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Tag: Niger Delta Affairs

  • UPDATED: Niger Delta Affairs ministry owes N50bn, says minister

    UPDATED: Niger Delta Affairs ministry owes N50bn, says minister

    The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Abubakar Momoh, on Thursday, December 14, said the ministry owed contractors over N50 billion for both executed, ongoing and abandoned projects in the region.

    The National Assembly Joint Committee on Niger Delta Affairs also stepped down the budget defence and summoned the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun and his counterpart in the Budget and Economic Planning ministry, Atiku Bagudu to appear before it in respect of the budget the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

    The summon is sequel to the appearance of Momoh before the committee when a member of the committee, Senator Seriake Dickson raised a motion to adjourn the sitting indefinitely until both ministers of Finance and Budget and Economic Planning appear with the minister of Niger Delta Affairs to shed more light around the poor budgetary envelope for the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and fund releases for projects among others.

    According to Momoh, the budget of the ministry is meager, adding that so many things they are supposed to do are being performed by other agencies.

    Read Also; INEC yet to access N18 billion supplementary budget – Yakubu

    He noted that the amnesty programme which deals with disarmament is now carrying out programmes of development and empowerment.

    “There are alot of programmes going on in the Niger Delta which ordinarily

     should be done by the ministry,” Momoh said.

    He added that for the 2023 budget performance, the budget estimates was N14.5 billion but that even though N11 billion was later approved, only N4.2 billion was released which according to him, was too small to even embarked on a road project.

    “A total of 14.5 billion was the estimate including capital, recurrent and overheads but what came to the ministry was just N4.2 billion out of the N11 billion that was approved. The 2023 budget performance is put at 37 percent,” Momoh said.

    “The N14 billion budget estimate is meagre to meet the requirements of the ministry. How many kilometers of road can N4 billion construct?” Momoh queried.

    He added: “We have a lot of abandoned projects. We have a lot of completed projects. Those that have been awarded and have not been paid are worth over N50 billion,” Momoh said.

    “Since I took over, I’ve gotten over 2000 requests from people asking for training in the Niger Delta. If I have the required resources, be assured that I will do a lot,” Momoh said.

    He said he is not aware whether the President is aware of the N50 billion debt in his ministry because, according  to him, he has not had the opportunity of discussing the issue with the president but that the Ministry of Finance is aware of the debt.

    The chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Babajide Ipinsagba, said they must do everything to ensure that the people that are being owed are settled since most of them collected loans to do the projects.

    Ipinsagba blamed the situation on cash plan of the agency, saying “If a contractor completed his job, it is expected that once the Minister approves you should get your money in two weeks.

    “But you have to upload the approval and another person will determine if there is money to pay for the job done.”

    Also the House of Reps Committee Chairman on Niger Delta, Hon. Ugonna Ozurigbo, urged the minister to identify projects he can complete and commission and not embark on projects that will later be abandoned.

    Earlier, the Minister briefed the committee on the 2023 budget performance of the ministry and answered questions around project execution, project abandonment, fund releases and with a cumulative   debt portfolio of the ministry totalling over N50billion.

    Engr. Momoh said for the 2023 budgetary provision of N11billion only N4billion was released from the capital budget which represents about 37% which he described as merger and inadequate to meet the challenges of the region.

    He said: “This grossly inadequate budget has led to project abandonment and unpaid projects and so, this paucity of funds can lead to the derailment of the mission and vision of the ministry.”

    While answering questions on training and empowerment for women and youths in the region, the minister said there was nothing the ministry could do, if money is not released for training and empowerment and as such, the training and acquisition of knowledge has been slowed down.

    He said: “We have signed performance bond with the President but with paucity of funds there’s nothing we can do.

    “The purse of the nation is in your hands as lawmakers, we need you to empower the ministry to deliver. We do hope that with your approval, you will give us support for more and better funds release in the 2024 budget.”

    On whether Mr. President was aware of the situation in the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, the Minister said, “I cannot say he’s aware.  It would be pretty difficult for the president to know all the details of happenings in all the ministries.”

