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Tag: Okonjo

  • So very Okonjo-Iwealaesque

    So very Okonjo-Iwealaesque

    Dear reader, what do you do with an employee who thinks he is doing you a favour? He is lost in his own world; he turns his nose up at you, he talks above your head, he could never seem to understand you and you too can’t seem to get through to him. As the years go by, the business diminishes, but he still turns up in fancy dresses and maintains the façade of normalcy with exotic espousals, slogans and faddish jargons. You, the businessman you are haemorrhaging to death and he your technocratic employee tells you about reforms with long-term gestational accruals and incipient values derivable from emerging strategic options. Phew!

    Damn it, this company is dying, this ship is sinking; you may find yourself screaming. This is the story of Dr.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s two-time Finance Minister and currently with an additional omnibus title, Coordinating Minister of the Economy, (CME). She was a World Bank senior staff before she was head-hunted to lead Nigeria’s Finance Ministry during the Olusegun Obasanjo era. But as it has turned out, a seat at that ultra-Western and ultra-capitalist leviathan erroneously known as the World Bank does not necessarily make a man a good manager of a country’s economy. She really has not made much of this job, Hardball must surmise.

    But for a country that is bereft of ideas and quality leadership, she had to be drafted once again to the same job she performed so very woefully the first time. The job may be a bit complicated but it is well cut out: to remould a poor economy that is lacking in all the basics of a modern economy.

     This time, she is given even more powers and an expanded scope of duty. In essence, in the last 10 years or so, Madam World Bank has been at the driving seat of Nigeria’s finance and economy; but it appears she has been wrestling with a monster she is incapable of fathoming its head or tail.

    But so very Okonjo-Iwealaesque and like the employee described above, she would not admit that she has no clue about this animal called the Nigerian economy. Instead, she grandstand and grandstands some more even as the roof falls on our head. Just a few days ago, Madam woke up and took Nigeria back 34 years ago when the phrase, ‘austerity measures’ crept into our national lexicon. She actually unveiled (read invoked) austerity measures upon us all as if she is ever gonna be subjected to it.

    Recall that just a few days before, standing on her haughty pedestal, she had broadcast that ‘Nigeria is not broke.’ Before then, she had often regaled us with favourable sovereign ratings from her friends in Standard and Poors among such sepulchral trappings of the capitalist world. We had also been told recently that we are the biggest economy in Africa and number 26 in the world; among other rubbish she has fed us.

     But with this latest announcement, she has finally unravelled and not unlike the economy she tends. After announcing her so-called austerity measures, she seems to have smacked her lips when she stated: “Every country that is well managed doesn’t just seat and allow a situation to happen to them. If they are well managed, they prepare the right set of policies to deal with the situation.”

    Can you see our predicament? She does not even appreciate the problem; she thinks it’s about cutting costs and charging more taxes!

  • Ogwashi-Uku…a town of giants with ‘gigantic’ problems

    Ogwashi-Uku…a town of giants with ‘gigantic’ problems

    Ogwashi-Uku, a town with not less than 27,000 inhabitants, is the headquarters of Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State.

    The ancient community was also the headquarters of Aniocha Division in the defunct Bendel and Midwest states.

    The town then had administrative jurisdiction over Asaba, Issele-Uku, Ibusa, Akwkwu-Igbo, Onicha-Ugbo and many other communities in the neighbourhood.

    Political analysts believe that Ogwashi-Uku has contributed a lot of human resources to the country’s development, both at the federal and state levels.

    Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Finance, Chief Ralph Uwaechue, former minister and ambassador, and the late Dr Emmanuel Osamor, a former Minister of Police Affairs, hail from the community.

    The list appears endless. In the defunct Bendel State, an indigene of Ogwashi-Uku, the late Mr Isaac Okonjo was Secretary to the State Government, while his compatriots, Azuka Obichie, Charles Okolo and John Iwowo, among others, were commissioners.

    Jay Jay

    However, some residents of the community, which has also produced famous footballers such as Austin “Jay Jay’’ Okocha and the late Victor Oduah, claim that the town has nothing to show in terms of infrastructural development.

