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Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Buhari mourns slain ex-CDS Alex Badeh

    Orders security agencies to fish out killers

    President Muhammadu Buhari has described the killing of former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd) as “very sad and unfortunate.”

    The President, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, commiserated with the family of the late four-star general, his friends and professional colleagues in the military and the people and government of Adamawa State.

    Read Also: APC youths back Buhari

    Noting the late Badeh, who was also a former Chief of Air Staff attained professional fulfilment in his over three decades military career, Buhari regretted  that he fell victim to incidence of violent and fatal attacks on the nation’s highways.

    He directed security agencies to find the killers of the 15th Chief of Defence Staff and bring them to face the full force of the law.

    He ensured greater security and safety for all users of the country’s roads.

    The President prayed that God Almighty comforts all those who mourn Air Chief Marshal Badeh and grant his soul peaceful rest.

  • PDP accuses Buhari of attempting to doctor unemployment figures

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of attempting to doctor unemployment figures in the country, to create the impression of massive job creation by the administration.
    The party was reacting to a directive by the President to the Statistician General of Nigeria, Mr. Yemi Kale, to change the existing data on unemployment.
    In a statement Tuesday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the main opposition party condemned what it described as brazen attempt to manipulate official statistics in favour of the administration.
    It described it as a new low in the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government’s established “culture of deceit, falsehood and criminal subterfuge”, in its desperation to hang on to power.
    The party further stated that in desperation, the administration is now trying to force the Statistician General of Nigeria to alter genuine data and smuggle in fictitious employment figures.

    The statement said, “Our party holds that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is a professional body, insulated from government interferences, with statutory responsibility to compute credible and verifiable data and statistics, for national planning.

    Read Also: We’ll defeat PDP, Agbaje roundly – Sanwo-Olu

    “The PDP is therefore shocked at this attempt by the Buhari Presidency to corrupt our system through the falsification of employment statistics just to shore up its failed economic policies that have brought untold hardship on the Nigerian people.

    “Nigerians can now see why the Buhari Presidency has deliberately starved the NBS of funds; to prevent it from conducting surveys and releasing further data that highlight the failures of the APC administration.

    “Unfortunately, President Buhari appears to have forgotten that statistics is like a mirror. If the government does not like the ugliness of its reflection, then the problem is not with the mirror.

    “If the NBS backs down for political expediency or intimidation, it would have dealt a mortal blow to the credibility of official statistics emanating from Nigeria. In the future, such official reports from it would be regarded worthless and unreliable.

    “We therefore call on the Statistician General not to succumb to the blackmail of the Buhari Presidency but remain on the path of truth and facts, in the course of his duty”.

  • National Assembly set to receive 2019 budget from Buhari

    The Senate on Tuesday resolved to hold a joint session with members of the House of Representatives to receive President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 budget estimates.

    The resolution followed a communication by President Buhari which sought audience to present the Appropriation Bill at a joint session of the National Assembly.

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, read the presidential letter on the floor of the upper chamber.

    The same letter was read and adopted in the House of Representatives last week.

    It is however feared that the ongoing industrial action by members of Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), may negatively affect the smooth presentation of the budget.

    During the presentation of the 2018 budget, National Assembly workers who also threatened to disrupt the process of the presentation of the fiscal policy were directed to stay at home by management.

    Meanwhile the workers’ industrial action took a toll on the two chambers of the National Assembly.

    Many senators and members of the House did not attend Tuesday’s plenary.

    Some of the lawmakers who saw the intimidating number of angry workers at the main gate to the Assembly complex made detour apparently to avoid being caught in a web of crisis.

    The sitting of the Senate was delayed because the upper chamber could not form the required quorum of 37 members.

    A head count of senators in the chamber showed that less than 30 members attended plenary.

    Saraki entered the chamber around 12.10 pm to behold an empty hollow.

    The Senate President was not deterred as he went on to conduct the business of the day around 12.30pm.

    To show the severity of the situation, only two items on the Order Paper were accommodated before the lawmakers adjourned plenary at 1.05 pm

    Findings showed that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris and Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, did not deploy fresh operatives to the National Assembly as requested by the National Assembly management

    The leadership of the National Assembly, had late on Monday night, asked the Police and the DSS to ensure adequate security within the vicinity of the National Assembly from yesterday to enable members and staff come in and perform their legitimate duties without any hindrance.

    Read Also: Workers shut down National Assembly

    The directive was said to have been given after a meeting of the joint leadership of the two chambers with the management and representatives of the security agencies.

