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Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Correctional Service Act: cure or placebo?

    Stakeholders in the criminal justice system have praised President Muhammadu Buhari for signing into law the 11-year-old Nigerian Correctional Service Bill. The Act, which changes the Nigeria Prison Service to Correctional Service, provides the legal framework for the reform of the sector. Is it adequate to spur the urgently-needed prison reforms? ROBERT EGBE asks.

    The trio of Jide, John and Deolu (not real names) were arrested by the police  in Ajah, Lagos State and handed over to men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in May 2015. Two of them, however, were barely out of their teens, while the third did not look above mid 20s.

    They were subsequently remanded in prison custody, following a Magistrates’ Court order. But the police did not forward their case file to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution for advice on the matter.

    By the time Prisoners’ Rights Advocacy Initiative (PRAI) was aware of their predicament and requested for a legal advice in 2017, they had already spent two years in custody.

    Following a PRAI application compelling Lagos State Attorney-General (A-G) to state why they should not be released, they were charged to a High Court.

    “Upon a perusal of the charge sheet, we noticed that they were charged for being disorderly persons, which is punishable upon conviction with three months’ imprisonment. We filed an application asking the court to discharge them, having spent three years in prison for an offence punishable with three months’ imprisonment.  In response to our application, the prosecution withdrew the charges against them and they were discharged,” PRAI founder Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem told The Nation.

    From Prison Service to Correctional Service

    It is the plight of the three men and others like them, still in custody, that informed stakeholders’ push for prison reform.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, on August 8, signed into law the Correctional Service Act 2019, which repealed the Prisons Act 2018 and changed the Nigeria Prison Service to Nigeria

    Correctional Service. According to Section 2 of the Act, the new law aims at the following: compliance with international human rights standards and good correctional practices; providing enabling platform for the implementation of non-custodial measures; enhancing the focus on corrections, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders and establishing institutional and sustainable mechanism from the correctional service in response to the problem of high number of awaiting trial persons

    11-year history

    Since Decree No.9 of 1972, which initiated some reforms in the Nigerian Prisons Service, there have barely been improvements in custodial service. The re-organisations of the sector in 1986, 1993 and 1999 were inadequate to solve the problems.

    The Correctional Service Bill was presented and read on the floor of the Upper Chamber in January 2008, by a former senator and current chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Victor Ndoma-Egba, in the sixth assembly.

    When the bill was read for the second time in April 2010, Ndoma-Egba hoped it would address fundamental lapses in the Prisons Act.

    He said it would also put in place a framework for the rehabilitation and transformation of inmates and address inadequate funding of prisons.

    Features of the Correctional Service Act

    Aside changing the Nigeria Prison Service to Nigerian Correctional Service, the Act also legalises sweeping reforms in the prisons system.

    The Prisons Act was last amended in 2004, but the new law brings with it novelties – non-custodial service – such as community service, probation and parole.

    In the new law, the goal of the institution will be to correct; reform; rehabilitate, reintegrate all persons legally interned; provide safe, secure and humane custody for inmates; identify the existence and causes of anti-social behaviours of inmates and initiate behaviour modification in inmates through provision of medical, psychological, spiritual and counselling services for all offenders, including violent extremists, and provide support to facilitate speedy disposal of cases of persons awaiting trial, and empower inmates through the deployment of educational and vocational skills training programmes. It will also facilitate incentives and income generation through custodial centres, farms and industries.

    The law also prohibits torture, inhumane and abusive treatment of inmates.

    Stakeholders praise new law

    Prisoners’ Reform and Welfare Action (PRAWA) Executive Director Dr Uju Agomoh who praised the Act, noted that it contained “many positive things”.

    Agomoh said: “In specific terms, the ways the new law will improve the prison system and the correctional service in general include the following:

    Address problem of petty/minor offenders detained in prison custody

    “It will help address the problem of having petty/minor offenders detained in prison custody as these can benefit from the non-custodial service. This will save funds for the government, avoid these low risk offenders being socialised into more criminal culture by high risks offenders and hardened criminals.

    A boost for non-custodial sentences

    Not every offence deserves to be punished by imprisonment. According to Agomoh, the Act will “help fast track the implementation of the non-custodial provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws of various states, by providing the needed support in terms of manpower for the supervision of non-custodial sentences across the states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Teritory (FCT) just as we currently have prisons (custodial centres) across these location. With this, it will encourage the courts to issue non-custodial sentences in deserving cases.”

    Management of overcrowding

     Sections 12(4), 12(5), 12(6), 12(7), 12(8), 12(9), 12(10), 12(11) and 12(12) of the Correctional Service Act is targeted at solving overcrowding in prisons.

    Also, the Act provides that ‘’in the event that the custodial centre has exceeded its capacity, the state controller shall within a period not exceeding one week, notify the chief judge of the state, the Attorney-General, the prerogative of mercy committee, the state criminal justice committee and other relevant bodies’’.

