The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Anti-graft

  • NASS should pass anti-graft bills

    SIR: Several monies worth over two $225m have been recovered by the federal government through the whistle blowers’ policy. And this is within the space of four months. Some of these monies were banked using fake identities, while some were kept in homes, business shops and offices. The amounts include the sum of N8 billion, $151 million, N15 billion (in different currencies of $38 million, £27,000 and N23 million); $9 million, N448,850 million, N250 million, N49million, and all amounted to over 70billion in local currency.

    These discoveries of stolen funds by the anti-graft agencies are scandalous and have not only sent shock waves to the spines of Nigerians, but they are a reason of the present economic recession in the country. While all this larceny goes on, public facilities, hospitals, schools and security are poorly funded. There is maternal mortality, poverty, unemployment and insecurity is on the increase. Many Nigerians schooling abroad, business owners who rely on foreign currency for importation of raw materials to do business, have been forced to shut down because of the non-availability of foreign currency.

    The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, upon resumption of office vowed to recover monies looted from the country’s treasury over the years. Within his first one year in office, an unprecedented amount of N3.4trillion was recovered from looters. This amount is equivalent to half of Nigeria’s yearly budget. Over USD200 billion is still stocked in Dubai alone, while about USD300 million is being expected from the government of Switzerland, including the UK & US among others.

    While some Nigerians have continued to heap praises on the country’s anti-graft agencies’ effort in recovering looted monies, there is still cause for concern in the terms entered with foreign countries. For instance, within the period the policy was formed, it still is not backed by the law for adequate regulation.  Lots of issues have been thrown up on the absence of an efficient legal instrument which regulates and enhance the activities of the various anti-graft agencies.

    The speedy passage of the key anti-graft bills such as Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (MA), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and Whistle Blowers Policy Bill (WBPB) into law can institutionalise Nigeria’s fight against corruption, rather than making it seem like one -man- show.

    Recommendation 29 of the Financial Action Task Force mandates countries to establish an independent Financial Intelligence Unit, FIU, to serve as a national centre for receiving, analysing and propagation of suspicious transaction and other information regarding potential money laundering or terrorist financing. The FATF has a framework for countries to implement and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of proliferation ammunition. By implication, Nigeria risks sanction from the FATF over poor legislation on money laundering. More worrisome is the fact that it is happening at a time when Nigeria needs the information most, considering the challenge of terrorism and recurrent looting of the nation’s resources.

    The unwarranted delay it has taken to pass the bills which have either passed through second reading or waiting presidential assent or still pending at the National Assembly, has created difficulty in the repatriation, management, disbursement and utilization of recovered funds. This will pose a major setback to the economic recovery plan of the government, and make it difficult for an average Nigerian to feel the impact of the reinvested loot in the economy.

    The government must stand up to its responsibility to support the anti-corruption fight by ensuring immediate passage of the bills, to create some form of cooperation between anti-corruption agencies, create independence and avoid overlapping of their functions.

     

    • Charles Iyare,

    Benin City.

  • Presidency,NIA and anti-graft battle

    Since his suspension three weeks ago, perhaps the greatest shock of his career, the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Ambassador Ayodele Oke has been traumatised and subjected to a series of drilling.

    There was no doubt that the move by President Muhammadu Buhari caught him unawares. As a result, he has been quizzed by the Presidential Investigative Panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for the better part of the two weeks duration of the work of the committee.

    His problem started when he laid claim to the $43m recently discovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    It will be an understatement to say that President Buhari was ruffled by the discovery as he was deeply shocked that such a large sum of money could be found in a residential apartment and linked to an official of government.

    He never expected that any government official under his administration, known for zero tolerance for corruption, will have what some Nigerians have described as slush fund hidden in a residential apartment.

    To get to the root of the matter, the President swiftly directed his deputy to investigate the matter along with the allegations against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal.

    As he was giving the Panel the deadline to submit report of the investigation in two weeks, he also immediately ordered the suspension of the two officials from office to prevent any interference with the work of the committee.

    As soon as the investigation began, Oke was confident that he would be able to explain himself out of the problem.

    The greatest defence Oke was relying on was that the relevant agencies of government were aware that the money meant for NIA operations was in his possession.

    He had informed the panel, which has the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami as members, that Monguno was duly briefed of the existence of the money.