    They noted that the community has not been getting regular power supply in the last one year, resulting in excessive use of generators across the town.

    Narrating the residents’ ordeal, Chukwudi Nwandu, a primary school teacher, said the Azungwu area of the town, where he was living, had been without electricity for over 11 months.

    Corroborating his claims, Jude Ilom, a motorcycle repairer, and Miss Nkem Obianaba, a teacher, said they could not remember the last time they enjoyed power supply.

    A cold room operator, Ignatius Okobi, said he and his colleagues in the business had no other option than to venture into other lines of business since it had become extremely difficult for them to operate cold rooms with power generators.

    He noted that several enterprises in Ogwashi-Uku, which depended on electricity supply, had been forced to close down because of their inability to cope with high costs of production.

    Okobi said the situation had forced many artisans, including welders, air conditioner and refrigerator repairers, tailors, barbers and computer operators, among others, to relocate from the community.

    Emmanuel Okafor, the President General of Ogwashi-Uku Development Union, conceded that the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) had not been supplying power to the town regularly.

    He rejected claims that the community had been without electricity supply for about a year.

    “They give us light at times but the problem is that it is not regular; in a month, we may have electricity for about eight days altogether,’’ he said.

    Nwakamma Okafor, a retired civil servant, recalled that he once led a 17-member delegation to PHCN’s zonal office in Benin about three months ago to discuss the power supply problems.

    He said the PHCN officials admitted that power supply was generally poor around the country, adding that they, nonetheless, pledged that something would be done to improve electricity supply to the community.

    Okafor added that the officials assured them that they would work out plans on how to supply electricity to the community at least three days in a week.

    He said due to the irregular power supply to the community, he spent about N1, 000 every day on fuel to power the generator in his house.

    Emperor Ijenwa, a taxi driver, rejected the notion that the community was experiencing a total power failure, insisting that the electricity supply was just epileptic.

    Mrs Esther Okolie, PHCN’s Public Relations Manager in Asaba, who acknowledged the power supply challenges facing residents of Ogwashi-Uku, said irregular electricity supply was a general problem.

    She said Ogwashi-Uku area alone needed about 105 megawatts of electricity, while only 22 megawatts were available for distribution among all the customers, including government and public offices.

    “The situation is so bad and people are bound to complain; their complaints are genuine but I must appeal to our customers in this area to be patient with us.

    “Let us pray that the 33 KVA step-down transformer on Ibusa Road will be completed and operational before the end of this year or early next year,’’ she said.

    The residents of Ogwashi-Uku and other towns in the area have been appealing to all the relevant authorities to ensure regular power supply to the neighbourhood.

    Analysts urged the Federal Government to carry out pragmatic reforms in the power sector to improve the power supply situation across the country.

     

    • Ifeajika  is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

     

  • Okonjo-Iweala’s mum’s ‘abductors’ killed

    Okonjo-Iweala’s mum’s ‘abductors’ killed

    Commissioner of Police in Delta State Ikechukwu Aduba has said the fleeing suspects responsible for the kidnap of Prof Kanene Okonjo, the mother of the Minister of Finance, Prof Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, were arrested by his men in Anambra State while allegedly sourcing for weapons for another kidnap.

    He identified the suspects as Chekwube Okeke, alias Chiboy and Ifeanyi Eze, alias Biggy.

    Aduba said his men, acting on a tip-off, stormed Uga Junction in Onitsha, waiting for their would-be arms supplier, adding that Eze was shot in the leg in a bid to escape.

    He said his arrest led to the arrest of two others in Aguata Local Government.

    The police chief said Okeke was killed as he tried to escape while being conveyed to Asaba on the River Niger Bridge.

    He said 120 kidnap victims had been rescued and over 128 kidnap/robbery suspects killed in the last five months.

    Aduba said 653 suspected robbers and kidnap suspects were arrested within the period.

    He said N2, 940,570 was recovered from gangs.

