₦airaland Forum

OK then, tell us how to own the oil economically . . . . . . .I'm all eyes and ears.

Owning the oil ''economically'' is like telling us to hold the tail of a hungry lion. Some tribes have said they're ready to declare a Jihad if anything like that happens.

And I know the Yorubas will not allow such things to see the light of the day. The Igbos might consider such thing happening cause they are affected by the present lopsided nature.

same410:
Ribadu knows that as a ranking officer he can be deployed and redeployed anywhere and at any time. Take for instance, Haz Iwendi, the immediate past Police PR. He was PR twice, posted to a state as Asst Commissioner and now posted to Kaduna as Commissioner.

Ribadu is not a different breed. A police Officer is a police officer.

If Ribadu does not vacate EFCC post hw are we going to discover the many 'ribadus' out there.

Nigerians must learn to accept the fact that we cannot continue to leave on past glory. Ribadu belongs to a past generation, the OBJ feudalistic era.

Sam Ehebha

www.waymakerz..com

Another brilliant contribution!

Lets be pragmatic when dealing with the Niger Delta people and their issues. For more than 50 years, the Nigerian state have been sucking crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids from the region.

I did a rough approximation of the volume of petroleum resource Nigeria have taken from the Niger Delta lands since 1957. It's more than 40 billion barrels of oil equivalent (i.e. oil and natural gas resources). I used a conservative average rate of 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent perday production since 1957.

In monetary terms, Nigeria has realised some 2.5 trillion dollars, using a conservative average of about $40/barrel of crude.

The question beggin for answer is the fraction of this amount of money that has been ploughed back by the Nigerian state into the delta since oil began flowing from this region. Well, from my view point, it's less than 13% - including all the monies stolen by the leaders from the area and the ones given to them by the FG.

Of the remaining more than 87%, IBB and OBJ used nothing less than 30% of that to facilitate such things like building Hiltop Mansions at Minna and Aboukuta GRAs, buying over bonds and shares, running chiken farms, globetrotting, buying shares in Transcorp, building Bells group of schools and Obasanjo Holdings, hiring thugs for political parties, etc etc.

Gowon used part of that 87% in constructing roads and retiring to his Plateau state home. In short, the rest was spent on Nigeria.

Now, which of you guys will see this kind of injustice happening to your region and will not carry arms?

Dandada:
Fighting corruption in Nigeria is not a one man business. Thus, I will not miss Ribadu. There are people who can do the job like him and even do better. I hope they probe him and ask him to declare his assets. We all know how much Police officers make in Nigeria. i can't wait to see his declared assets.

Great post!

Bagoma,
I think we've been having the best of times with YarAdua at the helm of affairs of the nation. See someone like Ibori is behind bars for financial crimes. More people will soon be jailed - including OBJ. Just watch out.

. . . . . . .OBJs misdeeds that EFCC decided to overlook.

The former President, they contended, illegally appointed himself as the Petroleum Resources Minister contrary to the 1999 Constitution and “hence, his activities in the oil industry were shrouded in secrecy and he never rendered accounts of the oil revenue to relevant agencies like the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).”

The body also alleged that “between 2000-2006, Nigeria lost over $130 billion unaccounted revenue”, adding, “for 8 years Obasanjo unilaterally withdrew over N1 trillion from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Federation Accounts.”

Other allegations of financial crime they made against Obasanjo include: Sale of refineries to his cronies as scraps, illegal sales of NITEL, Egbin (power station), underhand deals in the privatization of ALSCON, Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill and Hilton Hotel.

Other allegations against the former president include contract awards for Niger Delta Integrated Power Projects and Equipment of University Teaching Hospitals by presidential fiat, sales of government houses for peanuts, the acquisition of Transcorp shares while in office.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .it's all coming back to him now.

faketan:
Going by what some are dailies are publishing, may be the have a 'good reason'

But why are they shielding some corrupt Gov?

Fake,
What's that you're saying up there?

After Nuhu Ribadu EFCC tightens noose on OBJ
• Ex-President’s case file 'full'
• Senators may void actions of past 6 months
• Soyinka condemns move
• US, Britain pressure Aso Rock for a year grace
•Sunday Awoniyi's last message to me
By CHRISTIAN ITA & MOHAMMED UMAR, Abuja
Sunday, December 30, 2007


Contrary to perception in some quarters that the removal of Nuhu Ribadu as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was aimed at securing reprieve for some ex-governors standing trial for alleged money laundering, his removal is actually to pave way for an unfettered investigation of graft charges against former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Relations between President Umaru Yar’Adua and his predecessor have been anything but warm in recent weeks following Yar’Adua’s unwillingness to cover Obasanjo’s tracks.

Sunday Sun gathered that the prevailing sentiments in the Presidency is that Ribadu has been providing cover for Obasanjo despite overwhelming evidence of sleaze against the former President that should ordinarily recommend him for trial.

Less than a week ago, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) led by former Kaduna State governor, Alhaji Balarabe Musa stormed the office of the EFCC in Abuja to demand the probe and subsequent trial of the former President for alleged corrupt enrichment while in office.

