AND JONATHAN PRESIDED OVER ALL THIS WASTE WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE? : What “missing” N11.56trillion excess crude fund can do for Nigeria ... PremiumTimes

If one third of the Nigerian population were to queue up for a bonus pay cheque, no fewer than 53 million citizens will smile home with N18,000 every month for a full year from the unaccounted N11.56 trillion Excess Crude Accounts now subject of national accountability scandal.
PREMIUM TIMES exclusive investigation indicating that N11.56 trillion in oil revenues remained unaccounted for in eight years is putting fresh spotlight on the Nigerian government’s poor accountability record and underlining the human cost of Nigerian corruption.
Because a huge chunk of Nigeria’s resources are either stolen or unaccounted for, Africa’s largest oil producer has continued to grapple with devastating poverty and chronic underdevelopment, said Chibuike Mgbeahuruike, Executive Director of Nigeria’s activist group, Civic Space Initiative.
“Many people have died in recent years on account of Boko Haram, but many more have been killed as a result of public sector corruption expressed in widespread poverty, accident-ridden bad roads, poor health facilities and general infrastructure decay,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES’ data scientists and reporters who surveyed seven key sectors of the nation’s life say in the hands of development-minded administrators, the N11.56 excess crude money so far unaccounted for could have provided at least 577,000 primary schools built for N20 million each; while 1.16 million health centres could have been built for N7million.
Still on the health track, 76 million Nigerian kids could get mosquito treated nets at N6,900 each, saving them from the scourge of malaria which today kills more than 300,000 Nigerian children under the age of five in annually and responsible for 11 per cent of maternal mortality cases yearly, according to experts at the Malaria Action Programme for States (MAPS).
With the country’s HIV population of 3.1 million, the nation would be a healthier environment caring for the ART needs of this vulnerable group for 108 years if N34,500 is spent on each patient per year.

INFOGRAPHIC SHOWING THE COST OF THE ‘MISSING’ N11.65 TRILLION EXCESS CRUDE FUND TO NIGERIA AND ITS PEOPLE

The perennial power shortage that has crippled economic growth and development efforts could get an unusual boost with an additional investment in 457 gas fired turbine plant at the cost of N25.3 billion per piece. Each plant can generate an average of 485 megawatts, according to an estimate provided by a committee led by former Vice President Namadi Sambo. So 457 units can generate over 220,000 megawatts to the national grid.
Highway infrastructure, water and sanitation development and provision of low cost housing are the other areas that can see remarkable transformation.
In the housing sector, at N7million per piece, the country can provide 1.65 million additional cheap housing for citizens; and provide 126 million households with potable water at a cost of N93,000 per household connection. That will far exceed national needs, since, on the records of the National Bureau on Statistics, the country only has 45 million households.
In the area of highway infrastructure, available data show that 123,000 km of dual carriage paved roads can be built at current cost of N93million per kilometre. That translates to building a road from Lagos to Maiduguri and then to Port Harcourt.
In interviews with PREMIUM TIMES, development planners bemoaned the negative effects of corruption on Nigeria.
“Corruption retards national development, makes a few people rich, more people are pushed down the poverty line; violated people’s economic and social rights to the benefits of natural resource endowment; denies Nigeria the opportunity of occupying her rightful position in the comity of nations,” said Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice.
Auwal Rafsanjani, Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre [CISLAC] agrees.
“Corruption denies Nigeria development at the level the people desire, particularly in terms of ability to provide the basic infrastructure to give the people quality living,” Mr. Rafsanjani said. “Corruption deprives the people of water, roads, hospital, health centres.
“The insecurity in the country, like Boko Haram, is as a result of corruption, because those at the border collect bribe to allow the insurgents to come into the country; all kinds of goods are allowed to come into country to compete with our local industries.”
As far as Faith Nwadishi, National Chairman, Publish What You Pay Nigeria, is concerned, “Corruption has given Nigeria a bad image, making the country to lose a lot of diplomatic grounds, as people would not want to do business with the people without the suspicion being duped.”
Joseph Amenaghawon of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa [OSIWA], argued along the same line.
“Corruption has not allowed the country to be opened up for the quantum of investment that should flow in country,” Mr. Amenaghawon said. “Corruption has made it difficult for the country to translate growth into benefits for the people, which has resulted in high incidence of youth unemployment. The corruption around the oil industry has not allowed the economy to spread the value from the national resource to impact the people.”

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL ... HOPE IN THE AIR ... SURE VICTORY IN OUR WAR AGAINST TERROR : We Now Have What It Takes To Defeat B’Haram – PMB ... LeadershipNews

President Muhammadu Buhari declared yesterday that with the formation of a stronger regional coalition, Nigeria and neighbouring countries now have an increased capacity to deal effectively with Boko Haram and other terrorist groups.
According to him, the full activation and deployment of the Multi National Joint Task Force which has been established under the auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission will lead to the speedy defeat and elimination of Boko Haram.
The president stated this at an audience with Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa.
Buhari said with the Command and Control Centre of the Nigerian military now in Maiduguri, Borno State, the morale of troops in the front-line states has improved significantly.
“You can tell the Secretary-General that we are doing our best and our best will be good enough for the nation and the sub-region”, the President told Chambas.
On the forthcoming elections in Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea and Burkina Faso, the President also called on the United Nations to assist African countries in the acquisition and use of innovative technologies to ensure more credible elections.
“When citizens recognize that their votes count, it will boost their confidence in democracy and their countries’ electoral systems,” he said.
Buhari recalled that in the last general elections in Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) used smart card readers to authenticate prospective voters, even as he observed that while Nigeria could afford the use of such technology in its elections, other African countries may require support and assistance from the international community.
On his part, Ibn Chambas commended President Buhari for his strong and positive actions against terrorism, saying his successful visit to Cameroon this week and his reaffirmation of Nigeria’s commitment to the peaceful resolution of all border issues with Cameroon was a welcome development.

Orders Immediate Release Of N5bn For Victims, Says N33.54bn yet to be redeemed
Meanwhile President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday directed the Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi to facilitate the immediate release of the N5billion pledged by the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration since August 2014 for the Boko Haram Victims Support Fund (VSF).
The President gave the directive after the VSF presidential committee headed by Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd.) briefed him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Danjuma had informed President Buhari that out of the N55.92billion pledged at the fund-raising dinner for the Fund in August last year, N33.54billion outstanding was yet to be redeemed, including N5billion from the federal government.
He explained that, while his committee currently has N23.33billion in four bank accounts, the committee had received approval from the immediate past administration to incorporate the fund into a trust fund in order to “insulate it from political interference”.
Accordingly, Danjuma requested the president to use his office to persuade all organizations and individuals to honour their pledges to the committee.
After ordering immediate payment of the N5billion pledged by the federal government, President Buhari also urged the committee to ensure proper coordination with other government agencies providing support and assistance to victims of terrorism.
The President assured Danjuma and members of the VSF committee that his administration was taking proactive steps to defeat terrorism in the country.
He said that despite the challenge of acquiring much needed strategic equipment and weapons to confront the terrorists, the Nigerian military has recently gained much ground in its effort to defeat and degrade Boko Haram.
Danjuma also told journalists after meeting with the president that they informed the president about what the committee had done and what it plans to do in the nearest future.
He said, “You know we were launched during the fund raising which took place a year ago. The total amount of money that was pledged by various contributors was slightly more than N50 billion. Of this amount, only N23 billion have so far been redeemed. So, there is a lot of money out there.
“Of the organisations and individuals, that have not fulfilled their pledges, the federal government is one. We are expecting N5 billion from the federal government and the President promised today that he would honour the pledge of the Federal Government”.
On what the committee was doing to recover the funds pledged by others, the former Defence minister threatened that the committee may resort to publicly naming those who have refused to pay with a view to shaming them.
He said, “We plead with them quietly but we may also resort to naming and shaming. We will continue to ask people who pledged to honour their pledges. You the press should assist us in raising the fund.
“N20 billion is a drop in the ocean compared with the needs of the victims and if really the war stops tomorrow, already those displaced are really looking for support to go back to their homes and this N20 billion is nothing”.

