Category: Special Report

Controversy has continued to trail the attempt by telecoms companies to implement a supposed gentleman agreement between them and the commercial banks over Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) charge, writes LUCAS AJANAKU

“YELLO, as requested by your bank, from October 21, we will start charging you directly for USSD access to banking services.

“Please, contact your bank for more info.”

The terse text message above which was sent by Nigeria’s largest carrier, MTN, to its over 60 million subscribers ahead of the implementation of a mutual agreement between the carriers and the banks, has sparked a reaction from stakeholders across every stratum of the country.

While the telcos say the green light to deduct the charges was given to them by the bank CEOs, acting under the aegis of Body of Bank CEOs, the bank CEOs have pushed back, denying ever agreeing on the issue.

According to online knowledge bank, Wikipedia, ‘Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), sometimes referred to as “Quick Codes” or “Feature codes”, is a communications protocol used by GSM (global service for mobile communications) cellular telephones to communicate with the mobile network operator’s computers.

According to the President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, the USSD platform was not configured ab initio to accommodate banking transaction but to get free services such as checking airtime balance from service providers.

He said: “The USSD platform is not meant and wasn’t built to be used extensively for transactions that could take up to two minutes to conclude and may have interoperability problems with other systems, remember, the GSM protocol and system we use in Nigeria is 30 years old. It was not foreseen that there will be a country where the fixed-line does not exist and everyone is using a mobile device to everything. That is the reality. We have a platform that is not the best way we should be using. There are other ways to do this. So when you have every bank publicising shortcode. The mobile app is not effective because it depends on the internet.”

The USSD services of the lenders include GTB’s *737#; First Bank’s *894#; Fidelity Bank’s *770#; Access Bank’s *901#; and UBA’s *919#. They all run on telecoms infrastructure. While there is an initial charge of N50 by the bank, which will be retained, customers who use the USSD will be made to pay additional N4 which would have automatically translated to double billing.

Teniola said the banks cannot continue to charge the customers while telcos will do same, arguing that it is the issue that must be resolved urgently.

Fed Govt intervenes

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, promptly directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to suspend the plan.

In a statement endorsed by his spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, titled: Discontinuation of Alleged USSD Service Charge by MTN, Pantami said the ministry was not aware of it.

“The attention of the Federal Ministry of Communications has been drawn to the viral text message allegedly sent by the Mobile Network Operator MTN Nigeria and other mobile operators notifying subscribers of a N4 charge per 20 seconds on USSD access to banking services from the 21st of October 2019.

“The office of the Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, is unaware of this development and has hereby directed the sector regulator, the NCC to ensure the operator suspends such plans until the minister is fully and properly briefed,” the statement read.

ALTON reacts

The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Gbenga Adebayo, who reacted to the minister’s suspension order said the USSD channel has evolved from a telco exclusive channel used for only telco services such as balance inquiry and recharges, to a channel being utilized for the deployment of financial, insurance, agricultural and government services, etc. The USSD channel is delivered using the Standalone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH) which is also used for call set-up, SMS set-up, and delivery.

Similar to the other telco services such as SMS, voice and data, network resources are utilised in the provisions of USSD services and as such there are significant costs associated with deploying and maintaining the service.

“The banks, however, identifying the convenience of delivering services to its customers over the USSD channel applied to the NCC for USSD codes to deliver these services. USSD Shortcodes were thereafter issued to the banks and as is expected, they became fully responsible for the charges associated with delivering services to their customer through these shortcodes.

“To accelerate the adoption of financial services on USSD, the banks partnered with our members to zero-rate the USSD access to end-users, while the banks bore the cost for the provision of service. Based on this arrangement, the banks took on the responsibility of billing customers and paid our members for use of the USSD infrastructure from the service fees deducted from the customer’s bank account. These service fees charged by the banks were however far over the costs remitted to our members by the banks for providing the USSD platform and have since remained so.

“Following the issuance of the USSD Pricing Determination by the N CC which resulted in a price review of USSD service by our members, the banks stated that they would no longer pay for USSD service delivered to their customers and requested our members to charge customers directly for use of the USSD channel. This billing methodology where the Banks customer is directly charged USSD access fees by our members irrespective of the service charges that the bank may subsequently apply to the customers’ bank account is called “End-User Billing” which the banks specifically demanded that all our members implement. The banks, however, provided no assurances to our members that such service fees charged to customers’ bank accounts for access to bank services through the USSD channel will be discontinued post-implementation of end-user billing by our members,” Adebayo said.

He said the removal of these service fees by the banks would have meant that if bank customers were charged only the USSD costs communicated by our members per USSD session, bank customers will be paying far less than what they are currently being charged by the banks which in some instances are as high as N50.

“Our members were however concerned that the banks were unlikely to discontinue the USSD service fees charged by the banks when customers utilise the USSD channel thereby resulting in double and overbilling, whereby our members charge consumers for the USSD access from their airtime and the Banks still proceed to charge the same consumers a service charge from their bank accounts. In the interest of the consumers, our members challenged the implementation of end-user billing until a formal request for its implementation was received from the Body of Bankers Chief Executive Officers and several banks specifically demanding that end-user billing be implemented.