    The meeting was also said to have been initiated by the political leadership to listen to the management led by the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Mohammed Sani-Omolori on efforts made so far to address the grievances of the striking staff.

    The letter read, “The leadership of the National Assembly called the meeting because they know that almost all the issues raised by the striking workers were being addressed by the management.

    “And after listening to the CNA, it was unanimously agreed that the management had made sufficient plans and efforts to address all the grievances of the workers and ensure their happiness.

    “We were sure that the issues raised by the workers have been well attended to and that it is necessary for the business of the National Assembly to continue without any disturbance.

    “Both chambers must hold their normal plenary tomorrow morning to prepare the ground for the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 to present the budget proposal to the joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    “We have therefore mandated the security agencies to perform their duty of maintaining law and order in the National Assembly Complex and its surrounding. They must enforce the laws which allow the striking workers to down tools if they choose to and also the ones which restrain them from disturbing those who choose to work or stop parliamentarians from entering the chambers or their offices to do the work for which they were elected.

    “Senators and members of the House of Representatives, their aides, other workers and people who have legitimate business within the National Assembly Complex are therefore advised to come in as they will be free to operate without any hindrance and molestation.

    “If President Buhari is unable to present the budget proposal on Wednesday as scheduled Nigerians should hold the security agencies responsible for failing in the performance of their duties”

    The statement was signed by the Clerk, Sani-Omolori.

     

  • AI’s damning report angers Buhari, Army

    Amnesty International (AI) Nigeria was battling yesterday to fend off a major credibility crisis after the military rejected its report on attacks.

    The army accused the rights group of planning to destabilise Nigeria by claiming that 3,641 deaths were recorded in herders/farmers clashes. It called for its expulsion.

    But the organisation insisted on the integrity of tis reports and dismissed the army’s position as “empty threats”.

    President Muhammadu Buhari joined the fray. His opinion  – AI’s operations seem to be dampening the military’s morale.

    In a statement yesterday, Army spokesman Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman said AI’s attempt to destabilise the nation was noted through fabrication of fictitious allegations of alleged human rights abuses against security forces.

    Gen. Usman also alleged that AI had engaged in clandestine sponsorship of dissident groups to protest against the leadership of the military against who unfounded allegations were reportedly leveled.

    A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Enough is Enough, and BudgIT) have recently called for the probing of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) over the funding of the war against terrorism and other crimes in the country.

    Read also: Fixing crude oil refining business in Nigeria

    The CSOs alleged that the army had not made commensurate achievement in the fight in line with the huge fund the Federal Government allocated to it.

    The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai,  explained that some of the allocated funds had no cash backing yet and, therefore, not at the disposal of the military.

    Gen. Usman said the local branch of AI, which was hitherto well-respected, had deviated from the core values, principles and objectives of the original parent body in the United Kingdom.

    The military spokesman said: “They have tried over the years, using Boko Haram terrorists’ conflicts, Islamic Movement in Nigeria, some activists and now herders-farmers conflicts.

    “The NGO is at the verge of releasing yet another concocted report against the military, ostensibly against the Nigerian Army.

    “Consequently, Nigerians should be wary of Amnesty International (Nigeria) because its goals are to destabilise Nigeria and to dismember it.

    “The Nigerian Army has no option than to call for the closure of Amnesty International offices in Nigeria, if such recklessness continues.”

    AI dismissed the military’s threat to seal its offices in the country.

    The body said there was nothing to worry over on the military’s verdict that its activities were subversive.

    AI was responding to the army’s reaction to its report on the death toll recorded in the farmers/herders’ clashes in the last three years.

    AI Nigeria Chairman Auwal Rafsanjani said nobody could stop the organisation from documenting and monitoring human rights violations, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere.

    Speaking yesterday at the unveiling of its report “Harvest of death: three years of bloody clashes between herders and farmers”, Rafsanjani said: “Our response to the threat of the military; just like they have threatened to shut down UNICEF activities in the Northeast, I think that rather than this unnecessary hostility on issues that affect all of us as human beings, we will rather advice the military to look at the recommendations that we have provided. Threatening to shut down the operations of AI Nigeria is not the solution to the continued violence, conflicts and criminality we are seeing in Nigeria.

    “We are not a threat, we are rather partners in progress, addressing the lapses of human rights violations but to come and be threatening things that you cannot even stop is a waste of time; nobody can stop AI from documenting and monitoring human rights violations, whether in Nigeria or outside the country, so this is not a threat that really worries us, it is just an empty threat.”

