Thursday, 17 December 2015

Senator Ake Hails Appeal Court Judgment On Rivers State... Says Nigerians Are In Support Of Buhari's War Against Corruption


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The Appeal Court judgment that upheld the decision of the Rivers State Governorship Tribunal Judgment which sacked the Rivers State Governor Barr. Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike has been applauded by Sen. Wilson Ake.Asinobi Ake. Sen Ake served in the Nigerian Senate between 2011 to June 2015.
Senator Wilson Ake while reacting to the Appeal Court Judgment that sacked three members of the Senate from Rivers State and members of the Federal House of Representatives from Rivers state as well as upholding the Tribunal judgment that sacked the Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike said the judgments as delivered by the Appeal Court was a true reflection of the wishes and aspirations of the people of Rivers State.
Sen. Ake while condemning the violence that enveloped the election in Rivers state earlier this year said the judiciary by its judgment has shown that it is truly the in sync with the political aspirations of the people of Rivers state.
Senator Wilson Ake while stressing the fact that the APC has all it takes to win the election in Rivers State when the time comes said Rivers people were not benefitting anything by playing opposition politics.
He said there is nothing that will make Rivers people vote in the Peoples Democratic Party PDP if election is organized today due to what he said is their penchant for violence and failure to ensure good governance in the state. He said he is confident that all members of the APC that is contesting election will win because they are generally accepted by the people of the state. He commended the people of Rivers State for their patience and understanding through the court process stating that their peaceful disposition is worth commending.



Sen. Wilson Asinobi Ake also commended President Buhari’s anti-corruption war. He said it is imperative that Nigerians support the President in his war against corruption. “Nigerians have shown that they are in support of the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari. This support is commendable and it is important that the agencies involved in the fight against corruption ensure that they don’t let the President or the nation down in this” Sen.  Ake said.

Ijaw Youths Accuse Buhari Of ‘Witch-hunting’ Jonathan’s Allies In Anti-Corruption War


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The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) on Tuesday said that the federal government’s clampdown on former President Goodluck Jonathan’s men from the Niger Delta region was a witch-hunt targeted at prominent Niger Delta people.

IYC President Udengs Eradiri made the observation in a news conference in Yenagoa, listing Raymond Dokpesi, Patrick Akpobolokemi, and Government Tompolo, amongst others.  He did not say anything about Ret. Colonel Sambo Dasuki, Attahiru Bafarawa, media mogul Raymond Dokpesi, or Bashir Yuguda.

The Youth leader cited the sharp drop in the 2016 budget estimate for the amnesty programme from N50bn to N20bn as being part of the ‘plot’ against the Niger Delta people, adding that the reduction also affected the Niger Delta Development Commission.

Eradiri stated that the reduction in budget estimates for the intervention agencies for the Niger Delta region portends harsh economic woes for the region, arguing that slashing such estimates for the region from where 90% of the estimated N6trn revenue for 2016 was unfair.

He expressed the view that that nonpayment of stipends to ex-militants has increased the crime rate in the region.

“The amnesty programme boosted oil production from 60,000 barrels per day to over 2 million barrels as at today, we feel that the fund being spent to sustain the amnesty programme is worthwhile and justified.

“The slashing of the amnesty funds is an indication that the amnesty programme cannot be sustained and this can trigger crisis in the region and endanger the economic life wire of the nation,” the youth leader said.

He called on the federal government to reverse the reduction of the estimates so as to avoid jeopardizing the expected sources of revenue to meet the expectations of Nigerians and fulfill its campaign promises.

Eradri further urged the federal government to make its current anti-corruption policy holistic, rather than target prominent Niger Delta people in the administration of former president Jonathan.

“We are fully in support of the anticorruption policy but we insist that it should not be selective, anyone who held public office should give account of his stewardship,” he said.

On the Bayelsa governorship polls, the IYC President said that his group remained non-partisan, and commended the electoral commission for cancelling the results of the elections in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.


He urged commission to ensure that the rescheduled election in the area was peaceful.

Northern Elders Forum, ACF back Buhari’s anti-corruption war


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Leaders of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) yesterday gave their backing to President Muhammadu Buhari’s corruption battle especially his effort to recover the $2.1 billion arms purchase funds allegedly diverted and shared under former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki.

 The ex-NSA is standing trial for alleged misapplication and fraudulent disbursement of over N31b meant for purchase of arms.

 Some North’s elders according to sources are scheming to prevail on the President to provide soft-landing for some of the suspects.

 But Chairman of NEF, Prof. Ango Abdullahi said yesterday that members of the organisation are on the same page with the president.

 Prof. Abdullahi, who  spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Abuja,  said: “I am not aware of any plans by the Northern elders to meet with the president. If there is any plan like that, I am not aware.
 ”We are in full support of recovering money stolen by anyone. We support the recovery of all of it.

 ”We are not worried about any thief being discovered in the North. A thief in Kaduna is a thief anywhere.”

 Also, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Chair Ibrahim Coomassie, commended President Buhari for his anti-corruption battle.

Coomassie, who also spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, added that the region was in support of the president’s effort to recover stolen funds.


