Petroleum marketers have said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has opened its reserves across the federation to end the lingering fuel scarcity.
The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola and Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Hilly-Harry, disclosed this in a separate statement after meeting with NNPCL on Saturday.
Fashola said his members will meet on Monday to join NNPLC to end the fuel scarcity.
He further urged Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of fuel as the product will be available nationwide.
“We are officially meeting with other marketers on Monday. We are working closely with NNPC.
“The Monday meeting is for our National Executive Council. After the meeting, we will reach out to the NNPC. We talk with them every day.
“The meetings we have been having with the NNPC are in collaboration, which we have been doing.
“If you notice, yesterday (Friday), NNPC opened up their reserves in all the depots throughout the federation. We are working with them to ensure that everywhere is wet so this thing (scarcity) can disappear,” he said.
On his part, Hilly-Harry said the meeting between NNPLC and marketers had helped present a solution to the fuel scarcity.
According to him, queues have started easing off in Abuja during the weekend.
“The good news is that this is a new reality. It will bring better solutions because the result will be fantastic when you have NNPCL doing what they must do, and we also do what we must do.
“If you go to Abuja today (Saturday), you will see that the queues have eased off”, he stated.
DAILY POST recalls that for weeks, Nigerians had continued to battle fuel scarcity despite NNPCL’s assurance of the product availability.
Insecurity now money-making venture for government officials, security agencies — Katsina Governor
AFOLABI
Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has alleged that some security personnel and government officials have exploited the insecurity situation in Nigeria for personal gain, turning it into a lucrative business venture.
He made this revelation during an appearance on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday, citing this as a major obstacle to ending the scourge of banditry and insecurity in the country.”
He said, “Now it has turned out to be a business venture. A business venture for the criminals, some people who are in government; and some people who are in security outfits, and some people who are responsible for the day-to-day activities of their people.
“These are so many reasons why we are unable to bring banditry to an end.”
Many people relate the insecurity to politics. But Governor Radda claims that poverty and injustice are important motivators.
The governor continued: ”The issue of the hypothesis behind political motive as responsible for banditry is not true.”
According to him, many youths in the north are recruited into banditry with mere N500.
As part of moves to tackle the region’s insecurity, some northern governors were on a trip to the US. Though they came under heavy criticism for the meeting with many wondering why it was not held in Nigeria, Radda has said they were only invited to the parley.
“The meeting was not at the instance of the selected governors of northern states but it was at the instance of the United States Institute of Peace. They were the people who invited us; they hosted us for the meeting. We were invited to sit with them so that we could bring about lasting solutions to the problems that are affecting our people,” he said.
Governor Radda said the trip gave the governors fresh insights into insecurity in the region.
Ahead of the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State, political parties and their candidates have intensified campaigns across the nooks and crannies of the state to woo voters, Daily Trust Saturday reports
The political atmosphere in Edo State is that of scheming, horse-trading and jostling, as political parties and their candidates are not leaving any stone unturned ahead of the September 21, 2024 governorship election.
Seventeen political parties have fielded candidates for the election. They are the Action Alliance (AA); Social Democratic Party (SDP); New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP); All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA); All People’s Movement (APM) and the All Peoples Party (APP).
Others are the Action Democratic Party (ADP); African Action Congress (AAC); Zenith Labour Party (ZLP); Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Boot Party (BP); Accord Party (AP); African Democratic Congress (ADC); Labour Party (LP); All Progressives Congress (APC); People Redemption Party (PRP) and Young Progressive Party (YPP).
But pundits say the election is likely to be a three-horse race despite the fact that the APC, PDP and the LP are suffering from internal crises.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has lifted the ban on public campaigns, political parties and their candidates are yet to commence official campaigns.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that there were controversies and protests surrounding the emergence of candidates of the three big parties.
There was disquiet in the APC as three governorship candidates emerged from parallel primary polls held in Benin ahead of the Edo State governorship election slated for September 21.
While a member of the House of Representatives, Dennis Idahosa, was earlier announced winner by the chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee, Governor Hope Uzodimma, at Protea Hotel in Benin City, Senator Monday Okpebholo was declared winner by the returning officer for the election, Dr Stanley Ugboaja, at the residence of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Similarly, the local government returning officers for the APC governorship primary election declared Anamero Sunday Dekeri the winner of the contest.
The spokesman of the local government returning officers, Ojo Babatunde, who announced the result in the night, said Dekeri, a member representing Etsako federal constituency at the House of Representatives, polled a total number of 25,384 votes to defeat his closest rival, Dennis Idahosa, who scored 14,127 votes.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party was, therefore, forced to conduct another primary election, which produced Senator Okpebholo as the party’s candidate.
The emergence of Okpebholo also came with its own protests and fears as some party leaders said he was not the preferred candidate of a former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole, who is said to be APC god-father in the state. However, the party later picked Idahosa as its deputy governorship candidate for the election to settle Oshiomhole.
The PDP primary election was also characterised by drama as Governor Godwin Obaseki, the then deputy governor, Philip Shaibu and other aspirants engaged in supremacy battle.
There were 10 governorship aspirants in the race—Shaibu; Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama; Anselm Ojezua; Felix Akhabue; Martin Uhomoibhi; Hafia Hadizat Umoru; Omosede Igbinedion; Earl Osaro Onaiwu; Arthur Esene and Asue Ihgodalo.
For the party, which hopes to retain the governorship seat, crisis started during the ward and local government congresses supervised by a three-man committee led by Governor Peter Mba of Enugu State. After the congress, 9 aspirants, excluding Ighodalo, petitioned the appeal panel, alleging irregularities.
Although Governor Obaseki didn’t deny or confirm Ighodalo as his preferred candidate, observers said his actions and body language told the story. For instance, during the ward and local government congresses, party members loyal to Obaseki emerged as delegates for the primary.
On February 22, the party conducted two parallel primary elections. One was held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, while the second primary took place at the deputy governor’s lodge, also in Benin.
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, who served as committee chairman and chief electoral officer, declared Ighodalo winner of the PDP primary at the Ogbemudia Stadium with 577 votes, while Shaibu was declared winner of the primary by the local government returning officer, Bartholomew Moses at the deputy governor’s lodge with 300 votes.
Observers said members of the party loyal to the deputy governor, who form the major block of PDP leaders that have been at war with Governor Obaseki for the control of the party, after they were denied entry into the Ogbemudia venue of the primary, moved to another venue and elected Shaibu at a parallel primary.
But the deputy national publicity secretary of the PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, had in a telephone interview with Daily Trust Saturday said the party recognised Asue Ighodalo as its only candidate for the election.
But according to pundits, Godwin Obaseki, in his determination to ensure that he produced a successor, picked a new deputy governor, Godwin Omobayo, an engineer, from Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, which is the second in terms of voting population in Edo North, the stronghold of the APC.
Meanwhile, the impeached deputy governor, Philip Shaibu and the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Kabir Ajoto, with their loyalists, who were staunch supporters of Obaseki, have pitched tent with the Chief Orbih Legacy Group after the new deputy governor was announced.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that the PDP has unveiled its campaign council for the governor election, but some party members, including the South South national vice chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, declined its membership, saying the party’s candidate can’t tackle the challenges bedeviling the state if he eventually wins. Pundits said there were issues and threats to the chances of the party.
The process leading to the emergence of the LP candidate was not in any way better than that of the APC and the PDP, in terms of intrigues and drama.
The party’s national chairman, Julius Abure, the state chairman, Kelly Ogbalu and the senator representing Edo South, Neda Imasuen, were rooting for different aspirants.
The aspirants were Olumide Akapta, Kenneth Imansuangbon, Professor Sunday Eromosele and Sergius Ogun. But following the intrigues, two venues—Uyi Hotel and Bishop Kelly Centre—were announced for the primary election.
Imasuagbon and his supporters, it was learnt, went to Uyi Hotel for the election while the party executive and primary election committee from the NWC went to the Bishop Kelly Centre to conduct the primary.
Imasuagbon later made his way to the Bishop Kelly centre venue, where Akpata emerged as the candidate of the party after polling 316 votes.
