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  • Diezani: Court rules today on ‘hidden’ N7.6b

    Diezani: Court rules today on ‘hidden’ N7.6b

    The Federal High Court in Lagos will today decide whether the N7,646,700,000 allegedly hidden in a bank  by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, can be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

    On August 9, 2017, vacation judge Justice Chuka Obiozor granted an order temporarily forfeiting the money to the Federal Government.

    Justice Obiozor’s order followed an ex parte application argued before him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    He adjourned till today for the bank and any other interested party to appear before him to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

    The EFCC told the judge that the N7.6 billion was part of a sum of $153,310,000, which Mrs. Alison-Madueke allegedly siphoned from the coffers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) sometime in 2014.

    The anti-graft agency said she stashed the money in three banks, adding that the Federal Government had since February last year, through an order by Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court, Lagos recovered part of the money from the other banks.

    The anti-graft agency recalled that the Federal Government had recovered N23.4 billion, $5 million and another N9.08 billion of the $153.3m million.

    It urged the court to order Sterling Bank to deliver up to the Federal Government the N7.6 billion still in its custody.

    In an eight-paragraph affidavit, an operative of the EFCC, Usman Zakari, averred that the former Petroleum Minister laundered the money in connivance with other officials of the NNPC.

    On August 7, 2017, Justice Obiozor ordered the permanent forfeiture to the Federal Government of a $37.5million Banana Island property allegedly bought in 2013 by Mrs. Alison-Madueke.

    The property designated as Building 3, Block B, Bella Vista Plot 1, Zone N, Federal Government Layout, Banana Island Foreshore Estate, consists of 24 apartments, 18 flats and six penthouses.

    The judge also ordered that $2,740,197.96 and N84,537,840.70 realised as rent on the property be permanently forfeited to the government.

    Last Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the interim forfeiture of 56 houses allegedly bought between 2011 and 2013 for $21,982,224 (N3,320,000,000) by Diezani.

    Justice Abdulaziz Anka adjourned till September 8 for anyone to show cause why the properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

    On August 8, 2017, The Nation revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) traced N47.2 billion and $487.5million to the ex-minister.

    The agency also claimed that Alison Madueke had N23,446,300,000 and $5 million (about N1.5billion) cash in various banks, which were yet to be forfeited.

    The commission is also investigating properties in Britain and the United States she allegedly purchased with stolen government funds.

    Alison-Madueke, who was a powerful member of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet from 2010 to May 2015, has consistently denied the allegations.

  • N249.6b ‘hidden’ funds: Fed Govt urges banks to deny in court

    N249.6b ‘hidden’ funds: Fed Govt urges banks to deny in court

    Banks denying their alleged link to the hoarding of funds due to the Federal Government have been asked to direct their denial to the court.

    A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Thursday, granted an ex-parte application by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for an order directing the banks to remit the funds to the Federal Government.

    Justice Chuka Obiozor, who gave the order, warned that it  would be made permanent on August 8, unless the banks show cause why the order should not be made permanent.

    The office of the AGF, through its lawyer, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), accused seven banks  of unlawfully withholding $793,200,000 (about N249,659,700,000.00) in breach of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.

    The banks listed in the court documents filed by the office of the AGF are: United Bank for Africa (UBA), Diamond Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, First Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Limited and Sterling Bank Plc.

    Sterling Bank, Fidelity and UBA have denied wrongdoing.

    Court documents stated that $367.4 million was hidden by three government agencies in UBA; $41 million was kept in a National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) fixed deposit account with Skye Bank.

    Also, $277.9 million was found in Diamond Bank, $18.9 million in First Bank, $24.5 million in Fidelity Bank, $17million in Keystone Bank and $46.5 million in Sterling Bank.

    Since the court’s order was reported in the media on Friday, many of the banks have continued to deny any wrong doing.

    But, a senior official in the office of the AGF faulted the banks for rushing to the media with their denial.

    According to the official, since the court has adjourned to August 8 and given the banks up till then to show cause why the order should not be made permanent, their concern should be how to convince the court that they acted legally.

    The official, who wouldn’t want to be named, said: “Don’t mind them. Let them continue to deny. They should file their processes and we will meet them in court. They appear not to know the extent of evidence we have against them.

    “There were even some accounts that were dormant, yet millions of U.S. dollars were found in them. Some of the accounts were opened without names.

