FG needs $700m to upgrade refineries – Kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, said on Saturday that the Federal Government needed 700 million dollars to upgrade its refineries to produce at maximum capacities.

Kachikwu, who is also the Group Managing Director of NNPC, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen during the re-inauguration of the Port Harcourt/Bonny Crude Supply Line at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), Eleme, Rivers.

He said that due to the fact that the nation did not have such amount, advertisements had been signed for investors to come in.

According to him, we are not inviting foreign partners to take over the refineries; the total investment for that is up to $700 million and we don’t have that. Let us be honest about it.

”So, the best thing to do is to find a very creative way to bring in investors, who will come in, work with our team here;

‘’Investors, who have the skills to reactivate and upgrade facilities in this place and help us provide technical support and we will pay through the flow-out of the refined products over time,” he said.

Kachikwu emphasised that there should be no confusion about what the investors would be coming to do, since they would not come to run the refinery.

”They are coming to provide funds to take our performance on these refineries to 90 percent and to provide us with technical skills.

”So, the areas of intervention will be funding and technical support,” he said.

Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Emmanuel Kachikwu

Kachikwu said that at present, Nigerians were consuming about 45 million litres of PMS daily, while the refineries were producing 12 million litres daily as they were working at 60 per cent capacity.

He said that the nation will need to upgrade these refineries and let them develop to the point where they can perform up to 90 per cent.

He said that by the time the refineries were upgraded and they start producing at 90 per cent, about 20 million litres would be produced daily.

The minister said that with such production, it would only meet up with about half of the country’s consumption.

Kachikwu, however, apologised to Nigerians for their suffering due to the fuel scarcity and also thanked Nigerians for their patience.

He explained that the government had been able to recover the two critical crude supply pipelines; which were Escravos/Warri and Bonny/Port Harcourt crude supply pipelines.

Kachikwu said that the pipelines were down for six to seven years but had been repaired and were working and supplying crude to the refineries.

”For the first time, the refineries will get their crude, pay for it, they will sell their products and they will earn the income from that product.

”And then, they can develop and continue to maintain the refineries even after this intervention is over.

”Port Harcourt is back in production, Warri is back in production; Kaduna today is receiving and will soon be back in production. It is something of joy,” he said.

Kachikwu said, ”Lagos is easing off now from fuel scarcity and Abuja is doing the same thing; once Kaduna begins to produce, the North will see a lot of improvement.

”Over and above that, we are putting long term policies in place to ensure that while smaller marketers go out and do their stuff, we can then be the key suppliers for the rest of the country.”

He commended the workers and the contractors for a job well done; adding that he has signed the promotion letters of the PHRC staff as they deserved to be rewarded.

Kachikwu, however, said there is a lot still to be done, ”I told you I will never give up.

‘We owe Nigerians the duty to ensure that the refineries are working. We owe Nigerians that, we can’t give up,” he said.

The minister urged Nigerians to remain resilience, “support what the government is doing because this is the only way to change the system.”

FG needs $700m to upgrade refineries – Kachikwu

Disregard military report on Ekiti election, Fayose tells FG

Governor Ayodele Fayose has said the Federal Government should not use the report of a military panel set up to investigate the June 21, 2014 Ekiti governorship election.

Fayose vows to lead opposition against APC

Fayose, who spoke through the Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Owoweni Ajayi, on Wednesday, said the verdict of the Supreme Court on the governorship election was superior to that of any tribunal.

Specifically, Fayose said that the report could not be used to prosecute the members of the Ekiti Peoples Democratic Party alleged to have been culpable in the rigging of the election.

In an open letter written by the commissioner to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Alhaji Abubakar Malami, Fayose said that plans were afoot by the Federal Government to prosecute Ekiti PDP members over the alleged rigging.

The state government said that the Supreme Court had put the contentious issues arising from the petition by the All Progressives Congress over the election to rest by delivering a judgment in favour of the governor and the PDP.

The letter said, “Although the AGF is vested with prosecutorial powers under Section 174 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the powers are neither absolute nor unlimited and they must be exercised with due caution and regard for the rule of law.”

It said the propriety or otherwise of the election had been decided from the tribunal level up to the Supreme Court and that any other panel, whether military or otherwise, could not sit over judgment on any matter already decided by the apex court.