Meanwhile, the Lamidi Apapa faction of the national leadership of the party had submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Anderson Uwadiae Asemota and Monday Ojore Mawah as governorship and deputy governorship candidates of the party for the September 21 election. But the leadership of the Labour Party (LP) has said a letter to INEC by a “dissident group and former members” of the party led by one Lamidi Apapa to recognise Anderson Asemote and Monday Mawa as the governorship and deputy governorship candidates does not emanate from the party.”
A resident of the state, Dada Ayokhai, noted that the issue at stake as INEC has lifted the ban on campaign is how the parties would manage ‘self-inflicted’ crises and participate in the election actively.
It is left to be seen, how the parties would slug it out come September 21.
[DailyTrust]
• Fixes hearing of application for May 20
• HEDA drags Kogi judge to NJC
The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, yesterday suspended moves by the Kogi State High Court to commit the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede for contempt.
The Appeal Court granted an ex parte motion for stay of proceedings of contempt application filed against the EFCC Chairman by the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
The Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Joseph O.K. Oyewole, also granted EFCC prayers to serve the processes in the appeal by substituted means on the former governor.
With Oyewole were Justices P. C. Obiora and Okon Abang.
The EFCC boss had been summoned by Justice Isa Abdullahi Jamil of the Kogi State High Court to appear on May 13, 2024 to show cause why he should not be committed to prison for disobeying the orders of the court.
The EFCC, however, appealed the ruling of the trial court and sought a stay of the proceeding of the court.
The EFCC boss is accused of carrying out “some acts upon which they (the EFCC) have been restrained” by the Court on February 9, 2024, pending the determination of the substantive Originating Motion.
But the Court of Appeal yesterday gave the orders for the stay of contempt proceedings after hearing Chief J.S.Okutepa (SAN) leading Eko Ejembi Eko (SAN), Abdulkareem Musa and David Ojogbane Akogu.
The court ordered for substituted service of all the processes in the case to be pasted at No 9 Bengazi Steet Wuse Zone 4 Abuja being the last known address of Yahaya Bello.
In granting the orders, the Appeal Court held that the motion ex-parte had merit and adjourned the hearing of the Motion on Notice to May 20, 2024.
The first Motion, which was moved by Okutepa sought an ex parte order staying the execution of the Orders made Ex-parte in Motion No. HCL/190M/2024 on the 25th day of April 2024, in the case of Alhaji Yahaya Bello vs. EFCC.
The second motion was for an order to serve the respondent Yahaya Bello all the processes in the appeal by substituted means through the mode stated on the face of the motion.
Ruling in Suit No: HCL/68M/2024 and Motion No: HCL/190M/2024, Justice I. A. Jamil had ordered that “the said act was carried out by the Respondent (EFCC) in violation of the order, which was valid and subsisting when it carried out the act.
The court said the EFCC action amounted to contempt of the court.
EFCC operatives had laid siege to the residence of the former Governor on April 17, 2024 to arrest him, despite a court order restraining them from taking such action, pending the determination of the Originating Motion.
Justice Jamil’s order was based on a motion ex-parte filed by Yahaya Bello through his lawyer, M.S. Yusuf in which he prayed the court for an order to issue and serve the Respondent (EFCC Chairman) with Form 49 Notice to show cause why Order of committal should not be made on Olukoyede.
Meanwhile, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has dragged Justice Jamil to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for issuing the order of contempt against the EFCC chairman.
Although HEDA dated its petition April 29th, 2024, it was acknowledged by the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria on May 2nd, 2024.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria is also the chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
The NGO, in the petition, accused Jamil for granting an order which sought to enforce “a non-existence and sundry misconduct.”
It described the action of the judge as gross abuse of his judicial powers “in a suit that not only the Kogi State High Court has become functus officio but the order sought to be enforced is non-existence at the time the ‘order to show cause’ was made.”
It added: “”We are of the view that the order to show cause granted as per Motion HCL/190M/2024 are designed to annoy, irritate, and portray the commission in bad light.
“The order to show cause was granted in a very disturbing and unnecessary circumstance. The order was granted by his Lordship in the above suit on the 25th day of April, 2024 in very questionable circumstances.
“The SUIT NO: HCL/68M/2023 BETWEEN ALHAJI YAHAYA BELLO v. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION was filed on the 8th day of February, 2024 by Alhaji Yahaya Bello (“The Applicant”) for the enforcement of his fundamental rights seeking certain declaratory orders against the Commission.
“The crux/ objective of his claim as constituted in the originating motion was for the court’s enforcement of his fundamental rights particularly by restraining the commission from inviting, detaining, arresting and/or prosecuting the Applicant. The Originating Motion is herein attached and marked as “Exhibit HEDA 1.”
The litigation is a fallout of the N80 billion money laundering case against Bello by EFCC.
[Thenation]
Nigerian fintech companies have warned their customers against trading in cryptocurrency or any virtual currency on their apps, threatening to block any accounts found engaging in such activities.
At least four fintechs—Opay, Moniepoint, PalmPay, and Paga—have communicated this development to their customers on Friday.
Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria stopped major fintech firms like Kuda, Opay, PalmPay and Moniepoint from onboarding new customers.
The CBN’s move was linked to an ongoing audit of the Know-Your-Customer process of the fintechs, which have been under scrutiny in recent months over concerns around money laundering and terrorism financing.
Before the CBN’s directive, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had obtained a court order to freeze at least 1,146 bank accounts owned by various individuals and companies allegedly involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions.
In a notice issued on Friday, OPay said it would take strict measures against customers who violate its policy, which aligns with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s stance on cryptocurrency trading.
“In compliance with the CBN directive, please note that OPay prohibits any cryptocurrency and all virtual currency trading. Any account engaging in such activities will be closed, and customer information will be shared with regulatory authorities.
“Please ensure that your account does not involve any cryptocurrency or any other virtual currency transaction,” the fintech firm warned.
In a similar move, Paga, a fintech firm that has processed transactions worth $32bn in 15 years of operation, said in an email to its customers, “As a Paga account holder, please ensure that your account is not used for crypto and virtual currency transactions. Paga accounts in violation of this regulation will be blocked.”
PalmPay, another major player in an emailed statement said, “We strongly advise against using your PalmPay account for transactions involving cryptocurrencies or any other virtual assets. Please be advised that failure to comply with these regulations may result in the suspension of your account.
On Thursday in Lagos, the founder and CEO of Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda, called on cryptocurrency peer-to-peer (P2P) participants to halt their activities, citing the financial sector’s prohibition on such transactions.
[Punch]
•No ex-gov among EFCC’s 6,981 convictions in 3 years
•Only 4 former governors convicted in 21 years
•How Nigeria produced 170 governors in 25 years
If the allegations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC were anything to go by, no fewer than 58 former governors have looted, embezzled, laundered or misappropriated the sum of N2.187 trillion in 25 years.
This figure excludes seized properties across the globe and others under probe, which run into billions of Naira.
The N2.2 trillion looted is equivalent to the Lagos State 2024 budget of N2.25 trillion and the entire South-East states’ 2024 budget of N2.29 trillion. It is several billion higher than the North-Central states’ 2024 budget of N1.89 trillion, and North-East’s N1.60 trillion.
The 58 former governors the EFCC is probing, probed, investigated and prosecuted are drawn from all parts of the country.
Since the return to civil rule on May 29, 1999, the 36 states of the country have had no fewer than 170 governors.
How Nigeria produced 170 governors in 25 years
Abia State has produced four governors, namely Orji Uzor Kalu, Theodore Orji, Okezie Ikpeazu and Alex Otti.
Anambra State produced six-Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Chris Ngige (annulled election), Peter Obi, Virgy Etiaba (acting), Willie Obiano and Chukwuma Soludo.
In Ebonyi, it is four, namely, Sam Egwu, Martin Elechi, Dave Umahi and Francis Nwifuru.
Enugu State also had four governors— Chimaroke Nnamani, Sullivan Chime, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Peter Mbah.
Imo State produced five – Achike Udenwa, Ikedi Ohakim, Rochas Okorocha, Emeka Ihedioha (annulled election), and Hope Uzodimma.
In Akwa Ibom there are four Victor Attah, Godswill Akpabio, Udom Emmanuel and Umo Eno.
