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Tag: official

  • How official won gov’s heart, became his successor

    How official won gov’s heart, became his successor

    The Holy Bible is replete with very interesting stories. Among them was the spur-of-the moment vow that King Herod made to his stepdaughter who had impressed him with her dancing at his birthday party.

    Moved by Shalome’s dancing steps, Herod had asked the innocent girl to name whatever she wanted and consider it done. The naive girl ran to her mother and asked what she should request from the king.

    To King Herod’s shock, Shalome returned moments later and publicly demanded the head of John the Baptist as advised by her mother because the preacher had spoken against their union and was held captive for that reason.

    It was a request that Herod never expected but one he had to grant because he had promised.

    A former governor of one of Nigerian state recently found himself in a situation that was almost similar to Herod’s.

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    In the years he held sway as governor, he was said to have been so carried away by the prompt manner that one of the state’s officials in charge of the treasury was making money available to him that in a moment of elation, he told the state official that “one day, you will sit on this (governor’s) seat”.

    Not one to make an empty promise, the former governor took it upon himself to encourage the state official to run for the governorship seat at the twilight of his tenure and worked assiduously to ensure that the state official won the election and succeeded him as governor.

    As it later turned out, the former governor and his supposed protégé would later find themselves on collision path as the latter sought to become his own man rather than walk in the shadow of the one that helped him to become governor.

  • N115m ‘fraud’: Court frees suspended SEC DG, official

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama, Abuja, has freed the suspended Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, and a Commissioner of the commission, Zakwanu Garuba.

    The duo, in a five-count charge filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Commission (ICPC), accused the duo of complicity in alleged N115 million fraud.

    Ruling on Tuesday, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf upheld the no-case submission made by both defendants.

    Justice Baba-Yusuf held that the prosecution failed to make out a prima facie case against the defendants.

    He discharged and acquitted them.

    In the charge, Gwarzo was, in three counts, accused of receiving N104,851,154.94 as  severance benefit between May and June 2015 when he had yet to retire, resign or disengage from service.

    He was also accused of receiving N10,983,488.88 as car grant, which he was not entitled to.

    Also, Garuba, a former Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services at SEC, was, in two counts, accused of conferring corrupt advantage on another public officer, Gwarzo, by approving the payments to the suspended SEC boss.

    In his ruling, Justice Baba-Yusuf said the board of SEC had, by its resolution, approved the payments, which the prosecution alleged to be illegal and dishonest.

    The judge held that by virtue of the Investments and Securities Act, the resolution by the board of SEC was not subject to a review by any person or authority.

    “There is no evidence that the first defendant (Gwarzo) used his officer to confer an advantage on himself.

    “The evidence of criminal breach of trust was not established and the evidence of the witnesses was discredited under cross-examination,” the judge said.

    He added that the evidence led by the prosecution showed that the N115 million severance allowance paid to Gwarzo followed his elevation from the position of a Commissioner of SEC to the status of the Director-General and was in line with a resolution by the SEC board on July 11, 2002.

    Justice Baba-Yusuf rejected the prosecution’s argument that the severance allowance handed to Gwarzo was in excess of what was provided for in the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances ETC) Act, 2002.

    He said the provision of the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances ETC) Act, 2002 was not applicable to SEC and that the public officers for whom the law was meant to apply had been clearly reflected in the law.

    The judge said the prosecution’s emphasis on the law was out of its ignorance of the powers of the highest decision-making organ of the SEC – the board.

    He faulted the prosecution’s failure to consider the provisions of the Investments and Securities Acts.

    Justice Baba-Yusuf noted that the evidence of the first prosecution witness, who was an officer in SEC’s Legal Department, conflicted with evidence of the third and fourth prosecution witnesses.

    The judge said the first prosecution witness agreed that the payment to Gwarzo was based on a board resolution and was, therefore, correct, since the board was the highest decision-making body of the commission.

    He held that there was evidence that the N10 million car grant Gwarzo got was part of his entitlement but that the prosecution failed to prove that he “was instrumental or played active roles in the preparation for the voucher for the payment”.