According to the governor, the sanctity of the judicial process and respect for the principles of federalism must be adhered to always.

He added, “Unless an alleged criminal act constitutes an offence under a federal enactment, the Attorney General of the Federation will definitely be acting ultra vires by any purported move to prosecute an alleged offender before any state or federal court in Nigeria without a fiat by the Attorney General of the respective state, vested with constitutional jurisdiction to prosecute criminal matters under the state law.

“Although the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) is a federal enactment, which creates several offences triable only in the magistrate or high court of a state in which the offence is committed, prosecution of such offences can only be undertaken by the Independent National Electoral Commission, upon a recommendation made to it by an Election Petition Tribunal for the prosecution of any person or individual disclosed in an election petition or upon findings, after a thorough investigation by the police.”

Disregard military report on Ekiti election, Fayose tells FG

Petrol subsidy returns, FG to pay N5.8bn in April

With the open market price of premium motor spirit (PMS) rising to N92.34, the federal government has returned to petroleum subsidy, as it insists on retaining the current price.

Fuel Subsidy

According to the petroleum product pricing regulation agency (PPPRA), the government will begin to pay N5.84 on every litre of petrol sold from April 1, 2016.

The template also revealed that on every metric tonne of PMS, the federal government will pay a subsidy of at least N7,824.84.

With a consumption level of at least 33 million litres per day, the federal government would pay N5.782 billion on subsidies in April alone – if the template remains unchanged.

Though the federal government never really removed subsidy, it didn’t have to pay it based on the global prices of crude oil in the first quarter of the year.

Farouk Ahmed, immediate past executive secretary of PPPRA, said in February that the FG was saving N13.81 on every litre of PMS sold.

He however added that the money made by the federal government in over-recovery would be saved for a rainy day – to pay petrol subsidy, when the prices spike again.

Assuring that the pump price of petroleum products would not be increased, PPPRA said the pump price of Kerosene, which was not affected by the new template, would also remain unchanged.

In a subsequent statement by Lanre Oladele, head, corporate services at PPPRA, the agency said: “The NNPC has 41.73 per cent of the total allocation, while the rest of the oil Marketing Companies got a total allocation of 58.27 per cent.”

The statement quoted Sotonye Iyoyo, acting executive secretary of PPPRA, that the agency would retain the retail prices of N86.00 for the NNPC and N86.50 for the other marketing companies.

It added that the pump price of Household Kerosene (HHK) would also remain unchanged from what it was in the last quarter.

“Therefore, marketers are advised to ensure that there is no price distortion in their respective retail outlets,” she said.

PPPRA said it would continue to monitor the global oil market performances and make reasonable changes consistent with the newly-adopted price modulation principles.

It urged depot owners to strictly adhere to the prevailing truck-out policy made by the agency, to ensure that petroleum products get to their designated retail outlets nationwide.

The agency warned against hoarding products, saying there are no plans to raise the prices.

“PPPRA is resolutely committed to the sustenance of its reform initiatives, in order to further guarantee adequate supply of products nationwide.

“We therefore assure Nigerians of our total commitment to service delivery, in the quest to deliver on our mandate to the people of Nigeria.”

Petrol subsidy returns, FG to pay N5.8bn in April

FG to Disclose Amount Recovered from Looters Soon

The Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, on Tuesday asked Nigerians to exercise more patience in their quest to know the amount of money the federal government had so far recovered from treasury looters.

He stated that the litigation hurdles associated with the looted funds would have to be scaled before Nigerians are availed of the figures.

Idris, who was responding to questions at the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting in Abuja, said: “Yes, the federal government is making recoveries and relevant agencies are also making recoveries.

“When I say relevant agencies, we all know them. People who are alleged to have defrauded the nation or taken Nigerian money, they are under litigation…,” he said.

According to him, until the litigations and  court processes are over, it would be difficult to give out the figures of what is recovered.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians in order to be given the real figures of recovered funds.

Idris said Nigerians were right to ask for what is recovered while the government is desirous of giving out the required information, but must allow the legal process to to run its course.

Giving the details of  the February allocation, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmud Isa-Dutse, said the gross statutory revenue of N270.499 billion received for the month was lower than the N290.961 billion received in the previous month by N20.462 billion.