Bayelsa has seven, namely, late DSP Alamieyeseigha, Goodluck Jonathan, Timipre Sylva, Werinipre Seibarigo (acting), Nestor Binabo (acting), Seriake Dickson and Duoye Diri.
Cross River produced four helmsmen viz- Donald Duke, Liyel Imoke, Ben Ayade and Bassey Otu.
Delta State had four-James Ibori, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Ifeanyi Okowa and Sheriff Oborevwhori.
It was also four in Edo with the likes of Lucky Igbinedion, Oserheimen Osunbor (annulled election), Adam’s Oshiomhole and Godwin Obaseki.
Rivers State produced five – Peter Odili, Celestine Omehia (annulled), Rotimi Amaechi, Nyesom Wike and Siminalayi Fubara.
Lagos is among the states with four governors following the stints of Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Ekiti, which is the second least populated state in Nigeria, has the highest turnover of governors with eight. They are Niyi Adebayo, Ayo Fayose, Gen Tunji Olurin (sole administrator), Tope Admiluyi (acting), Segun Oni (annulled), Tunji Odeyemi (acting), Kayode Fayemi and Biodun Oyebanji.
Ogun produced four governors viz: Segun Osoba, Gbenga Daniel, Ibikunle Amosun and Dapo Abiodun.
It was five in Ondo led by the late Adebayo Adefarati, late Olusegun Agagu, Olusegun Mimiko, late Rotimi Akeredolu and Lucky Aiyadatiwa.
Osun State also had five via Bisi Akande, Olagunsoye Oyinlola (annulled) , Rauf Aregbesola, Gboyega Oyetola and Ademola Adeleke.
Oyo State produced five-, the late Lam Adesina, Rashid Ladoja, late Christopher Alao-Akala, late Abiola Ajimobi and Seyi Makinde.
In Benue State, there are four, namely, George Akume, Gabriel Suswam, Samuel Ortom and Hyacinth Alia..
Niger State also produced four in Abdulkadir Kure, Babangida Aliyu, Sani Bello and Mohammed Bago.
Kogi has had six men occupy the Government House since 1999. They include the late Abubakar Audu, Ibrahim Idris, Clarence Olafemi (acting), Idris Wada, Yahaya Bello and Usman Ododo.
Nasarawa produced four through Abdullahi Adamu, Aliyu Doma, Tanko Al’Makura and Abdullahi Sule.
Kwara also had four – Mohammed Lawal, Bukola Saraki, Abdulfatah Ahmed and Abdulrasaq Abdul Rahman.
In Plateau, there are five- Joshua Dariye, Michael Botmang (acting), Jonah Jang, Simon Along and Caleb Mutfwang.
Adamawa State produced six – Bonnie Haruna, Murtala Nyako, James Barka (acting), Umaru Fintiri, Bala Ngilari (acting), and Bindo Jibrila.
Bauchi elected four governors within the period – Adamu Muazu, Isa Yuguda, Mohammed Abubakar and Bala Mohammed.
Borno also has four late Mala Kachala, Ali Mode-Sheriff, Kashim Shettima and Babagana Zulum.
Gombe is among the states with four with the likes of Abubakar Hashidu, Danjuma Goje, Ibrahim Dankwambo and Inuwa Yahaya.
In Taraba, six persons had become governor as follows: Jolly Nyame, the late Danbaba Suntai, Garba Umar (acting), Sani Danladi (acting), Darius Ishaku and Agbu Kefas.
Yobe produced four Bukar Abba-Ibrahim, the late Mamman Ali, Ibrahim Geidam and Mai Mala Buni.
Jigawa also has four-Saminu Turaki, Sule Lamido, Badaru Abubakar and Umar Namadi.
In Kaduna, there are six – Ahmed Makarfi, Namadi Sambo, the late Patrick Yakowa, Ramalan Yero, Nasir el-Rufai and Uba Sani.
Kano produced four – Musa Kwankwaso, Ibrahim Shekarau, Umar Ganduje and Abba Kabir Yusuf.
Neighbouring Katsina also had four – late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Ibrahim Shema, Bello Masari and Dikko Radda.
In Kebbi, they are five – Adamu Aliero, Usman Dakingari, Amina Jega (acting), Atiku Bagudu and Nasir Idris.
Sokoto also has five – Attahiru Bafarawa, Aliyu Wamakko, Abdullahi Salame (acting), Aminu Tambuwal and Ahmad Aliyu.
Zamfara State also produced five governors, namely, Ahmed Yerima, Mahmoud Shinkafi, Abdulaziz Yari, Bello Matawalle and Dauda Lawal
Further breakdown
Among 170 governors, 18 were acting governors or those whose elections were nullified by the courts; 36 are currently serving and 114 were elected governors who served for one or two terms.
Among the 134 former governors, no fewer than 58 have had fraud-related tangos with the EFCC of which only four were convicted.
Those convicted were Chief Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), late DSP Alamieyeseigha (Bayelsa), Jolly Nyame (Taraba), and Joshua Dariye (Plateau).
No ex-gov among EFCC’s 6,981 convictions in 3 years
Between 2020 and 2022, the EFCC secured 6,981 convictions, according to data obtained from its website: www.efcc.gov.ng. In 2020, the commission secured 976 convictions; did 2,220 in 2021, and an unprecedented 3,785 in 2022. The data for 2023 is yet to be released.
No former governor is among the 6,981 persons convicted for fraud in the last three years.
A host of the cases are still in court, some have been dismissed for lack of diligent prosecution by the anti-graft agency and those affected acquitted. Some former governors visited the EFCC over the petitions against them and nothing was heard thereafter. Also, some former governors are dead and so are the cases against them.
58 ex-governors under EFCC’s radar
The 58 former governors who are having or have had brushes with EFCC and alleged amounts involved include late Abubakar Audu (N10.966 bn), TA Orji and sons (N551 bn), Yahaya Bello (N80.2 bn), Chimaroke Nnamani (N5. 3 bn), Sullivan Chime (N450 million), Kayode Fayemi (N4bn), Ayo Fayose (N6.9 bn), Abdullahi Adamu (N15bn), Danjuma Goje (N5bn), Aliyu Wamakko (N15 bn), Sule Lamido (N1.35 bn), Joshua Dariye (N1. 16 bn) and Timipre Sylva (N19.2 bn).
There are also Saminu Turaki (N36bn), Orji Uzor Kalu (N7. 6bn), Bello Matawalle (N70 bn), Lucky Igbinedion (N4. 5 bn), Musa Kwakwanso (N10bn), Peter Odili (N1000 bn), Jolly Nyame (N1.64 bn), James Ngilari (N167 m), Abdulaziz Yari (N84 bn), Godswill Akpabio (N100bn), Abdul fatah Ahmed (N9 bn), Ali Mode-Sheriff (N300bn), Willie Obiano (N43 bn), Ibrahim Dankwambo (N1. 3bn), Darius Ishaku (N39bn) and Ramalan Yero (N700m).
Others include Achike Udenwa (N350m), Rochas Okoro ha (N10. 8bn), James Ibori (N40 bn), DSP Alamieyeseigha ((N2.655bn), Gabriel Suswam (N3. 111bn), Samuel Orton (N107bn), Murtala Nyako (N29bn), Rashid Ladoja (4.7bn), Christopher Alao-Akala (N11. 5 bn), and Abdulkadir Kure (N600m).
The rest include Babangida Aliyu (N4bn), Abubakar Audu (N10bn), Idris Wada (N500m), Ibrahim Shekarau (N950m), Adamu Aliero (N10bn), Usman Dakingari and wife (N5. 8bn), Attahiru Bafarawa N19. 6bn), Jonah Jang (N6. 3bn), Aliyu Doma (N8bn), Tanko Al’Makura (N4bn), Boni Haruna (N93bn), Bindow Jibrila (N62bn), Adamu Muazu (13bn), Isa Yuguda N212bn) and Mohammed Abubakar (N8. 5bn).
The petitions against some former governors are hazy, and figures were not attached.
Last January, the commission reportedly said that it would revisit the N772 billion alleged fraud cases against 13 former governors. Apart from being acquitted, a host of the former state helmsmen are claiming that they are innocent of the allegations and accusing the EFCC of a political witch-hunt.
