The Nation Newspaper

Tag: probe

  • Senate to probe Etisalat’s $1.2b debt crisis

    Senate to probe Etisalat’s $1.2b debt crisis

    The Senate yesterday resolved to investigate the management and utilisation of the $1.2 billion loan facility obtained by Etisalat (Nigeria) from 13 local banks.

    The upper chamber mandated its Committees on Banking, Communications, Capital Market and National Security and Intelligence to probe the deal.

    It also asked the joint committee to make recommendations on ways the country’s financial governance structure could be strengthened by legislations to prevent any future similar reoccurrence of such crisis.

    The Senate urged relevant financial intelligence agencies of the Federal Government to investigate the management of Etisalat (Nigeria) and hold the defaulting parties accountable for their actions.

    The resolutions followed the adoption a motion on “the need for Senate’s intervention in the recent Etisalat (Nigeria) $1.2 billion debt crisis” sponsored by Senator Solomon Adeola (Lagos West)

    Adeola in his lead debate noted that Etisalat Nigeria has in recent times been in the public eye over its $1.2bn loan crisis.

  • Reps to probe TCN over $2b foreign loans

    Reps to probe TCN over $2b foreign loans

    The House of Representatives will investigate $2 billion foreign loans which the state-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) may have raised without official approval.

    The investigation could be a blow to efforts to improve Nigeria’s creaking power infrastructure, which is often blamed for hobbling growth in Africa’s largest economy.

    The Federal Government privatised most of its power sector in 2013 but retained control of the dilapidated monopoly grid operator,  TCN.

    A member of the House, Hon Simon Arabo, said in a motion that the TCN had borrowed $1.5 billion from the World Bank and other international lenders without securing the approval of the National Assembly as required by the law.

    He described the grid operator’s contract processes as opaque and may have violated procurement laws.

    Arabo did not name the other lenders but said TCN is currently negotiating another loan of $500 million with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

    Lawmakers agreed to investigate the activities of the TCN over the past 10 years in respect of foreign loans and contract awards and to report their findings within eight weeks.

    A TCN spokesman did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment neither did the World Bank.

    Reuters was unable to reach the IDB for comments outside of normal business hours by a telephone number and email address listed on its website.

    The ailing power infrastructure means blackouts are common across Africa’s most populous country, forcing many businesses and households to run costly fuel generators. If the country’s power plants were to operate at full tilt, the fragile transmission network would not be able to handle the load.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to increase power capacity exponentially during his four-year term and to meet the demands of Nigeria’s more than 180 million people entirely within a decade.

  • ASUU urges Buhari to probe UNILORIN VC

    •Alleges victimisation

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to probe alleged fraud and corruption at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

    It said this will show the President is committed to fighting corruption.

    The union condemned the sack of UNILORIN ASUU Secretary Dr. Solomon Oyelekan barely 72 hours after the Chairman, Dr. Kayode Afolayan, was sacked for “blowing whistle on the corrupt activities of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali, for subverting due process in the employment and promotion of his wife, among other atrocities.”

    It called on people and authorities to intervene, to restore justice to the university and prevent national crisis.

    ASUU in a statement by the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Ade Adejumo and Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter, Dr. Deji Omole, alleged that as far as industrial relations was concerned, UNILORIN remained a terrorists’ organisation.

    “A few days ago, University of Ilorin terminated the appointment of Dr. K.N. Afolayan, the chairperson of our union in the university. We held a news conference, describing the university as a terrorists’ organisation as far as industrial relations is concerned. Barely 72 hours after, the university forwarded a letter to terminate the appointment of Dr. Solomon Oyelekan, the secretary of our union in the university. We believe even the press must be shocked by this brazen demonstration of terrorism. It is time once again for the nation to focus on the evil machinations of the present and past administrations in University of Ilorin,” the union said.

