₦airaland Forum

AL-MAKURA DISRTIBUTES N300M RELIEF MATERIALS TO NASARAWA COMMUNITIES
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/nass-legislative-aides-protest-death-of.html

Nasarawa state government on Tuesday distributed relief materials
worth over N300 million to over 50 communities affected by communal
clashes and other natural occurrences in the past four years.
He said the special intervention was aimed at cushioning the effect of
the hardship suffered by the residents of these communities whose
situation was compounded by the biting economic crunch.
Dispatching over 70 trucks to the affected communities cutting across
the entire state, Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura, said the event was
the fifth in a series of government efforts to bring succor to crisis
ridden communities in the state.
He said government employed community based conflict resolution
initiative to tackle communal clashes since 2011 which has brought
about relative peace and tranquility, noting further that the
distribution of the relief materials was in furtherance to the
promotion of peace enjoyed in the state.
Al-Makura commended the state council of traditional rulers and other
stakeholders for keying into the conflict resolution mechanism.
He said: “I am proud to say that despite all the crisis and natural
deserters, no single community in the three zones has Internally
Displaced Peoples camp which typifies the brotherliness of the people
of Nasarawa state and the best conflict mechanisms employed by this
administration which is all inclusive”.
Some of the benefitting communities include: Assakio, Alakyo, Arikya,
Kampani, Kwarra districts, Iggah, Tudun Adabu in Lafia local
government, Udeni Magaji in Nasarawa local government, Tudun Adabu,
Daddere in Obi local governmt, among others.
Earlier, the secretary to the state government, Barrister Mohammed
Abdullahi, stated that the items distributed include: 30,000 bags of
cement, 5000 bags of rice, 5000 packets of roofing nails and 3000
cartons of Maggi cubes.

NIGERIANS SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR BUHARI’S ADMINISTRATION – PRESIDENCY
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/nigerians-should-be-grateful-for.html


The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has urged Nigerians to be grateful that the current administration is pulling the country out of economic recession after one year.
Speaking in an interview, Adesina said while Japan has been in recession for 15 years, Venezuela is yet to recover from its economic crisis declaring that based on the performance in the last two years, the Buhari administration had done well.
“The CBN has been confident to put a time frame that Nigeria will exit recession; the third quarter of this year. If you remember that Japan has been in recession for 15 years, I think you must give kudos to this administration that it is coming out of a recession after just one year,” he said.
“Check all the prognosis: IMF, World Bank, Bloomberg, Central Bank of Nigeria – everybody – their projection is that, this year Nigeria, will exit recession. Recession is the consequences of actions and inactions.
“We should still be thankful that we are not as bad as Venezuela. Venezuela is a mono-economy like Nigeria, and the standard of living in Venezuela was ahead of Nigeria, but today, it is worse than Nigeria.
“There are food queues and all sorts of riots in Venezuela, because the economy collapsed since it was a mono-economy. The same thing happened to Nigeria, but we are still thankful to God.
“It is only somebody who wants to be very unfair to this administration that will say that war is at the same level it was two years ago.
“You need to see how nightlife has returned to the cities in the north-east; you need to see roads that have been closed for three-four years now reopened and being used; emirs that ran away from their palaces and Boko Haram took over those palaces are back now.
“Gombe never had NYSC for about two-three years. Today, NYSC orientation is taking place in Gombe. Damboa-Maiduguri Road, among other roads that were closed in the north-east, has been reopened. So, the intensity of that insurgency has reduced considerably.
“What we are seeing now is a final mopping up process. There are people that you call bitter-enders; they fight to the bitter end.
“Anti-corruption is something this government is fighting vigorously and you can see that the amount that has been recovered is enormous.
“You can check the statistics given by the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Information respectively. And those ones didn’t include the latest recoveries.
“In March-April alone, the amount recovered was staggering. So much money has been recovered that, in the 2017 budget that is being considered, a lot of recovered money is involved. In the 2016 budget, the recovered money was also put in the budget.
“When monies are recovered, they are not spent immediately; they are put into a special account and then deployed in the budget the following year. A lot is being done, and many people are in court.”
On the president’s state of health and his absence in the country, Adesina said, “It is only a man who is alive that can administer a country, and nobody is immune to ill health.
“It is only this year that we are talking of prolonged vacation. The vacation he took last year was only 10 days. This year, he left in January and returned in March; and he left again in May.
“You can only rule a country when you are healthy. When ill health comes, you have to take care of yourself.”

SENATE STOPS N5 FUEL CHARGE, SUSPENDS CONTROVERSIAL BILL
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/senate-stops-n5-fuel-charge-suspends.html


The Senate, yesterday, stopped the N5 charge it earlier proposed for every litre of fuel and diesel, as well as suspended further considerations on the National Roads Fund Establishment Bill seeking to effect the charge.
The lawmakers had, a week ago, proposed N5 charge on every litre of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and Automobile General Oil (diesel) imported or refined in the country. They said the levy was to be meant for road maintenance.
EYES OF LAGOS recalls that there was outcry in the country as stakeholders including motorists and commuters vehemently kicked against the decision, saying it would amount to hike in petrol price.
Christened “The National Roads Fund (EST.ETC) Bill 2017 (S.B218)” was led and presented by the committee chairman, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC Kano South) and signed by12 out of the 15 member Senate committee on works.
By this, if the bill was not halted yesterday, it would have sailed through to become law with a view to providing a predictable and sustainable funding for road management network.
However, disturbed by the varied concerns raised by the public, the Senate was prompted to step down the proposal and directed the Committee on Works to make “further consultations” on the matter.
The senators unanimously resolved that deducting N5 from petrol in the present recession would cause untold hardship on the generality of the people. All the senators who spoke expressed their reservations insisted the suspension of the bill.

FG TO CONSTRUCT $1BN ICT COMPANY – OSINBAJO
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/fg-to-construct-1bn-ict-company-osinbajo.html

The federal government on Tuesday in Abuja said it would build a one billion dollar ICT company to boost indigenous technology.
The acting president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo made this known in his opening address at the 2017 Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition.
The theme of the event is “the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Getting Africa Ready“.
According to him, such feat will make Nigeria no longer a dumping ground for ICT products and services.
“ The Nigerian government is committed to encourage the growth of indigenous ICT companies to world standards by proving policies that will help them thrive.
“With the mantra of change, the Nigerian political milieu will be recalibrated for the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“So that both the executive and legislative will be more responsive and responsible in addressing the major global challenges staring us in the face,“ he said.
The acting president, who was represented the Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu said that the event was to seek ways of leapfrogging development.
The Minister of Communication, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Sunday Echono, said the government was preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution predicted to happen globally in the very near future.
According to him, the Federal Government has conceived a National ICT Park and Exhibition Centre in the Federal Capital Territory.
“The establishment of the centre will encourage investment in ICT sector and complement the proposed University of ICT which will also produce required skilled manpower for Africa to partake in inevitable Fourth Industrial Revolution.’’

TRUE STORY OF THE SUSPECT BURNT TO DEATH OVER BADOO ALLEGATIONS IN IKORODU
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/true-story-of-suspect-burnt-to-death.html

There was pandemonium in the Aga end of Ikorodu community today, Monday, June 05, 2017, after an unidentified man suspected to be a member of the dreaded ritualist group otherwise known as Badoo was mobbed to death in the area.
The incident occurred at Oni Ogunsanya Street along Olomomeje Mosque, Aga, Ikorodu, Lagos.
Viral reports have it that the suspect was caught in the early hours of this morning by residents in the area. Upon interrogation, the suspect couldn’t identify himself, Eyes Of Lagos learnt.
Eyes Of Lagos Sources told our correspondent that residents insisted on serving justice on the suspect thereby preventing security operatives including the local vigilante group, Onyabo from taking the suspect away for proper interrogation.
As a result, the incident led to an argument between angry residents and the security operatives who wanted to arrest the suspect for question and prosecution if necessary.
“The chaos led to street boys firing shots in the air to disperse people,” a source who craved anonymity told Eyes Of Lagos.
“During the struggle, two persons were hit by stray bullets why others scamper for safety. The angry residents insisted they would not release the suspect to neither the security officers nor the vigilante group,” the source added.
The residents succeeded in beating the suspect and later burnt his remains in public glare, Eyes Of Lagos learnt.
Speaking to Eyes Of Lagos., a member of Onyabo vigilante group, Awo, regaled the happenings leading to the arrest and lynching of the suspect to us.
“The suspect is not a Badoo member,” he said. “According to our investigations, he tried to burgle the house to make away with valuables.”
“When he was caught, some residents believed he belonged to the Badoo gang due to the recent happenings in Ikorodu and how the group has terrorized the community. When we were informed of the incident, we visited the place to arrest the suspect and hand him over to the Police for interrogation.
“The residents refused preventing our officers from gaining access to him. The situation got out of hand when street boys fired shots to disperse people who have already gathered to pounce on the suspect. This happened in the presence of Police officers and before we could do anything, they have already beaten the guy to a pulp,” he added.
When queried on the residents injured in the shooting, Awo said “two persons survived gun wounds but no one died except the suspect who was mobbed to death.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command led by the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni visited the scene in company of other officers to ensure normalcy returns to the area.
While the Police is yet to release a statement on the incident, Eyes Of Lagos gathered that the Police chief urged community leaders and other stakeholders to prevent cases of jungle justice at all cost.