He said the distributable statutory revenue was N270.499 billion, adding that the sum of N6.330 billion was refunded b the NNPC to the federal government.

“Also, there is an exchange gain of N3.485 billion which is proposed. The total distributable for the current month, including CAT is N345.085 billion,” he said.

The federal government got N127.2 billion, stares N64.518 billion and local governments N49.7 billion while 13 per cent Derivation is N22.78 billion.

AT is N64.781 billion while the Excess Crude Account (ECA) stands at $2.259 billion.

FG to Disclose Amount Recovered from Looters Soon

Customs re-imposes ban on rice importation

ABUJA— The Nigeria Customs Service has re-introduced the restriction order on importation of rice through land borders across the country.

Jonathan at the Rice mill

Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), gave the approval for the reversal of an earlier policy in October 2015 which allowed rice imports through the land borders, once appropriate duty and charges were paid.

At a review session held with Comptrollers of Border Commands and Federal Operation Units in Abuja, yesterday, the service noted that dwindling revenue from rice imports through the land borders did not match the volume of rice landed in ports of neighbouring countries.

The Customs in a statement by Wale Adeniyi, Public Relations Officer, said: “Rather, reports from border commands indicated an upsurge in the tempo of rice smuggling. Implementation of the restriction order got off to a smooth start, with a high level of compliance in October 2015.

“However, revenue started dwindling from January 2016, with importers blaming access to forex as major impediments.

“During the five-month period when the importation was allowed, October 2015 to March 17, 2016, a total of 24.992 metric tons of rice valued at N2,335,131,093  were imported through the land borders.”

“During the period, total revenue generated amounted to N1,685,112,810, which is considerably lower than the revenue projected to be generated with the removal of import restrictions.

“However, an upsurge in the number of the seizures has been reported across the land borders since January 2016. ‘’In the first two months of the 2016, a total of 9,238 bags were seized, with Duty Paid Value of   N64,666,000 made by the Customs anti-smuggling patrol teams of   Federal operations and border commands.

The Comptroller-General of Customs noted that his officers and men could not be totally exonerated from the abuse associated with the implementation of the order on rice, saying his office had been inundated with reports of collusion between them and rice importers.

Customs re-imposes ban on rice importation

EFCC traces N3bn transfers to Fani-Kayode, Falae, others March 15, 2016

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has traced N3.145bn transferred to the private accounts of some members of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation.

Olu Falae

According to detectives at the EFCC, the money emanated from the account of the Central Bank of Nigeria and was transferred to the account of a company, Joint Dimensions Limited, and then sent to various accounts.

Authorities of the anti-graft commission said out of the money, the Director of Publicity of the organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, received N840m.

According to the documents sighted by our correspondent, the money was deposited into Fani-Kayode’s Zenith bank account, Maitama Branch with number 1004735721 on February 19, 2015.

The detectives said a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae, received N100m through a company, Marreco Limited, where he is chairman. The fund was credited into the company’s United Bank for Africa Plc account number 1000627022 on March 25, 2014.

According to the documents, N320m was also paid into the bank account of the Goodluck Support Group, an association which played a major role in Jonathan’s campaign.

A former Governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa, and a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri, according to the documents, got N350m in two tranches. The first tranche of N150m was paid into their joint account with Zenith bank on January 13, 2015. The second tranche of N200m was credited into their account with Diamond bank.

A source at the anti-graft agency who pleaded not to be named because he is not authorised to speak said, “The money was paid by the Central Bank of Nigeria into the account of the Ministry of External Affairs Library, from where it was moved into the account of Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited.

“It was from the Joint Dimension’s account with Zenith bank that the money was shared to various individuals and organisations for purposes that are not stated.

“Fani-Kayode was the chief beneficiary of the disbursement as he allegedly received a whooping N840m, paid in three tranches into his Zenith bank, Maitama branch account with number 1004735721.

“The first tranche of payment involving N350m hit the account on February 19, 2015. Another N250m was also paid into the account on February19, 2015 while N240m was similarly credited to the account a month later; precisely, March 19, 2015.

“The balance in this account as of December 31, 2015 was N189, 402.72.”