    Aduba noted that 86 convictions of kidnappers were secured.

    He said 276 cases of kidnappings were charged to court; 300 suspects are awaiting trial.

    The police boss said 45 murder suspects were arrested, adding that 78 arms were recovered.

    According to him, 608 ammunition were recovered from criminal gangs in five months.

    Aduba said suspected cultists stormed the Redeemed Christian Church, Warri, in an attempt to dispossess worshippers of their valuables.

    He said angry worshippers chased one of the suspected cultists and set him ablaze.

    The remains, the police chief said, have been deposited at the Warri Central Hospital.

    Aduba said three robbery suspects were shot dead during a botched car snatching attempt.

    He said one of the suspects escape with gunshot wounds.

    The gang members were identified as Nkechi Lucky, Kobo and Omo Jay.

    He said the four-man gang allegedly robbed Mrs. Victory Enyioke, wife of the pastor of First Baptist Church, Abraka.

    He said the victim was dispossessed of her Kia Soul van with registration number AW 544 WWR.

    He said the gang had allegedly robbed another victim of a Murano Sports Utility Vehicle.

    Aduba said luck ran out on the gang, when his men engaged the robbers in a shoot out. Three suspects were killed.

    He said search for the fleeing suspect has intensified.

    Items recovered from the suspects include an AK 47 rifle with number 53311, two magazines and three live bullets.

  • Another jamboree

    Another jamboree

    •Nigeria wants to host WEF. But how will this benefit Nigerians?

    AT the close of the 23rd edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Cape Town, South Africa on May 10, finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, announced Nigeria as host of the next edition of the global meet. The rather exultant minister, while thanking WEF for choosing Nigeria as the next host, posited that the choice of Nigeria was appropriate, given its position and huge economic potential.

    Said she: “I think we epitomise a lot of things about Africa. We have the excitement, the passion, the entrepreneurship, the private sector drive and the glow for the future… We also epitomise all of the difficult challenges of the continent such as infrastructure deficit, governance issues, corruption and transparency”. The combination of these opportunities and challenges in one country, she further argued, “is what makes Nigeria the most exciting place to be on the continent”.

    The Director-General, Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Frank Nweke Jnr, would add that “President Goodluck Jonathan had already mandated the team to organise a successful forum”.

    After the forum’s outing in South Africa, the question for many would be – why not Nigeria? Going by the objectives of the Geneva-based non-profit foundation, to wit: “to improve the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders in the vision of shaping global, regional and industry agendas”, nothing, clearly can be wrong with seeking to host the global meet. That however must come with the understanding that it must be private sector-driven – hence, no public fund is involved.

    The more pertinent question however is what the nation stands to gain by hosting – or put in another way, whether there are additional benefits to be gained merely on account of hosting. The answer of course is – doubtful. In the first place, if our previous outings at the WEF or indeed similar high flying international conferences are any indications of what to expect, it would be illusory to expect that things would suddenly change mainly because the nation is hosting this particular one.

    But more substantively, will the hosting transform the climate of doing business in the country? Will it address those long-standing issues that impede business competitiveness? What about corruption? What about governance issues impeding the delivery of the public good? How will the fact of our hosting of the WEF improve the state of things? Will it not end up as another opportunity to regale the world with the familiar Nigerian story of wants in the midst of wealth?

    The issue is hardly about the prerogative of WEF to choose any venue for hosting its forums. So long as no public fund is involved, WEF can hold its programmes anywhere. Of course, we deplore the penchant by our officials to fall over themselves every time there is occasion for international conferences. We have seen how much this has cost the treasury over the years, even when participation by officials can hardly be justified by the value delivered in the end. The point is – our officials love to talk and travel at public expense. Now, if they are not ashamed of showcasing failures on all fronts, shouldn’t they at least be tired of the ritual of endless dissection of problems which leads to nowhere?

    The issue is simple and straightforward: we do not need the burden of hosting any jamboree. If our officials cannot sit down to do the work they are paid to do, they should at least spare us such frivolities.