We Share Information On Boko Haram With Nigeria – US
The United States has said it is supporting the Federal Government in terms of intelligence sharing in the fight against Boko Haram.
US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, stated this on Friday in a Facebook question and answer session.
Entwistle pointed out that the US government under President Barack Obama was doing its best to help Nigeria win the war against terrorism.
The envoy added, “No partner is doing more to help you against Boko Haram than the United States. We hope to train more of your troops; we are glad to discuss weapons transfers and we engage in significant information sharing, which I cannot discuss in detail in this setting.
“We also are doing everything we can to support the population of internally displaced Nigerians from the north-east and to help Nigeria create conditions that will prevent something like the scourge of Boko Haram from ever happening again in Nigeria.
“The US has for years had a beneficial working relationship with the Nigerian military, especially in the counter-terrorism struggle against Boko Haram. Now more than ever, we are committed to assisting our Nigerian partners as appropriate. That involves training, sharing of information and, in some cases, helping the Nigerian military with its equipment needs.
“The Leahy amendment requires that for all countries, we cannot train known human rights abusers or that our equipment be used in depredations against civilian populations.”
Entwistle noted that paying attention to human rights would not distract from fighting terrorists.
He explained that on the contrary, it would make for a stronger counter-terrorism effort since it allowed the military to keep civilian populations on their side in the midst of the incredibly difficult task of fighting terrorists, who did not care about human rights or protecting civilians.
On Nigeria’s stolen money allegedly in US banks, the ambassador stated that the US government was ready to continue its efforts to “find funds that were ‘looted out of the country’ and may now be in the US bank accounts.”
He, however, urged Nigerians to exercise patience, saying the process of finding the looted funds was an “extremely complicated process which takes detailed investigation.”
According to Entwistle, the cases can sometimes take time in the US courts.

AND THE POLITICIANS SO INFILTRATED THE MILITARY THAT TRUTH WAS THROWN OVERBOARD ... NEVER AGAIN : We Were Ill-equipped, Demotivated–Badeh ... LeadershipNews

Alex Badeh, the immediate past commander of the Nigerian military, has revealed that the effectiveness of the fight against the militant Islamist group, Boko Haram, was greatly hampered by fifth columnists within the military who leaked sensitive information and operational plans to the terrorist sect.
Mr. Badeh, whose hometown, Mubi, was briefly captured by Boko Haram in 2014, was speaking on Thursday during his valedictory ceremony from the Nigerian Armed Forces.
He said the activities of saboteurs within the military led to the unnecessary deaths of many soldiers and officers who unknowingly walked into ambushes laid by Boko Haram who had prior knowledge of troops movement.
“The activities of fifth columnists in the military and other security agencies who leaked operational plans and other sensitive military information to the terrorist, combined to make the fight against the insurgents particularly difficult,” he said.
“The activities of these unpatriotic members of the military not only blunted the effectiveness of the fight, but also led to the needless deaths of numerous officers and men who unwittingly fell into ambushes prepared by terrorists who had advance warnings of the approach of such troops.”
Describing his task of coordinating the war against the insurgents as the “most complex and challenging assignment” of his 38-year-long career, he said he was saddled with the task of leading a military which lacked the “relevant equipment and motivation to fight an enemy that was invisible and embedded with the local populace”.
He said the decision of some countries not to sell arms to Nigeria to prosecute the war also limited the capability of the military to effectively fight the insurgents.
Citing human rights abuses perpetrated by the Nigerian military in its campaign against the insurgents, the United States, for instance, refused to sell arms to the Nigerian military and blocked an arms deal with Israel on one occasion.
Nigeria’s decision to purchase arms from the black market led to the confiscation of $15 million illegally transported into South Africa by arms dealers contracted by the government.
Nigeria later bought arms from China, Russia and other Eastern European countries to turn the tide against the insurgents.
Mr. Badeh also blamed successive governments for neglecting the military over the years thereby reducing its capability as a fighting force of note. He said unlike the situation the Nigeria military found itself in, an effective military is built during peace time and adequately trained to combat future threats. He also blamed previous governments for listening to foreign advice to cut the size of the Nigerian military.
“Permit me to also add here, that nation’s militaries are equipped and trained in peace time, for the conflicts they expect to confront in the future,” he said.
“Unfortunately that has not been our experience as a nation. Over the years, the military was neglected and under-equipped to ensure the survival of certain regimes, while other regimes, based on advice from some foreign nations, deliberately reduced the size of the military and underfunded it.
“Accordingly, when faced with the crisis in the North East and other parts of the country, the military was overstretched and had to embark on emergency recruitments and trainings, which were not adequate to prepare troops for the kind of situation we found ourselves in. It is important therefore for the government to decide on the kind of military force it needs, by carrying out a comprehensive review of the nation’s military force structure to determine the size, capability and equipment holding required to effectively defend the nation and provide needed security.”
He thanked the personnel of the Nigerian armed forces who showed uncommon patriotism and commitment in the fight against the insurgents despite fighting under a very challenging condition.
“Despite these challenges, I am glad to note that a lot was achieved during our time in the fight against terror,” he said.
“The achievements recorded are largely due to the commitment, patriotism and fighting spirit of our men and women in uniform who saw the fight against terror as a task that must be accomplished no matter the odds and in spite of the campaign of calumny against the military by a section of the media with their foreign collaborators.”
Mr. Badeh, now a retired Air Chief Marshal, and other service chiefs, were sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 13. He was replaced by Abayomi Olonishakin, a major general.

DINO MELAYE SPEAKS .. CALLS HIMSELF AN ANTI-CORRUPTION CRUSADER : Why I Escorted Toyin Saraki To EFCC – Melaye ... PunchNews

The Chairman, Senate Ad hoc Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Dino Melaye, has said he escorted Mrs. Toyin Saraki, wife of Senate President Bukola Saraki, to face the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s interrogators as “as a private investigator and an anti-corruption crusader”.

In a statement on Friday, entitled ‘Stand up for what you... believe in regardless of the popularity or acceptance of your belief’, Melaye stated that he had no regret for his action.

The Senator representing Kogi West in the National Assembly added that he followed Mrs. Saraki to the EFCC to find out the extent of culpability of his “sister and friend” since she was not told the content of the petition against her.

Melaye claimed that he was arrested 14 times in one year by the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as a result of his commitment to seeing a country where his unborn grandchildren would dwell in a nation where life was already structured for them.

He said, “The invitation of Mrs. Toyin Saraki by the EFCC, however, is not a criminal indictment. I will not abandon my friend because of mere EFCC invitation. I also went there as a private investigator and an anti-corruption crusader to find out the extent of culpability of my sister and friend since she was not told the content of the petition against her before her appearance before the EFCC.

“I will start by saying that my struggle to fight corruption in Nigeria was not an assignment or a paid job. It was borne out of passion and desire to build a new Nigeria where justice, equity and egalitarianism becomes a new order.

“I was arrested 14 times in one year by the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan because I desire a country where my grandchildren (that I may never know) will dwell in a nation where life is already structured for them. I cannot throw away my sacrifice of being beaten and my clothes torn on the floor of the House of Representatives because of fighting against corruption. I have come too far to compromise my stand on corruption and corrupt persons.

“I make bold here to challenge anybody who will controvert the truth that I have never done any government contract, either at the LG, state or federal levels. It is not criminal to do so, but he who must come to equity must come with clean hands. I have made sacrifices to the extent of escaping assassination.

“Will my fellow citizens forget all these too quickly on the altar of loyalty to friends, family and loved ones? My loyalty to friends is not only when the going is good. I will be there even when the roads are rough.”

WHAT DO WE SAY ABOUT THIS NOW? : BREAKING: 900 Million Naira Discover Rivers INEC Commissioner Gesila Khan’s Account ... 247News

Just few days after a whooping 700 million naira was discovered in the account of Gesila Khan, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Rivers State, another 900 million naira has been discovered in another bank account belonging to the woman, bringing the total discovery so far to a staggering 1. 6 billion naira. The 900 million naira discovery today has been confiscated.
And this woman is supposed to be a civil servant…
Stay tuned for more details

WHY WOULD ANY ONE BE PLAYING WITH SICKNESS? : Former Petroleum Minister Diezani Playing The Sick Card ... SaharaReporters