    “How do you keep dollars in accounts and yet fail to ascribe names to them? Is that a standard banking practice? I suspect what they are doing is not regular banking.

    “We are waiting for them to file. They can start filing by Monday. This case will be interesting. This case will lead us to a lot of other things. I don’t want to say more than that.

    “They should tell us the government officials and agencies that authorised them to breach the government’s TSA policy and why. We are waiting.

    “Those agencies and officials will have to explain to the court where they got their powers to disregard the government’s TSA policy and encourage banks to hoard government’s funds in coded accounts.

    “The government is determined, this time, to ensure things are done well. We will do all it takes to sanitise the banking sector and free money for the government to fulfil its many promises to the people.”

  • Aregbesola’s hidden treasure in Osun

    Everything in life starts with a promise! To the people of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola represents a new generation of leadership who believes he is accountable to the people he’s elected by providence to govern.Mentally sharp and people-focused,he saw an opportunity not only to provide leadership that inspired trust but also the need to leave an extraordinary legacy that would no doubt outlast this generation.  With his patriotic, imaginative and unselfish arrest of the socio-economic root cause of infrastructure poverty which had limited the state’s ability to create wealth, it is obvious that a revolution, which will,in the not too  distant future, change the state of the state, is in the offing and, when it blossoms forth, its glory will shine to the ends of the world.Beyond the shadow of a doubt,his modest performance has to a great degree shown that Nigeria’s politics is not dirty as people are wont to insinuate;only that we have some people in politics whose minds are dirty and that’s not unexpected!

    To start with, Nigerians will agree that the governor has excelled in the construction of mega structures in most of the schools in the state, an indication that the future of education in Osun Stateis taking shape. Though, no one can change the past, one can only advise old students who have hitherto cultivated the habit of leaving without looking back at their alma mater to have a rethink before it is too late, lest they becomes trangers to institutions that opened their ways of thinking and knowing,courtesy of Aregbesola’s mega-schools programme.

    Also worth mentioning is the school feeding programme,now knownas Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O-MEALS),initiated by his government, which has become a template forthe Federal Government’s Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programme. Added to the list are two libraries he commissionedrecently in Ila-Oragun and Ode-Omu which, again, is a demonstration of his unrivalled passion for the development of education sector in the state. Well, though the results of his inputs intothe sector may not be fast in coming as expected, one can be rest assured that Osun State in the next four to eight years will be a state that everybody will be proud of. After all, success in an examination is a product of many factors!

    Another important area of Aregbesola’s intervention worth mentioning is the appointment of Yusuff Ali as chairman of the Governing Council of Osun State University. In my considered opinion, this thoughtfullyplanned and skilfullyprocessed step is aimed at replicating what AfeBabalolaand Wole Olanipekun did as chairmen of the Governing Councils of University of Lagos and University of Ibadan respectively. No doubt a man of means and contacts, theSenior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is expected touse his wealth of experience and influence to add value to the citadel of learning with a view to upgrading it to a world class institution inline with the dreams and aspirations of its founding fathers. Of course, this is an innovative departure from the old, somewhat-traditional-yet-unproductive ‘job for the boys’arrangementwhich had oftentimes ended up in appointees needlessly drawing from the institution’s avoidably-lean purse.

    In a similar fashion, the approval nod recently given to the state by theTransmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) forthe proposed construction of a power transmission substation to be located at Dagbolu in Osun Stateis yet another in the series of the administration’s many efforts at strategically repositioning the state as another commercial hub in the South-west while the procurement of security hardware, which has led to a sharpreduction  in crime rate recorded in the state since his inaugurationwas an initiative  which benefitsshould not be overlooked.As a matter of fact, I doubt if the near-completion state of theBisiAkande Trumpet Bridgeat Gbongan wouldn’t have by now shamed cynics.

    Personally, I see Aregbesola as an achieving and engaging governor who is always in touch with his people. His intervention   in the agriculture sector is not only geared towards repositioning the state as the food hub of the South-west, it is also aimed at cushioning any bitter or biting effects of the economic recession currently unleashed on Nigeria, thanks to the global economic meltdown. In the same vein, the new lease of life given to the hitherto moribund Cocoa Products Industry in Ede can be viewed as being in line with his election promise of creating employment opportunities as well as attracting investors to the state. The Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES), through which thousands of youth have been engaged, was another way of helping the people’s lives connect to a cause while the presentation of N1.8bn retirement bond certificates to 266 pensioners in the state was a demonstration of the depth of his love for the state’s civil servants.

