The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Anti-corruption

  • Anti-corruption protesters trek to Abuja

    The much-publicized protest “Walk Against Corruption” embarked upon by the New Nigeria Nationalists, NNN, a non-political movement, which started in January 29, 2018 at the Tawafa Balewa Square in Lagos will terminate in Abuja on Tuesday.

    They are expected to be received by the Vice President Yemi Osibajo at the Presidential Villa. There’s no confirmation yet from the Office of the Vice President, but the Number Two man had since been informed about the NNN activity which he received with positive response.

    The NNN, a social engineering and apolitical movement, was formed precisely in March 2017 in response to the yearning for a new political order and economic prosperity of our beloved nation, Nigeria. This was disclosed by the NNN convener, Mrs. Foluso Makanjuola-Oyenuga.

    Pastor Wale Adefarasin, a member of the Board of Trustees of NNN, believes that “there wouldn’t have been need to clamour for a new Nigeria, if things are normal and our systems are functioning effectively without political interferences, ethnic biases and religious colouration,” adding that “these are the breeding ground for bad governance and corruption which is the mother of cronyism, nepotism, financial ineptitude and ethno-religious prejudices.

    “As concerned citizens, we came together as a movement for true change that will ultimately give birth a new Nigeria through the use of consistent campaign for zero tolerance for corruption. Come to think of it, let’s remove corruption from our system, Nigeria will return to shape as a favourite for direct foreign investments destination in Africa and emerge the true giant of black nations globally.”

    Corruption, according to the NNN in a statement, is the reason “we keep battling with insurgency, ethno-religious crises and circumvention of the system. As part of our expression in the fight against corruption, NNN is currently staging a protest walk from Lagos to Abuja.

    “Knowing that President Muhammadu Buhari administration mounted the saddle on the strength of coming to fight corruption was a major selling point of his candidature. So far, there are obvious impediments against his noble intention. With the NNN in the fray, things will look pretty better in the fight against corruption.

    “There is no need to pretend about the myriads of our problems as a nation. Major among these anomalies is corruption which is killing our economy. It is unfortunate that thus far, our political leaders have not summoned enough political will to tame this endemic malaise.

  • Fight anti-corruption war with courage, NSA tells EFCC cadets

    Fight anti-corruption war with courage, NSA tells EFCC cadets

    The National Security Adviser, Gen. Mohammed Babagana Monguno (rtd), yesterday asked the newly- graduated cadets of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to fight the war against corruption with courage.

    He also said the EFCC has made remarkable strides under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He said the EFCC has become the lead fighter in the war against corruption and economic crimes.

    Monguno gave the charge at the passing out of 183 cadets of the Detective Inspector Course 4 at the Nigerian Defence Academy Parade Ground, Ribadu Campus, Kaduna.

    The event was the climax of a 13- month rigorous training on the necessary skills of law enforcement.

    The NSA urged the operatives to be determined, patriotic, fearless and show no mercy to treasury looters.

    He said: “As you enter the services of the EFCC, you must fight this war with courage, bravery, professionalism and a dogged spirit of patriotism as well as determination.

    “It was the desire to develop these qualities in you that brought you to the Nigerian Defence Academy in the first place.

    “You must carry into your career in the EFCC, the virtues of love for the fatherland, which was inculcated in you right here.

    “You must be fearless fighters who will show no mercy to all those who seek to destroy our dear country through corrupt practices”.

    He, however, warned the new operatives against compromising their integrity.

    He said: “Any erring officer would be shown the way out as the present administration has zero tolerance for corruption”.

    “With the advent of President Mohammadu Buhari, the leadership of Nigeria has found the political will to fight corruption”.

    “Under the present administration, your organization has made remarkable strides in the recovery of stolen public assets and made significant progress in the investigation of politically exposed persons”.

    A statement by the Acting Head of Media and Publicity, Samin Amaddin, said the NSA asked the new operatives not to lose sight of the fact that “ the EFCC is today the lead fighter in the war against corruption and economic crimes”.

    He congratulated the officers and urged Nigerians to “support the EFCC, and, of course, the government in the prosecution of the war against corruption.”

    The newly graduated operatives were recruited from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT through rigorous screening process that

    featured aptitude test, fitness test and oral interview.

    The operatives include 22 females and 161 males.

    Four cadets, namely, O. Okpara, E. W Abili, M. O. Adeyeye and C N. Ekeka, were recognized for “exceptional performance in examinations, practical tests and for high degree of discipline, physical fitness and demonstrable leadership.”

  • Properly interrogated, Mainagate can be the defining moment in the Buhari anti corruption war

    Too much is involved in this scandal for it to be left to a senate inquiry, however, grandiloquent.

    “Everyone who says he needs a private jet to make important appointments is a liar. He needed it for his ego. Name me one who is busier than I am, who owns more U.S corporations than I do. I travel constantly across the U.S and the world in commercial jetliners, live in the same house since the 70s, still buy $9 ties and $75 suits and still drive my 22 year old immaculately maintained Lincoln. These flash lifestyles are simply ego driven!” – Warren Buffet.