    He instantly became something of an orphan who had nobody to fight for him, when the NSA disowned him and claimed that he was not aware of the money at the point the present administration came on board.

    While the investigation was going on behind closed doors, a presidential source had disclosed that President Buhari was kept completely in the dark concerning the money at the inception of the administration and that the NSA only stumbled on it during another probe his office carried out.

    The source had said: “The NSA was not told that NIA had this lump cash stashed away in the place it was eventually discovered by EFCC.

    “In any case, extant rules are clear that such monies ought only to be placed in the NIA headquarters or in CBN vaults.

    “So let us even assume that the NIA DG wanted to keep funds in Lagos for the Lagos based projects, he did not need that much for the total of the Lagos projects at all. And apart from that it is completely untenable to stash away agency money in a private apartment instead of keeping it with the CBN or inside the NIA head office where the money would be well-secured and its disbursement well protected.” the source added

    With the thickening storm against him, Oke had no choice but to declare that he will leave everything in the hands of Almighty God, who knows the truth about every situation on earth and in heaven.

    The onus fell heavily on Oke to prove that NSA was aware of the existence of the money right from May, 2015, when the administration came on board.

    Unless Oke has any document that will expressly support his claims, it will be an harculian task to prove that the NSA or the Presidency or any other agency of government was aware of the money’s existence.

    If other heads of government agencies could easily deny knowledge of the money, that will not be the same for the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefuele, because he has been in office since the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan. He definitely should know something about the money.

    The foreign currencies could possibly have been paid through the CBN under Emefuele”s tenure during Jonathan’s government.

    With the invitation to appear before the panel, it is really hoped that Emefuele had helped the committee by shedding light on the true source and the purpose of the money.

    Because hiding any part of the information or not painting the true picture of the source of the money and what it was meant for will amount to sentencing an innocent man to death.

    While the Osinbajo’s Panel was expected to submit its report by yesterday, it is very important that the recommendations in the report are fair to all.

    All those who deserve to be punished should be punished, while those who have not done any wrong should be cleared to continue in office.

    Even though accusing finger was pointed at a member of the committee, the Panel should be able to stand for the truth and do everything possible to uncover if the NSA was actually aware of the money at the inception of the administration while the President was kept in the dark or if it was just a defence strategy to rope more government officials into the matter.

    But the job of the panel would have been neater if none of its members was accused in any way in the two cases before the Panel.

    Because it will not be morally or legally right for an accused to be a judge in his own case.

    Being fair to all will go a long way to show that the administration is not selective and very serious about the anti-graft battle.

    It should be fearless and be able to take hard decisions against anyone found on the wrong side of the law,  irrespective of how highly placed the person is.

  • Anti-graft war: Supreme Court justice gives tips on loot recovery

    •Akaahs urges Fed Govt to explore plea-bargain option

    A Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Kumai Bayang Akaahs, has suggested that the war against corruption should be targeted at recovering stolen funds as against securing conviction and sentencing to terms of imprisonment.

    He said efforts should be directed at using the plea bargain option, where substantial part, if not all, of the looted funds are recovered, as against the practice where plea bargain allow for a negotiated exit for a defendant, who is still allowed to retain a substantial part of the loot.

    Akaahs spoke in Abuja on Saturday evening, while reacting to a lecture on Reforming the Nigerian Justice system, delivered by Lindsay Jones, a judge and Law Professor at Emory University, United States, at the annual dinner/ reunion of International Dispute Resolution Institute (IDRI).

    He said instead of directing efforts at ensuring that treasury looters are all put behind bars, there should be a way of making these looters return all they have stolen and perhaps, be asked to go home and sin no more. He added that such people could later be punished if they return to the act.

    ed that keeping such individuals in prison will serve to the detriment of the society, which is already the victim of such looter’s act, because the state must feed such a convict and cater for his/her health, security and other needs while in prison.

    Jones, in his lecture, identified some major challenges of the Nigerian judicial system. He argued that the system was long overdue for reform.

    He suggested areas that require urgent reform.

    The U.S. judge regretted that the nation’s judicial system was yet to overcome the problem of delay that affect public confidence in the system’s ability to deliver justice at the appropriate time and create rooms for external meddling in court’s operations.

    Jones suggested that efforts should be made to ensure the full integration of the various Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms into the court system.

    He noted for instance, that there were still contradictory positions among the nation’s courts on issues like how to address applications for stay of proceedings pending arbitration and how to set aside arbitral awards.

