’ money trapped, and 20 more about
to collapse. To get a credit of $300 million
probably required all the banks to syndicate it.
For me, there was a national emergency. I
drafted a 13-point reform agenda, discussed
and agreed all the specifics with the President,
and his VP; as well as my management team at
the CBN, and we swung into action. President
Obasanjo promised 100% support and actually
delivered 1000%— which was decisive. I
apologize to you Madam because I did not
brief or inform you about it. We just wanted to
keep it confidential given the sensitivity of the
announcement. It is on record that you never
supported it.
It was both a revolution and a war and most
people thought it was “impossible”, but thank
God we succeeded. For the first time in
Nigeria’s history a policy of that magnitude was
announced and deadline kept with precision.
We were courageous to revoke the licenses of
14 banks, including those of my friends, in one
day. The FT-Banker concluded that the scale,
precision, and cost of the transformation were
unprecedented in the world. Before then,
Malaysia had the least cost of banking
consolidation at 5% of Malaysian GDP. It did
not cost Nigerian taxpayers one penny.
Twenty-five new, stronger banks emerged but
the powerful idea behind consolidation ignited
something even more powerful—‘the race to
the top’. Banks raised more capital, and even
banks like First Bank, Zenith, GTB, etc that did
not merge with others went on capital raising
several times. The consequence was higher
levels of capitalization and within two years, 14
Nigerian banks were in the top 1000 banks in
the world and two in the top 300 (no Nigerian
bank was in the top 1000 before I came). Even
after I left office, still 9 banks were in the top
1000. Our vision was to have a Nigerian bank
in the top 100 banks within 10 years. As I see
the new Access bank; Zenith, GTB, Fidelity,
Diamond, UBA, FBN, FCMB, Skye, Stanbic IBTC,
Union, Ecobank, etc, I cannot but feel that we
have taken giant steps forward.
Deposits and credit soared (from barely N1.2
trillion to over N7 trillion); new technologies
(ATM and e-banking) boomed, and banks had
57,000 new jobs; mega businesses emerged
(ask any major operator in the Nigerian
economy their experience with banking and
credit before and after Soludo —the Dangotes,
Arik, MM2, oil and gas operators; etc); capital
market boomed and dominated by the banking
sector. It was a new dawn for Nigerian private
sector. I have heard Dangote twice say that he
would not be near as big as he is today
without the banking consolidation. Many other
stakeholders still say it today. FDI and
portfolio inflows flooded into Nigeria. The
world celebrated, and one single
transformative idea has changed the face of
the private sector and economy forever. Banks
became Nigeria’s first transnational
corporations with about 37 branches outside
of Nigeria.
Nigeria survived the global crisis because of
this, and it is the banking sector that has
largely been powering the economic growth
you claim (compare banks trillions of naira
credit for investments in the productive sector
with your government’s miserable expenditure
on critical infrastructure and investment; much
of your borrowing – bonds – is from the
banks). Your privatization of power sector,
several PPP projects on infrastructure, etc, are
now possible because of the mega banks.
Today, Nigerian banks syndicate multi-billion
dollar loans— unthinkable before. Madam, if
the consolidation was ‘mismanaged’, there
would not have been any bank to start with in
the aftermath of the global crisis— as
President Yar’adua correctly pointed out. Even
you, during a recent presentation at the
Banquet Hall in Abuja advertised consolidation
as a historic achievement. How can you
recognize a ‘mis-managed’ project as an
outstanding achievement? As we say in Igbo,
you can’t cover the moon with your palms.
Let me be clear: the quantum size of the new
banks following consolidation presented
challenges of risk management and
supervision. We deployed all we had and
overworked the CBN staff. The carry-over of
bad loans from the consolidated banks was
quickly cleaned up. To the best of my
knowledge, we instituted stringent regulatory
and supervisory regime (consistent with best
practices at the time). We even had resident
examiners in the banks and required bank MDs
to personally sign their reports to CBN. I recall
that the former MD of GTB complained of
“regulatory intrusiveness”. To our credit, non-
performing loans (NPL) came down from 22%
in 2003 and 2004 to 6% as at 2008. Anywhere
in the world, a central bank that brought NPL
from 22% to 6% over a four year period does
not look like one with a loose supervisory
regime. Name other developing countries that
performed better, Madam. So, on point of fact,
Madam lied. Yours was a reckless assertion
without basis by a Finance Minister.