“In view of the opposition to the implementation of end-user billing by customers, our members, as responsible and responsive corporate citizens are committed to safeguarding consumer interests, and in this regard, we are willing to explore mutually beneficial solutions which ensure that costs associated with the provision of USSD services as determined by the NCC are fully recovered by our members and customers are not billed twice for the same service and by different institutions which is what end-user billing advocated by the banks will entail,” Adebayo added.

CBN steps in

Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, kicked against the move too.

He said: “About five, four months ago, I held a meeting with some telecom companies as well as the leading banks in Nigeria at Central Bank, Lagos.

“At that time, we concluded that the use of USSD is a sunk cost.

“What we mean by a sunk cost is that it is not an additional cost on the infrastructure of the telecom company.

“But the telecom companies disagreed with us. They said it was an additional investment in infrastructure and for that reason, they needed to impose it.

“I have told the banks that we will not allow this to happen.

“The banks are the people who give this business to the telecom companies and I leave the banks and the telecom companies to engage.

“I have told the banks that they have to move their business, move their traffic to a telecom company that is ready to provide it at the lowest possible if not zero cost.

“And that is where we stand, and we must achieve it,” he said.

 USSD sunk cost controversy

The telcos have faulted the CBN chief over his assumption that the USSD is a sunk cost.

Adebayo said: “With the increase in USSD traffic driven by financial services which currently constitutes approximately 90per cent of the entire USSD traffic, our members have continued to incur additional costs to provision additional SDCCH channels to mitigate against the negative impact on the quality of service. It is therefore factually incorrect when allusions are made that USSD costs incurred by our members are sunk costs which are not recoverable.

Teniola agreed no less with him. According to him, the GSM protocol is well-tuned for voice application which is what we have used it for, the supplementary services were an after-thought.

“So, there’s is additional infrastructure built around it to extend it and ensure that it is robust enough and secure enough to ensure that if it is being used as a means to get to those communities that cannot afford smartphones using feature phones, then, it is built accordingly but there is no specification out there in the world that USSD should have been used purely for financial services. In Nigeria, we have a peculiarity and it requires a pasty investment, it requires fibre, for the USSD gateway to be enhanced to enable the amount of traffic that will b put on to it. So it doesn’t impact on service where the quality of service will be degraded,” Teniola said.

Is four years enough time to bring to bear a lofty idea? This is a question-begging for an answer as the House of Representatives roll out its legislative agenda, a document that is supposed to guide its legislative activities in the next four years, writes TONY AKOWE

THE Legislative Agenda is a declaration of the intent of members of the House of Representatives to serve the country with dedication, focusing considerable energies on those issues that most affect the lives of the citizens. The House has indicated its intention to pay close attention to the general welfare of the Nigerian people. There is a wide range of items on the agenda, as contained in a document prepared by an ad hoc committee led by Hon. Julius Ihonvbare. These items deliberated upon and approved by the lawmakers include Reform of the House of Representatives, social justice, sustainable power, environment and climate change. Others are economic growth, development and job creation; gender; education reform; anti-corruption; sustainable agricultural development and food security; security; open governance, transparency and accountability; Internally Displaced Persons; public health; media and national development as well as the national budget.

Presenting the document to the public, House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said the legislative agenda was a product of the determination of the House to be the people’s parliament and to take the welfare of the Nigerian people as a top priority.

Gbajabiamila said: “We have codified in these pages an ambitious agenda that we absolutely intend to achieve. First among these, is to reform the way the House of Representatives manages its affairs in every area, from the administration of our finances to the operations of the committee system and the process of the vote taking and recording in the House. Our goal is accountability and transparency because as we seek to drive reforms across the government, we are obliged to make sure our own House is in the best order. We have collaborated with the private sector to outline a set of objectives and develop a programme of activities that will facilitate increased investment, encourage innovation and drive economic growth. We will act to protect those who are most vulnerable amongst us.”

He assured the Nigerian people that the House will seek through legislation and oversight, engagement and collaboration, the achievement of a kinder, gentler, more prosperous nation, so that we may leave as our legacy a bequest of love and promise greater than anything else that has come before. He stressed that nothing of substance or consequence is ever achieved by the endeavours of one individual alone, especially in government and public affairs.

In his statement of purpose, the Speaker lamented that 20 years into the present democratic journey, the promise and benefits of democracy are yet to be fully felt in the lives of many Nigerians.

A close study of the legislative agenda showed what could be described as an ambitious agenda. The question then will be whether members of the House will be able to actualise these lofty agenda in the overall interest of the Nigerian people. The house pledged to pay special attention to the vexing issues of rape, violence against women and child abuse while promising to work with development partners, human rights organisations, religious leaders, and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to firmly address this malady.