    Justice Mary Peter Odili, also of the Nigerian Supreme Court, agreed that the nation’s judicial system require urgent overhaul for it to function effectively.

    Hailing Jones for his lecture, Justice Odili urged the event’s organisers to ensure that Jones’ paper was made available to the committee inaugurated last Friday by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, to reform the judiciary.

    IDRI’s Chairman, Prof C. J. Amasike argued that the integration of ADR mechanisms into the judicial system will curb the hardship occasioned on litigants by the challenge of delays associated with the system.

  • Anti-graft war: EFCC secures 62 convictions in three months

    Anti-graft war: EFCC secures 62 convictions in three months

    No fewer than 62 convictions, among them a former state governor and oil magnates, were secured in the first quarter of this year, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said yesterday.

    The agency’s Acting Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, also said that the anti-graft agency has posted some of its operatives to the countries embassies and missions abroad.

    Magu said the agency will “continue to fight corruption whether anybody likes it or not.”

    These details are contained in EFCC Alert, a monthly documentation of the commission.

    The document said: “At the end of the first quarter of 2017, the EFCC secured 62 convictions, with the record set to be increased before the end of the second quarter, as it intensifies efforts geared towards ridding the country of economic and financial crimes.

    “Perhaps, more significant, is the fact that the record also includes that of a former state governor, oil magnates, among others.”

    Some of the convicts are: ex-Adamawa State Governor Bala Ngilari (N167, 812,500 fraud); former Caretaker Chairman, Ogori/ Magongo Local Government Area of Kogi State, Gabriel Daudu (77 counts of N1.4b fraud); Hanna Abraham (14-year imprisonment for obtaining money by false pretence); Obinna Nnamdi (two-year jail term for Internet fraudster).

    Others are: Uche Clinton and Emmanuel Okanni(N.8m BVN scam); Akintunde Abiodun (12- count charge bordering on stealing and forgery to the tune of N7, 806, 093); Frank Nwaotule (two count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N5million); Usman Ahmed, Isiyaku Mohammed, Mohammed Badadi and Rilwanu Abdullahi (possession of fake Naira notes totaling N583, 000); Olugbenga Fabunmi, (one count charge bordering on Advanced Fee Fraud); Osagie Bliss (three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, possession of fraudulent documents and obtaining by false pretense); Jehu Kwasu (two-count charge, forgery and obtaining by false pretense about N5 million); Christopher Ngene (three count charge of fraud, N200,000); Abubakar Umar and Habu Dogo (currency counterfeiters jailed for seven years.

    Magu has disclosed that the anti-graft commission has posted some of its operatives to Nigerian embassies.

    According to the document, Magu made the disclosure during an interaction with some ambassadors-designate.

    He said: “We are making you our ambassadors to fight corruption wherever you go, because we alone at the EFCC cannot do the job without your support. We have posted some of our operatives to these foreign missions, and we will need you to work with us.”

    “You should be involved in tracing and recovery of our stolen assets and facilitating the repatriation of those funds and the perpetrators.

    “Corruption flourishes when good people fail to confront it. You should key into our mission of ridding Nigeria of corruption, as this will be your greatest service to Nigeria.

    “We will continue to fight corruption, whether anybody likes it or not. We are convinced that it is the only way we can bring succor to this country.

    “If you go to the United States or the United Kingdom, they are all awash with news about our efforts in the fight against corruption, particularly the Malabu Oil scandal. So, we are succeeding, and so it is pertinent for us to forget about personal interest, and consider the overall interest of this country and the interest of the EFCC as an institution.”