The banks in Nigeria were supervised by the
CBN and NDIC, but other institutions—
international firms which audited them,
international rating agencies which also
examined their books, capital market operators
since most were listed companies — all had
oversight. I put on record that there was never
any information/report of infractions by any
bank which was brought to my attention and
which we did not act upon decisively during
my tenure. I heard the comment that some of
the bank MDs were my friends. Well, my
response is that perhaps as CME you should
kill all your friends operating in the economy
or become their enemies. For the record, my
successor audited all the banks and none of
my so-called friends was indicted. It speaks
volumes. Indeed, it is also a fact that the
alleged personal criminal infractions (including
lapses in corporate governance Madam alluded
to) by some bank CEOs were found out, only
AFTER they had been removed from office. My
successor told me that the comprehensive
audit of the banks did not reveal such
infractions. Of course, you must be God or
have a special tip-off from inside to get to
such information while the MDs are in office.
Unfortunately, all over the world, no financial
system has succeeded in routing out all
criminal behaviours by the operators. So,
Madam, I challenge you to provide one shred
of evidence that ‘there was no separation
between regulators and regulated’ or be
honourable enough to retract your reckless
statement.
What happened? The unanticipated and
unprecedented crisis of 2008/09 hit the world.
More than 40 US and European banks either
collapsed or were shaken badly (remember the
Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac, Wachovia, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Citibank,
Goldman Sachs, even UBS, etc) and hundreds
of billions of dollars were spent to bail them
out. The contagion effects spread like a wild
fire, destroying national stock markets and
banks. The nascent (big) banks in Nigeria faced
sudden multiple shocks— liquidity, exchange
rate, oil price, capital market, etc. As oil prices
collapsed, loans to oil and gas became non-
performing overnight; loans to the capital
market became non-performing overnight; etc.
Our first priority was to save the entire
banking system and the economy from
systemic collapse. I assured Nigerians that no
bank would be allowed to fail, and not many
people know what it took to achieve it. Once
we had navigated through the unexpected /
unprecedented turbulence, we laid out a
comprehensive plan to clean up the debris
which we presented to stakeholders in Lagos
(March 2009). I had pleaded with the Senate to
pass the AMCON bill which we sent to them in
2004. But I had a comprehensive plan to finish
the clean-up with or without AMCON by the
end of 2009, including second round
consolidation and a N500 billion fund (my
book will detail all these). I left behind an 11-
volume document of the Financial System
Strategy 2020 (FSS2020) which has remained
the policy roadmap for the CBN/financial
sector since I left office.
I have two analogies for our experience. Ours
was really like an airplane that was cruising
and suddenly meets an unexpected and
unprecedented turbulence. After the pilots and
the crew succeed in navigating through the
potential crash and probably land the airplane,
people look in and start blaming the crew for
the broken tea cups, chairs, and drinks that
fell during the turbulence as evidence that the
crew never kept the airplane clean or serviced
it. My second analogy is that of a sudden
earthquake in a region it was never expected
and some houses collapsed. All of a sudden,
the housing authority is to blame for not
requiring earthquake-proof foundations for the
houses. Well, my legal experts call it force
majeure, an act of nature!
To be fair, after every crisis, there are lessons
(and my book will detail what, with benefit of
that experience, we should have done
differently). Risk management— which has
always been there— now took a new centre
stage all over the world following the crisis.
But for anyone to suggest that CBN under me,
for one minute, took its eyes off the ball is, to
say the least, ludicrous. The US financial
system literally crippled the world costing
America hundreds of billions of dollars but no
one has suggested that Alan Greenspan is no
longer the great maestro!

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/02/ngozi-okonjo-iweala-missing-trillions-1-charles-soludo/

I read some of the responses to my article,
“Buhari vs Jonathan: Beyond the Election”, and
I want to thank everyone who has contributed
to the debate. I am glad that the debate has
finally taken off. I have decided, for the
record, to re-enter the debate if only to set
some records straight and hopefully elevate the
debate further. Whom do I respond to? First,
let me thank Gov Kayode Fayemi for his very
mature and professional response on behalf of
the APC. It forms a great basis for deepening
the conversation. Pat Utomi, Oby Ezekwesili,
Iyabo Obasanjo, and thousands of other
patriotic Nigerians have raised the content of
the debate. Femi Fani-Kayode made me laugh,
as usual. The Gov. Jang faction of the
Governors’ Forum played the usual politics,
although I know what most of them think
privately. Who else? Oh, Peter Obi. Well, since
he can’t write and designated Valentine as
usual to write for him (who never disputed the
NBS statistics that Obi broke world record in
the pauperization of Anambra people but
instead focused on lies and abuses) I won’t
dignify him with a response here. His third
class performance in Anambra will be the
subject of a comprehensive article later.
