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Tag: Baru

  • Baru advises PIB Consultant to address multiple taxation

    The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has challenged the consultant to the National Assembly on Petroleum Industry Reform Bill (PIGB) to address multiple taxes.

    He urged the consultant to take a comprehensive look at the issues in the oil and gas sector and make bold recommendations that could engender enduring reforms.

    According to its press statement, the NNPC chief gave the advice yesterday at a consultative meeting with the consultants to the National Assembly led by the lead consultant and former Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Osteen Olorunsola.

    He said with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill which deals with the governance structure of the industry by the National Assembly, the remaining two segments of fiscal terms and host communities would require extensive consultation to aggregate views and opinions of industry stakeholders in order to strike a balance that could attract investments while ensuring a decent government-take in terms of oil and gas revenue.

    Speaking on fiscal terms, Baru said the major complaint by operators in the industry was that of multiple taxation which include statutory contributions to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) as well as sundry expenses on security.

    “We have to be able to design a system that works. If the three per cent, 13 per cent or any other statutory allocation for development is not working, then you should not be afraid to recommend a percentage that could work to replace the present system where operators pay multiple taxes and yet have to pay much more extra to secure their investments,” he said.

  • FAAC deadlock: Adeosun calls emergency meeting with Baru

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said she is meeting with the NNPC GMD over discrepancies in payment into the Federation Account.

    This is coming after the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting on Tuesday was inconclusive due to discrepancies of about N37.76 billion in revenue presented by the NNPC.

    Adeosun, who is also the Chairman of FAAC, said she called for an emergency meeting next week with the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Maikanti Baru and other key management staff over revenue payment into the Federation Account.

    The Minister, in a statement made available to newsmen by her Senior Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Oluyinka Akintunde assured Nigerians that the FAAC meeting would hold on Wednesday at 9. a. m.

    She said that the Accountant General of the Federation, Commissioners of Finance and Accountant-Generals of the 36 States would also be present at the meeting.

    Similarly, she said that other representatives of the NNPC, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria Customs Service, Department of Petroleum Resources would also be at the meeting. (NAN)

  • NNPC operations to go paperless soon – Baru

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ), Dr. Maikanti Baru, said the Corporation would soon go paperless in its operations.

    Baru stated this while inaugurating two committees to achieve the purpose.

    A statement issued by the NNPC Spokesman, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, on Monday in Abuja, said the committees were: The Systems Applications and Products (SAP) steering committee and the Group Process Council (GPC).

    According to him, the committees will aid the Corporation transform its operations from paperless to digital form.

    He said the committees would be responsible for a holistic implementation of SAP and emplace enterprise resource planning which would serve as enablers for the achievement of the Corporation’s success.

    Baru said SAP was the platform for driving the transformation agenda of NNPC and the 12 Business Focus Areas which include: Ensuring security of the industry assets, Developing new business models, Providing viable alternative funding to Joint Venture Cash Calls, Increasing the nation’s production and reserves base and Growing NPDC oil and gas production.

    Others are: Effecting refinery upgrade and expansion, Embarking on renewable energy drive and frontier exploration, Rehabilitating the nation’s oil and gas infrastructure, Strengthening NNPC ventures and common services, Enhancing staff professionalism and Accountability as well as their welfare.

    He said the platform had the potential to significantly influence the Corporation’s ability to compete, operate effectively and create value.

    NAN

     

  • Baru and fuel scarcity

    SIR: The current fuel scarcity in Nigeria has challenged Maikanti Baru’s position as Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and also tested his leadership qualities at a critical moment. Though it is a temporary situation, the eyes of every Nigerian and President Muhammadu Buhari are fixed on the NNPC to wet the entire nation. It is a tough task for the NNPC to solely stabilize fuel supply with optimum availability across the country, but it is attainable.

    Most observers in the oil and gas industry sympathize with both Baru and President Buhari, who is also Minister for Petroleum. Baru’s impeccable strides in the downstream sector within one year now has those achievements overshadowed by fuel scarcity, coming during the festive season during which demand is high with many Nigerians travelling.  Most Nigerians have forgotten that the long period of stability in fuel supply was possible through NNPC’s modest refining efforts; the revised Direct Sale of Crude Oil and Direct Purchase of Products (DSDP) programme and the re-commissioned Aba, Mosimi, Atlas-Cove and Kano depots.