  • Okonjo’s kidnap: Army releases 63

    Okonjo’s kidnap: Army releases 63

    The Army has released the 63 suspects arrested on Saturday, in connection with the abduction of Prof. Kamene Okonjo, mother of the Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

    The suspects were arrested at Osanogoho, Ika South Local Government of Delta State and detained at the 4 Brigade Headquarters in Benin City, Edo State capital.

    The Brigade’s Public Relations Officer, Capt Rose Managbe, confirmed the release of the suspects.

    She said the Monarch of Agbor, Benjamin Keagborekuzi, sent three chiefs, led by Chief Gideon Okobia, to sign sureties for the release of the suspects.

    Capt Managbe debunked allegations that the detainees paid N70,000 to secure their release and had to pay for their food while in detention.

     

  • Beyond Mrs Okonjo’s rescue

    Beyond Mrs Okonjo’s rescue

    With denials heaped upon denials, some even amounting to classic refutation, we may never know whether ransom was truly paid to secure the release of Professor Kamene Okonjo, the abducted mother of the Finance minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. And if anything was paid, we may still never know for sure just how much, perhaps after protracted haggling, was eventually paid. Was it N10 million, as some sources say, or was it a little over that figure? Indeed, how many of us would be so stouthearted as not to yield to the blackmail of parting with money to secure the release of a loved one? If a man could resist blackmail when the ‘merchandise’ is an octogenarian, could he resist without panicking if the commodity were his young bride?

    So, whether anything was paid or not, the Finance minister’s family must be relieved that their mother is now free and safe. The trauma will undoubtedly live with them for a long time, and the Goodluck Jonathan government, if it is capable of any delicate feeling, will feel the humiliation of a distasteful strike hitting close to home. At least the victim is now free and safe; therefore to blazes with morality and principles. Few are, however, going to believe nothing was paid, especially judging from the manner Queen Okonjo strolled into freedom. As the police acknowledged, the elderly woman was released, not rescued. In spite of the avalanche of security agents that descended on the small town of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State, Professor Okonjo was held by the kidnappers for about five days. The kidnappers evidently got in contact with the family, and some sort of discussions took place between the kidnappers and the Finance minister’s family. Those discussions, or as the police elegantly put it, pressures, led to the release of the 82-year-old queen.

    The police may not be equipped to fight the sophisticated crimes they frequently confront, but in the case of this high-profile kidnap, they at least honestly admitted some of the details surrounding the ugly incident. They were not too keen to entertain the fanciful theories some commentators were bandying about in which they suggest that what was essentially a simple kidnapping was in fact a classic political weapon to force the government to embrace wrong policies. It would be far-fetched indeed for any group to hope it could compel the Finance minister alone, no matter how influential she is, to redirect government policy on fuel subsidy payments, or modify any other policy for that matter, simply because a close family member had been abducted. The police believed Queen Okonjo was kidnapped for ransom, and they said so simply and plainly. They were also honest enough to admit she was released rather than rescued, though some dramatic shootouts a little removed from the actual kidnapping were reported to have taken place, leading to the death of an alleged kidnap kingpin.

    What humiliates every Nigerian is not just the helplessness he feels in the face of bold and innovative criminal gangs, for which the poorly equipped, distracted and disoriented police are sometimes unfairly blamed. Nor is the problem just one of a lacklustre presidency that appears increasingly incapable of responding structurally to the complex challenges of the times. I think that more than anything, the problem is that this government, like all the ones before it, is negligent in appreciating the gravity of the problems confronting it and in summoning the willpower and wisdom to respond to them.