In a petition the CNPP handed over to the Commission, it gave a catalogue of alleged economic malfeasance perpetrated by Obasanjo while in office.
CNPP, which is an umbrella organization for opposition parties, said under Obasanjo’s watch, state-owned enterprises and properties were converted into private ownership.

The former President, they contended, illegally appointed himself as the Petroleum Resources Minister contrary to the 1999 Constitution and “hence, his activities in the oil industry were shrouded in secrecy and he never rendered accounts of the oil revenue to relevant agencies like the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).”

The body also alleged that “between 2000-2006, Nigeria lost over $130 billion unaccounted revenue”, adding, “for 8 years Obasanjo unilaterally withdrew over N1 trillion from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Federation Accounts.”

Other allegations of financial crime they made against Obasanjo include: Sale of refineries to his cronies as scraps, illegal sales of NITEL, Egbin (power station), underhand deals in the privatization of ALSCON, Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill and Hilton Hotel.

Other allegations against the former president include contract awards for Niger Delta Integrated Power Projects and Equipment of University Teaching Hospitals by presidential fiat, sales of government houses for peanuts, the acquisition of Transcorp shares while in office.

Earlier in November, another group, The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) led a protest march to the EFCC office to demand a probe of Obasanjo’s wealth.
Like the CNPP, the coalition had tendered a petition wherein it gave details of its allegations against Obasanjo.

"CACOL strongly wishes to see you and the EFCC take appropriate legal action against the former president as we certainly know that the wealth of the former president was acquired through foul, deceitful and immoral means, and his management of the affairs of the Nigerian State, both administrative and financial, left room to suspect financial recklessness, aiding and abetting of corruption and other foul means that diminished the conduct of the former president as a honest, transparent and accountable person," the group stated.

Despite these weighty allegations, the thinking of the Presidency is that EFCC under Ribadu has maintained a “conspiratorial” silence and when it said anything, it was often to dismiss the allegations against Obasanjo.
Sunday Sun gathered that what irked the Presidency the most was the admission two weeks ago by the Commission that it had received a petition regarding the N3.6 billion scandal involving Obasanjo's daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, since 2006.

An Austrian firm, M. Schneides GMBH & Co had alleged in the petition to the EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies that Obasanjo-Bello was corrupt. She was accused of impersonation while serving as Health Commissioner in Ogun State two years ago.
EFCC’s admittance came after the media had blown open the scandal, a situation the Presidency is said to find objectionable, wondering if anything would have been heard about the petition if the media had not blown it open.
Ribadu’s removal, therefore, Sunday Sun gathered, was to pave way for the probe and possible trial of the former President.

EFCC formally quizzed the President’s daughter Thursday.
Incidentally, before the ordering of Ribadu to proceed for NIPSS course, a plot was said to have been initiated by a powerful lobby in the Senate to get rid of Adamawa State-born cop from the EFCC.
The development was confirmed to Sunday Sun by Senator Lawali Shuaibu.
Relying on section 2(3) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Act), the group, which Senator Lawali Shuaibu identified as made up of ex-governors, had begun questioning the legal status of Ribadu to function as the chairman of the Commission.
Section 2(3) of the Act states: “The Chairman and members of the Commission other than ex-officio members shall be appointed by the President subject to the confirmation of the Senate.”
And Section 3(1) of the same Act states: “The Chairman and members of the Commission other than ex-officio members, shall hold office for a period of four years and may be re-appointed for a further term of four years and no more.”
Ribadu was first appointed in May 2003 and by 2007, his tenure lapsed.
However, typical of Obasanjo, he announced the re-appointment of Ribadu in the twilight of his administration for a further four years without seeking and getting confirmation from the Senate as required by the Act.
Latching onto that, these senators were moving to get the Senate to declare Ribadu’s appointment as illegal.
Senator Shuaibu, who was in the Senate between 1999-2003 and headed the Committee that oversees the activities of the EFCC, said these group of ex-governors-turned senators were uncomfortable with the activities of Ribadu.
Following non-compliance with the EFCC Act in the reappointment of Ribadu by Obasanjo, there are reported moves to have the Senate declare his activities in that last six months as illegal, null and void.
Meanwhile, a report by Saharareporters, a news portal, indicates that the West, United States and Britain in particular, are unhappy with Ribadu’s removal.
Ribadu enjoys a lot of goodwill in the international circuits as he is seen as a committed official from Nigeria in the global war on money-laundering following September 11. At the moment, leading western countries like United States, Britain and France are collaborating in a global initiative against corruption tagged STAR (Stolen Asset Recovery).
Saharareporters claims the governments of the two countries are mounting pressure on Aso Rock to allow Ribadu continue for at least another year.
The pressure from these two countries is believed to be reason why the Presidency has so far kept mum on the matter.
In the same vein, Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has described as unacceptable moves to ease out Ribadu from EFCC, describing it as an assault on democracy. He identified Ribadu as a committed officer in the battle to rid the nation of corruption, wondering why Yar’Adua would succumb to pressures from powerful individuals against the anti-graft boss.

In the beginning,
The ding-dong battle for the removal of Mr. Nuhu Ribadu as EFCC Chairman finally came to a head during the week as the Inspector- General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mike Okiro, directed the EFCC boss to proceed to the elite National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) for a one- year course. A move interpreted as an attempt to shoot down his rising profile.
However, to many close watchers, the 'fall' of Ribadu was not unexpected, considering that his job has for a long time been on the line for a number of reasons.