     

  • How Nigeria Air ‘ll operate, by official

    NIGERIAN Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) official yesterday offered clarification on the controversies trailing the national carrier, Nigeria Air.

    The official, who pleaded anonymity, said the airline has been incorporated as a wholly government-owned company with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) using nominal directors, who are directors of the Ministry of Aviation.

    The official said the certificate of incorporation of the airline will be made public very soon on conclusion of the public private partnership (PPP) procurement process, which will spell out its full equity structure.

    The official said Nigeria Air Limited as a legal entity already has a domain name : www.flynigeriaair.ng, which has been reserved and will be made active very soon as part of the project evaluation and marketing process.

    The source added that the ownership of the national carrier in terms of  international convention must be beneficial to majority of  Nigerians with the accruing privileges to national carriers.

    As part of efforts to make airlines viable in Nigeria, the source said the ministry is making moves to have the National Assembly pass a Fly Nigeria Act.

    This act will require that anybody travelling on a ticket bought with public funds must travel on a Nigerian carrier, unless the  route is not served by a Nigerian carrier.

    “However, with your private funds, you can do as you like. Many countries including America, has such as Acts,” the source said.

    The official noted that the current logo of the national carrier is a prerequisite for the issuance of Air Transport Licence and Air Operators Certificate by the NCAA.

    “Logos  are requirements for an ATL and AOC required for NCAA to licence an airline. In any case, the name and logo can be amended if the strategic equity partners feel it’s not right for the business. We must recall that the airline name and logo was the result of an open national competition. However, this airline line is going to represents our nation. The name, logo and colour should be in line with what was done with the public,” it was learnt.

    The source also spoke about the structure of the airline.

    “At start up, government will own majority equity in Nigeria Air Limited Joint Venture Company. A Joint Venture Company that would be very similar to Nigeria LNG Limited. Nigeria LNG Limited is a huge JV success that is private sector managed, so, will Nigeria Air Limited. After one year of operations, government will through an IPO divest her equity for purchase by Nigerians subject to approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Government will then retain only  five per cent  equity. The rest of 95 per cent  equity of Nigeria Air Limited will then be owned by the strategic equity investor and the general public.

    “Majority ownership must however remain with Nigerians so that the national carrier can benefit from BASA and other bilateral agreements, which require local beneficial ownership as a condition precedent. Management of the national carrier will be concessioned to the strategic equity investor with no step in rights and management control by government. Signed up acceptance and approval of the management concession agreement will be a condition precedent for the IPO.”

    It was learnt that government is not entirely funding the airline.

  • Naira stable at official, parallel markets

    The gap between banks’ bids to buy and sell the naira to investors is widening due to a tight supply of dollars in the market, traders told Reuters yesterday.

    But the local currency stable at the close of business yeatsrday.

    The rate gap, traders said, suggest the currency is coming under international pressure even as government finances improve. Some lenders are seeking to sell the naira at N365 per dollar to investors, while others offered to buy at 359. Banks were trading between themselves in the middle at N362 per dollar, traders said.

    But when contacted, President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe, said the naira remains stable and not under any threat.

    The naira bid-offer spread has been much tighter in the past, usually ranging between N359 and N360.

    The naira had been relatively stable at 360 to the dollar for months after the central bank in April 2017 liberalised trade in the currency for investors as it emerged from a currency crisis and recession brought on by low oil prices that also slashed government revenues.

    The central bank then introduced a multiple exchange rate regime to closely manage dollar demand as a way to alleviate chronic dollar shortages. Part of the latest shortage of dollars is due to offshore funds dumping Nigerian bonds following a fall in yields and multinationals repatriating their dividends.

    Traders also said the central bank has reduced its issuance of open market bills and lowered the interest rates it offered, signaling a more dovish stance on interest rates that nevertheless makes the currency less attractive for foreign investors.

    This shift at the central bank comes after the government paid off some of its treasury bills rather than rolling them over as it has done in the past, in a move to lower its borrowing costs. This has made investors pull funds away from Nigerian fixed income securities, which coupled with firms repatriating dividends abroad puts pressure on the currency market.