 ”The President’s fight against corruption is perfect,” he said.

Sunday, 6 September 2015

My Worry With Buhari’s Anti-Corruption War – Kaze


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Hon Bitrus Kaze represented Jos-north/Jos-east Federal Constituency in the Seventh House of Representatives. In this interview with Ruth Choji, he states that President Buhari’s steps have so far not out-shone those of President Jonathan.

How has life been after the National Assembly?

Fantastic. I was a councillor in 1991 and before I left the councillorship, I bought a Nissan car because I knew I would have to live a private life. I actually started driving my car as a taxi man shortly after serving as councillor. I was barely 23 years old then and I became a taxi driver in the same constituency I represented. At the National Assembly level, I left after my first term, hoping to come back to a quiet private life. As of today, the only thing that makes me feel I am not in the National Assembly is that, I don’t enter the chambers.



Is there anything you miss in the House of Representatives?

I have been asked that question severally and I always say I do not have any immediate regret because entering the House in 2007, I went with this mindset that power is transient, that somebody left before I could come in and one day, I will leave for another person to come in. It was absolutely natural for me that I will leave one day and I knew that even if I am given a third term, it will still come to an end. Looking back, there is nothing that I miss.



How will you assess some of President Buhari’s actions so far?

I have always said that the president appears to me as a very conservative person and he also comes from a regimented service of the yesteryears. What makes it worse is his age. It appears to me as though Buhari has the mind of the commander-in-chief and the dictatorial nature of the military. You can see that virtually all the policy statements he made have been reversed, an example is the appointment of service chiefs. He didn’t call them acting or nominees when their appointment was announced, they were actually announced as chief of this or that. He was supposed to have sent the nominations to the National Assembly who will not even deny you the opportunity. But he had to be reminded to go to the National Assembly and that was when they started addressing them as acting. Look at the bailout given to states, initially they said President Jonathan left an empty treasury, but now, they are say the money is from NLNG and Excess Crude Account. It means he left something in the Excess Crude Account.

To me, we have somebody who has the face of an anti-corruption crusader and strict disciplinarian but inwardly, is somebody who finds it difficult to work with other people. He believes in projecting his ideas.



Some PDP members have described the president’s war against corruption as witch-hunting. What is your view?

The war against corruption should not be partisan or by religion. The president should start with himself. President Buhari’s his first appointment after he won election was that of former governor of Bayelsa, Timipre Sylva as one of those on his side of the transition committee. The chain of cases that man has with EFCC is much. What about ex-Governors Fashola, Ameachi and the rest? Have they been given a clean slate yet? Corruption has no face of party, religion or race. I am quite worried that those being chased at the moment have partisan affiliation with the PDP. Is President Buhari saying that only PDP governors were corrupt? Are all the APC states free of corruption? The war against corruption should not be selective.

Do you think the current government is capable of ending insurgency?

Every step I have seen President Buhari take were the same things President Jonathan did. Jonathan was in Niger, Chad, Germany and the rest on the issue of Boko Haram and it is the same places Buhari has gone to. The only thing he has done differently is to move the Command Centre to Maiduguri and I was surprised. I am not a soldier but I know that America uses drones in the war against ISIS in Syria and the Middle-east. I don’t understand the wisdom behind taking the command centre to Maiduguri from Abuja.



Immediate past PDP governors have been accused of leaving behind empty treasuries in almost all the states the PDP was succeeded by APC. Do you think this is mere politics, as some people have said?

It is because it is PDP versus APC. Have you actually inquired from the governor of Lagos what Fashola left for him? Lagos could be one of the highest indebted states in the country but because it is APC to APC, nobody is talking about it. Oshiomhole and other governors will soon go, let us wait and see what will happen. My yardstick is, if they are not corrupt, why are those states not more developed than others? I hear that after Aregbesola, Osun State will continue to be in debt for years to come because of the rag tag policies the man initiated. That is why the anger against him has risen to a high level. That state needs the immediate attention of the Federal Government else we might see a revolution. Is Buhari saying that Aregbesola is corruption free? So for me, there are certain loopholes in this administration that make me think that the fight is selective.
Credit: Leadership

Buhari’s Anti-Corruption Crusade Best For Nigeria – Ajimobi


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Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has expressed full support for the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying it is the best for the country.

Ajimobi, at a radio programme monitored in Ibadan on Saturday, said that Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade would take Nigeria to greater heights.

“I fully support Buhari. I thank God now that we have him in power. He is a man that is determined to wage relentless war against the malady of corruption.

“If we do not fight corruption as a nation, then we cannot grow,” the governor said.

Ajimobi attributed the non-constitution of his cabinet to the economic situation of the state, adding that he had decided to settle down for three months before appointing his cabinet members.

`We will appoint 10 Special Advisers and Commissioners this month, by God’s grace. We have reduced our ministries to 13,” he disclosed.

Speaking on the bailout fund for states, the governor said that the state governments would pay the money back at about nine per cent interest.

“The money we are getting is strictly to pay salaries. It is illegal to use it for any other thing.

