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Tag: corrupt politicians

  • Corrupt politicians colluding with bank officials to loot, says EFCC

    Politicians are colluding with bank officials to engage in illicit financial flow, Acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Committee ( EFCC ) Ibrahim Magu has declared.

    He also stated looters are devising new tactics to escape being caught by the drag net of the commission.

    In a solidarity message to the 12 delegate conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday, Magu said the more the commission moves to address corruption, the more those involve devise new strategies.

    He also the commission’s collaboration with foreign partners have begun to yield results, adding with the MoU signed with the United Arab Emirates, the EFCC has been able to trace several assets illegally kept there.

    Magu, who was represented by a Director in the Commission, Dr. Aminu Gusau, said: “Our various investigations, we have unearthed the collusion of bank officials and those of non-designated financial institutions with corrupt politicians in the country, which have brought about an increase in the instances of illicit financial flows into and out of Nigeria.

    “We have realised that the more we spread our tentacles far and wide, even beyond the shores of Nigeria, to catch and bring to book those who hate corruptly enriched themselves from the commonwealth, the more we are discovering the corrupt minded folks are evolving new techniques.”

    Read Also: EFCC secures 40 convictions In January

    He stated the NLC has collaborated with the EFCC at various events anti-corruption walk, among other interactive forum, strategically designed to strengthen partnership.

    He went on: “Corrupt politicians have widened the circles of their corrupt activities by investing them in other African countries, so that in the long run, they sell them and deploy ways of repatriating them to Nigeria, even in the buildup to the election.

    “But, by and by, we are also stepping up our game to combat and hip in the bud, new tactics being deployed to fraudulently divert and misappropriate funds meant for the welfare and good of all Nigerians. We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

    “MoU with the Economic and Organized Crime Office, in Ghana, the Ghana Financial Intelligence Centre and the Ghana police service to ensure that we keep track of such illicit inflow and outflow of suspicious funds.

    “On our part, we are keenly monitoring the movement of cash in the system, and are awake to our responsibility of ensuring provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 are strictly adhered to, especially as it relates to election funding, and the now worrisome incidents of vote-buying.”

  • Corrupt politicians fueling insecurity, says Presidency

    The Presidency yesterday attributed the insecurity in parts of the country to corrupt politicians trying to distract Nigerians.

    It added that the harsh attacks against President Muhammadu Buhari were coming from people who had become used to a life style that they can no longer sustain.

    The Presidency also said there are 2,000 megawatts of electricity which the Distribution copmpnaies DIsCOs are unable to evacuate for use by Nigerians.

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, who spoke to reporters during hisvisit to the All Progressives Congress (APC) national secretariat, said the competition for political power in the country had become so fierce, adding that the stakes were very high and opponents of the President ware doing everything possible to bring him down.

    However, he said, the ordinary Nigerian is aware that the Nigerian elite are going places, sitting in posh homes around the world, trying to thwart the good will of the President towards the ordinary Nigerians, adding that the economy is being rebuilt, more foreign investment is coming and more infrastructure being provided for Nigerians.

    He said they were confident that despite the attacks on the President, he would win the 2019 Presidential election especially in places where he did not do win during the 2015 elections.

    He said: “The problem is that the competition for power in the country has become fiercer and fiercer because the stakes are very high and I will give you one example.

    “The President has unleashed on the country a war against corruption, the type that has never been seen before. Assets are being recovered from powerful people. The President is lucky that he has a judiciary which is transforming itself and on the same page with the President in fighting corruption.

    “You know that two former governors are in jail. A lot of people thought that this war against corruption is a joke and that the back and forth that had characterszed the process over time would continue.

    “One of the two cases that we are talking about was determined after eleven years of back and forth between lawyers and Judges, kicking the ball from this court to that court. But now, there is a new era in the country with the conclusion of these cases.