As information continues to emerge of the billions of dollars of public funds that Nigeria’s former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, stole with the help of cohorts she handpicked, the embattled former minister is apparently playing the sick card in the United Kingdom where she has spent most of her time since ex-President Goodluck Jonathan lost his reelection bid.   
Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke AP Photos
In recent days, several online media have reported that Ms. Alison-Madueke was critically sick in a London hospital. However, two sources in the UK who are quite conversant with the former minister’s physical condition told SaharaReporters today that her condition had not deteriorated, contrary to media reports.
One of the sources went as far as suggesting that the ex-Petroleum Minister might be orchestrating the reports about her grave ill health as a strategy to attract public sympathy as well as official leniency from President Muhammadu Buhari who has received extensive intelligence from US authorities detailing the extent of Ms. Alison-Madueke’s looting of petro-dollars under the watch of Mr. Jonathan.
One of our UK sources disclosed that the beleaguered former minister recently concluded a course of treatment for cancer, adding that she is not hospitalized in London as being touted by some members of her family.  
Another source revealed that he and others were in touch with the former minister as recently as yesterday. “She is definitely not in an ICU [intensive care unit] as I understand that some press people have been reporting,” the source said. According to him, “All I know is that there is a fair amount of anxiety on her part about all the reports coming out about her management of the affairs of the oil sector. Perhaps this anxiety is translating into efforts to portray her as sicker than she is, in reality. That strategy is understandable, as a way of lessening public reaction to reports that are out there. And there’s considerable uncertainty about what [President] Buhari is going to do. So, yes, there’s an advantage to the reports [of her critical ill health], but I can tell you she’s not in any devastated shape. Far from it.”
A series of coordinated reports about Ms. Alison-Madueke’s ill health began to surface after SaharaReporters revealed that US officials handed a dossier of the former minister’s billion dollar fraudulent deals to President Muhammad Buhari during his visit last week to America.
Yesterday, in a move that corroborated our report, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State told reporters at the State House in Abuja that US officials informed Mr. Buhari that a Nigerian minister under President Jonathan stole as much as $6 billion from the Nigerian treasury. Even though Mr. Oshiomhole did not disclose the name of the minister involved, a source at the Presidency confirmed to SaharaReporters that Ms. Alison-Madueke was the minister in question. Governor Oshiomhole was the only governor in President Buhari’s delegation when he held a critical meeting with US Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, at Blair House in Washington, DC. Ms. Lynch, who is known to be tough on crime, especially international fraud, reportedly pledged US assistance to arrest and prosecute the former Petroleum Minister and others who have defrauded the Nigerian people provided that Mr. Buhari would take steps to identify and flush out corrupt judges from the Nigerian judiciary.
Mr. Oshiomhole said that US officials, who were astonished by the size of looting that took place under Mr. Jonathan’s administration, declared that the funds stolen by one minister were staggering even for an economy as big as that of the United States. The former Petroleum Minister was known to be extraordinarily close to Mr. Jonathan, who refused to remove her from his cabinet despite numerous credible reports of her illicit and corrupt deals.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Ms. Alison-Madueke had attempted to send emissaries to President Buhari offering to return $250 million from her loot in return for being shielded from prosecution. One of the associates she contacted is a northern governor known to be close to Mr. Buhari. A highly reliable source told SaharaReporters that Mr. Buhari rejected the offer, contending that he would uncover how much Ms. Alison-Madueke and her fronts looted from the Nigerian treasury. “Mr. President is not interested in settling for small change. He has sworn to the Nigerian people that he will recover the vast sums stolen by officials of past government, especially those of President Jonathan. He is determined to keep his pledge to the Nigerian people.”
Former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), an agency under Ms. Alison-Madueke, of failing to deposit more than $20 billion of oil earnings at the CBN. Rather than launch a serious investigation, then President Jonathan ran to the former Petroleum Minister’s defense, and eased Mr. Sanusi out of his job at the CBN.
Fresh reports are surfacing of how Ms. Alison-Madueke used cohorts she handpicked to systematically deprive Nigerians of billions of dollars of oil revenues. Among the big players in her web of oil scams are Kogi-born businessman, Jide Omokore, Ben Peters, Igho Salome, and Kola Aluko. The mega scams the former minister pulled off with her trusted hands involved opulent acquisition of at least four private jets, a yacht, real estate in various world locations, including New York, Dubai, and London, and the transfer of huge sums to bank accounts operated by shadowy companies in Switzerland and several tax havens.
Ms. Alison-Madueke famously fell out with Mr. Aluko over the latter’s reported romantic involvement with ex-super model Naomi Campbell. It is believed that Mr. Aluko absconded with more than $1 billion that was in his custody as a result of shady transactions engineered and approved by the former Petroleum Minister.

THE GENETIC SIDE OF CORRUPTION : Like Fathers Like Sons: Ex-Nigerian governors who may be jailed with their children for corruption ... PremiumTimes