The document further stated that, “Issues of wealth and job creation, mass housing, access to water, education reforms especially at the basic level, social and food security, prison reforms, the conditions of internally displaced persons, protection of the girl child, environmental protection, and socio-economic and cultural rights will form part of the core of our interest and concern in the 9th Assembly”. The lawmakers noted that for decades, corruption has been the bane of the nation’s development. They also observed that policymaking processes have been distorted and compromised to produce policy outcomes expressly designed to serve the interests of a few, at the expense of the majority whilst resources for development and security, healthcare and education are diverted to enrich the private interests of a few public officials. The House further noted that the private sector has not been spared, as corruption has continued to limit its ability to make the breakthroughs required for industrialisation and growth. “Until we put in place a system that punishes acts of public corruption quickly and decisively. The Nigerian people will never be convinced of our commitment to rid ourselves of corrupt tendencies.

They are not oblivious of the fact that the fight against corruption has been slowed down by cumbersome legal processes and concluded that the anti-corruption law is not strong enough to bring about great success.

Conscious of the clamour by Nigerians for a special court to try corruption cases, the lawmakers resolved to examine the possibility of establishing, through legislation, and (or) constitutional amendment, Special Courts for the prosecution of public corruption cases under the proposed Omnibus Corruption and Racketeering in Public Service law in the same way that special tribunals are used for election petition matters. The special courts being considered by the lawmakers will allow for an expedited process of investigation, indictment and prosecution to allow for rapid dispensation of these matters.

THE agenda also suggested an amendment to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act to allow for appointment of qualified persons from the judiciary, academia, legal practice etc., to lead the Commission, instead of the current practice that allows for only current or former security and law enforcement personnel to be appointed to chair the Commission. It also sought to increase funding for the EFCC and the ICPC for recruitment of lawyers and forensic accountants with expertise in investigation and prosecution of crimes of financial misappropriation and public corruption. “We will further seek, through legislation, to ensure that the two Commissions can engage foreign and local experts and partners to aid in the investigation and prosecution of crimes”, the document said.

Prison reform is to get commendable attention from the lawmakers within the period. It is of the view that the prisons are overburdened by thousands of inmates who, having never been convicted, are incarcerated while awaiting trial. In some cases, the incarceration lasts for much longer than it would have been had they been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction. To this end, the House intends to pass the Prisoners’ Rights Bill for an Act for the protection of the rights of prisoners. It also seeks a review of the statutory framework for the establishment, maintenance and control of prisons.

One major area of special attention in the legislative agenda in the state of power supply in the country. According to the document, constant, cost-effective power supply remained an integral part of the economic development of any nation. They are not happy that Nigeria has not yet begun to generate or distribute sufficient power to meet present needs or provide for future demand, despite the involvement of the private sector in the process through privatisation. They stressed that the paucity in power generation negatively affects productive sectors – from large industry to small and medium scale enterprises resulting in measurable adverse effects on economic productivity, industrial sustainability and general prices of goods and services. The House believes that getting things right with electricity generation, transmission and distribution will drastically improve the nation’s economic outlook and it’s essential to put it on the path of sustained economic development.

THEY vowed to revisit laws, policies and investments including the roles of the Power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and Power Generating Companies (GENCOs). In doing this, the House said it will initiate a comprehensive review of all legislation relating to the power sector in Nigeria and engage all stakeholders in the industry and take all necessary steps to guarantee that the views of businesses are considered in the process. The House will also step up its oversight functions to ensure that the funds allocated to the development of the power industry are judiciously and effectively deployed, adding that the mismanagement and misuse of funds are also one of the issues crippling electricity development in Nigeria. All records of legislative proceedings and documents for the energy sector, particularly those relating to misuse of funds would be reviewed for onward legislative deliberations and resolutions. That is, oversight should ensure that there is no diversion of funds meant for electricity.

Besides, the House intends to use its legislative instrument to mandate allocation of pre-paid meters to all electricity consumers, pointing out that currently, less than 20 per cent of consumers in Nigeria is on a prepaid meter system. This, the Reps noted, is an inefficient arrangement that places an undue burden on end-users of electricity, which must stop. “All electricity consumers in Nigeria must be provided with prepaid meters within a fixed period. We would seek to enforce a comprehensive ban on the practice of estimated billing and make it impossible for distribution companies (DISCOs) to continue to take undue advantage of consumers”. They also want to pass legislation that will provide the right environment for the development of local engineering capacity and encourage technological advancement of Nigerian universities in the area of engineering technology. The envisaged legislation would also enable the Federal Government to actively exercise control over privatised yet inefficient power companies and encourage and assist capable market players and investors to take over ineffective ones. In doing this, they intend to support full commercialisation of the industry to attract new capital and advanced technology and encourage investors in power generation to distribute directly to consumers or where the law insists that they must continue to supply to the national grid alone, then there must be guaranteed payment for power supplies from the federal government.

ON the economy, the House agenda stressed the fact that sustained economic growth is the key to effectively addressing other national problems of rising inequality, insecurity and conflict.