    Let me start this piece by quoting a commentator on Ekitipanupo: “There is no reason why Maina cannot be arraigned in the morning and executed by noon of the same day”.  To that I say yes, but please do me a favour, let the President first set up today, a judicial panel of inquiry into this Mainagate conundrum. Diligently handled, Mainagate could turn out to be the rewarding juncture in the Buhari anti corruption war. Spanning two administrations, and with the humongous amounts of money being bandied about, the last of which is Maina lawyer’s claim that Nigeria is indebted to his client, the fugitive at law, to the tune of N159 Billion, a judicial interrogation, as is being proposed here, leading to full disclosure in the entire Mainagate saga, has the distinct possibility of completely unmasking the stupefying corruption ravaging our country. In making this suggestion, I am not unaware that the senate, this past week, opened a hearing on the subject. But history being our guide, Nigerians can only trust that exercise to their own chagrin. Apart from the national assembly, especially the seventh senate, being severally implicated in the rot, these national assembly hearings are never about what we are told. Witness what happened in the Hon Herman Hembe-led inquiry into capital market operations, the oil subsidy probe as well as the Hon Ndudi Elumelu probe into the power sector before it? The national assembly has become so unreliable in such matters as they have shown, definitively, that they are more concerned with benefits for selves than for Nigerians, bearing in mind that in the instant case, in particular, there is too much money to play with that we should not so wantonly  invest our trust.

    Once beaten, they say, twice shy.

    At the end of a judicial hearing into this mess, not only are we most likely to identify the kingpins of pension corruption, largely domiciled within the very locus of power in our country,  we should be able to positively assert that the office of the Head of Service is the very epicentre of  pension corruption in the country. From what we learn daily about Mainagate, the office of the head of service seems more like a putrefying centre of nihilism. It must be clinically x-rayed with all the rogues identified. According to Maina, a very dangerous, indeed murderous, cabal operates with the connivance of that department of government. Maina could still be hung, even upside down, but for Christ’s sake, not before we’ve heard all he has to say. He must not be hushed, he must not be hurried, nor must he get killed before his time. Too much is involved in this scandal for it to be left to a senate inquiry, however, grandiloquent.

    What to do then?

    President Buhari, if he is serious about this war, as I am sure he is, and is mindful of his legacy and place in history, he should set up a judicial panel of inquiry to be headed by an untainted, retired judge with some Nigerians of proven integrity, like himself, making up the membership. Once that is done, he must, willy nilly, close his eyes to whatever is being unravelled, as what should interest him is the end product, the final report. Naturally, with an election only some two years away, all manner of characters would like to interfere, pleading the cause of some people they would like to convince the president, are critical to his re-election. Mainagate must be the crematory of many a political/professional career.

    What is oozing out of Mainagate is like a horror film and unless Nigerians are allowed to hear the last of it, the anti corruption war could lose steam which would be quite a shame, and a huge denudation, of a key campaign promise by candidate Buhari.

    The latest Nigerians woke up to hear this past week is Maina’s lawyer, Barr Sani Katu, like Jerry Kushner’s attorney in faraway United States, declaring his client a hero, and claiming that the Nigerian government was owing him over N159BN, as against the N2.1bn he is being accused of siphoning while in office. That, he claimed, represents 5% of what Maina recovered, forgetting that even if the recoveries were true, the whistle blower law cannot take retrospective effect.

    But he said much more.

    So let’s hear him at some length. Recalling Maina’s exploits, Katu said: “In 2011, Maina stopped the stealing of N300m daily from police pension. Also, in 2011, he stopped the stealing of N1.04bn monthly from police pension allocations. Same 2011, he was able to stop the yearly stealing of N52.5bn, which has been an annual ritual at the head of service pension.” Between 2011 and 2012 the PRTT under Maina’s leadership, he said, recovered cash and asset worth N1.63trn which had been with the EFCC. “It would be recalled,” he continued, “that some pensioners petitioned the National Assembly to ensure that EFCC produce these recoveries so that Nigerians would know about them. “Similarly, between 2016 and June 2017, Maina, released the intelligence and tip-offs that stopped the annual stealing of N1.3trn. (This, he said, has been confirmed by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice). “Also,” he continued, “between February 2017 and October 2017, Maina recovered N152bn, N60bn, and other sensitive materials”. Now two things:  If these are true, how many of these thieves have been punished, administratively, even if court cases continue, and, are we being told Maina has been back in the country and in the civil service since February, 2017 – a fugitive at law, in a country with an IG, a Department of State Service, EFCC etc, complete with a sitting government?

    How safe are we in this country?

    The Mainagate conundrum is absolutely stupefying and only a judicial inquiry can prove conclusively that this government is not out to protect some people.

    Here is what has filtered out of the EFCC to confirm that for the good health of our country, Mainagate must be completely unearthed. Not only is there a very dangerous cabal, going by Maina’s words, giving it life, this corrosive corruption has its very epicentre right within the office of the head of service of the federation. This shows how dangerous this whole matter is because very many people are now so loaded with huge sums of money they can effectively wage a war of attrition against the country. But there is a silver lining: government can recoup so much money it won’t have to borrow a dime to execute its 2018 budget.

    According to snippets from the EFCC, about N17billion has been traced to Maina with a long list of beneficiaries located all over the commanding heights of the Nigerian government, as well as sundry top officials of our security agencies. It must be said, however, that some of those alleged to be involved have since denied their involvement.

    Another major plank of Mainagate revolves around those government officials who colluded to bring him back to Nigeria, smuggle him into the service and facilitate his being paid millions of naira in back salaries. As I wrote elsewhere, it will be interesting to see the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, convince Nigerians that he acted in the interest of the country in the Maina saga. His Dubai meeting with Maina still rankles to high heavens.

    In concluding this piece, I wish to sincerely plead with the president to do that which this matter very urgently requires. Mainagate has damaged, and retains the clear possibility of further negatively affecting the country in the comity of nations in addition to diminishing the president’s well known integrity.