    “A lot of these harsh attacks against the President are coming from people who had become used to life style that they can no longer sustain. We have on record that we have people in this country, that because they were influential, they have permanent suites attached to them in major hotels in Abuja.

    “They will just come, take the key and live lavishly a public expense. When they are leaving, they are accompanied by bags of Ghana must go. The President has blocked access to national resources by lazy people and so, he is being fought not because people are not happy.

    “This is a government that is building long delayed infrastructure. This country will be a country of railways. There is no stage in the country where a minimum of two federal roads are not being constructed or being reconstructed.

    On whether the government will release former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki following the bail granted him by the court, he said “I have not been briefed on that, but I read it in the social media.

    “When I was making inquiries about these things, I came to realize that you may be accused of about five things and you are granted bail on one or two. But I am going to speak with the Attorney General of the Federation and ask him to address the the media on that issue.”

  • ‘Corrupt politicians pushing for old order’

    The Presidency yesterday said a return of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to power would reverse the gains made under the  Buhari administration.

    Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President Garba Shehu, in an article titled: “The Real Price of Changing the Change (1), said  Buhari is “bad business for a number of parliamentarians and civil servants, some policemen, customs officials and immigration officials” who benefited from corrupt practices during previous administrations.

    According to the presidential aide, as President Buhari is busy fighting corruption, corrupt politicians and civil servants are equally busy praying for the return of the old order when they  illegally amassed public wealth.

    He said: “The list of people who oppose the Buhari government and yearning to ‘change the change’ include a number of parliamentarians, policemen, customs officials, immigration officials, civil servants now rooting for other political parties, not leaving out those various businesses and platforms owned by these political parties directly or indirectly.

    “The Buhari win in 2015, and the possibility of four more years have crumbled their dreams of endlessly looting the state and the growing list of achievements of the administration is not doing any good for them.’’

    Shehu observed that top opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members had been granting interviews and addressing zonal political rallies talking about “changing the change” in next year’s general elections, without defining what exactly that means.

    He, however, stated that Nigerians needed to be reminded of what the reversal of the achievements of the three years of the Buhari government would amount to.

    “The real meaning and cost of the “Changing the Change,” is that if they win the next election, they will not take us back to where we were in 2015, they will mostly reverse the progress the APC has brought to the nation.

    “The main reason for the defeat of the PDP in 2015 was corruption. The present administration at the centre led by President Muhammadu Buhari has so far presented a corrupt-free image of itself,’’ he said.

    He added that the Buhari administration had also succeeded in abolishing grand corruption at the top and as attested to by the American President, Donald Trump.

    He said the government had significantly brought down the level of corruption in the country but, however, warned that corruption was fighting back.

    “Although he said he was unafraid and would not bend, the President’s concern, and fear on the part of many is that if a corrupt leader takes over, it will be happy days all over again for former Oil Minister Diezani Allison-Maduekwe who has so far forfeited 153 million dollars, N23.4 billion, and 4million dollars and 5million dollars in separate accounts.

    ”Change the Change’ would mean she will get the money back. So would the former Managing Director of the maritime agency, NIMASA get back GBP 578,080 seized from him and the Ikoyi apartment owners have back their 43.4million dollars; N23million and GBP 27,800.

    “The hidden owner of the Lagos cash shop may then step forward to reclaim their N449.6 million; the ex-Naval Chiefs will have returned to them the already forfeited N1.8 billion; the Governors Forum paid back their N1.4 billion and the major oil marketers, from whom the EFCC has so far seized N328.9 billion will smile their ways to the bank.

    “The banks themselves will equally join the party, happily getting back N27.7 billion they “ate” from taxes they failed to remit; the scion of the Akinjides, Jumoke will have N650 million awarded to her,’’ he said.

    Shehu further stated that those scammers in INEC, who coughed out N1 billion would equally get money back and charges standing against them in court may be dropped.

    “But the happiest of them all will be Mrs. Jonathan, who will get the first priority when the refunds start coming for obvious reasons.

