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Tag: diversion

  • EFCC arraigns oil marketers for alleged diversion, theft of N1.042b

    An Ikeja High Court heard yesterday how two oil marketers, David Nwachukwu and Frank Okeke allegedly diverted N1.042billion meant for rentals accrued to a leasing company and  haulage services of three companies for personal use.

    Nwachukwu and Okeke are facing a 14 count charges bordering on conspiracy and stealing contrary to section 409 and punishable under 281(1) of the Criminal Code, Law of Lagos State 2011 preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Raliat Adebiyi.

    They were arraigned before the court alongside their companies,  Haulage Oil and Gas and Franviok Limited.

    The defendants were also charged for retention of proceeds of criminal conduct contrary to Section 17 (b) of the EFCC  (establishment) Act, 2004.

    Led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, a witness of the commission, Orji Chukwuma, told the court that a petition,  written by Leasing Company of Nigeria Limited  (now LECON Financial Service Limited) over alleged diversion of funds was assigned to his team to investigate.

    He said: “Upon receiving the petition, a lot of investigations were carried out. We investigated staff of Total Plc, LECON, Bank of Industry. We recovered some documents such as internal memo. Some of the people we interrogated made statements. I came across one Bassy Effiong, we interviewed him on the product he sold.”

  • Panel to probe alleged diversion of N62.3b at NSITF

    Panel to probe alleged diversion of N62.3b at NSITF

    The Federal Government has constituted an administrative panel of enquiry to investigate how over N62.3 billion was allegedly mismanaged by the former management and board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

    Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige, who inaugurated the panel yesterday, sent  six officers of the fund on 30 days leave in the first instance to enable the panel discharge its assignment unhindered.

    Sent on compulsory leave are: General Manager, Legal Adebayo A. Aderibigbe; Deputy General Manager, Finance Henry Ekhasomi; General Manager, Social Security Ishmael Agaka; Deputy General Manager, Internal Audit Zwalda Ponkap; General Manager, Information, Catherine Ugbe; and General Manager, Compensation Dr. Kelly Nwagha.

    The minister said the nine-member panel headed by Director of Finance and Accounts of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment Ishaya A. Awotu would look into the financial state of the NSITF with a view to purging it of “negative trails inflicted on it by its last board and management”.

    In a statement, the ministry’s Director (Press), Olowookere Samuel, quoted Ngige as saying: “As you may be aware, the last board and administration of the NSITF left negative trails inimical to any advancement and progress for both the human and infrastructural components of the NSITF.

    “The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) had discovered various acts of fraudulent diversions from the Federal Government and Private Sector Contributions amounting to N62.3 billion as at 2015, allegedly perpetrated by the past board and management staff of the NSITF.”

    In instituting the public inquiry, the minister said though the EFCC was already handling the criminal investigations leading to the prosecution of the former managing director, general manager (Legal) and the deputy general manager (Finance and Accounts), it was crucial to further unearth the administrative machinery that made the looting of such a colossal sum of public fund possible and forestall its reoccurrence.

    He lamented that contrary to the Act establishing the NSITF, no Accounting Audit Report and Returns had been done in the organisation since 2013.

    “On assumption of duty in November 2015, I requested for the Audit Report to enable my office render same in my Annual Report to the President as required by Sec. 30 of the NSITF Act, CAP. N88, Laws of the Federation, 2004 but no feedback was given on the matter in 2015, 2016, and even 2017. All efforts made in this direction were frustrated.

    “In 2017, I specifically requested the Auditor General of the Federation to conclude periodic audit check as required by Section 85(4) of the Constitution. This yielded no result as the officials of the NSITF gave no cooperation to the Federal Government’s auditors,” Ngige said.

    The panel, whose membership cuts across relevant ministries, departments and agencies will be chaired by Ishaya A. Awotu, who is the director of Finance and Accounts in the Federal Ministry of labour and Employment.

    Dr. Ifeoma Anyanwutaku, director of Occupational Safety and Health in the Ministry, will serve as secretary.

    Other members include: Mrs. P.O Odusanya from the office of the Auditor General of the Federation, Mr. S.U. Ukut from the National Salary Income and Wages Commission, Millicent Ikeotuonye from the Budget Office of the Federation and Eze Osuagwu, representing the Organised Private Sector.

    Also included are: representative of the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Ibrahim Jilbia, who is director of Skills Acquisition and Certification as well as Mrs. D.E  Ajiboye, director, Social Security and Cooperative Development – both from the Ministry of labour and Employment.