  • AGF: Buhari worried over anti-graft, electoral reform, proceeds of crime bills

    AGF: Buhari worried over anti-graft, electoral reform, proceeds of crime bills

    The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami yesterday briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on the fight against corruption and Electoral reform bill.
    Speaking with reporters at the State House, Malami said his meeting with the President was a routine. According to him, the President expressed concern over the delay in the passage of the anti-corruption and electoral reform bills by the National Assembly.
    He said: “It relates to general issues – the issues that have to do with anti-corruption – Mr. President is worried that anti-corruption bills that are pending before the National Assembly overtime, there has not been any expeditious determination on the passage of the bills and indeed, the asset management agency was also part of the discussion.
    “Mr. President is worried that the assets that have been gathered over time by the agencies of government and that are responsible for the fight against corruption are scattered all over the place and embedded in the Proceeds of Crime Bill is Asset Management Agency, put in place by the presidency for the purpose of the management of the associated assets that are recovered.
    “So, Mr. President is indeed worried and the discussions bothered on how best we can handle it. There are limited issues that relate to the parastatals under the Ministry of Justice.
    “As you are aware, this afternoon, the Electoral Reform Committee that has been put in place has submitted its report to my office. I equally briefed Mr. President on that and in addition to the report, there are bills that have been presented for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council as they relate to amendment to the electoral process.
    “The whole essence of the meeting was to seek the view of Mr. President and the direction as to what to do next as it relates to the Electoral Reform Committee report that has been submitted and to consider routine processes under the Ministry of Justice.”
    He also disclosed that the Presidential Investigative Panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo may submit its report today.
    The AGF said: “Well, you know the presidential committee that is investigating the NIA and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is supposed to make submission by tomorrow.
    “So, it is pre-emptive now to discuss anything considering the fact that one the committee is under the chairmanship of the Vice President who is supposed to brief the president in that respect and two the schedule for the committee’s assignment has not elapsed.
    “So, it will be pre-emptive to speak about the committee because the time fixed for the assignment has not elapsed and against the background of the fact that it is the chairman of the committee that should brief the president.” he added

  • Anti-graft war: Northern group accuses Buhari of double-standard

    Anti-graft war: Northern group accuses Buhari of double-standard

    A group under the auspices of Arewa Peace Coalition has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of double-standard in his anti-corruption wars.

    The group, in an open letter to the President, titled: “A tale of two anti-corruption war” and signed by its National Coordinator, Abdulkadir Mohammed, said it was worried about the way the anti-corruption war was being fought by the Federal Government.

    It accused the Federal Government of double standard by referring the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. David Babachar Lawal, to an administrative panel for investigation.

    According to the group, the suspended SGF should have been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the Federal Government did to a personal physician of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Fortunate Fiberesima, who is being accused of fraud worth N285 million.

    “A critical comparison is the case of your suspended Secretary to Federal Government (SGF) and the personal physician to the former President Goodluck Jonathan. This is a case where the SGF was indicted by a Senate committee for a grass cutting scam worth N220 million. And the later, Fiberesima, is also being accused of fraud worth N285million.

    “Firstly, the Senate committee however recommend to the Presidency for the removal of the SGF based on its finding which indicted him. But Nigerians watched for months without any action from the Presidency not until recently when another administrative panel was set up to be headed by the vice president with the Attorney General of the Federation included , whom had initially cleared the SGF of any wrongdoing .

    ‘The question Nigerians are asking is “why subject the SGF to an administrative panel and not subjecting him to EFCC, Directorate of State Services (DSS) or Police”? And what are we expecting from a committee, which has the Attorney General of the Federation as a member, who had earlier cleared the SGF? These are questions putting a doubt on your credibility in fighting corruption sir.

    “Secondly, the perception in the public domain is that your war on corruption is only targetted at your political foes, Goodluck Jonathan and members of the previous administration.

    “The case of Goodluck Jonathan’s personal physician may want to prove this point.

    “In this case, Fiberesima is being tried by the EFCC for an alleged fraud of N285 million. Our concern here is that, why not use the same rules across board to prove to Nigerians that you are not out to witch-hunt the former President Jonathan and members of the previous administration. It was this observation that prompted Senator Shehu Sani to allege that “the President Buhari uses deodorant to fight corruption in the presidency” while Colonel Abubakar Umar on the other hand, recently accused the Presidency of only trying to vilify former President Jonathan in the name of fighting corruption.”

    The group said it was not too late to correct some of the president’s mistakes and to redeem his promise to Nigerians because the group still believes in Buhari’s ability to deliver on his promises.

    “As a progressive Northern based organisation, we are willing to support and partner with you to succeed.

    “We will however, advice you not to compromise national interest for a few selfish persons around you who may be in your government only to further their personal interest and also using your platform to fight their personal battles, embedded in the fight against corruption,” the group added.

