Shortly after his resignation as the Chief of Staff to Governor Godwin Obaseki, the residence of the ex-CoS, Mr. Francis Taiwo Akerele, was searched by some security operatives.
The Department of State Security Services(DSS) has denied involvement in the raid of Akerele’s house. Almost a week after, the question is: Who did it? Could it be by private militia?
Certainly, Edo State is a flashpoint to watch by security agencies.
It is no longer news that there is a strain in the relationship between Governor Seyi Makinde (GSM) of Oyo State and his deputy, Engr. Rauf Aderemi Olaniyan, over the constitution of the Task Force on COVID-19 in the state.
But what has kept the state on the edge is the ongoing plot to remove the deputy governor by some forces on a flimsy excuse.
If it is true, Oyo State might revert to 1979-1983 era when the then governor of the state, the late Chief Bola Ige squared it up with his deputy, the late Chief Sunday Afolabi.
As a youth, GSM was elected to make a difference, not to repeat history and set the state on fire. Some groups are pleading that the governor and his deputy should resolve their differences amicably.
A Deputy governor in one of the states is in trouble for not coordinating the COVID-19 containment campaign well.
Following the release of a N250 million vote for the purchase of basic items to curtail the pandemic, His Excellency wasted no time in transferring the cash to a woman’s account.
The state is still waiting for the supply of the essential medical supplies.
The attitude of the deputy governor has forced the state to lag behind in anti-COVID-19 campaign.
There have been torrents of tributes for a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Osuolale Akinjide.
But one indelible aspect of his life was the legal tussle over 1979 presidential election over which he rattled the Supreme Court on what ought to be 12 2/3 of the then 19 states.
The legal battle changed the scope of Law studies in Nigeria because it set the precedent for making a credit in Mathematics as one of the prerequisites for reading Law in any Nigerian university.
Posterity will never forget him for this.
Contrary to the assumption of the opposition, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is still enjoying local and international goodwill going by the increasing volume of donations, especially cash, to contain Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).
But the real task before Buhari now is ensuring judicious use of the donations, accountability and transparency. If the government sustains its record of integrity in managing these emergency resources, it will enhance its international reputation.
No organization is more worried about the huge cash than the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) which has asked IMF and the World Bank to pay attention to how Nigeria manages the donations.
In an April 17, 2020 open letter to IMF Mission Chief/ Senior Resident Representative, CISLAC Executive Director Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) said: “In my capacity of the Executive Director of CISLAC/ Transparency International in Nigeria, I deeply appreciate the scale, speed and flexibility of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) response to this crisis.
“The IMF Executive Board is currently considering a request from the Nigerian government to receive financial assistance under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument facility.
“If approved, these funds will be essential in financing the COVID-19 response initiatives recently announced by the Government of Nigeria such as food distribution, cash transfers, loan repayment waivers and the expansion of the social register from 2.6 million households to 3.6 million households.
“With an increased influx of money, however, come increased risks of corruption. As tens of millions of Nigerians under the poverty threshold are locked down and unable to feed themselves and their wards, we cannot afford waste due to fraud and corruption.
“Three global civil society organizations – Transparency International, Human Rights Watch and Global Witness – have recently proposed key transparency and anti-corruption measures in the IMF’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.
“We join this call and appeal to the IMF, the World Bank and other development partners and the private sector to highlight the importance of transparency and integrity in their engagement with the Government of Nigeria. We underscore that the crisis cannot weaken its prior commitments to anti-corruption.”
While a governor is imposing life ban on journalists, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is waiting in the wing in the next three years for him over N400million slush funds allegedly linked to the 2015 presidential campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Out of the N400million, about N100million was traced to a foundation in which the horse-whip CEO allegedly has interest.
A humorous EFCC operative said: “There is no immunity for life; we are waiting for His Excellency for interaction in three years’ time. We have already quizzed three suspects, including a brother of the affected governor.” So, who will laugh last? The governor or the hounded journalists?
There is a ray of hope that the headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) will be completed 24 years after the contract was awarded. Since the project was initiated in 1996, successive administrations in NDDC were contented with payment for rented accommodation than the completion of the project.
Findings confirmed that it got to a ridiculous extent that NDDC was paying N300million as rent per annum for office accommodation.