    It prescribes sanctions for any state controller, who fails to notify the relevant bodies when the custodial centre approaches full capacity within the stipulated time-frame.

    It also empowers the correctional centre superintendent to reject more intake of inmates where it is apparent that the centre in question is filled to capacity.

    Agomoh said: “It will make the correctional service to take a more active role in helping manage prison overcrowding by having them trigger an early warning system to alerting the judiciary, ministry of justice and other key stakeholders of the inmates population status viz-a-viz the prison capacity to undertake measures to help control the inflow and outflow of inmates in the facility in question.

    Inmates’ mental health provided for

    Section 24 of the Act provides for the establishment of the mental health review board to help review cases of inmates with mental disorder. “This will hopefully help address the problem of the so called ‘civil lunatics’ and ‘criminal lunatics’, who are often detained in prison without adequate review and mental health treatment. This will hopefully help reduce the burden and capacity gap on the service with respect to the management of these persons,” Agomoh said.

    Young offenders’ facility

    The provision of young offenders’ facility in each state is intended to help address the problem of having underaged persons in adult prisons. This is provided under Section 35.

    Self-development

    The Act also provides incentives to encourage inmates participation in training and vocational workshops and reintegration of inmates into the society (example through issuance of good behaviour to deserving inmates) “which will go a long way to encourage good behaviour in the custodial facilities,” Agomoh added.

    Relief for prisons staff

    Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) Public Relations Officer Francis Enobore told The Nation that the “Nigerian Prisons community received the news of the signing of the Bill into law with excitement and joy because “we all saw it as something that is coming to relieve the service of a lot of excruciating experiences that we have always had, particularly addressing all the perennial problems in the service”.

    Enobore was particularly delighted about the non-custodial and similar aspects of the Act. He said: “To us it does not make a sound meaning if you arrest a street hawker and lock him up in a prison that is overflowing with armed robbers, kidnappers and all those other high profile criminals because at the end of the day you strengthen a street hawker to go out of the prison to become a hardened criminal.

    “So, the signing of this Act by Mr. President is bringing a huge relief to us, the entire prison community because we now know that those, particularly first offenders that have minor infractions, instead of keeping them in prisons, you send them to community service.

    “It is going to be a win-win situation, the society that the offender has offended will win because they will do services free of charge, the offender himself will win because he will no longer be in prison, rather he will be doing community service and still be relevant to himself and his family.

    “So, that will to a very large extent reduce the number of people that will be behind bars. And under this non-custodial wing, we talk of probation.  Under probation, you may be guilty of an offence, a Magistrate will look at you and say, look, you go for a period of six months as the case may be, be of good behaviour, make sure you don’t go out of your track, but if you do that, you will be punished for the new crime and the punishment for the old offence added to it for stiffer impact.

    “This arrangement has a kind of deterrent effect, the person within that period of probation will be extra careful not to infringe on any law and over time, it will become part and parcel of him to live within the laws as defined by the society.

    “We also have Parole, a prisoner after spending part of his prison sentence may be released on parole to a parole officer and given the charge that you are on parole for the next two years and if you go out of your way, the new crime you will suffer it, the balance of your imprisonment on which you were given parole will be added to it.

    “So, from whichever way you look at it, it is a win-win situation for both the offender and the society because we will no longer have excess people in prison. For those that shouldn’t absolutely be in prison, the new order says that they shouldn’t be in prison.”

    The act is good, but…

    Legal Advocacy Response to Drugs Initiative (LARDI) Secretary-General, Emeka Nwadioke commended President Buhari for signing the Bill, but urged the government to ensure its effective implementation.

    He added:“The new law will catalyse many of the noble designs on prison reform that have been gathering dust on the shelf.

    “Aside from mainstreaming the non-custodial framework, which is now separate from the custodial system, effective implementation of the law will deal a fatal blow to the crippling distortion of the prison system by the awaiting trial crises.

    “That some prisons harbour over 90 per cent awaiting trial inmates is clearly a recipe for chaos and dysfunctionality. The new regime will free spaces in the prisons and enable prisons authorities to really implement their three-pronged mandates of reform, rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners.

    “The mandatory provisions on the building of borstals and female prisons will secure the rights of these vulnerable groups and ensure that they are treated with the dignity they deserve. The current situation where minors are incarcerated in prisons is an unmitigated aberration.”

    President of the Association of Professional Negotiators and Mediators (APNM), Dr.  Dorncklaimz Enamhe said the signing of the Bill into law by the president “is a welcome development that is long overdue”.

    He noted that “proper implementation of the provisions of the new act will not only improve the correction and reintegration of convicted persons, but also breathe life into the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the various Administration of Criminal Justice Laws dealing with Non-Custodial Alternatives“.

    Correctional Service: Cure or placebo?