  • Dasuki’s aide under probe over diversion of N36.4b

    Dasuki’s aide under probe over diversion of N36.4b

    • EFCC traces N3.12b meant to protect dams, wells to his company’s account
    •Agency investigates release of N10b for 2015 governorship poll

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has traced N3.12billion to the bank account of a company allegedly owned by a Special Assistant to a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).

    The sum is suspected to have been diverted from about N36.4billion voted by the Goodluck Jonathan administration for the protection of dams, wells and sources of water in the North-East against being poisoned by Boko Haram.

    Investigation by the EFCC shows that only N3.12billion of the N36.4billion was paid to a company allegedly owned by the suspect.

    A review of the company’s account suggests that the cash may have been used for “political and personal patronage.

    Detectives of EFCC are working on the theory that the N3.12billion was shared by politicians, friends of the government and relations of the former NSA.

    It has already set up a team to interrogate suspected beneficiaries of the N3.12billion to explain the services rendered to deserve such a huge payment.

    The balance of N33billion which is supposed to be in an account domiciled in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is yet to be traced. It was operated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

    The Nation gathered that sometime in 2011, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan received a memo alleging threats by Boko Haram to poison all the dams, wells and sources of water in the North-East and other insurgency flashpoints in the country.

    Although Jonathan initially ignored the memo, it was exhumed in March 2014 by the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) when the insurgency got ferocious.

    The memo recommended the need to protect the sources of water in the North-East.

    Investigators of the alleged diversion said: “Following the delay in attending to the request, a fresh memo was raised in March 2014. At the end of the day, about N36.4billion was approved and released to ONSA through the Naira account maintained by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation but operated by the ex-NSA and the Permanent Secretary, Special Services.

    “From the N36.4billion, about N3, 125,000,000 were released to a company already traced to a former Special Assistant to the ex-NSA. Detectives have discovered that the balance of over N33billion was diverted.

    “Even the profiling of the N3, 125,000,000 account of the slush company indicated that the cash was used for political and personal patronage including transfer to some relations of the ex-NSA.”

    A highly placed source in EFCC confirmed yesterday that operatives “are working round the clock to track the whereabouts of over N33billion because no contract was executed for the protection of the dams and other sources of water in the North-East.

    “As for the beneficiaries of the N3.125billion, we are already on their trail through bank records, accounts and Bank Verification Number (BVN) which have proved useful to our operations. We will ensure the recovery of the diverted funds.”

    The latest bend of the investigation also showed curious spending of N20billion by ONSA between March and May 2015.

    It was learnt that detectives claimed that “the purpose of the cash withdrawals from the government’s account was unknown.”

    Sources said: “Immediately after the Presidential Election on March 28, 2015, ONSA requested for another N10billion to prepare for the Governorship Election on April 11. It was approved again by the ex-President.

    “And in May 2015, another N10billion was approved and released to ONSA. All these funds were remitted to ONSA outside the budget allocated to security agencies for the 2015 General Elections.

    “Our operatives are investigating the rationale behind these releases; how the funds were diverted; culpable officers and how to recover the cash.

    “So far, our team of investigators cannot trace any project executed with the N36.4billion to protect water sources from being poisoned by Boko Haram.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “About one and half years after the N36.4billion were withdrawn, the Nigerian Army on September 2015 confirmed that some sources of water in Borno State were polluted and poisoned by the insurgents.

     

    “We strongly suspected that the votes for the protection of sources of water were diverted or converted into personal use.”

    On September 15, 2015, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations said information reaching its Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole indicated that Boko Haram terrorists had now resorted to poisoning water sources like wells and streams in areas they were dislodged by gallant troops or areas threatened by offensive operations.

    He said the insurgents had allegedly “poisoned cattle water ponds in Kangallam village along Marte and Abadam axis in Borno State where a large number of cattle died after drinking water from the ponds.”

    “The action of the terrorists is no doubt aimed at taking their own pound of flesh on the innocent citizens and livestock as a result of the unbearable offensive operations through the combined effort of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force to rout them out completely from their enclaves and hide-outs all over the North East.

    “In view of this development, citizens are called upon to avoid as much as possible drinking water from unverified sources, especially in locations that troops routed out Boko Haram terrorists.”

    Dasuki is currently standing trial for corruption related cases.

     

  • Prof. jailed 40 years for graft in Ibadan

    Prof. jailed 40 years for graft in Ibadan

    A Professor of Agriculture, Benjamin Ogunmodede of Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IART), was yesterday sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine by a Federal High Court in Ibadan.

    Two others, Zacchaeus Tejumola and Adenekan Clement, also got the same sentence.

    Prof. Ogunmodede, also a reverend in Anglican Church, is the former director-general of IART, Apata, Ibadan. Tejumade and Adenekan were chief accountant and employee of the institution.