  • Remembering Orubebe

    Classical. First of its kind. Wow. Or how best can one capture a situation where a serving minister tried to truncate the announcement of the result of the last presidential election? It is really difficult to forget. So, I was not surprised that President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday remembered Elder Godsday Orubebe, a former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, at the 2018 Democracy Day lecture.

    Buhari said the ex-minister should have been invited to listen to Attahiru Jega, a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who was the lecturer. Orubebe had harassed Jega that day, saying: “Jega you have been compromised, we are no longer confident in you.”

    “Here, I must digress to raise an observation about the programme organisers because I did not see Mr. Orubebe who ought to have come and listen to Prof. Jega deliver his lecture. This is a major observation.

    “That instance, for those of us who were lucky that there was light and we had the television to see the confrontation between Orubebe and Prof. Jega, it will remain a life impression to many of us.”

    Orubebe’s action led to a new lexicon being added to our local dictionary. I remember a friend sent me  a BlackBerry message, which read: “New word now in the English dictionary: ‘Orubebe’ (noun): The process of trying to disrupt a smooth running process, especially through a fraudulent and dishonest means”; (verb): “to make an attempt to disrupt a gathering/smooth running process…” : E.g. Noun: The birthday party resulted in an Orubebe before the police intervened. Verb: Every time Liverpool FC is winning Manchester United, they always want to Orubebe the match.”

    Orubebe, who is founder of the Glory Sanctuary Christian Centre (GSCC), Ogbogbagbene, Burutu Local Government, Delta State, really danced naked in the market square without being ashamed.

    Because defeat was staring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the face, he enjoyed his naked show being beamed live on national television stations. He thought it was good for the cameras to record him; so he moved forward before making his point. He spurned the advice that he could be heard from where he sat. He wanted his face to be seen and ended up being the worse for it.

    He cut a pitiable sight as he sat on the red rug close to where Jega and other senior officials of the electoral umpire were. His request: the process must be stopped. He had started his theatrics first standing and when he seemed to be making not much sense to Jega, he sat on the red rug and for close to 30 minutes, he held everyone hostage and no plea could make him leave the stage. He screamed, shouted and giggled like a man desperate to have his way. His eye balls bulged as though they would jump out of the socket as he shouted: “No, we will not take this.”

    His eyes also spoke volume about the pains he was going through at the suffocating fate of his darling party under whose platform his dream of governing Delta State crashed like a pack of cards. He kept jumping up and down and raising his hands to drive home his point. All he wanted was for Jega to return to his office and empanel a body to investigate his party’s petition.

    He said Jega was biased against the PDP and deliberately not investigating the complaints about events in some All Progressives Congress (APC) stronghold. Orubebe, an Ijaw man from Ogbobagbene, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, who was born on 6 June 1959, could not stand the coming fate.

    The elder later apologised in an interview with reporters, saying he regretted his naked dance in the market square. He said his emotion got the better part of him. He begged Nigerians and the youths who look up to him to forgive him, adding that as an elder in the church he went beyond bounds. President Goodluck Jonathan’s commendable act of conceding defeat even before official declaration of Buhari as the president-elect must have made him feel like a fool. The man he thought he was fighting for knew it was time to leave the stage.

    That incident was not Orubebe’s first ‘public show of shame’. His quarrel with boxer Bash Ali while he was Minister of Niger Delta was messy. The contents of text messages between the duo became public knowledge and the sort of language Orubebe deployed put a question mark on his person.

    The crux of the matter between Orubebe and Ali was whether or not the Ministry of Niger Delta promised to sponsor Ali’s championship bout. Orubebe said he never committed his ministry to sponsoring the proposed Guinness Book of Records bout of the ex-World Boxing champion.  Orubebe, in a telephone interview with this newspaper at the time, said his ministry had nothing to do with sports. He added that all he did was to recommend Ali to the National Sports Commission (NSC). Ali, however, insisted he had a commitment from the ministry, through the minister, to sponsor the bout.