Stepping on powerful toes
Ribadu was seen, rightly or wrongly, as a puppet of the immediate past President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who had used the machinery of the EFCC to advance Obasanjo’s cause on the political front. His opponents point to the way cop sided with the ex-President while he fought his erstwhile deputy, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, to a standstill.
Besides courting the enmity of the former Vice-President, Ribadu was also known to have once told the BBC that ex-President Ibrahim Babangida would never succeed Obasanjo as Nigeria’s President, a stance which portrayed him as working on a hidden script known to him and Obasanjo.
At another time, it was the turn of the erstwhile Abia state governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, an unapologetic critic of the Obasanjo administration. For crying out loud against Obasanjo’s alleged corrupt tendencies, Kalu and his mother were randomly hounded by the anti-graft agency over alleged corruption, in spite of subsisting court injunctions. The former governor was eventually arrested and kept in Kuje Prison, before he was granted bail after fulfilling stringent conditions. His offence: being in OBJ's bad books.

Warrior extra-ordinaire
Vocal and emotional, Ribadu never shied away from any battle. He did not pick fights in his prosecution of the anti-graft battle. For instance, in his battle to cleanse the police force of graft perpetrated in the top hierarchy, he surely stepped on powerful toes. He championed the investigation of former Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, from whom properties worth billions of naira were confiscated. Unconfirmed reports also had it that the present I.G also once received a shocker from the EFCC boss.
Prior to his appointment as acting IGP, sources close to Louis Edet House said Okiro had gone to the EFCC headquarters to see the crime-burster over some issues. Ribadu was said to have kept Okiro waiting for more than one hour, only to leave the office through the back door.
Nevertheless, the befuddled Okiro was said to have pursued him to his house where he tabled his case before the younger and junior police officer.

The Kuru ambush
According to insiders, Okiro had borne his humiliation and pains patiently until a couple of weeks ago when he went to President Umar Musa Yar’Adua with a request that some AIGs proceed to NIPSS. The IGP was said to have reminded the President that it would ultimately be in the interest of his administration, especially in the face of its avowed stance on due process for the officers to proceed on the high profile course given the height they had attained in the Police.
In the case of Ribadu, for instance, Okiro was said to have pointed out to the President that the EFCC chairman ought to have passed through the National War College even before his promotion to a police commissioner had due process been followed.
Furthermore, the I.G was said to have impressed it on the president that after his promotion as commissioner of police, he [EFCC chairman] needed to have gone to Kuru before being made an AIG.
Okiro reportedly further told the President that if the action was not taken, it could destabilize the entire police system and perpetuate the arbitrariness inflicted on the Force by Obasanjo. The President was said to have been convinced and gave his approval.

Stormy meeting
However, when the IGP called Ribadu to inform him of the development, the EFCC chairman was said to have fumed in anger and stormed out of the meeting, unaware that the President had already given a nod to the proposal. Now, his close friends say Ribadu has come to the painful conclusion that the EFCC job has slipped out of his hand for good.

An increasingly assertive Yar'Adua
Furthermore, presidency insiders told Sunday Sun that Yar’Adua is not "very comfortable with EFCC’s flagrant abuse of due process and rule of law under Ribadu." This time, the source said, he has mustered the political will to deal with the "embarrassment" once and for all.
Also, the President allegedly feels that the EFCC has been applying subtle blackmail against him, a development which is said to have irked him. For instance, Ribadu was said to have written to Yar’Adua seeking for permission to prosecute some past governors James Ibori and Lucky Igbinedion among others. "The president felt it was blackmail, reasoning that Ribadu did not need to first seek his permission before confronting others. The administration also shares the view that it is the anti-graft boss that is spreading the unsubstantiated insinuation that the president is shielding his powerful friends and sponsors from prosecution over alleged corruption. And he (Yar'Adua) had allowed him to get away with some of his flagrant abuse of due process and the law in order not to be perceived in that light. He couldn't continue forever under the shadow of blackmail. And when Okiro asked for permission to ask Ribadu to go on a course, he had to do what's right before the law, not minding if he would be called names."

'Not guilty’
However, Ribadu’s supporters contend that the EFCC chairman’s commitment to get the work done may have been responsible for his perception as high- handed and arrogant. They argue that it was not Ribadu’s fault that he was promoted a commissionser before he went to the War College, nor should he bear the blame for his promotion to the rank of AIG. "Nuhu is a patriotic Nigerian who wants the best for his country. He genuinely believes in the fight against corruption. He could have made mistakes but he's only human," said a close friend of his.

To go or not ot go?
Even as the proposed Kuru issue continues to generate debate in the country, there have been divergent arguments on whether Ribadu should be eased out of his job or not. Two radical lawyers hold two opposing views. While Femi Falana believes that the anti-graft Czar is being tactically eased out for stepping on powerful toes, Festus Keyamo argues against the personalisation of public office.
"It is absolutely illegal to say that Ribadu is being sent to NIPSS because he is being prepared for the position of Inspector-General of Police.," says Falana.
To Keyamo: "We can not equate the effectiveness of the fight against corruption with the presence of Nuhu Ribadu."