  • Buhari’s anti-graft battle on course, says CJN Onnoghen

    Buhari’s anti-graft battle on course, says CJN Onnoghen

    DESPITE some losses in courts, the anti-corruption war remains on track, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen said yesterday.
    The anti-corruption crusade is President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s major programme for which it has won some accolades. But, to some critics, it has lost steam following some setback in courts. Former First Lady Patience Jonathan got a $5.8m account defrozen. Justice Adeniyi Ademola was discharged of alleged corruption.
    To Justice Onnoghen, who spoke with reporters after meeting with President Buhari at the State House in Abuja, the losses do not mean the fight against corruption was losing steam.
    The CJN said court cases must produce winners and losers
    His words: “You take that as losing steam? If there was steam, then it wouldn’t have been without the participation of the Judiciary. Good. So, if it is losing of steam, you should not equally relate it only to the judiciary.
    “The fight against corruption has lost no steam. It is not correct. Now, you should know one thing: two people will always have a quarrel. They may be three, four or one hundred. All the parties to that quarrel will always have different stories to tell.
    “By the way, our system is fashioned and designed and operated. When you go to a court of law, you cannot have a drawn game. There must be a winner and there must be a loser. In our system, a loser has the chance of appealing to the highest court eventually. So, you cannot say because the government or any agency has lost a case in the High Court, you have lost a case and the fight is losing steam.
    “You should realise that there is a constitution in place and under the constitution, there is a rule of law. So, every system under a constitutional arrangement and operated under the rule of law must have these things as checks and balances to protect everyone. It is for everyone.”
    The CJN said he was not going to speculate over the allegation of judicial gang-up against the executive.
    He said: “I am lawyer and judicial officer. I operate on facts and the law. So, I can’t answer that question because I am not on everybody’s mind. You are free to think whatever you want to think but I think you should be guided by facts and the law when it comes to judicial performance or discharge of judicial responsibilities.”
    On whether he is satisfied with the way corruption is being fought, he said: “I have told you that if you are not satisfied, the system is fashioned and designed in such a way that if you lose in the magistrate’s court and you are not satisfied; because someone must win and another must lose; so, the loser has the chance of testing the decision on appeal. When it comes to the judiciary, don’t be judgmental. When you are judgmental, you become prejudiced.
    “Personally, I am committed to that fight and it remains so. I remain resolute in that commitment.”
    He, however, said the fight against corruption did not come up for discussion during his meeting with the President.
    His mission to the State House, Justice Onnoghen said, was to welcome the President back from his medical vacation abroad.
    The CJN said: “I am here to welcome him back home. I hadn’t had the opportunity of doing so since his return from his medical leave. That’s because I had some international engagements. By the time appointment was due, I was out of the country attending All Commonwealth Law Conference in Australia.
    “I came back and couldn’t get another appointment before going to attend African Chief Justices Conference in Katum where we met to fashion out a way forward for African Judiciary, particularly the establishment of African court of justice.
    “So, I came back last week Wednesday. Fortunately, today happens to be the day I have the opportunity to see Mr. President and welcome him back home and then thank him for the confidence reposed in me to head the judiciary of this great nation. And as I have always said, I am committed to that job and to the good of this nation under the rule of law.”

  • Senate, Presidency: Torn apart by anti-graft battle

    Senate, Presidency: Torn apart by anti-graft battle

    The Senate is locked in a battle of supremacy with the executive over some issues. It has surpended the consideration of proposals from the executive, unless it complies with its resolutions. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN writes on the implications of the face-off between the two arms of government on democratic governance.

    THE Senate is flexing muscles with the Presidency for failing to comply with its resolutions. The Upper Chamber listed the resolutions that were ignored by the executive to include: the one that recommended that   that the President should sack the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. David Lawal, for his alleged involvement in a contract scam; and its directive that the executive should find a replacement for the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, who could not be considered on the strength of the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) report alleging that he was involved in corrupt practices. The Senate is also not happy with the executive over the latter’s indifference on the face-off between it and the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd). The Comptroller-General has been asked to resign for failing to appear before the upper legislative chamber in uniform. The Senate is angry over the retention of these men in office. As a result, it has resolved not to consider any proposal from the executive, until its resolutions on the above matter are implemented.

    The face-off has taken its toll on governance; it has slowed down the decision-making process; it has heightened political tension in the country. For instance, the list of 27 Residential Electoral Commissioners (RECs) sent to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari for confirmation has been set aside. The two ministerial nominees forwarded to the chamber last week is likely to receive a similar treatment. The senators’ stance has incurred the wrath of public, with some calling for the abolition of the upper legislative chamber.