Barring the lack of diligence in the prosecution of cases by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission some former governors and their children will go to jail, PREMIUM TIMES can report.
While in office and protected by constitutional immunity, many former governors and their children were found to have helped themselves to billions of naira of funds belonging to their states.
The blatant rape of the states’ resources went unabated as unemployment, poverty and hunger ravaged citizens.
While the number of governors and their children who used their position to steal state funds might be more, only the cases of three governors already before the EFCC are treated in this report.
PREMIUM TIMES presents some of the messy deals which the EFCC accuses former Governor Nyako and his son Abdulazeez, former Governor Martin Elechi and his son, Nnanna and former Governor Sule Lamido and his sons, Aminu and Mustapha, of.
Murtala Nyako & Son
Murtala Nyako was elected Adamawa State governor in May 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Mr. Nyako, however, ran into trouble when he wrote a scathing letter April 18, 2014, accusing the then President, Goodluck Jonathan, of committing genocide against the people of Northern Nigeria.
In the letter which was addressed to the Northern Governors’ Forum, Mr. Nyako, among other things accused Mr. Jonathan of incompetence, corruption and high-handedness in the war against Boko Haram insurgents.
Not long after releasing the acerbic letter, he defected from the PDP with five other governors and later joined the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The Adamawa State House of Assembly wasted no time in compiling impeachable offences against Mr. Nyako.
They also dragged in his very powerful son, who was alleged to be handling multi-billion naira contracts for the Nyakos.
Mr. Nyako fled the country even before his impeachment was finalized and was declared wanted by the EFCC on February 4, 2014, alongside his son, Abdulaziz. Both were wanted for criminal conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office and money laundering.
The EFCC also arrested and questioned key officials of the state over alleged massive looting of the treasury.
During its investigation, the EFCC found that questionable cash withdrawals were made from the Joint State/Local Government account of the state.
For instance, the then Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government Affairs was alleged to have made cash withdrawals of over N2 billion in 181 different transactions, scattered in tranches of N3 million, N4 million, N8 million and N9 million per transaction from the joint account domiciled with First Bank between 29th of August 2011 and 2012.
He also allegedly made similar cash withdrawals amounting to over N500 million between March 6, 2008, and March 4, 2011, from another joint account domiciled in Keystone Bank.
Other officials of the ministry who allegedly looted the Joint Account include Justina Jari, a principal accountant, who made cash withdrawals to the tune of N600 million between October, 2009 and February, 2011.
Another staff of the ministry, Abdulhakeem Mohammed, was also alleged to have withdrawn about N3 billion from the joint account between February 2007 and May 2011. Two other staff, Mercy Wanje and Jumai Salihu were also said to have made withdrawals of N1 billion and N160 million from the account respectively.
On a single day, another staff, Haruna Hamali, a principal store officer made a cash withdrawal of over N70 million from the same account. The EFCC arrested many state officials in connection with the withdrawals and other ongoing investigations.
Abdulazeez Murtala Nyako
Mr. Abdulazeez is a true chip off the old block. The senator representing Adamawa Central Senatorial District is the first son of the embattled former governor.
The EFCC says while serving as governor, the elder Nyako allowed his son to dip his hands freely into the Adamawa State till to the extent that over N15billion were traced to accounts of five companies owned by the young man.
The companies included Blue Opal Nigeria Limited, Crust Energy Nigeria Limited, Blue Ribbon Multilinks Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Blue Ribbon Bureau De Change.
PREMIUM TIMES investigation shows that the illicit transfers were funneled into the accounts of Mr. Abdulazeez from the state government accounts domiciled in a new generation bank.
It was, therefore, not difficult for the Nyakos to rob Adamawa State blind because the branch manager of the bank who doubled as account officer to the state government account, is an in-law to the embattled former governor.
During vigorous interrogation, the bank manager admitted to transferring state funds through verbal instructions from the Elder Nyako for purposes that were not stated. The EFCC further found that from 2007 to 2011, former Governor Nyako directed that all state-owned accounts domiciled in various banks be transferred to the new generation bank.
Mr. Abdulaziz’s company, Blue Opal, is said to own, among other investments in Nigeria, an estate in Abuja, while his father’s account officer owns several properties and investments scattered around Abuja, Yola and Kano.
On February 4, the anti-graft agency declared Mr. Nyako and his son wanted in a case of criminal conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office and money laundering. Two weeks after the duo were declared wanted, Mr. Abdulazeez was arrested in Gombe and flown to Abuja to explain how a whopping N15 billion belonging to Adamawa State Government found its way into the accounts of five of his firms.
However, on February 24, the star witness against the former governor’s son, Maadi Dan-Tsoho, died with family sources attributing the death to asthma attack. Before his demise, Mr. Dan-Tsoho was suspended as regional manager of Zenith Bank, North-East operations for daring to testify against the all-powerful Abdulazeez.
The elder Nyako was arrested on July 8, and was charged to an Abuja High Court alongside his son and later remanded in the EFCC custody. On July 10, Justice E. Chukwu granted the duo bail with the sum of N350 million. While they now enjoy an administrative bail, it is not yet over for Mr. Nyako and his son.
Martin Elechi & Son
Martin Mr. Elechi was sworn in as the governor of Ebonyi State on May 29, 2007.
Trouble started for the former Ebonyi first family, when on January 29, the EFCC arrested Nnanna, the son of the former governor on allegations of money laundry.
Nnanna is alleged to be the face of the Elechis family’s firm which profited from state and local governments contracts running into billions of naira but which were never executed till May 29, when Mr. Elechi vacated office.
A week before the young Elechi was arrested, the anti-graft agency had quizzed the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Works, Cornelius Onwe; while the state’s Accountant General, Edwin Igbele; Commissioner for Finance, Timothy Ogbonnaya Odaa; and Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Cele Nwali had earlier been being quizzed by commission in Abuja.
They were all fingered in allegations of fraud regarding an Asphalt Project earmarked for the 13 local government councils of the state by the Elechi administration for which monies running into millions of naira were deducted at source from local government accounts.
While the younger Elechi was yet to finish explaining to the EFCC how huge tranches of state and local government funds got to the accounts of his family firms, his father was battling to save his career as the state house of assembly was bent on removing him from office.
The assembly in February, based on petitions from groups in the state set up a panel to probe the former governor and some of his aides.
In one of the petitions, the then embattled governor, his son, Elechi Elechi, and Edward Nkwegu, among others, were accused of contract inflation and illegal use of state funds for private gains.
It was, however, the intervention of former President Goodluck Jonathan that saved Mr. Elechi from being removed from office by Ebonyi political heavy weights.
But on June 16, two weeks after he left office, Mr. Elechi was arrested by the EFCC and was questioned for hours in Abuja. He was granted “partial” bail on June 17 and asked to report to the commission the next week to again be quizzed.
Sule Lamido & Sons
Mr. Sule Lamido was elected governor of Jigawa State in 2007 and got re-elected for second term in 2011. Trouble started for him when his first son, Aminu was arrested by the EFCC in December 2012, with $50, 000 at the Aminu Kano International Airport Kano.
While Mr. Lamido failed to say why Mr. Aminu had that much money on him, he was quick to dismiss the money laundering allegations against his son as “false and mischievous.”
The former governor claimed Mr. Aminu was taking his daughter to an Egyptian hospital for a follow up treatment. He vehemently denied that his son was involved in money laundering. At that time too, some of his supporters claimed the former governor was being persecuted over his 2015 presidential ambition.
On November 15, 2013, barely one year after, Aminu and his brother, Mustapha, were arrested by the EFCC in Kano and flown to Abuja for interrogation at a time PREMIUM TIMES obtained disturbing details of how huge sums of money belonging to Jigawa State were moved in and out of 34 bank accounts by nine companies linked to the governor’s family members.
Between June 2010 and August 2013, for instance, over N1.5billion was paid into an account in Skye Bank belonging to Bamaina Aluminium Limited, a company which has Mr. Lamido and his sons; Aminu and Mustapha as directors. During the period, Mustapha made multiple lodgments into the account from the Jigawa State Government account.
Similarly, Bamaina Holdings Limited, whose account with Unity Bank has former Governor Lamido as sole signatory, recorded total cash lodgments of over N1.19 billion between February 2007 and July 2013, out of which about N1billion was, at various times during the period, paid out to other sister companies.
Equally, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, which has the governor, his two sons and one other person as directors, has another bank account with Mr. Mustapha as sole signatory. Between January 2010 and July 2013, over N500million withdrawals were made from the account, mostly by Mustapha.
Although registration documents did not link Rawda Integrated Services Limited to any known member of the Lamido family, the company’s account details with Access Bank showed that it was operated by Mustapha and one other person.
Between December 2008 and April 2009, over N32million was paid by the Jigawa State government into the account, which made several payments totaling over N50million to another company, Speeds International Limited, which has the governor and his two sons as directors.
Another account belonging to Rawda Integrated Services Limited in First City Monument Bank, FCMB, has a different signatory, with records of huge cash lodgments of over N2.6billion and several staggering withdrawals within two years.
Rawda also has another account in Zenith Bank, with Mustapha as signatory, with over N1.1billion paid in by different individuals and organizations between January 2007 and May 2013.
Another Lamido firm, Speeds International Limited held an account with Access Bank with Mustapha as its sole signatory. Investigation showed that the firm received total deposits of over N2.2billion between January 2007 and February 2010. This is apart from a dollar account it also maintains, which had total lodgments of over $346,700.
Saby Integrated Nigeria Limited is another company owned by the Lamidos, with Aminu as the sole signatory to its account with Fidelity Bank. Investigators said a total of over N600million was lodged into the account from several Jigawa State Government establishments between July 2010 and November 2012.
Some of the payments made into the account at different times included over N84million, over N300million, over N60million, over N48million and over N93million, while between January 2010 and August 2013 over N730million were paid into the account, 95 per cent of which were by different Jigawa State government institutions.
However, in August 2014, this news paper again stumbled on information on how a construction firm, Dantata and Sawoe, paid N1.3billion as kickback into the accounts of companies owned by former governor and his sons.
Between 2007, when Mr. Lamido assumed office, and 2014, Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company got contracts amounting to N13.5 billion. Payments for these contracts were made by the state government to the construction firm through five banks – Zenith, Access, Diamond, Sterling and United Bank for Africa, UBA.
Within the same period, according to EFCC investigators, Dantata and Sawoe paid out over N1.3 billion into the accounts of companies in which the governor and his sons – Mustapha and Aminu – have interests, specifically the accounts of Bamaina Holdings Limited where the elder Lamido is sole signatory and Speeds International Limited. Both accounts are domiciled in Unity Bank Plc.
Over N832 million was paid into these two accounts by the construction giant, while the balance of N488 million was paid into the family’s account at Access Bank. To disguise the nature of the payments, our checks show, the construction company raised cheques in favour of Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, Speeds International Limited and Gada Construction Limited.
On July 7, the EFCC arrested the former governor and his two sons and moved them to Kano, where they were charged to court for fraud. Mr. Lamido and his two sons were later remanded in Kano Prisons from where they were again moved to Kuje Prisons.
It was, however, on July 14, that an Abuja high Court granted the former governor and his sons bail. Mr. Lamido, his two sons, and one other accused person, Abubakar Wada, were admitted to a N25 million bail bond each, in addition to a requirement that they submit their travel passport to the court.

TIME TO ARREST AND QUESTION EKWEREMADU IS NOW : Alleged Forgery: Court Throws Out Suit To Stop Police Probe On Ekweremadu ... LeadershipNews

Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has turned down the request to stop the police from its ongoing investigation of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and others over alleged forgery of the 2015 Standing Rules of the Senate.
The court in its ruling yesterday refused an ex-parte application filed by Senator Prince Gilbert Emeka Nnaji, to restrain the police from proceeding with the investigation and making public the report of their investigation.
In the suit, Nnaji sought interim orders to restrain the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) – from continuing with the matter, pending the determination of his substantive suit.
The plaintiff is challenging the constitutionality of the investigation within the context of the doctrine of separation of power.
After listening to the ex-parte motion in the case, the court said it could not grant the prayer sought by the plaintiff because it possesses the power to conduct a judicial review of the action complained about in the substantive suit.
He also refused the plaintiff’s request to abridge the time within which the defendants could respond.
The deputy senate president and the Clerk of the National Assembly are being investigated by the police over alleged forgery of senate standing rules during the election of the senate president last month.

NOT IN A HURRY TO NAME NAMES ... STEADILY MAKING PROGRESS : US gave Buhari names of oil thieves –Source ... PunchNews

The United States of America has handed over the names of Nigerian oil thieves to President Muhammadu Buhari, a member of the President’s entourage during last week’s visit to the US confided in The PUNCH on Tuesday.

“I can tell you that the President already has the list of names of the people engaging in the stealing of Nigeria’s oil. The list, when released by the President, will shock Nigerians. But let’s wait and see first,” the source said.