    The federal government, which unadvisedly retains total control over law enforcement agencies (See Box), should naturally and agilely respond to security breaches like kidnapping with all the means at its disposal. Instead, it has right from the beginning treated kidnapping leisurely and with indiscernible air of resignation. It displays indignation only when children and top government officials and their families are victims, as if one Nigerian is less human than the other. The Okonjo-Iweala’s mum’s kidnapping deeply embarrassed the presidency; but surely even the government could not claim to be inured to the anomalousness of deploying, as it were, an armada to tackle a rather simple case. The security agencies not only overwhelmed the town in search of the kidnappers, by arresting 63 people in one fell swoop, they became almost irrational. Once again, for an admittedly good cause, and as they are wont, government agents exhibited the idiosyncratic excesses that tend to undermine the citizenship of Nigerians. It was lazy, reckless and counterproductive to herd so many Nigerians into detention in order to prise one doubtful tip from them. The net was disrespectfully cast too wide. But I fear that government officials will miss this nuanced point.

    More salient, however, is the Jonathan government’s disconcerting lack of appreciation of the foundations upon which a government must anchor its policies and responses. No one will believe ransom was not paid for the release of Mrs Okonjo because the Jonathan government has not shown the will and wisdom to make it a cardinal policy not to negotiate with terrorists and kidnappers, and to make it unlawful for anyone to do so privately or otherwise. By announcing its readiness to negotiate with Boko Haram Islamic fundamentalist group, the government showed it lacked the spine to stand its ground for the things that ennoble humanity. It has, therefore, become convenient for the police to feign ignorance of negotiations with kidnappers, as they did in the Okonjo kidnap saga. According to them, they have a policy of not negotiating with kidnappers, and were thus not part of whatever negotiations took place between the Finance minister’s family and the kidnappers.

    Kidnapping will continue to flourish in one form or another for as long as there is no government courageous enough to draw a red line against that crime. The lowly will be abducted, as the high and mighty will fall victim. Kidnapped women will be violated, with families keeping mum over the cruel fate that would befall their loved ones, and children will be brutalised and traumatised. Some will lose their lives, and some parts of the country will remain tense, insecure and volatile, despoiled by kidnappers, its populace dehumanised by government agents who can’t tell the difference between citizen and alien, freedom and servitude, and between democracy and autocracy. Above all, knowing how alone they are, victims’ families will strenuously ignore the impotent government and enter into amicable and productive negotiations with kidnappers.

    The only option left for victims of kidnapping, such as Brig Oluwole Rotimi’s family, is to appeal to the government to deploy as much resources as it cheerfully did in the Professor Okonjo case. Government officials said pressure on the kidnappers, not ransom, led to the release of the abducted queen. The people would like to see more of that pressure applied in subsequent kidnap cases, for kidnapping will not cease overnight, especially given the report that ransom was paid to secure the release of the powerful Finance minister’s mum. If the powerful could pay ransom, so reasoned the populace, who could withstand the kidnappers?

    If only the Jonathan presidency could see the futility of its attitude towards kidnapping (plausible deniability) and terrorism (constructive engagement), it would appreciate why it needs a backbone to fight those twin crimes with the enlightened and principled doggedness great governments are known for. If he finally decides to stand and fight, it will be bloody, it will even expose the weaknesses of his security machine and publicise the incompetence of some of his men, and it will test his nerves. But in the end, as history ineluctably underscores, sometimes in surreal imagery too powerful to put into words, he would succeed, and his government, which has failed so disastrously to regenerate the country economically and re-engineer it politically, would be defined by the courage with which he met the most important security challenges of his day.

  • Okonjo: Crack squad of detectives storm Asaba

    Okonjo: Crack squad of detectives storm Asaba

    A detachment of special detectives from the Police Headquarters, Abuja arrived Asaba, Delta state capital as the manhunt for the abductors of Prof. Kamene Okonjo, mother of the Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala intensifies

    Efforts to locate the whereabouts of the 82-year old grandmother appear to have stalled, but the State Police Commissioner, Ikechukwu Aduba is upbeat that a breakthrough is in the offing.

    Aduba who confirmed the arrival of the detectives said the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar deployed the team to complement what officers of the state command were already doing to rescue the abducted wife of the traditional ruler of Ugwashi- Ukwu.

    He however did not give further details on the deployment of the special detectives but expressed confidence that with the reinforcement; the hoodlums would soon be ‘smoked-out’ of their hide-out.