    Adetola-Kazeem described the Correctional Services Act 2019 as “a watershed in the history of treatment of offenders in Nigeria”.

    Nevertheless, he observed that the Bill may not fulfill its aims unless several things are done.

    In his view, “some of the provisions of the Act seem very ambitious without a clear thought-out plan on how to properly implement same”.

    Unrealistic provision

    Adetola-Kazeem noted a potential problem with Section 12 (8) of the Act. This section provides that: “Without prejudice to sub-section (4), the state Controller of Correctional Service, in conjunction with the Correctional Centre Superintendent, shall have the power to reject more intakes of inmates where it is apparent that the correctional centre in question is filled to capacity.”

    The question then is, where will the inmate be taken to? Will such inmates be released, particularly where he has allegedly committed a heinous crime? This particular provision is very unrealistic unless more prisons are built, considering our population as a country, and more particularly in urban areas like Lagos, Kano, Rivers, etc.”

    Solution? States should build prisons:

    Adetola-Kazeem suggested that Prisons be removed from the Exclusive Legislative List, “so that states can cater for many of the inmates in prisons, who committed or are alleged to have committed state offences. This will lessen the burden of the Federal Government. The states should build their prisons”.

    Paucity of data:

    The lawyer also observed that the Correctional Services Act cannot work effectively unless some attention is paid to other aspect of our national lives.

    He said: “The non-custodial measures such as community service, probation, parole etc may not work effectively if we do not have reliable data of every person in Nigeria. If you don’t have reliable information of people you can’t effectively trace them when they abscond.

    “Furthermore technologies like trackers need to be adopted to effectively track those on parole, for instance, to prevent them from escaping justice.”

    Overcrowded jails, poor facilities: Another challenge to the new scheme’s success, Adetola-Kazeem noted, is poor prison infrastructure and inadequate training of correctional officers. “There is need for infrastructural upgrade and training and retraining of correctional officers for the new act to have any effect. In order for the act to fulfill its aim of reforming, rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders, there needs to be fewer people in  our overcrowded prisons and adequate and state-of-the-art training facility. This will ensure that most inmates can benefit from the beneficial training be it educational and vocational tha t will be of immense benefit to them after release.

    “In the event that the custodial centre has exceeded its capacity, the state controller shall effectively remedy the situation when such occurrence happens.”

    Will the new law work as planned?

  • Buhari condoles Aliko Dangote over family members’ death

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday commiserated with Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Africa’s leading industrialist and businessman, following recent losses of some members of his family.

    The large extended family lost three persons, Aliko’s cousin, Madugu Dantata, his uncle, Alhaji Murtala Dantata and Alhaji Sa’idu Fanta, a relation.

    Read Also: Waiting for Dangote refinery

    In a message of condolence to Aliko Dangote, the Dantata family and the government and people of Kano State through Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, President Buhari described the losses, which occurred in  rapid succession as irreparable losses that must be accepted as God-ordained.

    He prayed to Allah to grant peace for the departed souls and the bereaved families the strength to bear the losses.

  • The President and his women

    On August 21, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated his 43 team of Ministers, among them were seven women. In this report, Olayinka Oyegbile, Deputy Editor, profiles the women of history

    THE way women are regarded in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has been ambivalent and unclear. He has many times run into storms of controversies concerning his perceived views of the womenfolk and his aides have had to issue statements trying to explain his stand. But the explanations most times clear no doubt in the minds of observers. However, the most telling testament of his regime about his views on this may perhaps be his classic answer to a question while on a visit to Germany in 2016. He had been asked what his reaction was to the allegation that his government had been hijacked by a so-called cabal, an allegation that was equally echoed by his wife, Aisha.

    In reply to the question, President Buhari told the audience which included the German Chancellor Angela Merkel that “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.” This response was greeted with shock not only because it was made abroad but because it was made in the presence of one of the world’s most powerful women! This has today become a butt of many jokes at public functions by citizens and stand up comedians.

    Last week therefore when the president constituted his cabinet the focus was on the women who made the team. In the last cabinet there were only six women, while this time around despite the increase in the number of cabinet ministers, the women folk was only able to add one: they now have seven slots in 43.

    In fairness to the president, he never at anytime promised to make any appointment to favour women more than others. However, in November 2018, in the run-up to the election, the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation had promised 35 per cent participation of women in the Federal Government if he was re-elected. The organisation, had as part of events to officially launch the President’s 2019 campaign tagged ‘Next Level’ listed its promises in a chart titled ‘Next Level road map’ via a Twitter handle, @TheNextLevelNG.

    However, on July 23 when President Buhari sent his list of ministers-designate to the Senate, there were only seven women on the list. These were Hajia Sadiya Umar-Farouk, Hajia Maryam Katagum, Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor and Senator Gbemi Saraki. Others were Ramatu Tijjani, Dame Pauline Tallen and Hajia Zenaib Ahmed, who is not new in the cabinet. She is playing along in the second coming of the president, but this time more powerful. All the other six women are new in the federal cabinet except Tallen who was a minister of state during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first coming in 1999.