    Ali’s claim, said the minister, showed that he needed psychiatric help. Orubebe said:  “That man came to me with his proposal and I said these are things that can be done by the National Sports Commission (NSC). I gave him a recommendation note to see the Minister of Sports at that time.

    “Later he came to me that some people told him that the programme will be included in the budget of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

    “I said if other people are lying, I will not lie. The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has nothing to do with sports, the programme could not have been part of our budget. So, it is not in our budget.

    “This agitation of Ali is dated back to the tenure of ex-President Umaru  Yar’Adua. At a point, he was so impressed with my assistance that he wrote a letter to Yar’Adua telling him that I am the only minister who speaks the truth. I still have a copy of the letter with me.

    “Sometime this year, he sent me a text that is it because he insisted on a transparent deal that the budget for the programme was not released? I asked: What has my ministry got to do with Sports?”

    “Bash Ali is a big fool. He is good enough for the psychiatric hospital in Uselu. I think it is a mental case and I want to advise his family to take him there. I am not bothered about what he is saying about me.”

    However, documents obtained by this newspaper at the time showed that Ali had a deal with Orubebe’s ministry to sponsor the bout. The ministry also championed the setting up of a Local Organising Committee (LOC) to stage the fight. Orubebe’s ministry, in a letter, asked the NSC to nominate one of its senior officials to serve on the LOC.

    In the August 27, 2009 letter, the Ministry of Niger Delta, wrote the Chairman of the National Sports Commission on its readiness to support Ali’s fight. The letter, signed by Dalhatu Sule on Orubebe’s behalf, reads: “I am directed to inform you that the ministry is in the process of supporting an International Boxing Tournament between Bash Ali of Nigeria and John Keelon of Britain.

    “We are therefore seeking for your nominee to serve as member of the committee that will work out the modalities on how to arrange and finance the tournament.

    “Your nominee should be an officer of not below the rank of Assistant Director.”

    In another letter, also signed by Sule on Orubebe’s behalf on September 8, 2009, Ali was assured that “a committee has already been set up to work out the modalities for the great fight.”

    But, after some months, Orubebe changed his mind. So, in a December 15, 2009 letter Sule, on Orubebe’s behalf, wrote the fighter that the ministry had no money to sponsor the bout, which it had earlier set up a committee to organise.

    The letter reads: “I write to refer to your letter of 24th November, 2009, on the above subject matter and to inform you that we are just a fledgling ministry that barely took off this year and as such, extreme budgetary constraints has been a problem to grapple with. In this regard, the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry would not be in a position to sponsor the historic boxing defence bout between Ali of Nigeria and Keeton of Britain. Please accept the warm assurance of the Honourable Minister’s highest regards.”

    It is not in doubt that Orubebe actually gave Ali the hope that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs would support the fight. Why he had a change of mind is hazy. Ali claimed it was because of his refusal to part with some of the $14.2m allegedly budgeted for the fight under skill acquisition in the ministry’s budget, an allegation the ex-minister denied. The ex-minister said the fight was never budgeted for by the ministry.

    My final take: For Orubebe, the ghost of his naked dance will roam the earth for years to come. Already, his Wikipedia entry has recorded it. This happened minutes after the dance. I am sure some books have also recorded this, making it something that will be talked about years after those of us still around would have gone to the great beyond. The lesson in this is that we must always think before we leap. Orubebe did not that day.

    • Parts of this piece first appeared on this space on April 3, 2015

  • 270 Niger Delta women, youths trained on fishery, poultry

    The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has trained 270 women and youths from the region on fishery and poultry farming and other value chains in agriculture in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

    Speaking at the graduation ceremony for the last set of 90 beneficiaries at the University of Calabar, the Minister Pastor Usani Usani, stressed that human capacity development was key to development, and the exercise was one of the many ways the Federal Government is trying to improve achieve this.

    The training exercise was carried out in conjunction with the University of Calabar and some consultants.