The detectives added that the Director of Finance of the campaign organisation, Nenadi Usman, also got N36.9m through her Zenith bank account with number 1000158311 on 7, Kachia Road, Kaduna.

Presidential Campaign Coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan in Anambra State, Chief Okey Ezenwa, who is also the brother-in-law to a former Rivers State Governor, Chief Peter Odili, also got N100m, according to the source.

He added, “But as things stand, the fact that most of the payments were made in the weeks preceding the last presidential elections leaves very little to the imagination. Yet, one knotty question that confronts the investigators is the unknown figure behind Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited and the account where the money was warehoused before being wired to sundry beneficiaries. The shadowy figure could help unravel the mystery shrouding the payments, once the veil is lifted.”

However, Fani-Kayode told our correspondent on the telephone that he never received money from the CBN.

Rather, he said the monies that were spent were received from Usman who was the director of finance of the campaign organisation.

The former Minister of Aviation said he never spent government funds but was told by Usman that the monies were sourced from private donations.

He said, “I served as the director of publicity and I was told to set up an account for the directorate, which I did. I never received money from the CBN but like all the other directors, we received money from the director of finance.

“I was assured that the monies were not public funds but were sourced from private individuals. I never knowingly spent government money all through. The monies were spent specifically on the campaigns. The accounts were audited and we were commended by the President.”

All attempts to get Usman proved abortive as her phone indicated that it was switched off.

Similarly, the phone number of Falae indicated that it was switched off when our correspondent attempted to reach him for comment.

However, the former SGF had said he received money to campaign for Jonathan through a former Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih

When contacted on the telephone, Udenwa told our correspondent that he never received any money as he did not even operate a Zenith bank account.

“I don’t operate a Zenith bank account, so, I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said.

EFCC traces N3bn transfers to Fani-Kayode, Falae, others March 15, 2016

Air Force Chief’s wife, Amosu, returns stolen N381m to FG

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered N381m from Mrs. Omolara Amosu, the wife of the immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu.

The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Adesola Amosu

Sources within the EFCC said on Saturday that the money was recovered in three tranches: N180m, N101m and N100m.

The detective told our correspondent that the money was traced from the account of the Nigeria Air Force to the bank accounts of a company in which Amosu’s wife is a director.

He added that Amosu’s wife is a signatory to the accounts.

He said, “We recovered N381m from Amosu’s wife, Omolara. Initially, we recovered N180m from her account before another N101m and then N100m. These were monies transferred from Air Force accounts.”

Explaining how the money was diverted, the detective added, “They (Air Force officers) sent the money to an account where their wives have interests or are signatories without doing anything.”

A second source within the EFCC told our correspondent that more properties belonging to the immediate past Chief of Accounts and Budgeting of NAF, Air Vice Marshal J.B. Adigun, had been seized.

The detective said a property, which is a quarry located in Ogun State, had equipment worth about $600,000.

He, however, did not state the value of the property.

Two weeks ago, houses worth over N2bn in Ikoyi and Victoria Island allegedly belonging to Adigun were seized.

The source said, “Adigun is still here with us. We recovered a quarry which he owns. In the quarry there were pieces of equipment worth about $600,000. They have all been impounded and investigations are ongoing.”

Amosu, Adigun and over nine air force officers are currently under investigation by the anti-graft agency for the procurement of equipment which was said not to be transparent.

Since his detention, Amosu had been quizzed over the procurement of two second-hand Mi-24V Helicopters instead of the recommended Mi-35M series at a cost of $136.9m.

The helicopters were alleged not to be operationally airworthy at the time of delivery while a brand new unit of such helicopters costs about $30m.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that Amosu and some other officers would be charged to court as soon as the holding charge which the EFCC obtained in court to hold the officers for 30 days from January 28 lapses.

A detective said, “Amosu will be charged to court anytime from now. Recall that we obtained a holding charge from a court to hold him for a maximum of 30 days. We are rounding off our investigations and anytime from now, he will be charged to court.”

The PUNCH had exclusively reported on February 11 that the EFCC had seized houses and other properties belonging to the immediate past Chief of Air Staff and other senior military officers worth N5bn.