    Adejumo and Omole challenged the university administration to state the offence the purportedly sacked ASUU leadership committed, saying the action was an open display of victimisation.

    ASUU said just as UNILORIN had lost cases in the past over illegal sack, “these cases will not be an exception.”

    It said it was laughable that the information officer of the university, Mr. Kunle Akogun, defended the institution as following due process, wondering why the same “due process” was blind to “genuine and established acts of misconduct, such as sexual harassment, plagiarism and corruption, but is only trained to terminate the appointment of ASUU officers.”

    The union added: “Our tag of UNILORIN as a terrorist is based on its actions of terrorising progressive workers, students and indeed the community for nearly two decades. It is common knowledge that in 2001, the university sacked 49 academics for no other reason than going on strike with their colleagues nationwide. At least, three of them died in the brutal circumstances of the termination of their appointment. But for the university’s action, the likes of Professors Adegbija, Annor and Dr. Ajayi will be alive today.

    “The university vilified the workers, told lies against them, forged documents against them, sent gun- totting men, cudgel-wielding security guards and sometimes cultists after them, evicted them from their university quarters, deprived them of their means of livelihood and their health access, chased them from alternative job options, and the three died. If all of these are not terrorism within the context of a university, then what else is? UNILORIN is a place where all manners of atrocities take place. Court bailiffs are regularly beaten up in the offices of the vice chancellor and registrar; none of the unions is allowed to participate in national actions, yet the university benefits from such actions. Several workers, including genuine ASUU officers, are forced to pay money monthly into the coffers of a group of impersonators already outlawed by the courts. The university stole millions from students in the name of unsupplied equipment (PC tabs); UNILORIN stole billions from its workers by forcing them to pay pension into a phantom pension fund that did not go into the account of the workers; the university has suppressed the promotion of a group of workers for upward of 15 years due to hatred; UNILORIN is the only university that attempted to institutionally victimise a sexually-harassed female student for blowing the whistle on a ‘favoured’ worker; UNILORIN is the only university that maintains gun-totting policemen at its gate and gun-totting DSS to harass academic workers within; UNILORIN is the only university where the vice chancellor will promote his wife unduly and then sack the people who protest this anomaly, and the Governing Council will support such brazen corruption; UNILORIN is the only university that brings a ‘battalion’ to prevent the union from holding a meeting on its campus, although it is a publicly-funded university. The list is endless. Therefore, if we call UNILORIN a terrorists’ institution, this is more than justified.”

  • I am not afraid of Umahi’s probe -Ex- Governor Elechi

    I am not afraid of Umahi’s probe -Ex- Governor Elechi

    Former governor of Ebonyi, Chief Martin Elechi has said he was ready for probe by his successor, Governor David Umahi, alleging that he had been under investigation since 2015.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Umahi had on Saturday in Abakaliki, threatened to probe the Elechi’s administration of 2007 – 2015, for “massive financial malpractices”.

    Umahi had stated that he had covered his predecessors ‘sins’ enough and would publish the details of the probe in newspapers and other media channels.

    He accused his former boss, who he served as deputy governor, for failing to pay past leaders, including the Minster of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, their pensions and severance allowances.

    The governor  faulted Elechi for ‘crying’ over non-payment of his pensions “when he failed to pay pensioners in the state since 2009.

    But Elechi told newsmen in Abakaliki on Thursday that the governor had been probing him and his two sons since 2015.

    “I handed over to Umahi on May.29, 2015, participated in his thanksgiving service on June 7, 2015, but received a letter of summon from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on June 9, 2015.

    “The petitions, which EFCC sources said were more than 50, were written by the present Ebonyi government through the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

    “We visited the anti-graft agency regularly since and the last time I visited there in May 2016, I was shown a later from the Attorney- General where I was accused of several financial malpractices,” he said.

    Elechi said that the petitioners’ allegations against him included his government’s involvement in the establishment of the state cement, oil and gas, rice production companies, among others.