    “The former First Lady would not anymore need lawyers to keep her mountain of gifts, counted in huge millions of dollars, billions of naira, hotels and buildings,’’ he added.

    He equally noted that the early casualties of ‘‘changing the change’’ might include initiatives such as the Whistle Blower policy by which the government was able to recover stolen or concealed assets through information provided by citizens.

    According to him, this has changed the ethical and moral tone of the business transaction space in the country.

    The whistle blower is entitled to between 2.5 and 5 per cent of amount recovered.

    The presidential aide said that “Change the change” might also result to scrapping the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) which he described as the biggest tax revolution since independence.

    “The Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) now being implemented, and about which many of our rich citizens are unhappy may be scrapped.

    “A recent report shows that there are four million new taxpayers, including companies and individuals, resulting in N700 billion increase in tax revenue in 2017,’’ he said.

    According to Shehu, Buhari is also bad business for importers of diesel and generators because he had raised electric power availability from 2,600 MW in 2015 to 7,000 MW.

    He said the President Buhari-administration was targeting 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2018.

     

  • Primate Olabayo declares war on corrupt politicians

    Primate of the Evangelical Church of Yahweh, Prophet Theophilus Olubayo, has called on corrupt politicians to desist from their evil ways to avert divine wrath.

    He spoke at the 4th annual Theophilus Olabayo colloquium and 45th church anniversary in Lagos at the weekend.

    The colloquium tagged: The impact of Prophets in biblical days: Lessons for Nigeria attracted church leaders, academia and industrialists, among others.

    It featured music, prayers, lecture series and launching of a new magazine; The Testimony, among others.

    God, Olabayo claimed, told him He will surely judge all evils doers and looters of the treasury.

    He asserted they will face the wrath of God if they don’t repent.

    The popular seer decried the spate of corruption, which according to him, is mind boggling, lamenting politicians steal public funds at will without conscience.

    Olubayo said: “The lesson is that we should believe that hope is not lost yet that God loves Nigeria.

    “People who are hiding under the canopy of god fatherism, many of them if they are not dead, will end up in prison if they do not repent of heir nefarious acts.”

     

    He declared God will not allow corrupt leaders, religious fanatics or homosexuals to rule this nation again.

    He assured young leaders with the fear of God will emerge to replace the old corrupt politicians.

    “They shall take over the governance of this country and rule with the fear of God,” he affirmed.

    He predicted Nigeria will have a new leader who will lead between two to five years and implement the much-clamoured restructuring.

    Nigeria, he further said, will have a loose federation with six to seven regions and vice presidents representing the regions.

    Though the situation will be unbearable, Olabayo said  God told him a “new Nigeria will be born. We shall have a country that every citizen would be proud of.”

    In his lecture, former Deputy Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof Dapo Asaju, called for the emergence of true prophets willing to speak the mind of God for this nation.

    Asaju, the Vice Chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University Oyo, noted that the place of the prophet in any generation can never be undermined describing them as fearless, spiritual reformists, writers of oracles, king makers,  champions of moral rebirth and activists who speak against injustice and exploitation of the poor.

    He challenged true prophets in the land to rise and speak truth to power and never allows threats from anyone to deter them from speaking God’s mind.

    “Where are the true prophets who will shout against sin and corruption, call erring public office holders to order and speak God’s mind without any form of sentiments and bias?” he wondered.

    He warned false prophets and teachers to desist from their evil ways because God is ready to expose them.

     

  • ‘Obasanjo’s coalition full of corrupt politicians’

    ‘Obasanjo’s coalition full of corrupt politicians’

    A governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Dr. Adebayo Orire, has urged Nigerians to look beyond the Coalition for Nigerian Movement (CNM) being floated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to restore the nation’s glory.

    Orire said his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is on the path of economic recovery and getting Nigeria out of the woods.

    The aspirant said Obasanjo’s CNM is full of old politicians who contributed in one way or the other to Nigeria’s current sorry situation and sucked the country dry.