    He should authorise a judicial panel of inquiry today.

  • Fine tuning the Buhari anti-corruption war

    Fine tuning the Buhari anti-corruption war

     It is far too obvious that any powerful person on corruption charges can easily leverage on their disagreement to frustrate his/her trial.

    I thank God that in spite of the tragedies befalling our country in terms of governance; we still have leaders like the Kaduna State governor, El Rufai. During the last presidential election, I said that the leaders we urgently require are those who are willing to step on toes, leaders who would  ‘blandly’ fight vices in a bid to move society forward; leaders who won’t be crippled by the allure of “second term”. Of what use is a leader who leaves no footprints on the sands of time like Awo,  Kwame Nkrumah and the Nwalimu did? Africa desires asset leaders, not liability leaders. El Rufai, Nuhu Ribadu, Femi Falana, Gen Ishola Williams and their kinds, all have the type of courage Nigeria badly needs to move it out of the doldrums. Nigeria deserves to be a destination place for humanity – Dr William Aborisade on Ekitipanupo.

    I thank God that in spite of the tragedies befalling our country in terms of governance; we still have leaders like the Kaduna State governor, El Rufai. During the last presidential election, I said that the leaders we urgently require are those who are willing to step on toes, leaders who would  ‘blandly’ fight vices in a bid to move society forward; leaders who won’t be crippled by the allure of “second term”. Of what use is a leader who leaves no footprints on the sands of time like Awo,  Kwame Nkrumah and the Nwalimu did? Africa desires asset leaders, not liability leaders. El Rufai, Nuhu Ribadu, Femi Falana, Gen Ishola Williams and their kinds, all have the type of courage Nigeria badly needs to move it out of the doldrums. Nigeria deserves to be a destination place for humanity – Dr William Aborisade on Ekitipanupo.

    Had the immediate successors of President Olusegun Obasanjo continued with the anti-corruption war where he left it, it is doubtful if candidate Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress would have been able to profit half as much as he did, from his campaign promise of fighting corruption during the 2015 presidential election.  Under Obasanjo, the fear of the EFCC was the beginning of wisdom for politicians, in general. Nigerians had watched on television, breathless, as its chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, taught his former Inspector-General the fear of the Lord.  Corrupt state governors were being serially yanked off their giddy offices, even with not as many as half the constitutionally prescribed number of legislators required for impeaching them.  So completely in charge was Ribadu’s EFCC that you need not be told that the anti-corruption agency had become fatally compromised, its efficiency and effectiveness denuded, by the time Mrs Farida Waziri, Ribadu’s successor, had spent her first three months.  She was already actively doing the bidding of the likes of former  Governors James Ibori and  Bukola Saraki, who were believed to have recruited her for Yar’ Adua, as corruption began to enjoy an unprecedented new lease of life. So lifeless did the EFCC become that Ibori would easily walk off hundreds of charges, only to be jailed in the United Kingdom for almost the same offences, an incident that showed the outside world that the Nigerian judiciary was one of anything goes which is why it is funny to see her pointing fingers at President Jonathan as she recently did. Under President Goodluck Jonathan, however, every villainy, as long as it was committed by a member of the PDP, was a ‘family affair’. It was a time the most heinous corruption incidents like the oil subsidy and pension scams, massive procurement infractions like buying two armoured cars for more than ten times the cost, all became routine. Impunity generally loomed large.

    This was the parlous state of the anti-corruption war, weighed further down by President Jonathan’s laughable quip : ‘stealing is no corruption’, which candidate Buhari, a man of  immense  moral integrity saw,  and needed no further persuasion, to make anti corruption one of the three main pillars of his campaign. Everywhere he went, he told Nigerians that unless we kill corruption, it has the distinct possibility of killing Nigeria. This easily resonated with Nigerians who had been at the receiving end of President Jonathan/PDP’S tantalising romance with corruption; a situation that led the American Council on Foreign Relations to describe the government as a rent seeking contraption.

    One major difference between corruption fighting under President Obasanjo and the present administration is this: whereas, either as a result of Obasanjo’s no non-sense predilections, or Ribadu’s effectiveness, or both, literally everybody around the president who should lend a helping hand to the anti corruption fight did, while the opposite is the case today. As you read this, the extremely hard working EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, has no worse enemy than the SSS which had not hidden its wish, and determination, to see him replaced in order to irretrievably weaken the anti graft war because of their friends who are under  the agency’s siege. Towards this end, working in cahoots with elements within the National Assembly, the agency has twice written to frustrate Magu’s confirmation as the substantive chairman of the EFCC, so mindlessly exposing to an unprecedented odium, the president who nominated Magu in the first place. Till today, it surprises not a few Nigerians that President Buhari has not been able to decisively deal with these characters in his government.

    Add to this uncooperative attitude of agencies so critical to the anti graft war, the incidences of corruption oozing directly from within the corridors of power. Not only have they caused the sack of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, it has elicited, from no less a person than the First Lady, a very sharp rebuke of those in charge of the State House Clinic which has proved to be nothing but a sink hole, where with a budget in excess of N3 Billion, not even a single functioning x-ray machine is available. Nor can one fail to see the monstrosity of the country’s Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, going all the way to Dubai to discuss with Maina, a fugitive at law, albeit, loaded with billions of naira to play with, about how he would not only be surreptitiously brought back to the country, smuggled into the civil service and be paid millions in back salaries. With Malami’s three subsequent letters to the Public Service Commission, furiously asking, or rather, directing the commission to do all these, Maina got reabsorbed with his millions, even as honest Nigerian workers are committing suicide because of unpaid salaries. It will be interesting to see how Malami will prove to Nigerians that, like his predecessor Adoke, who he has taken to court, he too was not illegally compromised, to become Maina’s cheerleader and advocate.