The need to comprehensively address the security challenges in the country is also of prime importance to the House. The legislative agenda lamented that the nation has contended with the insurgency in the NorthEast that continues to transform, adapting itself to changing circumstances, yet remains a significant threat to lives and property, and a drain on limited resources. “In the Northwest and North Central regions, banditry, cattle rustling and community clashes between farmers and herders have exacerbated the already existing communal tensions resulting in a steady occurrence of cataclysmic outbreaks that cost lives and property. Further south, miscreants and criminal elements have taken advantage of our overstretched national security capacity to commit crimes of rape, cultism, kidnapping, and armed robbery against citizens. Taken together, all these developments have created an untenable national security environment that is inhospitable to local and foreign investment, that discourages our people from productive pursuits and creates uncertainty and instability that mitigate against economic growth and national advancement. The challenges we face call for a new approach; increased funding for training and equipment, better engagement with local communities for intelligence gathering and community support and accountability in the allocation and disbursement of national security resources”.

THE health sector and its decay are expected to get prime attention under the legislative period as the House stressed that access to quality healthcare is one of the critical developmental challenges still facing the country. It observed that in too many parts of the country, access to basic healthcare facilities is limited at best and non-existent at worst. Primary healthcare centres, where they exist, are not able to meet the demands of the communities due to a host of problems ranging from lack of equipment to the absence of qualified personnel. Tertiary healthcare institutions are not sufficiently equipped to test for and treat many of the illnesses currently ravaging large segments of the country. In many parts of the country, health care institutions are dilapidated and almost abandoned. In the urban areas, healthcare access is limited not by the unavailability of institutions or personnel, but by the often, exorbitant costs. Every year, thousands of nurses, doctors, lab technicians and other medical professionals leave our shores in search of better opportunities elsewhere. AS a consequence of all these, tens of millions of Nigerians continue to die of preventable diseases and we lose millions of dollars each year to medical tourism. Achieving a healthcare system that works for all is both a humanitarian issue and an economic issue. The House, therefore, resolved to work with all stakeholders to expand access to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for all Nigerians, while seeking to identify and address policy issues that have affected a rollout of the scheme across Nigeria, especially in rural communities that need it the most. “Through the relevant house committees, we will review the NHIS Act to bring it up to date with contemporary best practices. This is in addition to an all-inclusive review of the laws relating to the healthcare sector in the country”. They observe that too many citizens, including healthcare providers in the country, are still unwilling to participate in the NHIS for a variety of reasons, including a misconception about how the scheme operates and the cost of participation. The House intends to work with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and other healthcare advocacy groups on awareness campaigns to address these concerns and achieve broader acceptance of the scheme.

On cases of killer diseases, the Reps pledge to fund efforts to establish Special Hospitals and research centres, and rapid response units for the treatment, study, management and control of serious diseases such as cancer, diabetes, renal disease, HIV/AIDS, ebola, Lassa fever and cardiovascular diseases. Besides, the House said it would ensure adequate funding for the health sector through the improved budgetary provision and effective oversight in general, and particularly with regards to efforts at disease prevention across the country, while all existing healthcare laws will be reviewed for necessary reforms and amendments.

The agenda expressed concern over the rising cases of fake and substandard drugs being imported or manufactured in the country. “These drugs are sources of serious health hazards and have led to the loss of many lives and the devastation of many families. We will continue to support the activities of the National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Nigerian Customs Services, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC) and other regulators and stakeholders to stop the purveyors of these drugs from continuing in their deadly trade. We will also support the activities of advocacy groups and non-governmental organisations in building national awareness about the adverse consequences of using these fake drugs”.

Also on the card is the plan to reform the nation’s budget and budgeting system. According to the agenda, the power of the purse, the right and responsibility to manage government expenditure through the appropriations process is the central power of the legislature. It is this power that makes all else possible. “Our intention to deliver on the promise of infrastructure development, meet the challenges of insecurity, provide our citizens with quality education and reposition our economy for growth, will not be met until we succeed in developing and implementing a budget framework that adheres to the best practices of effective budget policy. As such, reforming the appropriations process to ensure greater accountability, improve budget implementation and achieve an appreciable level of certainty in the process is an important component of the Agenda of the 9th House of Representatives”.

AMBITIOUS as the legislative agenda is, it is left to be seen whether members will have the political will to confront some of the issues they have resolved to handle in the next four years. A closer study of the document revealed the determination of the House to help move the country forward. But whether the resolve will translate into action is left to be seen. Nigerians and the entire world will be watching to see how the lawmakers translate the ideas contained in the document, which is already in the public domain, into reality. Analysts believe that once the House can push legislative actions in the areas identified, other problems militating against the development of the country would have been addressed, thus leading the nation on the path of development.

Our correspondents who visited major cities in the states they cover, commuting along the major federal roads to ascertain their current conditions, report that the roads have become highways of pain, grief and death. In this edition, Sam Egburonu, Chris Oji, Nwanosike Onu, Ogochukwu Anioke and Sunny Nwankwo present, as the first instalment, the reports from the Southeast zone

IF your automobile is not a truck or a rugged Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with an auxiliary gear, it may be advisable to steer clear of Enugu-Onitsha expressway and most of the other federal roads in the country that are now in horrifying and extreme deplorable condition.

Even if you are travelling with such special vehicles, the squeaking sound that will punctuate every move across the ditches and life threatening bumps will continually confirm to you the toll on your life, on the lives of other commuters and on the vehicles.