The source said Buhari was taken aback when he saw the names on the list and that the list given to the President by the US might compel him to probe the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

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A Presidency source also confirmed that Buhari had such a list but that “the President has been keeping the list to himself.”

The source, who told our correspondent about the list in the President’s possession, said the US gave Buhari two separate lists – one listing the names of top government officials who have been stealing the country’s oil, using their high offices to perpetrate the stealing; and the other containing the names of illegal oil bunkerers.

The President had said last week that some ministers in the cabinet of Jonathan were stealing as much as 250,000 barrels of Nigeria’s crude daily.

The Presidency source, who spoke to one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, said Buhari had vowed that those whose names appeared on the list would not go scot-free.

“The President will probe all of them and make sure they return whatever fortune they had made from their thievery,” the source said.

The source said the President was already tinkering with the idea of constituting a panel to investigate those on the list with a view to arriving at how to deal with them based on the findings of the committee.

However, it was gathered that, unlike the usual probe panels, the President would likely set up a special security team to handle the probe.

The PUNCH learnt that the names on the list of oil thieves are a mixture of highly placed government officials, and retired and serving military officers.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress said on Tuesday that it supported the probe of the Jonathan administration by Buhari in the light of mind-boggling corruption that had been uncovered by the Federal Government.

“Some people have insinuated that the Buhari administration should ignore the massive looting of our patrimony and move on. We say no responsible government can afford to do that, because it will amount to endorsing corruption and impunity,’’ the party said in a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The APC said billions of dollars had been skimmed off by “pathologically-corrupt public officials” in the oil sector alone, wondering how the government of the day could meet its obligations to the citizens if it refused to recover the huge funds taken away by thieving officials

Mohammed’s statement read, ‘‘It is an irony that those who are suggesting that the Buhari administration should turn a blind eye to the incomprehensible looting are the same ones accusing the government of not doing anything.

“It is even a cruel irony that the same party that presided over what is fast emerging as the worst governance in the history of our country is the same one that is daily bad-mouthing an administration that is cleaning up its mess.

‘‘Where does one start from? Is it the fact that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation failed to remit N3.8tn to the Federation Account or the mind-blowing stealing of 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day?

“Is it the fact that the NNPC itself does not know how many bank accounts it had or into which ones the payments for Nigerian crude are made? Could anyone have imagined that a government minister would steal the unprecedentedly-huge amount of US $6bn of public funds as being alleged?

‘‘How does any sane person rationalise the fact that $1bn was unilaterally and illegally withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account just because, as the immediate past Minister of Finance has disclosed, the President ordered the withdrawal? What about the billions of naira waivers recklessly approved to dubious importers by the Jonathan administration?”

It added, ‘‘Is it not clear now that the stealing and the profligacy – more than anything else, including the fall in oil price – helped to drastically reduce the monthly allocation from the Federation Account from about N800bn to about N400bn , thus pauperising the states and the local governments, and by extension the citizenry?

“Against the background of the stunning revelations, what message will any government be sending to its citizens and indeed the global community by looking the other way, when it could still recover some of the looted funds for the benefit of the people?

“This is why we are supporting the Buhari administration’s probe decision and we are calling on all Nigerians to support ongoing efforts to get to the root of the matter.”

The APC said it was clear that the Jonathan administration had deliberately delayed giving the then incoming Buhari government the handover notes so as to avoid being asked critical questions pertaining to the looting under its watch.

Also, the Peoples Democratic Party said it was on the same page with Buhari in the fight against corruption, but that due process must be followed.

The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in Abuja on Tuesday, said the clarification became necessary so as to remove any misconception that it was against the decision of the present administration to probe some past officials of government because they were PDP members.

Metuh said, “The PDP supports the decision of the Federal Government to fight corruption in our country.

“However, we make bold to state that it should not be disguised to victimise innocent citizens. Democracy has come to stay in Nigeria and no citizen, irrespective of political, religious or ethnic affiliation, should be denied access to due process and the rule of law in the process.”

He added, “Furthermore, we make bold to state that he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. In that regard, therefore, we advise members of the APC blowing the horn ahead of the cart to keep quiet because many of them have been major beneficiaries of corruption and sleaze associated with themselves and their allies, especially one of them who as a disguised errand boy of a well-known APC leader is a major beneficiary of the largesse of perpetrators of corruption.

“Apart from Mr. President, who for now, is not associated with any sleaze or corrupt activity in this democracy, most APC leaders are still those who as governors, ministers and labour leaders have been the worst corrupt set of Nigerians ever to bestride the political landscape of the country.

“It is a great miscarriage of perception therefore for the APC leaders who are perpetrators of sleaze and corrupt acts to attempt to deceive Nigerians with imaginary holiness in this anti-corruption war by the President.”

Consequently, he called on the President, as the leader of the APC to remove the log in the eyes of his party while “we support his commitment to remove the speck from the eyes of others.”

ADIEU OONI, ADIEU OBA SIJUADE ... IFE MOURNS : Ooni of Ife, Oba Sijuwade, dies at 85 ... PunchNews

THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, reportedly passed on, on Tuesday, at 85 years and seven months. He was born on January 1, 1930.

Unconfirmed sources said the monarch, who was said to have been flown out of the country since last Friday, died in the United Kingdom.

Most top Ife indigenes and Osun State government officials contacted by The PUNCH late on Tuesday kept sealed lips but some traditional rulers in the state confirmed that Sijuwade had died.

The spokesperson for the Ooni, Chief Funmilola Olorunnisola, told one of our correspondents that, “I don’t have anything to tell you immediately.”

One Osun traditional ruler, who asked not to be quoted, confided in one of our correspondents on the phone last night that the Ife monarch had died.

He said, “The Ooni is dead. It is true. He died about two hours ago in the UK. His two oloris (wives) – Olori Moni and Olori Odun – were with him in the UK.

“He travelled out for treatment anytime he fell ill but he couldn’t make it this time. It is sad but I believe it is God’s time. There was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

“Tokunbo, his eldest child, will probably leave for the UK this evening. There is nothing we can do but we take solace in the fact that he lived well. The proper announcement will be done later,”

The traditional ruler’s account was corroborated by another monarch, who explained that the Ooni was indeed flown out of the country five days ago in an air ambulance after he slumped.

A call to the line of the monarch was not answered.

There had been fears over the health of the first class monarch since 2013 when he was taken out of the country for medical attention for over a month.

Oba Sijuwade ascended the throne in December 1980.

Born on January 1, 1930, Sijuwade became the fiftieth ruler of the ancient kingdom of Ife, popularly referred to as the cradle and source of the Yoruba, in 1980.

Though he took the name Alayeluwa Olubuse II upon his installation, he dropped “Alayeluwa” from his name a few years back, saying that only God is fit to be called “Alayeluwa.”

Alayeluwa means omniscience.

A former commissioner and indigene of Ife, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “It is true. I was with him on Wednesday. Last Thursday when we held the political summit in Ife, he supported us and sent an emissary to the summit. He slumped on Thursday and was rushed to Ibadan airport from where he was flown to Lagos in an air ambulance en route to England for treatment. He became stable by Saturday. It is sad that he relapsed and passed on.”

The flamboyant traditional ruler was crowned king on December 6, 1980 in a colourful ceremony attended by prominent traditional rulers the Emir of Kano, Oba of Benin, Amayanabo of Opobo and the Olu of Warri as well as the representatives of the Queen of England.

It was gathered that the Ife traditional council and the Osun State traditional council would meet on Wednesday.

A competent source disclosed that emissaries from the two councils would visit the Governor of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, to officially break the news to the governor.

Sijuwade was born to the Ogboru ruling house. The handsome king was a grandson of the Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I. He studied at the Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College in Ile-Ife.

He worked for three years in his father’s business and later did a two-year stint with the Nigerian Tribune, before attending the Northampton College in the United Kingdom to study Business Management.

At the young age of 30, he became a manager in Leventis, a Greek-Nigerian conglomerate. In 1963, he became the Sales Director of the state-owned National Motors in Lagos. After spotting a business opportunity during a 1964 visit to the Soviet Union, he formed a company to distribute Soviet-built vehicles and equipment in Nigeria. This later became the nucleus of his widespread business empire. He also invested in real estate in his home town of Ile-Ife. By the time Sijuwade was crowned Ooni in 1980 he had become a wealthy man, whose fame and connection was global.