SEE LIST OF STOLEN CARS RECOVERED BY POLICE AT ITIRE AND OWORO POLICE STATION‎ RESPECTIVELY
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/see-list-of-stolen-cars-recovered-by.html

The operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have announced the recovery of five vehicles from robbers across the State.
Eyes Of Lagos gathered that, According to the Police, the vehicles were either stolen from car packs or snatched at gunpoint by hoodlums from innocent citizens in the State.
The recovered vehicles are; Mitsubishi buses with registration number XH 879ENU and AA 677TFB are now at the Itire station.
Other recovered vehicles are iMitsubishi Lancer (EPE 694 AS), Toyota Picnic (NND 827XA) and a Volkswagen bus with registration number , AAA 283 XG, are now at Oworo police station.
The police are calling on vehicle owners whose vehicles were snatched by armed robbers or stolen from their parks to visit Itire and Oworo Police divisions, with relevant documents to reclaim them.

INEC FIXES JULY 8 FOR BY-ELECTION TO REPLACE ADELEKE
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/inec-fixes-july-8-for-by-election-to.html

The Independent National Electoral Commission has scheduled July 8 for the conduct of the by-election to fill the Osun West Senatorial District vacant seat at the upper legislative chamber.
This was contained in a notice dated Monday, June 5th and signed by the Administrative Secretary of INEC in Osun State, Ademusire E.A.
The notice read, ” Consequent upon the provisions of the enabling statutes that bye-elections to fill the declared vacant seat by the National Assembly be conducted within 30 days upon the declaration, take notice that by the directives of the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Bye Election for Osun West Senatorial seat will hold on Saturday 8th July 2017.”
The notice came just as politicians from various political parties also intensified preparations ahead of the elation.
A former governorship aspirant on the platform of the Labour Party, Mr. Wale Alakinde, has announced that he was interested in the race to pick the PDP’s ticket.
Alakinde, while speaking at a press conference said he was being pushed forward by the Ede community where Adeleke hailed from to continue the struggle to liberate the people from where Adeleke stopped.
He hailed Adeleke’s performance and his leadership style but said he would also help his constituents aside his performing his legislative duties effectively.

WE’VE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED APC LG PRIMARIES IN LAGOS – AFIKUYOMI
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/weve-successfully-completed-apc-lg.html


The Lagos State All Progressives Congress, APC, has said that all the process of choosing candidates for the forthcoming Local Government Election in the state has been successfully completed.
A statement by Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Chairman, State Election Committee 2017, said that across the 20 Local Government Councils, 37 Local Council Development Areas and 377 wards in the state, APC chairmanship and councillorship candidates have emerged.
“We have forwarded our list of candidates to Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission in conformity with election guidelines. I congratulate the leadership and teeming APC members for this achievement.
“Our party’s constitution provides for both direct and indirect primaries to pick the candidates. In its wisdom, the APC leadership in Lagos opted for a combination of primaries and the consensus option in compliance with the provisions of Articles 20 (ii)a, (iii)a and 21(xi) of the APC Constitution.
“That was done to ensure the emergence of real grassroots leaders and knowledgeable party men and women who can positively impact the lives of the people at the local level, who can make the much-needed difference in governance and deliver dividends of democracy to our people. This is what we need to complement the wonderful work Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has been doing,” the statement stressed.
Sen. Afikuyomi said the process had started from the Stakeholders’ Meeting where the decision on the modality for the election and other decisions were taken and ratified. However, he said this is not to say the exercise has been without hitches. These are normal with any democratic arrangement. No system is devoid of its problems and challenges.
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“Disputes and disagreements are necessary fallouts of democratic processes. No system is infallible. In the extant case, in a few areas where there have been disagreements arising from the process, these have been resolved through the conflict-resolution mechanism we put in place.
“It must be pointed out, however, that if these internal squabbles and arguments were found to have been heated in APC, this should be understandable. It can only be because all the aspirants and contenders know that once they get the party’s ticket, they are as good as elected as Chairmen and Councillors. There was generally a rat-race for these positions. Truth is APC has no opposition in Lagos State.
“We thank our party leadership for the confidence reposed in us by entrusting us with this responsibility. It was a call to duty and we have discharged this to the best of our abilities. We also like to use this medium to commend the entire APC members in Lagos for helping us to successfully accomplish the task. We congratulate those who have emerged as candidates to fly the banner of APC at the election. A big task has been put on their laps to represent the party and all that our party stands for.
“Those who have not emerged this time also deserve commendation for their courage to step forward and contest. We believe their time would also come. This is the time to rally round the candidates to ensure overwhelming victory for the APC at the election. The conclusion of the exercise is a victory for APC. It’s our collective triumph,” said the statement.

2017 BUDGET WILL SINK RECESSION IN NIGERIA – ALIMIKHENA
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/2017-budget-will-sink-recession-in.html

Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Francis Alimikhena, APC-Edo North, has said that if the 2017 budget is implemented faithfully, it would sink the present economic recession being experienced in the country and bring Nigeria out of hardship.
Speaking at the weekend in Auchi during his second phase of empowerment programme and Mid-Term Constituency briefing, Senator Alimikhena promised never to leave any stone unturned to ensure that what is due to the people of Edo North get to them.
Senator Alimikhena who expressed confidence in the 2017 budget, said “Government is interested efficient and effective implementation of Budget as a Vehicle for speedily moving the country away from the current recession. The APC Politics is politics of development and the true change will be visible for all to behold before the end of Buhari’s administration.
“I am not in the Senate to represent myself but my people and the interest of my people in the areas of employment assistance and facilitation has been paramount among other priorities.”
According to him, contributing to making good laws for the good governance of Nigeria, he disclosed that he also attracted infrastructural Projects to the area like the Construction of the Kidney Dialysis Centre in Auchi General Hospital, the ongoing Construction of Akoko-Edo Township Roads, ongoing construction of the Fugar, Ayogwiri Agenebode road, block of classroom in various schools, portable water and electricity across Edo North which are already completed while others are ongoing.
While expressing his capacity in restoring the lost glory of Edo North in terms of effective senatorial representation, Senator Alimikhena outlined some Bills and Motions that he has personally sponsored and co sponsored in the 8th Senate for the interest and well being of Nigerians particularly the less privileged and the physically challenged.
A statement by his personal assistant, Benjamin Atu, said that high lightof the Senatorial empowerment programme was the presentation of empowerment Items to beneficiaries by the Deputy Governor of Edo State Comrade Philip Shaibu.

10,000MW STILL ACHIEVABLE BY 2019 – FASHOLA
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/10000mw-still-achievable-by-2019-fashola.html


The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, says the Nigerian government’s target of providing 10,000MW of electricity by 2019 is still achievable.
‎According to a statement by the power ministry, Mr. Fashola said this while fielding questions on a programme on Wednesday, adding that the target could still be realised in spite of the current challenges facing the power sector.
The former Lagos State governor added that all the measures put in place in the Power Sector Recovery Programme by the present administration were geared towards actualising government’s objective of achieving incremental, steady and uninterrupted power supply to Nigerians.
While recalling that the amount of power available on the grid on May 29, 2015, the day President Buhari took office, was 2,690MW, the minister pointed out that on May 29, 2017, the power on grid was 4,014MW.
He explained further that on February 10 2016, for the first time in the history of electricity generation in Nigeria, the nation attained 5,074MW.
Mr. Fashola, however, said that the supply went down soon after as the sector experienced 16 consecutive attacks on gas pipelines, which crippled major gas supply lines such as the Escravos Lagos pipeline.
The Escravos pipeline is however still out, the minister said.

NSE ALL-SHARE INDEX INCHES 31,000 MARK AMID MASSIVE GAINS
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/nse-all-share-index-inches-31000-mark.html

Massive gains recorded by major equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Friday moved the All-Share Index to 31, 000 mark.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the market for the fourth consecutive days maintained a bullish trend with the index growing by 1,057.49 points or 3.49 per cent to close at 31,371.63 as against 30,314.14 on Thursday.
Similarly, the market capitalisation which opened at N10.479 trillion rose by N366 billion or 3.49 per cent to close at N10.845 trillion.
NAN also reports that the price rally moved the market indices to 21-month high.
Nestle Nigeria recorded the highest price gain, leading the gainers’ chart with N43.75 to close at N918.76 per share.
Dangote Cement trailed with N9.18 to close at N192.93 and Conoil improved by N3.45 to close at N37.35 per share.
CAP rose by N3.28 to close at N35.33, while Nigerian Breweries inched N3.15 to close at N 160.05 per share.
Conversely, Mobil Oil topped the losers’ chart, dropping by N8.87 to close at N290 per share.
UPL trailed with a loss of 20k to close at N3.83, while Custodian and Allied Insurance shed 10k to close at N3.60 per share.
Law Union and Rock Insurance lost 8k to close at 90k and C I Leasing dipped 3k to close at 66k per share.
Also, the volume of shares traded appreciated by 63.07 per cent with a total of 708.41 million shares worth N8.26 million transacted in 6,039 deals.
This was against a turnover of 434.48 million shares valued at N4.63 billion traded in 5,107 deals on Thursday.
Diamond Bank remained the toast of investors accounting for 132.48 million worth N146.92 million.
It was followed by FBN Holdings with 112.81 million shares valued at N722.58 million, while UBA accounted for 96.48 million shares worth N806.74 million.
Access Bank sold 60.22 million shares valued at N537.37 million and FCMB Group traded 60.14 million shares worth N75.71 million.