    With these insidious happenings so close to the president, it has become obvious that for President Buhari’s anti-corruption war to succeed, it would need to be urgently fine tuned, which is where organisations like SERAP deserve commendation.  SERAP’s unrelenting effort in this regard has been abundantly enhanced by the duo of Akin Oyebode, a Professor of Jurisprudence and International law, and the human rights activist, per excellence, and member of the higher bar, Femi Falana SAN.

    I shall now proceed to indicate in what ways the president can meaningfully rejig the anti corruption war in an exercise which must begin from his immediate environment. Given that many of his top officials seem to be ego driven, he must move, first and foremost, to sanitise that circle. As things stand amongst them today, relations have become so soured that it would amount to a modern day wonder to see them work harmoniously to see the anti-corruption war succeed.  The president should, therefore, either determine the appointment of some of them, or at the very least, deploy some. It is far too obvious that any powerful person on corruption charges can easily leverage on their disagreement to frustrate his/her trial.

    Between them, Professor Oyebode and Femi Falana SAN, have made the following suggestions. For Falana, the president must first fight the root causes of corruption, as well as do everything possible to ensure that the citizenry buys into the programme. According to him, “the fight against corruption is in the streets and everyone has the locus standi to assist law enforcement agencies in the fight. Civil Society Organisations and Nigerians, he went on, must rise to the challenge and ensure that perpetrators of crime are brought to justice”. He also canvassed the activation of Nigeria’s laws which, according to him, are adequate as they currently stand, adding that whistle blowers must be well protected to encourage more people to come forward with reports of corrupt practices. For Professor Oyebode, “corruption has become a crime against humanity in the country”. “If drastic measures are not urgently put in place to contain it, he says, corruption might ultimately result in the mortality of Nigeria as a nation-state”. The citizenry, he added, must be mobilised against impunity, concluding, like Falana, that “mass action by the citizenry is urgently needed to put pressure on the authorities to end impunity for grand corruption.”

    Rounding up, it is my view that government must also appeal to the moral integrity of the traditional authorities, the church, the mosque, but much more importantly, the judiciary, if the Buhari anti corruption war is to have any chance of success.

  • ‘Buhari should re-assess his anti-corruption war’

    ‘Buhari should re-assess his anti-corruption war’

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to re-assess his anti-corruption war and recover looted funds, rather than prosecuting looters.

    Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, who is the president of both unions, said this was necessary because prosecutors have not been very thorough in handling the cases, while counsel to the accused persons are prepared to delay the judicial process, and the judges are not helping  the process of prosecution.

    Speaking with The Nation, Kaigama said if the government could be more strategic and focus more reducing  time on prosecution, it would go a long way to help the system to recover much.

    He said the emphasis on prosecution has given the corrupt officials a breathing space, adding that government also needs to review the judicial system. “And I will suggest that government should establish a special court to prosecute corrupt cases. We also urge that due processes are taken in the fight against corruption so that the international communities and Nigerians in particular, would have confidence that this fight has come to stay.

    “That is the more reason why we, as a union, wholeheartedly support the anti-corruption initiative of the current administration and its resolve to repatriate to the country all looted funds. This is the only way sanity can return to the system.

    “I also think the current administration underestimated the strength of the personalities, or the clique of the corrupt cabals in this country,” Kaigama said.

    He said the administration probably thought it will be so easy, but the system is regretably corrupt beyond their estimation.

    “The level of corruption in the country is so high to the extent that even the judiciary is corrupt,” he said.

    To  save the nation’s economy, Kaigama said the government needs to immediately pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law, adding that Nigeria has lost hundreds of billions of dollars in oil and gas investment due to its  non-passage.

    His words: “The truth is that investors have continued to adopt a wait and see attitude, refraining from making any new investment, pending the passage of the bill.

    “Since 2009 when the Yar’Adua government first introduced the PIB, no new Final Investment Decision (FID) has been taken on any oil and gas project in Nigeria, not even on the government-promoted Brass LNG project. While we are dithering in Nigeria, there are new oil discoveries all over Africa, attracting investors just as new technology is making hitherto unreachable and uneconomic hydrocarbon deposits accessible in Europe and North America, thus attracting investors to those environments.

    “Nigeria, therefore, cannot afford the luxury of time while politicians indulge in unnecessary bickering over such an important bill on a sector that is the mainstay of our economy, accounting for over 90 per cent of our foreign exchange earnings, about 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and 80 per cent of government revenue.”

    On the bailout and the Paris funds, he said these have become the latest source of corruption among the political leaders.

    He said the agencies should extend the investigation beyond the governors to the commissioners and the accountants-general in the states, and make necessary arrests to curtail the abuse.

    “The governors have seen themselves as untouchable and that is the reason they do what they like, but their commissioners, accountants-general do not have that immunity. Besides, the governors, if found culpable, can be arrested and made to face the law immediately they leave office.

    “The plight of workers has become more unbearable with non-payment of salaries and high cost of living due to the downturn in the economy.”

    Kaigama condemned government’s deliberate delay in constituting the 29-member committee for National Minimum Wage for the country: “And I want to say that labour would soon take a drastic action. The Federal Government should stop taking labour for granted.