    In one example of the currency pressure from dividends, the Nigerian unit of South Africa’s MTN declared a dividend of 50 billion naira in 2017 and paid a further dividend in the first quarter, which it said it would repatriate to offshore investors – meaning it would sell that amount of naira.

    On the official market the naira is quoted at around 305 per dollar, where it has been for over a year, supported by regular central bank interventions. One lender traded the currency at 314.50 naira on Thursday.

    Yields on government bonds stand at about 12 percent, well down from 18 percent a year ago, after the state paid off some of its treasuries amid falling inflation.

     

  • FRSC official killed as gunmen abduct reporter’s wife, kid

    FRSC official killed as gunmen abduct reporter’s wife, kid

    Some unknown gunmen yesterday in Kaduna abducted the wife and child of a Voice of America (VOA) reporter.

    The abductors killed an official of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), who attempted to help the victims.

    The reporter, Malam Nasir Birnin-Yero, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that about 30 men attacked his residence in Birnin Yero, near Kaduna at about 1:30 am.

    “They came to my house at about 1:30 am. I was not at home. They forced themselves into my house and asked my wife of my whereabouts and she told them I was not at home.

    “They vandalised my television set and refrigerator before taking my wife and son away, insisting that they must take them to where I was.

    “One of my neighbours, who works with the FRSC, Mr. Sabitu Abdulhamid, was shot dead when he rushed out in an attempt to save my family.

    “The kidnappers have not made any contact yet,” Birnin-Yero said

    Kaduna State FRSC Sector Commander Umar Ibrahim confirmed the death of the corps personnel.

    Ibrahim described the deceased as a very hard working person, who was also a member of the community’s vigilante.

    “I am just coming back from the burial. It is a sad day for members of his family and the entire FRSC family, “the sector commander said.

  • ‘Official’ armed robbers on the prowl

    There is a saying among the Igbo people that when evil persists over time, it spreads its mat, lies down and institutionalises itself and this has sadly become the case of the Nigerian Police with roadside extortion. It has become even more worrisome because the people themselves have accepted the situation as normal and I really mean they have accepted – not seemed to have accepted. One wonders why a people would arm a group of men and women and place them at strategic positions across the country to rob road users while at the same time outlawing ‘private’ armed robbery. The situation is no longer funny and I think we should either constitutionally legalize armed robbery in this country or completely eradicate this uglier-than-vulture-malodorous-than-shrew evil. The case has so hopelessly deteriorated over the years from a covert operation to a broad daylight transaction with all the haggling and demanding for change and rejection of bad bills. Sadly, the Nigerian Army has not only also shamelessly engrossed itself in this depravity but has also since overtaken the police with a brazen and defiant boldness. The Federal Road Safety Corps seems a big joke having since inception been in long-running competition with the police not only over its duties but also over this normalized anomaly.

    The few road users who refuse to join the bandwagon are seen as either crazy or as congenital troublemakers. And so what are the results: Criminals get easily away with all sorts of crimes that could have been intercepted as long as they have enough crisp bills to go round. Drivers no longer bother about expired or incomplete papers and ramshackle vehicles provided they have something folded in their left palm with a smiling ‘officer officer how work?’ Innocent drivers and passengers are maliciously detained and frustrated and many others have accidental discharge hit them for refusing to comply with evil. Police officers watch while armed robbery lasts right before them in broad daylight at traffic gridlocks only to carry on with their own armed robbery a few meters away, retorting “Wetin concern me?” to any confrontations. Army officers manhandle and subject law-abiding citizens, old and young, frail and strong to inhuman treatments, the commonest being frog jumping for refusing to ‘go see the oga’. Men and women of the Federal Road Safety Corps ignore vehicles whose bumpers scrape the roads from overloading while detaining others whose fire extinguishers and wipers ‘do not appear convincingly functional’. Communities set up and fund vigilante groups to perform the same duties for which these security forces are paid and to which they have solemnly sworn. The list is endless.