    Usani, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Economic Empowerment of the Ministry, Ndiomu Ebiogeh Philip, said the beneficiaries were drawn from all the states of the Niger Delta region.

    “The 90 youths graduating today were from all states of the Niger Delta.

    This is the second phase in Cross River. We had already graduated a set of 180 women and youths last week,” he said.

    He said the exercise would be continuous and subsequent ones would accommodate more beneficiaries.

    Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Prof Claudius Daramola said the programme was of one of the laudable initiatives of the present administration aimed at diversifying the economy, increasing food security and generating employment for the teeming youths in the Niger Delta.

    He said the curriculum was drawn to cover the areas of impacting theoretical and practical knowledge on poultry and fishery production and other value chains; enabling them manage businesses for effective enterprise development; ensuring they become self employed and able to engage others; generating income for their families and communities; and becoming employers of labour.

    “It is my greatest hope and desire that no sooner than we can imagine, you too will become established enough to contribute towards the training of other Niger Deltans for the enhancement of their value, thereby making them more useful in the region.

    ”The Ministry is also aware that training without support at the terminal point is an effort in futility. As part of the programme, an empowerment package has been put together which is meant for you to be able to commence an enterprise that will improve your life and that of your family,” he said.

    ”Practice what you have learnt, contribute to foo security of the region and country, build capacities in your communities through backward integration, and run profitable enterprises that will engage other women and youths in your communities.”

     

  • More communities benefit from amnesty programme

    The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd) has noted that the amnesty programme should be a collective responsibility of every Nigerian.

    According to him, the scheme ought to have been formulated as a policy of the Federal Government since the past 50 years.

    Gen. Boroh, however, praised President Buhari for showing greater commitment to finding workable solutions to various problems in the Niger Delta region.

    Speaking to reporters in Akure, the Ondo State capital shortly after receiving an award of the ‘Niger Delta Peace Ambassador’ bestowed on him by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Ondo State chapter, Boroh said the scheme had impacted on the lives of over five million people, particularly in the region.

    The presidential aide said due to the current peace initiative in the Niger Delta communities, oil production had increased to 2.3 million barrels per day.

    He said efforts were on to provide projects such as provision of treated water for the people’s consumption, stressing that most of the people in the creeks have no toilet facilities, hospitals and other basic needs.

    His words: “We will touch the lives of people in the oil-bearing communities. They need to feel the impact of the Federal Government mostly in all the small communities of the Niger Delta.

    “The amnesty programme came due to conflicts. It is a very expensive scheme; we need peace, stability and development in the Niger Delta as a long and short measure of development”.

    The retired military officer said the amnesty programme focused mainly on human capacity development to allow infrastructural development as against’ mathematical’ solution, stressing that peace efforts cannot be measured.

    Boroh noted that his appointment had afforded him the opportunity to feel the pulse of the people, particularly those in the Niger Delta axis.

    He described the honour of Peace Ambassador bestowed on him by Ondo NUJ as a great challenge to prove his worth, even as he urged the media to partner with the scheme to sustain peace in the Niger Delta in particular and Nigeria in general.

  • How we discovered Orubebe’s hidden property in Abuja – CCB

    How we discovered Orubebe’s hidden property in Abuja – CCB

    The prosecution in the case against former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe opened its case  n Thursday with its first witness giving details of how the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) discovered a property owned by the ex-minister in Abuja which he allegedly refused to disclose.

    Orubebe is standing trial before the Code of Conduct tribunal (CCT) on a one count charge of false assets declaration.

    The witness, Samuel Madojemu, an official of the CCB, said Orubebe failed to declare the property identified as Plot 2057, Asokoro District, Abuja, while he served as a minister between 2007 and 2011.

    Madojemu said his responsibility in CCB include “intelligence on observed breaches of the code and asset tracing investigation.” He said Orubebe submitted five asset declaration forms to the CCB between 2007 and 2011.copies of the forms were admitted by the CCT as exhibits.