    “I think we have been patient enough and we are ready to take the bull by the horn to ensure that the government sets in motion the review of the National Minimum Wage.

    “We call on the Federal Government not to task the patience of workers beyond the limit as the current wage structure is no longer tenable, when viewed against the economic realities on ground,” Kaigama said.

  • Is anti-corruption war compromised?

    I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody” —President Muhammadu Buhari

    It was May 29, 2015 when that speech was made by the then newly inaugurated President Muhammadu Buhari. That punchy line resonated across the country, from the vast landscape of the north to the forest region of the south. The long awaited nemesis of the chronically corrupt and unrepentant enemies of good governance has arrived. It shall no longer be business as usual. The optimism on the part of the citizens was infectious.

    From a backdrop of a beaten and battered economy, widespread insecurity and a massively looted treasury, President Buhari served to the citizenry a three-pronged dosage as antidote, namely- Anti-corruption war, security and economic rejuvenation.

    It is common knowledge that the most potent weapon in the kitty of Buhari was the famed iron cast integrity earned over the years in the course of his service to fatherland. To clean the Augean stable of 16 years of filth left behind by the former administrations of the retreating PDP, he had committed himself to taking on corruption in every area where it reared its ugly head and there was no doubt on the part of Nigerians and other watchers that this difficult battle was capable of being won given the antecedents of its exponent.

    The zeal and seeming determination with which the onslaught against graft commenced gave hope that, indeed, the nation was undergoing a rebirth; that a new Nigeria, free of malfeasance, was here.

    But recent developments have given Nigerians and, indeed, international observers cause for serious concern. Is this war on course? Is the battle arsenal being evenly deployed to all troubled spots? Are some toes getting too big and too sacred to be stepped upon? More and more frightful questions continue to run through the minds of many. And rightly so, their doubts have not been unfounded.

    As this is being written, the media landscape is saturated with, perhaps, the most scandalous and most embarrassing story that promises to deliver the biggest blow to the anti-corruption drive of this government. It is the story of the former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina who the EFCC had declared wanted for monumental fraud, but was helped back to the country and reinstated to the public service with promotion.

    Only recently, the federal government approved the appointment of a 14-member board to boost the arsenal of one of the duo of the country’s anti-corruption specialized agencies, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC. On that list of anti-corruption warriors was Maimuna Aliyu. She would have made her way through but for the prompt intervention of the fourth estate of the realm, the press and other concerned Nigerians who took it upon themselves to keep watch over our fragile democracy.

    In reaching a conclusion on such sensitive appointments, one must have thought that proper background security checks would have been carried out to ensure a high level of uprightness in character and reputation of those in whom we would be placing our collective aspirations in routing the disaster that corruption and all its vice have bedeviled us with.

    But as it was later made known, bringing Maimuna Aliyu’s name for such a position was a grave error that shouldn’t have happened in the first place, given that there was an ensuing topnotch investigation into alleged corrupt activities by Maimuna by agencies of the federal government, the Nigerian Police and the EFCC.

    Littering the media landscape were series of incriminating documents on how Aliyu, an ex-banker, allegedly used her position to confer corrupt advantages upon herself, appropriating to herself property valued at over N1billion.  The ICPC Board appointment misstep is just one of the series of unfolding events that are daily rubbishing the gains of the anti-corruption campaign and depleting the credibility this government initially enjoyed at the onset of the battle.

    Take the recent open altercation between the Minister of State, Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru. Pointedly, Kachikwu accused Baru, among others, of awarding contracts totalling $24 billion without due process and without recourse to the board of the corporation. The contracts include: the crude term contracts valued at over $10billion, the Direct Sale Direct Purchase, DSDP contracts valued at $5 billion, the AKK Pipeline Contract valued at $3 billion, various financing allocation funding contracts with the Joint Venture oil Companies to the tune of $3 billion.

    Baru’s defence was that the said contracts went through due processes and was approved by the President.

    After all sides have stated their cases and all dirty linen washed in the open, one major take away was that impunity and corruption are still firmly entrenched in the nation’s oil sector and that some sacred cows can still get away with any malfeasance even without the proverbial slap on the wrist. How does this help the war against graft? How does this help to build confidence and engender trust in the government’s much touted determination to fight corruption to a standstill?

    All these questions are being raised even while the grass-cutting contract scandal which led to the suspension of the Secretary to the Federal Government, SGF, Babachir Lawal and the riddle surrounding the discovery of millions of dollars at a location in Lagos are yet to be laid to rest. Following the decision of the president to set up a high powered committee to look into these two unsettling developments and come up with all the facts, and subsequent submission of the report to the President since August 20, Nigerians had largely awaited a presidential pronouncement on them. The silence from the seat of power since then has remained very deafening.

    Does this not amount to a major setback for the war against graft? Does this not take a big chunk out of the credibility rating of this government regarding its avowed desire to stamp out corruption?

    Concerned citizens were still analyzing the disturbing turn of events and taking stock of the reverses the anti-graft battle has recorded when the Maina bombshell dropped. Now, this is a major devastating and damaging blow on whatever may have been left of the anti-graft campaign.

    Abdulrasheed Maina, the former pensions Czar who was accused of fleecing retired people of billions of naira and fled the country to escape arrest and trial, was, under the watch of a corruption fighting government, smuggled back into the country and not only reinstated but given double promotion, a reward (?) for the agony and deprivation he threw hundreds of tired and retired senior citizens of this country into.

