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Tag: advisers

  • EFCC chair: Advisers ask Buhari to insist on Magu

    EFCC chair: Advisers ask Buhari to insist on Magu

    •Fault Senate’s rejection of anti-corruption agency’s boss
    •President may step into row

    Members of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption (PACAC) have faulted Senate’s rejection of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu.

    They have also canvassed President Muhammadu Buhari’s retention of Magu as the boss of EFCC in the light of the provision of Section 171 of the 1999 Constitution.

    A source in the Presidency also assured our correspondent last night that President Buhari “will not abandon Magu.”

    There were indications yesterday that the government may renominate Magu for the beleaguered office for the third time.

    It was however learnt that the President may step into the row by opening talks with the leadership of the National Assembly and other stakeholders, including the Department of State Security Service (DSS).

    Magu also got more backing from the Transparency International and Global Witness yesterday.

    The two organisations invited Magu to London to speak at an international conference on money laundering and assets recovery on March 2.

    The Executive Secretary of PACAC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, who spoke exclusively with our correspondent, said all the advisers to the President on corruption have discovered that the Senate acted on old report.

    Owasanoye said: “There was no fresh investigation conducted by the DSS. The Senate only relied on the old report.  The DSS did not provide any new information for the Senate.

    “For all intents and purposes, we believe it was unfair for the senators to reach the conclusion they have reached.

    “We think there was no new information from the DSS. The Senate ought not to have rejected Magu

    “The Senate was privy to two reports from the DSS. It ought to have satisfied itself by considering the two and not one as it did.

    “The Senate also knew that the President had looked into the two reports and sent his conclusion to them, but they did not take cognizance of the President’s letter which overrides the DSS reports.

    “Even when Magu told the Senate that he was not with his response to the query issued to him, we expected the Senate to have asked him to bring his defence the following day in the spirit of fairness.

    “If you look at the proceeding in the Senate, there were too many gaps to be closed.”

    Asked of the committee members’ position on Magu, the PACAC Secretary said: “We believe that there is nothing inhibiting him from being in office as the Acting EFCC chairman. We are of the opinion that he should remain in office.

    “If you look at Section 171 of the 1999 Constitution, the President is empowered to retain him as long as he wants in acting capacity. As long as the President remains in office, Magu can continue to act as EFCC chairman.”

    Responding to a question, Owasanoye added: “If there is something new, we would have modified our position.

    “But the Senate acted on old report without considering the President’s points in the re-nomination letter.”

    According to Section 171 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, power to appoint persons to hold or act in the offices to which this section applies and to remove persons so appointed from any such office shall rest in the President.

    (2) The offices to which this section applies are namely

    (a) Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

    (b) Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

    (c) Ambassador, High Commissioner or other principal Representative of Nigeria abroad.

    (d) Permanent Secretary in any Ministry or Head of any Extra-Ministerial Department of the Government of the Federation howsoever designated; and

    (e) any office on the personal staff of the President.

    (3) An appointment to the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation shall not be made except from among the Permanent Secretaries or equivalent rank in the Civil Service of the Federation or of a State.

    (4) An appointment to the office of Ambassador, High Commissioner, or other Representative of Nigeria abroad shall not have effect unless the appointment is confirmed by the Senate.

    (5) In exercising his powers of appointment under this section, the President shall have regard to the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity.

    (6) Any appointment made pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (e) of subsection (2) of this section shall be at the pleasure of the President and shall cease when the President cease to hold office;

    Provided that where a person has been appointed from a public service of the Federation or a State, he shall be entitled to return to the public service of the Federation or of the State when the President ceases to hold office.”

    As at press time, it was gathered that the presidency may nominate Magu for the third time.

    It was learnt that President Buhari may step into the controversy over Magu before effecting a re-nomination.

    A highly-placed source said: “I think the Presidency will re-nominate Magu. His advisers on the fight against corruption want Magu retained.

    “But the President is likely to engage the leaders of the National Assembly, especially the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara.

    “There is likelihood that the session might be enlarged to include some stakeholders like the DSS leadership.

    Speaking with our correspondent last night, a presidency source said in confidence: “The President is set to receive official communication from the Senate. But I can assure you that the President will not abandon Magu.

    Barely few days after the Senate rejected his nomination, Magu has been invited by two leading anti-corruption organisations, the Transparency International and Global Witness to speak at an international conference on money laundering and assets recovery on March 21, 2017 in London.

    He is expected to deliver a paper on the topic: Give Us Our Money Back – Nigeria’s Fight Against Corruption: A Critical Conversation.

    A statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren said: “The invitation from the Global Witness and Transparency International is in recognition of the invaluable role the Magu-led EFCC has played in his more than one year in office in recovery of stolen funds.

    “ It also coincidentally comes a few days after members of the Nigerian Senate chose to overlook the strides achieved by Magu and instead refused his re-nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari as the substantive chairman of the EFCC.

    “The international conference, which is coming on the heels of the 2016 London Anti-Corruption Summit, will focus on the progress of Nigeria’s asset recovery and anti-corruption efforts.

    “It will also feature a panel of discussions for “critical exchange of views” between officials and non-government experts from Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

    “A few international personalities have been invited along with Magu to participate in the conference.