    Coincidentally, the House of Representatives has joined the fray over a similar non-compliance of parliamentary resolutions by the executive. The Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, bared his mind on the matter last week, saying apathy of the executive towards resolutions of National Assembly is not encouraging. He said the House is not satisfied with the level of compliance by the executive to its resolutions.

    Are the resolutions of the National Assembly binding on the executive? A principal officer in the Sixth Senate who craved for anonymity said National Assembly resolutions are not binding on the executive. He said resolutions are generally advisory in nature. He added nevertheless that the executive is obliged to respect the position of the lawmakers, because it needs their cooperation and mutual respect to drive its policies.

    He however warned the Senate to be careful with the kind of resolutions it is passing. He said: “The resolutions must be matured in nature; they must not be borne out of vengeance, overzealousness, legislative rage or personal animosity. Resolutions can only be binding on the executive, if it has the force of law; that is putting in place an act of parliament saying resolutions passed with the backing of two- third majority. It is like passing a bill into law. What is needed to override the governor or the president’s veto is two-third majority of the legislature.

    “Any resolution that tends to undermine the provision of the constitution cannot stand. If, for example, the legislature passes a resolution that is in conflict with the constitution, it cannot stand. That’s why Prof. Itse Sagay is saying he would not honour the Senate’s invitation to appear before it. There is freedom of expression enshrined in the constitution in Sections 88 and 89 that has to do with the Senate’s power of investigation. Sagay does not fall within the category of people that could be summoned by the National Assembly.

    “The power to invite or summon anybody can be exercised when the House embarks on the process of law-making or investigating corrupt practices. It is an infringement to summon an individual not heading an agency that the National Assembly appropriated for. Legislators should exercise caution by ensuring that resolutions passed are implementable and not borne out of vengeance or emotion.”

    But, a legal luminary, Malam Yusuf Ali (SAN), explained there is a distinction between decision and resolutions of the National Assembly. He said people should understand the Senate’s position on the EFCC boss. He explained that the upper legislative chamber considered his eligibility to occupy the office and found him unqualified.

    Ali said: “Before a minister can hold office, he has to be screened by the Senate for confirmation. If the nominee is rejected by the Senate for one reason or the other, the President can’t swear him in and assign portfolio to him to function as a minister. The same thing applies to the case of Magu. He was the President’s nominee for the position of EFCC Chairman. He must be screened by the Senate. In this case, the Senate is insisting that he is unfit and that the President should find a replacement. That is the decision of the Senate. With that Magu is not qualified to remain in the office. If the President refuses to comply with the Senate’s decision, the Senate can use its power of appropriation not to allocate funds for the presidential appointee that was not confirmed by the chamber. Keeping such appointee is a breach of the Constitution.”

    Ali agrees that resolution does not have a force of law. He added however that the case of the SGF is a different ball game. He said the SGF does not require the Senate’s confirmation to occupy the position. As a result, he said the Senate’s resolution on the SGF may be honoured or rejected by the executive.

    However, Ali believes that the resolutions crafted in high persuasive language may likely compel the executive to honour it. He said: “For example, if there was a disaster involving lives and property, and the National Assembly passed a resolution that the executive should send relief materials to the people affected or to declare a state of emergency in the affected area, no serious person will ignore that.

    “But a resolution that the executive should remove someone from office does not carry such weight; it is a piece of advice. People may be emotive in passing resolutions on issues, but the President is not compelled to honour them.”

    A lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Monday Ubani, agrees with Ali. He said resolutions are not mandatory on the President or governors, because they are not laws. He said resolutions are mere expressions of personal feelings of lawmakers.

    Ubani expressed disappointment over the quality of representation in the 8th National Assembly. He said: “Nigerians are disappointed with the way members of the National Assembly conduct themselves in the hallowed chamber. If we have a referendum today, majority of Nigerians would support scrapping the Senate, because of their excesses.  The kind of representation does not justify the nation’s investment on the legislative arm. They are always after their comfort. There are many bills pending that if they are passed into law will impact positively on the lives of Nigerian. We are in April and the 2017 budget is yet to be passed, despite the submission of the appropriation bill by the President since December 2016. Instead they spent most of the time on discussing trivial issues.