However, the anti-graft has insisted on revisiting some of the cases and ensuring that those indicted are brought to book. It is to be seen how far it would go in its latest offensive.
Chief Aderemi Adedoye, who is the immediate past Commissioner of Police in Anambra State has been in the news since he was pulled out of the Nigeria Police Force after 35 years of service. During the ceremony in Awka, Adeoye, who joined the Nigeria Police as a constable even though he had a university degree, told his audience at the Alex Ekwueme Square how an investment company he founded with some Facebook friends, is now worth about N20 billion.
Adeoye had said that with his retirement, he would go full-time into business and would not bother himself going into security consultancy as many retired security operatives usually do.
Following the controversy that has trailed his pronouncement on the investment outfit, tongues started wagging as to how the retired CP had time to engage himself in such a multi-million naira venture. On Friday, Adeoye was a guest on Arise News TV to explain everything about the business.
He said: “The people of Anambra State knew that I did my work diligently. It has never happened in the history of Anambra State that a retiring CP should be conferred with two chieftaincy titles by two communities and a street named after me.
I am Nnwane Di na mba 1 of Omasi Kingdom and I am Dike Ochiogha 1 of Ogbunka Kingdom. I received these titles within a space of one week. The street named after me is by the Governor’s Lodge in Awka. Africa Trust Magazine declared me Man of the Year and went down memory lane to capture what we did in terms of security. So I did not abuse my office. I served for 35 years without attracting any query.”
Asked to clarify the operations of the controversial outfit he has been managing and the ownership structure of the organization, Adeoye said:
“The name of this organization is Alfa Trust Investment Club. Our loan arm is registered as Artic Cooperative Multipurpose Society Limited, which is registered with the Lagos State Government. We carry on investment under the business name of Artic Ventures and Business Services and that is the name that is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). We would have liked to register our full name as it is, but CAC did not approve that.
“Basically when we started in 2018, all the 177 founding members were my Facebook friends and they were drawn from an investment forum where I had lectured for free for years. The members requested that this thing we are doing as a hubby assist somebody and that we can pull resources together to do some legal investment. I was mandated to set the process in motion to ensure that everyone who would participate would willingly do so. The 177 members were then migrated to the Investment outfit. Subsequently, on a yearly, basis, we admit members.
These my friends invited their family members and friends to join. That is how we grow. We don’t solicit for membership. For five years of our existence, we have paid dividends every year without fail. Our purpose is to invest, not to do business.
So we don’t have an office, we don’t have overhead costs, we don’t have employees, we don’t pay salaries, we don’t have a generator, we don’t have official cars, The only thing the officials of the club spend is their data which is seen as their contributions to the growth of the club. The only thing we spend money on is organizing our physical meetings and this is paid for by membership dues, which is N5000 per member, per annum.
“For anybody to be a member, he must be a Nigerian, irrespective of where he resides in the world. The person must have visible means of livelihood which is verified. Usually, we demand to see a workplace identity card and we go further to verify it we do background checks and we insist that any member we admit must not have any criminal record.
“Those who have pending matters with EFCC are excluded. The majority of our members are Nigerian professionals all over the world. Once admitted, the person indicates the number of shares he or she wants to buy, subject to a minimum of 50,000 units”.
On whether the outfit has audited accounts, Adeoye said the organization is only an outline investment entity.
“We have a registered business address, which belongs to one of the members of the Board of Trustees. But we don’t run costs on it because everything we do is online. When members pull funds together, we use it to buy shares from the Nigeria Stock Exchange and we invest in landed properties in Estates promoted by renowned developers all over the country, and that is what has yielded the money we have today.
“We bought hundreds of plots at N750,000 per plot in 2019 and today each plot is worth N12 million. It is determined by the market price. We subscribed for 600 plots and in Ibeju Lekki we subscribed for five plots.
We are not a publicity quoted company; we are an investment company. We are not answerable to anybody, except to our members, the BOT and the management for our record, unless you bring a court order for us to account to you. Everything we do is published for our members to read. At the AGM, our accounts are approved. We have never invited external auditors to audit our books and every member is satisfied with our books.
It was some greedy members who said they wanted the accounts to be rendered and we said no problem, but that the procedure must be followed.”
He added: “My job never suffered from my attention. I keep awake every night to get information from my command and I respond accordingly, and the evidence is there.”
On the allegation that he is operating a Ponzi scheme, Adeoye stated: “Our outfit is not a Ponzi scheme, Ponzi scheme, means collecting money from new members to pay old ones. We don’t do that. Any money paid by new members is used to pay for the lands we have bought. Running a loan scheme is a feature of every cooperative society.
The loans, which can be up to N1 million are payable in nine months and we have had zero default in the last five years. We also have a land auction system where members who buy at a cheap rate sell when they appreciate.
“Last year, this generated N15 million for us. We also have our internal active stock exchange. Whatever business we do has tax liability imputed.
In terms of membership, we are 1400 strong and those expelled for criminal misconduct are 33. In terms of the size of the business, our assets are in the neighbourhood of around N20 billion. If you divide it by the number of members, it averages N15 million.
So I do not know where this idea of one person being a billionaire came from. I am not the largest shareholder in the club. The largest shareholder works with the Atomic Agency in Vienna and he is a member of BOT.
The second largest shareholder is a medical doctor based in the UK and he is a BOT member also. If anything is going wrong, it is these people who have big investments that will raise the alarm.
The person raising the alarm holds the minimum number of shares 50,000 shares. It is ridiculous that 96% of our members are with us.”
Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with The Foundation of Investigative Journalism (FIJ), has been reportedly detained by the police over an allegation bordering on “cybercrime”.
The management of FIJ said Ojukwu went missing on May 1 while his contact numbers were not reachable as family and friends struggled to reach him.
FIJ said a track of Ojukwu’s devices revealed his last active location to be in Isheri Olofin, Alimosho LGA, noting that the area was the place where the police arrested the journalist.
The foundation revealed that Ojukwu’s family discovered he is being held by the intelligence response team (IRT) of the inspector-general of police (IGP) at the state criminal investigation department (SCID), Panti area of Lagos.
The newspaper claimed that the journalist is being held for the alleged violation of the 2015 Cybercrime Act.
Fisayo Soyombo, the FIJ founder, said he suspects Ojukwu was arrested over a certain investigative story he reported in November 2023.
Ojukwu reported that the office of the senior special assistant to the president on sustainable development goals (OSSAP-SDGs) awarded a contract for the construction of one skill acquisition centre and one block of six classrooms at Ajeromi Primary School in Lagos at the cost of N147 million.
According to the report, the fund for the contract was paid into the “account of a restaurant,” while the project was not situated in its designated location.
The report revealed that the skill acquisition centre was constructed in Ladi-Lak Nursery and Primary School on 2, Randle Road, Apapa, and the block of six classrooms in Metropolitan Nursery and Primary School, Adekunle Deen Street, Off Mile 2-Ijora Expressway, Ijora.
Attempts to reach Benjamin Hundeyin, spokesperson of the Lagos police command, were unsuccessful as his phone line was not reachable, and messages were not replied to at the time of filing this report.
[TheCable]
Thanks to H.E. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and his exceptional ACE team, Fitch has elevated Nigeria's credit rating outlook from STABLE to POSITIVE.
A full list of rating actions is below.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
The revision of the Outlook reflects the following key ratings drivers and their relative weights:
High
Significant Reform: The Positive Outlook partly reflects reforms over the last year to support the restoration of macroeconomic stability and enhance policy coherence and credibility. Exchange rate and monetary policy frameworks have been adjusted, fuel subsidies reduced, coordination between the ministry of finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) improved, central bank financing of the government scaled back and administrative efficiency measures are being taken to raise the currently low government revenue, as well as oil production.
Distortions Reduced: The reforms have reduced distortions stemming from previous unconventional monetary and exchange rate policies, resulting in the return of sizeable inflows to the official foreign exchange (FX) market. Nevertheless, we see significant short-term challenges, notably, inflation is high and the FX market has yet to stabilise, and the durability of the commitment to reform is to be tested.