    THE PRESIDENT’S NEW WOMEN ARE:

    ZAINAB AHMED

    She is unarguably the most powerful woman, if not minister, in the new dispensation. As minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, she is returning to a familiar turf. The trained accountant first made her way into the cabinet in 2015 when she was appointed as the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning. In September last year, she stepped in as substantive Minister of Finance when the former occupant Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who had been embroiled in an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate scandal unceremoniously resigned and went back to England.

    Ahmed who hails from Kaduna State, had her secondary school education at Queen Amina College, Kaduna, and got her Accounting degree from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981. She from there proceeded to the then Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye; now Olabisi Onabanjo University for her MBA. Since she is coming in not as a fresher and with a three-barrelled portfolio, she is expected to be a formidable force in the formation of monetary, budgetary and planning policies of the federal government. She has a minister of state for buget in Clement Agba.

    SADIYA UMAR FAROUQ

    She is making her debut in the cabinet as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. In view of the level of conflicts that have seized the country at its jugular in recent times, the creation of this ministry is coming at the right time. There have been Boko Haram killings leading to the proliferation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and camps, which have brought untold hardship to citizens.

    Farouq is coming from a background that eminently qualifies her for this new assignment. She is a former Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI). At the commission, she was reputed to have developed a strategic roadmap of action to reposition the Commission as a government agency responsible for coordination, protection and assistance of persons of concern.

    The road map is to draw up modalities for assisting those in distress. The indigene of Zamfara State is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She holds the university’s Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, specialising in Actuarial Science. She also holds the institution’s two Master’s degrees in International Affairs and Diplomacy as well as in Business Administration (MBA).

    MRS MARIAM YALWAJI KATAGUM

    The new Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment was until her appointment an Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO, the world cultural and education body. She was appointed as Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO in June 2009.  The widely experienced diplomat has served on a number of national and international committees and panels. These include as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the African World Heritage Fund (2009  2011); Chairperson of the West Africa Group in UNESCO (2009-2012); Chair of the E-9 Group at UNESCO (2010-2012); Member, representing Nigeria, on the UNESCO Headquarters’ Committee (2011-2013); Temporary Chairperson of the PX Commission of the Executive Board, 191st Session (2013) and Chairperson of the Preparatory Group, of the  Executive Board, 197th Session (2015).

    She is also an alumnus of both Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and University of Lagos with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English, a Graduate Certificate in Education and Masters in Administration and Planning, respectively. She has served as Member and Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and Member, representing Nigeria on the UNESCO Executive Board.

    SHARON IKEAZOR

    Posted to the Ministry of Environment as a Minister of State, Ikeazor was until her new placement the Executive Secretary of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD). She was appointed in September 2016.  The University of Benin trained lawyer is reputed to have bagged the appointment based on her sterling performance at PTAD.

    Despite her new assignment at the Environment Ministry, she recently promised that, “If one pensioner complains to me, I will blow the alarm and we have to continue doing that work. To the pensioners, let me say that you now have a voice at the Federal Executive Council. I may be at the Ministry of Environment. But Pension issues, whether Military of Civil, I am still madam pension. My father taught us to hate injustice and fight against social injustice. Non payment of pension after a man or woman has worked several years is grave social injustice.”

    At her new ministry she has to fight for environmental justice for the whole country.

    GBEMI SARAKI

    Senator Gbemi Saraki is a scion of the powerful Saraki dynasty of Kwara State. Against the run of play, she lined up against her brother, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, to join the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) whirlwind of O to ge (Enough is enough) that dislodged the hold of her family’s political structure in the state. She is to function as minister of State in the Transport Ministry.

    She attended University of Sussex, United Kingdom and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. In 1999, she was elected into the House of Representatives to represent Asa/Ilorin West Federal Constituency, Kwara State.

    She is reputed to be one of the most philanthropic politicians from the north central on the account of the number of people whom she had awarded scholarships. She is a grassroots mobiliser and manager of resources, an asset that would serve her well in her new ministry.

    RAMATU TIJANI

    The new Minister of State at the Federal Capital Territory Ministry is coming to her new assignment with a solid pedigree. A banker of many years, she is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University. She has a first degree in Urban and Regional Planning, and Masters Degree in Public Administration from Nasarawa State University, Keffi. With her background in urban and regional planning coupled with public administration, the former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Woman Leader is expected to function flawlessly in her new assignment. She has lived for long in the federal capital territory and this is expected to inform her duties to make the city better. She is also currently doing her Ph.D in Security and Strategic Studies.

    PAULINE TALLEN

    Mrs. Tallen designated as Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development is making her way back to the federal cabinet for a second time. In 1999, she was Minister of State for Science and Technology during the first tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In 2007 she became Deputy Governor of Plateau State, thus becoming the first woman to hold such a post in the north. In 2011, she contested the governorship seat against former governor Jonah Jang and lost.