    “I gave my own side of the story and presented copies of the same petition which the attorney-general issued me in November, 2015 over the same alleged offences.

    “It is then clear that Umahi must not be saying that he will probe me but say that he will continue from where he stopped with the probe since 2015.

    “When I rejected the car offer Umahi made to me over these issues, he denied that his government had hands in the probe and I consider this statement as a lie.

    “There is no way Umahi will not be aware of a probe instituted by the Attorney-General of his government.

    “One of my sons is currently facing a court trial instituted by Umahi’s government.

    “I am not running away from Umahi’s probe. I have survived five different probes when Gen. Yakubu Gowon’s administration was toppled, having served in the East-Central state administration.

    “I faced two judicial and three administrative boards of inquiry, was arrested three times by the police and had two suits filed against me at the Enugu High Court, all within that period.

    “All these fizzled because I was not found culpable and there was no way I would be afraid of probe presently, especially when it was ongoing,” he said.

    The former governor noted that his government earmarked N10 million monthly to offset pensions all through his administration and the public could verify from the office of the state Accountant-General.

    “The circular over the payment entitlement of past leaders was issued by the Federal Government and Onu’s own payment was supposed to be made by the Abia government, as the governor of the old Abia.

    “Umahi has the right to feel bad that I failed to support him to succeed me, but I don’t regret my actions and he should not see me as problem of his administration,” he said. (NAN)

  • Senate to probe alleged diversion of N18bn from IDPs fund

    The Senate may be set for another face-off with the presidency over alleged illegal diversion of N18 billion from the N48 billion earmarked for the Presidential Committee on the Northeast Initiative (PCNI).

    The National Assembly had approved the N48 billion for rehabilitation of millions of Internally Displaces Persons (IDPs) and rebuilding of the six Northeastern states ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency in the 2017 budget.

    But one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Ministers and a high ranking Presidency official were alleged to have diverted N18, 227,065,037.50 of the funds sometime in August 2017.

    According to documents sighted by our correspondent, N5 billion of the N18.2 billion had already been withdrawn by the two government functionaries for a project they termed the “Bama Initiative,” which sources said, is alien to the PCNI.

    The N5 billion was captured under a subhead of “retraining of security personnel in the Northeast zone,” a responsibility clearly outside the purview of the PCNI.

    It was gathered that the alleged heist was perpetrated through a decoy account code named the “Northeast Intervention Fund” and executed during the 104 days President Buhari was away in London on medical vacation.

    A competent government source confided in our correspondent during the week the two influential officials have kept the chairman of the PCNI, General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), in the dark on the shadowy deal.

    While inaugurating the PCNI in October 2016, President Buhari had directed all government agencies involved in humanitarian efforts in the Northeast to collapse into PCNI, which he mandated to coordinate all intervention activities in the zone.

    Going by the President’s directives, the PCNI is charged with the task of coordinating interventions by public, private, national and foreign development partners.

    According to the President, the PCNI: “is charged with the responsibility for developing the strategy and implementation of the framework for rebuilding the Northeast region”.

    The N48 billion was meant to address humanitarian crises in the 112 local governments in the six affected states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba.

    The controversial “Bama Initiative” project, for which the N18.2 billion was diverted, is purportedly in respect of the Bama local government in Borno State where the high ranking Presidency official hails from.

    Further investigation revealed the said Presidential official appointed himself chairman of the “Bama Initiative” with the Procurement Committee also under his charge while the said Minister is chairperson of its “Project Committee”.

    It would be the second time the Senate would be beaming its searchlight on issues arising from the management of the N48 billion vote for the terror-ridden Northeast zone.

    Following similar reports of diversion of funds from the coffers of the then Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE), the Senate had in 2016 instituted a probe into the expenditures of the PINE.

    The investigation had unearthed fraudulent award of contracts and violation of the provisions of the Procurement Act, for which the then Secretary to the Government of the Federal (SGF), Engr. Babachir David Lawal was indicted.