APC WANTS A VIBRANT OPPOSITION – ABDULLAHI
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/apc-wants-vibrant-opposition-abdullahi.html

The national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, gives a progress report and challenges of the ruling party. He spoke with select journalists in Abuja. Eyes Of Lagos reporter was there.
Two years of APC in government, do you think there is any need for celebration?

I believe very strongly that there is every reason to celebrate. I know that because of the difficulty that people are going through, there is a temptation to think that there is no much to celebrate. But I think that if we look more closely, paying more attention to where we are coming from and where we were two years ago, you will see that we have more than sufficient good reason to celebrate. There was a reason that Nigerians overwhelmingly voted for APC a little over two years ago. There was a reason that for the first time in our history, Nigerians rejected a sitting government and those reasons were quite compelling and those are the reasons that justify APC’s existence in government today at the federal level and in the various states. I like to say that there are three things that President Buhari promised as we went round the country campaigning. One was that he promised to fight corruption. Secondly, he said he would fight insecurity especially as it relates to Boko Haram, and thirdly, he said he would create employment opportunity for young people.
Let us take the issue of Boko Haram. I have said it repeatedly that we tend to forget one fundamental fact which was that at the time we were preparing for election in 2015, more than 50,000 square kilometers of Nigeria territory were physically occupied by Boko Haram, where they declared a caliphate and hoisted their flag. I remember that in trying to make sense of it was said that the area occupied by Boko Haram was the size of Belgium. Two years down the line, what is the size of Nigerian territory occupied by Boko Haram? Zero, including the dreaded Sambisa Forest.
For us, this is a remarkable achievement and we believe that in that respect, President Buhari and the government of APC have justified the purpose of coming to power. Yes, many of the Chibok girls are still in captivity, but some of them have been recovered and more are still being recovered. For the parents of those recovered, you cannot tell them there is no reason to celebrate. For those who had to abandon their families and homes two years ago because of the menace of Boko Haram and have returned home today, you cannot tell them that there is nothing to celebrate.
Let us take the issue of corruption. We must not forget that before APC came into power two years ago, we knew what was going on. We knew that people were stealing this country dry, but it was almost like it has been accepted as if it was normal. People were stealing as if it was an entitlement. But what do you find happening today? You listen to the radio, watch the television, read the newspapers, Nigerians are talking about corruption every day. It means that as a nation, there is nothing in our DNA that accepts corruption. It means that we are telling the world that as a country, we don’t want corruption and that is why we are having that conversation.
You hear people talking about whistleblowers, people talk about huge amount of money being recovered, people being dragged before the court, former governors being remanded in prison custody for corrupt practices, you hear about former ministers being held in detention and prison for corruption. These are things that were almost impossible two years ago. The challenges are still there, but this is the progress we have made in two years.
So, we believe that we have a lot of reasons to celebrate.
The government promised to create job opportunity for the youths, but two years after, there is practically nothing to show for it. Secondly, there is the issue of the rampaging herdsmen yet we are celebrating the success in the war against Boko Haram. What is happening to the herdsmen and why is it difficult to curtail the excesses of these herdsmen who are almost approaching the coastline?
I agree with you that the issue of the herdsmen is an issue of serious concern. But you also agree with me that it did not start today because the issue of farmers and herdsmen clashes has always been there for as long as we could remember. I also agree with you that probably the government needs to do more than what is happening at the moment whether in thevarious states where these things are happening or at the federal level. But what I said was that at the time the issue of Boko Haram was the dominant issue in this country, every Nigerian did not think of any other thing. Even the issue of herdsmen, as bad as it is, was insignificant in the context of the insecurity that is occasioned by terrorist activities. You are walking down the streets and the wind blows a nylon bag close to you, you run because you will think that it might conceal a bomb. We forget these things easily. No country is ever in a hundred per cent state of security. If we deal with the issue of herdsmen, kidnappers, armed robbery, there will be other security challenges that will come up. The important thing is whether government is responsive enough to deal with the realities as they emerge. I agree with you that we ought to have done more in respect to the issue of herdsmen.
Regarding the issue of unemployment, I believe that we have to take a more comprehensive look at the challenge of unemployment that Nigeria is faced with and we have to also understand every country in the world today is dealing with this issue of unemployment. It is not something that you switch on and switch off. Look at the statistics. What is the percentage of Nigerian youths that Mr. President promised to create jobs for? We have 46 per cent of Nigerian youths that are unemployed according to the report of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics. If we agree that the population of young people in this country is about 65 million, what is 46 percent of that? If you take the entire civil service in Nigeria, I don’t think they have more than 300,000 people. If you take out 300,000 people in the context of about 30 million people that are looking for employment, no matter what you do, it will look like you have done nothing. I was Minister for Youth Development and what I found was that 80 per cent of these young people looking for employment are actually not graduates. They don’t have more than secondary education. That imposes another kind of challenge about what kind of job you create and all that. I am saying this with the acknowledgement that the problem of youth employment will persist for a very long time. The question then is whether the government has enough articulation of the problem to be able to deal with it. You hear about NPower which is what is being done at the moment, among others. Like I said, unless we go back to the nature of our education that retools young people for a different kind of occupation, we will continue to deal with this. So, I believe that it is not something that we can say we have solved in two years. It is a problem that needs to be dealt with, but when you are operating an economy in recession, it is even more difficult to manage the impact that some of these things can have. But you will agree with me that if the president promised three things and he has delivered well on two and he still has two years to go, I think he has done well.
You can’t successfully fight corruption when the economy is down and everybody is hungry. The average Nigerian is out there hungry and to them, the government has not delivered on its promise to them?
I don’t think that what the government promised is that at the end of two years, it would have wiped out hunger from Nigeria. What the government promised is what I have told you. Since when have we been hearing the report that 70 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line. It is a United Nations report and that statistics is not coming up today. The issue of poverty is associated with the issue of hunger and other kinds of challenges. So, to now begin to blame a government that has been in government for two years for a problem that has existed for decades is slightly unfair. I think that we should focus on what the government has promised to do and whether they are doing those things or not.
A lot of money has been recovered in the fight against corruption and Nigeria’s are wondering what has happened to these money, while there has been so many arrests, but nobody has been convicted. What is the situation at the moment?
What do you want the APC government to do? A few days ago, the DSS said Ifeanyi Uba did something with petrol and that he ought to be punished with death sentence. Have you seen the reaction that followed that? People are asking whether DSS wants to be arresting people and passing death sentence on them? No matter how keen we are, we have to ask ourselves as a country, do we want to be a country of law or a society or waves. If we say let us arrest people as they are accused of corruption and lock them up, how do you know when you arrest someone that is innocent? No matter how eager we are to punish people, they must go through that process as long as that is the provisions of the law. If APC government starts catching people like it happened in 1984, the same Nigerians will ask, is this democracy? Like I told you, there is no alternative to the rule of law. No matter how much we are pressured to catch thieves, if you use an unlawful means to fight unlawful act, then you have not solved any problem. Yes it is slow and we want to see more convictions, we also need to ensure that our institutions develop more capacity to prosecute and investigate. But ultimately, we have to ensure that justice is done to everyone that is accused of one thing or the other.

CORRUPTION HARD TO FIGHT BECAUSE IT’S A SPIRIT – SEN BOROFFICE
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/corruption-hard-to-fight-because-its.html