    She is immensely popular in the state, especially in the fractious Jos North local government which was a hotbed of crises during the tenure of Jang. In fact, it was reported that in the heat of one of the crises in the local government, she was the only government official who visited the place and was welcome by the warring parties with open arms. She is reputed to be a bridge builder and peace maker extraordinaire. She is a graduate of Sociology from the University of Jos. The one-time commissioner is not new to administration. She is also a close friend of the president’s wife.

    Speaking during her maiden visit to the ministry after being sworn in, she said, “This is a holistic ministry as the woman takes care of the home, children and husband. I am giving you all a charge that things will be done different henceforth. We are all resolved to work as a team from our recent retreat. This ministry is multi faceted and has a lot of responsibility to touch the lives of the vulnerable. We have the mandate to of the ministry and demand of the president.”

    SHE SURELY HAS HER PLATE FULL.

    THE TASKS AHEAD

    These seven women who have been saddled by the president among a majority of men to walk along with him to deliver the much talked about NEXT LEVEL of the administration, are really going to be under pressure to deliver and show that the place of women is not only in the “other room” but at executive and policy tables. The tasks ahead of them are no doubt enormous and herculean.

  • N/Delta group urges Buhari to end killings, arson in Rivers

    NIGER Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately put an end to the killings and arson in Ogoniland in Rivers State.

    NDCSC, on Saturday in Port Harcourt, through its Chairman, Anyakwee Nsirimovu, described as unacceptable, the current situation in the crude oil and gas-rich Ogoni, with four local government areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

    In the last three weeks, no fewer than forty innocent persons have been killed in Ogoni, with many valuable properties worth billions of naira destroyed.

    The Niger Delta group said: “The deafening silence, in the face of unparalleled impunity and gross violations of fundamental rights in Ogoniland, is a dangerous pointer.

    “Ogoniland and other parts of Rivers State are today insecure, because Rivers State government is under conditions of severe political, economic, and physical insecurity, underpinned by very weak governance. Rivers is a strategic state in Nigeria. Governing Rivers must not be a tea party. Awarding contracts and doling out hand-outs cannot be it.

    “A state (Rivers) of this critical stature must deliberately advance the causes of security, development and human rights of its citizens. Otherwise, its attempts will not succeed.

    Read Also: Buhari and the population explosion ogre

    “It has become most obvious to all critical watchers that the people of Rivers State cannot enjoy security without development, they cannot enjoy development without security, and they cannot enjoy either, without respect for the fundamental freedoms of its citizens and residents. Rivers State requires strong institutions, responsible, responsive, capable and effective human capacity, agile enough to pilot, mobilise and coordinate the delivery of its collective political goods for its citizens and residents.”

    NDCSC also declared that Rivers State was on its way to catastrophic failure, which it said must be halted without further delay, before the inferno would expand.

     

  • Reappointment of Sirika, good for continuity

    HON. Nnolim Nnaji has commended the reappointment of Senator Hadi Sirika as Minister of Aviation by President Muhammadu Buhari saying it was good for continuity

    Nnaji, who is the Chairman House Committee on Aviation, noted that he would expect the minister to hit the ground running because he was already familiar with the terrains.

    Read Also: Why Enugu airport should be shut, by Hadi Sirika

    “There are so much to be done within a short time to prepare the industry for the challenges posed by the emerging African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), so we don’t need a new person that will require a lot of time to learn the ropes,” he said.

    The lawmaker representing Nkanu East and West Federal Constituency, Enugu State, also stated that he is happy the minister is coming at the time the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) is commencing the reconstruction of the Enugu Airport Runway.

     

  • Sokoto agog as Sultan’s daughter, ex-gov’s son wed

    IT was a roll call of who is who in the traditional institution, the political class  and the business community on Saturday in Sokoto when a daughter of the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad  Sa’ad Abubakar and a son of a former governor of Bauchi State, Isah Yuguda, were united in marriage.

    A Federal Government delegation was led by the Chief of Staff to the president, Abba Kyari and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha to honour Fatima and the groom, Mahmoud.

    Also in attendance at the wedding fatiha held at famous Sultan Bello mosque, opposite the Sultan’s palace were Governors Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), Ahmadu Umar Fintiri (Adamawa), Bala Muhammed (Bauchi) and  Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta).

    The Emir  of Kano, Muhammadu Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of  Gwandu, Muhammadu Iliyasu Bashar, the Emir of  Bauchi, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu,  the Emir of Argungu, Samaila Mera were also there as were frontline businessman  Alhaji Aliko Dangote, prominent Islamic clerics and other well-wishers.

    The programme was conducted by the Sarkin Malaman Sokoto, Shiekh Buhari Siriddawa after the payment of N50,000 as dowry .