    The indictment, contained in a report of extensive investigation by a Senate ad hoc Committee on the Mounting Humanitarian Crises in the Northeast, revealed how Babachir Lawal diverted over N500 million of the budgeted funds.

    The fraud was perpetrated through Rholavision Engineering Limited, a company in which Lawal was discovered to have substantial interests.

    Other companies fronting for the former SGF were also discovered to have paid huge sums of money into 13 different bank accounts linked to Lawal.

    Based on the report by the chairman of the Senate ad hoc Committee Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central) and other members of the panel, the Senate had recommended the immediate dismissal and prosecution of the former SGF.

    The overwhelming evidence contained in the Senate’s report, released in December 2016 and public outcry over the fraud, forced President Buhari to send Lawal on indefinite suspension on April 19, 2017. The suspension order is still in force.

    A National Assembly source confirmed to our correspondent at the weekend that the Senate may begin the process of investigation as soon as it resumes from recess on September 26.

  • Pilgrim under probe for ‘illegally collecting $500’

    A pilgrim from Sokoto State is being probed for allegedly illegally collecting USD 100 each from five pilgrims, for the purchase of sacrificial animals, reports have said.

    It was confirmed that the pilgrim (name withheld), was alleged to have fraudulently collected the money, before his apprehension by members of the state government’s 2017 hajj delegation.

    Reports said the pilgrim had perpetrated similar acts in the previous hajj exercises.

    Confirming the incident, the Amirul Hajj, Justice Bello Abbas, said the pilgrim would be investigated and sanctioned if found guilty.

    Represented by Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, he said: “Any pilgrim found wanting will not be spared.

    “Pilgrims should be good ambassadors of the state and Nigeria while in the holy land.”

    The Director, Operations of the Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Muhammad, said the pilgrim was from Sokoto South Local Government and had been “in this business for six consecutive years.

    “We don’t want to give his name or tell you more about him now, because doing so will be tantamount to preempting the outcome of the probe.”

  • I’m not under probe for N255m bullet-proof BMW cars, says Oduah

    I’m not under probe for N255m bullet-proof BMW cars, says Oduah

    Former Minister of Aviation Senator Stella Oduah has claimed that there was no basis upon which she could be probed in connection with the N225 million bullet-proof BMW cars she purchased as a minister.

    The senator said she was unaware of any probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on any matter concerning her.

    She was reacting to media report that she had been invited by the EFCC for questioning over the cars.

    Ms Oduah told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja at the weekend that that there was no basis upon which she could be probed, saying that the vehicle did not belong to her.

    “To start with, I do not know where any letter on the probe is because nobody has invited me. And as far as I know, there is nothing and there cannot be anything on invitation for purchase of a BMW.

    “I did not buy a BMW; I have never bought a BMW. The BMW is a property of the government, and it is still in government’s care.

    “The car is with the agency that bought it.

    “The agency is still using it, and so, why will the car which belongs to government and in the care of government and being used by government, be an issue for me?

    “I have since left the ministry,” she said.

    She said the reports were the handiworks of persons, who were not comfortable with the tremendous achievements she made in the aviation sector and wanted to tarnish her image.

    The former minister said when she was appointed, Nigerian airports were in poor states and could be compared to motor parks.

    She added that no effort by anyone, including her predecessors in the ministry, could be compared with what she did to reposition the aviation industry for the period she was the minister.

    Oduah, now a lawmaker, challenged anyone to do a comparative analysis of the sector before she became minister, while she was minister and after she left as minister.

    “I think some people are not just comfortable that what we did in aviation is unimaginable.

    “What we did in aviation was so far-reaching that it had never been done before; it was unprecedented.

    “To get into the lounge where people sit was impossible; most motor parks were better than what we had at the airport, whether in Lagos, Abuja or Sokoto.