“Even with that, about N17 billion is to be paid to the state government workers.

“We are supposed to pay local government workers N9 billion. As at today, we owe workers N21.3 billion.

“This means that after using the bailout fund to pay salaries, we will still be owing and we will continue to owe until our allocation or internal generated revenue increases.”

Ajimobi said that the allocation to the state from the Federal Government on assumption of office in 2011 was N5 billion.

According to him, however, the state hardly gets N3 billion now.

He said that the financial situation of the state was the reason he met with representatives of workers to consider the next line of action.

According to him, the next line of action of the state government will be to reduce workers’ salaries, retrench or restructure.

“We will block all loopholes from where government loses revenue. Civil servants found guilty will be dealt with after following the due process,” he said.

The governor said that the people of the state had started complaining that the streets were now dirty again.

“Our people complained that we were too harsh on street traders, so we calmed down.

“Now, the same people have been coming to us to loudly register their embarrassment over the condition of our environment.

“We have decided that from Oct. 1, it will be fire for fire with street traders. There will be no turning back this time around.

“We will clean everywhere. We will use Oyo Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) personnel to achieve that,” he said.

Speaking on the petition instituted against him by the ACCORD Party at the tribunal, he expressed optimism that he would win at the tribunal.

“Even though I should not be talking about the tribunal issue, but I can say it here that there is no case.


“I am confident that we will win. I am not afraid. We won that election,” he said. (NAN)

Jonathan didn’t understand that corruption is wrongdoing — Sagay


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Chairman of the seven-man Presidential Advisory Committee on War Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), in this interview with LEKE BAIYEWU and TOBI AWORINDE, speaks on what Nigerians should expect from the ongoing anti-graft probes

In the simplest terms, what are the responsibilities of the panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari on his anti-graft war which you head?

We are not a probing organisation. The (anti-graft) agencies are already there. Our job, really, is to provide support. We are first to promote the fight against corruption generally, then to intervene comprehensively in the whole process in order to promote and support the existing agencies to be more effective and to have more capacity. We are also to make the administration of criminal justice more effective; produce results quickly and efficiently. Very broadly, that is what we are supposed to do.

Can you break it down into specifics?

There is no need breaking it down because our mandate is very wide. But, I can give a few examples of what I am talking about. For example, in the area of giving support to the anti-corruption agencies, we are going to interact with them; and when we do, we will find out what challenges they have. Why are so many cases stalled? Why are so many cases lost? Is it that they lack technical capacity in terms of equipment for investigation or in terms of training and manpower or people who can do forensic works effectively? Is it financial or is it a question of integrity; are there people in their midst who are colluding with the people being investigated? These are some of the things we are going to look into. Where they have challenges of the sorts I mentioned, it is our job to recommend procedures and actions to the government to take care of such problems and eliminate them. That is one aspect of our work.

Then, if you go to the area of administration of criminal justice, we are looking at a number of things. These include the speed with which corruption cases are held and concluded and how corruption cases are stalled in courts. For example, we are looking at adjournments, which, luckily, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 has now taken care of by eliminating any adjournments, and by stating that once a case comes up in court, it must be heard from day to day – Monday to Friday – without any adjournments. But where an adjournment is inevitable, because certain things can happen, it must not last for more than two weeks at the most. Also, there must not be more than five adjournments per case. But we also need to monitor the process to make sure that these rules are kept.

We also have the issue of judges who are hearing a case and they have almost concluded the case and they are promoted to the Court of Appeal. Under the present law, once that happens, they drop the case. A new judge will start afresh, as we have it in the case of Intercontinental Bank, which Justice Habeeb Abiru virtually concluded before he was promoted. Now it has started afresh. Who knows whether it will take another five years? That has been eliminated under the new Act. Whether you are promoted or not, once you are already hearing a case, you must conclude it. You cannot abandon it to take up your new post. You can take up your new post but you must conclude the case. That too has been eliminated.

Another thing is that we now have a new genre of senior advocates whose sole means of existence is to stall cases, especially corruption cases. And the way they stall cases is very simple: once the charges are filed, they look at the charge. Instead of tackling the charge and providing answers for the issues raised, they simply file a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case. And many judges, in my view, foolishly in the past, play along with these senior advocates. They abandon the main case and concentrate on the preliminary objection, which may take perhaps a year or two. Meanwhile, the substantive issue of corruption is suspended. When the judge finally arrives at the conclusion or judgment or ruling that he has the jurisdiction, the chap (defendant) appeals straightaway – still abandoning the substantive issue for the issue of jurisdiction – to the Court of Appeal. At the Court of Appeal, if he fails, he takes it to the Supreme Court.

How does the accused escape in that type of circumstance?

By the time the Supreme Court finally decides that the court has jurisdiction, 12 years or so might have elapsed. By then, the investigating police officer (prosecutor) is retired; the officials of the Ministry of Justice, who handled it (the case) at the early stages in the High Court, would have been promoted and the judges themselves could have retired. Thus, many things would have happened; and what we call prosecution fatigue sets in. What happens after is that the case dies a natural death. It is not that the accused is innocent but the state does not have enough stamina to pursue the case to the end. That is what has been happening.