[size=14pt]Petition That Nailed Ribadu[/size]

His Unfinished Business In Public Service

FROM MARTINS OLOJA (ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF) - www.ngrguardiannews.com

AS the Presidency dithers in issuing statement on the tenure of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as EFCC Chairman, it has been confirmed that the school idea was a mere strategically planned "safe landing" for the anti-corruption chief.

The Guardian learnt at the weekend that some of the President's men that had been looking for adversarial material to hack the EFCC boss recently found some "damaging" tool in the hand of one of the ex-convicts, Chief Emmanuel O. Nwude, that the anti-graft body had prosecuted and jailed.

Nwude, who recently published an open letter to the President on how the EFCC defrauded him through the sale of his numerous assets to offset his victims, reportedly played into the waiting hands of those that wanted Ribadu out of the anti-corruption agency.

Apart from various complaints by lawyers to accused persons and his (Ribadu's) link to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, it was gathered that the Presidency was unhappy with the way the EFCC handled the recent arraignment of former Governor James Ibori.

Ibori was the only governor, who physically accompanied, in his Delta State official car, Yar'Adua during the presidential campaigns early in the year.

Ibori allegedly committed a lot of the state funds to the presidential campaign that brought Yar'Adua to power. And according to a source, "the same Ibori is being arraigned by the same government for misusing Delta State funds. Hence, another reason to show Ribadu the way out of EFCC."

It was confirmed that the open letter published in a national on Monday, December 24, 2007 was first secretly treated in the Presidency before it was released for publication.

This is the origin of the petition that was used as the last weapon to nail the anti-corruption crusader.

Chief Nwude, who completed his jail terms last year, reportedly found his way into the Presidency and complained to the President's men about the way the EFCC allegedly sold his assets to cronies at ridiculous prices.

The officials were said to have taken notes of the graphic details of the ex-convict's complaints against the EFCC boss and his men.

According to sources, Nwude was asked to write details of the allegations against the EFCC boss to the President. He promptly did. He was later encouraged to publish the serious allegations in some key dailies.

It was gathered that not many papers were ready to publish the damning allegations, but one did last Monday while the alleged plot to remove Mallam Ribadu was thickening in government circles in Abuja.

The plan reached a crescendo last Thursday when the Police authorities disclosed that they had, indeed, concluded arrangement to send Ribadu to the NIPSS for a one-year course.

In the full page advertorial, Chief Nwude narrated how in 2003, he was arrested and charged for fraud by the ACP Nuhu Ribadu-led EFCC.

Nwude, generally believed to be the first major catch by the EFCC at inception, chronicled 18 items of the alleged EFCC corrupt practices in the sale of his assets to named EFCC cronies and how their consultants and lawyers benefited from it.

Besides, the complainant told the President how certain judicial officers in the Lagos judiciary allegedly compromised their positions by colluding with the EFCC in the alleged deals. He asked the President to order serious inquiry into the allegations.

Admitting that what he did was not good, Nwude appealed to the President to "use your good office and look into my case and also temper justice with mercy. I have been stripped bare. I am homeless and I have nothing to live on, "

It was understood last night that the Nwude petition was copied to the Vice President, the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the SGF and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

Others copied are the IGP; Chairman, National Judicial Council; Chairman, ICPC; Chairman, National Human Rights Commission; President, NBA; the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Petitions; House Committee on Judiciary and Public Petitions and the Chairman of the EFCC.

The petition appears timely and useful to the "hawks" who insisted in the Presidency last week that "Ribadu must go."

It was not clear at press time if the Presidency will order full investigation into the numerous allegations by Chief Nwude who defrauded some Brazilian concerns to the tune of $250 million that had been returned to them.

Ribadu's Unfinished Business

MEANWHILE, The Guardian confirmed at the weekend that one of the critical assignments the outgoing EFCC boss would miss is a probe of federal permanent secretaries and directors who are alleged to have falsified their age declarations to remain in service.

Specifically, the police chief was handed the assignment by the Federal Government on Friday, November 23, this year at the Inaugural Meeting of the Steering Committee on Reforms (SCR) headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

At the meeting, Ribadu was given the mandate to work with the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) and the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) to probe the allegation that some permanent secretaries and directors had falsified their age declarations to remain in office.

There has been growing concern in the federal bureaucracy that some permanent secretaries and officers in the directorate cadre have been implicated in age declaration scandal.

The development has led to petitions by some senior officers, who were either class or school mates of some suspected officers, revealing that the serving officers are older than they claim.

Claims are said to have portrayed some officers as having graduated at the age of 10 or 12.

Besides, some officers from certain states that have also petitioned the Presidency wonder how assistant directors from the same states are older than their permanent secretaries and directors even as they entered the same service in the same dispensation.

The President had noted the issue and adopted it to be probed by the Steering Committee on Reforms headed by the SGF whose office now supervises the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR).

A source in the Presidency revealed at the weekend that it was Ribadu, who, at the meeting, insisted that falsification of age declaration is a criminal offence. He pledged to provide forensic experts to unravel the succession crisis and aging workforce in the bureaucracy.