Also, as you crawl through the upsetting stretch at less than 15 Km per hour, you would be confronted by the roadside signs announcing speed limit of about 100km per hour. This is not a joke on the irony of our existence in this part of the world; it is the hard reality. Welcome to Nigeria’s highways of grief!

An investigation conducted by The Nation shows that most of the federal roads in the Southeast zone have become death traps. From Enugu-Awka-Onitsha road to Enugu-Okigwe-Umuahia-Aba-Port Harcourt road; from Oba -Nnewi -Okigwe road to Anam Kogi road; from Aba-Ikot Ekpene Expressway to Aba- Azumini federal Highways, commuters told The Nation that the situation has become too bad to contemplate. It seems only some of the federal roads in Ebonyi State, which were reportedly reconstructed and rehabilitated by the state government, and a few others are today still in admirable condition, according to our correspondents who commuted along the highways in the zone to witness the situation first hand.

Our investigation on the state of federal roads is not limited to the Southeast geo-political zone. In fact, reports from our correspondents in other parts of the country, which we will present in subsequent editions, like that of the Southeast (in this first instalment), are also bitter tales of woes, anguish, frustration and pain.

Aware of the plight and cries of commuters, the Federal Government of Nigeria has not only made promises but has also reportedly awarded contracts for immediate reconstruction and rehabilitation of most of the deplorable roads in the country. Our reporters, who attested that reconstruction and rehabilitation works have actually commenced on some of the roads however reported that in the last few months, some of the contractors stopped works, a development that has worsened the situation and had led to speculations that the government may have abandoned the roads.

Government agents, who spoke to our correspondents, denied such insinuations, blaming factors like the rains and other contingencies for what they described as the ‘temporary lull.’ But because of the untold sufferings, commuters are not impressed and are therefore calling on the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to come to their aids.

It would be recalled that in April this year, the federal government gave specific reassurance on its commitment to reconstruction of deplorable federal roads in the Southeast when it said it was executing 58 roads and bridges projects in the Southeast geo-political zone alone.

The then Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Alhaji Mustapha Shehuri, who made the declaration in Abuja when he received a delegation from Igbo World Union (IWU) led by its President General, Dr. Mishak Nnata, cited Enugu-Port Harcourt road, Onitsha-Enugu expressway, Onitsha-Owerri road, Ninth mile-Orokam road, Nnewi-Enugu road and Onitsha Eastern Bypass as parts of the ongoing road projects.

As he puts it: “At the inception of this administration in 2015, we met a lot of mess in the system, particularly, in the area of infrastructure.

“As I speak to you now, we need nothing less than N3 trillion to fix road infrastructure in the country and as at 2015 when we came in, budgetary allocation for road was just N18 billion.

“The N18 billion would not have gotten anywhere, but in view of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to developing infrastructure in the country, the budgetary allocation was increased to over N480 billion in 2016.

“The allocation was increased, notwithstanding the dramatic fall in the price of crude oil that led the country to recession at the beginning of the administration,” he said.

He also explained that “the federal government had come up with several initiatives, which included the Sukuk Fund, Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund and Tax Credit Policy to address funding challenges in the execution of the road projects.”

Given that the same roads the government said it had commenced reconstruction works on seven months ago are still being described as death traps today, observers are curious to know why this and successive governments in the country have remained seemingly unable to fix the roads and save commuters from ceaseless agonies and untimely deaths.

Huge budgets apart, Enugu-Onitsha expressway remains a nightmare

ENUGU-Onitsha Federal Expressway has been a reoccurring decimal in the Federal Government of Nigeria Budget since 2005.

But the road can be described as the worst and most dilapidated express way in Africa.

A normal journey of 1 hour 30 minutes from Enugu to Onitsha now takes close to six hours.

The rehabilitation of the road project which has appeared in the Federal Government of Nigeria Budget for about 15 years is yet to be half done let alone completed.

Following are the appropriated amount for the said road from 2005 – 2019 year by year and amount in Naira.

2005—–N236,368,922.28

2006—- N2, 052,860,000.00

2007—- N5,250,000,000.00

2008—- N800,000,000.00

2009—- N2,000,000,000.00

2010 —- N4,800,000,000.00

2011—- N1,125,000,000.00

2012— N1,800,000,000.00

2013—– N3,000,000,000.00

2014—- N1,500,000,000.00

2015—– N1,500,000,000.00

2016 —– N5,468,119,561.00

2017—– N7,500,000,000.00

2018 — — N5,634,524,077.00

2019 —– N2,637,286,449.00

Total  —- N45,304,159,009.28

As at the time of filing this report, no work was ongoing on the road.

When our Correspondent made enquiries at the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) office in Enugu over the condition of the road, he was referred

Pupils who altered their Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scores are battling to extricate themselves from facing the law. The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is insisting they must serve as a deterrent to others, writes FRANK IKPEFAN

KINGSLEY Unekwe is 18 years old. He sat for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Ordinarily, by now, Unekwe ought to either have written the post-UTME examination in his university of choice or concluded his admission processes in the school. But, instead, he is battling to save himself from being sent to jail.