Exchange Rate Liberalisation: The CBN has stepped up efforts to reform the monetary and exchange rate framework following last year's unification of the multiple exchange rate windows, and the large differential between the official and parallel market rates has collapsed. Average daily FX turnover at the official FX window has risen sharply from 2H23, and there has been clearance of USD4.5 billion of the backlog of unpaid FX forwards (the validity of the outstanding USD2.2 billion is being assessed by CBN), and weekly sales of FC to bureaux de changes (BDCs) have resumed (having been suspended since 2021).
Return of Sizeable Non-Resident Inflows: Greater formalisation of FX activity and monetary policy tightening has contributed to a significant rise in foreign portfolio investment inflows, and a fast appreciation of the naira at the official FX window, following the 71% post-liberalisation depreciation between June 2023 and mid-March 2024, although the exchange rate remains volatile. However, Fitch views continued lack of clarity in the size of net FX reserves as a constraint on the sovereign's credit profile.
Further Monetary Policy Tightening Expected: Fitch anticipates further increases in the CBN monetary policy rate in 2H24 (following the 600bp hike to 24.75% since February 2024 alongside tightening of reserve requirements) and strengthening of monetary policy transmission, after the recent resumption of open market operations at rates closely aligned to the MPR. We project inflation, which rose to 33.2% yoy in March due partly to exchange rate pass-through and rising food prices, to average 26.3% in 2024 and 18.2% in 2025, still well above our projected 'B' median of 4.5%.
Medium
Fiscal Revenue Improves, Still Low: Fitch forecasts the budget deficit to widen 0.3pp in 2024 to 4.5% of GDP (but 0.5pp lower than we projected at our last review). This is due to improving non-oil revenue and partial fuel subsidy removal being offset by underperformance in oil profits from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (despite a potential improvement in oil production) and higher payments for debt servicing, personnel and capex.
We project a 2pp rise in general government (GG) revenue/GDP from 2023 to 2025 to 9.6%, helped by increased mobilisation of non-oil tax revenue, to narrow the budget deficit to 4.1% in 2025. Nevertheless, the GG revenue/GDP ratio would remain one of the lowest of Fitch-rated sovereigns. The government has sharply reduced recourse to its CBN 'Ways and Means' overdraft this year, and banks' healthy foreign currency (FC) liquidity and strong demand for government securities support domestic financing capacity.
Improved Oil Production, Challenges Remain: We expect oil refining capacity to increase in 2024-2025 as the Dangote plant ramps up, with an eventual 0.65 mbpd capacity. This will reduce transportation costs and lower refined oil imports, which should ease FX demand. We anticipate an increase in crude oil production (including condensates) in 2024-2025, averaging 1.75 mbpd, from 1.58 mbpd in 2023, helped by improved onshore surveillance, but this is still well below the 2019 level, reflecting underinvestment in the sector and production outages.
Nigeria's 'B-' IDRs also reflect the following key rating drivers:
Rating Fundamentals: Nigeria's rating is supported by its large economy, developed and liquid domestic debt market, and large oil and gas reserves. It is constrained by weak governance indicators relative to peers', high hydrocarbon dependence, limited crude oil production capacity, weak net FX reserves, high inflation, ongoing security challenges, and structurally low, albeit improving, non-oil revenue.
Extremely High Interest Expenditure: Fitch expects GG debt/GDP to rise 2.6pp in 2024 to 44.8% ('B' median 53.2%), partly owing to currency depreciation, with the bulk of financing in 2024 domestically sourced. Domestic borrowing costs have risen due to higher policy rates, and GG interest/revenue is one of the highest of Fitch-rated sovereigns at 38.2% in 2023 ('B' median 11.6%). Nigeria's public debt has a fairly long average maturity of 12.3 years, and nearly 61% is local-currency denominated, well above the current 'B' median of 35.9%.
Moderate Gross FX Reserves: Gross FX reserves fell to USD32.2 billion at end-April, from a peak of USD34.4 billion in mid-March, partly reflecting repayment of existing debt obligations, and FX sales to BDCs to support the currency. Fitch projects a broadly flat current account surplus, averaging 0.5% of GDP in 2024-2025, supported by a modest rise in oil production and remittances. We forecast FX reserves to fall to 4.2 months of current external payments at end-2024 ('B' median 4.2), from 4.4 months at end-2023.
Weak Net FX Reserves: Uncertainty continues over the net FX reserve position, with a particular lack of clarity on near USD32 billion of "FX forwards, OTC futures, and currency swaps" recorded as an off-balance sheet "commitment" in CBN's last consolidated financial statement for 2022. Fitch estimates that around 30% of Nigeria's reserves are made up of FX bank swaps, although we expect most of these to continue to be rolled over.
External Debt Service Rises in 2025: Government external debt service is moderate, expected at USD4.8 billion in 2024 and USD5.2 billion in 2025 (with USD2.9 billion of amortisations, including a USD1.1 billion Eurobond repayment due in November). The government plans to meet its external financing obligations through a combination of multilateral lending, syndicated loans, and potentially from commercial borrowing.
Banking Sector Resilience: The banking sector has been resilient to the impact of the sharp devaluation on the capital adequacy ratio (end-11M23: 12.3%) given balance sheet structures, including net long FC positions, which delivered large FX revaluation gains in 2023 and 1Q24. While we expect the non-performing loan ratio (end-3Q23: 4.2%) to rise in 2024, loan books are small (end-2023: 35% of banking sector assets) and overall asset quality remains closely aligned with sovereign creditworthiness, given high fixed-income securities and cash reserves at the CBN. Fitch anticipates a marked increase in equity issuance and M&A in the next two years in order to comply with a significant increase in paid-in capital requirements.
ESG - Governance: Nigeria has an ESG Relevance Score (RS) of '5' for both Political Stability and Rights and for the Rule of Law, Institutional and Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption. These scores reflect the high weight that the World Bank Governance Indicators (WBGI) have in our proprietary Sovereign Rating Model (SRM). Nigeria has a low WBGI ranking at the 17th percentile, reflecting weak institutional capacity, uneven application of the rule of law, and a high level of corruption.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative Rating Action/Downgrade
External Finances: Heightened external liquidity stress, potentially illustrated by a deterioration in the CBN's net FX position, for example, due to severely constrained external financing sources, failure to push ahead with exchange-rate reforms contributing to capital outflows or banks not rolling over FX swaps with the CBN, and/or sustained lower oil receipts
Public Finances: Higher risk of debt servicing difficulties, for example, stemming from a widening fiscal deficit, failure to put the interest/revenue ratio on a downward path, weaker demand for domestic government debt, and constrained access to Eurobond financing
Macro: Greater macro-instability in the form of more entrenched high inflation or high GDP growth volatility, potentially due to renewed greater central bank fiscal financing, looser monetary policy settings, and the re-emergence of FX shortages in the economy
Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive Rating Action/Upgrade
External Finances: Reduction in external vulnerabilities, for example, due to a sustainable recovery in the CBN's FX position, further easing of domestic FC supply constraints, or sustained current account surpluses
Macro: Improved credibility and consistency in monetary and fiscal policy-making and FX management, resulting in a sustained reduction in inflation and greater stability in the FX market
Public Finances: Sustainable improvement in public finances, potentially arising from an increase in oil revenue and stronger mobilisation of domestic non-oil revenue
SOVEREIGN RATING MODEL (SRM) AND QUALITATIVE OVERLAY (QO)
Fitch's proprietary SRM assigns Nigeria a score equivalent to a rating of 'B-' on the LTFC IDR scale.
Our sovereign rating committee did not adjust the output from the SRM to arrive at the LTFC IDR.
Fitch's SRM is the agency's proprietary multiple regression rating model that employs 18 variables based on three-year centered averages, including one year of forecasts, to produce a score equivalent toLTFC IDR. Fitch's QO is a forward-looking qualitative framework designed to allow for adjustment to the SRM output to assign the LTFC IDR, reflecting factors within our criteria that are not fully quantifiable and/or not fully reflected in the SRM.
COUNTRY CEILING
The Country Ceiling for Nigeria is 'B-', in line with the LTFC IDR. This reflects no material constraints and incentives, relative to the IDR, against capital or exchange controls being imposed that would prevent or significantly impede the private sector from converting local currency into FC and transferring the proceeds to non-resident creditors to service debt payments.