    Fuel scarcity in Nigeria irritates most Nigerians; it also puts any NNPC-GMD on the edge of his or her seat. It is frustrating to know that many factors are responsible for the scarcity of petroleum products; however it hardly placates that the feasible and lasting solution is always simple- but often difficult to implement due to their complicated political nature.

    Nigerians already know some of the short and long terms solutions to the recurring fuel scarcity- continued massive importation by the NNPC which is unarguably expensive and unsustainable; re-introduction of the subsidy regime which is corruption prone; complete liberalization or deregulation which comes with high prices, public backlash and job losses, while construction of new refineries and rehabilitation of the existing ones are capital intensive and an extremely time consuming process.

    Maikanti Baru needs to bring on board and develop home-grown and off-the-shelf approaches to put lasting stability in fuel availability in Nigeria while at same time making sure the masses do not feel any pinch as well as will be in complete agreement with such solutions. It is possible, but with a new thinking.

    • Zayyad I. Muhammad,

     Jimeta, Adamawa State.

  • Senate panel to grill Kachikwu, Baru, others over subsidy payments

    Senate panel to grill Kachikwu, Baru, others over subsidy payments

    The Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) will on Thursday grill stakeholders in the Petroleum sector on subsidy payment being allegedly paid to some individuals and corporate bodies through the back door.

    Specifically, the Senate panel has picked holes in claims by Petroleum marketers and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, that the landing cost for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is N171 while domestic pump price for the product is N145.

    Briefing newsmen at the National Assembly yesterday, the chairman of the Senate Downstream Petroleum committee, Senator Kabiru Marafa, raised questions on who pays the difference of the N26 in the landing cost of N171 against the pump price of N145.

    Marafa said there are indications that a subsidy of N26 is being paid on every litre of petrol sold in the country and wondered who has been paying the subsidy.

    Marafa said: “If there is subsidy payment, then who approved it and how much has been paid out as subsidy so far? If you want to provide subsidy, it should come through the National Assembly, but we have not received any request for subsidy payment from the executive arm.”

    Stating that about N10 trillion has been paid out as subsidy, Marafa lamented that stakeholders in the Petroluem industry, particularly the NNPC, have not been transparent in the running of the sector.

    Marafa said these are some of the issues the Minister of State for Petroluem Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Baru and others will be made to explain to Nigerians at the January 4 hearing.

    “We are going back to the same circle where only a few persons benefit from subsidy payment at the expense of the Nigerian people,” Senator Marafa said.

    The Senate committee chairman vowed to expose government officials involved in the illegal subsidy payment at the scheduled public hearing, stressing that there was never a time any request for subsidy payment was brought before the National Assembly for approval.

    Baru had, last week, announced that petrol is being subsidised to the tune of N26 per litre; a claim that was earlier made by petroleum product marketers.

    The NNPC boss had also claimed that the product was being smuggled across the country’s land borders owing to price disparity that exists between Nigeria and its neighbouring countries.

    According to him, insurance and freight price of PMS is $620 per metric ton, insisting that at N305 to a dollar for importers, the landing cost translated to N171 per litre.

    Marafa regretted that the same administration which claims to be fighting corruption in the oil industry is being seen to be involved questionable subsidy payments.

    Continuing, the lawmaker said: “This happened in the past and we fought against it. Why is it still happening now? We will look at the Direct Sale and Direct Purchase (DSDP) system introduced by this government to replace the swap system of the last administration.

    “The crisis associated with sourcing of foreign exchange by marketers will also be looked into during the open investigation.

    “The Senate believes that there is complacency by some people who should carry out some responsibilities. Hoarding would not have taken place if some of these officials did what they should do.

    “There are sharp practices in the sector that must be stopped. We don’t want to go back to subsidy regime again because it had made the nation to lose some N10 trillion in the past.

    “They want to take us back to the subsidy regime that has never been beneficial to ordinary Nigerians across the country. We cannot go back to such scam called subsidy regime, which robbed the country of N10 trillion between 2006 and 2016”.

     

  • Baru returns from London

    Baru returns from London

    •Senate summons NNPC GMD

    NIGERIAN National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru has cut short his trip to London in a bid to salvage the fuel supply and distribution challenges being witnessed in some parts of the country.

    Baru, who was billed to receive the Forbes Oil & Gas Man of the Year Award 2017 in the British capital yesterday, flew back home to attend to what he described as a “matter of urgent national importance”.

    According to the NNPC boss, the corporation was doing everything within its reach to address the situation.

    NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in a statement yesterday, quoted Baru as saying that “for the umpteenth time, I wish to call on all Nigerians to stop panic buying. We have said times without number that NNPC has sufficient products to cater for the needs of all consumers”.

    The corporation assured the citizens that it has the full commitment of downstream stakeholders, including petroleum marketers and industry unions, to cooperate in achieving zero fuel scarcity this season and beyond.

    Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources yesterday invited the Baru to explain the fresh fuel scarcity.

    The committee also said it has concluded arrangements to begin nationwide inspection of filling stations following fears of possible fuel scarcity.

    Chairman of the committee, Senator Kabiru Marafa, stated this while briefing reporters after an investigative hearing on the issues.

    The Zamfara Central lawmaker noted that the Senate would not watch some unpatriotic persons put Nigerians through any form of hardship, particularly few weeks to the Yuletide period.

    He said though the Senate had adjourned to begin budget defence, members of the committee would take time out to go on the oversight.

    The committee chairman warned filling stations in the habit of hoarding fuel to inflict untold pains on Nigerians to desist as it would not be business as usual.

    Marafa assured that the Senate would work with relevant agencies of government to severely punish any filling station found wanting.

    Nigerians, he said, should avoid panic buying and go about their daily activities.

  • Osinbajo meets Kachikwu, Baru at Aso Villa

    Osinbajo meets Kachikwu, Baru at Aso Villa

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday met with Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Maikanti Baru.

    Both of them are at daggers drawn over the allegation by the minister that the NNPC GMD authorised $25 billion contracts without following due process. He also accused him of insubordination.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting, Kachikwu said: “It is a meeting on the upstream, a normal typical meeting. It was largely AGIP bringing some information to the Vice President on where they have been in terms of Okpai, in terms of  Zabazaba Deepwater oilfield, in terms of the cash call exit, which they are doing with NNPC, basically updating him, asking for areas where they need some assistance from government officials to sort of fast-track. It was a normal upstream meeting.”

    Asked if the GMD was part of the meeting, Kachikwu said: “Definitely, of course.”

    On the extent the issue of cash call was discussed, he said: “Yes, we did only to the extent that a few completion items on NNPC, largely the opening up of the escrow accounts and that type of stuff which they need to fasten up on.

    “But we are far gone on that. Installment payments are already going on, I think NNPC is undertaking by October or early next month to complete that whole process. So, it is going on very well.”

  • Osinbajo, Kachikwu, Baru meet in Villa

    Osinbajo, Kachikwu, Baru meet in Villa

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday met behind closed doors on oil upstream issues involving the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru.
    Kachikwu, in a leaked letter to President Muhammadu Buhari had accused Baru of awarding $25 billion contracts without following due process.
    Speaking with State House correspondences after the meeting, Kachikwu said: “Its a meeting on upstream meeting, a normal typical meeting. It was largely AGIP bringing some information to the Vice President on where they have been in terms of Okpai, in terms of  Zabazaba Deepwater oilfield, in terms of the cash call exit which they are doing with NNPC, basically updating him, asking for areas where they need some assistance from government officials to sort of fastrack. It was normal upstream meeting.
    Asked if the GMD was part of the meeting, Kachikwu said “Definitely, of course.”
    On the extent the issue of cash call was   discussed,  he said “Yes we did only to the extent that a few completion items on NNPC, largely the opening up of the escrow accounts and that type of stuff which they need to fasten up on.
    “But we are far gone on that, instalmental payments are already going on, I think NNPC is undertaking by October or early next month to complete that whole process. So it is going on very well.
    Asked if petrol price will come down before Christmas because of improvement of revenue, he said “I will like the GDM who does the commercial aspect to comment on that, I will need his position before I can even comment on that.”

  • Kachikwu/Baru diatribe

    Perusing the response of Group Managing Director of the NNPC (GMD-NNPC), Maikanti Baru to allegations against him by Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu shows clearly that the matter cannot be resolved in the court of public opinion.

    With yawning gaps and inability to address some of the substantive issues to the letter, an independent inquiry is the way to get at the root of the matter. Since Baru’s response following President Buhari’s directive raised new issues and therefore cannot put a seal to the controversy, it became difficult to fathom how the new issues will be addressed especially in the unlikely event that Kachikwu will come public with fresh facts.