    “The IG is concerned and worried about what is happening and he has sent the special squad from Abuja to assist us. We have special squad across the federation but the person involved is of global significance and the IG wants to get the results as fast as possible, that is all.”

    He reiterated the command’s earlier position that the “police has never and will never encourage the payment of ransom,” insisting that he was unaware if the kidnappers have contacted the royal family to negotiate payment.

    Aduba urged the public to cooperate with security agencies by providing useful information that could lead to whereabouts of Mrs. Okonjo.

    Prof. Okonjo, 82 was kidnapped by ten gunmen last Sunday afternoon at the palace of her husband and the Obi of Ugwashi-Ukwu in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State.

     

  • Okonjo-Iweala’s mother: Two policemen arrested

    Okonjo-Iweala’s mother: Two policemen arrested

    Family, Mark plead for minister’s mum’s release

    Two policemen have been arrested for the abduction of Prof. Kamene Okonjo, Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s mother, Delta police chief Ikechukwu Aduba said yesterday.

    Besides, the abductors are said to have contacted the family. Details of the conversation with the family remained unknown last night.

    The family made an emotional appeal to the kidnappers to free Mrs. Okonjo, saying the 82-year-old grandmother was frail in health.

    Mrs Okonjo was abducted on Sunday from her home in Ogwuachi-Uku, Delta State.

    The police had earlier arrested a suspect, who had just left the palace when the hoodlums stormed the place and kidnapped Mrs. Okonjo.

    Aduba said: “We are not aware of any ransom and we will never support the payment of ransom”.

    “For those who believe in the force, we have always rescued their victims unhurt without the payment of ransom. A case in point is the son of the SSG who was rescued without ransom and several other cases.

    “We cannot cover up anybody; investigations were carried out and the two police officers who were supposed to be on duty are now in detention,’’ he said.

    Aduba said that there were usually insiders in every kidnapping and bank robbery, among others.

    He said the police had strengthened its artillery, which led to the arrest of 20 armed kidnapers in the past few days.

    “For me, we have been doing our best, the state criminal investigation and the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) have been able to round up 20 kidnappers of four separate gang.

    “We rescued some victims yesterday at Akukwu-Igbo in Oshimili North Local Government Area.

    “Also Thursday last week, we intercepted a gang of kidnappers that were heading toward Ogwashi-Uku and we recovered their guns.

    “There is a 24-hour patrol in this state and within five minutes of getting distress a call we are there, the kidnap of the Queen is an unfortunate incident,’’ Aduba said.

    The commissioner reiterated that those with “hostage value’’ should be very careful and watch their backs.

    He advised them to endeavour to report any suspicious movement around them.

    He said that security was the responsibility of all, not only for the police force.

    “Around lunch time on Sunday, some gunmen came to the compound and forced the gate open and took my mother away. The family is upset and traumatised,” the minister’s younger brother, Onyema Okonjo, told Reuters at the house.

    “To abduct a grandmother more than 80 years old is sad. We appeal to them to release her as soon as possible because her health condition is not good,” Onyema added.

    Senate President David Mark yesterday urged the abductors to release Mrs. Okonjo.

    In a passionate appeal, Mark urged them to honour the time-tested biblical injunction that “we should honour our parents and, by extension, those who are old enough to be our parents”.

    In a statement by his Media Adviser Kola Ologbodiyan, Mark said abduction of any Nigerian is condemnable, adding that the abduction is an attack on Nigeria’s international reputation.

    Urging the police to ensure the safe release of Mrs. Okonjo, the Senate President said the abductors should be brought to book. “Abductions are causing the nation’s reputation grave harm in the comity of nations,” he said.

    Minister of Police Affairs Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd) has instructed Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar to deploy Special Police Officers from the Force headquarters, Abuja to assist in locating and freeing Prof. Okonjo from her captors.

    Speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop on ‘Budgeting for Effective Policing in Nigeria ’, the minister said: “It is a very disturbing issue. In unraveling this matter, the police must take into cognizance that we have a role to let others know that such incidents will be given equal treatment. It could have been the mother of anybody’.