Fitch's Country Ceiling Model produced a starting point uplift of 0 notches above the IDR. Fitch's rating committee did not apply a qualitative adjustment to the model result.
REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING
The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.
Nigeria does not publish consolidated fiscal data on a general government basis, which complicates our assessment of fiscal performance. Fitch is able to produce its own estimates for general government fiscal metrics based on disaggregated data on federal, state and local government revenue, spending and debt published by the NNPC, the CBN, the Debt Management Office, the Budget Office of the Federation and the National Bureau of Statistics. Fitch's estimates are broadly consistent with and comparable to the data used for other sovereigns. The data used was deemed sufficient for Fitch's rating purposes because we expect that the margin of error related to the estimates would not be material to the rating analysis.
ESG CONSIDERATIONS
Nigeria has an ESG Relevance Score of '5' for Political Stability and Rights as WBGI have the highest weight in Fitch's SRM and are therefore highly relevant to the rating and a key rating driver with a high weight. As Nigeria has a percentile rank below 50 for the respective governance indicator, this has a negative impact on the credit profile.
Nigeria has an ESG Relevance Score of '5' for Rule of Law, Institutional & Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption as WBGI have the highest weight in Fitch's SRM and are therefore highly relevant to the rating and are a key rating driver with a high weight. As Nigeria has a percentile rank below 50 for the respective governance indicators, this has a negative impact on the credit profile.
Nigeria has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Human Rights and Political Freedoms as the Voice and Accountability pillar of the WBGI is relevant to the rating and a rating driver. As Nigeria has a percentile rank below 50 for the respective governance indicator, this has a negative impact on the credit profile.
Nigeria has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Creditor Rights as willingness to service and repay debt is relevant to the rating and is a rating driver for Nigeria, as for all sovereigns. As Nigeria has a fairly recent restructuring of public debt in 2005, this has a negative impact on the credit profile.
The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.
[http://www.fitchratings.com]
An Open Letter to Mr. President and the Leadership of the National Assembly (NASS) on the Dangers of the Relocation of American and French Military Bases from the Sahel to Nigeria
Admin
Your Excellencies,
It is a common knowledge that the American and French governments have been desperately lobbying the governments of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana to agree to sign new defense pacts that would enable them to redeploy their soldiers expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Some of the troops have been redeployed to Chad but France and United States prefer countries of the Gulf of Guinea that are more strategically located to serve their interests in the central zone of the Sahel. Of the countries in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria turns out to be the most strategically located.
There are indications that the Nigerian Government may be favorably disposed to the proposed defense pact. However, there is a widespread apprehension that signing of the pact by Nigeria would have wide ranging implications for defense and internal security of the country. On 22nd December 2023, the last of France’s 1,500 troops deployed in Niamey and two other bases in the tri-frontier of Niger were marched out of the country.
On March 16th, 2024, Niger Republic suspended the military agreement with the United States signed in 2012, which allowed the US to station about 1100 US troops and civilian personnel permanently in Niger, to operate from two American bases in the country. American Airbase 101 is located in Niamey while Airbase 201 is located near the small northern city of Agadez, about 920 kilometers southwest of Niamey.
These French and American bases were used by the French and the Americans to carry out manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations in the Sahel. The bases had become the focal points for Western intelligence and surveillance operations in West Africa. The American and French troops were expelled because their presence did not serve any useful purpose. Instead, they were using the defense pact to carry out surveillance operations in the region to serve their geopolitical strategic interests. As a result of this expulsion, the Gulf of Guinea countries especially Nigeria, are being pressured to compromise their sovereignty by harboring these foreign troops who would come to serve the interests of NATO to the detriment of the national interests and security of the countries of the Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria’s civil war experiences when France overtly supported the Biafran secessionists, and the ambivalence of the US should provide our leaders with food for thought.
It is important to remember that Nigerians have consistently opposed defense agreement with foreign countries since the 1960s when the Balewa administration was forced to abrogate the Anglo-Nigerian Defense Agreement, because the agreement 2 contained a clause which allowed the Royal Air force to overfly and test its aircrafts in Nigeria. The Agreement also allowed the Royal Air Force to station maintenance staff in Nigeria. The Balewa administration was pressured to abrogate the Agreement because public opinion perceived it as an impairment of Nigeria’s freedom of action which might draw the country into hostilities against it wishes. This remains true. In 2001, in his bid to ostensibly re-professionalize the Nigerian army, President Obasanjo almost unilaterally signed the “Military Cooperation Agreement Between the US and Nigeria.”
To its credit, the Ministry of Defense responded appropriately by opposing the agreement arguing that, the ministry was not involved in the negotiations between Nigeria and the US, neither were the service chiefs, who could have provided input relating to the syllabus and doctrinal content of the programme. In fact, the agreement was highly criticized by Lt General Victor Malu, the Chief of Army Staff at the time, when the US military officers demanded for Nigeria’s strategic doctrine and unfettered access its strategic military locations. According to General Malu, those were “exclusive to Nigerians only” adding that “a friend today can be an enemy tomorrow.”
Malu was not alone in protest against the agreement. His immediate boss and Chief of Defense Staff, Vice Admiral Ibrahim Ogohi also told a visiting US Air College delegation to his office that “what Nigeria needs is logistic support and not training.” In November 2007, the US renewed its attempt to set up its Africa Command (AFRICOM) in Nigeria. This move was rejected by the National Council of State. Incidentally President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was a member of the Council of State at the time.
The latest proposal to relocate the America from Niger to Nigeria coming not long after the suspension of Niger from ECOWAS, with Nigeria’s active collaboration as a result of disagreement between Niger and the US, has many serious implications not only for Nigeria - Niger relations but also for Nigeria’s national security and that of the West African region in general. According to the late Major General Joseph Garba, Nigeria’s former Minister of External Affairs, Nigeria’s neighbors are a matter of colonial heritage and socio-cultural diversity; but it is in our Nigeria’s interest to deliberately cultivate the friendship of our neighbours.
This posture has been and must continue to be a major feature of Nigeria’s foreign policy. This is even more so because historically, there has always been a noticeable degree of suspicion of Nigeria’s intentions among its French - speaking neighbors, arising no doubt from the mutual suspicion which seems to have always characterized Nigeria’s relations with France. Therefore, in this circumstance Nigeria must be bold enough to reject the proposal, if for no other reason than to return a good turn. At least since independence Nigeria and Niger have maintained relatively cordial relations that have always helped in stabilizing the sub-region on several occasions.
The two countries have come to the aid of one another during their moment of crises. The new military rulers in Niger jettisoned the security cooperation agreement between Niger and the United States because of the “attitude of the US delegation which visited Niger recently “in denying the sovereign rights of Niger’s people to choose their 3 partners and allies capable of really helping them to fight terrorism.” General Michael Langley, head of the African Command (AFRICOM) had expressed “concern” that Niger was cultivating close ties with Russia and Iran. Other reasons given for the abrogation of the agreement included the fact that the presence of the American troops in Niger was illegal. According to Amadou Abdramane the spokesperson for the Niger’s Military Council, “it was not democratically approved and imposes unfavorable conditions on Niger.” As the “Agreement” was simply a list of demands drawn by the US Embassy in Niger and sent to the Mahamadou Issoufou’s administration for its consent, which it willingly gave.
The Agreement for example provides that all United States personnel be accorded the privileges, exemptions, and immunities equivalent to those accorded to the administrative and technicalstaff of a diplomatic mission under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961; that United States personnel may enter and exit the Republic of Niger with United States identification and with collective or individual travel order. It is important to clearly state that there are only dangers and no gains from such military operations.
The American operations in Niger Republic for example were ostensibly to pre-empt and uproot terrorists from the Sahelian region. The result has so far been quite unimpressive, if not a complete failure. It is apparent that the presence of American troops and other intelligence personnel in Niger Republic is not serving any useful purpose. This is for the simple reason that terrorism, far from abating, has in fact risen dramatically since the US began its operations in the region. Data sourced from the Pentagon, indicate that “with 2,737 violent events, the western Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali and Western Niger) experienced the largest escalation in violent event linked to militant Islamist groups over the past years of any region in Africa, a 36% increase.” …” Fatalities in the Sahel involving militant Islamist groups rose even more rapidly, 63%, resulting in 7,899 fatalities.