    “Among those from Nigeria are Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information; Prof. Itse Sagay, Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC; its secretary, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye and Olanrewaju Suraju of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda.”

  • Boko Haram: U.S. plans to send advisers to front lines of war

    The US military assistance to Nigeria in the fight against the terror sect, Boko Haram, is receiving a boost following the Pentagon’s mulling of a plan to send dozens of Special Operations advisers to the front lines of the war fight against the insurgents.

    The New York Times, quoting military sources, said the planned deployment “is a main recommendation of a recent confidential assessment by the top United States Special Operations commander for Africa, Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc.”

    “If it is approved, as expected, by the Defense and State Departments, the Americans would serve only in noncombat advisory roles,” the paper said.

    It will be the closest the Americans would be to the battle now being waged by Nigerian troops supported by soldiers from Niger, Chad and Cameroon against the insurgents in the Northeast.

    President Obama currently relies heavily on Special Operations forces to train and advise local troops fighting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and to carry out clandestine counterterrorism missions.

    About 50 American commandos are said to be advising fighters battling the Islamic State in eastern Syria while dozens of others in a new, secret kill-or-capture unit are hunting Islamic State militants in Iraq.

    Besides, the Pentagon has offered to send American advisers with Iraqi brigades on the battlefield instead of restricting them to bases inside Iraq. Dozens of American commandos are conducting surveillance missions in Libya and counterterrorism missions in Somalia.

    The NYT quoted Jennifer G. Cooke, Africa director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, who visited Nigeria last month as saying: “Rather than entangle U.S. combat forces on the ground, help build the capacity of regional forces to tackle their countries’ security challenges.

    “Training and advising and perhaps imparting the lessons we learned the hard way is a good thing,” he said.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has embraced American assistance, ending several years of tense relations that sank to new lows in 2014 when the United States blocked the sale of American-made Cobra attack helicopters to Nigeria from Israel, amid concerns about Nigeria’s protection of civilians when conducting military operations.

    Groups like Human Rights Watch alleged that the Nigerian military has at times burned hundreds of homes and committed other abuses as it battled Boko Haram and its presumed supporters.

    In December 2014, Nigeria canceled the last stage of American training of a new Nigerian Army battalion that was to take the lead in fighting terrorists.

    The suspended training is however about to resume with Nigeria providing the ammunition according to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the State Department’s top diplomat for Africa.

  • Commissioners, advisers vow to transform Benue

    Commissioners, advisers vow to transform Benue

    Newly appointed commissioners, special advisers, permanent secretaries and local government caretakers in Benue State have resolved to work as a team to deliver democratic dividends.

    This was part of a seven-point resolution at the end of a three-day state executive council retreat in Makurdi.

    They also vowed to entrench core values such as transparency, accountability, justice, fairness, sel?essness, humility, discipline, forgiveness, reconciliation, integrity, peace and unity in their service to the state.

    The appointees, who praised Governor Samuel Ortom for organizing the retreat, also resolved to abide by the rule of law and due process in service delivery.

    They agreed that international best practices as well as the latest media and ICT tools will be deployed in delivering democracy dividends.

    They also promised to align with the blueprint of the administration anchored on the five-point agenda of good governance and revenue security; Agriculture-driven industrialisation; investment in critical infrastructure and gender, women, youth, sports and people with disabilities.

    Twenty five resources persons, including former governor George Akume and Senator Barnabas Gemade, among others spoke at the retreat.

    Ortom delivered a keynote address while deputy governor Benson Abuonu made the closing remark.

     

     

  • Assembly approves 50 special advisers for fintiri

    •‘ INEC not notified on Nyako’s impeachment’

    THE Adamawa State House of Assembly has approved 50 special advisers for the Acting Governor, Ahmadu Umar Fintiri.

    Fintiri, in a letter read to the House yesterday by the Acting Speaker, Kwamoti Laori, requested the House to approve the list he sent.

    A motion was moved by the member representing Gombi Constituency, Jerry Kumdisi and seconded by member representing Mubi North Constituency.

    The House subsequently directed the Clerk to forward a letter of consent to the Acting Governor for the approval.

    But the Chairman on the House Information Services, Adamu Kamale, has confirmed that the lawmakers were yet to transmit a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) notifying it that former Governor Murtala Nyako was impeached.

    Nyako was impeached on July 15th and according to the Nigerian Constitution, elections are to be held to replace the vacant seat in 90 days.

    Kamale told reporters that the delay in transmitting the letter to the electoral body was because the House went on recess since July16th and coupled with the fact that some of the lawmakers went for a conference of parliamentarians in Tanzania.

    He said that the House, being under obligation constitutionally, would transmit the notification letter to the electoral body as a matter of urgency in the collective interest of the state.

    The committee chairman also used the forum to debunk the allegation in some quarters that the lawmakers decided to embark on Nyako’s impeachment because of his failure to release statutory constituency project funds as demanded by the lawmakers.

    Kamale said the process of impeachment embarked upon was a statutory function and not for vendetta as alleged.

    He also debunked the insinuation raised by the leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Madam Binta Masi Garba, that the sum of N350 million was released to the legislators as part of the constituency projects in the course of the impeachment process.