For instance, governors, who were being investigated for what they did as governors, are now senators or occupying various important positions in the country without questions. What this Act has done is what any judge with common sense would have done before. The Act has decided to do it for them by stating that if anybody files a preliminary objection, the judge is compelled to take both the preliminary objection and the substantive issue together. He must no longer abandon the substantive issue.

Then, to make sure that there is no loophole, the Act also provides that where any party disagrees with any ruling of the court and appeals, the court must not stay proceeding because of any appeal; it must continue the day-to-day hearing regardless of any appeal. With that setting, we ourselves have set to do a number of things. One, to try and assist the judicial system and the government to ensure that we have in place a judicial structure that can hear corruption cases without any problem; without any issue of compromise or integrity. We are going to look for judges who have the honour and integrity, who are upright and have passion for justice and who can never be compromised. They are going to be indentified and transferred to the criminal division of each court; they will be there. We are not the ones to do this; it is for the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the heads of various courts to do. Once this is done, it will take care of the issue of quality and character of judges and the law. Then, we are ready to meet the challenges of corruption cases.

All the judges are meant to be incorruptible, but where the incorruptible ones are to be picked from among their colleagues for this anti-graft war, it means some of them are corruptible. What will be done to the corrupt judges and lawyers?

In our democratic system, there has to be proof before someone can be convicted or punished for anything. You may have judges who are rumoured or, in fact, known to be corrupt. But unless they go through the process of being tried, there is no form of punishment that can be inflicted on them. The best thing, for now, until such evidence has been concretely established, is to avoid them and let them deal with cases other than corruption cases. We need people who can resist the blandishment of material things and those are the ones that the system is going to try and pick up.

Some people are of the view that special courts, like the election petitions tribunals, are redundant since the accused will end up appealing a verdict in the conventional appellate and Supreme Court. Why the special courts?

There is no anti-corruption court right now. If we want that, we have to submit a bill to the National Assembly to amend the constitution to now include an anti-corruption court among the series of courts that we already have. That is a long process but it can be done; I don’t know yet what the government is going to do. It is likely as a future measure against corruption that that is going to happen. We don’t have that now. For now, we must work with the tools that we have. What is likely to happen now is to make the criminal division of the state high courts into, sort of, anti-corruption courts. We can use them for that purpose.

What will your committee do about the case of some VIPs on trial, who find their way to five-star hospitals in the name of illness while their trial is pending in court?

There is no doubt that Nigeria is a very difficult country. No matter what you introduce, the enemies of the country will introduce some counter moves to water down whatever you are trying to do and make it ineffective. That is the problem we have. But for you to be sent to the hospital during the period of conviction, you need a very credible medical certificate from a highly qualified doctor in the area of the illness, which states that the prisoner can only be attended to in that hospital such that he cannot be looked after in prison. It is a difficult thing when a doctor says that because if you, as a judge, reject it, supposing the man dies, that creates a big problem. To avoid such a thing happening, the tendency will be if there is a very cogent reason given by a doctor in a certificate, that person will be allowed to go to a hospital, which is unfortunate but it can’t be helped. Eventually, you have prison officials and policemen being detailed to that hospital at extra cost to the state, to ensure that he does not escape while he is in the hospital. Altogether, it will be an unfortunate thing, which possibility cannot be ruled out.

What is going to be done such that crimes, especially financial, will attract commensurate punishments?

These are the areas that we are going to look into to ensure that the punishment fits the crime and that the law is no respecter of persons.

Do you think the removal of the immunity clause being enjoyed by certain public officers is a necessary measure to curb corruption?

I have never been a supporter of those who want to remove the immunity clause, because one has to really look at the character of our countrymen. Nigerians are fond of litigation; they will go to court at the drop of a pin. If a governor or the president is subjected to such litigation, I don’t think he will have one minute’s rest to do his job. He will be so distracted that governance will become more difficult than it is already, knowing the nature of Nigerians. Thus, I still support that clause. After he has left office, you can go after him; why not? We can wait for four years, or a maximum of eight years.

Some people believe that such officials under immunity cover should be tried for a criminal offence, if not civil offence. Do you agree?

That distinction should not be made at all. All cases should await the person leaving office.

There has been a controversy over Buhari’s decision to limit his probe to the last administration. Do you think this is appropriate, looking at how deep the cankerworm of corruption has eaten into the fabrics of the country?

You are right, the cankerworm has eaten deep. At every level or segment of society you look at, corruption has eaten the heart out of this country. It is an enormous task and I think what the President really meant was that he would operate within this period; he has only four years, unless he is re-elected. How much can he achieve within that period? I think he is looking at what is immediately obvious and apparent. I refer to them as low-hanging fruits. It is just like you going into an orchard and you want to pick some mangoes. You pluck the big ones that are closest to the ground; you won’t climb to the top and leave the ones below. If you still need more, then you can go higher. I think that is really what the President meant. If it is possible to conclude all the cases, which are so obvious; where the evidence is recent and easily obtainable; where we are being offered assistance from all over the world to identify and detect, then we move on to the next stage.