    “We took them on and efficiently, and in a very timely manner, changed every one of them and made Nigeria airspace safe,’’ she said.

    She said safety of Nigerian passengers was made a priority while she held sway, adding that landing gears, flight gadgets and every single thing was functioning to make Nigeria’s airspace recognised by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

    “I challenge anybody to just do a spreadsheet; how aviation was before, how I made aviation and how aviation is today.”

  • EFCC’s probe: NBET MD implicates Perm Sec

    EFCC’s probe: NBET MD implicates Perm Sec

    Worried by the ongoing probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc( NBET) Dr. Marylin Amobi has raised the alarm that a Federal Permanent Secretary is putting her under pressure.

    She said the Permanent Secretary wanted her  to pay N248million to a consulting firm, in which her sister has interest, to facilitate the conclusion of Bond and Promissory Notes for the agency.

    She also said the Permanent Secretary has been trying to force her to resign based on the alleged instructions of the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

    But she said she told the affected Permanent Secretary that she would not be bullied to quit office unless directed by the presidency.

    Amobi, who made the submissions in an Executive Summary sent to the presidency, asked the Acting President to urgently constitute the board of NBET.

    The Federal Executive had early in the year approved a Power Sector Recovery Plan to look for an alternative all-inclusive strategy for addressing the liquidity crisis facing the power Generating Companies( GENCOS) in the country.

    The recovery plan was designed to avert the total collapse of the electricity sector because many Distribution Companies ( DISCOS) have not been able to meet their financial obligations to GENCOS.

    Some of the liquidity sources being considered are getting a consulting firm to secure Bond and Promissory Notes; approval by the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) for a loan of N701billion under a “payment assurance programme; and an utilized $350million loan which has been hidden in an account.

    But the NBET boss said the affected Permanent Secretary has preference for “Power Sector Bond/ Promissory Note” through a consulting firm because of personal interest.

    She said the Permanent Secretary wanted her to pay N248million to the consulting firm to facilitate the conclusion of Bond and Promissory Notes for the electricity sector.

    She said it was difficult to comply with the directive of the Permanent Secretary because it was an unjustifiable  payment.

    The Executive Summary reads in part: “ I came under pressure yet again to do the following:

    1. Reconnect with the consulting firm to steer forward the conclusion of the Bond and Promissory Notes products for the electricity sector; and
    2. To pay a sum of N39M or N2248M to MT Consulting, as outstanding consultancy fees for what I consider as an unjustifiable payment for the work that they had done before I joined the organisation, that involved the development of the abandoned financial product.

    “When I protested to the PS about this, he engaged me by email on an allegation that the NASS was investigating a petition on a consultancy work NBET gave to an Engineer, which in his allegation was the same as the work the consulting firm had done. It is to be noted that the NASS confirmed to me a few days thereafter that they did not receive any petition as the PS had alluded.

    “At the kick off meeting that I had with the Permanent Secretary on the 19th of August  2016, I reiterated some of the concerns that I had with the Bond issuance to him.

    “ And he assured me that he understood my concerns, would support me to review the work NBET had already done on the product and make what I consider would be the best decision in the circumstance.

    “He did not tell me that he had an interest in the initiative and was the lead consultant and the face of the consulting company at the conceptualisation stages or that his sister is the MD / CEO the company. I learned that at the interrogatory session that the House Committee on Power conducted a few days after I resumed work as the MD / CEO at NBET.

    “However, the relevance of my concerns regarding the integrity of these matters soon disappeared after the National Assembly (NASS) launched an investigation into the matter in September 2016; and ruled that there was an “attempted fraud” at NBET.

    “Furthermore, they ordered that the Procurement Department that was previously under the Human Resources Department, be placed under the Office of the MD / CEO and that I penalised the staff who were culpable for the attempted fraud.”

  • Osinbajo stops two ICPC nominees over graft probe

    Osinbajo stops two ICPC nominees over graft probe

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has withdrawn the appointment of two nominees for the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).