    Although President Buhari intervened and ordered his sack and investigation of how this happened, the fact that it happened at all, under the watch of a regime that parades itself as anti-corruption warriors, has left a permanent dent and irreparable damage to the campaign. Can this government still reverse the losses already suffered and rev the anti-corruption battle back to life?  The answer lies in the womb of time.

     

    • Osi wrote in from Ajaokuta, Kogi State.
  • Maina: Senate seeks sack of Malami, Danbazau, others

    Maina: Senate seeks sack of Malami, Danbazau, others

    The Senate Tuesday mandated its joint committee on Public Service, Anti-Corruption, Interior and Judiciary to investigate the circumstances surrounding the controversial return of former Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina to the country.

    The committee is also to determine how Maina was reinstated into the civil service and handed enhanced promotion to the position of director.

    The upper chamber said that development became even curious especially when Maina is on the wanted list of the country for alleged fraudulent activities.

    The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance raised by Senator Isa Hamma Misau (Bauchi South)

    Misau said that the circumstances of Misau’s return and reinstatement into the civil service had become huge embarrassment to the country.

    Many of the senators who contributed to the debate asked the Senate to resolve to ask President Muhammadu Buhari to sack those linked to the development.

    The lawmakers singled out Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami and the Interior Minister, Abdulrahmane Danzabau as two public officials that should be hammered by President Buhari for their alleged roles in the return and reinstatement of Maina.

    Misau said, “Right from day before, you will see the story of somebody who has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).  We read how the man who was declared wanted and was said to be abroad, came back to Nigeria miraculously.

    “Going by the newspaper publications, somebody wanted by the EFCC, left the country for so many years. He was dismissed from the service. He was out for a long time, but smuggled into the service. He left the country as an assistant director. Today, he is a director.

    “We even heard that he goes about with police escort. I wonder how a government that claims to be fighting corruption will be involved in a matter like this. This is a big embarrassment for this country. The people around the President are not helping matters. It appears that the President is the only one talking about corruption. Other people around him are protecting corrupt people.

    “The AGF was mentioned and other people were mentioned. We investigated this case in the 7th Assembly. I am calling on the Senate to investigate this case again.”

    Senate Chief Whip, Senator Olusola Adeyeye in his submission said:

    “I remember what happened then. It got to a point when the former President of the Senate, David Mark, told the former President Goodluck Jonathan to choose between Abdulrasheed Maina and loyalty to the country. It got so bad that Maina had over 30 police officers attached to him.

    “It got so bad that he was always on the front roll whenever the former President travelled. At some point, we thought that he was being protected. I remember one of us was blackmailed and called names. He was accused of taking billions as bribes. Today, that lawmaker was cleared and he is here.

    “Some principalities in power then ferried Maina to neighbouring countries. There is a procedure when it comes to promotion in the civil service. This is an insult on the part of civil servants who have worked so hard.

    “As a member of APC, it is a sad moment. We cannot say that we want to fight corruption and have this approach. Jesus Christ said it is difficult for a rich man to pass through the eyes of a needle.

    “This saddens me and I am sure it saddens all of us. I am glad that following the outrage from the public, the President acted swiftly. We read in the papers that the rules of the civil service were bypassed.

    “It appears there are people in this government who want the President to fail. Every patriot and member of APC in this house must stand out and ensure that the President does not fail.

    “Papers have reported that two Ministers were involved. Those Ministers must be brought to justice. The President must ensure that those Ministers are sacked. Corruption is not only about stealing money. Incompetence too is another form of corruption.

    “I hope that this Senate will not forget its past resolutions on Maina. On it, we still stand. He must be made to stand and face the law. He is not above the law. Steven Oronsaye was accused. He did not leave the country. He stayed back and cleared his name. Maina must do same.

    Senator Kabiru Marafa said:

    “I want to appreciate the person who brought this motion by exposing some dubious people in government. No family can boast of having 100 per cent good people. APC is not an exception. We cannot attribute everything to the President. He should be commended for rising to the occasion.

    “Reinstating Maina is a crime against Nigerians. We should approve a full blown investigation into what happened. We must not allow this thing to go unnoticed.

    Senator Atai Idoko on his part said:

    “We are looking at the symptoms; we are not looking at the cause. Maina is too small to go back to office. Somebody brought him back to the office. Maina is too small. He is not the issue. We should look at those who returned Maina.

    “As we were told, the person who approved this thing is the AGF. The simplest thing the President could do was to terminate the appointment of Maina. That is not the issue. The AGF brought him back. The AGF has a history of doing things like this. The President should tell us what he will do to the AGF.

    Senator Albert Bassey Akpan said:

    “The Senate must investigate and bring to book any person who wants to bring this country to disrepute. We will stand with the Senate to ensure that the right thing is done.

    Senator Tayo Alasoadura on his own cautioned:

    “The President has set up a committee to investigate the matter. We should not call names of people who have not been indicted. We should not duplicate. If the executive has set up a committee, we should not do the same thing. We must not set up committees every time.

    Senator Dino Melaye said:

    “The whole unfolding affair is pathetic. Should we continue in sin and ask grace to abound? The AGF time after time has abused his office. Maina did not get himself back. We should talk about the integrity of the AGF and his office. If the number one law officer is breaking the law, where is the hope?

    “The AGF started with the forgery case against Saraki and Ekweremadu. Something happened we have not noticed. Two public officers had issues and the AGF chose to support the Inspector-General of Police against Senator Isah Hamman Misau. Today, it is Senator Isah versus the Federal Government.

    “Tomorrow, if I commit any offence against the friend to the AGF, I will be arraigned. We should not encourage the setting up of investigative committees. The President is surrounded by worms who are bent on destroying the country.