    The wedding Fatiha was followed by special prayers to commemorate the 63rd birthday of the Sultan.

    The prayers were  led by the Chief Imam of Ghana, Sheikh Usman Sharubutu.

    President Muhammadu Buhari also felicitated with the Emir on his birthday and the wedding.

  • Oyo traditional ruler decries incessant bloody attacks by herdsmen

    THE Baale of Araro, Ido Local Government, Oyo State, Chief Mustapha Ibrahim, is calling for help over alleged incessant attacks by herdsmen in the community.

    The traditional ruler said that despite series of complaints at police stations, attacks on farmers have not ceased.

    He narrated how seven farmers received machete cuts by alleged herdsmen after invading and destroying farmlands worth several thousands of naira.

    The village, a border town between Oyo and Ogun, close to Government Reservation, is about 20 kilometres away from the city of Ibadan, with its inhabitants mainly farmers.

    Read Also: Oyo impounds 400 vehicles

    When contacted, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olugbenga Fadeyi, a superintendent of police, confirmed that there has been incessant skirmishes between the farmers and Fulani herdsmen in the area, but said there was nobody harmed by herdsmen.  He explained that it was true complaints were made at the Omi Adio Police Station, by farmers from Araro community, and the DPO and some officers visited the area to access the situation.

    However, the Baale disagreed with the police and took time off to invite some of the victims to his palace and also acceded to the request of this reporter to visit hospitals where the victims were treated after the attack.

     

  • Ex-govs, former ministers to be grilled over $16b power projects

    WITH the official backing of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to grill suspects linked with the $16billion failed power projects.

    Twenty suspects, among them, two ex- governors, three former ministers, a former chairman of a bank and an ex- aviation chief, will be invited by the anti – graft body to say all that they know about the projects. Also to be grilled are 17 companies linked to the projects.

    The projects were executed during the administrations of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and the first term of President Buhari.

    But those in charge of the projects said $8.58billion was actually allocated between 2005 and 2018.

    The breakdown is as follows: $2.2billion from 2005- 2007; $600million in 2008; about $5.37b from 2010/2011 to date; $150m-$200m made available to NNPC by CBN; and about $80million for Ibom Plant.

    The EFCC however insisted on following the cash to know if the NIPP projects were overpriced and whether or not there was either embezzlement or diversion of the cash meant for power projects.

    A special team has been raised by the EFCC and all documents from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been obtained.

    “The EFCC has received the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the power projects by following the cash to ascertain alleged overpricing of the projects; payments for job not done and whether or not there was embezzlement of funds or diversion to private accounts, “ an EFCC source said yesterday.

    “We will take about 20 key people who were involved in the execution of some of these projects. We have also shortlisted about 17 companies for investigation.

    “There are two former governors from the South-South, a former chairman of a bank and a former chairman of an airline whose companies have been implicated.

    “After hearing from those short-listed, the Special Team of the EFCC will also have the opportunity to visit the sites of some of these projects to ascertain the completion or otherwise of some of these projects,” he said.

    He said the investigation is not targeted at any individual but “to uncover alleged underhand deals which dotted the projects and to verify if the projects awarded were executed or not.”

    “Where there are allegations of mismanagement or diversion of funds, we will fish out those behind it. We will start inviting some of the key players in the next few days and weeks,” he added.

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    The anti – graft official said a report of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Power Probe, headed by the current Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu explained in details cash withdrawal from the Excess Crude Account (ECA).

    “Go and read the report, you will see that beyond the surface dressing or claims by some officials in charge of these projects, there were some alleged shady aspects.

    “We will be as open-minded as possible and allow all those concerned to clear the air as much as possible, “ he said

    The Elumelu report said in part: “From the oral and documentary evidence, it was clearly established that the total expenditure in the power sector during the period 1999-2007 was US$13, 278,937,409.94billion.

    “Indeed, had the supplementary budget of the power sector in 2007 been implemented, the expenditure could then have been over $16billion reported by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    “There are also unfunded commitments to the tune of US$7.265billion for NIPP projects as at May 29, 2007.

    “There is another US $1billion for PHCN capital projects awarded between 2000 and 2007, which have been captured in the 2008 Appropriation Act.

    “Additionally, the total commitment of the NNPC and its Joint Venture partners(of which the Federal Government, through the NNPC has an average of 51% interest) towards  IPP power plants, gas sources development, gas transmission and metering of JV IPPs, PHCN power plants and NIPP power plants, according to the submission of the acting GMD of the NNPC is US$7billion, out of which about US$1.62billion has been expensed, leaving outstanding commitments of over US$5.5billion out of which the Federal Government will provide about US$3billion.

    “Recognition of these unfunded commitments would bring the total (funded and unfunded) FGN expenditure commitments in the power sector to over US$24.5billion between 1999 and 2007.

    “From the assessment done during the Committee’s tour of the project sites, it is safe to conclude that no meaningful progress was made in the execution of power contracts.