Perhaps, if he had known the consequences of engaging in unlawful alteration of one’s original UTME results, he may not have attempted it. But, like most young people of his age, Unekwe may not have thought through the consequences of his act.

JAMB accused him of manipulating the original result issued to him by the board in May this year, from 201 to 269. He later confessed to the crime during a sitting at the Sheraton Hotels, Abuja, before a panel set up by JAMB to probe cases of alleged ‘double results’ witnessed this year.

Unekwe is one of four UTME candidates, who may soon be arraigned in court for allegedly altering their examination results. The other three are – Adah Eche (19), Cletus Kokowa, and Rejoice Mordi (19). They were all apprehended between June and September this year by JAMB and handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution.

Eche was arrested on June 24 for allegedly changing his score from 153 to 290.

The 19-year-old allegedly confessed to the crime. He confessed that some social media users (whose identities he failed to disclose) helped him to alter the results.

He said the unknown social media users claimed they could alter JAMB results. Eche said he called the numbers provided by the fraudsters to seek their help to add to his score. What turned out to be a fake result slip was later sent to him.

Kokowa was arrested in Abuja on July 4 by officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on an allegation that he engaged a syndicate to alter his score from 162 to 206 after paying N10, 000.

Mordi was apprehended on September 8 for allegedly altering her score from 164 to 264. The candidate told JAMB that she got the fake results from an agent identified as Iyanu Oluwa through WhatsApp.

JAMB seeks prosecution

JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede has vowed to ensure that Unekwe and others are prosecuted by the law of the land. Oloyede said his agency has recorded five of such cases of candidates caught in result falsification.

How the bubble burst

Unekwe would have been an undergraduate by now, but for his parent’s disapproval. When he wrote the examination in 2018, he scored 232 in that year’s UTME and was offered admission by JAMB to study Geology. But his father, a professor of Medicine of over 30 years standing, was said to have rejected the course, insisting that his son must study medicine. His parents wanted him to study medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Earlier this year, when Unekwe presented his 2019 UTME score to his parents, they were happy, thinking that their son was on a good path to ending up in the same profession as his father. Unekwe was said to have presented 269, as his score, to his mother, which she printed to process his admission into the university.

When the school invited him for the post-UTME test, discrepancies were noticed in his score. What the school had from JAMB as his score was 201, while he paraded 269 as his score. Subsequent checks of the result from JAMB portal showed his earlier score of 201.

Angered by the confusion, Unekwe’s parents caused a petition to be written to JAMB, in which they among others, blamed the examination body for the inconsistencies and demanded that it corrected the error in the result released to their son.

At the receipt of the petition, JAMB invited the angry parents to its headquarters in Bwari, Abuja, and subsequently to the sitting of its probe panel, which sat in Sheraton Hotels, Abuja. But only his mother turned up with the son. The panel of the investigation was particularly set up by the board to look at cases of alleged double results by candidates, arising from the conduct of the 2019 UTME.

Initially, Unekwe had tried to play a smart one on the board by insisting that the 269 UTME score was his original result, not knowing that the software used by JAMB had registered his activities.

For a long time, he maintained his initial story, insisting that he never tampered with the UTME result issued to him. At some point, his story almost made him the victim. But that story soon changed after he was shown evidence of the several attempts he made to check his result.

In the course of the panel’s proceedings, members excused mother and son to enable them to have a private moment where the mother conversed with his son on the issue. When they returned about 30 minutes later, the story changed.

Unekwe told members of the panel and reporters (who witnessed the proceedings) how he allegedly manipulated the initial score to reflect the 269.

He said: “When JAMB released results, people were checking and I was checking mine and nothing was coming out. People were checking and getting their results, so I gave a friend my phone to help me check. When he came, he showed me 269 as a screenshot.

“But when I went to my room and shut my door and checked, I saw 201. I was shocked and checked again, it was 201, that was when my dad called if I had seen my result and I said no, I have not seen it yet. He now said okay, I should leave till the next day.

“The next day, I still saw 201. I was now confused. When my parents asked again, I showed them 269.”

Reacting to the turn of event, the mother said she felt betrayed and dumbfounded by the boy’s revelation that 201 was his actual score. “I’m dumbfounded. Had it been he told me all this, we won’t have come here,” she said.

Possible causes

Unekwe’s case brings to the fore a possible negative effect of parental influence on children, as often noted by Oloyede. He had repeatedly blamed parents for the increasing rate of examination malpractices in the country.

Oloyede had accused parents of putting pressure on their children beyond their strength. He once argued that the pressure from parents often prevents children from focusing on their areas of strength.

“Because your father is a professor of Medicine, he wants you to study Medicine at all cost. That is the problem; that is where parents create problems for their kids and that is why you got yourself involved in this type of faking in other to convince them.

“You are the fifth person. Two of them are already being prosecuted because we showed them clearly that they forged their results to deceive their desperate parents like your parents are for you to study medicine.

“We will prosecute you for attempting to damage the image of the board. We told your father that we have all the facts, if we find out that the facts are not correct you will be prosecuted,” he said about Unekwe’s case.