    “There are so many committees that have been set up by the President and the resolutions of those reports may not be implemented until after rapture. Enough is enough. We cannot have this forever. This is wrong. The Senate needs to do something.

    “We must recommend to the President that the AGF has erred in discharging the affairs of his office. If we do not check it, the AGF will plunge us into trouble.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki asked the joint committee to do a thorough job.

    Chairmen and deputies of the four committees were appointed to form an adhoc committee to investigate the issue.

    Saraki concluded: “We are all very disturbed. I want the committee to work hard and bring this matter back to us. We need to investigate the breech in our security and how the anti-corruption war is going.”

  • Civil servants and anti-corruption war

    Sir: The story of Nigeria’s several predicaments as well as current battle against corruption will at every point of the tale borders on the ‘whims and caprices’ of civil servants and politicians who have always been a part and parcel of the colonial, military and civilian rule.

    A civil servant in the most basic term must be a career bureaucrat employed on merit and whose institutional tenure should survive different regimes of state or federal government leadership. Therefore, a civil servant is expected to impartially implement policies and laws of government to ensure transparency and integrity in taking decisions that affect the everyday lives of citizens in areas of education, housing, health, transportation and so on.

    On the other hand are politicians who have been variously described as individuals and persons who are professionally involved in politics, be it a candidate for elective office or holder of an office – legislator, senator, statesman etc., chief executives of public service agencies who are nominated by political parties through the influence of their ‘party bigwigs or godfathers’ to head government agencies also fall into the category of politicians.

    Arguably, the civil service has some of the brightest brains that can accelerate change – positive or negative – but the economic misery in Nigeria today makes it almost impossible to discern any significant change in the verve of civil service employees. They seemingly live each day as it comes without any predictable future for either themselves or their children. In our clime, the obedient and forthright civil servant does not have the capacity to pay his or her own bills, let alone those of his children who attend public educational institutions. House rents, school fees, transport fares and even the unavoidable costs of feeding for survival have eroded hard earned incomes that have remained stagnant despite pleas, consultations and threats of industrial actions.

    Some civil servants and other ‘straight’ citizens brought up in the old school fashion of integrity, honesty, dedication, commitment, service and contentment have resorted to prayers. They now fill the various churches that have sprung up in every nook and cranny of the land.

    Unfortunately, so many Nigerians seem to ‘deliberately’ take no notice of the fact that the large scale and brazen depletion of the commonwealth of this great nation might have been checkmated if the civil servants had hope for their future and those of their off-springs; if they were sure of a certain tomorrow for their lineage; if they earned a wage that could make them ‘take a risk’ of not creating ways of earning income that would ensure their house rents are rarely unpaid; if they had conviction that the pensions they accrue in the course of their work will see them through a few years in retirement.

    The war against corruption will certainly succeed, only if there is conviction for a civil servant that ‘joy cometh in the morning’ if he resists a pilferer or political office holder who seeks an unjust take-away of a chunk of our commonwealth.

    Until there comes a time when hope is restored to the civil service and its ‘servants’ have assurance of a fairly predictable economic future for themselves and their families, the fight against corruption will continue to face resistance despite the number of policies being put in place by those who work night and day to make Nigeria great again.

     

    • Subomi Olumide,

    Palmgroove, Lagos

  • Anti-corruption fatigue?

    Anti-corruption fatigue?

    • President Buhari should bring Babachir Lawal to justice now

    The war against corruption is the major plank of the change promised Nigerians by President Muhammadu Buhari when canvassing for votes in 2015. The Nigerian electorate bought into the President’s plan based on his personal integrity.

    However, about 29 months into his administration, it appears the war is losing its verve. Very few of those charged with monumental corruption have had their day in court, and fewer still have been convicted. It is even more curious that the government has failed to take steps even to investigate members of the ruling party alleged to have participated in the mindless looting under the last political dispensation.

    It is particularly alarming that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) under the current dispensation is one of those sensationally alleged to have offended the moral code by dipping his hands in the public till. Yet, the President has failed to effectively demonstrate transparency and firmness in taking decision on the matter.

    The issues were brought to the public attention when, in its interim report, theSenate ad-hoc Committee on Monitoring Humanitarian Crisis in the North East submitted to the plenary last December indicted Dr. Babachir Lawal for alleged corrupt practice. The committee, headed by Senator Shehu Sani said the SGF misused his office by influencing the award of grass cutting contract at the Yobe Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp (IDPs) at the cost of N233 million.

    The committee consequently recommended the SGF for suspension and prosecution.While availing the President of its report, President Buhari rejected the advice, and, without calling the attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the alleged fraud, proceeded to exonerate the SGF known to be his staunch political ally. It took national outcry and protest by the Senate for a three-man committee, comprising Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the National Security Adviser to the President, Babagana Monguno, a retired major-general, to be set up in April.

    A lot is wrong with the procedure adopted by the President in tackling the matter. Saddling Professor Osinbajo with the task was wrong. As a result, the government has been caught in a bind as it has thus been unable to raise a review panel on the report.

    While the tardiness in handling it could be partially excused on the ground of President Buhari’s ailment, had the committee been coordinated by anyone other than the number two citizen, the report could have been implemented while Professor Osinbajo acted for the President. Even now, almost one month after it was finally submitted, no action has been taken.