But looking at the power sector, for instance, there are some controversial contracts under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, especially the $16bn said to have been spent to revive the sector. How can the sector be probed under Jonathan without going beyond the last administration?

I don’t think he (Buhari) is looking at it as Jonathan’s time or Obasanjo’s time; he is looking at it as what is so obvious and what is so clear and attracting immediate attention for action. When that is done, any other one even farther away will be tackled. All these are based on evidence.

Is it advisable to invite looters for talks to save the time and resources to be spent on judicial processes against them?

Yes, that can still operate in conjunction with taking them to court. That is very close to plea bargaining. I think that this government and the Nigerian State, through the administration of the Criminal Justice Act, has accepted that there could be plea bargaining.

If such a person releases the loot, should the person still be punished or allowed to go for returning the loot?

This is my view: There will be some punishment, but it will be very much mitigated; instead of the person going to prison for, say, 10 to 15 years, he may just have about three months—that sort of thing. Definitely, there will be a difference.

Is your committee also looking at recovery of loots stashed away in foreign banks?

I would say the government as a whole is very much involved in that. We can assist in our own way, but already, the government is in contact with many overseas authorities who have an idea where some of these loots are.

Are you expecting stiff opposition from these countries who are believed to be using the looted funds to develop their economies?

I don’t think so. My impression so far is that most, not all, of the countries in which these monies are deposited are practically in developed Western countries, and are anxious to cooperate with the government to recover the loot. I know America has recovered almost $500m, and they held on to it because they did not want to hand it over to the last government. They are going to give it to this government. So, there is a lot of cooperation going on.

Are you saying the West did not trust the Goodluck Jonathan’s government for fear that it was too corrupt?

Obviously, they did not. Corruption in Jonathan’s government was an international fact known everywhere. Thus, they were not very happy with that government because of how corruption was so rife at every level such that everybody in the government was involved in it and it brought down the image of the country totally.

What do you think was responsible for the former President’s inability to tackle corruption?

I don’t think he saw it as a wrongdoing; that is my impression. A man who could say stealing is not corruption just shows you he didn’t even understand what corruption is. He didn’t seem to realise that stealing is equally a crime. It is as if to say, ‘He merely stole, so we should leave him alone and not bother about that’. There is a certain lack of awareness of the gravity of corruption and its associated concept — a combination of ignorance and a certain, very dangerous innocence, I would say. If you don’t know anything is wrong at that stage and you’re head of a country in which a state is controlling hundreds of billions, meanwhile everybody is helping himself; it is very dangerous for the country.

Jonathan’s loyalists are now fighting back, lamenting their media trial. Do you think all these shouts of probe are a mere noise?


Former President Jonathan

Those who are corrupt are very powerful people. We are talking of people who are sitting atop billions of dollars, not just naira; and money is power. Thus, they will fight back and this is what they have done. There is no subterfuge they have not yet devised. First, they accused Buhari of selecting them out and my answer is that it doesn’t matter if you are selected. If you are innocent, you are innocent and there is nothing anybody can do to you. It is only someone who knows he is guilty that begins to cry out and try to intimidate the government from trying to find out what happened. What happened to all the billions of dollars that disappeared? The government should just look at it and let it go? Buhari, while addressing the Nigerian Bar Association, was the one who said it is the greatest crime against humanity to steal so much money that leaves a whole country grounded and a few of them impossibly wealthy that for the next 100 generations, they can be spending without working. Our patrimony? Unacceptable!

If corruption is seen as the greatest crime against humanity, do you think it should attract capital punishment like it does in China?

No, I think that would be too extreme. My attitude is that if you do not directly kill a human being, or do something with the intention that a human being will die, you should not be subjected to capital punishment, because once life is taken away, we cannot bring it back and we cannot create life. I think severe imprisonment coupled with recovery of stolen wealth is enough for now.

Obasanjo said Jonathan’s performance would affect the likelihood of another Niger Delta indigene emerging as president. Do you share this view?

I am also a Niger Delta indigene and I always felt the way Obasanjo was feeling that if in future any of us brings out his head and says, ‘I want to contest the presidency,’ they will say, ‘Ah! But we gave you the opportunity; see how lousy, dismal and devastating failure you were. Why do you think we should give you another chance?’ That issue will arise in future, there is no question about it. The first time somebody came from our zone and was given power, he just wasted it in such a dismal and disastrous manner. It is unbelievable what happened under Jonathan. If people use it against the Niger Delta people, I can understand, although it would not be a logical thing because the next person from the Niger Delta will not be the same. But I can understand that sentiment. What happened was a disgrace to all of us.

Are you saying his performance will haunt all the people of the Niger Delta, including those with outstanding track records?