Here, I will focus on Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s
response (as Minister of Finance and
Coordinating Minister of the Economy—CME
and hence on behalf of the Federal
Government). Since I have known her, out of
deep respect, I have never called her by her
name: I call her Madam. I must state that I
have great pains seeing myself on the opposite
side of the table with Madam, in this way. I
respect you, Madam, and will always do. If you
read my article of September 2010 (before you
became Minister), the tone and elucidation
were as strong as the current one. It is my
honest effort to ensure that our choice of
leaders is based on rigorous scrutiny of what
is on offer. Part of my frustration is that five
years after, everything I warned about has
come to happen and we are conducting our
campaigns as if we are not in crisis. As a
concerned Nigerian, I have a duty to speak out
again. Regrettably, you have taken it very
personal.
I am not bothered about the personal abuses:
I actually expected worse. What name has the
government not called President Obasanjo or
any person who has dared to disagree with it
of late? Anyone who disagrees with the
government must either be ‘insane’ or have a
‘character’ deficiency or must be ‘looking for a
job’ or ‘without honour’, or a ‘charlatan’.
Yesterday, Sanusi alleged that $20 billion was
missing and he was accused of gross financial
mismanagement, recklessness and poor
governance to the point of being the first
governor of central bank to be suspended from
office. Today, he is the good one; and for
daring to award an “F” grade for our economic
performance, Soludo has become the ‘worst’
and ‘without character’ or perhaps ‘looking for
position’ (Lol!). Some days ago, a former
president was called ‘a motor park tout’ and
‘un-statesmanly’ just for disagreeing. This “how
dare you criticise us” mind-set of the
government is dangerous for our democracy.
In this Part One of my planned three part
series, I will restrict it to the main issues you
raised. I will not bother about the malicious
attacks on my person. For me, it is nothing
personal. In early 2011, I had a similar heated
exchange with then Finance Minister Segun
Aganga. But when the Nigerian economy was at
stake and he invited me to a stakeholders
meeting in his office (as Minister of Trade and
Investment) to discuss Nigeria’s response to
the ruinous EU- Economic Partnership for
Africa (EPA), I flew into Nigeria for that (at my
expense)— the first and only time I have been
to any government office to discuss policy
since I left office. It is about Nigeria. I will, as
expected, remind people like you of the salient
aspects of my record of public service in
response to your charge; challenge your claim
to debt relief, and your reason for not saving;
highlight your forgery of economic statistics
and the lies in your response; but most
importantly re-focus our attention to the
historic mismanagement of our economy which
you carefully avoided. I will show that while
you are introducing austerity measures and
soon to immiserate the citizens, our public
finance is haemorrhaging to the point that
estimated over N30 trillion is missing or stolen
or unaccounted for, or simply mismanaged—
under your watch! We can’t go on like this, and
I am convinced that an alternative future is
possible. Can we have a public debate on this
alternative future? The issues at stake are too
grave to be trivialized through name calling. As
I write, the naira exchange rate to the dollar is
at N215 (from N158 a few months ago) and
unless oil price recovers, this is just the
beginning. For the sake of Nigeria, I won’t
keep quiet anymore!
Let me start with Madam’s rather comical, wild
judgment on my tenure of office which I
believe to be totally false and baseless. I
apologise upfront that in the process of making
a ‘personal defence’, it is difficult to avoid a
rather uncomfortable emphasis on “I”. I did
not want that but since Madam has dragged us
this low, I have little choice but to do so in the
next few paragraphs—just to keep the record
straight!
In my view, there are three criteria for
evaluating a public officer’s stewardship: the
evaluation by his employer; the satisfaction of
the public he served; and the hard facts of
performance. As I will show on these three
counts, I am convinced that I left a world
record of public service, and a thousand
Okonjo-Iwealas cannot re-write that history. I
served Nigeria under two presidents (Obasanjo
and Yar’Adua) and as my immediate bosses,
below are their written testimonials of my
record.