    “The legislators are in the world of their own. They care less about the people they represent. They care less about the public perception of their image. That is to tell you that many of them have lost touch with their constituents. How would they know the needs of their people and legislate on them? A lot of people are angry with them, because most of their actions are not in tandem with national interest.

    On Magu’s predicament, Ubani absolved the Senate of any wrong doing. He noted that the upper chamber withheld its confirmation on the strength of a petition written by an agency under the Presidency — the Directorate of Security Services (DSS). He said the DSS was probating and approbating on the issue. In one breath, the DSS is saying confirm him; in another, it says don’t confirm.

    Ubani added: “We have thought that the executive will use the opportunity of the Senate’s rejection of Magu in the first instance to put its house in order, by making the DSS withdraw the controversial report on Magu and clear him of the allegations and then reach out to the Senate. I don’t mean giving them bribe, but to lobby them and convince them why the President wants Magu to be confirmed for the job. It appears the executive didn’t lobby and the Senate took decision on Magu based on information before it.”

    Civil rights activist Comrade Mashood Erubami said the running battle between the Senate and Presidency is a new phenomenon and that it is a threat to democracy.  Erubami believes the battle is centred on veiled reasons which cannot be detached from 2019 ambition and seeming corruption fight backs, coupled with professed general misunderstanding of basic obligations of the National Assembly. He said most of the issues dividing the two arms of government are veiled in the politics of 2019.

    He said: “It is not by accident and is quite painful that the National Assembly never disagreed with the Presidency or engaged in any in-house fighting in the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly over the sky-rocketing prices of commodities in the market, bad roads, devaluation of the naira, lack of drugs in hospitals, unpaid salaries of workers and pensioners, hunger and the anger of the people.

    “However, the visible issues being presented as the cause of the conflict are political strategies developed to fight corruption.

    “The support of the PDP members for the Senate President and the Speaker of the House, who are APC members, against the position of the APC government is not just because the PDP lawmakers voted for them, but it is part of the script written before they agreed to join forces with some APC lawmakers to weaken the avowed crusade against corruption and win back power in 2019.”

    Analysts have commended the executive for taking steps to reconcile outstanding issues with the National Assembly. To this effect, President Buhari has set up a committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to improve the relationship between the two arms of government.

    To avoid power tussle and frequent friction between the executive and the legislature, the senator who sought for anonymity advised the legislators to go back to the bases. He said: “The legislators should guard against overzealousness, emotive reactions and outbursts. This is also applicable to the executive; they should refrain from making statements that would over heat the polity. Overzealous members of the executive making inflammable comments should be called to order; they should be more matured in their utterances.

    “We should allow the legislature to grow by returning experienced legislators into the assembly. Inexperience is a major factor. Almost two-thirds of the current National Assembly members are fresh. The Senate should use the power of summon sparingly. Frequent exercise of this power makes it lose its value. The hallowed chamber should not be reduced to where all Tom, Dick and Harry come on invitation. It desecrates the chamber.

    “There should be regular interaction between the leadership of the Senate and the executive, to smoothen rough edges before the executive proposals are tabled for discussion at the plenary. The Presidential Assistant on Legislative Matters must be respected, be amiable and charismatic. He should have free access to Mr President and interact freely with members of the Senate. He should be able to calm the frayed nerves; facilitate good relations for Mr President with the Senate. In the United States, the Vice President is the Senate President. He doesn’t sit on regular basis, but when there are major issues for debate, he presides. That is how friction between the Senate and the executive is checkmated in the US.”

    Ali said if the President is not willing to honour the resolutions passed by the legislators, he should let them know. The executive should not ignore resolutions and keep quiet. There should be a way of communicating between the two arms to avoid the breakdown of communication and schism.

     

  • Presidency insists Buhari’s anti-graft battle will go on

    Presidency insists Buhari’s anti-graft battle will go on

    Senators, others face legal tussle over Magu

    Nothing will stop President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s war against corruption, the Presidency said yesterday.

    It said that not even the strong resistance being put up by the opposition and its calculated actions to thwart the efforts at sanitising the system would force the government to give up on the crusade.

    In a statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the Presidency recalled that Nigerians gave their votes in 2015 to Buhari because of his commitment to rooting out corruption as one of the cardinal policies of his election campaign.

    He said: “Let me say one thing. Those whose illicit ways of accumulating money have been stopped will criticise this government, but all that will not derail the unfaltering commitment of the President, Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to the war against corruption.