    AI’s Country Director Osai Ojigho said the organisation want the government to live up to its responsibilities, so that if anyone commits a crime, he is arrested and dealth with.

    Ojigho stated that the report showed how the government’s inaction fuelled impunity, resulting in attacks and reprisal attacks, with no fewer than 3,641 people killed between January 2016 and October 2018, 57 per cent of them in 2018 alone.

    She said AI visited 56 communities in Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Taraba and Zamfara states affected by these clashes and conducted 262 interviews, including remotely with members of communities in Nasarawa and Plateau states.

    Her words: “This report documents the violent clashes between members of farmer communities and members of herder communities in parts of Nigeria, particularly in the northern parts of the country, over access to resources: water and pasture. It also documents the failure of the Nigerian government in fulfilling its constitutional responsibility of protection of lives and property by refusing to investigate, arrest and prosecute perpetrators of attacks.

    “The report shows how government’s inaction fuels impunity, resulting in attacks and reprisal attacks, with at least 3,641 people killed between January 2016 and October 2018, 57 per cent of them in 2018 alone.

    “AI visited 56 communities in Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Taraba and Zamfara states affected by the clashes and conducted 262 interviews, including remotely with members of communities in Nasarawa and Ptateau states.”

  • Operation dampening military’s morale, says President

    President Muhammadu Buhari believes the operations of the Amnesty International (AI) in Nigeria appear to be damaging the military’s morale.

    He is worried over the organisation’s role in the war against terrorism, with its action creating the impression that Nigeria is fighting two wars – against Boko Haram and Amnesty International.

    Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, urged the leadership of the international organisation to always scrutinise its advocacy, especially as it relates to the war against terrorism.

    The statement reads: “While President Muhammadu Buhari cherishes and encourages the noble ideals on which institutions like Amnesty International are founded, the organisation’s operations in Nigeria seem geared towards damaging the morale of the Nigerian military.

    “The Federal Government is increasingly concerned about the role that Amnesty International is playing in the war against terror in Nigeria.

    “While President Muhammadu Buhari cherishes and encourages the noble ideals on which institutions like Amnesty International are founded, the organisation’s operations in Nigeria seem geared towards damaging the morale of the Nigerian military.

    “It often appears as if the Nigerian government is fighting two wars on terror: against Boko Haram and against Amnesty International.

    “The obvious bias and inaccuracies in Amnesty International’s recent country reports on Nigeria risk Amnesty’s reputation as an impartial international organisation.

    “President Buhari appeals to the leadership of Amnesty International to scrutinise its advocacy in Nigeria, especially as it relates to the war against terrorism.”

  • ‘No alternative to Buhari’

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode spoke with reporters on the second term ambition of President Muhammadu Buhari, shortly after the peace meeting held with aggrieved aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Lagos State House, Marina.

    The 2019 Presidential election is fast approaching and with due respect to other candidates, it looks like a two-horse race between the APC candidate and incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari and the PDP Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Can you tell us why you think President Muhammadu Buhari should be given another term as President?

    Just to be very clear, as an average Nigerian, not necessarily as a Governor now, I will pitch my tent with, endorse and vote President Muhammadu Buhari in this forthcoming Presidential elections on the basis that having crosschecked all the presidential candidates, I believe at this auspicious time in this country, the right person that can actually take us to the next level and the next trajectory of the prosperity and progress of Nigeria is President Muhammadu Buhari and I am very clear about what I am saying.

    Apart from the fact that he has been President in the last three and half years, he has also been Head of State in the military era. But again, if you cross check all the other candidates, most especially the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when you put both of them on a weigh balance, there is one that has integrity more than the other, there is one that is more passionate about Nigeria and Nigerians, most especially the poor than the other. So, if the question comes on why we are voting for Buhari, it is on the basis of integrity, on the basis of somebody who is passionate of which those two values are values that I also cherish and practice as the Governor of Lagos State. It is very clear that we are just like like-minds and I will obviously engage Nigerians that those two values are the values that can bring prosperity to Nigeria. You need a lot of character; somebody that has character is likely to create an enabling environment that can make this country to progress. But beyond character and integrity, you can see that in the last three and half years, we have made fundamental preparation to push this economy to its positive trajectory and that’s what President Muhammadu Buhari has been trying to do and Nigerians don’t understand.

    Why do you think the PDP should not bounce back to power?