When Sijuwade became the Ooni, he inherited an ongoing dispute over supremacy between the obas of Yorubaland. In 1967 the crisis had been resolved when the late Yoruba sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was chosen as the leader of the Yoruba. In 1976, the Governor of Oyo State, General David Jemibewon, had decreed that the Ooni of Ife would be the permanent chairman of the State Council of Obas and Chiefs. Other Obas led by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, said the position should rotate. The dispute calmed down when Osun State was carved out of Oyo State in August 1991, but still persisted. In January 2009, Sijuwade was quoted as saying that Oba Adeyemi was ruling a dead empire (the Oyo Empire, which collapsed in 1793). Adeyemi responded by citing “absurdities” in Sijuwade’s statements and saying the Ooni “is not in tune with his own history”.

It will be recalled that Oba Adeyemi, the Permanent Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, was conspicuously absent from a meeting of Yoruba leaders in April 2010.

In February 2009, Sijuwade helped mediate in a dispute over land ownership between the communities of Ife and Modakeke, resolved in part through the elevation of the Ogunsua of Modakeke as an Oba.

In August 2010 he mediated in the ownership dispute between Oyo and Osun states concerning Ladoke Akintola University, calling a meeting attended by Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, governor of Osun State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, governor of Oyo State and the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education which resulted in an action plan.

UNMISTAKABLE SIGNS OF THE TIMES : Satanic Temple's plans for 'largest public satanic ceremony in history' backfire after Detroit protesters force them to unveil huge goat-headed Devil statue in private ... DailyMailUK

The Satanic Temple unveiled a controversial goat-headed bronze monument at a secret Detroit venue on Saturday.

The 8½-foot-tall Baphomet monument shows Satan with horns, hooves, wings and a beard. 

Backed by an inverted pentagram, it weighs more than a ton and is flanked by statues of two young children gazing up at the creature. 

The Satanic Temple, a group that advocated for the separation of church and state, was originally going to host the statue's revealing at a popular restaurant until the owner backed out after receiving threats. 

This photo shows the bronze monument featuring Satan with horns, hooves, wings and a beard flanked by two young children. The Satanic Temple unveiled the statue at a private event in Detroit on Saturday

Instead, the group held a secret, ticketed event at an undisclosed location in the city.

The group's co-founder Lucien Greaves told the Associated Press that people had threatened to burn the venue down prior to the unveiling. 

WJBK reported that hundreds of people showed up for the event, including protesters who are strongly against the group. 

The statue was to have been unveiled July 25 at Bert's Market Place in Detroit's Eastern Market district, but Bert Dearing said he gave the group back it's $3,000 rental fee when he learned who booked the place.

'Detroit is a very religious area,' Dearing said. 

'When I rented the place, I just thought it was a church. I didn't know about the unveiling of a statue. We weren't aware they were into devil worshiping.'
 

Hundreds of people waited in line to The Satanic Temple's unveiling of the goat-headed statue on Saturday in Detroit

The Satanic Temple Detroit chapter founder Jex Blackmore has said the group doesn't worship Satan but does promote individuality, compassion and views that differ from Christian and conservative beliefs.

The statue was designed and built at a cost of more than $100,000 and had been planned for the state Capitol in Oklahoma City until Oklahoma's Supreme Court banned religious displays, including a monument of the Ten Commandments on Capitol grounds.

Greaves said the statue will not remain in Detroit and that The Satanic Temple wants to erect it outside Arkansas' Statehouse in Little Rock where a Ten Commandments monument also is planned.

Detroit was selected for the unveiling because The Satanic Temple in the city has a 'strong congregation,' Greaves said. 

'We just have a good community over there.'

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The group's co-founder says that Detroit was selected as the host city for the unveiling because of the 'strong congregation' the city has

 Blackmore said Detroit has more than 200 registered members.

The group erected a display in December outside Michigan's state Capitol in Lansing. 

The 'Snaketivity Scene' featured a snake offering a book called 'Revolt of the Angels' as a gift. 

The snake was wrapped around the Satanic cross on the 3-feet-by-3-feet display. Like other religious displays, it was taken down each night.

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Many people protested against the controversial monument. One person even put a large statue of an angel (pictured above) in the back of a U-Haul truck to the event

Bishop Charles Ellis III, pastor of the 6,000-member Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, said he is not concerned about a statue depicting Satan being unveiled in the city because America 'was built on freedom of speech and freedom of religion.'

'If we ask others to be tolerant of our religion, we are going to be asked to be tolerant of their religion as well,' Ellis said.

'Tolerable does not mean you have to practice what they practice or that you are condoning what they are practicing. I'm not saying I'm being accepting. I'm just saying I have no control over that.'

 

AS WE MAKE STEADY AND SURE PROGRESS ON ALL FRONTS : Buharism: Nigeria’s revenue rises for second consecutive month ... PMNews

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari

Nigeria’s gross government revenues rose for the second consecutive month in June to 485.95 billion naira ($2.44 billion), up 33 per cent from May, the finance ministry said.
The total for distribution to the three tiers of government was 518.542 billion naira including a 6.33 billion refund by the state oil company, value added tax of 64.99 billion naira and an exchange rate gain of 6.69 billion naira.
The balance of the Excess Crude Account stood at $2.207 billion, up from $2.078 billion on June 23.
Some business analysts have attributed the revenue increase to President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption drive which is geared at blocking leakages particularly in the oil sector.
Buhari is optimistic that the most populous black nation can recover some of its stolen funds that have put in foreign accounts across the globe.
In a recent state visit to the United States, he got assurances from the US government led by President Barack Obama that Nigeria will recover monies stolen by politicians and public office holders.

WHEN DID RENTING A CROWD BECOME A PRECONDITION FOR INVESTIGATIONS : Saraki's Wife Storms EFCC Offices With CrowdB... SaharaRepporters

Toyin Saraki, the wife of Nigeria’s embattled Senate President, Bukola Saraki, this morning showed up at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accompanied by a horde of politicians and supporters.
Our correspondent said EFCC officials appeared overwhelmed by the huge entourage that accompanied Mrs. Saraki to their office.
Mrs. Saraki arrived some two hours late for her appointment at the commission, her ostentatious arrival causing a commotion on the premises of the anti-corruption agency.
An EFCC source told SaharaReporters that the unruly crowd brought along by the Senate President’s wife forced their way into the offices of the EFCC’s Director of Operations, accusing the anti-corruption agency of bias.
Apart from the members of Mrs. Saraki’s entourage who forced their way into the EFCC’s building, another group of her sympathizers stood outside the gates, creating a scene that seemed calculated to rattle EFCC agents.
A senior agent at the EFCC told our correspondent that the commission was not worried by Mrs. Saraki’s melodramatic ploy, adding that investigators at the agency had generated solid evidence of graft against her.
“We are going to focus on doing our work, instead of minding that she came here with a large crowd to cause tension,” the agent said.
Since receiving a summons from the EFCC last week to appear for questioning, Mrs. Saraki and her husband, Senator Saraki, have reportedly been behind a series of propaganda campaigns to portray the EFCC as an organization engaged in a witch hunt against them. A source within the agency told SaharaReporters that the commission was not deterred by the campaigns. “They want to claim that our invitation was engineered by Senator Bukola Saraki’s political opponents. We cannot engage in press propaganda. But once we do a thorough job, the public will see the facts of the case. And that is the best way to rubbish the propaganda,” he said.
SaharaReporters learned that Mr. Saraki is directly and indirectly implicated in a series of money laundering schemes involving his wife.
An EFCC sources said their team of investigators were ready to begin questioning Mrs. Saraki on her alleged involvement in a multibillion naira misappropriation of bank loans and laundering of funds stolen from Kwara State during the two terms her husband was governor there.
One EFCC source revealed that the agency began to investigate Mrs. Saraki based on a petition submitted to the commission by the Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, it became public knowledge that the chapter had complained about the senator’s wife, the national leadership of the PDP has been pressuring their Kwara State chapter to withdraw their petition. The PDP even claimed that the signatures on the petition were forged.
An EFCC source told SaharaReporters that nothing would stop their investigation at this point, since investigators at the commission had uncovered significant “information about Mrs. Saraki’s activities during her husband’s tenure as governor.”