What the law says

Under the Criminal Code Act (applicable in the Southern part of the country), forgery is an offence. The Act provides, in Chapter 44, two to three years jail term, with an option of fine, as punishment for forgery. The Penal Code Act (applicable in the Northern part) also has similar provisions (with a maximum of 14 years), where the guilt of the alleged offender is proved.

On the offence of forgery, the Criminal Code Act reads: “Any person, who forges any document, writing, or seal, is guilty of an offence which, unless otherwise stated, is a felony, and he is liable if no other punishment is provided, to imprisonment for three years.”

The task before the prosecutor

A rights activist Sunday Essienekak, said: “Forgery can be found under Section 262-380 of the Penal Code Law of the Federation. And, under the Criminal Code, which is available in the South, the punishment for forgery is about two to three years. The punishment in the south is lower than the punishment in the north. And the provision for forgery in the south is provided under Section 293-312.”

Essienekak, who is a public interest litigation lawyer, added: “If they (alleged offenders) have forged documents and are brought before the court and the court convicts them, the years and terms of imprisonment can extend to fourteen years imprisonment with an option to pay fine.

“But before they can prove forgery, the state or JAMB must be able to show that the document was forged and that the boy was in possession of that document and that he had knowledge that that document was forged and that he wanted to dishonestly use it.

“Those are the things that the prosecution must have to scale through. They must prove that the document was forged, they must prove that the guy knew that the document was forged, they must prove that he was in possession of the forged document then they must also prove that he intended to use that document for a purpose either to his advantage or to his disadvantage.”

JAMB’s strategies against malpractices

On JAMB’s strategies against malpractices, Oloyede said unknown to some fraudsters, the board was ahead of them. He said that JAMB has decided to release candidates’ results directly to institutions of their choice to forestall situations in the past where candidates falsified results and presented them to their institution for admission.

Also, JAMB’s Head of Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said that the board has cancelled the results of the candidates. He said that anybody who does post-result infractions will have their results withdrawn by the board.

Benjamin said that the board would continue to act responsibly in its fight against infractions. The JAMB spokesperson said that whosoever was found wanting would be dealt with according to established laws irrespective of his/her position in the society.

He said: “Our major preoccupation in this area is to keep the various laws concerning examination malpractices active, we will not abdicate our responsibilities and whoever is found wanting will be dealt with according to established norms and laws irrespective of his/her position in the society. Our staff are not exempted from this renewed resolve on the board.

“To announce clearly that it’s no longer business as usual, the board has spread its anti-examination malpractice dragnets to all nooks and crannies of the nation. Malpractices as it affects public examination, implied infractions before the conduct of examination, during registration, at the conduct of examination and after an examination.

“Even when admitted, a candidate could be apprehended and accordingly punished if found to have benefited from such unholy acts. The good news here is that we are committed to screening candidates all through the processes even after they are admitted.

“At the moment we are running checks on candidates currently in our tertiary institutions through several platforms and once anyone is caught, he/she will not only be expelled but prosecuted.

“We advised any candidate who had benefited from any infraction to own up before it’s too late and for upcoming candidates to stay away from such acts as with our present facilities, they will certainly be caught.”

JAMB’s deterrent measures

The JAMB spokesperson explained that over 200 candidates were arrested for one infraction or another during the 2019 UTME.

He said some of the candidates were arrested during registration exercise and are being prosecuted, adding that the board has secured several convictions in Zamfara and Kebbi states.

“A good number was equally arrested during the main conduct and after the examination, some were arrested for result falsification.

“The recent arrests are those arrested for result falsification. About seven candidates were arrested for falsifying results and claiming that the board issued them two separate results.

“Such candidates were invited to come forward with their claims and when confronted with proofs they confessed that they forged the results due to pressure from their parents for them to read programmes that require higher score and because they scored less they decided to falsify the results not knowing that they could be detected.

“These candidates are presently being prosecuted and the board is determined to follow up to ensure that they are convicted to serve as a deterrent to other,” he added.

BOLAJI OGUNDELE writes about concerns over the recent transfer of Niger Delta Development Commission’s (NDDC’s) supervision from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s (OSGF’s) Office. 

SHORTLY after being appointed as Niger Delta Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio ‘attacked’ the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which at that point was being overseen by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Some wondered why he was talking as if the interventionist agency was under his ministry.

Akpabio, The Nation learnt, took his initial steps on the NNDC because he was instructed to focus on the NDDC’s activities, but stakeholders in the Niger Delta were not briefed about the new development. So, when the minister started executing his new mandate, virtually all the critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta found it absurd.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s Independence Day nationwide broadcast, however, sorted it out by placing the NDDC under the ministry. According to the president, it would make the commission better placed to deliver on its mandate.

However, there is a snag; the legality of Buhari’s ‘new intervention’. The apex Itsekiri national mouthpiece, the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought (ILoT), in a response by its National Secretary, Sir Amorighoye Sunny Mene, said the President’s new turn was unlawful, suggesting rather that the commission and the ministry control their individual budgets, but should be partners in the task of developing the region.