    If you have cumulative 16 years of disruptive infrastructural tendencies, there is no way one single tenure can allow a corrective measure of the infrastructural deficit, you have to create that environment to allow you to do that. Let me give one simple example. Today, we are having the reconstruction of the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway being taken on by President Muhammadu Buhari. This particular expressway which is more or less the nerve centre to the economy of this country has never been touched in the last 40 years. Of this 40 years, 16 years of PDP was inclusive. Within three and half years, we have been very bold and very adamant that you need to rehabilitate the Apapa axis for you to be able to push the economy of Nigeria forward because anything that happens around the Lagos economy has a positive trajectory to the nation’s economy as a whole. So, it’s very clear, if you see a government that decides that and says that, look, even in these years of abandonment, decades of abandonment, they want to take on this whole issue, knowing well that in another two to three years, it would be delivered, so they need to monitor it, giving it back to those who abandoned it is not a good course to run. When you look at the reconstruction of the Niger Bridge, it’s been on for the last four decades also, these are fundamental infrastructure. So it gives you more or less a very clear mind what this government of Buhari will do if he is taking on fundamental things that would push the economy forward. All we need is to support him and also make a whole lot of economic technocrats available to rally round him and take this country to the next level.

    So, if you move away from infrastructure and you are looking at investment in agriculture, a very clear example is LAKE Rice, it was just to prove a point that we can do local production of our own rice and project our own revenue of which the FG and of which President Buhari has been critically supportive of. So, we just need additional one or two years to allow us to do that and then importation of rice would become a thing of the past.

    When you look at things that has to do with inclusive governance, you know all these TraderMoni and allowing SMEs to have access to interest free loans is what you mean by inclusive governance. PDP never did that for 16 years, so why will you now say the PDP candidate is coming to do inclusive governance? There are therefore clear examples why we must all rally round President Muhammadu Buhari and give him that second term for him to be able to consolidate on all the things that are very dear to us; the things that would grow the GDP of Nigeria, the things that would enable the poor to have access and create more jobs and also allow the economy to move forward and in terms of what we have in fiscal and monetary rates and policy, it is important that those are the things that the President just needs from Nigerians to be able to push this country forward and that’s why anytime any day, the candidature of President Muhammadu Buhari is the best option for Nigeria right now.

    President Buhari in 2015 campaigned on the basis of improving the security situation in Nigeria, especially in the Northeast. How well do you feel he has fared on this front, especially with the recent unpalatable reports of attacks and skirmishes in some parts of the country?

    Security is the number one achievement of this present government of President Buhari. When he came into power in 2015, the security situation in the North East was not what it is now. Look, people might want to be politically funny and trying to create stories from nothing, but the truth is that what we had in 2015 and the relative peace we are experiencing in 2018 in the North East are totally two different things. This 2015 security crisis was handed over by the PDP to the Buhari administration. Against all odd the country had regained lost territories and the enemies have been pushed out. There is relative peace in the North East and the truth is that Lagos, of which I govern, is the most secured city in Africa right now. Is it possible for me to do it alone? Of course it’s through the support and assistance of President Muhammadu Buhari. So, if there is anybody that is ever going to talk about security, the peace that we are enjoying and the protection of lives and property in Lagos is a reflection of the Federal Government’s desire to keep Lagos safe. So I am going to urge all Nigerians to continue to stick with the All Progressives Congress and the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, because in terms of security, within the context of what we met and what we have now, Nigeria has been peaceful and in order to sustain that, you need to keep that government in power and that’s the more reason why we should vote for Buhari in this coming election.

    One or two people may disagree when it comes to the issue of fighting corruption and how the Federal Government has gone about it. What’s your take on it?

    You see, everybody is very clear about what is going on. In any environment, when you put up a crusade that you want to fight corruption, it’s very clear that corruption will always fight back. The fundamental reform about the way we do things is the underbelly for this anti-corruption drive. The way we do things in this country, they are not the right ways that can give us prosperity and President Buhari decided on his own that he would champion this crusade irrespective of how corruption will fight back. But again, when you have had 16 years of corruption and we’ve just only had three and half years of reversing it, the way they are fighting back is trying to take government from him so that we can go back to our old ways of putting this country in penury, that is the crux of this election; the real fight in this election is that, do we want to reverse the anti-corruption drive so that we do things the same useless way that we used to do it and then the economy is not growing. The other option is do you want us to continue our crusade to make sure that the way and manner we do things are the appropriate way that we can be accountable to our people and that’s what this APC government is about and that’s what the government is trying to do to say that, you know what, you want to reverse 16 years of rot, you cannot do it and stop in three and half years, you must continue and take it to the next level so that in years to come, there would have been a lot of sanity in the system and it would be more about getting our people to have the right attitude against corruption in the way we do things, the way we relate to ourselves and the way we deliver services and dividends of democracy to our people.