The Steering Committee Meeting had then "noted the gravity of the records falsification not only as criminal act but also as an integrity issue requiring serious action in line with the subsisting presidential directive on the matter and so directed the EFCC to assist in setting up a process of service-wide screening of public servants' records beginning with permanent secretaries and directors."

It was noted that the assignment might suffer some reverses, as Ribadu heads for Kuru in January where he will spend the next one year.

Why Yar’Adua wants Ribadu out - Plans to prosecute Obasanjo, Ribadu and El-Rufai
- 30.12.2007

Contrary to reports that the attempt to remove the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, through the “backdoor”, is due exclusively to the pressure being brought on President Umaru Yar’Adua by the allegedly corrupt former governors, Sunday Tribune can authoritatively report that the President’s kitchen cabinet has a grouse against Ribadu and his closest political associates who were “Obasanjo’s Boys”. In the light of this, that is, with Ribadu’s removal, sources at the presidency disclosed that there are plans that in the months ahead, to arrest and prosecute some of these “OBJ Boys”, if not their principal.


Sources close to the Aso Rock Villa disclosed to the Sunday Tribune that prior to his ascension of power, President Yar’Adua and his kitchen cabinet had decided that Ribadu and other key officials of the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency, dubbed the “OBJ Boys and Girls” will be “put in their place”, so as to check-mate their principal. The OBJ “boys and girls” included, Ribadu, former Minister of FCT, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Eweala, former of Education Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, and the Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Charles Soludo.


It was gathered that the former FCT Minister, El-Rufai, who led the caucus selected by Obasanjo to search for his successor, was favoured by the “OBJ Boys and Girls” who wanted him to pair with Okonjo-Iweala for the presidential race. When the caucus alongside the former president eventually decided that all the initial front-runners, including former Rivers Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, former Cross Rivers State Governor, Mr. Donald Duke, and former Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, should be dropped, the members of the caucus thought that El-Rufai would easily emerge, since he was seriously considered by Obasanjo himself.

However, while they were still maneuvering, Yar’Adua’s ‘Man Friday’, Tanimo, gave a secret memo to the caucus titled “The Dark Horse”. In the paper, he proposed that Yar’Adua should be suggested to Obasanjo and the PDP and supported by the caucus to emerge as the party’s presidential flag-bearer, since it had become clear to all that anyone Obasanjo supported would emerge the winner, by hook or crook. At this point, sources in the Villa indicated that El-Rufai “practically tore” the proposal of Tanimo in the latter’s presence. This was reported to Yar’Adua who was said to have kept his peace.


A source close to the caucus however disclosed that indeed, when the Yar’Adua candidacy was canvassed before Obasanjo, he embraced it as the most viable alternative to El-Rufai, whom he was going to settle for. But Obasanjo is said to have considered Yar’Adua a better alternative because he was not as “vocal”, “single-minded” and as “exposed” as one of his young Turks, El-Rufai, and would therefore be more “amenable” to instructions from Obasanjo after he left power. However, Obasanjo did not tell El-Rufai this, according to our highly placed sources. He was said to have told El-Rufai that he (El-Rufai) would be less able to “rein in the military” if he became president. It was eventually agreed that the caucus should support Yar’Adua while El-Rufai would head the most important ministry in the new government, the Ministry of Energy.


This decision is said to have changed the plans of “OBJ Boys and Girls” who had planned that with El-Rufai and Okonjo-Iweala as President and Vice, Ribadu would become the Inspector General of Police, with the EFCC incorporated under the police or with Ridabu having supervisory functions over the Commission as IGP. Despite this, a source close to the Obasanjo’s young Turks stated that the members of the group, particularly El-Rufai and Ribadu, threw themselves into the campaign for Yar’Adua and helped in his emergence, even though they were disappointed with Obasanjo’s decision. The two were said to have boasted to their closest associates about what they did to ensure Yar’Adua’s emergence.

Another source even claimed that after Yar’Adua became president, Ribadu met him to “clear the air” on his position, where he confessed that though he rooted for El-Rufai, once Obasanjo resolved on the new president, he did his part to support him. The “support”, a source disclosed, included “appraising” other top presidential gladiators, particularly the governors, of the “debts” they owed the EFCC if they continued to oppose Obasanjo’s favoured candidate, Yar’Adua.


Whether they supported Yar’Adua or not, it was clear that the taciturn former Governor of Katsina and his own kitchen cabinet were not impressed with the role of Ribadu and El-Rufai and saw them as potential rivals within the new government. With Yar’Adua in the saddle, the hope of El-Rufai becoming Minister of Energy died quickly. The process of the appointment of El-Rufai’s successor at the FCT Ministry was considered not only “hasty” but also “untidy” by the “Obasanjo Boys”. Rufai was the first to be quickly replaced by the new government. Also, when Soludo, another member of the caucus, announced a new monetary regime, Yar’Adua promptly cancelled the plan. It was reported in the media that while Soludo conferred with Obasanjo before making the announcement, the new President, Yar’Adua, was kept in the dark.