    “Already, the IGP has deployed his men and they are working round the clock on the issue. The IG is on top of the situation. However, I have instructed the IGP to deploy specialist officers from Abuja if need be, to help in fishing out the culprits”.

    The palace of the Obi of Ogwuashi-Uku has been surrounded by policemen since the abduction on Sunday.

    Police said someone purporting to be one of the kidnappers phoned on Monday to make some demands, but it was impossible to say whether the call was genuine.

    “We have to identify the source of the call … Anybody can make spurious calls and demands,” said Delta State police spokesman Sergie Ezegam, without giving details of who was contacted or what was demanded.

    “We still don’t know the reason for her abduction. What we know is that this is a crime, the woman’s life is in danger and we are making frantic efforts to rescue her,” he added.

    Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has received threats in the past, her special adviser Paul Nwabuikwu said on Sunday.

    Security operatives have continued to lay a siege to Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State where the Queen Mother of the kingdom was kidnapped.

    Security operatives were all over the palace yesterday. Residents in the neighbourhood were restless.

     

  • Okonjo-Iweala: 50 oil firms got N232b illegally

    Okonjo-Iweala: 50 oil firms got N232b illegally

    Fifty oil marketers fraudulently collected N232 billion from the Federal Government as fuel subsidy, Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said yesterday.

    The government has recovered only N29 billion through debt swap, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, who is also the Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy, added.

    She spoke at the 18th Nigerian Economic Summit meeting in Abuja.

    According to her, a forensic investigation carried out by the government revealed the subsidy fraud.

    According to her, the government engaged 20 forensic experts, examiners and auditors from PriceWaterHouse Coopers and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and they have worked for more than four months on the subsidy claims.

    “Last week, the work was submitted to Mr. President and of the amount verified, they have determined N232 billion. You know they came out with N270 billion initially; now they are out with N232 billion claims of oil subsidy that are not substantiated or fraudulent.”

    She said on the strength of the forensic investigation, the government has started to recover the claims from the affected marketers.

    She vowed that the government would recover the cash fraudulently obtained through subsidy claims.

    Okonjo-Iweala regretted that the forensic investigation and the government’s resolve to hold indicted marketers to account have slowed down the oil importation programme.

    She, however, stressed that government has continued to pay genuine subsidy claims to petroleum marketers.

    “We are going through forensic investigation because it is the kind of work that requires indepth investigation and that is because we want to do a thorough job on the matter because Nigerians want government to take corruption out of the way so that we can be like other nations of the world where things are done properly,” Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said.

    The presidential task force headed by Access Bank Managing Director Aigboje Aig-Imoukuede and the National Assembly probe have verified slightly more than N3 trillion , but government decided to subject the reports to forensic examinations.

    At a news conference, also in Abuja yesterday, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said the government had released N170 billion as cash backing for the fourth quarter of Budget 2012.

    “On the issue of cash backing for the fourth quarter; as you know, we released N300 billion last quarter for a total of N1.01 trillion in releases and it was said that we have not cash-backed the fourth quarter

    “This is not correct; we have cash-backed N170bn of the fourth quarter release. About N111billion of that has gone straight into the accounts of Ministries, Department and Agencies as cash.”

    According to the minister, a balance of N59 billion will service Authorisations to Incur Expenditure (AIEs).

    She said as at the end of October, 71 per cent had been utilised; 20 per cent is yet to be utilised.

    “So, we believe that before the end of the year, it will be utilised by the MDAs.

    “We also want to be careful not to just release funds anyhow, until we are sure of what they are being used for.

    “We have also released N44 billion to the Federal Ministry of Works in order to enable it work on the major damaged roads ahead of the Christmas season.”

    On the police pension, she said a letter had been sent to ensure that payments were continuously made to police pensioners.

    “To make sure that police pensioners are paid, we handed over the management of the account to the Accountant General of the Federation and he has been effecting payment to pensioners.

    “And he has restructured the nine accounts to four; he is managing them while the restructuring of the police pension outfit goes on.’’

    Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, who is also the Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy, gave the assurance that a transparent police pension office capable of managing resources effectively, would be put in place.

    She reiterated the call for the sack of 50 per cent of public servants to prune down the cost of governance.

    Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said the truth must be told that some redundant civil servants must be sacked to pave the way for good governance and to cut cost.

    Reacting to a question by one of the panellists at the National Economic Summit on what the government was doing to reduce the cost of governance, the minister said those calling for the reduction in the recurrent expenditure were invariably calling for the reduction in the work force in the civil service.

    She said it was contradictory for the public to “call for the head” of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, when he was recently according to the CBN, misquoted for calling for the sack of 50 per cent of the government workforce, arguing that the only way to prune down the cost of governance is to reduce the government’s workforce whose entitlements amount to 32 per cent of the budget.

    Her words: “On the expenditure side, you said our reduction from 77 per cent to

    about 68.8 percent is marginal, but let me tell you that there is room to

    do more and you will come to a point where you have to implement the Oronsaye Committee report and eliminate duplication.

    “We are aware that there are government agencies that are not rendering any service. But let me tell you, the targets of this fiscal tightening are human beings; they are the ones that must be eliminated to prune down the costs. The cost of personnel in the budget is 32 per cent and that is huge. So, when you get to a point of tackling the recurrent budget, it will then mean people. That is the bottom line; let us just be frank about it.

    “And the same public that is crying about cost of governance will remind you that one civil servant is catering for five other Nigerians when you really want to reduce the cost of governance. We had this hue and cry about the misquoting of Lamido and people almost called for his head, but you have to understand that when you talk about reducing cost of governance, you are ultimately talking about human beings.

    She described privatisation as robust.

    “Nigeria probably has one of the most robust privatisation programmes in the world. We have actually done a research. No country has so thoroughly privatised its power sector the way we have done in terms of the generation, distribution and management of the transmission arm all at once. Some countries and global organisations are looking into this feat as a case study.”

    Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala also expressed disappointment on the way some Nigerian do not want full deregulation of the downstream sector, adding that government can never be threatened and stopped from doing the right thing.

    The minister vowed that those indicted for oil theft would never go free without prosecution.

     

  • Lawmakers to summon Okonjo-Iweala, Olubolade

    Lawmakers to summon Okonjo-Iweala, Olubolade

    The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade, are to appear before the House of Representatives Committee on Pension today.

    Others are the Director- General, Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu and the Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mohammad Ahmad.

    The Finance Minister is to explain the reason behind the taking over of the Police Pension Office by her office without regard to the Pension Reform Act and oversight responsibility of the legislators.

    She is also to provide answers to the dismal release of funds to the pension units in the 2012 budget. The committee is interested in how the 2012 budgetary provision for the Pension Office was implemented by the minister.

    According to the lawmakers, pensioners across the country were at the receiving end of the abysmal releases by the Ministry of Finance.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Ibrahim Bawa Kamba, said taking over the responsibility of running the Pension Office by the Minister of Finance was against the law.

    Besides, the 53 per cent increment as contained in the Pension Reform Act that has not been implemented by the minister is another source of concern for the lawmakers.

    The committee also lashed out at the Military Pension Board (MPB) for not presenting a detailed brief on its 2012 budget defence.

    “If you need to carry carton or Ghana-must-go-bags containing documents to convince us on how you implemented the 2012 budget, it would be appreciated. We know that budget is a proposal, but we have to be convinced. Budget goes beyond garbage-in-garbage-out. It is important to see all the documents,” the committee chairman said.

    In his presentation on the 2013 budget, MPB Chairman, Rear Admiral B.M. Mshelia, claimed that it was not the intention of his organisation not to pay the 53 per cent incremental arrears.

    “Pensions have not been adjusted, and the arrears are yet to be paid with effect from July 2010 when the Federal Government reviewed salaries.

    “MPB has made necessary requisition to the Federal Government through the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission and the Budget Office of the Federation,” he said.