But since September 2019, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio (a.k.a Mr. Project) directed that the project must be completed within six months. Miraculously, the project has reached 98% completion.
Will Akpabio and NDDC team break the jinx with 2% to go?
DESPITE the announcement of the leadership of the House of Representatives that members will donate two months’ salaries to the campaign against COVID-19 pandemic, some Reps are opposed to it.
Those leading the revolt in the House are two members from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a Rep from the All Progressives Congress (APC). Although they are querying compulsory deduction of their basic salaries without their consent, findings confirmed that the affected members have been nursing personal grudges against Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.
One of the aggrieved lawmakers was said to be weighed down by marital responsibility, especially managing three wives and 14 children. The lawmaker, who just acquired a pretty wife, could not fathom why the cash for honeymoon will go for the fight against COVID-19!
The three lawmakers’ campaign has, however, hit brick walls because most members of the House of Representatives have rejected their anti-donation revolt.
But unknown to the three lawmakers, the Speaker consulted all principal officers, zonal and state caucus leaders before announcing the donation of March and April salaries of the House members.
Whether the aggrieved lawmakers like it or not, the leadership decision remains binding. The deduction of the basic salaries will now be in April and May respectively.
PRIOR to the outbreak of Coronavirus disease(COVID-19), aspirants for 2023 poll had jumped the guns to feather their nest. The bitter politics almost cost the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, his job. But since the outbreak of the pandemic, most of the 2023 aspirants have kept sealed lips and they have deserted the National Secretariat of the party before its closure.
Some of the aspirants have relocated from Abuja to avoid undergoing COVID-19 test. A few ones in the National Assembly, who want to be governors, have resorted to discreet tests in private clinics to determine their status.
A governorship aspirant in one of the states in the North, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “I have forgotten my ambition now; what I concentrate on is prayers against infection. With this COVID-19, I will prefer to live than to be a governor. This pandemic is real and it is spreading among the political class, including heads of government, all over the world.”
A common trait of Senators and members of the House of Representatives since the return of democracy in 1999 is excitement about figures, especially budgetary allocations. They are always quick to raise ad-hoc committees to probe how huge allocations are spent.
The same attitude was extended to alleged N2trillion spent on National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs). Different government officials were summoned to explain how it was expended.
But it turned out that the NASS leadership pushed the cart before the horse. The Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Maryam Uwais, was not generous in criticising the leadership with facts and figures.
Uwais, in a statement, said: “While the total appropriation by the National Assembly (NASS) from inception, for the four NSIPs, is N1.7 trillion, the actual funds released for the NSIPs between January 2016 and October 2019 (when the NSIPs were handed over to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development), amounted to N619.1 billion, constituting 36.4% of the total appropriation from the NASS.
“Also, the monies released for the N-SIPs can be further broken down into 14.03% (2016); 35% in 2017; 43.5% in 2018 and 57.8% (as at Sept 2019) of the N500B in 2016 and N400B appropriated for the subsequent years. It should be noted that for 2017 to 2020, the sum of N100B was appropriated specifically for the National Housing Fund hosted by the Federal Ministry of Finance. These releases covered operational activities and payments to 13,363,680 beneficiaries across all the 4 NSIPs, all of whom can all be verified either through their BVN numbers or their unique numbers generated by the National Social Register, those identities having been generated for the poorest of the poor who do not own bank accounts for sundry reasons.
“As at September 2019, the funds had been expended as follows: On the: Job Creation programme (549,500 N-Power graduates and non-graduates and 7 Technology Hubs); National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (in 33 States, 9,963,762 pupils to 107,862 cooks in 54,952 primary schools); the National Cash Transfer Programme (including the development of the National Social Register by the National Social Safety Net Coordination Office) 1,491,296 poor and vulnerable households comprising 6,056,872 individuals in 33 States and 620,947Y cash transfer beneficiaries; and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (managed by the Bank of Industry); a total of 2,279,380 TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni beneficiaries.”
Although the NASS leadership attempted to amend its position, an experienced lawmaker said:” It is obvious that the two chambers need a good research and data unit to guide its leaders on facts and what to say. This was the case in the second, third and to some extent in the fourth republics.”