    “It is curious and quite strange that officials rush to pay contractors in full even before engineering design for the projects have been completed and approved.

    “NIPP contracts were not only overpriced in comparison with PHCN contracts, they are also wide off the mark when viewed against comparable power stations in several parts of the world.

    “A comparable review of the cost of power installations in varied regions of the world such as South Korea, Saudi Arabia, U.S.A, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mexico and Chile showed that $10billion could have built plants to produce between 5,000 to 6,000 MW of electricity. But this amount failed to do so in Nigeria.

    “Unfortunately, all NIPP payments were made without following Due Process. In its place, a process called ‘Waiver of Due Process Certification for Payment’ was adopted in flagrant disregard of Due Process Policy, thus paving the way for dubious and highly risky payments to contractors and consultants by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    “The committee found hard and widespread evidence of systematic over scoping of projects in order to inflate costs both in PHCN and NIPP.

    “At least 15 transmission lines and substation projects have been identified. For example, the New Haven-Ikot-Ekpene 2x330kv Double Circuit Line was over-scoped by 49% whilst the Afam-Ikot Ekpene 330kv line was over-scoped by more than 100%.

    “The estimated aggregate cost inflation identified so far for transmission projects is over N20billion and this is recoverable from contractors.

    “A clear example of project cost inflation is the proposed supply of 9No GE frame 9 gas turbines and auxiliaries at the cost of N185billion($1.55billion) awarded to Rockson International.

    “In comparison, it is noteworthy that GE supplied 18No turbines of similar specification previously at about $404million, including cost of Technical Assistance (TA) services and Long-Term Service agreements (LTSA). The implicit cost inflation on the nine additional turbines and associated services exceeds $1.145billion.

    “Another example is the costing of the so-called change-order provisions for Alaoji Power Plant (Phase I) at a highly-questionable amount of US$123million.

    “NIPP Distribution EPC contracts were awarded at costs averaging about 10 times the norm when compared to PHCN contracts costs for similar projects in the past five years. This 1,000% cost inflation of the NIPP Distribution EPC work scopes translates to an aggregate overpricing of over N50billion.”

    Somebody who was involved in the project but does not want his name in print , said: “We only hope EFCC will be fair to appreciate the fact that those who implemented these projects were patriotic.

    “The first premise the EFCC must focus on is the fact that no $1billion was released by the Federal Government.

    “Between 2005 and 2018, the projects gulped about $8.58billion including $2.2billion from 2005- 2007; $600million in 2008; about $5.37b released from 2010/2011 to date; $150m-$200m made available to NNPC by CBN; and about $80million for Ibom Plant.

    “In 2007, a former Accountant-General of the Federation said $2.2billion was released for the NIPP projects.

    “The $8.58billion was allocated as follows:

    *About $4.4billion—Power Plants (5,000MW) at less than $1m per Megawatt

    *About $2billion for Transmission Lines

    *About $1.5billion for 350 distribution projects

    *$600million -$700million for gas pipelines

    *$80million loan from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for Ibom Power Plant which resulted in an interest-free debenture

    “The EFCC’s probe is a welcome development because it will afford Nigerians to know the truth about the power projects. Some of the projects being commissioned by the Buhari administration are parts of the projects.

    “As a journalist, you can do a Google Search, you will realize that some of these projects have been completed and commissioned because government is a continuum, “ he said.

    Buhari vows to probe power project contracts

    Buhari while campaigning in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State in February for re-election, vowed to probe the $16bn allegedly spent on failed power projects.

    Government, he vowed, would recover the money and expose those behind the scam.

    He mentioned no name.

    He said: “The previous government mentioned on their own that they spent $16bn on power but you are better witnesses than myself.

    “Where is the power? Where is the money? We will follow them, eventually God willing, we will catch them and get our money back.”

     

    Obasanjo to Buhari: ‘You’re playing politics with statistics’

    Responding to the Buhari statement, Obasanjo accused the President of playing politics with statistics.

    His words: “A presidential panel headed by the then VP Goodluck Jonathan set up by the Umaru Yar’Adua government put a lie to this after the same administration had sacked one F. Somolu the then Secretary of NIPP who first drew attention to the lie that $16b had been spent on power project.

    “The Panel made up of so many actors, including CBN officials then found out that only $3.7 billion was disbursed out of the $10 billion budgeted and the balance was kept in an escrow account at the CBN.

    “The CBN confirmed this to the panel and it was published…It was then found out that Tanimu Yakubu then Economic Adviser to President Yar’Adua began the propaganda against former President Obasanjo and Somolu then with Yar’Adua wrote a secret memo inside the state house to correct the wrong notion about $10 billion.”