    For a man still battling suspicion of having leaked his letter to the president to the media, he will be definitely hamstrung in taking on Baru to clear some of the new issues, inaccuracies and distortions he may find in that response. The dilemma is: should Kachikwu have responded to the new issues or not? If he did, he would be adding to the credibility baggage of a government whose image was badly dented by the weighty and scandalous disclosures. It could also be construed as a further attempt to discredit the government and enough grounds to associate him with the leakage of the letter.

    If he did not, he would have played into the hands of Baru and the government especially given the attempt in some quarters to dismiss the allegations as lacking in substance. There is no doubt that the government is uncomfortable with the turn of events and would seek every avenue to fault Kachikwu. Baru himself has been busy renting support as is evidenced by the solidarity visits/support for him by labour unions in the industry even when the allegations are yet to be determined.

    And one begins to ponder what business the unions have in a matter that is still unfolding. Or is it part of the culture of division and fear the minister referenced upon in his letter?

    Apparently to unknot this dilemma and save Kachikwu the burden of allowing Baru get away with some of the gaps; inaccuracies and inability to address some of the troubling issues, associates of the minister would not let go. They have come up with searing posers to show that the issues are not as simple as Baru has made the public to believe.

    The substance of Baru’s response is that extant laws and regulations do not mandate him to consult either the minister of state or the board of the NNPC in the award of contracts. Hear him: “the law or rules do not require a review or discussion with the minister of state, or NNPC Board on contractual matters”.

    He believes that since the president combines his executive powers with that of minister of petroleum, he has no business letting Kachikwu into the running of the affairs of the organization. And since he claimed no money was lost to the organization, it is deemed all the necessary and sufficient conditions for transparency and due process has been satisfied. He armed himself with the further claim that Kachikwu followed the same process when he held forth as the GMD of the NNPC.

    Hiding under this legal angle and the fact Buhari combines the portfolio of the petroleum minister with his executive position; Baru would want to be cleared of any wrongdoing even if he loses nothing taking the minister of state and the board into confidence. Ironically, that is not all there is to the legal dimension.

    Attention has been drawn to Section 130(2), 148(1) of the constitution and Section (1) of NNPC act. This section of the constitution deals with the powers of the president. Nowhere did that section allot the portfolio of the minister of petroleum to the president. In other words, it was not intended by the framers of the constitution that the president should usurp the powers of the minister of petroleum. So Baru cannot find safe haven in the legal angle since the constitution takes precedence over and above the NNPC and Procurement Act.

    Even then, issues have been raised regarding the claim that the Tenders’ Board rather than the Board of the NNPC has the responsibility to award contracts. The technicalities of these cannot be resolve here as they should be left to a commission of inquiry. But even without apportioning blames, it is obvious that Baru made a desperate attempt to take refuge under technicalities to evade the scandal of having the tenders’ board solely appointed by him as the final authority on contractual matters without reference to NNPC board.

    The same NNPC Act also stated that “the affairs of the corporation shall be conducted by a Board of Directors of the Corporation” and has overall supervisory powers of the corporation. How possible is it then to contend that these supervisory powers preclude the award of contracts. And what interest is served by ousting the board such roles in matters of contracts running into billions of dollars? Or put differently, what does Baru stand to lose if the board is taken along in such awards? Again, is the course of due process and transparency not advanced by openness rather that secrecy?

    Baru’s contention has to be taken with a pinch of salt given that even when he sidetracked the minister of state and presented some of these to the acting president for approval, he was duly advised to clear them with the minister. But he would not have any of this. It was therefore obvious that Baru was more interested in short cuts to circumvent the prying eyes of Kachikwu in the affairs of the corporation. Such conduct cannot further transparency and due process irrespective of the legal loopholes under which he sought to take refuge. There is more to it.

    He claimed Kachikwu as the GMD of the NNPC followed the same reporting line. In this, he is economical with the truth as the situations were quite different. As at the time Kachikwu reported to the president, there was no minister of state and no board for the NNPC. So, citing the instance to justify his situation cannot hold water. At best, it is an attempt to conceal information and deceive discerning members of the public.

    But even if Baru could conveniently hide under legal technicalities on the award of such humongous contracts, what laws supported the key appointments he made without either reference to the minister of state or the NNPC board he chairs? Is it surprising that he evaded aspects of this allegation against him? The fact of this casts serious slur on whatever point he sought to make on the position of the law on the award of contracts in the corporation. And as we have seen, even his claims are still largely provisional.

    Since new facts were adduced by Kachikwu’s loyalists to throw more light to the claims in Baru’s reply, the NNPC has come forward again with new claims associating the minister with some of the contracts it awarded and other decisions of the corporation. We may yet be treated with another response from those loyal to Kachikwu and the altercation will have no end.