    They were charged with 16- count on conspiracy, unlawful conversion, stealing of school subvention and others, in 2011.

    Justice Ayo Emmanuel sentenced the accused to four years per charge. He said the 40 years sentence would run concurrently.

    The convicts were said to have diverted over N177 million from the N600million received as subvention from the Federal Government to pay workers’ salaries and execute projects.

    The court was told that they did not follow due process in executing some of the projects.

    The judgment indicated that the defendants said they used part of the money to bribe members of the House of Representatives and officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance after they facilitated the release of the fund.

    Addressing reporters after the judgment, the leading counsel to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nkereuwem Anana, said the judgment was an indication that the fight against corruption was on.

    He hailed the court for the judgment, saying it would act as a deterrent to others.

     

  • NNPC vows to investigate diversion of diesel in Abuja mega station

    NNPC vows to investigate diversion of diesel in Abuja mega station

    The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at the weekend vowed to investigate alleged diversion of diesel to premium dealers and black marketers at its mega retail outlet on Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Abuja.

    The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, promised that “we will despatch our team of investigators to go there right now.”

    The Nation on Thursday got a hint that that the station was selling diesel to dealers, who were billed to sell in the black market while “unconnected” customers waited endlessly without being served.

    Some customers were waiting with jerrycans while mini-trucks were about to load the product.

    An attendant who simply identified himself as Ferdinand O. said: “Come and look at the six drums, they are empty, except the one that belongs to Chevron.”

    For two days, the station manager was not available.

    It was however gathered that “there was kerosene and diesel supply shortage following the reluctance of marketers to import the product.”

    Sources said the station was conserving its products due to the shortage of diesel and kerosene.

    Ughamadu said the refineries were still producing and releasing their products to the depots.

    He said: “As we speak, the refineries are on and releasing their products. It depends on what you mean by dealers. NNPC has a subsidiary known as NNPC Retail. As we sell to independent and major marketers, we  also sell to them. They get kerosene and diesel from us as well as the majors. So, if you know the particular station, we will investigate to find out why they are not selling.”

    On being told it was the NNPC station on Olusegun Obasanjo Way in Abuja, Ughamadu promised that “we will despatch our team of investigators to go there right now.”

    The National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Abubakar Dankingari, explained that marketers were not importing kerosene and diesel because the products were not deregulated.

    Marketers would not want to import the product to compete with NNPC, which has access to forex and sells at a lower price.

    According to him, NNPC sells diesel for between N160 and N165 while other stations sell for between N265 to N270.

    Dankingari said : “They are selling above the NNPC regulated rate, which they give marketers. So that is the reason why you see some marketers who buy at that rate cannot sell at their filling station at the government regulated rate.

    “But the DPR should take note of those depots which are selling at the government’s rate because if they continue selling it at that rate to the marketers, the marketers have no no option than to increase the money above the government price.”

     

  • APC slams Fayose for alleged ‘diversion’ of Paris Club refund

    APC slams Fayose for alleged ‘diversion’ of Paris Club refund

    •Accuses labour leaders of conspiracy

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has criticised Governor Ayo Fayose for the alleged diversion of N8.8 billion Paris Club refund released by the Federal Government to states to offset salaries and retirees’ allowances.

    The party accused Organised Labour of conspiring with the governor in the alleged mismanagement of the funds.

    The APC, in a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, slammed the labour leaders for alleged complicity.

    The opposition described Fayose as “callous” for his alleged refusal to use the  funds to pay salaries, pensions and severance allowances like his counterparts in other states.

    The APC said Ekiti labour leaders were hobnobbing with the governor in an “unholy alliance to protect the governor for their personal benefits”.

    The party spokesperson declared that “nobody was fooled by Fayose’s payment of one month salary of eight months he is owing”.

    Olatunbosun said:  “The governor’s claim that the  wage bill had doubled without promotion of workers and fresh recruitment is unacceptable.

    “It is more worrisome that whenever labour leaders chose to talk on the welfare of Ekiti workers, they always defend the governor who has pauperised the workers.

    “Fayose has fixed N5.3 billion of this money in Skye Bank so that he can benefit from the interest. The balance of N3.5 billion is in the JAC Account.

    “Fayose only spent the state’s monthly allocation, which has accumulated for many months, to pay one month  salary while giving the impression that he paid the salary from the new bailout he collected.”

    The party said the “latest callous conduct” was a confirmation of its view that Fayose had never been sincere and transparent in his financial dealings.

    “We call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay more attention to Ekiti State finances and ensure that Fayose uses the new bailout to pay salaries.”

    However, the State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the APC of feeding the public with lies.