    Contrary to some erroneous beliefs, great nations are where they are today because their leaders were prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty to confront situations that at one time or the other attempted to break, threaten or suffocate their countries’ existence.For instance, United States of America’s debt is, as we speak, on the other side of $19tr. Still, America is world’s largest economy and greatest nation. InJune, $10bn of Chicago’s municipal debt  was downgraded by Fitch to ‘one level above junk’about the same time China’s debt had become so “fatal” that experts feared it could destroy the country  if some “timely fashion” actions were not taken to remedy the situation. Notwithstanding, China retains her enviable position as world’s second largest economy while  the Windy Cityis,  at this very moment,America’s  third largest city, with the third largest gross metropolitan product andthe most balanced economy in the United States.

    Coming back to Africa, South Africans were two years ago ranked world’s biggest borrowers. Today, South Africa has beaten Nigeria into second place as Africa’s largest economy.Apparently, had Aregbesola not taken loans at the prevailing interest rates  at the time in question  to turn the fortunes of Osun from a blight of wrongs into a progressive and trailblazing state, I doubt if the situation  wouldn’t have been worse!

    All things considered, even if his actions are sometimes bound to be misconstrued and misinterpreted, this is not to say that the governor might not have made mistakes in the course of discharging his duties. After all, he is human, with all the emotions, weaknesses and failingscharacteristic of the human nature! Seemingly, his major mistakes are default in payment of workers’ salaries and late delivery on projects.Others are neither here nor there!  But these can be excused in that they have assumed a national outlook as a result of current realities. All the same, that Aregbesola has, in spite of his human frailty, remained focused and progressive in his practices, attitudes and approaches is commendable.

    To be fair to good governance,the change we voted for in Osun Statewas a divine platform for the radical transformation of the state from the sleepers and the shadows of the past into the present filled with joy and happiness and a future of hope and fulfilment.

    In the words of Napoleon Hill, “the starting point of all achievement is desire.” According to him, “weak desire” leads to”weak results.” The late President John Kennedy corroborated Hill’s views when he averred that economic growth without social progress is a magic formula for poverty.  Aregbesola’s stridesbring to memoryObafemi Awolowo’s introduction of Free Primary Education schemein Western Region in the 1950s. Controversial and at a considerable cost, Awolowo was initially derided for what would eventually turn out to be an indelible imprint in the annals of education as well as the focal definition of governance in Nigeria and beyond.

    So, for us in Osun State, the journey to socio-economic recovery has just begun and how far the Aregbesola-led administration can go is a different matter entirely. Again, whether or not the governor acts Moses or Joshua on this all-important journey, it needs to be noted that he came at a time the state’s political space was engulfed inthe horrible and deadly danger of  indescribable grief   and  paralyzed potentials.

     

    • Komolafe writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State.

  • My Hidden Treasure gets Oct. 25 premiere date

    After successful talents hunt exercise, wife of Abia State Governor, Lady Odochi Mercy Orji has finally fixed a date to premiere the much-anticipated movie ever to be produced in her maiden acting skill hunt for secondary school students.

    The movie, My Hidden Treasure is billed for premiere on October 25, at Kapital Apartments in Gamal Abdul Nasser Close, Near World Bank, Asokoro Abuja.

    Interestingly, the talent hunt search which has empowered young students of Abia State to enhance their latent potential began with its first local government outing at Umuahia North, where four schools in each area were given an opportunity to perfect their skills in acting.

    The 17-day-tour of the local government areas, however, ended with a grand finale late last year at Umuahia Township Stadium.

    Consequently, the movie production and hunting exercise aimed at harnessing, discovering and empowering of young talented Abia citizens, who are of secondary school age at the rural areas who, due to hardship and lack of opportunity, do not have the medium of showcasing their talents.

    However, the success of the talent hunt exercise could be credited to the Hannah May Foundation, the pet project of the governor’s wife which, over the years, had empowered indigent children, women and youths.

    The shortlisted students were Mercy Dike, Ezeigbo Amarachi, Nwabuko Promise, Ogba Nkechi, Okosi Miriam, Nwaozo Ogechi Grace, Ihedoro Gospel, Nnamdi Chioma Gold, Uzoma Oyeoku Inyima, Awah Uduma Rachael, Nzeadi Peterleen, Chike Emerike, Adindu Beauty Chiamaka, Ikeh Juliet, Ukonu Chisom, Ayo Rebecca, Ekeoma Ezinne, Stand-Hope Emmanuel, Ekeka Cynthia and Emmanuel Saviour.