ROUTING THE TERRORISTS : 38 people dead as Chadian forces, Boko Haram clash, Boko Haram flee with Chadians in hot pursuit ... VanguiardNews

The Chadian army has launched a “major operation” to flush out Boko Haram jihadists from islands in Lake Chad, sparking violent clashes on Monday between soldiers and the Islamic State-affiliated group. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will, meanwhile, travel to neighbouring Cameroon on Wednesday for talks on combating the regional threat posed by the extremist group, whose six-year insurgency has claimed 13,000 lives and caused about 1.5 million people to flee their homes.
On Monday, “violent clashes” raged near Baga Sola, one of the main towns in the shallow, marshy waters of Lake Chad, a Chadian security source told AFP. He added that Chadian forces had earlier “intercepted fleeing Boko Haram elements” around 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the southeast.
The four countries bordering the lake — Chad, Cameroon,Nigeria and Niger — set up a military coalition against Boko Haram early this year headquartered in the Chadian capital N’Djamena. Chadian forces have “around 1,000 men positioned to occupy all the islands and neutralise Boko Haram”, the security official said.
The jihadists, now affiliated with the Islamic State group, have been using the islands as a rear base after being routed from their traditional strongholds in Nigeria by the four-country offensive.  The network of hundreds of islets separated by channels hidden by tall grass provides cover for the militants to steal livestock and crops from local inhabitants.
According to the security official, the Lake Chad clashes erupted Saturday on Midi Koutou island, leaving six Boko Haram fighters dead and 15 wounded. A Chadian soldier was also said to have been killed. The source said Boko Haram “kidnapped many women and children” as they fled Saturday’s fighting.

Evacuating residents

A source close to local authorities said that, following a request from the central Chadian government about two weeks ago, an operation was launched “to evacuate the islands” on the Chadian side of the lake and that about 90 percent of residents had been moved to the mainland since. “The army forcibly entered almost all the (Chadian) islands,” the source said, adding the militants were dispersed across “mainly little islets and villages”.
Buhari, meanwhile, will travel to Cameroon on Wednesday for talks with his counterpart Paul Biya on the Boko Haram insurgency, Nigerian presidential spokesman Femi Adesina said. A new wave of violence has claimed 800 lives since the Nigerian president came to power in May vowing to crush the insurgency.
Recent days have seen a spate of Boko Haram raids and suicide bombings in the region, with seven people killed in Cameroon at the weekend, three of whom were beheaded. Boko Haram earlier this month claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings in N’Djamena that left 38 people dead, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.
Three days later, at least 15 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a crowded market in the Chadian capital. The European Union on Monday expressed solidarity with the anti-Boko Haram campaign. “Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria are sparing no effort in fighting terrorism in the region… The European Union supports the efforts for comprehensive bilateral and regional cooperation to tackle these challenges,” it said in a statement.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/38-people-dead-boko-haram-on-the-run-chadian-forces-in-pursuit/#sthash.w9CPcr8n.TIDNyilY.dpuf

THE NIGHTMARE OF THE WAILERS LOOMS : The kind of ministers I want — Buhari ... PremiumTimes

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja said he was working towards appointing only patriotic, decent and experienced Nigerians as ministers in his government.
The President, who was responding to questions on ‘Good Morning Nigeria’, a television programme, said politicians and technocrats would make the list of nominees for ministerial appointments.
“From what I have seen so far, we need really patriotic Nigerians – Nigerians that can work very hard, knowledgeable, experienced, committed Nigerians – to be in charge of ministries.
“A lot of the institutions of Nigeria – important institutions – were compromised. Everybody was for himself and God for all of us; its most unfortunate.
“We have the people, educated people, experienced people but everybody seemed to be working for himself – how much he could get as much and as quick as possible.
“We have to look for technocrats and we have to look for politicians and certainly we have to look for decent people in this class to give them the responsibility of being in charge of ministries and important parastatals (agencies).”
Mr. Buhari has yet to appoint ministers, two months after taking office. The president said last week that he would appoint ministers in September after instilling some degree of ethics and reforms in governance.
But speaking Monday, Mr. Buhari said his government will try as much as possible to “avoid appointing hostages”.
“By this, I mean people who have been in the system but compromised their personal and professional integrity. It is taking so much time because a number of knowledgeable people have been compromised,” the president said.
“They have been compromised by people who will like to depend on them to damage our economy and security,” he said.
President Buhari said the worst scenario is to get a “compromised person to be in charge of institutions. There is no way he could be efficient or patriotic. Somebody behind the scene will be teleguiding him at the expense of the nation.
“This is what we are trying to avoid and I assure you that so much damage has been done to Nigeria. We cannot rush to give this responsibility to people that have unfortunately been compromised,” he said.
The president said he will eventually appoint ministers, as there is no way he can effectively supervise about 20 ministries.
On the reported under-dealings in the nation’s oil and gas sector, the President said the Federal Government was working very assiduously to expose the persons behind the illegal activity.
He promised that his administration would continue to update members of the public on government’s investigation into the matter.
He said government’s aim was to identify and prosecute all those found culpable.
According to him, the relevant shipping documents are being compiled for onward submission to countries of destination of stolen Nigerian crude oil.
“The search continues; up to the third of this month, our crude was still being illegally lifted by people who are in government.
“We are trying to get these documents. We are getting the cooperation of the international community.
“We are going to make sure that those who perpetrated this theft against Nigeria are faced with facts very soon and are taken to our courts.
“We’ve got the cooperation of some of the countries of the destinations of our crude (oil) and we are discussing with them.
“We have to maintain high confidentiality so that we don’t risk some of the loyal Nigerians that are helping us to trace the destinations of this stolen crude and then the accounts into which the monies are being paid instead of the Federal Government account.“
Mr. Buhari said his administration was still studying the recommendations on how the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation should be reorganised.
He described his recent trip to the United States (US) as very successful as he was able to extract the commitment of the American government to assist and support Nigeria toward tackling the economic and security challenges it was facing.
He said the U.S. and other European countries had also pledged to assist Nigeria by putting in place necessary security mechanism in the Gulf of Guinea to help check the theft of the country’s crude oil.
Commenting on the leadership tussle in the National Assembly, the President reiterated his that he would not interfere directly in the affairs of the lawmakers.
Buhari, who expressed displeasure and frustration over the lingering crisis in the Assembly, however, called on those behind the dispute to search their conscious and obey party’s decisions on issues concerning their affairs.
He called on Nigerians to cooperate with his administration to move the country forward and warned that no part of the country would be allowed to operate on its own.
The President added that the Nigeria “must remain one”.
(NAN)

WHEN MEN DESERVE TO BE VILLIFIED, WHAT DO WE GET? : S’South, S’East Back Ekweremadu ... DailyTimes

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday received the backing of the people of the South South and South East of Nigeria in the face of the current upheavals in the National Assembly, even as he has been urged to remain focused in his new assignment and work for the country.
The support for the federal legislator was contained in a communique issued by the Eastern Region Assembly (TERA), a group representing citizens of the South-South and South-Eastern zones.
The group met in Lagos on Sunday to review the state of the Nigerian nation.
In a statement signed by TERA’s Protem Secretary, Mr. Tony I. Uranta, the group renewed its commitment to a united Nigeria with respect for cultural diversities and impartial application of the rule of law.
The statement reads in parts: "TERA is worried about the ongoing brouhaha in the National Assembly, and observed that as concerned Nigerians, we wonder if there really could be an issue of forgery or any offense whatsoever for any police to investigate regarding the Senate Elections of9th June 2015, and posit, without prejudice to any legal position taken by the FGN, that any purported investigation of Senate Procedures/Proceedings by any Body/Agency other than said Senate could, at best, be seen only as undue political interference in the internal process of the Senate.
"The election of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, a PDP Senator, in a Senate with APC majority, should not raise any legal or constitutional eyebrows, because it is not new, unique or unusual in the politics of Nigeria, for such to happen!
"The law is that Senators will elect among themselves, irrespective of political party, a Senate President and a Deputy Senate President. That applies, also, to Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representative, as well as Speakers and Deputy Speakers of State Assemblies. This has been the law and practice since 1999 when we adopted the Presidential system of Government .
"Following this law and practice, an APP member became Speaker of Cross River House of Assembly in 1999, with a PDP majority of the membership of the House. The PDP produced the Deputy Speaker.
The group recalled that similar scenario played out in the second republic. It continued, "Before that, in 1979, Chief Edwin Umezoke of NPP was elected Speaker of the House of Reps in an NPN dominated House of Reps. NPN produced the Deputy speaker . Also in the Senate of that era Dr. Wayas of NPN was Senate President, and NPP a minority party produced the Deputy Senate President.
"In this present dispensation, on the 8th day of June 2015, a day before the inauguration of the present Senate, APC produced the Speakers in Benue and Plateau State Assemblies where the PDP have majority in both Assemblies. PDP produced the d Deputies respectively in the two states.
"No self-respecting pundit of Nigerian politics can claim to have forgotten that in 2014 then-Speaker Tambawal of PDP moved over to APC whilst the PDP was still in the majority within the House. He retained his position because it is constitutional and usual. One remembers many praising the development as "democracy in action".
"Has ‘Democracy in Action’ developed new definitions because some powerful interest groups are not comfortable with the person or zonal background of Senator Ekweremadu?! Or, is the publicly-averred intent to negatively perceive/treat certain zones, because of voting patterns, to be taken seriously by Nigerians and other citizens of the Free World?
"We pray that wisdom prevails, and that every Nigerian enjoys all Equity Rights and Democratic Freedoms, irrespective of ethnic background, political affiliation and religious beliefs, so that this nation can achieve its optimal greatness in peace and unity."