    Obasanjo in a separate statement by his spokesman,  Kehinde Akinyemi said: “We believe that the President was re-echoing the unsubstantiated allegation against Chief Obasanjo by his own predecessor but one, while it is doubtful that a President with proper understanding of the issue would utter such, it should be pointed out that records from the National Assembly had exculpated President Obasanjo of any wrong-doing concerning the power sector and has proved the allegations as false.

    “For the records, Chief Obasanjo has addressed the issues of the power sector and the allegations against him on many occasions and platforms, including in his widely publicised book, ‘My Watch’ in which he exhaustively stated the facts and reproduced various reports by both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which conducted a clinical investigation into the allegations against Chief Obasanjo, and the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of the Recommendations in the Report of the Committee on Power on the Investigation into how the Huge Sums Of Money was Spent on Power Generation, Transmission And Distribution between June 1999 and May 2007 without Commensurate Result.

    “We recommend that the President and his co-travellers should read Chapters 41, 42, 43 and 47 of My Watch for Chief Obasanjo’s insights and perspectives on the power sector and indeed what transpired when the allegation of $16 billion on power projects was previously made. If he cannot read the three-volume book, he should detail his aides to do so and summarise the chapters in a language that he will easily understand.

    “In the same statement credited to the President, it was alleged that there was some bragging by Chief Obasanjo over $16 billion spent on power. To inform the uninformed, the so-called $16 billion power expenditure was an allegation against Chief Obasanjo’s administration and not his claim. The President also queried where the power generated is. The answer is simple: The power is in the seven National Integrated Power Projects and eighteen gas turbines that Chief Obasanjo’s successor who originally made the allegation of $16 billion did not clear from the ports for over a year and the civil works done on the sites.

  • Human trafficking: FG launches ‘Not for Sale’ campaign

    President Muhammadu Buhari says the nation’s anti-trafficking agency has rolled out the “Not for Sale” campaign to protect against the deceptions of human smugglers across the country.

    The president stated this in an opinion article he published in the Washington Post newspaper to mark the UN declared International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the UN declared Aug. 23 as International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

    President Buhari maintained that the ”Not for Sale” was also aimed at helping those who ”might be vulnerable to false promises see through the ruse and say no.”

    The Nigerian leader, who described modern slavery not simply a campaign of hatred, but a means of making cheap money, advocated for the review of anti-slavery laws to make economically unprofitable.

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    He said: ”One distinction from then and now is important: the costs. From records, adjusted for today’s prices, the cost of a human-being-as-property was valued on average at $40,000.

    ”Today, it is just $90, sometimes even lower. We must remember that slavery is not simply a campaign of hatred; it is the pursuit of profit.

    ”One way to extinguish it in its current forms, therefore, is to make it economically unfeasible.
    ”This means making sure that any anti-slavery laws have bite, come with strong penalties and are enforced.”

    According to him, it is also vital to have a robust tip-off and reporting system.

    ”Where this once meant detecting ships, today the signs are less conspicuous. The public must be shown how to see what is hidden in plain sight, particularly signs of suspicious behaviour.

    ”This might seem broad. But vagueness should not give rise to reluctance to report anything that could be smuggling or forced servitude.

    ”If something doesn’t look right, report it, for you could be securing another human’s freedom,” he added.

    The president noted that the appearance of modern slavery might have changed, but the institution had not.

    He explained that, in Africa, its modern forms include debt bondage, the enslavement of war captives, commercial sexual exploitation and forced domestic servitude.

    ”Holding people held against their will, controlling their movements and forcing them to work for the sole profit of others — wherever they are — is slavery today and always.

    ”Slavery, once again, has become entwined in the global economy — and it is largely unseen. For instance, most of us might know in principle that the mining of cobalt crucial to our smartphones might have used forced labour,” he said.

    President Buhari said though there are no radical solutions to modern slavery, however, stressed the need for political will on the parts of world leaders to address the menace.

    ”But on this, we can learn from the past, the shadows in which modern slavery proliferates today.

    ”It is not enough to mark this 400th anniversary. We must use it as a platform to eliminate slavery in all its present-day forms.

    ”We should reflect in memory to find a better future, one that should ensure freedom for all.”

  • How new minister survived three attempts to abort his appointment

    A POPULAR bible verse quotes God as saying that He would have mercy on whom He would have mercy. Although President Muhammadu Buhari is a Muslim, he would appear to have keyed into this bible verse with respect to the appointment of one of the recently sworn-in ministers.

    Like a cat with nine lives, the new minister was said to have survived three different attempts made by some power brokers to remove his name from the list of ministerial nominees because President Buhari insisted on each occasion that his name be restored on the list.

    The new minister himself was said to have been surprised that his name survived on the list after the numerous attempts made by the power brokers in question to remove it.

    The irony of it all is that the minister, who hails from one of the northern states, eventually played a key role helping the President to assign portfolios. So much so that those who had wanted his name removed from the ministerial list started running after him to seek favour.

    A case of the stone the builder rejected becoming the head of the corner.