    That is why an independent inquiry such that the Senate has promised to initiate points to the way forward. Such a panel of knowledgeable and legal minds will have the comfort of mind to go through our laws and make recommendations that will put a check to some of the embarrassing disclosures emanating from the current controversy.

    Beyond this, it is very clear Baru was merely exploiting gaps in extant laws to run the affairs of the NNPC as a sole proprietorship. The motive cannot further the course of due process and transparency. Even if one was tempted to give him the benefit of doubt on the position of the law in the award of contracts, the fact that he sidetracked both the minister of state and the board in making the controversial key appointments exposed the duplicity of his motive. Or is it surprising that the appointments excluded the South-east in the same manner Buhari excluded the zone in the composition of the board of the corporation.

    The government might be making efforts to cover up this huge embarrassment as was with similar cases where key officials of the regime were accused of corruption. But it cannot afford to leave the weighty allegations hanging without dire consequences to its touted war against corruption.

  • The women are winning

    The women are winning

    For long she kept quiet as her reputation suffered insufferable assault from those who ordinarily should protect her – even adore her. They mounted a massive campaign of calumny against her and everything that she stood for. They called her names, some of which I dare not report here for fear of being accused of hate speech and crass indecency.

    Without iron cast proof – or any proof at all, according to her legal counsel – she was accused of theft (of all offences; as if she is a common Lagos pickpocket); yes, theft, not stealing or corruption or misappropriation or misapplication or diversion as people of her status are often accused.

    Poor woman. Former First Lady Dame Patience Faka Jonathan went through a lot. Her patience apparently overstretched, she has come out to fight. She broke the ice with President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to rein in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its boss Ibrahim Magu.

    She accused Magu of planning to destroy her and her family in a statement signed by her Chief Press Secretary, Belema Meshack. Dame Patience believes she is being “persecuted because of her unflinching support for her husband during the 2015 elections.”

    “President Buhari should be reminded that his wife also supported him in all the elections he contested against her husband, former President Jonathan, but Dr Jonathan did not at any point in time carry out personal vendetta or go after Buhar’s wife,” she said in an emotional tone.

    Dame Patience said Michelle Obama campaigned vigorously for her husband, “but we are yet to see President Donald Trump move against her.”

    Good logic. Instead of praising her courage, those disgruntled fellows to whom the pursuit of any noble cause is an opportunity to exhibit their frustration, descended on the former First Lady. All the fine points she made in her defence against the accusation of theft, which the EFCC hurled at her, made no sense to them.

    If her mother willed to her the billions –in local and hard currency – she claims to own legitimately, what did the old woman do to earn such a fortune? Was she also a first lady? How much does a permanent secretary earn in Bayelsa State? Could her pay have got her the N6b property just discovered in Abuja? She said some of the cash came from her ice cream trade; is she Unilever?

    The inquisition went on and on. Even Imelda Marcos, in all her excesses, was not this relentlessly pilloried. When shall we begin to respect our dearest ones? Now all that must stop. Buhari will call Magu and his men to order and the Dame will go in peace to enjoy the life of bliss she has so hard to prepare for.

    Indeed, feminists are winning. Their campaign about women’s rights seems to be working, going by the events of the last few days.

    After a long silence, First Lady Aisha Buhari has launched a scurrilous criticism on our healthcare services, dismissing them as poor. She specifically cited the State House Clinic that attracts huge budgetary allocations yearly as lacking basic facilities. The x-ray machine has broken down. There are no syringes, but buildings are being erected, she said.

    I wonder why the President’s wife would expect any official worthy of his Villa access card to pay attention to syringes, plasters, cotton wool and such imperceptible items . They are bought with peanuts. All eyes are on the big projects in which billions are sunk, understandably so.  We need such buildings to keep those equipment Mrs Buhari spoke of. Besides, when the time comes to account for the funds received by the clinic, no serious auditor will be talking about syringes, plasters and such trivial details that cost some millions.

    Besides, is the clinic really meant for the First Family? The Villa is a big community – of gardeners, body guards, drivers, cleaners, stewards, clerks and others, including domestic animals.

    Before Mrs Buhari vented her anger, Her daughter Zahra had asked the clinic’s management to justify its N3b allocation. The query is yet to be answered. The Zahra query reminds the attentive audience of a former minister of Works who was asked by the Senate to justify the ministry’s  N300b allocation in the face of the near collapse of all major roads.  Chief Tony ‘the Fixer’ Anenih simply told the lawmakers to get educated; allocation is different from release, he said. That was the end of the matter.So, dear first daughter, there you have it.