    Traveling to Owerri a few weeks ago, we were waved down by policemen mounting one of the millions of roadblocks that one is forced to get used to in the country. I was in a public bus and this particular roadblock was in Orlu, Imo State. One thing led to the other and a young woman, who was cradling a baby that seemed only a night old and who was sitting beside me by the way, was ordered down from the vehicle with all her luggage for detailed investigation, that ambiguous Nigeria Police expression laden with blurred meanings. This wasn’t very strange following cases of child trafficking lately prevalent in the country and aggravated by the young woman’s hesitant reply to questions thrown to her by the cops. I was beginning to bask in the pleasure of having for once, in a public transport, to share a row of seat with just only two other passengers when a man on the row before ours started to accuse the driver for the woman’s predicament, for refusing to ‘settle the officers with only an extra N50 and save everyone all the stress’. And as if that was not enough, the driver himself shocked me with his reply which had something along the line of how many more policemen he’d have to settle along the way and so has to dodge the much he could.

    First, in no way was this driver responsible for the police doing what should be their job but it now seemed much the norm that he should accept responsibility than have the police to blame for anything, than have them do their work otherwise he might have had the police’s proverbial can of worms opened against him, against his vehicle and its road-worthiness. The truth is that if indeed the police had wanted to punish this driver for refusing to bribe them enough, it wouldn’t be through this nursing mother because we were almost immediately after the woman alighted, waved on to continue our journey. This is just one of countless incidents, one of the countless incidents of just how terrible we have become.

    Several police chiefs after another have on assumption of duty ordered the dismantling of police roadblocks ostensibly to curb this menace but only to have these devious orders collapse over time. The whisper has become so audible, as my people would say, that even the deaf have overheard. I therefore strongly recommend that President Muhammadu Buhari should as a matter of urgency make real his anti-corruption stance on whose wings he rode to power in 2015 and prevail on his security chiefs to stamp out this evil and return our security officers to their constitutional duties. The country’s services and particularly the police should be genuinely and completely overhauled. These men and women should be subjected to a thorough reorientation towards their original values and responsibilities. The masses should also be fully engaged by mandating the National Orientation Agency to wake to its responsibility of inculcating the proper ethics and values, rights and obligations into the people. An independent agency composed of patriotic men and women of proven integrity should be established by the National Assembly where citizens should be encouraged to report all cases of extortion for possible prosecution and punishment. It is too dangerous to toy with a time bomb when we already have too many explosions from Boko Haram.

     

    • Ebuka is a writer living in Imo State.
  • Aramide works on first official single

    Aramide works on first official single

    Still expected to tour Canada in the later part of 2017, Nigerian female singer and songwriter, Aramide Sarumoh, aka Aramide, is currently working on a new single; her first official single after her ‘Suitcase’ album, released in 2016,

    Aramide revealed in a chat with The Nation: “Yes, I’m working on my next single set to be released soon. This is going to be my first official single after the release of my Suitcase album in 2016. And I’m also working on a new album.

    The singer also stated that her musical influenced had to do with the style of songs her father listened to while growing up. “The music my father listened to growing up influenced my style of music somehow. My dad is a music lover. He listened to different genres of music like Jazz, Afrobeat, Soul, funk and other great sounds. I give him that credit all the time and he loves it.

    Aramide’s debut album ‘Suitcase’ was released November 22, 2016 and features Sound Sultan, Ice Prince, Adekunle Gold, Koker and Sir Dauda. Productions credits include Cobhams, Laitan Dada, SizzlePRO, and Tintin.

    She also embarked on a tour tagged ‘Aramide Suitcase Live’ (ASL), a debut tour in the United States, Ghana and Nigeria, where she performed at the legendary Sounds Of Brazil (SOBs) in New York, the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk among other locations.

    Aramide’s music quest started in 2006, when she contested on ‘Star Quest’ one of Nigeria’s most prestigious and competitive music talent hunt shows. Her band did very well in the competition as they were judged the 3rd Runners Up. In 2008, she was a part of a show called ‘Divas Unplugged’ in the famous city of Jos in Nigeria; the show had all the leading female artistes in the Nigerian music industry and her participation in this show was very challenging and inspirational.