Senator Robert Boroffice represents Ondo North in the National Assembly. In this interview with RUTH CHOJI, the chairman Senate committee on Science and Technology, speaks on some national issues.
What are some of the challenges the Science and Technology sector face in the country?
The sector faces a challenge of inadequate funding. It is like we have not gotten it right. Without science and technological innovations, we cannot move anywhere. Whatever problem we are talking about today are related to science and technology. South Korea, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore were all facing the problems we have but when they started funding their science and technology, they move forward. If we continue on the path we are going, we will continue to be a consumer of imported science equipment from other countries, which is why we still import everything we use in this country. We are in the process of getting a bill on science and technology innovations which if implemented, will provide good funding for the sector. if that happens, it will help us because all emerging economies did it and they are reaping the fruits today. In another 10years, Brazil will be the fourth largest economy in the world.
There are reports that the Federal Government is planning to either lease out Ajaokuta Steel company or sell it, do you agree with such moves?
There is no country that can develop without technology. Industrialization needs iron and steel. We need to develop our steel industry for our benefit. No industrialisation can succeed without steel. So whether government leases or sells it, as long as it will become productive and Nigeria can benefit, then we will support the action.
Nigeria just celebrated another democracy day and some seem to think that the APC has not done much since coming to power. What is your take on this?
I don’t, because if you imagine what could have happened to Nigeria if we had continued under Jonathan, then you will know that we are lucky to have this government in place. Things have to get worse before they get better. What Jonathan’s administration was doing was covering up our problems and pretending that all was well. So Buhari came and told us this is the correct situation and we have to face it. There has been a lot of looting of the treasury which this government has been trying to recover and cover all leakages. Another thing is that crude was not selling as high as it used to be during the Jonathan era. Then it was about $110 per barrel, now it is hovering between $50 per barrel or less. The former president left and avengers came in. they were depriving Nigeria of over 75,000 barrel per day out of the about two million we were producing. So, in terms of quantity and cost, Buhari came to power to save this country. If we had not come at that time and the situation was like this, this nation would have gone bankrupt. Electricity has improved, problem of infrastructure is being addressed but there is a time of gestation for this things to manifest. I think we just have to be patient…
But the administration seems to be losing the war against corruption as it has not secured any major convictions yet?
Corruption is a dangerous thing that is not easy to fight because it is a spirit. It dwells with human beings. So definitely they will fight back, that is what we are seeing now. I think exposing corruption the way we did is a milestone. It takes courage for a government to expose corruption. Now people are careful about stealing government money. In a way, this government has scored very high in terms of corruption but more needs to be done. We can eradicate it 90% but we must have a change of attitude. As a people, we must decide that, we don’t have to steal to live well. Institutions like judiciary, police, intelligence and the rest that are fighting corruption have to be sanitized…
Will you advocate for capital punishment for treasury looters?
There must be a well-defined description of who is a looter because if you are not careful, people might use it to fight their political enemies. I believe that whatever punishment that needs to be given should be given to the looter. When you plunder the treasury, you are endangering the lives of millions of Nigerians, so it is something that has to be taken seriously and addressed as such. I don’t mind capital punishment.
What will it take to revive the Nigerian Economy?
The government is trying. But one of the major problems is that we do not have adequate infrastructure to support economic activities particularly electricity. But the organized and non-organized private sectors all depend on electricity. We have to put that in place. We have to expand our based. We operate a monolithic economy which depends on crude oil. Government must do more to improve agriculture, but the problem we will have is the issue of farmers/herdsmen clashes. I want to go into farming in my local government but I am having a second thought because of herdsmen. Government have to take serious steps to address the menace of herdsmen else it will discourage many people from going into agriculture. The service section should be expanded, we need to ensure that ICT extends to the lowest level. We need to participate in the global economy of service provision.
Should the Federal Government continue to pump forex into the system?
I think you have to pity those operating the system. If they don’t do it to reduce the hardship, they will say government is not doing anything about it. Now the Federal Government is doing something to reduce the hardship but people are not contented. I think what the government is doing by pumping forex into the economy is helping those who import goods. It is part of expanding the economic based. We need to get to the point where businesses themselves can start generating foreign exchange for the country. If we harness our mineral resources and agricultural sector, they can easily generate foreign exchange for us. I think our planners need to settle down and focus on things that are very important and critical to the economy.
When you mention ‘our planners’ do we have an economic team in place?
The economic team should be in the executive. I don’t know whether there is an economic team but in Jonathan’s administration, we knew there was an economic team managed by Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. I heard the economic council is headed by the vice president. But they might not be as loud as it was during the Jonathan administration.
The senate and executives seem to be having a running battle over one issue or the other, what will it take to change this situation?
We have always had military regime for years and this kept legislature out. Nigerians don’t appreciate legislature because it wasn’t there. But to have an enduring democracy, you need the legislature. Nigeria is a growing democracy. What is happening now is that, each part of government is trying to define its role as stated in the constitution. The area of conflict has always been in allocation of resources. The constitution says, the National Assembly has the responsibility of appropriation, which means we can decide where to assign the budget to and where it needs to be reduced. The executive is also saying they have a right to decide how to spend it because they know what comes in. The legislature also has over sight functions. Some of the programs and projects being implemented by government are checked and sometimes, we discover that they have missed their priorities and if this country has to move forward, we must work together by defining our priority. We returned from China recently and there, we discover that one of our projects that has to do with energy has not taken off. Nigeria signed this agreement in 2013 yet it has not taken off. Ethiopia signed their agreement and within 18months, they have completed their project. Mali has also completed their project and yet Nigeria has not even started and we are supposed to be more economic viable than these countries. For example, the Federal Government didn’t include a second runway for the international airport in the 2017 budget, we had to put it because we know that if we don’t do it now and the current one develops a problem, we will have the problem we had few months ago where the airport was shut down for repairs.
Are you in support of calls for restructuring Nigeria?
Well, there is always a need to have a near perfect situation. Some section of the country feel they have been marginalised or short changed, therefore they need to be restructured, so there can be semblance of balance. If there is a balance, people will feel like they are part of the project Nigeria. We are not operating a true federalism. In a true federalism, each state will have some sort of independence. Even if the Federal Government will get involved in things like agriculture, it shouldn’t be at this level they do now, the farms are in the states not federal. The very sensitive aspect of it is the issue of minimum wage. To rent a house in Abuja or Lagos and other places is not the same, and yet you want everybody to have the same minimum wage, it is not possible. There are certain things that are in the concurrent list now that should be given to the states. Let there be division of power so that, the states can have some control over their security. Even to some extent education, why should the Federal Government be involved in secondary school education?
Where do you see Nigeria in the next 10 years?
I am not a pessimist and at the same time, I am not an optimist, but we have too many baggages. One is religion and two, is ethnicity. Unless we down play these two, we will continue to have problems.

FIVE ARRESTED OVER PLANNED MULTIPLE BANK ROBBERIES IN IKORODU
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/five-arrested-over-planned-multiple.html


The security operatives attached to the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) deployed to Lagos by IGP Ibrahim K Idris has announced the arrest of five suspects for a planned attack on banks in Lagos.
The IRT Commander, ACP Abba Kyari said the arrested suspects also participated in the recent militant attacks in Yewa community, Isawo-Ikorodu in April 2017.
Eyes Of Lagos gathered that, According to the Police, the suspects – Abiodun Olaroye, aka Gbeleju, Ebipatgh Tuwei, aka Segun, Benjamin Powei aka Ben, Samuel Chinedu aka Hit Man and Ikechukwu Samuel – were arrested in Ikorodu and Ajah areas of Lagos while they perfect their plans to attack the banks.
The Police disclosed that the five are key members of the notorious militant group led by one kingpin known as America. He is believed to be the mastermind of the recent abduction of the Epe School children.
Commenting on the incident, the Police chief said “four of the arrested suspects are militants who were sent by their gang leader, America to survey the banks and hire two operational buses that will be used to convey the militants to and fro the creek to the banks. The fifth suspect is a security man in one of the banks targeted to be robbed.‎”
He added that “all the banks were chosen because of their proximity to the River banks according to the militants arrested. All suspects arrested confessed to the planned bank robberies and confirmed that they were sent by their boss in the creek America to survey the five banks in Ajah and Lekki together with the bank security man who brought the job to the militants.”
This development is coming barely three days after ACP Abba Kyari’s team nabbed three members ‎of the notorious gang in Benin.

EBONYI/CROSS RIVER COMMUNAL CLASHES: 4 KILLED IN EBONYI, 1000 DISPLACED
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/ebonyicross-river-communal-clashes-4.html

The lingering communal crisis between the people of Ofunakpa Inyimagu community in Ikwo local government area of Ebonyi State and their neighbors of Nsobo community in Obubara council area of Cross River State has taken another dimension following the killing of four indigenes of Ebonyi community and the displacement of more than 1000 women and children in the communal clashes.
EYES OF LAGOS gathered that the bone of contention has been the land
dispute between the two communities which witnessed the first attack and truce in 1984. Our correspondent, who visited the community yesterday, observed that the community is now a ghost of itself as only police men were sighted at two strategic points in the once bubbling village.
At the boundary, it was also observed that more than 50 houses were burnt down while others were looted and as well vandalised by the attackers. Some of the burnt items including cars, motorcycles, yam barn and other sundry materials littered the areas.
At the refugee camp located at Ofunakpa Community Secondary School, EYES OF LAGOS met malnourished women, children including men and youths who are currently taking refuge in the school as their houses were all burnt down.
In an interview with the village head of the community, Mr. Nwofurakpa Emmanuel explained that the crisis erupted on April 4th, 2017 when at about 8.00am, their neighbouring community attacked their people with various dangerous materials which led to the death of the first victim.
The village head said that when his people came to inquire what was wrong, the Nsobo people reinforced, came in the company of heavily armed security personnel, who susceptibly gave them cover, while they attacked the community and sacked them from their houses without any resistance.
’’While the unwarranted attack lasted, four people from our community were in the process killed and their corpses taken away by the attackers.’’