     

  • Clamping down on drug abuse

    Rising substance and drugs abuse in the country last week Monday engaged the attention of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    Substance and drugs abuse, which has been described as a social ill, involves the use of psychoactic hard drugs among many young Nigerians.

    Such substance abuse include the use of whitish end of lizard dung, hydrogen sulphide gas (sewer gas), seed of Zakami, petrol, glue or rubber solutions, nail polish cleaners, codeine, pawpaw leaves and seed, Moringa (Zogale) leaves, tear gas, gun powder, benylin, shisha, mandara (Kafra) and gutter from toilet for nonconventional purpose.Also having adverse consequences in the lives of young Nigerians are cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, coffee, colanut, cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, morphine, ephedrine, madras, caffeine, barbiturates and methamphetamine.

    Such abuse is said to have the power to reduce the quality of lives of the users and resulting in depreciation of their social interaction and societal relevance over time.

    Irrespective of the social status of the user, whether a university professor or state governor, abuse of substance or hard drugs can bring them down to the level of a carpenter or mechanic who is also on drugs.

    Such substance will reduce them to such low level until they become a scum to the society.

    Professionals have also said that such abuses rewires circuitry of the brain in a semi-permanent way, especially at the frontal lobe, which is the part of the brain responsible for planning, judgment and other higher executive decisions.

    Rather than engaging in positive thinking, everything the brain will be thinking about after drug abuse will be how to obtain more psychoactive drugs in order to continuously get the ‘high’ feelings.

    The consequences of such substance and drug abuse may vary from one person to the other.

    According to experts in the field, it is not everybody who takes such substance or drug for the first time become addicted, not every user who gets addicted requires hospitalisation, and not every user who gets hospitalised recovers from it.

    Besides several physical and mental health consequences of such abuse, the social economic and economic impact are enormous.

    A very common behaviour of drugs and substance abusers is that such a person won’t do well in school or may find it difficult to hold down a job.

    He or she may start stealing, keeping bad company and also end up having a forensic case.

    At the end of the day, such substance user who was destined to be a goal getter, will end up becoming a nuisance and fail in his or her life goals.

    Substance and drugs abuse in Nigeria is believed to be majorly due to lack of awareness of the inherent dangers of drug abuse.

    Today, more young Nigerians are deploying their energies to unveiling new sources of getting high.

    Many studies have shown the alarming incidence of drug abuse among secondary school students in Nigeria, which in most cases have led to confrontation between students and school administrators.

    According to a 2014 report by the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kano was ahead of the remaining 35 states and the FCT in terms of drug convictions.

    The National Baseline Youth Survey report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2012 surveyed 46,836 young people with criminal convictions and found that 75.5% were male and the remaining 24.5% were female.

    Among the 32 different crimes committed, marijuana (Indian hemp) smoking had the highest figure, representing 15.7% of the convictions.

    The survey also put Kano top of the country in terms of the number of drug abusers – 37% of the population.

    But over five years after that report, the use of nonconventional substances is said to have increased exponentially and threatening the social fabric of the society.

    It is now estimated that more than 500,000 bottles of codeine are consumed by young Nigerians across the country on a daily basis.

    The same estimate goes for the intake of tramadol, rohypnol, marijuana and other opioids, which is alarmingly destroying families.

    Worried by the ugly trend, especially in the North, the wife of the President, Dr. (Mrs.) Aisha Muhammadu Buhari during a visit to Kano, declared that many Northern youths, including women, were wasting away their lives due to drug abuse.

    Also Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, seized more than five tons of Benilyn and traced the item origination to be Onitsha Market in Anambra State.

    Further studies have also shown that drugs and substance abuse is no longer the exclusive preserve of the northern part of the country.

    In Abuja, the nation’s capital, the drugs of choice according to reports are heroin, methamphetamine (crystal meth), cocaine, Rohypnol (also known as the ‘date rape pill’) and Viagra (‘the blue pill’).

    Reports showed that there is now significant increase in the use of substance and drugs by young Niger Deltans between the ages of 14 and 30.