    Its Publicity Secretary, Jackson Adebayo, in a statement, said the allegations against Fayose “have further confirmed that the APC is peopled by confused and ignorant minds who will fail any economic question”.

    “We implored labour unions to ignore the party because raising issues with it is just like dancing with mad men in the market.”

    PDP said the attack on the labour unions was because the unions have refused to kowtow to the APC which it accused of habouring plans to destabilise the state, adding that the opposition was frustrated by the defeat it suffered in the 2014 election.

  • Alleged diversion of N2b contract funds: Ex-minister, perm sec to testify

    Alleged diversion of N2b contract funds: Ex-minister, perm sec to testify

    Ahead of their arraignment tomorrow, the Federal Government has lined up 11 witnesses to testify for the prosecution in the case of alleged diversion of about N2.3 billion meant for dualisation of Section IV of the East-West road involving ex-Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Godsday Orubebe, and three others.

    Orubebe, Oludare Lawrence Alaba (an assistant director, Ministry of Niger Delta Affiars), Ephraim Tewolde Zeri (director of Contracts in Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited and the company are named in the charge, marked: CR/265/2016

    Among those scheduled as prosecution witnesses are Orubebe’s successor in the Niger Delta Ministry, Dr. Stephen Orise Oru, a former Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, two senior personnel in the ministry – Annietie O Effiong and John Ngene.

    Also included are a senior official of the Federal Ministry of Works, Joseph Gande (who claimed to have been assigned to, among others, monitor execution of the project), consultants and community leaders in Akwa Ibom State.

    They were initially scheduled to be arraigned before Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on August 18. It was shifted to August 30 when prosecution lawyer Osuobeni Akponimisingha told the court his agency, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) was yet to effect service of the charge on the defendants.

    The Nation learnt yesterday that the prosecution altered the charge, raising the counts from five to six.

    According to court documents filed last week, Dr. Oru is expected to testify in relation to his role in the project as Niger Delta Affairs minister from 2014.

    It was learnt Oru may testify that on assuming office, all relevant decisions in relation to the single lane running through Eket Town had been taken.

    In a proof of evidence served on the defendants, Oru is also expected to speak among others, that “a meeting of stakeholders was convened by his predecessor, Godsday Orubeb, where the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, elders of Eket community, chief of staff to ex-Governor Godwill Akpabio and others attended.”

    On his part, Ngene is expected to state all he knew about the contract and how “the compensation fund of N2.3 billion was released to Messrs Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Ltd for further release to the appointed consultants for disbursement to beneficiaries, which Messrs Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Ltd failed to do.

  • Fuel diversion

    Fuel diversion

    •Beyond what Minister Kachikwu disclosed

    With fuel queues refusing to disappear, there appears to be no end to rationalisations by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on why the situation has persisted. Speaking in Lagos at a town hall meeting Monday last week, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, told his audience that truckloads of petrol meant for Lagos and its environs were being diverted to neighbouring Cameroon and Chad.

    “Over 30 per cent of (fuel) supply is diverted”, the minister reportedly told his audience. He added, “In the last five days, we have pumped 400 trucks of product into Lagos State. The total consumption (in the state) at the maximum is 250 trucks; most of those trucks are diverted from Lagos to the hinterland of Chad and Cameroon…We need, literally, a whole army to stop this from happening. So, I continue to supply and over-supply and so we struggle.”

    Nigerians, just like the minister, must be exasperated that the measures aimed at tackling the problem have tended to come to naught. Except perhaps Lagos where there has been some noticeable improvements over the course of the last few days, overall, the situation has largely remained the same with major filling stations not having enough petrol to sell. The exception is the so-called independent filling stations mostly located outside the Lagos metropolis, which continue to get ample stock which they sell far above the recommended retail price.

    It must be said that Nigerians now understand the issues far more than the minister will care to admit. As far as we can see, the main challenge remains one of getting enough supply of the product to go round. The issue of smuggling which the minister alluded to, is secondary, and is certainly not new; what the prolonged scarcity did was to exacerbate the problem. Even at that, the solution appears to us as simple as defining the situation as an emergency which requires not only ramping up supply (which is critical), but also ensuring at the same time that products are actually delivered to designated filling stations.

    Contrary to the minister’s averment, we do not think that the situation requires a battalion of soldiers to solve. Indeed, this is hardly the time to whine and bemoan the situation but rather for the NNPC to sustain the current momentum. If only in the interim, a tracking mechanism – to be drawn up by the NNPC in collaboration with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) – to monitor the movement of products has become inevitable, to curb corruption and to bring some sanity into the fuel distribution business. With mechanism in place, it should not be difficult to identify those behind the nefarious business of smuggling for appropriate sanctions.