    We call for urgent action on the grave allegations. The five issues raised by the Sani committee border on crime and must be so treated. Was the said contract for grass cutting awarded for N233 million; how much were similar contracts awarded by the same or previous government? Was Rholavision truly incorporated as an ICT company; why was it then awarded the contract? Was Dr. Lawal at the time of the award in March 2016, by which time he was the SGF still on the board of Rholavision? Was he at the time the scandal broke out still a signatory to the company’s accounts?

    We demand speedy resolution of this crisis. Suspension is not the answer to the posers. If guilty, the SGF should be prosecuted to show that President Buhari is serious about fumigating the public space. The position of SGF is too important to be filled by a civil servant (as is the case now with the acting SGF) who, by training, is too career minded to coordinate government business. Personal commitment should not be allowed to get in the way of national development.

  • ‘Judiciary not cooperating with Buhari in anti-corruption war’

    ‘Judiciary not cooperating with Buhari in anti-corruption war’

    The Presidency yesterday accused the judiciary of failing to cooperate with President Muhammadu Buhari in his battle against graft.

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution Okoi Obono-Obla stated this yesterday at the unveiling of the survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on corruption.

    The survey, carried out between 2015 and 2016 and titled: “Corruption in Nigeria: Bribery – public experience and response,” found out that while bribery is considered by Nigerians as the third most important problem behind high cost of living and unemployment, most citizens do not consider nepotism and tribalism as corruption.

    It also found out that the Police and the Judiciary top the corruption index in the public sector.

    Okono-Obla said the Buhari administration should be commended for its achievement so far in combating corruption but admitted that it was impossible to eradicate corruption in any society. He said the government was committed to curbing corruption and ensuring that identified acts of corruption or abuse of office was penalised.

    He blamed the Judiciary for some of the drawbacks the fight against corruption was encountering. Obono-Obla noted that while other government agencies and bodies were changing from their old ways and supporting the government’s anti-corruption efforts, the Judiciary was reluctant to do so.

    He said: “This government has done very well and our achievement is unprecedented. You can see the amount of recoveries from looters. Last week we recovered almost $437 from one of the looters, who ran away and we had to use one of the weapons allowed by law to get her properties forfeited.

    “So, in terms of recoveries; in terms of international perception and the will to carry on, this government has done very well. There is corruption everywhere, including the United States and the United Kingdom. The difference is the political will to act. And this government has demonstrated that.

    “One of the major problems is that the Judiciary has not been cooperating. Some of the judges and justices, who were investigated and docked were asked to resume sitting. If I were NJC (National Judicial Council), I will recommend those judges to the President for retirement. I will not ask them to resume sitting.

    “Even though some of them were exonerated, they ought not to have been allowed to return to the bench because they are tainted, their integrity is at stake, their honour is at stake. A judge should be above board like Caesar’s wife. If I am a judge and my integrity is at stake or impeached, I will leave the office.”

     The survey found the public service as the most corrupt sector with law enforcement agencies, particularly the police and the Judiciary, being most susceptible.

    The report, which said the private sector was trailing the public sector in corruption, said about N400billion had been spent by Nigerians in bribe in the last one year. It said, while almost a third of Nigerian adults pay bribe, and an average of one bribe paid by every adult in a year, most Nigerians do not report of bribery because they do not believe in the authorities.

    “The vast majority of bribery episodes in Nigeria are initiated either directly or indirectly by public officials (85.3 per cent) and almost 70 per cent of bribe are paid before a service is rendered.

    “With such a large portion of public officials initiating bribes, which are paid upfront, it seems that many public officials show little hesitation in asking for kickback to carry out their duty and that bribery is an established part of the administrative procedure in Nigeria.

    “Police officers are the type of public officers to whom bribes are most commonly paid in Nigeria. Of all adult Nigerians, who had direct contact with a police officer in the 12 months prior to the survey, almost half (46.4 per cent) paid that officer, at least one bribe.

    “Although fewer people come into contact with Judiciary officers than the police officers over the course of the year, when they do, the risk of bribery is considerable (at 33 per cent). The prevalence of bribery in relation to prosecutors, is the second highest, closely followed but judges and magistrates (at 31.5 per cent).

    “Other public officials with high risk of bribery include care registration/driving licence officers (28.5 per cent), tax and Customs officers (27.3 per cent), road traffic management officials (25.5 per cent), public utilities officers (22.4 per cent) and land registry officers (20. 9 per cent),” it said.

    On the nature of bribe mostly paid in the country, the survey showed that a large proportion of bribes in Nigeria (42 per cent) are paid to speed up or finalise an administrative procedure that may otherwise be delayed for long periods or even indefinitely, thus making bribery the most effective option for facilitating that service.

    The report added that “the second largest proportion of bribes (18 per cent) is paid to avoid the payment of a fine, a frequent request in citizens’ encounters with the police, while 13 per cent of all bribes are paid to avoid the cancellation of public utility services, an indication that the provision of the most basic amenities can be subject to abuse of power by public officials in Nigeria.”

    The report, which noted that bribe is paid most by people of between 25 and 34 years, said bribery and corruption was prevalent in the country, particularly in public sector because employment into the sector is also oiled by bribery.

    The survey noted that while most Nigerians considered most forms of corruption to be completely unacceptable, many who engage in acts of corruption do not consider all such acts as amounting to corruption.

    It noted, for instance, that almost a third of Nigerians consider the recruitment of public officials on the basis of family ties or friendship networks to be an acceptable practice.

    The UNODC Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Cristina Albertin, said the survey was part of her agency’s activities under the “Support to anti-corruption in Nigeria project”, which will soon draw to a close, having effectively delivered on its mandate.