BUHARI ADMINISTRATION MIDTERM REPORT/FACTSHEET – PRESIDENCY
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/buhari-administration-midterm.html

ECONOMY
Growth in Agriculture and Solid Minerals:
Our priority Sectors of Agriculture and Solid Minerals have seen improved performance, in spite of the recession. Agriculture grew by 4.11 percent in 2016, while Solid Minerals recorded a seven percent increase. The contribution of the Ministry of Solid Minerals to the federation account tripled to about N2 billion in 2016, up from N700M in 2015.
Savings:
Even at a time of low oil prices (and by implication low government revenues):
Nigeria’s External Reserves have grown by US$7 billion since October 2016
The Sovereign Wealth Fund has seen inflows of US$500m in 2016 and 2017 (the first inflows since the original US$1bn with which the Fund kicked off in 2012), and
The Excess Crude Account has seen an inflow of US$87m, in 2017.
Phasing Out of Subsidy Regimes for Petroleum Products and Fertilizers.
The Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (details below), combined with a newly developed soil map designed to aid fertilizer application, substantially raised local production of grains in 2016 (yields improved from 2 tonnes per hectare to as much as 7 tonnes per hectare, in some states) and produced a model agricultural collaboration between Lagos and Kebbi States.
Nigeria’s rice imports fell from 580,000 MT in 2015 to 58,000MT in 2016.
The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (which involves a partnership with the Government of Morocco, for the supply of phosphate), has resulted in the revitalisation of 11 blending plants across the country. The benefits include annual savings of US$200 million in foreign exchange, and ₦60 billion annually in budgetary provisions for fertilizer subsidies. The Scheme has also made it possible for farmers to purchase Fertilizer at prices up to 30 percent cheaper than previously available.
Support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: The Administration has launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives designed to support MSMEs across the country, as follows:
The new Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is finally taking off, with initial funding of US$1.3bn (provided by the World Bank, German Development Bank, the African Development Bank and Agence Française de Development) to provide medium and long-term loans to MSMEs
The MSME Clinic, brings relevant government agencies and their managements together with small businesses operating in various cities across the country, to enable the agencies provide direct support to these businesses. The interactions allow the agencies to better understand the issues facing small businesses, and provides a platform for speedy resolution.
The Ease of Doing Business Reform Programme (see below)
The Government Enterprise and Empowerment component (GEEP) of the Social Intervention Programme (SIP)
Ease of Doing Business Reform Successes: The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (inaugurated by President Buhari in August 2016) implemented a 60 National Action Plan between February and April 2017, with 70 percent of the targets achieved, including the following:
Intending Business Owners can now search for company names on the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)
Intending Business Owners can now upload their registration documents directly to the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)
Eliminate the need for SMEs to hire lawyers to prepare registration documents
Introduce a single form for Company Incorporation to save time and reduce cost.
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) e-payment solution has been integrated with the CAC portal to facilitate e-stamping.
Interested parties can conduct online searches of secured interests on movable assets on the National Collateral Registry
New Arrival and Departure forms for use at our International airports. The new forms are shorter, and have also consolidated a number of previously separate forms into single documents.
Simplifying our Visa on Arrival (VoA) Process. Submission of VoA applications and receipt of approval letter can now be done electronically via a dedicated NIS email address: oa@nigeriaimmigration.gov.ng
Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has now been mandated to schedule and coordinate joint physical examination of cargo to ensure there’s only one point of contact between importers and officials.
Imports into Nigeria are now required to be placed in pallets to facilitate quicker physical examination.
Central Bank, Customs and banks now required to process Net Export Proceeds forms within 72 hours; and Pre-Shipment Inspection Agencies (PIAs) now required to issue Certificate of Clean Inspection (CCI) within three days
Approval obtained to reduce number of documents required for imports from 14 to 8, and number of documents needed for exports from 10 to 7.
Minimum container placement notice time needed by Terminal Operators for examination reduced from 24 hours to 12 hours.
Minister of Interior has approved and launched a new Immigration Policy for Nigeria.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has since followed up on the National Action Plan by signing, in May 2017, an Executive Order on Improving Efficiency in the Business Environment.
Infrastructure:
The Buhari Administration has demonstrated a single-minded commitment to upgrading and developing Nigeria’s Transport Infrastructure.
Road Projects are ongoing across every state of the country; many of these projects had been abandoned in recent years because of mounting debts owed by the Federal Government to contractors.
The Administration is also pushing ahead with the revitalisation of Nigeria’s 3,500km network narrow-gauge railway. In March 2017, a consortium led by General Electric, and comprising Transnet of South Africa, APM Terminals of the Netherlands and Sinohydro Consortium of China submitted the sole bid for the concession of the Lagos-Kano Railway narrow-gauge Line. (Transaction Advisers were approved for the project in 2016). In May 2017, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the commencement of negotiations with GE to conclude the concessioning.
In addition, Abuja’s Light Rail system will also go into operation (test-run) in 2017. The first line to be launched will connect the city center with the airport, with a link to the Abuja-Kaduna Railway Line. The test-run will start in November 2017, ahead of full commencement of operations in Q1 2018.
The Buhari Administration successfully completed the reconstruction of the Abuja Airport runway within the scheduled six-week period (March – April 2017).
Progress with the Alignment of Monetary, Fiscal and Trade Policies: Landmark initiatives here include:
Ongoing FX regime reforms by the Central Bank, which have seen increased stability in the FX market, and increasing appetite for Nigerian stocks by foreign portfolio investors
The establishment of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations by the Economic Management Team (EMT), and
The Introduction of a new, Tariff-driven Tomato Policy to support domestic producers and production.
A New Social Housing Programme Is Kicking Off In 2017.
The ‘Family Homes Fund’ will take off with a 100 billion Naira provision in the 2017 Budget. The rest of the funding will come from the private sector. A pilot component has already kicked off, to construct the first set of homes for the Programme
Trillions of naira have been released for capital expenditure in the 2016 budget, since implementation started in June 2016. This is the largest ever capital spent within a single budget year in the history of Nigeria. These monies have enabled the resumption of work on several stalled projects — road, rail and power projects — across the country
All 4 Components Of The Social Investment Programme (Sip) Have Now Taken Off.
The SIP is the largest and most ambitious social safety net programme in the history of Nigeria, with more than 1 million beneficiaries so far — 200,000 N-Power beneficiaries, 23,400 Government Enterprise and Empowerment (GEEP) Scheme beneficiaries, 1,051,000 Homegrown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) beneficiaries, as well as ongoing Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) payments across nine pilot states.
Strategic Engagements with OPEC and in the Niger Delta have played an important part in raising our expected oil revenues. Already, Nigeria’s External Reserves have grown by around $7 billion in the last six months. In the same period, we have added $87m to the Excess Crude Account, and $250m to the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
New Vision For The Niger Delta:
Acting President Osinbajo is leading the engagement, on behalf of President Buhari and the Federal Government. The vice president has been visiting oil-producing communities across the Niger Delta, listening to them and outlining the Federal Government’s commitment to the peace, security and development of the region — encapsulated in the Buhari administration’s ‘New Vision for the Niger Delta’.
The New Vision brings together a robust set of promises, solutions, targets and initiatives aimed at ensuring that the people of the Niger Delta benefit maximally from the region’s oil wealth.
The New Vision offers a detailed response to the 16-point Demand Agenda submitted to President Buhari by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) in November 2016.
Tangible results of the New Vision so far include: Approval of a 2017 commencement date for the stalled Nigerian Maritime University in Delta State
Approval by President Buhari of an additional 35 billion naira for the 2016 budget of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
Approval for the establishment of Modular Refineries across the nine states of the Niger Delta
Resumption of construction work on abandoned projects across the Niger Delta, including the all-important East-West Road.
Beneficial Government-to-Government Partnerships with China and Morocco: President Buhari’s April 2016 Official Visit to China has unlocked billions of dollars in infrastructure funding. Construction work has commenced on the first major product of that collaboration, a 150km/hour rail line between Lagos and Ibadan.
The National Economic Recovery And Growth Plan
NERGP, the Federal Government’s medium-term Economic Plan, launched by President Buhari in April 2017, charts a course for the Nigerian economy over the next four years (2017–2020).
The vision of the NERGP is to restore economic growth, invest in Nigerians, and to build a globally competitive economy, and the plan aims to achieve these by focusing on five execution priorities:
Stabilising the macroeconomic environment;
Achieving Agriculture and Food Security;
Ensuring energy efficiency (especially in power and petroleum products);
Improving transportation infrastructure; and Driving industrialisation primarily through SMEs.
The ERGP will return Nigeria’s economy to sustainable, inclusive and diversified growth, and transform Nigeria from an import-dependent to a producing economy; a country that grows what it eats and consumes what it produces.
The almost eight-fold oversubscription of our recent Eurobond (orders in excess of US$7.8 billion compared to a pre-issuance target of US$1bn) demonstrates strong market appetite for Nigeria, and shows confidence by the international investment community in Nigeria’s economic reform agenda.
Power Sector Reform is on course with the launch of the 701 billion Naira Payment Assurance Programme designed to resolve the liquidity challenges in the Power Sector by guaranteeing payments to Generating Companies and Gas Suppliers, while the Federal Government undertakes the much-needed reform and strengthening of Distribution Companies.
In addition to the PAP is a much more comprehensive Power Sector Recovery Programme, launched in March 2017 and which has received the endorsement of the World Bank.
Improved Local Refining Capacity: The total amount of crude refined by the NNPC’s three Refineries (Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna) grew from 8m barrels in 2015 to 24m barrels in 2016, and 10m barrels in the first quarter of 2017.
Anti-Corruption And Transparency
The Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA):
PICA was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to strengthen controls over government finances through a continuous internal audit process across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), particularly in respect of payroll. Through the activities of PICA, more than 50,000 erroneous payroll entries have been identified, with payroll savings of N198 billion achieved in 2016.
Also, the Federal Ministry of Finance has set a target to ensure that the Federal Government’s Payroll Platform — the ‘Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System’ (IPPIS) — covers 100 percent of MDAs by the end of 2017. Currently 60 percent of MDAs are enrolled on the IPPIS platform.
Budget Reforms:
First, a Presidential Order was issued directing that all budgets of all Government Agencies be prepared in line with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), using a budget template developed for that purpose.
Second, the 2017 Budget was collated using a web-based application developed by the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF), for the first time ever. Instead of the traditional method of hard copy submissions of budget proposals, Ministries, Departments and Agencies were asked to upload their proposals to the new budget preparation portal.
By replacing paper submissions with an audit-able and trackable online system, the 2017 budget preparation process was strengthened against manipulation and unauthorised alteration. All MDA budget proposals were uploaded to the new system, for review and final collation by the Budget Office.
More than 4,000 staff of the MDAs were specially trained to use the new application, across multiple locations nationwide. Also, to support the deployment of the budget portal, the Budget Office set up a Helpdesk, accessible by telephone and email, for authorised users.
Expansion of TSA Coverage:
On August 7, 2015, President Buhari issued a directive to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to close their accounts with Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and transfer their balances to the Central Bank of Nigeria on or before 15th September, 2015.
This decision to fully operationalise the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system—a public accounting system that enables the government to manage its finances (revenues and payments) using a single/unified account, or series of linked accounts domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria — has resulted in the consolidation of more than 20,000 bank accounts previously spread across DMBs in the country, and in savings of an average of N4.7 billion monthly in banking charges associated with indiscriminate government borrowing from the DMBs.
As at February 10, 2017, a total sum of N5.244 Trillion had flowed into the TSA. The TSA allows the managers of the government’s finances, including but not limited to the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, to have, at any point in time, a comprehensive overview of cash flows across the entire government sectors.
It also ensures increased transparency in public financial management, as well as prevents a scenario in which some MDAs have idle cash while other MDAs are compelled to borrow exorbitantly from DMBs.
The TSA system was launched in 2012, but failed to gain traction until President Buhari’s executive order in August 2015. As at December 2016, 766 MDAs were TSA-compliant. The Ministry of Finance continues to fine-tune the system to improve its efficiency, and has also commenced an audit to ensure that all funds due to the TSA are remitted into it.
Deployment Of BVN For Payroll And Social Investment Programmes:
Considering that personnel costs are the Federal Government’s largest expenditure line, the Federal Government has given priority to the deployment of the BVN for payroll and pension audits. The use of BVN to verify payroll entries on the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform has so far led to the detection of more than 50,000 erroneous payroll entries.
The Federal Government has also ensured the deployment of BVN system to serve as the verification basis for payments to beneficiaries and vendors in the N-Power Scheme and the Homegrown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP)
Replacement Of Old Cash-Based Accounting System With An Accruals-Based System:
Cash accounting makes no reference to the liabilities that the Federal Government may be required to meet in the future nor does it recognise the benefits that would be obtained from assets purchased over a period of time.
The cash accounting system fails to capture information on public sector assets and liabilities which may present the illusion of positive financial results in the short term, at the expense of longer-term fiscal stability and sustainability.
Accruals-based accounting, on the other hand, presents the true financial position of the Federal Governments assets and liabilities, which would help the government plan future funding requirements for asset maintenance and replacement, and the repayment of existing and contingent liabilities and, thus, better manage their cash position and financing requirements.
It provides comprehensive information on government’s current and projected cash flows, leading to better cash management. For example, the conversion from cash accounting to accrual accounting led to the discovery of unrecorded debts owed contractors, oil marketers, exporters, electricity distribution companies and others.
Enlistment Into Open Government Partnership (OGP):