    Having said that, we couldn’t agree more with the minister that it is about time the private sector drives the business. The point has been made over and over again that the current business model for the downstream sector is not only outmoded but laden with corruption and rent. Now, more than ever before is the time to push more aggressively for the sector to be opened to the private sector to relieve the NNPC as indeed the treasury of the burden of fuel importation.

    But even more importantly is the need to encourage on-going investments in new refineries to ensure their speedy completion. In the end, a truly liberalised downstream sector not only holds the key to eliminating most of the current distortions in the fuel supply and distribution chain, but also the scourge of smuggling.

  • IPMAN dismisses fuel diversion accusation

    IPMAN dismisses fuel diversion accusation

    The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chief Obasi Lawson, has dismissed the allegation of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, that marketers are diverting fuel to neighbouring countries.

    Speaking yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, while inaugurating Ben Dumbari Dimkpa as the Eastern Zonal Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of IPMAN, he said it was the duty of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to apprehend those involved in diverting fuel.

    Kachikwu, who doubles as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), had while speaking at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos accused marketers of diverting fuel, especially petrol, to Chad, Cameroon and other neighbouring countries.

    Lawson said: “We met with the Minister (of State for Petroleum Resources) two weeks ago, in connection with fuel scarcity in Nigeria. We made all necessary arrangements to alleviate fuel scarcity in Nigeria. The minister also stated that the fuel scarcity will be over very soon. By the grace of God, fuel scarcity has started to go down drastically. The price (of petrol) is going back to its normal position of N86.50 per litre.”

  • APC accuses Fayose of fuel diversion

    APC accuses Fayose of fuel diversion

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has accused Governor Ayo Fayose of alleged complicity in the fuel supply crisis in the state.

    In a statement yesterday by Publicity Secretary Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party said it was in possession of “incontrovertible evidence” that the governor is allegedly contributing to the scarcity of fuel in the state to sabotage President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    Olatunbosun claimed that available information confirmed that daily allocations of fuel to the state were allegedly being diverted to other states with the alleged connivance of some NUPENG officials.

    But Commissioner for Information Lanre Ogunsuyi absolved Fayose of blame, accusing the APC of “advertising ignorance”.

    Ogunsuyi said: “Governor Fayose is outside the country. How can you accuse him of diversion of fuel? What the APC is saying is not worthy of response because they must tell us how the governor did it.

    “The governor has been away for about three weeks now. The DPR is responsible for the downstream sector and the sector is highly deregulated. The APC people are highly uneducated.

    “There is fuel crisis all over the country. Is Governor Fayose responsible for scarcity of petrol, including their so-called diversion in other states?”

    But Olatunbosun said: “Records have revealed that 10 trailers of fuel for Ekiti State on Fayose’s request were diverted mostly to stations outside the state.

    “The Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Dupe Alade, had earlier written for same allocation but her letter was stepped down when Fayose used his office to request for the allocation of fuel to 10 filling stations, many of which do not exist in Ekiti State.

    “The governor’s letter was addressed to the Area Manager at Mosimi and was processed by the Ore office of NNPC.

    “The trailers were loaded last Wednesday and Thursday but the real fuel companies and vendors were prevented from loading until the 10 trailers demanded by the governor left the depot but were diverted to other stations outside Ekiti State.

    He listed the company names in the letter of the governor to include Amsek Filling Station opposite Omolayo along Ikere road, Ado-Ekiti, that is selling above official price.

    “Other stations not in existence in Ekiti State but which appeared in the governor’s letter is Royal Oil, which the letter falsely claimed to exist in Omuo-Ekiti.

    “Rova Oil, also on the governor’s letter,  no longer exists in Ekiti because it has since been sold and its name changed and it is now operating under NNPC. It is located in Ajilosun area of the state capital and selling above NNPC official price.

    “Other non-existent stations in Ekiti but which appeared in the governor’s letter and was allocated fuel is Bisi Jay located in Ile-Oluji in Ondo State.

    “The other company that received Ekiti State’s allocation is Ademur located in Osun State. This company has no station in Ekiti and it has no lifting right or permit in Ore, while Eyeowa Fuel that got allocation does not exist in Ekiti,” he explained.

    He alleged that Moson Global located in Ifon, Ondo State, also received Ekiti allocation at NNPC official price but selling above official price to the public.

    He challenged the governor to deny writing to the NNPC for fuel allocation.

    “There is need for the security agencies and the Minister for Petroleum to investigate the governor’s activities at the NNPC offices both in Ore and Mosimi and the roles of NUPENG officials in this wicked unleashing of pains on Ekiti people.”