Yes, it will definitely haunt us, but it is our job now to convince Nigerians that every Niger Delta person is not the same. Let me give you an example which has nothing to do with corruption. It takes a Buhari from Daura in Katsina State to decide to organise money and expertise to go to Ogoniland, which is part of Niger Delta, to recover that land from the destruction that the oil companies have subjected it to. There was a Niger Delta indigene there; for six years, Jonathan was in power. What did he do? His mind did not go there. That is why I always say I am not bothered about where whoever is ruling comes from. I never supported Jonathan because he came from the Niger Delta; that is not important. What is important is the quality of the man, what he is doing, what his programme is for my part of the country. If he comes from Sokoto State, I don’t care. What programmes do you have for my people in the Niger Delta? If the programme is good, you can rule forever as far as I am concerned. I don’t want my brother in the village to go there (presidency) and steal all the patrimony of the country and neglect that village; then I say, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ That’s of no use.

But Jonathan’s loyalists are pointing at the Federal University, Otuoke, as one of his notable contributions to the Niger Delta during his presidency…

In fact, for me, that is a negative in two ways. Jonathan created nine new federal universities, when the existing ones were crying for lack of care, finance, facilities and so on. For me, that is a sign of very poor leadership. It just shows he did not understand what governance is about. One doesn’t just create things that he cannot support. That is a big mistake. Secondly, you want to look at leaders, who are not mentally matured in terms of politics; look at what they do with various institutions and other things they create. When you see a man putting something in his village, you know that he is mentally underdeveloped as a politician. It shows he is still a local, narrow-minded individual, who has not developed at all. He is a village man put in a central position. Let’s look at our great leaders; where did (Chief Obafemi) Awolowo put the university he created? In Ife, Osun State, not in Ogun State, where he came from. Where did Sir Ahmadu Bello put the university he created? In Zaria, Kaduna State, rather than his hometown in Sokoto. Where did Dr. Nnadmi Azikiwe put the university he created? In Nsukka, Enugu. That is the difference! I always tell people that those people of the First Republic are the greatest we’ve ever had. Since then, we’ve had diminishing returns, smaller people—not smaller in size, but in mentality, culture, civilisation, values and every other way. We are almost at the bottom.

Should this philosophy be applied to the recent appointments made by the President, which is viewed as lopsided?

The South-Eastern people are complaining bitterly. What I will tell them is ‘Be calm, what if an Igbo person is given a ministry? It is just one family that is enjoying’. Rather, look out for the programme of the government; what plans do they have for south-eastern Nigeria? Once they have good plans, whoever is appointed to any position is irrelevant.

For example, does Buhari have plans for the Second Niger Bridge? What plans does he have for erosion and all those bad roads in the South-East that connect other parts of the country? Those are the areas where they should be tackling him, not who he is appointing. If they keep on pressing and he now appoints south-eastern ministers and officials in various other places and those major things affecting their lives are not tackled at the end of the day, then the appointments would be of no use and will make no impact; they will not improve on the South-East or the standard of living there. It will just be one family that is living a rarefied life for four years and then they’ll go back to the people. What’s the point? It is misplaced priority that I am seeing in this country when people talk of ‘This man didn’t come from my side’ and ‘That fellow didn’t come from my village’. For me, that is immaturity and mental underdevelopment, politically.

But do you think the South-East, which doesn’t have a single person in the current government, will be satisfied with your explanation?

People will be appointed eventually. But that is not the priority; they should take their programmes to the government. They have powerful leaders; they should get together and ask each other, ‘What does the South-East want from this government?’ Not appointment of people. Go there and present programmes and hear what the President says. That is where you will now know whether he has good plans for the South-East or not. Not who is appointed to various positions; for me, that is very secondary. In the light of this, I know (recently appointed Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Ibe) Kachikwu is technically from Delta State, but he is an Igbo man. He’s controlling an organisation that is responsible for 90 per cent of the wealth of this country. Whether or not he is west of the Niger River does not make any difference; he is still an Igbo man. I think we should take that into consideration.


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EFCC fails to remit N1.7bn to FIRS — Petitioner


 Image result for lamorde pictures


Few days after being accused of refusing to remit over N2tn said to have been seized from corrupt public officeholders, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been linked to another scandal following the revelation that the commission recovered over N1.7bn from 15 companies for the Federal Inland Revenue Service but failed to remit same to the agency.

Several calls, e-mails and SMS to the spokesperson for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, for response on Saturday, were not replied.

The Chief Executive Officer, Panic Alert Security System, Mr. George Uboh, while appearing before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition on August 26, had disclosed how the Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, allegedly short-changed Nigeria of over N2tn.

But Uboh, in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Saturday, said the over N1.7bn recovered from 15 companies was “over-due taxes on behalf of FIRS.”

He alleged that the money was not remitted to the agency, saying, “FIRS in its submission denied receiving any payments/transfers from EFCC in respect of the said companies.”

Documents Uboh made available to journalists showed that the funds were recovered between 2010 and 2011.

The security expert said members of the public interested in getting details of his earlier N2tn seized by EFCC but unremitted to government should download the documents from his website: www.pasecng.com.

The petitioner also expressed his readiness to expose the country’s former presidents, vice presidents, current and ex-governors as well as the current administration over numerous shady practices.

“EFCC has been the house of refuge where looters hide. I want to demystify EFCC”, Uboh stated.