    Just like Dame Patience, former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has suffered untold verbal assaults from people who could never have been qualified to know even a little about her lifestyle. They said she stole  N47.2b and $487.5m, bribed INEC officials with N362m to rig the 2015 election, bought choice property in Dubai and other cities of note and travelled the world in private jets.

    With remarkable stoicism, she bore it all – insults, lies and abuses. Perhaps  buoyed by the new wave of women activism, Mrs Alison-Madueke has told a court to order that she be allowed to defend herself in one of those numerous cases filed against her associates.

    Since she made that bold move, some cynical fellows who will never fight for their own rights let alone stand up for others, have been calling her names. She is shameless. Shouldn’t greed have a limit, even by her standards? Why will she not just stay in Britain, go through her trial quietly and stroll into jail or freedom? They did not spare her?

    Not to be outdone in the game, the Federal Government through Attorney General Abubakar Malami announced that Mrs Alison-Madueke would not be  allowed to return now.

    That is unfair. Why won’t they admire the former Minister’s courage – that she is threatening to return home and clear her good name? How many of those who have been indicted of looting the treasury are willing to return home?

    Let us spare a thought for women of courage. With so many weak men at the helm of affairs now, who knows, our salvation may well lie in their delicate hands.

    Until he brought in the women angle, nobody listened to Senator Isah Hamman Misau ( Bauchi Central). He accused Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris of corruption on a scale beyond imagination. He challenged the anti-corruption agencies to move in. The police fired back. They accused the senator  of being a deserter and threatened to make him account for his unpatriotic action.

    All was quiet. We all thought the matter had been settled in the usual way when big boys fight. Suddenly, Misau showed up in the Senate and accused the police chief of putting an officer in the family way and marrying her to cover up the misdemeanor. That was expolosive or salacious enough for the Senate to set up a high powered committee of members who have been distinguished in such oversight duties to probe Misau’s allegations.

    Now, Idris will have to face the Senate – in uniform – to explain how it all happened. Was it consensual or forced? Who started it all? Was it a case of seduction?  Who seduced who? Are police officers allowed to think about matters of concupiscence while on their delicate duty? In other words, are officers allowed to display their soft side while on duty? Is conjugal disloyalty a reflection of professional laxity? How soft is a police chief’s heart in matters of affection?

    Like a bolt from the blues, allegations of  levelling “injurious falsehood” against the IG have hit Misau. The hunter is now the hunted. Nigeria we hail thee.

    Whichever way it goes, our women should be happy. They are winning.

     

    Ala – Baru versus I- Kachikwu

    The barber shop crowd  – of analysts, emergency experts and loafers – was there again on Saturday. With Papi D presiding, as usual, it was a visitor’s delight.

    A young man fires the first question of the day.

    “Sir, what is this Baru, Kachikwu matter all about?”

    Papi D smiles mischievously and begins with a lengthy reply. All is quiet.

    “You see, when you’re confronted with this kind of wuruwuru situation, with Baru threatening to dabaru everything, you draw from your philosophical and etymological experience.

    “In Oyingbo market, alabaru  is the porter. He is onye-ibu in Ariaria market and mai-kaya in Geri Kasuwa. If you don’t watch him closely, he may disappear with your goods. He may also slip and fall, spilling it all, if he is tired or his basket is overloaded. What you have here is an NNPC chief Baru who has refused to be a porter (alabaru), threatening to destroy (dabaru) everything and spill the beans because of the intrigues (wuruwuru).”

    “That’s a bit complex sir. Can you break it down? Expound your argument, Papi D.”

    “Okay. Listen. Kachikwu means ‘who is greater than God’. Right? Put an ‘I’ in front of that and merge it with the first two letters, taking off ‘Chukwu’; what do you have? “Ika” (evil). When a Baru feels a Kachikwu wants to visit him with evil, you have this kind of situation, which Fela Anikulapo- Kuti (my respects, always) called roforofo.”

    There are many questions. Why will a minister find it difficult to see the President? Did Kachikwu’s letter get to Buhari? They told us no money changed hands; so? Who hasn’t heard about the cashless policy? Why have an NNPC Board with members whose job is just to drink tea and share jokes? What does the future hold for Kchikwu? Not cheery, I’m afraid.