But the plan to remove Ribadu, Sunday Tribune learnt, was far more complicated for many reasons including the popularity of the anti-corruption war, despite what many considered as the “duplicity” of the Obasanjo government, the international connections, funding and praises that the EFCC had attracted, and the law setting-up the Commission. Given all these, despite the desperate moves by the indicted former governors to quickly see the back of Ribadu and the eagerness of the new Justice Minister and Attorney-General to curtail the actions of Ribadu and the EFCC, President Yar’Adua and his kitchen cabinet decided to proceed with caution. Our sources hinted that to convince the hawks in the inner caucus of the new presidency, a couple of attempts were made to rob the EFCC of its bite, which attracted high public denunciation.


The Yar’Adua caucus then went back to the drawing board to plan how to end the “Ribadu menace”, including stressing the “duplicity” of the Commission and the assumed decision of the Commission to avert its gaze from Obasanjo’s alleged corruption. However, some in the inner circle of the Yar’Adua presidency were becoming impatient with Ribadu given the renewed vigour, after the initial impediments placed by the new Attorney-General, with which he pursued the former governors. It was then decided that the “Ribadu menace” must not be carried into the New Year. However, it was also decided that the presidency should appear to have nothing to do with Ribadu’s removal, with an “ingenious” option devised, which was to ask the IG of Police to order Ribadu to proceed on a course at the Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.


However, a top source hinted the Sunday Tribune that the decision to shunt aside El-Rufai and to remove Ribadu, are part of the elaborate plan of Yar’Adua and his kitchen cabinet to not only prevent Obasanjo from implementing his plan to rule from Ota, but to also embarrass him so much that he would be left without any room to maneuver and “disturb and harass” the new government, “as he did the Shagari government”, after he handed over in 1979. It is in this context that this top source revealed that once Ribadu has been successfully removed from the EFCC, investigations would begin into all the allegations leveled against former President Olusegun Obasanjo, including those leveled against Ribadu himself and the former FCT Minister, El-Rufai, particularly over the controversial Pentascope.


At the weekend, Ribadu denied that he has been asked to proceed to Kuru, reminding journalists that it is only the President that has the power to appoint and sack him as the Executive Chairman of the EFCC.

At that point when EFCC became a tool in the hands of OBJ for persecuting all his anti-third term apostles. . . . which he practically succeeded in doing, EFCC lost her credibility.

Beside, their investigations and actions have always baffled me.

Who's this 18-post old Tai guy. Look, you'd better follow the rules. . . .  .I need not remind you that you that, otherwise ban remains your case here.

The guy was so full of himself. What do you expect from someone who was promoted by Babacratic OBJ to a rank far above that of his brains!!!

[quote author=I-man link=topic=102457.msg1804450#msg1804450 date=1198958208]@nwando

The child is a shameless hypocrite with no sense of irony.He has been on this thread ranting that addressing an issue,like the Iraq rape issue,by pointing to others who perpetrate same acts is unacceptable and effectively amounts to condoning such acts.

Yet,without the slightest iota of irony,he addresses child abuse by Muslims by pointing to child abuse by Christians. . . .a tu quo que tactic he has roundly condemned on this thread. The only consistency in his argument is his inconsistencies.[/quote]Her name is Babyosisi.

bagoma,
Please come online at YIM. Are you a gunner too?

[size=18pt]Security report indicts Ribadu[/size]

ROSE MOSES, FELIX NWANERI, Lagos, & MALACHY UZENDU, Abuja

Unpleasant security report and not normal routine training programme is said to be reason why the presidency, through police authorities ordered that chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, proceed on a one-year course at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.

A reliable source told Saturday Champion yesterday that a security report on Mallam Ribadu submitted to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, prompted him to ask the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mike Okiro, to order the EFCC chairman to proceed on the couse.

President Yar’Adua, the source said, became furious after learning from the report that Ribadu has been using the international media to blackmail the government.

However, attempts to confirm the information from the presidency as at press time, yesterday, failed as a call put through to the phone of President Yar’Adua’s spokesman, Mr. Segun Adeniyi was not picked.

But according to our source who spoke under strict condition of anonymity, ordering of Ribadu to proceed on the one year course is part of the plot to ease him out of the EFCC.

Disclosing that the presidency for long has not been comfortable with Ribadu’s growing popularity in the international media, the source said: "When the security report got to the president, he was furious and ordered for Ribadu’s removal.

The source further said that the EFCC chairman would have earlier been removed when the presidency directed that the anti-graft commission reports to the Attorney-General and Minister of justice, Mr. Micheal Aoandokaa but was saved by pressures from the international community.

It was also revealed by the source that Ribadu for long have been having uneasy access to Aso Villa unlike he enjoyed during the immediate past administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

But sources at police headquarters yesterday said Ribadu has no option than to proceed on the course as officers at his rank (Assistant Inspector General) have to pass through the NIPSS programme before they are confirmed.

Ribadu, had while reacting to the development, said there are efforts by some desperate people to frustrate his commission’s anti-graft war.

The police source, who said that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mike Okiro cannot join issues with the EFCC chairman, decried personalising of the commission by Ribadu.

Ribadu, the source further said is yet to participate in any of the qualifying courses, which were pre-requisites to promoting him, even to the rank of a commissioner of police, not to talk of being elevated to the rank of an AIG.