    All featured in the yet-to-be-premiered movie shot in Abia State alongside Olu Jacobs, Charles Awurum, Tom Njemanze, Ed Ifeanyi Nnasor,  Ijele Ozioma Christy and other notable actors.

  • ‘Hidden fortunes’ in a local mat

    ‘Hidden fortunes’ in a local mat

    Before business managers and professionals, students of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) highlighted the “hidden fortunes” in Eni Iran, a locally-woven mat, which is the craftwork of the Ogotun-Ekiti people. They made the presentation last week at the final of the Enactus National Challenge in Lagos. WALE AJETUNMOBI reports.

    It is just a mat, but through their dexterity, they have turned it into a money spinning venture. Eni Iran, a locally-woven mat, is a dying craftwork of the people of Ogotun-Ekiti, which students of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) revived and turned into wealth.

    Before a group of business executives and professionals, the students explained how they used Eni Iran to produce phone pouches, hand bags, flower vases, laptop carriers and portable folders, among others.

    By their feat, the students emerged champions of the Entrepreneurship National Challenge organised by Entrepreneurship Action in Us (Enactus), a non-profit organisation.

    They will represent Nigeria in October at the World Cup Challenge in Beijing, China, where they will present the projects. They will be meeting their peers from over 60 countries including the United States (U.S.), Germany and the United Kingdom.

    The EKSU team beat five other Enactus teams in the final of the yearly entrepreneurship contest held, last week, at the Zinnia Hall of the Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Their projects enthralled the judges, who are top company managers . The judges evaluated the business values of the EKSU students’ projects and declared them the most lucrative.

    Other institutions that got to the final are the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State; Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Kaduna State; Niger Delta University (NDU), Bayelsa State; Kaduna State Polytechnic (KADPOLY), and Tai Solarin University (TASUED), Ogun State.

    The event with the theme: See Possibilities, was sponsored by First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Sahara Group and Verve International. The teams came from over 35 higher institutions and brought quality projects.

    After the first and second rounds, the six teams that presented the most beneficial projects moved to the final, which was graced by the U.S Consular-General to Nigeria, Mr Jeffery Hawkins.

    The EKSU team, led by Dolapo Odupele, a 400-Level Banking and Finance student, made a mark with Eni Iran. The students discovered that many jobs could be created if Eni Iran is modernised.

    The team partnered with Ekiti State Enterprise Development Agency (EEDA) to design fashionable items out of the local mat.

    The market created from selling these products led to the increased production of Eni Iran created income for the craftsmen. The projects also restored the pride of the Ogotun people in mat weaving.

    The EKSU team also presented Tech 4 Rice project, which is aimed at increasing productivity of farmers in Igbemo Ekiti through the introduction of cheap Moringa Folia Spray as alternative to highly-priced fertilisers. The students also devised pest control process for the farmers to reduce rodents’ sabotage.

    The team’s last project was on pollution reduction, in which they partnered with Ekiti Waste Management Board (EKWMB) to convert waste nylons into packing materials. This created jobs for youths in the target communities.

    The KADPOLY and ABU teams emerged first and second runners up.

    Over 36 orphans, 66 women living with HIV and 107 jobless individuals were reintegrated into the society through Life Skill Approach of the KADPOLY team, which also trained staff of a distressed orphanage to boost its monthly income for the children’s upkeep.

    The ABU team’s Saving the Planet Project developed a process, where bio-diesel and cheap fuel could be extracted from Jatropha plant seeds to generate energy for use for domestic cooking. The District head of Bomo Community in Zaria donated 1.7 hectare of land for the project.

    The Bomo villagers were trained in how to extract the oil and sell for commercial use. The project generated income for several villagers and created job for Bomo youths.

    The ABU team also empowered widows in Zaria through the production of Moringa Yagi, a cheap seasoning. Months after the training, the widows were able to cater for their daily need by generating N17,000 from the sales of the product.

    Other finalists also presented projects, which included Making Entrepreneurs and Nourah projects (FUTO), Atelewo (my destiny in my hand) and New Gate (TASUED), Live an Impact for Eternity and Wealth on Water (NDU).