continue here : http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/06/buhari-administration-midterm.html

KIDNAPPER CAUGHT RED-HANDED IN GBAGADA
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/kidnapper-caught-red-handed-in-gbagada.html

A kidnapper was caught yesterday in Gbagada as he attempted to abduct an eleven month old baby, who was left in care of her grandmother in a packed vehicle.
According to reports, the man made an attempt to kidnap the toddler while the mother of the child dashed off to buy meat close the Harvesters Church, leaving her grandmother and the baby in the car with the engine running. It took the intervention of a brave soldier who chased the abductor on his bike, to foil the kidnapped and effect his arrest.
Narrating the incident to Eyes Of Lagos, an eye witness said the woman parked along the road and left the baby and her granny inside the car with the car engine running to buy meat at the roadside along Gbagada Expressway. The kidnapper entered the car, pulled the granny out of the car and drove off with the baby inside.
Fortunately, a soldier who was passing by, immediately took a bike to run after him. This led to multiple accidents on the road and the car stopped working. So the kidnapper decided to lock himself and the baby inside the car in the middle of expressway but area boys came to the rescue of the baby.”
The abductor was apprehended by residents and immediately taken to Pedro Police station, Shomolu.

AISHA BUHARI JOINS PMB IN UK
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/aisha-buhari-joins-pmb-in-uk.html

The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari yesterday left for the United kingdom.
In statement by her media aide, Adebisi Olumide Ajayi, Mrs Buhari will spend some time with her husband ,President Muhammadu Buhari,who is presently on medical vacation.
She expressed her appreciation to the millions of Nigerians who have been praying for his quick and safe return .
EYES OF LAGOS recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari travelled to London on may 7 for follow-up medical consultation with his doctors.
According to his spokesman, Femi Adesina, the length of the President’s stay in London will be determined by the doctors.

‘WE NEED PARKS IN ABULE EGBA’, MOTORISTS TELLS AMBODE
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/we-need-parks-in-abule-egba-motorists.html

Weeks after the official commissioning of the Abule Egba bridge by Governnor Akinwunmi Ambode, commercial motorists and residents of the area have expressed their demands to the state government.
According to the residents and some motorists in the area, the government needs to re-introduce motor parks in the area in order to enhance the free flow of traffic within the community.
The residents claim the ultra-modern bridge which was constructed to address the perennial gridlock within the axis has been causing lots of disorder from law enforcement officers, commercial drivers and the commuters plying the Sango-Oshodi route.
Speaking to Nigerian Tribune, Mr. Oluwaferanmi Akinwale, a commuter, said that “leaving the whole area without designated bus stops and parks could be an invitation to chaos which means that commercial bus drivers or even private car owners would be stopping anyhow or anywhere to drop or pick passengers. That might bring back the days of gridlock on the route.”
Also a resident of the area, Agnes, believes that the provision of bus stops and designated parks would bring order back to the area

DWINDLING CARGOES, POLICY THREATEN FG’S REVENUE AT SEAPORTS
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/dwindling-cargoes-policy-threaten-fgs.html

Dwindling of importation of cargoes into the country would impact negatively on the federal government’s revenue generation at the seaports due to the government policy on importation, high exchange rate and poor port access roads.
Eyes Of Lagos findings revealed that activities at the seaports are at the lowest ebb as cargo throughputs have fallen below the Guaranteed Minimum Tonnage (GMT).
Investigations revealed that although government revenue at the seaports had been dwindling from 84.9 million tonnes in 2014 to 77.3 million tonnes in 2015 and down to paltry 53.2 million tonnes in 2016, experts believed it could be worse this year.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), show that the total number of cargoes in and out of all the ports from 84,900,588 in 2014 dropped to 78,322,558 and 70,681,028 in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Also, this was evident as vessels call at Western ports – Apapa and Tin-Can Island dropped from 3,195 in 2014 to 3,173 and 2,511 in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
However, the Customs revenue also dropped from N977.09billion and N904billion in 2014 and 2015 to 898billion in 2016.
According to the President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, some items restricted from the Forex Market were raw materials used by his members.
He said, “The association has done an analysis on the banned items and we broke the 41 items into 110 and of the 110, 75 are raw materials for our members. It is these 75 items we ask the Federal Government to remove from the list so that our members can source forex.”
Findings also revealed that high cost of doing business of the Nigerian Ports have fueled diversion of cargoes to neigbouring ports of Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana.
Government however lost whopping revenue in charges, Customs revenue sea protection levy that would have been paid to Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and compulsory pilotage levy in foreign currency that would have been accrued to Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)
Recounting the unfriendly nature of Nigerian Ports, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Barr Hassan Bello said performance indicators set Nigerian ports as the most expensive in the sub-region.
Giving the analysis, Bello said cargo dwell time of vessels at Nigerian ports is 14 days while ports of neighboring countries have a lesser dwell time.
He also pointed out demurrage free period which he said Nigeria has lowest among its contemporaries in Africa.
“It takes three days to clear cargo from Lome, seven days in Cotonou, four days in Durban in South Africa and five days to clear cargo out of Kenyan ports. The free days given to importers before accumulating demurrage in Nigeria is five days while it is 10 days in Benin Republic. It takes 10 days in Cameroon and China to enjoy free period before the accumulation of demurrage starts to count.’’
Bello said that what importers needed from the port were the availability of service and common users’ information, safety of cargo and right pricing.
However, current indices had shown that government revenue will dipped further in 2017.
For instance, major commands like the Apapa and Tin Can Island and PTML commands are given a monthly target of N32billion, N29billion and N6.9billion respectively as their monthly revenue target
The Apapa Area Command of Nigeria Customs collected the sum of N77.4 billion as revenue in the first quarter of 2017 as against its quarterly target of N96billion. This amount represents a shortfall of N19.1 billion.
A breakdown of the revenue generated by the command within the first quarter of 2017 showed that in January, N25.9billion was collected; in February, N24.7billion and March N26.7billion.
Speaking on the revenue profile, the command Public Relations Officer , Nkiruka Nwala said the command could not meet its target due to the general economic downturn which has stifled importation.
Also, the Tin-Can Island command in its first quarter of 2017 generated N61.8billion against its revenue target of N87billion which represents a shortfall of N25.2billion.