    On September 9, 2014 she got signed to Baseline Music after exiting from Trybe Records.

  • Shekau is alive, and its official

    Shekau is alive, and its official

    BOKO Haram’s Abubakar Shekau has been killed in battle and revived so many times on newspaper pages that it is finally a relief that the federal government has acknowledged he is alive and well. Now, it is hoped, no one will ever again speculate whether he is mortally wounded in battle or not, or dead or alive. Until he is dead and his followers can confirm it, or DNA evidence is secured, there will be no more speculations from official quarters. It is doubtful whether any Nigerian, except some hardened Boko Haram insurgents, will rejoice that Mallam Shekau is alive. So, it is not a case of gloating over his escapades or his ability to wrong-foot the military. They just want the truth.
    However, long-standing public scepticism about the military’s hasty and unverified announcements of his death in the past years had been anchored on two legs. One is that whether he was dead or alive, the public didn’t really see how that weakened the resolve of the terror group, for Boko Haram had effortlessly mastered the art of replacing its leaders, sometimes with more vicious successors. And two is the fact that Nigerians recognised that Boko Haram had become an ideology, far transcending both its caliphate ambitions and identity, and purpose as a fighting force. So news about its leader’s death or even stories about the group being degraded or decimated were bound to be met with cynicism.
    Under the presidencies of Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, military officers had addressed the press and claimed to have killed Mallam Shekau either in elaborate ambush or in direct confrontation. When the press asked for proof, the officers bristled. They pointed to a mark on his forehead and said some general things about his height and built. When the press remained sceptical, the military wondered whether patriotism had not become a scarce commodity among newsmen. There was even talk of enacting laws that should circumscribe reporting of the anti-terror war, considering how sometimes bellicose and unfriendly the press had become in reporting the counterinsurgency operations in the Northeast. Wiser counsel eventually prevailed.
    In openly and unprecedentedly acknowledging Mallam Shekau’s survivalist prowess, the Defence minister, Brig.-Gen. (retd.) Mansur Dan-Ali declared last week: “These insurgents have a way of putting on masks. There could be so many but we are looking for the real one. They have been using masks to portray Shekau in one incident or the other to give an impression that he has been killed so that we will relax. But we will not relax, we are on him.” Knowing that he needed to provide justification for the terrorist leader’s elusiveness and give hope of his capture or death some day, the Defence minister added: “I believe it is just a matter of time. It took America about seven to 10 years to get Bin Laden. So, we will get Shekau as soon as possible. The sect’s spiritual headquarters has been ransacked and vandalised. He (Shekau) is on the run. He may be hiding in one of the enclaves of the Sambisa Forest which we are dominating. We have opened up the place. We are using the place as a training area. The Army engineers will open up roads and we shall be patrolling and be ransacking that forest for the whereabouts of Shekau.”
    One of the remarkable things that agitated the public about Mallam Shekau’s rumoured death years ago was that every time military officers reported his death — never his capture — foreign intelligence organisations duly warned that such stories were exaggerated. One mistake was bad enough; two or three more, each asserting vociferously the killing of the elusive Boko Haram pimpernel, were egregious in the extreme. But like the improving counterinsurgency operation itself, the military has become more refined in both its propaganda and compliance with the laws of war. They must be commended for these improvements as well as their confession about Mallam Shekau’s prodigious survival tactics. The military has wisely recognised that whether he survives or not, the process of degrading the terror sect must proceed apace. But whether they also know that Boko Haram remains an ideology, no matter how inchoate, that cannot be extirpated by force of arms is another thing.
    More importantly, it will be helpful if the military return to their war college to study the fundamentals of that war, how military and police tactics fuelled the rebellion, the rebellion’s economic and social underpinnings, tactical and strategic blunders that prolonged it, and the lessons learnt. If they have not already done so, it may be time for the military to put together a study, following the Boko Haram war, to advise the government on the unsustainable deployment of military men in more than two-thirds of the country to carry out police duties. The shambolic manner the military initially and disgracefully fought the Boko Haram war was doubtless a product of many enervating years of decay and stasis occasioned by political and extraneous interventions which destroyed the military’s image and sapped it of its vitality, purpose and vision.