    They also showed that the South West and the South East, like other parts of the country, have had worrisome dimensions of substance and drug abuse.

    To suppress or eliminate drugs and substance abuse in the country, the Federal Government in 1989 established the NDLEA.

    But funding challenges among other factors are said to have worked against the agency from attaining the goal.

    With the risk of the abuses becoming an epidemic, the Buhari administration could no longer fold its arms but take a decisive step.

    The President last week Monday inaugurated a two-tier intervention structure consists of the High Level Steering Committee and the Presidential Advisory Committee.

    Buhari said: “It is our collective national prayer that the labours of heroes past shall never be in vain in our time and in the foreseeable future. The need for collective action to help those enslaved by drug abuse to have a new life and the view to reduce the demand for drugs by reducing its abuse and addiction is more urgent now than ever before.

    “The use and abuse of drugs by adolescents have become one of the most disturbing health phenomena in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Many schools, growing adolescents experience mental health issues, either temporarily or for a long period of time. Some become insane, cannot remain in school and they eventually drop out.

    “Drug and alcohol abuse are also major occupational hazards among Nigerian workers, professional, notably, drivers, which contribute to making Nigerian particularly dangerous.

    “The social consequences are equally numerous, including school drop outs, cultism, violence, armed robbery and general lawlessness. This is a situation of emergency and we face and address it as such,” he stated.

    Only time will really tell if the new committees and the current efforts will really make any meaningful impact towards changing the ugly trend of drug and substance abuse in the country.

    But it is also expected that the concerned government agencies like NDLEA will be properly funded to carry out their statutory roles.

    It’s also time for faith-based organizations and other bodies to be fully brought into the fight against substance and drugs abuse in the country.

  • $1 trillion oil money yet to be recovered by FG, says Falana

    Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has said that oil money in the region of $1 trillion is yet to be recovered by the federal government into the federation account.

    He said he blew the whistle on it but that it appeared government does not have the will to recover the money from most multinational companies who took the nation’s oil.

    He made the disclosure in a speech delivered at the 2nd year submit in the whistleblower policy of the Federal Government held at Abuja.

    Falana challenged the Federal Ministry of Finance to proceed to recover the huge funds.

    “I can assure the federal government that I do not intend to demand payment of any percentage from the fund to be recovered based on the whistle that I have blown which has been ignored”, he said.

    The activist lawyer recalled that two years ago, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari adopted the Whistleblower policy as a component of the fight against corruption sequel to the deliberate refusal of the national assembly to pass the Whistleblower Bill sponsored by some legislators in 2007.

    He noted that like the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Bank Verification No (BVN) the Whistleblower policy is said to have assisted the federal government to recover huge public fund which had been cornered by a few corrupt individuals and corporate bodies.

    Falana remarked that apart from the success recorded so far in the implementation of the TSA, BVN and whistle blower policies, the trillions of Naira which have been saved or recovered by the federal government have not been deployed to arrest the increasing wave of poverty in the land.

    He said it was pertinent to point out, on the second anniversary of the whistle blowing policy, that what has been recovered so far is a tip of the iceberg as the Buhari administration has not acted on the information at its disposal in respect of the billions of dollars being withheld from the federation account.

    He gave a list of the billions of dollars that are still being withheld from the federation account.

    He recalled that on March 8, 2016, he requested the Minister of Finance to embark on urgent and decisive measures to recover not less than $200 billion.

    He said the only thing he got from the Finance Minister was a polite response that his request was receiving attention.

    Read Also: Ngige faults Falana’s stance on ‘no work, no pay’ rule

    He said the detailed information contained in his letter has not been processed either by the federal ministry of finance or federal ministry of justice.

    He however noted that his letter generated reactions from some quarters because the letter was widely published in the media, with particular reference to the allegation that the Central   Bank of Nigeria gave out a bail out of $7 billion to 14 commercial banks in 2006.

    He said the then Governor of CBN, Professor Charles Soludo said it was not a bail out but a deposit.

    “Since the fund was illegally removed from the nation’s foreign reserves without appropriation by the national assembly and placed as a deposit in the banks it ought to be recovered together with the accrued interests”, he stated.

    Falana also referred to information he obtained from the National Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) that the NNPC had withheld $20 billion from the federation account adding that from the 2015 audit exercise conducted by NEITI, the figure has increased to $22 billion and N376 billion.

    He also recalled that in a petition sent to the Presidential Panel on Recovery of Public Property last year, he accused Exxon Mobil of paying $600 million out of the $2.5 billion fixed by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation for the renewal of three oil blocks in 2009.