    He spoke yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, while featuring on a public accountability programme, My Agenda, organised by the state Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

    Orire said: “Former President Obasanjo is a nationalist; he loves this country, and nobody can take that away from him.

    “He could as well settle privately those things he raised publicly with President Buhari. But our party leaders must study the issues raised and use them to the benefit of the nation.

    “However, his proposed coalition may end up becoming a fluke, because most of the politicians there were those who sucked Nigeria beyond normal.

    “They have participated in the ruin. Let him get a new set of people for the bidding, if he actually means business.”

    On his agenda for Ekiti residents, Orire said he would strengthen the state via an economic rebirth, civil re-engineering and rebranding of the culture and integrity of an average Ekiti person.

    He said: “I will give Ekiti 100 million stands of cocoa, 50 million of palm trees, apart from improving animal husbandry and fishery within four years.

    “I will revive the moribund industries, like Road Maintenance Company at Igbemo Ekiti and Ire Burnt Brick through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to increase production and generate money.

    “Our projection is to give Ekiti 100 small, medium and large scale enterprises in four years. We are going to work with the Nigeria Industrial Bank for loans to actualise this.”

  • ‘Corrupt politicians peddling lies against Magu’

    ‘Corrupt politicians peddling lies against Magu’

    The Movement for Popular Democracy (MPD) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to re-nominate the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, for confirmation as chairman by the Senate.
    MPD’s Executive Director Theo Nwaigbo described as ‘bogus lies’, information making the rounds on social media accusing Magu of impropriety.
    Nwaigbo stated this in Lagos yesterday while reacting to the refusal of the Senate to screen Magu for confirmation because of an alleged security report against him from the Directorate of State Services (DSS).
    “It is a shame that desperate corrupt politicians could resort to peddling wicked lies against such a decent officer.
    “I have known Magu for over 20 years. He has handled petitions from our chambers, right from when he was in Special Fraud Unit (SFU). He never asked nor received money, even as a thank you gesture, after completing his assignment.
    “He does not smoke cigarattes, not to mention Indian hemp or cocaine. Those are lies from the pit of hell. It is really a shame,” Nwaigbo said.
    According to him, Magu’s only ‘sin’ is his uncompromising stance on corruption.
    “I know this fellow, if he were not a policeman, he would have been a priest. He is decent and disciplined.
    “The problem they have with him is that he cannot compromise on crime.
    “That is the heart of the matter. And you know we have a lot of crooks in high places in this country”, he said.
    Nwaigbo urged President Buhari not to succumb to the ‘cheap blackmail’.
    “Mr. President should repackage Magu and send him back to the Senate for confirmation. He should not allow this pure vendetta to derail the anti-corruption war,” Nwaigbo added.
    According to him, the EFCC detention facilities are second to none in the country and of international standard.
    “I was privileged to accompany the Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof Bem Angwe, to EFCC’s cells and we were amazed at the quality of the facilities.

  • CJN blames Executive for poor prosecution of corrupt politicians

    CJN blames Executive for poor prosecution of corrupt politicians

    CHIEF Justice of Nigeria Mahmud Mohammed has blamed the Executive for what she called shoddy prosecution of corruption cases involving politically exposed individuals and those close to them.

    He said such cases suffer neglect because of the lack of “political will” by the Executive, which controls the prosecuting agencies.

    Justice Mohammed challenged the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), to exhibit the government’s resolve to fight corruption with his personal involvement in the prosecution of some notable cases.

    Media Aide to the CJN, Ahuraka Isah, in a statement yesterday, said Justice Mohammed spoke during a  November 24 meeting in Abuja with the AGF, Justices of the Supreme Court and heads of federal courts.

    Isah quoted the CJN as saying that: ‘’Experience within the judiciary shows that there is abject lack of political will to prosecute some of those cases pending before our courts almost a decade in some instances. It is not because there are no special courts, but mostly for reasons of political expedience and other ancillary considerations.