Niger in particular in particular “saw a 43% increase in violent events in the past year. “All told, …attacks linked to militant Islamist groups in the Sahel have jumped 3,500% since 2016.” “At a minimum, more US security assistance isn’t leading to more security and all signs suggest it plays a role in making matters worse.” (Elizabeth Shackelford) “The Sahel now accounts for 40% of all violent activity by militant Islamist groups in Africa, more than any other region in Africa. …Militant Islamist violence in the Sahel is also responsible for the displacement of more than 2.6 million people.” Are these results worth the erosion of sovereignty? We the signatories of this open letter believe strongly that the economic and environmental impacts of hosting foreign military bases are profound and far-reaching. Economically, the presence of these bases could potentially divert government funds and resources away from critical areas such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure development toward maintaining and securing these military installations.
This redirection of resources could stunt economic growth and exacerbate poverty in a country where much of the population already lives under challenging conditions. 4 Moreover, hosting foreign troops often leads to increased prices and living costs in local areas, disproportionately affecting the lower-income population. Environmentally, the construction and operation of military bases can lead to significant degradation of the local environment. This includes deforestation, soil erosion, water contamination, and loss of biodiversity, which are detrimental to agricultural communities and indigenous populations. The long-term environmental damage could further hinder economic opportunities and sustainable development. Historically, the presence of foreign military bases has often led to strained relations not only with neighboring countries but also within the host country itself, as seen in numerous global instances. Public opinion in Nigeria has consistently shown a strong resistance to foreign military alliances that compromise the nation’s sovereignty and independence.
The controversial history of foreign military presence in Nigeria, dating back to the abrogation of the Anglo-Nigerian Defense Agreement in the 1960s, serves as a significant historical precedent highlighting the potential risks and public discontent associated with such agreements. This historical awareness and skepticism are echoed in the present day, where there is considerable public apprehension towards the re-establishment of foreign military bases. In conclusion, as stewards of Nigeria’s sovereignty and guardians of its national interests, it is incumbent upon our leadership to heed the lessons of history and the voice of its people.
The relocation of foreign military bases to Nigerian soil represents not just a potential compromise of our sovereignty but also sets a precedent that may lead to unforeseen geopolitical, economic, and social consequences. We, the signatories of this open letter, urge you to consider the broader implications of such agreements and to prioritize Nigeria’s long-term peace and security over short-term strategic alignments.
By standing firm against the pressures to house foreign bases, Nigeria can affirm its commitment to self-determination and foster a more stable and prosperous future for all its citizens. Let us choose a path of cautious diplomacy and strategic independence, ensuring that our nation remains a beacon of stability and a model of sovereign integrity in Africa. Yours faithfully,
1. Abubakar Siddique Mohammed Centre for Democratic Development, Research and Training (CEDDERT) Zaria.
2. Kabiru Sulaiman Chafe Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) Kaduna.
3. Attahiru Muhammadu Jega Bayero University, Kano.
4. Jibrin Ibrahim Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) Abuja.
5. Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani) Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Abuja.
6. Y. Z. Ya’u Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) Kano
A Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 2 Abuja has ordered the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) to seal a company – Ifedi A.K. Nigeria Ltd, over the failure of its management to file the mandatory annual returns.
Magistrate Janada Balami issued the order on Friday, May 3, after the lawyer to FCT-IRS, Michael Towolawi applied orally to have the company sealed to compel it to attend court to answer the complaint filed against it by the FCT-IRS.
In her ruling, Magistrate Balami said the oral application to seal up the property located at No 6, Rudolf Close, Off Katsina-Ala Street, Maitama, Abuja was granted to compel the attendance of the defendant in court on the next adjourned date.
She proceeded to adjourn to May 16.
When the case was called, the company, named as the sole defendant, was not represented.
Towolawi told the court that the company has consistently failed from 2019 to 2023 to file its annual returns in violation of Section 81 of the Personal Income Tax Act, LFN, 2004, and amended in 2011.
He said all efforts to make the company comply with the law proved abortive as all notices served on the company, which were duly acknowledged, were not acted on.
Towolawi said a notice to prosecute was also served on the defendant on March 6, 2024, but without any response.
[TheNation]
More...
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has submitted additional proof of evidence against the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.
During the court hearing on Friday, Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo requested an adjournment to review the new evidence before continuing the cross-examination of John Ikechukwu Ayoh, the second prosecution witness.
Ojo accused the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, of engaging in “trial by ambush” and not being diligent in their prosecution.
He told the court that he just received the additional proof of evidence from the EFCC.
He said the new proof of evidence was filed on Thursday, saying he needed to study the additional proof of evidence to cross-examine the prosecution witness.
He told the court, “My lord, there is a need to adjourn this case. We were just served these huge documents by the EFCC in court.
“The prosecution keeps dumping documents on us at every sitting. This is trial by ambush.”
Sharing the same sentiment, the counsel to the second defendant, Adeyinka Kotoye, also said he was served the additional proof of evidence five minutes after arriving in court.
In his defence, Oyedepo argued that they provided documents from a former aide to Emefiele in preparation for his testimony, saying it did not affect the ongoing cross-examination.
He added that it was unfair to describe the service of processes by the prosecution as “ambush by trial”.
Oyedepo emphasised that the additional evidence submitted were documents obtained from the phone of a former aide to Emefiele, John Adetona, who is set to testify as a witness.
He also clarified that these documents were provided in advance for Adetona’s future testimony and that he was not scheduled to appear in court on the present or upcoming hearing on May 9.
“The witness (Adetona) whose device the documents were printed from has not given evidence before the court,” Oyedepo said.
“In preparation for his testimony which is not coming up today or May 9, the prosecution rather waiting for the defence to formally demand the hard copies the prosecution team printed the documents out.
“How does that amount to prosecutorial unfairness?”
Oyedepo, however, requested that the court instruct the defence counsels to conclude their cross-examination of the second prosecution witness.
He clarified that the introduction of new documents does not hinder or impact the ongoing cross-examination of this witness.
However, Emefiele’s lawyer disagreed, stating that he needed time to review the new documents as they may contain valuable information for use during cross-examination.
In his ruling, the presiding judge, Rahman Oshodi, agreed with the defendant’s counsel.
Oshodi then adjourned the matter to May 9.
Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, are currently being tried in a Lagos high court on a 26-count charge.
Both the former CBN governor and Omoile pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them.
[Punch]
INTERPOL appoints Nigerian police commissioner, Uche as chairman African heads of cybercrime units
Admin
…Advocates setting up of Africa incident response mechanism and cybersecurity framework
The International Police Organization, INTERPOL, has appointed Nigerian Police Commissioner, CP Ifeanyi Henry Uche, as the Chairman of the African Heads of Cybercrime Units comprising heads of 54 countries.
This is just as he has advocated for the establishment of African Incident Response Mechanism and Cybersecurity Frameworks on Police-to-Police basis to eliminate the bottlenecks impeding free flow of resources.
CP Uche who is the Commissioner of Police in charge Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF -NCCC) is taking over from Ratjindua Tjivikua, head of Cybercrime of Namibia after his tenure expired.
Speaking at the closing of the Africa Working Group Meeting on Cybercrime on Friday, CP Uche said, “The high penetration rate of new technologies in Africa increasingly exposes the sub-regional cyberspace as potential targets for cybercriminals as most African countries still have low levels of commitment to cybersecurity.
“It is important that we join the operational sub groups created by INTERPOL to bolster our collective efficiency in the fight against cybercrime in the subregion.
He said, “Resource sharing, the level of information and intelligence among African law enforcement is still at its lowest ebb largely blamed on extant domestic laws.
“I advocate for the establishment of African Incident Response Mechanism and Cybersecurity Frameworks on a Police-to-Police basis to eliminate the bottlenecks impeding free flow of resources.
“We must leverage the INTERPOL NCB 1/247 communication network and existing capabilities with regard to sharing of classified intelligence.”