    “He is aware that this was one of the main reasons Nigerians, in their millions, put their trust in him; the main reason they voted him into power in 2015.

    “To keep that trust of ordinary Nigerians who voted him into the office, he has vowed to give corruption a good fight. He will not let them down.”

    The Presidential spokesman also admitted that so far, the battle to uproot corruption has not been easy as corruption has been fighting back.

    “Corruption has been fighting back vehemently, finding accomplices in various forms and guises. Nevertheless, the Buhari administration will not relent,” Shehu said, adding that the days when corruption reigned indiscriminately were gone for good.

    He said: “Nothing will return our country to those sad, old days of wanton thievery that have plunged us into the economic mess from which Nigeria is currently recovering. The war against corruption in Nigeria is one of those clashes between good and evil, where good is determined to triumph.”

    He dismissed rumours that members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were being spared, saying that all are equal before the law.

    Highlighting the various measures introduced to promote transparency by the administration, Shehu disclosed that upon directives by the President, the National Hajj Commission audited accommodation agents in both Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia. More than $16.7 million will be saved by the paying pilgrims this year.

    The statement reads: “Each Hajj pilgrim is being saved between 600 to 1,000 Saudi Riyals, which is about N60, 000-N100,000, from accommodation, money that had lined the pockets of agents in the past. This year, houses are being rented directly from owners.”

    Shehu praised ordinary citizens for embracing the whistleblower policy by “taking extraordinary risks to expose corruption”.

    On the rehabilitation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and the relocation of flight services to Kaduna for six weeks, the presidential aide said the government and people of Kaduna should think hard to devise ways by which the social and economic benefits brought to Kaduna in this period would not depart the city with the reopening of the Airport in Abuja.

    He said: “The government of Nigeria has done a big thing for Kaduna. You must show appreciation of this by supporting the administration.”

    On the cash releases for capital projects in excess of a record N1 trillion in last year’s budget, Shehu praised Works, Power & Housing Minister Babatunde Raji Fashola with the record of being the first-ever minister to ride on all the federal roads across the nation.

    He listed the Mambila Power Project, the Lagos-Kano, Lagos-Calabar and Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway modernisation and the new Presidential Initiative on Fertiliser (PIF) as other projects dear to the President’s heart.

    According to him, the impact of the PIF was already being felt in the reduction by half in the price of fertiliser.

  • Yabatech gets anti-graft unit

    The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has inaugurated the Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) branch of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit.

    Speaking on the occasion the institution’s Rector, Dr Margaret Kudirat Ladipo, promised that management would continue to keep its records open for all to see.

    Mrs Ladipo said: “Yabatech runs an open system and we have been able to transform the college into a contemporary institution because of the transparency in all facets of our operations. I must confess that there have been distractions here and there especially from self-acclaimed whistle-blowers and their cohorts but the truth is that adversarial criticisms have made us stronger. We are more determined than ever to add value to the institution in line with the dreams of its forefathers.”

    She said it was noteworthy the inauguration came as the college is preparing for its 70th anniversary, stating: “The initial plan was to have the inauguration last December but it has always been one thing or another. Honestly, it has been rough such that if God had not been on our side, naysayers would have capsized the ship of the college.”

    She charged the committee headed by the Dean, School of Liberal Studies, Mr. Fred Fatuase, to deliver on its assignment.

    Inaugurating the committee, the ICPC Lagos Zonal Commissioner, Mr. S. P. Binga said nothing less than international best practices and standards were expected from Yabatech. “I must add that you should not rest on your oars in ensuring that you do your level best in meeting the yearnings and demands of the ever critical patrons of the services you provide,” he said.

    Represented by Mr. Japhet Udeani, the commissioner hailed the rector and her management for reconstituting the unit in compliance with the government’s directive.

    The unit, he said, would complement ICPC in fighting corruption.

    Noting that Yabatech ACTU was one of the pioneer units following the establishment of ACTU in 2001, he said it would continue to manage the preventive functions of the commission as specified in sections (a) – (f) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, except in offenders’ trial.

    The members, he said, were chosen because of their integrity and must strive to be accountable, transparent, fair, and just in serving Yabatech and the country.”

    The members are S.K.B Wahab, a lawyer, Dr. Adewoye Olabode, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Fagbamila, Mrs Christy Kayode, Mr. Adumati Muyiwa, and Mr. Joseph Ejiofor.