    On how the CCB discovered that the ex-minister owned the property, the witness explained that the Certificate of Occupancy (CoO) for the property obtained from the Department of Land Administration of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) revealed that it  was issued to Orubebe on April 10, 2011 but that the former minister failed to declare it as of the time of leaving office on May 29, 2011.

    Madojemu was led in evidence by lead prosecution lawyer, Mohammad Diri (the Director of Public prosecution of the Federation).

    The witness said Orubebe ignored the CCB’s invitation to him to make statements during the investigation of the case.

    He said: “The defendant declared his assets to the bureau by virtue of his position as a public officer and as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “I was instructed to invite him to bureau for the purpose of obtaining his statement on the allegations and intelligence report that was being handled by the bureau concerning him.

    “I invited him. He promised to respond by sending his legal team. He also promised that he might decide to come in person but he did not come.

    “My Lord, the bureau issued him with Form CCB 1 which is the bureau’s asset declaration form and he made his declaration between 2007 and 2011 – the period under investigation.

    “The Code of Conduct Bureau issued the defendant the Form CCB 1 five times. For those five times, he made hs asset declaration to the bureau.

    “My Lord, after we received the form, we examined the form as part of our procedures investigation to ascertain if there was over-declaration or under-declaration.

    “We conducted intelligence assessment on the declaration made by the defendant. We discovered that there were some other plots or properties that were traced to the defendant, Godsday Orubebe.

    “We conducted record examination by writing a letter to the Federal Capital Territory’s Department of Land Administration.

    “My Lord, in their response, which was in writing, it was indicated that Plot 2057 Asokoro District for which the Certificate of Occupancy was issued on April 10, 2011, belonged to the defendant.

    “We thereafter compared the information arising from response from the FCT land administration department with the information on asset declaration forms submitted to the bureau between 2007 and 2011 and discovered that Plot 2057 Asokoro District belonging to the defendant was not declared even as at May 29, 2011 when he left office.

    “Apart from the letter from FCT land admin registry, we also received Certified True Copy of the Certificate of Occupancy in respect of Plot number 2057 issued to the defendant.

    “We also received the CTC of the Right of Occupancy for that same Plot No 2057 issued to the defendant.

    “Also received from the FCT land administration registry, was a letter of authority, given to one Engineer Rodney by the defendant authorising him to collect the Certificate of Occupancy and the Right of Occupancy from the FCT land registry. It was supported by the (international passport) page of the defendant.”

    “My lords, the question we wanted the defendant was to find out why he did not declare plot 2057 for which the C of O was issued to him on April 10, 2011. Whereas for the period under consideration, 2007 to May 29, 2011, when he made those declarations, he did not make the declaration of the property at the end of tenure asset declaration form 2011. He acquired the property while he was still in office.

    “But my lord, he promised to send legal representative to the bureau or come in person but he did not come. We afforded him the opportunity but he did not come,” Madojemu said..

    Orubebe’s lawyer, Selekowei Larry (SAN) objected to move by Diri to tender copies of the CoO, the Right of Occupancy (RoO), the letter of authority referred to by the witness, which were all attached to a letter dated February 18, 2016 by the Department of Land administration of the FCT.

    Larry contended that the letter along with the documents attached to it was inadmissible under Section 83(3) of the Evidence Act, because it was authored by “a person interested” while the case against his client was already pending in court.

    The letter dated February 18, 2016 was authored by Assistant State Counsel of the Lands Administration, Mrs. Funke Audu, of the Federal Capital Territory.

    “These are documents procured during the pendency of this case. The letter is dated February 18, 2016, whereas the suit commenced on October 18, 2015,” Larry said.

    Tribunal Chairman, Danladi Usman overruled Larry and upheld Diri’s argument to the effect that that Audu, who was an employee of the Federal Capital Territory Administration could never be a party interested.

    While the witness spoke, Orubebe, dressed in white traditional attire and a black hat, sat quietly in the accused box.

    Further hearing has been fixed for April 14 for the defence to cross-examine the witness.