“We want the government to stick to the law. Besides, we don’t want the NDDC to be bogged down by several layers of bureaucracy with the attendant patronage. Let the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs manage their budget, but partner the NDDC and other developmental agencies when necessary,” he said.

Another Itsekiri body, the Iwere People’s Congress (IPC), in a statement, observed that the transfer of supervisory authority of the commission from the Presidency to a ministry was a violation of the law that established it. Provisions under NDDC Act, the group said, are explicit enough.

”Under Part II of the Act ‘Functions and Powers of the Commission, etc.’, specifically in Section 7(3) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment etc) 2000 Act No 6, Laws of the Federation; it was clearly stated that: ‘The Commission shall be subjected to the direction, control or supervision in the performance of its functions under this Act by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’ Also, Part VI, Section 23 of the Miscellaneous Section of the above stated Act also infers that, ‘Subject to the provisions of this Act, the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces may give to the Commission directives of a general nature or relating generally, to matters of policy with regards to the performance by the Commission of its functions and it shall be the duty of the Commission to comply with the directives.’

“What the above-stated provisions signify is that the Establishment and Control of the Commission is the responsibility of the Presidency as provided for under the Act, which states summarily that the organisation will be run under the directives of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The above position is what will better serve the interest of the Niger Delta people, to do otherwise, is to short-change the region. For anything to be different, the Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment etc) Act will have to be amended under due process to reflect any such change.

“However, it is also trite to state that, the Commission is older than the Ministry of the Niger Delta as the Commission was established under the Obasanjo Presidency while the Ministry of the Niger Delta was established under the Yar’Adua Presidency; we do not think it is right, therefore, to place the Commission under the control of the Ministry of the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta people will prefer that the running of the Commission be left the way it is. We wonder if the NDDC is to be supervised by the Niger Delta Ministry, why do the members of the Commission have to go through Senate confirmation as it is the practice with agencies under the Presidency. Why also does the NDDC budget require Senate approval?”

A group, Accountable Leadership for Better Nigeria Initiative, last week threatened legal action if the government failed to rescind its action within 14 days, starting from October 10. According to a petition by counsel to the group, Tolu Babaleye & Co, and addressed to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), the group said it is going to court at the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum.

“We shall take to our clients’ outstanding instructions of taking the matter to court at the expiration of the time stated above if the matter is not resolved to the knowledge of Nigerians. Our clients are a reputable organisation with commitment and passion for an orderly society and a better Nigeria. They believe that things are done by leaders, following the laid down legal standards to engender good governance for the betterment of the citizenry. Our clients, as good governance watchdogs, wish to use this medium to express their displeasure and sadness over the recent illegal and unlawful action taken by the duo of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Godswill Akpabio and the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Abba Kyari, which if not checked might lay a bad precedence in the country. Our clients feel very strongly that this must be brought to the notice and knowledge of the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and Justice Ministry to unearth the underlying factor necessitating such action,” the petition read.

The Pan Niger Delta Development Forum (PANDEF led by the Ijaw elder statesman, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, and other leaders of ethnic nationalities across the oil-rich region, said its concern was not about the change of the supervisor to the commission, but how the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs would combine its statutory role with maintaining sanity in the commission.

PANDEF’s National Secretary, Dr Alfred Mulade told The Nation that the president’s argument could not be faulted.

“The explanation proffered by Mr President for the relocation of the NDDC to the Ministry of Niger Delta could not be faulted in its face value. The worry lies in the capacity of the ministry to provide effective coordination and supervision alongside its primary objectives, for the region. What matters most is the political will to effectively fund the NDDC and the Ministry to enable them deliver on their respective mandates to the people of the Niger Delta region,” Mulade said.

The apex socio-cultural organisation of the Urhobo ethnic nationality, the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), said its primary concern was the effective performance of the NDDC and not the supervising body, adding that the commission had failed in that regard. Its National Publicity Secretary Abel Oshevire said people of the region expected that the commission should do better under the ministry.

“What the Urhobo people want from the NDDC, just like other stakeholders, is performance. Who supervises the Commission is only a matter of semantics, whether the Presidency or the Niger Delta Ministry, is not an issue to the people of the region. What matters to the people of the Niger Delta now is an NDDC that will develop and transform the place into a status befitting an oil-producing region. The NDDC has failed to live up to the expectations of the people since its establishment more than 15 years ago. It has been more of a curse than blessing to the region. It has been all stories of corruption, leaving the region poorer and under-developed with each successive administration.

“It is expected, however, that bringing it under the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs should produce better result since the minister is from the region and the people should hold him accountable. One hopes that he will not play politics with it and strive to ensure that the Commission lives up to the expectations of the people. One is also confident of the new NDDC to do better, given the track records of the new board members. Both the Chairman, Dr Pius Odubu, and Managing Director, Olorogun Bernard Okumagba, are men of proven integrity, who have distinguished themselves in their previous public offices,” he said.

The last has not been heard about the decision to make a ministry with less than N50 billion budgets to supervise an agency with over N80 billion budget.