PHYNO THREATENED PULSE OVER PIA MIA CONTROVERSY - AM COMING FOR YOU DEAD ASS
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/phyno-threatened-pulse-over-pia-mia.html

After the recent controversies over Phyno song I am fan being stolen by an American Pop singer Pia mia , PulseNg took to the media to write on a story that was not confirmed blaming Phyno producer as the culprit behind the controversy and claiming that the American pop singer didn't steal phyno songs I am fan . Phyno took to the social media to issue out is first warning to pulseng for posting a story that the source wasn't confirmed ,recently again Phyno share this on twitter and issued a big threat to Pulseng who has deleted the post of the news from their blog.
Phyno tweet : So pulse have rushed and delete the post from their blog.. Smh .. Don't worry I hav d screenshots .. Am coming for u.. Dead ass

POLICE DISPERSE IPOB MEETING IN RIVERS
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/police-disperse-ipob-meeting-in-rivers.html

The police in Rivers State yesterday dispersed a meeting of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Rumuolumeni community, Obio/Akpor Local Government of Rivers State.



An Eyes Of Lagos source alleged that some of them were arrested in the process.

It was gathered that the group mounted its flags all over the venue before it was invaded by security agents. When quizzed over the reason for the gathering, an argument ensued and the policemen dispersed the gathering with teargas. They also shot into the air.

An IPOB member, King Okocha-Okparali, accused the police of molestation, harassment and illegal arrest of their members.

He accused the paramount ruler of Rumuolumeni, Eze Ndubueze Olumini, of inviting the police to arrest and destroy their property.

Police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni said there was an order directing Commissioners of Police not to allow such gatherings to hold, and based on that order, officers would not wait for further directives to disperse such meetings.

LIVE AT THE ONGOING LAGOS @50 DINNER HOLDING AT LAGOS HOUSE, IKEJA LAGOS
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/live-at-ongoing-lagos-50-dinner-holding.html

Live at the ongoing Lagos @50 Dinner holding at Lagos House, Ikeja Lagos @AkinwunmiAmbode @stevoree #LagosAt50

See Photos

HON. APOSTLE OLORUNTOBA OKE DECLARED WINNER OF APC PRIMARY ELECTIONS FOR IFAKO IJAYE LG BY APC
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/hon-apostle-oloruntoba-oke-declared.html

2 YEARS AFTER: PDP STILL FLOUNDERS IN SELF-INFLICTED CRISES
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/2-years-after-pdp-still-flounders-in.html

As the All Progressives Congress (APC) marks its second year in office, CHIBUZO UKAIBE, reflects on the spate of crises that has crippled the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from functioning as the ace opposition party in the country
hen the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), unprecedentedly lost the presidential election and handed over control of the federal government to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on May 29, 2015, the former ruling party naturally became main opposition party.
The PDP has since gone almost limp, managing to only whimper against the policies or programmes of the governing APC.
There were early attempts to reposition the party as seen in the setting up of the Sen Ike Ekweremadu post-election review committee and the convening of a national confab by the party in 2015 where recommendations on how to move the party forward were made.
Despite the lofty recommendations from the post-election committee, chief of which was the zoning of the presidency to the North, heralding the return of the rotational presidency which caused the party the seat of power in the first place, the center could still not hold.
For most parts, the former ruling party saw its members prosecuted for alleged abuse of public funds arising from the 2015 general elections, a scenario which put the party on the defensive. Much worse, is the self-inflicted leadership crisis which now threatens the continued existence of the party. By and large, it would seem that the party is still trapped in the maze of transitioning from a ruling party to an opposition.
No sooner had the party lost power at the center, than its internal crisis started. Series of simmered disagreements within party, burst to the national limelight. While the National Working Committee (NWC) under former national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu had its internal wranglings, aides to the former President Goodluck Jonathan, traded blames with party executives over the reasons why they lost.
Before long, centrifugal forces got engrossed in the battle for the soul of the party, tugging at its heart in different directions. Amidst calls for the resignation of the leadership of the party, Mu’azu and former chairman of the board of trustees (BoT) Chief Tony Anenih resigned. Still no respite.
Mu’azu’s deputy, Prince Uche Secondus, assumed leadership of the party, however, amidst concerns over the finances of the party, the clamour for Secondus to vacate office for a member of the party from the North-east to continue Mu’azu’s tenure mounted.
As party leaders, especially the party’s governors continued to foot drag over the finding a replacement for Mu’azu, former political adviser to President Jonathan went to court and eventually secured a verdict asking Secondus to vacate office and for someone from the North-east zone to emerge chairman of the party.
This opened a new dimension to the party’s crisis. With the governor’s set at reaffirming their control of the party, and led by Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) and Nyesom Wike (Rivers), they master-minded the emergence of Sen Ali Modu Sheriff, a former governor of Borno State, who had barely spent three years as member of the party. He had fallen out with the APC leadership upon its formation and was embraced with open arms when he defected to the PDP.
Sheriff’s emergence was fiercely rejected by various groups in the party, with Jonathan’s ex-ministers’ forum, reputed to be the most vocal. Similarly, other groups led by former minister of information, Prof Jerry Gana and former deputy Senate president, Sen Ibrahim Mantu, resisted the foisting of Sheriff on the party.
After much tug of war, a temporary agreement was reached. It entailed that Sheriff would serve for a period of three months and vacate office, a situation which set in motion plans for a national convention scheduled for Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
But the truce was breached before it started. It appeared the governors were set on their ways to ensure Sheriff continues in office much longer. The convention’s zoning committee led by the Akwa Ibom State governor, Emmanuel Odom, zoned the position of national chairman to the North-east against the clamour for the position to be zoned to the South, since the 2019 presidential election has been zoned to the North. Besides appearing to be setting the stage for Sheriff to continue in office, the zoning pattern countered attempts by the party to return its practice of zoning and rotational presidency.
Expectedly, the warring camps returned to the trenches, while plans for the convention continued as scheduled. The Prof Gana group, working with the ex-ministers forum, continued the resistance against the governors and Sheriff. They insisted on holding their own convention in Abuja.
Nevertheless, a crisis of confidence was to ensue between Sheriff and the governors when barely days to the Port Harcourt convention, series of court orders emerged asking for elections not to be held into some offices. Sheriff was discovered to be party to the suit.
While the governors and some NWC members insisted on having the convention, Sheriff maintained that it should be put off. As such the governors rejected Sheriff. Members of the NWC including Secondus resigned their positions and the National Caretaker Committee-led by Sen Ahmed Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State was appointed the chairman of a national caretaker committee to oversee the affairs of the party ahead of a fresh national convention.
But the matter was far more complicated as the reason why the governors removed Sheriff was connected to the 2019 presidential election. It was alleged that Sheriff promised a number of governors the party’s vice presidential slots in exchange for their support to allow him continue as chairman of the party till 2018 upon which he would emerge the presidential candidate of the party.
While Fayose had at a later interaction with newsmen admitted this incident, Sheriff has however denied promising anybody the vice presidency ticket of the party.
While the Abuja convention crumbled, the Abuja convention jubilated. Their member, Sen Makarfi has emerged the new helmsman of the party. But Sheriff insisted that he remains chairman, noting that he had called off the convention citing the court orders. He said the NWC was still in charge of the affairs of the party, adding that deputies of those who resigned should take over the affairs of the party.
Days after the convention, a showdown ensued at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja between supporters of Sheriff and Makarfi, leading to the shutdown of the premises.
While both camps operated from separate national head offices, a plethora of high court judgements were delivered, favoring both sides. But a federal high court in Port Harcourt validated the convention that led to the emergence of Makarfi. This prompted an appeal from Sheriff at a higher court which he won. Although Sheriff enjoyed legal authority, all the organs of the party, publicly aligned with Makarfi.
Still, in the midst of the legal tussles, the Makarfi camp attempted to hold another national convention which almost plunged the party into a new round of crisis. With a fresh convention committee which saw to a re-zoning of the chairmanship position to the South, the governors were yet again accused of trying to impose candidates on the party. Although the Makarfi camp blamed security operatives for obstructing the convention, for PDP watchers, that faction of the party narrowly escaped implosion, whose ripple effect would have been fatal for the whole party.
Meanwhile, series of reconciliation attempts, involving prominent leaders in the country were unsuccessful. From the BoT to the former National Security Adviser (NSA) Gen Aliyu Gusau, amongst others. However an attempt by former President Goodluck Jonathan, to intervene has also not yielded much as a recent political solution sought by the former president appears to have fallen through.
So far, both camps, apparently engrossed in the politics of 2019, have repeatedly accused each other of doing the biddings of the APC, paying little attention to the need for introspective opposition to the governing APC.
Remarkable is that the Makarfi camp has taken a break from the internal crisis in the party, to criticize some policies of the APC.
On the other hand, Sheriff’s camp appears more interested in muscling down the other faction and as such appears to have done little or no criticism of the APC’s policies.
What’s more, the goodwill PDP enjoys appears to be waning, what with the perception that its achievements in the past 17 years it held sway does not correspond with the huge resources that accrued to the country. For many, although the party midwifed the emergence of number of institutions, the massive funds allocated to the power sector, questionable privatization of some government owned establishments and the major infrastructural deceit remain major dents for the party.
Still, the saving grace for the PDP, it would seem, is that no other opposition party, as yet, has dared to fill the void.