Said President Obasanjo (December 2004):
“Charles Soludo is a true Nigerian. He is the
sort of Nigerian that we all know we can rely
on. Among his numerous virtues is COURAGE. I
have found in him a man who can take tough
and realistic decisions, stand his ground,
educate others on the salience of his decision,
and work very hard to ensure that the decision
is efficiently and effectively implemented. His
dedication to duty is first rate. His leadership
qualities are admirable and his willingness to
listen and learn is simply infectious. Professor
Soludo has within a short time emerged as one
of the leading lights of our nation. Not because
he has a godfather but by sheer hard work,
loyalty, dedication to duty, commitment to the
nation, creativity, and undiluted association
with the reform agenda….”
President Yar’Adua (May 2009) had the
following to say about the Central Bank of
Nigeria under my leadership:
“… the CBN has performed creditably well in
delivering on its core mandates. This is
especially even more so in the last five years.
Most people would agree that without the
successful banking consolidation and effective
management of our foreign reserves, the
current global crisis would have shaken the
financial system and our national economy to
their foundations with calamitous
consequences”.
In the President’s special letter of
commendation after the completion of my
tenure of office, President Yar’Adua (June
2009) had the following to say to me:
“As your tenure as Governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria comes to a glorious end, I
write on behalf of the Government and people
of Nigeria to place on record our debt of
gratitude to you for your dedicated service and
uncommon sense of duty over the past five
years. I am confident that your worthy
antecedents in the CBN and in prior
appointments in the service of our nation
remain sources of inspiration to an entire
generation. As I wish you even more
astounding successes in the years ahead, it is
my fervent hope that you will readily avail us
of your distinguished service when the need
arises in the future”.
To the best of my knowledge, President
Obasanjo has not changed those views even
after ten years. The views of my two bosses,
not the emotional outburst of an angry person
desperate to get even, are what count.
How did Nigerians evaluate my public service?
Unfortunately, we do not have scientific
opinion polls on job approval ratings for
individual public officers. But if the public
opinions of individuals and organized groups
(labour, employers, depositors, borrowers,
stakeholders of the financial institutions,
newspaper editorials, investors, etc) as
expressed in thousands of newspaper/magazine
clips during and after my tenure are anything
to go by, then 82% of the public largely agree
with the sentiments expressed by my two
bosses. Your views belong to the other 18%
which is okay, after all, no one is perfect. Five
Nigerian newspapers and magazines
simultaneously named us “man of the year” in
one year— unprecedented in Nigeria’s history.
I do not talk about hundreds of awards and
recognitions by various segments of our society
(during and even after service) for “excellent
public service”. I was particularly touched by
the historic award by the staff union of the
Central Bank and the tears in the eyes of many
as thousands of the staff gave me a standing
ovation as I walked the aisle after my brief
farewell speech.
Certainly, the international community
(investors, bankers, scholars, donors, media,
etc) took serious notice of the revolution in
Nigeria’s monetary and financial system. I am
recipient of five international awards as global
and African central bank governor of the year,
not to mention dozens of other recognitions
(even after leaving office). The London
Financial Times described us as “a great
reformer”. Even as the global economic and
financial crisis raged in 2008, the United
Nations General Assembly appointed me to
serve on the Commission of Experts to reform
the international monetary and financial
system. You don’t appoint someone who has
‘mismanaged’ his national financial system to
reform the global system. For 8 years until
2012, I served on the chief economist
advisory council (CEAC) of the World Bank, and
together with two Nobel Prize winners in
economics and other experts we met
periodically and advised two presidents and
two chief economists of the World Bank, and
in 2011, I served on the External Advisory
Group of the IMF. Again, these are not
positions for ‘mis-managers’. Since I left office,
I have been advising countries and central
banks; and there is hardly any two months I
don’t consult/advise on banking/financial and
monetary policy. I have given these
illustrations to make the point that for every
one Okonjo-Iweala’s attempt to rewrite history,
there are thousands who disagree.

coogar:
nah, GEJ couldn't have omitted it because it wouldn't add up. he went to 2 different primary schools, somebody somewhere would have come out with these facts sooner than later.

osinbajo went to only one primary school - his academic record shows he was a brilliant chap too which means he could never have repeated a class. money was no issue too and there was no war in lagos. logic proves he must have started at 6 and finished at age 12.

Stop falling for his ploy here,he's trying to sidetrack from the false age declaration issue which is what we're treating here n on the other thread,not Osinbajo