    Even though the oil company claimed to have paid the outstanding balance of $1.9 billion, he insisted that there is no evidence of such payment.

    He hoped that the Presidential Panel will pursue the matter to a logical conclusion

    The activist lawyer described as ‘most interesting’ the reaction of the Minister of State, Ministry of Petroleeum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu to a letter he wrote to him.

    He said: “the minister concurred with me that the nation had lost not less than $60 billion due to the failure of some public officers to implement the provisions of the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act”.

    He said Section 16 of the Act provides that the royalties paid by oil companies shall be adjusted upwards whenever the price of oil rose beyond $20 per barrel.

    He explained that this was why the Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers State governments dragged the federal government to the Supreme Court to justify why it has refused to implement the law in the last 18 years.

    He noted that in a judgment delivered by the apex court on October 18, 2018, the federal government was ordered to take urgent steps to recover all revenues lost to oil and gas exploring and exploiting companies due to wrong profit sharing formula termed as the Production Sharing Contracts since 2003.

    He expressed hoped that the federal government will proceed to recover the sum of money estimated to be in the region of $1 trillion.

    He however acknowledged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) commencing investigation into the allegation of crude oil stolen from the country by well-known international oil and shipping companies.

    “For instance, it has been confirmed that 60.2 million barrels of crude oil stolen from Nigeria between 2011 and 2014 were discharged at Philadephia port in the United States.

    “If the investigation can be painstakingly conducted, it is estimated that not less than $300 billion could be realized as the costs and penalties for the oil stolen from Nigeria and discharged in several ports in the United States, China, India, United Kingdom, France etc.

    “Having regards to the fact that the public and private organisations that have been fingered in my letter are very powerful and vested the federal government cannot muster the political  will to recover the fund that has been withheld from the federation account. “Therefore, the Nigerian people who stand to benefit from the judicious deployment of recovered loot should be mobilised by the progressive extraction of civil society organisations to take over the fight against corruption”, he said.

  • Don’t embark on fatal journeys to desert, sea crossing – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday urged Nigerian citizens, especially the youths, to stop perilous journeys through fatal deserts and sea crossings.

    The President also said that a national policy on internal displacement which would help to regulate the internal displacement crisis and complement the fight against insurgency was in the process of adoption.

    He spoke at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja during the 2018 National Migration Dialogue with the theme, “Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals for all including migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons,”

    He said “I wish to implore our citizens, especially the youth who constitute the larger population of those who decide to take these perilous journeys through deserts and sea crossings and end up losing their lives to desist.

    “I advise them to tap into various Government programmes in order to change their lives and improve their standards of living.” he said

    According to him, his administration is committed to the realization of the SDGs with a focus to delivering hope for all citizens and migrants.

    He stressed that the 2018 dialogue was holding at a time the world was grappling with migration challenges and countries are exploring measures for enhancing the positive impact of migration on development within the context of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    He expressed gratitude to international partners, especially the government of Switzerland through Swiss Development Cooperation, the European Union delegation among others for their support and cooperation.

    Read Also: 2019: Northern youths back Buhari’s re-election

    December 18, he noted, has been set aside by the United Nations to celebrate international migrants whose number have risen to 258 million and appreciate their innumerable contributions to national and human capital development.

    He said, “We celebrate their joys and happiness and more so recognize their sacrifices, pains and sorrows.

    “Since the inaugural celebration in 2014, Nigeria has marked this day with a National Dialogue on Migration.

    “This event brings together all those who are working in different migration-related areas including government, international and local agencies and organizations, civil society, academia, private sector and unions.

    “These people drawn from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory gather to discuss how best to manage migration dynamics in the country. We commend the leadership of NCFRMI in this regard.

    “Migration governance in Nigeria has seen continuous improvement since the expansion of NCFRMI mandate to include the coordination of all migration-related matters in the country as well as the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons in the Nation.

    “This is evidenced by various Government interventions and programs aiming to provide IDPs, Refugees and Migrants with the best tools to become self-reliant.

    “Concrete examples of our efforts include, the evacuation of hundreds of Nigerian Migrants from Libya which was overseen by a delegation of top Government officials, the protection-based activities being offered to asylum seekers and refugees in Nigeria, as well as the planned safe and voluntary return of the thousands of Nigerians currently living as asylum seekers in Cameroun through a tripartite agreement between Nigeria, Cameroun and UNHCR.