WHEN WILL WE GET THERE? : As Nigeria Struggles with 4,000mw, Kenya Moves to Build 1gw of Electricity ... DailyTimes

While Nigeria continues to celebrate power generation of about 5,000 megawatts, another African country, Kenya, has begun moves to build one gigawatts.
While a megawatt is one million watts, a gigawatt is one billion watts.
On Sunday, the Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum signed a landmark contract with SkyPower, the world’s largest developer and owner of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) energy projects for one gigawatts of world-class solar projects to be built in four phases in Kenya over the next five years.
The monumental US $2.2 billion agreement was signed in Nairobi, Kenya at the sixth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). Initiated by the U.S. government in 2010, the conference gathers entrepreneurs at all stages of business development, business leaders, mentors and high-level government officials to help increase support for innovators and job creators around the world.
GES 2015 hosted an unprecedented convention of high-level leaders from around the globe, including U.S. President Barack Obama and H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya. SkyPower proudly sponsored the summit as an official Solar Energy Partner.
“Kenya has become an African hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, and SkyPower is proud to contribute to this unprecedented milestone in Kenya’s ambitious renewable energy plan,” said SkyPower President and Chief Executive Officer Kerry Adler. “SkyPower’s solar projects will help Kenya realize its electrification goals, support the development of the country’s renewable energy industry and help the development of strong communities, generating a brighter future for all.”
“We are very pleased to work with a world-leader in solar energy like SkyPower,” said Henry Rotich, Cabinet Secretary of the Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. “Sustainable electrification is a central policy issue in Kenya, and we are committed to making this a reality for our citizens, while accelerating economic growth in the process.”
“SkyPower’s US $2.2 billion investment will create more than 25,000 total job years in Kenya and includes 200 MW of fabrication and assembly facilities, as well as a commitment of US $173 million toward education, training, and research and development,” said SkyPower Executive Vice President Charles Cohen.
SkyPower has a long history of working closely with local communities to produce hundreds of millions of kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean electricity every year, while ensuring that those closest to the developments reap the rewards of new jobs, education, skills training and accessible energy.

THE DIE IS CAST AND HEADS MUST ROLL : FORGERY Scandal: Senators Ask Saraki, Ekweremadu To Step Aside ... NewsPunch

The Presidency on Sunday said President Muhammadu Buhari would not stop the prosecution of anybody indicted in the report of the Nigeria Police on the forgery of the Senate Standing Order.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this on Sunday in an exclusive interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja.

Shehu said Buhari believed in the rule of law and would not do anything that would derail any judicial process, stressing that those who were constitutionally saddled with the process did not need the President’s clearance to do their job.

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He said, “They do not need the President’s clearance to prosecute anybody found guilty of any investigation. President Muhammadu Buhari, as all Nigerians know, believes very strongly in the rule of law.

“The President will therefore not do anything that will stop the judicial process. He won’t stop it (the trial of suspects in the Senate forgery case).”

There were reports on Sunday that the police investigation had confirmed that the Senate standing order was forged and that the police had recommended that some staff of the National Assembly should be prosecuted.

The police had invited the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and some other National Assembly officials over a petition alleging that the Senate standing rules were tampered with in the conduct of the election of Senate President Bukola Saraki, Ekweremadu and other principal officers on June 9.

Though the Director (Information), Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Charles Nwodo, could not confirm to The PUNCH if the report had been submitted to the ministry for prosecution to begin, some lawyers on Sunday said the alleged offence was criminal and that culprits would be made to face the wrath of the law.

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, said considering the enormity of the alleged crime, government should go ahead to take the appropriate action on the report regardless of any political interpretation given to it.

Ogunye said, “The release of the report vindicates the widely held view that what took place in the National Assembly towards June 9 and in particular the election in the Senate on that day following the proclamation of the National Assembly was a sham.

“This report tells us that a lot of ugliness is going on in our public life. Because we are not talking about Students’ Union parliament or a private document, we are talking about the National Assembly of Nigeria.

“So if the bureaucracy of the National Assembly can be enmeshed in lawmaking forgery, the implication of that is that Nigeria is a nation of forgers. That would then mean that these people can also forge laws.

“With the report, the law should take its course whether you are a clerk of the National Assembly or a senator of the National Assembly.”

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Norrison Quakers, said, “First of all, it is a criminal offence. And the law has to take its course. The penalty is a fine and a term of imprisonment; either or both. Any lawmaker who is involved in the forgery allegation, that has now been substantiated that indeed the document was forged, will have to answer criminal allegations and face prosecution.

“What the law prescribes as penalty for the offence of forgery is a minimum of four years imprisonment; it is about four or more.”

Another Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, said, “First of all, I want to believe that no lawmaker would be involved in such a shameful act; but if it is proven that any lawmaker is involved, it is a criminal offence.

“Depending on the legislation under which they are arraigned, there is an element of forgery scattered in all our legislations. We have forgery under the EFCC Act; we have forgery under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act; we have forgery under the Criminal Code. It (the punishment) depends on the enabling legislation under which they are charged.”

Meanwhile, some anti – Saraki senators, who spoke with The PUNCH on Sunday, asked the senate president and his deputy to step aside since the police investigation had established that the senate rules used for their election had been forged.

Senator Kabir Marafa, spokesperson for the Senate Unity Forum, a group of Senators loyal to Senator Ahmad Lawal, the APC’s choice for the senate presidency outwitted by Saraki, expressed satisfaction at the report.

“I have not seen a copy of the report and I don’t know the details but if a case of forgery has been established as being claimed in the media, I think the ideal thing is for the presiding officers who benefitted from the illegal amendments to resign their positions,” Marafa said.

Marafa, an APC Senator from Zamfara Central, asked both the police and the justice ministry to do the right thing by taking necessary steps to ensure justice.

“On our part, we are resuming on Tuesday and our demand on the floor of the Senate is that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, must ensure that the chamber is run according to its rules,” he said.

But the Senate President challenged the Senators calling for his resignation to articulate their position on the floor of the Senate instead of resorting to media propaganda.

In a statement by his spokesperson, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said, “I am not going to respond to speculations based on a report which the police has not confirmed or which no one had seen a copy; so I don’t think it will be proper for me to react to what does not exist.

“As for those calling on the presiding officers to resign, why are they making their call on the pages of newspapers? They should go to the floor of the Senate to articulate their views. There is no point drawing unnecessary public attention to issues that can be treated in-house”

A Peoples Democratic Party senator from Ekiti South, Abiodun Olujimi, said the issue would be discussed on the floor on Tuesday with a view to condemning a situation whereby “some people would be externalising the affairs of the chamber”

“We will definitely study the report and debate it dispassionately to look at the issues involved but we are going to condemn the idea whereby some people, by their action, would be threatening the legislative immunity by involving outsiders in the internal affairs of the chamber, “ she said.

Attempts to speak with the Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa, over the development were unsuccessful on Sunday as calls to his mobile phone did not connect while text messages also sent did not deliver.

Sources in Abuja on Sunday indicated that Senators were billed for a showdown when they resume on Tuesday (tomorrow)as rival factions were poised to take on each other over the police report alleging forgery in the Senate standing order.

The PUNCH reliably learnt that the pro-Lawan group were considering two options, including a call on Saraki and his deputy, Ekweremadu, to resign.

It was also learnt that the group was planning to obtain the report and submit it to a Federal High Court that is already hearing a suit on the matter in Abuja.

Senators Barnabas Gemade; Abu Ibrahim, Lawan, Geore Akume, Kabir Marafa, Sulaiman Hunkuyi and Gbenga Ashafa had asked the court to declare the inauguration of the 8th Senate as strange and irregular.

They are also asking the court to declare the Senate Standing Orders 2015 used for Saraki and Ekweremadu’s elections as inoperative, null and lack of legislative process.