Uche said this should be done with “Establishment of Specialized Cybercrime Units, noting it is rather unfortunate that most African countries do not have a specialized Cybercrime Unit dedicated for the investigation of Cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime. I implore member states to under-study the Nigeria police model of the Nigeria police Force National Cybercrime Center (NPF-NCCC).
“Investment in Technology, Infrastructure and Capacity building through a deliberate effort by member states to make the multi-million-dollar commitment in acquiring the much-needed technology and digital solution as a prelude to efficient cybercrime response and prevention. We must begin to look inwards by developing indigenous technologies to address our peculiar socio-cultural challenges.
“Legislative support to push the advocacy and lobby the governments to make and enforce robust cybersecurity laws and regulations that address cybercrime effectively. This includes laws on data protection, online privacy, electronic transactions, and cybercrime prevention.
“With the Fourth Industrial Revolution and emergence of Al and IOT, the undeniable reality is that the global cyberspace is undergoing profound and rapid changes given the penetration of new technologies and growing interconnection of the system.
“Though this evolution offers opportunities for innovations, diversification, and cost optimization, it also carries with it increased exposure to new and devastating risks of imminent cyber-attacks. These attacks permeate and affect the entire global digital ecosystem equally with no exception to geographic belts hence it affects businesses of all sizes both in public and private sectors in all regions at a breakneck speed.
“Cybercrime poses a significant threat to our societies, economies, and security”, he said. “it is imperative that we work together to address this growing challenge. As Chairman, I am committed to lead from the front, fostering the much-desired collaboration among our member Units to enhance our collective ability to prevent and investigate cyber crimes effectively in Africa.
“I consider this as a call to champion the enthronement of a new charter of technological renaissance and home-grown cybersecurity ethics in Africa and a paradigm shift from absolute dependence on external solutions to African nurtured technological initiatives, adaptive to our Socio-Political ecosystem.
In her remarks at the event, Minister of State, Police Affairs, Hajia Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim said, “The Government of Nigeria is fully committed to reforming our police force, recognizing that cybersecurity is an integral component of our national security agenda.
“We understand that a secure cyberspace is essential for our immediate and long-term development objectives. Therefore, we are dedicated to enhancing our cybersecurity capabilities, investing in the necessary resources, and fostering collaboration both domestically and internationally.
“Consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President, we are working assiduously to move beyond mere conversations to working with key stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s cybersecurity legal and regulatory frameworks.
“We are working to enhance the provision of the requisite tools, equipment, and facilities to strengthen the cybersecurity architecture of the Nigeria Police Force, and we remain committed to regional and international cooperation mechanisms.”
[Vanguard]
The court of appeal in Abuja has ordered the stay of proceedings in the contempt charge instituted by Yahaya Bello, former Kogi governor, against Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
A Kogi state high court presided over by Isa Jamil Abdullahi, had ordered Olukoyede to appear before it on May 13 to show why he should not be committed to prison for allegedly disobeying its order restraining the EFCC from arresting or taking any action against Bello.
However, the EFCC chairman filed an appeal against the court summon.
Olukoyede filed two motions — one seeking a stay of execution of the summon — and another one asking to serve processes on Bello via substituted means by pasting the process at his Abuja residence on No 9 Bengazi Steet Wuse Zone 4.
In its ruling on Friday, a three-member panel of justices led by Joseph Oyewole granted the two motions.
The appellate court fixed May 20 for the hearing of the substantive appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/413/2024.
BACKGROUND
On February 8, Bello instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit, asking the court to declare that “the incessant harassment, threats of arrest and detention, negative press releases, malicious prosecution” by the EFCC — “without any formal invitation — is politically motivated and interference with his right to liberty, freedom of movement, and fair hearing”.
The former governor also sought an order “restraining the respondent by themselves, their agents, servants or privies from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain him”.
On February 9, the Kogi high court granted an interim injunction restraining the EFCC from “continuing to harass, threaten to arrest, detain, prosecute Bello, his former appointees, and his staff or family members, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive originating motion for the enforcement of his fundamental rights”.
On March 12, the EFCC filed an appeal against the interim injunction because the court could not stop the commission from carrying out its statutory responsibility.
The Kogi high court delivered judgment on the substantive motion on notice on April 17 wherein the presiding judge granted an order restraining the EFCC “from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain Bello”.
However, the judge directed the commission to file a charge against Bello before an appropriate court if it had reasons to do so.
The judgment coincided with the recent “siege” laid on the Abuja residence of Bello by EFCC operatives seeking to arrest him.
The commission had also obtained a warrant of arrest against the former governor from the federal high court in Abuja.
The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.
At the scheduled arraignment on April 18, Bello was absent.
At the court session, Abdulwahab Mohammed, counsel to Bello, told Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, that the court lacked jurisdiction to grant the warrant of arrest in the first instance.
He referenced the February 9 interim injunction issued by the Kogi high court, adding that the appeal filed by the EFCC was still pending.
However, the EFCC has filed a notice to withdraw the appeal.
In the notice filed on April 22, the anti-graft agency said the withdrawal was predicated on the fact that events have overtaken the appeal.
The commission also admitted that the appeal was filed out of the time allowed by law.
CONTEMPT OF COURT
Bello approached the Kogi high court, seeking an order to issue and serve the respondent (EFCC chairman) with “form 49 notice” to show cause why an order of committal should not be made on him.
The judge, after listening to the arguments of the applicant’s counsel, the submission and the exhibits attached in the written address, granted Bello’s prayers and ordered Olukoyede to be summoned to appear before the court to answer the contempt charge.
[]TheCable]
[STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE] President Tinubu To Commission Critical Gas Infrastructure Projects
Admin![[STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE] President Tinubu To Commission Critical Gas Infrastructure Projects](/media/k2/items/cache/9b432e98ccbc40a17369e2e8b27082e6_XS.jpg)
In line with his commitment to significantly leverage gas to grow the economy, President Bola Tinubu will commission three critical gas infrastructure projects being undertaken by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and partners.
The projects support the federal government’s effort to grow value from the nation’s gas assets while eliminating gas flaring.
The delivery of the projects was accelerated from the inception of the administration in keeping with the overall objective of deepening domestic gas supply as a critical enabler for economic prosperity.
THE PROJECTS
The projects lined up for commissioning include:
(1) AHL Gas Processing Plant 2 (GPP - 2) - 200mmscf/d
This project is an expansion to the Kwale Gas Processing Plant (GPP - 1), which currently supplies about 130MMscf/d of gas to the domestic market. The processing plant is designed to process 200MMscf/d of rich gas and deliver lean gas through the OB3 Gas Pipeline. This additional gas supply will support further rapid industrialization of Nigeria. The plant will also produce about 160,000 MTPA of Propane and 100,000 MTPA of Butane, which will reduce the dependency on LPG Imports. The AHL Gas Plant is being developed by AHL Limited, an incorporated Joint Venture owned by NNPC Limited and SEEPCO.
(2) ANOH Gas Processing Plant (AGPC) - 300MMscf/d
The ANOH gas plant is an integrated 300MMscf/d capacity gas processing plant designed to process non-associated gas from the Assa North-Ohaji South field in Imo State. The plant will produce dry gas, condensate, and LPG. The gas from ANOH gas plant will significantly increase domestic gas supply, leading to increased power generation and accelerated industrialization. The ANOH Gas Plant is being developed by ANOH Gas Processing Company, an incorporated Joint Venture owned by NNPC Limited and Seplat Energy Plc on a 50-50 basis.
(3) ANOH-OB3 CTMS Gas Pipeline Project
The project involves the engineering, procurement, and construction of 36”x23.3km ANOH-OB3 Project. The Transmission Gas Pipeline will evacuate dry gas from the Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) primary treatment facility (PTF) to OB3 Custody Transfer Metering Station (CTMS) for delivery into the OB3 pipeline system. About 600MMscf/d is estimated to be available from two separate 2 x 300MMscf/d capacity gas processing production trains from AGPC & SPDC JV.
When commissioned, the projects will increase gas supply to the domestic market by approximately 500mmscf/d, creating a better investment climate and promoting balanced economic growth cumulatively.
Chief Ajuri Ngelale
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
May 3, 2024