    “These are all well thought out activities that will ensure Nigeria remains a migrant-friendly Nation.

    “The theme of this year’s dialogue is “Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for all including migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).” Migration does not matter just because migrants add to development. Migration also matters because migrants are first and foremost human beings, and are therefore entitled to their fundamental human rights.

    “While we explore, strengthen and promote the migration and development issues, let us not forget the first responsibility we owe to our common humanity, namely, working for the wellbeing of persons of concern, promoting and protecting the rights of each citizen.

    “Our approach to migration must, therefore, be total. As we follow our citizens living outside the country to ensure that they are respected and treated with dignity, we also have the same responsibility to the millions of non-citizens living and working within our own borders.

    “I am encouraged to know that Nigeria has made efforts in the fight against irregular migration. Apart from approving a National Migration Policy which is an overall framework for the governance of migration in the country, the Federal Government has fared well on the implementation of poverty alleviation programs through empowerment, such as N-Power; The Federal Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programs (GEEP) such as; the Trader Moni and Market Moni Schemes, Improvement of Infrastructure in order to provide an enabling environment for entrepreneurs.

    “Several million Nigerians have benefited from the N-Power Scheme among other national social investment programs of this administration.

    “The Federal Government through its relevant institutions has also embarked on sensitization of citizens to the dangers of irregular migration.

    “This is complementary to other institutional frameworks put in place to combat irregular migration, such as the Acts establishing NAPTIP and NIS and sectoral policies like the National Labour Migration Policy.

    “This is all part of efforts aimed at eradicating the drivers of irregular migration such as poverty, unemployment, climate change, conflicts and social inequalities.

    “I am also pleased to say that a National Policy on Internal Displacement is in the process of adoption, which will help regulate the internal displacement crisis and complement the fight against insurgency on which the Federal Government is fully committed.”

    Speaking at the event, the Federal Commissioner for National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Sadiya Farouq, said the event was an indication of the strong commitment of the Nigerian government to the promotion of the plight of Nigerians on the move and those forcibly displaced within and outside the country.

    She said it also demonstrated the responsiveness of the current administration to emerging national and global issues and trends.

    “It goes further to boost the image of Nigeria among the comity of nations.” she said

    Farouq expressed confidence that with critical stakeholders in the migration and development spheres present, they will generate ideas for solving most of the challenges that international migration poses to nation and identify steps to proactively take to realize full development potentials of migration.

    Head of EU delegation to Nigeria, Ketil Karlsen, said the migration has the good, the bad and the ugly side. He encouraged government to minimize the bad and eliminate the ugly side of it which includes breaking up the gangs that traffic human beings.

    He said Nigeria should encourage the good which is the remittances back home, develop those in the Diaspora and eliminate the effect of brain drain.

    Karlsen assured, “We are ready to invest in Africa, we are ready to strengthen our cooperation to break criminal gangs, working with Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) on border strategies, work with students on easy way gain education, encourage European banks to inject the much needed funds into Africa’s s economy.”

    Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Georg Steiner, pledged his country’s commitment to partner with Nigeria to development a comprehensive strategy to migration management.

     

     

  • Group lists achievements of Buhari, vows to win more states for APC

    A pressure group; the Grassroots Social Mobilization and Accountability Network (GSMAN) has highlighted reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari should be reelected in next year’s polls.

    The group, in a communique issued at the end of its National Executive Committee meeting, held in Owerri, Imo state, made available to the Nation in Warri yesterday, cited security, anti-corruption campaign and the economy as areas where the current administration had made marks.

    According to the communique signed by Comrade Lucky Dudun and Chief Chizi Woko, National Coordinator and Public Relations Officer of GSMAN respectively “The successes achieved so far in the fight against insurgency in the North East, the fight against corruption, which has exposed some of the looters of our treasury and the diversification of our economy” were some of the administration’s achievements.

    Read Also: Buhari at 76: Why we love this President

    The group, which boasted of having members across the country, also pointed out that the Buhari-led administration did not stop with the three main areas of focus, adding  “ongoing construction of rail lines all over the country”, as part of its achievements.

    The group also vowed to ensure that the All Progressive Congress (APC) retains all the states it won in 2015 as well as win more states in the South-East and South-South in 2019.

    While promising to join forces with “other progressive movements in the country to actualize the victory of APC in 2019”, GSMAN also said it would “identify fully with the leadership of the APC at all levels, because  it is the most progressive of all the current political parties in the country”.