  • BEDC official ‘electrocuted’ in Ondo

    A middle- aged man believed to be an official of the Ondo Business District of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has been reportedly electrocuted.

    The incident, it was learnt, occurred at the Government Reserved Area (GRA) at Itanla on the Ondo/Akure highway.

    Eyewitnesses said the deceased came to the area to connect power to a new building in the area.

    His body was hanging from an electrical pole in front of the building.

    His motorcycle was seen under a mango tree as sympathisers discussed the incident.

    BEDC officials were said to have come with some officers from Igba Divisional Police Station to remove the body.

    BEDC Business Manager in Ondo Chris Enuamaka claimed that the victim, who was a casual worker, was on illegal duty in the area.

    Enuamaka said the company would release an official statement after its investigation.

  • Murdered LASTMA official

    Murdered LASTMA official

    •No one should get away from attacking persons working for government

    The vicious mob that killed a Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) official at Apapa, Lagos, last year, as shown in the YouTube, operated on the fringe of lunacy. Perhaps in that instance, we may add to the basket of common saying: the madness of a mob. For it is only a horde operating on the lunatic fringe that can be so merciless as those involved in the murder of Mr. Olatunji Suraju Bakare, even if propelled by the unfortunate incident that led to the death of a motor boy. But it is heartwarming that two people have been arrested in connection with the murder.

    The two incidents portray the challenges of a modern society. Mr Bakare’s death was engineered by those determined to stop some LASTMA officials from enforcing traffic rules, within the Liverpool axis, in Apapa. Of course, traffic offenders constitute serious threats to the wellbeing of residents of a megalopolis like Lagos, and understandably, everything humanly possible should be done to rein them in. But for the pro-active determination of the government of Lagos State, the metropolis was under threat from rising chaotic traffic.

    Perhaps, it was with such determination that the LASTMA officials pursued the traffic offender, a choice that led to the death of a motor boy sleeping by the roadside. While we acknowledge that LASTMA officials should use safer and more conventional methods to enforce the law, it is worrisome that the crowd that gathered could resort to such bestial behaviour as was recorded. The heartless reaction of the mob shows a degenerate society, and sociologists and medical psychologists should help examine the causes and solution.

    What would make an ordinary person presumably going about his/her normal business, suddenly and efficiently turn into a murderer? Those who stripped Mr Bakare and gleefully stoned and stabbed him to death, even as he was writhing in pain in the gutter where he was pushed into, may be completely insane. Otherwise, how does one explain the motivation for that sudden change in role, from a passer-by, presumably sane and business minded, to a vicious murderer, with all the implications?

    Also worrisome is the presence of mind of the folks who brought out their mobile phones to video the mayhem instead of calling the police or even make efforts to restrain the murderers. Perhaps theirs is a milder level of insanity? Obviously we leave in perilous times, because of the moral degeneracy of our society. In our pristine saner past, many of those at the scene would be concerned with saving the dying, while ensuring that the officials involved are restrained from running way. But as our society degenerates, many of her citizens are more readily willing to resort to self-help, maybe as a further mark of their loss of faith in the public institutions and due process.

    We thank the state government for arresting some of the suspects, who allegedly participated in the murder of the LASTMA official. This is the way it should be; people should not kill agents of government and go scot-free. Otherwise, we would be sending wrong signals to the colleagues of the victim that they are on their own; and to potential criminals that they can get away, even with murder. None is in the interest of society.

    Others involved in the gruesome murder should be identified and brought to justice. This can be possible with the help of the video which had gone viral. Also, governments at all levels must appreciate the point we made here recently, about the increase in mental illnesses, partly because of the gruelling economic difficulties and social disequilibrium afflicting our society. Perhaps an investment in causes and treatment of mental ill-health is increasingly necessary.

    We urge the Lagos State government to also ensure justice for the motor boy. The LASTMA officials need to review their methods of enforcing compliance with traffic rules, and should use modern technology, instead of force. Maybe there is wisdom in the original template of operations for LASTMA officials as promoted at the inception of the present state government.