    The government, in a statement last Tuesday by the Director (Press) in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Bolaji Adebiyi, appointed 14 members and chairman for ICPC.

    But, a message on the Twitter handle of the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, said yesterday the appointments of the two nominees, which was subject to confirmation of the Senate, have been withdrawn due to allegations and petitions against them.

    The message, however, did not mention the names of the two nominees.

    The postings reads: “We are stepping down two of the new ICPC board nominees, who have ongoing investigation issues with the commission as this presents a conflict.

    “While existence of allegations or petitions against someone shouldn’t necessarily disqualify them from considerations for appointments, this case presents a peculiarity as we have confirmed that the agency in which they are to serve is indeed investigating the two of them.”

    The names of the nominees released on Tuesday are Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye as chairman. Members include Dr. Grace N. Chinda, Okolo Titus M, Obiora Igwedebia, Mrs. Olubukola Balogun, Group Captain Sam Ewang (rtd).

    Other members are Justice Adamu Bello, Hannatu Mohammed, Abdullahi Maikano Saidu, Dr. Sa’ad Alanamu, Yahaya Umar Dauda, Khamis Ahmed Mailantarki and Maimuna Aliyu.

    Prof. Musa Usman Abubakar was to serve as secretary in the ICPC.

  • A welcome probe

    •Government has a duty to protest the killing of Nigerians in Bakassi

    When Nigeria lost the Bakassi region to Cameroun through a 2002 decision of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, there was an understanding that the people could stay and that only the political control was being ceded. Therefore, many Nigerians opted to remain on their ancestral land, believing that both sides would keep to the Green Tree Agreement after the formal transfer in 2008.

    It is sad that almost 10 years after, the Cameroonians appear to be violently breaching the pact. It is unfortunate that, in a bid to enforce its control of the area, a disagreement over an odious fishing tax imposed on the people of the area led to a reckless killing of 97 Nigerians. This is unacceptable under any guise whatsoever. The established practice all is that the killing of nationals is unacceptable. One reason nations could engender the patriotic support of the citizens is by assuring that their interests wherever they may be would be protected. The ceding of the Bakassi peninsular to Cameroun is no reason for victimisation and murder of Nigerians. Established protocols under international relations indicate that extra-judicial murder of any kind is unacceptable.

    We call on the United Nations, through its Office on West Africa and the Sahel to take up the case to pacify the people along the border area and forestall conflict between both countries. Although the Nigerian government has summoned the Ambassador of Cameroun to give full explanation of what happened as well as apologise for the needless waste of lives, a tougher action by the government would not be out of place if a repeat is to be averted.

    A country like the United States of America would go to any extent to protect the lives of its citizens anywhere in the world. Similarly, while not recommending war on the matter, all diplomatic channels should be explored to seek redress on the matter.

    We support the probe instituted by the House of Representatives to establish the circumstances and the full import of what happened. It would not be the first time that Nigerians would be killed  so recklessly in foreign lands. The Committee on Foreign Affairs has a duty to invite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials of the Cameroun-Nigeria Mixed Commission and the local officials to explain what transpired and how a repeat could be avoided. It should also look into the complaints by those in the Internally Displaced Persons camp that money and items meant for them have been diverted by the local officials.

    The trend over the world is that extra-judicial killings are unacceptable. Henceforth, officials of both the executive and legislative arms of government should respond promptly and appropriately to cases of infraction of the fundamental rights of Nigerians in foreign lands and along the borders. This is a worthy pursuit as against the inter-institution wrangling that has worked against the welfare of the people.

    We also implore the security agencies to step up their intelligence gathering activities along the borders. They need to be more proactive. The provocative introduction of a N100, 000 fishing tax on every fishing boat should have raised the possibility of a conflict that ought to have been passed on to the relevant agencies of government. Had that been done, the killings could have been averted.