According to the report, the properties, which were seized in the Ikoyi, Ikeja GRA and Badagry areas of Lagos State, allegedly belonged to Amosu; the immediate past Chief of Accounts and Budgeting of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal J.B. Adigun; and Air Commodore O. O. Gbadebo, who was the Director of Finance and Budget at NAF.

A source, who spoke to The PUNCH had said, “We have sealed a block of 12 luxury flats, located on Agodogba Street, Park View Estate, Ikoyi, belonging to Adigun. It is worth over N1.7bn. The same Adigun also owns another block of luxury flats on Sinari Daranijo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. It is worth N1.8bn.

“A parcel of land, located on Bourdillon Drive, Ikoyi, worth N908m, belonging to Adigun has also been seized by the EFCC operatives.”

The source added that six other properties had been traced to Adigun, including a set of four terrace houses on Agede Street, off Aminu Kano in the Wuse 2 area of Abuja.

He stated that the properties traced to Amosu were located in the Ikeja area of Lagos metropolis.

The operative said apart from the buildings, Amosu’s vehicles had also been confiscated by the anti-graft agency.

He added, “Amosu confessed to owning an ultra-modern hospital on Adeniyi Jones Avenue in Ikeja. The hospital, St Solomon Health Care Limited, which is worth about N85m, has been sealed off.

“A house located on Adeyemo Alakija Street, GRA Ikeja, near the Ghanaian High Commission, which belongs to Amosu has also been sealed. It is worth over N200m.”

Air Force Chief’s wife, Amosu, returns stolen N381m to FG

FG summons bank MD, PenCom boss over ghost workers

Dayo Oketola

The Federal Government, through the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, summoned the managing director of a first generation bank to Abuja on Friday in connection with the alleged salary fraud in the civil service.

The Director-General, National Pension Commission, Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, was also on Thursday seen at the ministry of finance in what sources said was a summon by the minister.

A source, who disclosed this to Saturday PUNCH, said it was part of the ongoing investigation of the 23,000 potential ghost workers in the federal civil service.

The source said the bank headed by the affected MD was fingered as one of the channels used for the salary fraud which is currently being investigated.

Although details of the discussion with the officials of the finance ministry were not made public, sources told our correspondent that the bank MD pledged to cooperate with the probe panel on the salary scam.

The sources added that Adeosun had vowed to enlist the support of PenCom to investigate the activities of some Pension Fund Administrators alleged to have played some roles in the organised salary scam. It was in view of this, Saturday PUNCH learnt, that the PenCom boss was summoned.

It was learnt that Anohu-Amazu was invited for a meeting with the probe panel where she was shown proofs that some PFAs might have colluded with some civil servants to perpetrate the scam.

According to the source, some of the PFAs were alleged to have generated fake PFA numbers for the “ghost workers.”

As such, the finance minister was said to have promised to launch a high-powered probe into the activities of PFAs and bring to book those found wanting.

Saturday PUNCH also learnt that representatives of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria equally met with the finance minister and top officials of the ministry on Thursday for an update on the ongoing probe of the salary scam.

The ASCSN members were said to have expressed shock and disbelief at the sheer weight of evidence against certain categories of civil servants, financial institutions and PFAs alleged to have ripped off the Federal Government through the coordinated salary scam.

According to the source, the representatives of the labour union who had stormed the meeting suspecting a witch- hunt or deliberate plans by the Federal Government to reduce the staff strength, were taken aback when they were confronted with evidence that showed that certain categories of people had been drawing salary whereas their names were not on the nominal staff register of the federal civil service.

The source said in order to allay the fears of the workers’ union that the exercise was not intended to lay off workers arbitrarily; the finance minister showed the union officials some documents generated by the probe panel so far.

These, according to the source, included letters written to some ministries and parastatals for information on personnel cost.

When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Media Matters, Mr. Festus Akanbi, said investigation into the potential 23,000 ghost workers in the federal civil service is ongoing and that various investigative agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had been briefed on the matter.

He declined to speak on the summoning of the bank MD and the PENCOM boss, but promised to open up at the end of the investigation.

The minister had blown the lid on the monumental salary scam in the civil service when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance to defend her ministry’s budget last week.