    The judges praised the students for their “brilliant entrepreneurial skills”.

    One of them, Ikechukwu Kalu, the group head of FCMB’s Marketing and Communication, said: “The performance of all the teams is fantastic, given that most of them are 100- and 200-Level students. For the FCMB, it is about just sponsoring the contest; we follow up by picking the projects from there and develop it, so that our youths get empowered and their lives get enhanced.”

    The Country Director of Enactus, Mrs Adesuwa Ifedi, said the students saw possibilities where others saw challenges, stressing that entrepreneurship should not be preached as an isolation concept but as one that would transform people’s lives and the society.

    She said: “In Enactus, we believe entrepreneurship has the power to change lives. This is why we are challenging our undergraduates because they cannot learn it in the classroom. The only way they can learn is when we challenge them and compete against one another; find challenges and turn it into possibilities, take effective action and enable progress. That is when they will see the power business has to change lives.”

    Dolapo told reporters that her team was winning for the first time, having got to the final seven times.

    She said: “We took up the challenge to modernise Eni Iran to turn around the lives of the Ogotun people because we found untapped fortunes in the craftwork.”

  • Hidden truths about commercial motorcyclists

    The ban on commercial motorcyclists (okada riders) in some parts of Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Edo and Plateau states have elicited some reactions from members of the public, accusing the government as wicked and irresponsible.

    Many are of the opinion that commercial operation of motorcycles is a fall-out from the government’s failure to create jobs for the teaming unemployed youths.

    My research, however, reveals that it is not all okada riders that go into the job because of the rate of unemployment. Some of them are plumbers, motor mechanics, farmers, welders, and fashion designers among others.

    There is an unfortunate trend in this generation of youths in Nigeria. They want to run before crawling. Wise men built up wealth overtime but they want to acquire wealth overnight. A 20–year old boy is already eyeing a Murano car.

    I know of one okada rider who was working in a business centre earning N20,000 per month. When I requested to know why, he told me that as an okada rider, he earns N20,000 within one week as against his former N20,000 monthly salary. This urge for quick income is the hidden truth about the rush into okada riding, though some people are into it because of other reasons.

    This singular reason of moving on the fast lane by the youths of today is responsible for drug abuse and the recklessness of most of these okada riders (the rush for trips).

    Bricklayers, carpenters, fashion designers and several other professionals are complaining of not having enough apprentices because they have rushed into okada riding.

    There are some small scale business owners that are in need of staff that can be earning N10,000 to N20,000 per month as the starting point but most of the youths of today don’t want to start small and grow. They want to use blackberry within one month of employment.

    Okada riders should be law-abiding for the safety of lives.

    How many okada have or use side mirrors?

    How many okada riders have reflective jackets?

    How many okada riders have good crash helmets for self and passengers?

    How many okada riders had thorough training on how to ride, hazard perception and defensive riding?

    Their association should commit more energy to capacity building programmes for their members (the okada riders).

     

     

     

     

  • Mark: lawmakers have no hidden agenda

    Senate President David Mark yesterday said the National Assembly has no preconceived agenda on the amendment of the 1999 Constitution.

    Mark spoke when a delegation of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), led by its President, Okey Wali, visited him in Abuja.

    Mark said: “All we are interested in is mobilising Nigerians involved in the process of the constitution amendment.

    “We have no agenda but that which majority of Nigerians desire.

    “I have heard people criticise my position on the desirability of state creation.

    “There is no part or geo-political zone in the country that has not requested for a state.

    “ It is not a David Mark agenda. We shall weigh the scale and respond to the genuine desire of Nigerians.

    “This is a democracy; everybody should be allowed to express him or herself.

    “What we oppose is a situation where a vocal minority wants to impose its views on the majority.”

    Mark said the amendment would be guided by the dictates of the constitution.

    “We shall not do anything outside the constitution,” he said.

    He said public hearings would be held in the 109 Senatorial Districts.

    The House of Representatives will visit the 360 federal constituencies to get the views of Nigerians on the amendment.

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu told the NBA that the process of constitution amendment does not require a referendum.

    Also, Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba restated that the process of constitution amendment would be all embracing, assuring that no group would be sidelined.

    He stressed that referendum as a process can only be accepted if the Constitution is amended to accommodate it.

    Wali suggested a referendum as a process for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution.

    He said it is only when all Nigerians participate in the process that the Constitution can be truly called the Constitution of the people of Nigeria.