"If the argument is that he is not a police officer currently, then, why did he come here to receive his pips at the time he was elevated. He remains a police officer and therefore is susceptible to all the rules and regulations contained in the police Order Act.

"He cannot do otherwise as doing so or engaging in subtle media campaign, the way it is being done, is not in the interest of the country and he knows it. That is why the IGP cannot come out openly and react the way he (Ribadu) is doing now," the source stressed.

Saturday Champion recalls that Okiro had, while debunking claims in some quarters that Ribadu’s removal was part of plot to stop arrest and prosecution of ex-governors, said that sending of police officers on courses is for their own advantage, development and benefit of the police.

"He (Ribadu) is not being sent on course for any ulterior motive than the reasons stated above, which he satisfies. He is not being sent to NIPSS on the prompting of any external body or bodies," Okiro said Thursday.

Meanwhile, reactions have continued to trail the EFCC chairman’s removal, with human right lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, describing it as illegal and despicable.

This is just as Force headquarters dismisses the argument, alleging that those faulting Ribadu’s removal are beneficiaries of contract awards by the commission.

Aturu, in a statement made available to Saturday Champion said: "The decision of the top echelons of the police and Yar’Adua administration to ease out Mr. Nuhu Ribadu as the chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is illegal and despicable to say the very least. It is illegal because the law establishing the EFCC is very clear and unambiguous. That law does not admit of an unrequested study leave or of any study leave for that matter. The chairperson of the EFCC has a fixed tenure of four years. Of course, he can be removed by the president if he suffers any infirmity of mind or body; if he misconducts himself; or if the president thinks it is in the interest of the public to remove him. There is no basis for asking the man to proceed on study leave for any duration under the Act. It is therefore simply mischievous to argue that since he was seconded from the police his tenure can be tampered with at will.

"If the president thinks that he can no longer tolerate the man, he should muster the courage to simply say so and leave Nigerians to make up their minds about his obvious lack of seriousness on the war against corruption. Those arguing that Mr. Ribadu is not dispensable miss the point completely. If he were indispensable, his name would have been written in the EFCC law. The point is that it is illegal to interfere with a fixed tenure under the guise of granting a gratitude’s and unsolicited study leave. Very soon, if this clear nonsense is not reversed, we would enter the era of asking governors to proceed on study leave. Of course, that would be an absolute illegality just as in the case of Mr. Ribadu.

Also reacting, Chris Albin-Lackey, a researcher on Nigeria at the Human Rights Watch, said the country’s fight against corruption could be jeopardized, following Ribadu’s removal.

"If Ribadu’s ouster goes forward, the day he leaves office will be the day the credibility of Nigeria war on corruption is entirely destroyed.

Albin-Lackey, who further said that President Yar"Adua’s stance on Ribadu would be naïve in the extreme to think Ribadu’s sacking and the decision to prosecute ex-governor James Ibori are not connected."

Labour Party (LP), also reacting to Ribadu’s removal said the action was counter-productive, ill timed and a ploy to frustrate the anti-graft crusade.

LP, which spoke through its National chairman, Mr. Dan Nwanyanwu, called on President Yar’Adua to reverse the directive as it is "unpatriotic and a great disservice to the country and its citizens."

However, former Chairman of the NBA in Plateau , Dr Garba Tetengi, said

that sending Ribadu to NIPSS will make him perform better.

Tetengi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Jos that while in NIPSS, Ribadu would share experiences with people of different background and that it would enable him to have a better focus on how to do his job.

He described EFCC as an institution established to perform certain functions and not an establishment whose activity should revolve around personalities.

``I do not think we should personalise this institution. Ribadu is an individual just like we have several Heads of State, who come and go," he said.

Tetengi said although the stance of Ribadu in the fight against corruption contributed to the successes recorded by the EFCC, it should not be assumed that it was his personality that was behind the feat achieved.

He said although EFCC had done fairly well, it did not live up to expectation, because some corrupt public office holders had not been prosecuted or investigated.






. . . . . .although the stance of Ribadu in the fight against corruption contributed to the successes recorded by the EFCC, it should not be assumed that it was his personality that was behind the feat achieved . . . . . . . .FFT


In all these, I see the rule of law and decorum prevailing in the whole issue.

Damage my life?! C'mon man, I'm in N'Djamena at the moment - in the middle of the desert! What else could be more damaging than that in this world!

Erm, right now I'm trying to ''control'' myself because I'm so overjoyed by this singular act of Yar'adua. I'm screaming the living daylight out of my head with happiness. I actually went to my village to give one of my cousins' hand out in marriage. With this marvelous news, my joy knows no bound towards the end of 2007.

What a way to end the year!

babasin:
there are already DEAD-ALIVE so no opportunity WILL ever come their way.

atleast about a million nigerians are DEAD-ALIVE, they are only waiting for physical death to come.

That's it. You've hit the nail directly with a big bang.

Well, here we go:

Pastor Kumuyi is the best. Let the balls start flying. . . . . .isn't that why you created the thread in the first place?

I particularly liked the way Mazaje left out the remaining part of the yahoo story:

"Many have fled deeper into their villages afraid they may be arrested," said Orebiyi. "We're sending volunteers into the villages to persuade them to come for treatment."