The breakdown of the N1,767,594,842.65 said to have been recovered by the EFCC and list of the 15 companies include Zakhem Construction Limited — N401m; Daewoo Nigeria Limited — N208m; WAPCO — N311m; Mikano International Limited —N16m; Protea Hotel, Apo Apartments — N10m; Reiz Continental Hotels — N32m; Coscharis Motors Limited — N130m; and Elizade Nigeria Limited — N555m.

Others are ITCC Technical Limited, Kaduna — N47m; Grand Ibro Hotel, Abuja — N14m; Efab Properties, Abuja — N19m; Le Meridien Hotel, Port Harcourt – N10m; Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc – N2.7m; Ni’ Ima Guest Palace – N2.8m; and Okomu Oil Palm Plc – N5m.


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BACKLASH: Buhari: Between Poverty And Integrity

 
OGBODO-CopyWE have been told to exercise patience. It is not a problem, although I would have loved to have another name to replace patience. That word or name had overplayed in the Villa and not too many people were happy while the performance lasted for six years.

Yet, patience is not the only name that describes what President Muhammadu Buhari is asking Nigerians to offer. ‘Patience’ is a noun, which can lexically mutate to an adjective as in ‘patient’ and adverb as in ‘patiently.’

It cannot come as a verb, which commands action. What Buhari wants is simply good action. There is a word that gives that action. There is action when we ‘endure’ than when we are ‘patient.’ And so, and at least for a change, PMB should ask for endurance or simply tell Nigerians to ‘endure.’ That sounds a lot more appropriate than ‘patience’ which Presidency has been preaching.

In fact, ‘patience’ does not capture the national ethos as such. I mean Nigerians are not a patient lot, but they can endure even beyond breaking point. Their capacity in this regard is globally unmatchable. They endured IBB for eight years, the annulment of the June 12 1993 presidential election, Abacha for five years and Obasanjo twice over; between 1976 and 1979 and between 1999 and 2007. They had endured 16 years of democracy and misrule under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now they are enduring the conversion of the Presidency into a sole proprietorship. But it is six days into the month of September and so much can still happen in the remaining 24 days in the month of September.

In fact, so much is already happening. Although the APC spokesman called Alhaji Lai Mohammed and a presidential spokesman called Mallam Shehu Garba had proclaimed that nowhere on earth did Buhari, for instance, even pledge to declare his assets publicly, there was a dramatic turn of events when the President and his deputy woke up last Thursday and publicly declared their assets. This is a most honourable thing to do except that it has opened a vista for new worries.

I cannot tell for now if other Nigerians in the euphoria that will definitely follow this public declaration of assets in the days ahead, will see the bigger picture.

I, for one, I am not impressed and unless we choose hypocritically to pamper the point, the totality of the declaration does not place PMB on any high moral pedestal. Accolades will pour in his direction if we elect to equate stagnation and material poverty with virtue. The man was forced out of office the same way he had entered about 30 years ago at the active age of 41. Given his station, exposure and everything about him, Buhari ought to have done much better than just owning N30 million; some five homes of which two are inherited mud houses and another two built with bank loans; 270 heads of cattle; 25 sheep; five horses and sundry livestock. A good carpenter could have done better in 30 years. More or less, according to the declaration, Buhari has run substantially as a young man of 40 years to his present age of 72 years, on public charity and hands-out.

This is not good enough. Except there is more to what has been put in the public space, the President cannot be celebrated on this score alone. Ability to create wealth cannot be synonymous with corruption. I was in the university when the man came in 1983 and left 1985. I have not seen any record where it was said or written that Buhari in the period under review did things like involvement in NGOs and other charity efforts to improve the lot of society.

My take therefore, is that Buhari can only add value when he operates in the public space as head of state or some other high designation like when he was governor, petroleum minister and chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). The correlation between capacities in the private and public spaces cannot be discountenanced on the expediency of seeking one good man in a country of 170 million people to give new direction. The entrepreneurial spirit is killed when due application of competencies to enhance material wellbeing is interpreted as corruption.

Just as it may be right to say many retired military generals are corrupt, it may be wrong to conclude that all retired generals who are successful in post service endeavours are corrupt. If a general at the point of retirement stole N10million (stealing is corruption please!) and added same to his retirement package, it is corruption. But it is industry and ingenuity if a retired general by reason of wise economic choices turned N10million to $10billion in 30 years. The two must be separated and dealt with separately so that we do not slip into the fallacy of branding all retired generals, including T.Y Danjuma, the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and even Olusegun Obasanjo, who have created value with their post service engagements as corrupt.

To me, the Buhari’s story is not any different from the biblical servant who refused to venture for gains for fear of being chastised and returned his master’s money as he was given. Instead of commendation, which he had anticipated, the self-righteous servant was condemned by his master for being unresourceful. If every capable man embarks on the type of Bohemian restrictions of PMB, who will invest to create job opportunities and other multipliers to sustain a robust economy? We cannot therefore in all sincerity say ‘well done’ to Buhari for perennially remaining materially unimpressive. It is a weakness and it would be fraudulent to promote same as strength. He is a bad example for entrepreneurship, to put it mildly.