BANIRE WARNS LAGOS APC AGAINST IMPOSITION, RIGGING IN PRIMARIES
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/banire-warns-lagos-apc-against.html

Ahead of the party primaries of the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scheduled to hold tomorrow, Saturday, May 27, 2017, the National Legal Adviser of the party, Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN, has warned that the process to select flag-bearers should not be manipulated in favour of certain candidates.
Dr. Banire who opposed the decision to conduct primaries election for all the aspirants in a centralized location said the process was alien to the party and not in the APC constitution.
Eyes Of Lagos confirmed that in a letter addressed to the State Chairman, Henry Ajomale, Dr. Banire stressed that the Local Government Executives are empowered by the APC constitution to designate suitable venues for the exercise.
“As the custodian of the party constitution, it is of utmost necessity for me to say immediately that this will not be in consonant with the letter and the spirit of the constitution. The (APC) constitution confers the power to designate the venue of such council primaries in the party Executive of the Local Government,” he said.
In addition, Dr. Banire asked the state chairman to comply with the provision of the APC constitution by stopping all arrangements for tomorrow’s centralised primaries to allow the local government executives designate a venue for the exercise in their respective councils.

ZUCKERBERG FINALLY BAGS HONOURARY HARVARD DEGREE 12 YEARS AFTER QUITTING
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/zuckerberg-finally-bags-honourary.html

Facebook co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, one of Havard’s most famous dropouts has finally returned to pick up his degree twelve years after leaving Harvard to work on Facebook full-time.


Zuckerberg founded ‘Facebook’ in his college dormitory in the year 2004 and dropped out in November 2005. “I’m not coming back” he told the university paper, The Crimson.

His honorary degree comes 12 years later, a little quicker than it took Bill Gates, another famous Harvard dropout to get his.

Gates, who left to found Microsoft in 1975, did not receive his honorary degree until 2007. However, Facebook CEO who dropped out to focus on the social networking site, picked up an honorary doctorate degree Thursday.

After receiving the degree, he posted a picture of himself with his parents Edward and Karen Zuckerberg and updated his degree status on Facebook ‘mom I always told you I’d come back and get my degree’

cool wehdonesir

LAGOS KIDNAP: LAGOS CP OWOSENI LEADS SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM TO RECOVER CAPTIVES
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/lagos-kidnap-lagos-cp-owoseni-leads.html

As a result of the kidnappers that abducted six students at around 5:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 25, 2017 at Igbonla Model School, Igbonla near Epe, the Lagos State Police has launched a search for the abductors.
Few hours ago, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni in company of top police officers in the state led a Search and Rescue Team to the school and adjoining waterways as well as forest in search of the gun men.
The Police revealed that the kidnappers used the Imeru/Iji waterway to access the swampy forest bordering the school and bore a hole on a part of the school fence to gain entrance into the school compound.
Mr. Owoseni, who was at the school very early in the morning, appealed for calmness from parents and guardian of the kidnapped school children to enable security agencies focus on rescue operations.
The Police chief further disclosed that security agencies were intensifying efforts towards ensuring safety and security of Lagosians stressing that useful information from members of the public would be invaluable to the team’s efforts.
During the visit, Fatai Owoseni was flanked by the Commander Rapid Response Squad, ACP Olatunji Disu, officers from SARS and State Anti-Kidnapping Squad.

HOW DOKPESI GOT N2.1BN FROM ONSA WITHOUT EXECUTING CONTRACT – WITNESS
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/how-dokpesi-got-n21bn-from-onsa-without.html

A prosecution witness in the trial of businessman, Raymond Dokpesi, told a Federal High Court in Abuja Thursday that Dokpesi received a total sum of N2.1billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in 2015 without executing any contract to warrant such payment.
The witness, Osaz Ozanobor (an official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said this while testifying yesterday as the 5th prosecution witness at the resumption of Dokpesi’s trial.
Led in evidence by lead prosecuting lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), Ozanobor said ONSA, in a correspondence to the EFCC, said it did not award any contract to the defendants (Dokpesi and his firm, Daar Investment and Holdings Limited), but confirmed that it paid them N2,120,000,000 between January and March 2015.
He said the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), a body saddled with the regulation of procurement activities by government agencies, confirmed, by a correspondence, that its database had neither the record of DAAR Investment and Holdings Limited nor any contract bidding process in which the company participated.
Ozanabor said the N2.1b allegedly paid to DAAR was uncovered by his agency while investigating allegations of misappropriation of public funds by ONSA.
The witness said, “Sometime in 2015, the Acting Executive Chairman of the EFCC (Mr. Ibrahim Magu) formed a team to investigate the misappropriation of public funds by the ONSA.
“In the course of the investigation, we realised that sums of money were paid into the account of DAAR Investment and Holdings Limited by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“So a letter was written by my team to the Office of the National Security Adviser, requesting details concerning these payments to DAAR Investment and Holdings Limited and to find out if the company had any contract with the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“They (ONSA) responded by stating that series of payments were made to DAAR Investment and Holding Limited totaling the sum of N2,120,000,000.
“The mandates for the payment were also attached by the Office of the National Security Adviser. We got two responses from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“We wrote another letter to the BPP, requesting the list of contracts done by DAAR Investment and Holdings Limited, requesting the value of the contract and the list of bidders for that contract. They (BPP) responded to our letter,” the witness said.
Jacobs later tendered the letters referred to by the witness, which were admitted by the court, without any objection by the defence.
The prosecuting lawyer asked the witness to read portions o the letter tendered.
A portion of ONSA’s response to EFCC’s investigators’ enquiry, read by the witness, confirm that N2.1bn was paid by ONSA to Daar without award and execution of any contract
ONSA prayed the EFCC “to recover the illicitly transferred funds and impose adequate sanction on all defaulting individuals and entities.”
The BPP, in a letter, dated December 8, 2015, read by the witness, said after “an extensive search” of its database, there was no record of the company “participating in any procurement bidding.”
Ozanobor also read from Daar Investment’s the response, to EFCC’s inquiry about whether or not contracts were awarded to it by ONSA.
The letter by DAAR Investment, dated November 23, 2015, said, among others, that there was no contractual dealing between ONSA and the company.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), Ozanobor, when asked if there evidence that the defendants were aware ONSA did not comply with due process, he insisted that there was no contract between ONSA and DAAR.
The witness said: “I read the responses from ONSA and the BPP and they clearly stated that there was no contract.”
On whether “the work” was done, he said, “There was no contract. There are steps needed to be followed if you want to get contract from the government and everybody knows that. The steps were not followed, so it is self-explanatory that there was no contract.”
On whether Daar was entitled to be paid for a work done, he said, “Yes, if the due process was followed and there was contract which was legitimately awarded.But if the steps are not followed, the company is not entitled to be paid.”
Ozanobor said he did not know if ONSA was exempted from rules and regulations governing procurement by government agencies.
Agabi suggested to the witness that with the EFCC’s letter of inquiry to ONSA, mentioning “national public relations project” and the title stated as “Presidential Media Initiative”, it was obvious that the money paid to DAAR was meant for a project for the laundering of the then Federal Government’s image.
Ozanobor said “The ‘national public relations was coined like that by the defendants. We had to use it that way to verify whether something like that existed.”
The trial resumes on July 6.
Dokpesi and his firm are being tried on a six-count charge, in which they are accused of receiving N2.1bn from ONSA between January and March 2015.
According to our findings Eyes Of Lagos confirmed that they are also accused of engaging in money laundering and breaching public procurement laws by allegedly receiving N2.12bn from ONSA to prosecute People’s Democratic Party’s 2015 presidential media campaign.
Dokpesi and DAAR Investments were said to have received the sum of N2.12bn from ONSA, while the agency was being headed by Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), as payment for a “purported contract on presidential media initiative”.
The prosecution alleged that the payment was in breach of and punishable under provisions of the Public Procurement Act, Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and the EFCC (Establishment) Act.