Most of the victims were women and children who had crowded at the scene with jerry cans and buckets in the hope of collecting fuel for sale or personal use.

Despite its oil riches, the vast majority of Nigerians remain impoverished, living on less than $1 a day, tempted by the opportunities to obtain free fuel in spite of the dangers.

More than 400 people died in two similar pipeline explosions in Lagos in 2006. Authorities blame the disasters on criminal gangs who break into the pipelines to siphon fuel for sale, attracting crowds of people who come in their wake to scavenge for fuel.

babasin:
I posted this message but deeply and sadly I know nothing will happen to IYABO as nothing is happening to OBJ, IBB, Annenih, Ali and many more.

Nigeria is a lost country:

lagos to ibadan is less than 120km, yet we cannot fix it.

benin to ore is less than 200km, its worse than it was in 1980.

ajaokuta has been starting-up since 70s. it will never stand up

EFCC is just a decoy to shift our attention from the REAL thieves.

Hmn. . . . . .behold a forward looking Nigerian. Nice chronology you have up there. But shortsighted people will not see all that.

A big bang it is

That they are called Sahara reporters doesn't imply that they have the resilience to withstand the extreme, energy sapping, weather conditions in the Sahara desert.

I need to know why they go by the name ''Sahara''

@Viga,
So, we can safely say that you don't quite agree that the EFCC is corrupt. But there is the possibility that there might be some corrupt people in there, perpetrating corrupt practices.

Now, if a system created to fight corruption and corrupt practices in the country cannot fish out corrupt people in its rank and file, how do you think that system will be effective enough to fight corruption in a country like ours? Why should anyone believe in the efficacy of their investigations and actions?

This celemel guy case is just one out of several other cases out there that we don't even hear of. Maybe because it's not the ''high'' profile case that will catch gullible peoples attention. . . . .you know, the type that Sahara reporters don't publish. That maybe why.

As for me, I don't believe in the EFCC and their investigations. And I think the organisation is a ''political machine'' - set up to persecute/punish baba OBJ's ''enemies'' even in this current political dispensation - take it or drop it.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/25122007/news/news3.html
The ease off process has begun. I think it would be a very good new year package for peace loving and forward looking Nigerians. Good riddance. Although skeptics say it's not a ploy to ease the guy out, I'm cock sure something good is in the horizon.


And down south this way, the dividends of iyabogate is paying off nicely. We now have a Hilltop mansion at Abeokuta - the equivalent of IBBs Hiltop at Minna. http://www.champion-newspapers.com/news/article_1.htm.

It's very interesting how these Generals ''retire'' to Hiltop mansions after spending a minimum of 8 years in Aso Villa as president. Now EFCC will not investigate such things. They will not ask how someone who had no such means of doing this before now suddenly owns shares and bonds and all that stuff and has built a Hiltop mansion somewhere in GRA Abeokuta.

The EFCC, over the years, have become ''famous'' for cracking open high profile fraudulent cases which hitherto would never have been heard of by anyone, talkless of publishing it in any sahara paper.

What the EFCC have not been able to do is ''crack open'' the myth surrounding IBB's wealth and the wealth of other top thieves in this country. And when we put this to the fore, some EFCC loyalists feel we're asking for too much.

I'm of the view that when you set out to cleanse a system of dirt, you need to do that purging thoroughly, in order for people to have faith in the purity of the system you're cleansing. So, it's either you purge the the society of evil beings and you're seen to be doing that or you just hang out there and join ranls with the 'old' Nigeria Police

This will definitely be a welcome development, if it eventually sails through. There's no cause for alarm. And I believe all that bull crap that Ibori facilitated Okiro's appointment as IG is a lie from hell's pit.

Ribadu, is alleged to be one of the facilitators of Iyabo's shady deals. That, I believe, is why no one has been able to bring out that scandalous act since. We sure know that Nuhu is Baba's boy and will definitely do his bidding. It's high time he left the EFcc and moved on to ''higher'' roles. If he remains in that place for too long, he'll be come useless to the force and himself. He needs to ''bite and chew'' on tougher bones out there.

I tot I read 2000 pounds cash Is it the value of the Master and Credit Cards that made up the remaining 80,000 pounds? That wallet must be so big to contain valuables worth that much.

But, anyway, their act was a rare one and its commendable.

faketan:
There is an element of abuse of office here which she knew but went ahead to do what she did. . ,

She was a public office holder
and the presidents daughter. She used her fathers influence to get a contract for her cronies not for free. Somethings including money must have changed hands. . .
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2007/dec/24/national-24-12-2007-001.htm

I particularly liked the way the Abuja lawyer did a moral/ethical view of the whole bribery scam. Interesting read. I wait to see this woman behind bars. . . . . . . preferably before the new year.

What I know is that someone must come out to drum it into the hearing of the folks at Wadata plaza that all is not well with the country they're running. If IBB, one of their card carrying member chose to do so, so be it. It's like saying leadership problem is the bane of Nigeria at the moment. No big difference.

I once said that it might be difficult to weed out the bad eggs at the leadership levels of this country. They've constituted themselves into some menace of a sort against this country, and they have this big fence around themselves that's very difficult for morally upright people like me to breakdown. These guys are hell bent on making this country forever under their grip.

Nothing.