It was not known anywhere that the Great Nelson Mandela was corrupt. He was released from the notorious Robben Island Prison on February 11, 1990 without a rand or dollar, but after his death on December 5 2013 and the family sat to hear his will, it was announced that the grand old man had $4million cash outside fixed assets. What it meant was that Mandela had created huge value outside the Union Building in Pretoria, which he occupied as president of South Africa between 1994 and 1999. He received royalties from his books and product endorsements.

For one thing, we are already in the Buhari’s boat and there is no going back until perhaps after four years. And so my prayer is that in the matter of value creation, Buhari should do well to manifest differently as a public administrator because it will be incalculable catastrophe if he remains himself. It is the reason we have to endure instead of being merely patient.

For another thing, the APC is getting increasingly slippery and it is difficult holding it down to its promises. The party had canvassed certain ideals in the build-up to the March 28 presidential election and on the basis of which, I want to believe, Nigerians chose the APC over the PDP. Two documents titled “The 100 Things Buhari Will Do In 100 Days” and “My Covenant With Nigerians” contained mouth-watering promises of socio-economic transformation should the APC win the presidency. Nigerians held their own side of the deal after which they had endured for 100 days, by yesterday, for the APC to follow up.

Instead of the APC to apologize for the none transmissions of the promises to the people as agreed, it has gone on air to say both documents are heresies smuggled into the party’s works by enemies to cause it corporate embarrassment. It added that the only document that is binding on PMB is its manifesto.

Good! The 31-page manifesto divided into 28 sections also said so much. To make it less unwieldy, the 28 sections were compressed into an eight-point agenda showcasing the following: War against corruption, food security, accelerated power supply, integrated transport network, free education, devolution of power, accelerated economic growth and affordable healthcare in four years of which 100 days have been used up preparing to form government.

Even so, I would love the point on devolution of power to achieve true federalism to be tackled first.

Credit: Guardian

Special Anti Corruption Courts: Jurist, Lawyers Call For Caution


FALANA: We Have Special Courts Already

AS President Muhammadu Buhari steps up the battle against corruption, with the proposal to introduce special courts to facilitate prosecution of cases, eminent jurist, Justice Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola and Chief Adegboyega Solomon Awomolo (SAN) have expressed caution and reservation over the proposed plan.

Expressing his reservation, Ayoola who was a former justice of the Supreme Court said; “We have not seen the White Paper or the Act setting up the courts, neither has President (Muhammadu) Buhari come out with the enabling law, so it is very important that the enabling law is first released by the government before anybody could assess whether these courts have the capacity to deliver and meet national expectations.”

In his reaction, Awomolo is of the opinion that setting up a special court for corruption could amount to treating the symptom and not the disease, stating that what the nation needs is a sober look at when and how Nigeria went wrong in its march towards nation building vis a vis the origin of corruption in the country.

“What we need are specialised judges not special courts. Judges who are good in certain aspects of the law need to be encouraged to handle matters in that regard. For instance, we have seen some judges at the Federal High Court who have performed quite creditably with handling terrorism cases in recent time. There is no need to begin to set up any special courts. How it is done is that judges who have special skill on family or matrimonial issues get cases of that concern assigned to their courts while judges skilled on land matters get to attend to such issues and if you are specially gifted with knowledge of maritime law, you get to handle dispute arising from that field. That way Judges become specialised in specific fields including the field of anti-corruption.”

Awomolo argued that the fact that you name a court special court on corruption does not automatically make the court specialised in that area, and stressed that rather than focus on nomenclature of a court, emphasis should be on training and re-training of judges to become specialists in specific areas of law and life.

In his interview with the Guardian, Chief Osaheni Uzamere, prominent Benin lawyer said the time Nigeria would have established special courts for corruption cases was 16 years ago, when former President Obasanjo set up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). Going forward, he said what the situation needs now are Special Rules.

“Therefore, it is not sufficient to just establish the courts, you must bring out special rules because the rules that govern the conventional courts, leave a lot of loopholes for exploitation even by lawyers like myself. You say a man has stolen N70 billion because stealing simply put is bailable, you will let him off, then you say you are seizing his passport, how many passports do you think he has, a lot of them have several passports even if you seize all his passports, he goes to Seme Border and escapes. It should be for instance that he who is accused of corruption in that court, is not entitled to bail and the constitution should be so amended; section 26 that deals with fundamental rights.”

Going down memory lane, Uzamere mentioned the Faild Banks’ Tribunal set up under late head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, which were encumbered by same old rules.


He said: “Between 1994 and 1997, the Abacha regime established the failed banks tribunal and the first tribunal was in Benin City under Justice Constance Momoh and I had the privilege of being one of the lawyers that appeared before her. Throughout the duration, I was representing some clients from Kano and elsewhere and I remember also that Wole Olanipekun was representing some Indians or Arabs from Ilorin and because we were using the old rules, that court was encumbered. If you like go and establish 50 courts now, you are providing more jobs for lawyers by appointing them judges. If they are to work on the current criminal procedure law, we won’t get anything; we won’t get anywhere because it is the same court. We are in a peculiar situation, we need peculiar solutions.