    “I would likewise wish to encourage you (AGF) to display a greater resolve than your predecessors in tackling outstanding cases before the courts. In times past, the Attorney General of the Federation would often lead teams of legal counsel in high profile cases so as to demonstrate the resolve of the government to enshrine the Rule of Law.

    “Sadly, recent Attorney Generals have become less inclined to do this.  I would certainly like to see you, as the Attorney General, appear before us, especially in cases of important national purport.

    “There is the need for seasoned prosecutors to prepare and file charges before courts of competent jurisdiction so that criminal matters are timeously determined.

    “The quality of prosecutions presented in courts by our prosecutorial agencies must be improved upon, as they are sometimes of a standard that will never found a conviction in any court anywhere; yet, a well-prepared prosecution can see to the determination of criminal matter within a month.

    “Of course, no competent prosecutor, who has filed valid charges would permit an accused to mount an interlocutory appeal, to the extent of going forth and back, sometimes twice or more to the Supreme Court, since such lapses could be injurious to the dispensation of justice.’’

    The CJN advised the minister to recruit more lawyers, who should be adequately trained to handle more cases on behalf of the state.

    He remarked that this would create a reservoir of highly trained, public spirited lawyers to feed the Bench and the Bar; and also to act in the stead of private firms, who often charge higher fees at the expense of the public purse.

    Justice Mohammed urged the Executive to support on-going efforts to reform and revamp the justice sector by strengthening the capacity of investigation units with the provision of equipped forensic and ballistics laboratories across the country to aid better evidence gathering and reduce trial times.

    On the issue of judicial funding, his lordship said the judiciary welcomed the idea of zero budgeting as against the incremental style budgeting that often resulted in insufficient resources for the Judiciary to operate.

    The CJN urged the AGF to always attend meetings of judicial bodies like the Body of Benchers, Legal Practitioners Privileges’ Committee (LPPC), Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute (NJI) and others of which he is a member by statutory provisions.

    In his response, the AGF reiterated the Federal Government’s resolve to curb corruption.

    He added that the government was concerned about the working condition of the judicial officers whose services are required to achieve this goal.  The AGF promised to publicly support the judiciary and ensure that legislation against false accusation of judicial officers is put in place.

    Malami assured the judiciary that the emoluments of judges and court workers would be enhanced and that the current budgetary allocation to the sector would be reconsidered.

    He suggested the establishment of an ‘’Interface Committee’’, comprising representatives of the Executive and the Judiciary for the purpose of preparing Executive Bills for Constitution amendment, drawing up workable policies and proposing reforms that would be jointly pursued by the executive and judiciary arms of government.

    Other Supreme Court justices at the meeting were Justices W.S.N. Onnoghen, I. T. Muhammad, M. S. Muntaka-Coomassie, John Afolabi Fabiyi, Suleiman Galadima, Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, Olukayode Ariwoola, Musa Dattijo Muhammad, Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, Kumai Bayang Aka’ahs, K. M. O. Kekere-Ekun,  J. I. Okoro, Chima Centus Nweze and Amiru Sanusi.

    Also at the meeting were Chief Judges of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta and the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Ishaq Bello, the President of National Industrial Court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo and that of the Customary Court of Appeal (FCT), Justice Moses Bello.

  • Ohanaeze youths to name corrupt politicians

    The Youth wing of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) said it has compiled the names of corrupt politicians and looters of the public treasury in the Southeast for submission to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The list contains names of past and present looters of public funds.

    A statement by OYC’s president, Okechukwu Isiguzoro said the list would soon be made public and there will be no hiding place for such characters that brought woes to Ndigbo.

    OYC also called on similar groups in other zones to follow suit so that the nation will be sanitised.

    “Efforts should be made to prosecute these looters to serve as deterrence to others.

    The list is very comprehensive and OYC will ensure that the loots are returned to Ndigbo and Nigerians,” Isiguzoro said.