She had revealed that the Bank Verification Number and Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System had helped the Federal Government to discover 23,000 ghost workers in the civil service.

FG summons bank MD, PenCom boss over ghost workers

Fayose to FG: Keep your TSA, we are not interested

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has told the Federal Government to perish the thought of imposing the Treasury Single Account (TSA) on States, pointing out categorically that the Federal Government was not in the position to counsel or force any State to accept policies that are not working for those that introduced them.

Fayose vows to lead opposition against APC

Governor Fayose said in a press statement issued on Friday, by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka that “the Federal Government should rather face the dwindling economy of the country instead of going about grandstanding on a TSA policy that was already tainted with fraud. Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, had called on States to accept the TSA. Reacting, Governor Fayose likened the Federal Government to a blind man trying to lead people who can see clearly, saying,

“The same minister whose office could not prepare a simple budget should not assault the sensibilities of Nigerians by telling States to accept a TSA policy that is characterised with fraud.”

He said up till now, the Federal Government was yet to explain the alleged N25 billion naira scam allegedly perpetrated in the name of the TSA, adding that “the TSA policy was aimed at enriching some individuals for doing virtually nothing and that can be seen in the discovery of N25 billion that was said to have accrued to just a single company in one month!”

The governor, who maintained that President Muhammadu Buhari lacked the required mental capacity to rescue the country from the present economic problems, added that it was an insult for a federal government that appeared to be clueless to be preaching its unworkable policies to other tiers of government.

“The rate at which Dollar is rising, we will soon begin to talk about one Us Dollar being equivalent to N500. As at today, it is already more than N400 to $1.

“Workers are being sacked on a daily basis, while prices of goods are rising astronomically and Foreign Reserve is declining on daily basis. Yet, all that this All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Buhari’s Federal Government can be preaching is for States to accept TSA as if that will stem the tide of the rising hunger and sufferings that is ravaging Nigeria.

“Methinks these people should just face the reality of their failing government and seek for help from those who know better than them instead of carrying with this attitude of ‘we know it all’ so that the economy of this country will not collapse totally.”

Fayose to FG: Keep your TSA, we are not interested

Biafra: Court rules on FG’s witness protection application 2pm

Justice James Tsoho of a Federal High Court in Abuja will at 2pm today deliver his ruling on the application by the Federal Government seeking protection of its prosecution witnesses lined up to testify against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

Kanu, and his two co-accused – David Nwawusi and Benjamin Madubugwu – are being prosecuted on six counts of treasonable felony, unlawful possession of firearms and other offences bordering on their agitation for secession ‎of the Republic of Biafra from Nigeria.

The prosecution, by its application, seeks an approval of the court for its witnesses to wear mask while testifying and an order barring members of the public apart from parties, lawyers and accredited journalists from attending the trial.

Justice Tsoho entertained arguments for and against the application on Friday and indicated to return to deliver his ruling by 2pm.

At the hearing of the application, prosecuting counsel, Mr. David Kaswe, told the court that government’s witness had expressed fear about their security and that they were unwilling to testify if they were not guaranteed any form of protection.

Kaswe said, “Our application before this honourable court is to allow our witnesses most of whom are civilians residing in the geographical entity of the defendants.

“Our submission is that our witnesses that we intend to call have already expressed fear of insecurity.

“They categorically informed us that unless, they can be guaranteed some form of protection by this honourable court they are unwilling to come and testify.

“We submit with greatest respect that the case of the prosecution will be greatly frustrated in the event that the witnesses are not protected and they cannot come to court.

“The court is to do justice and there will be no justice of prosecution witnesses cannot come to court.

“We are very unambiguous in our application that accredited members of the press should be allowed to come in. They can be allowed to cover the proceedings. That simple application before the honourable court.”

While acknowledging that the there was the need for the judge to watch the demeanour of the witnesses while testifying, Kaswe said that could still be achieved without the judge seeing the face of the witnesses.

But in opposing the application, defence counsel, Mr. Chuks Muoma (SAN), said that granting the application was tantamount to allowing “masquerades” to testify in court.

He said, “But Section 36(4) of the Constitution referred to in paragraph 2.07 of our written makes no provision for masquerades to testify as witnesses in a trial.

“An accused person under our jurisprudence and justice administration, must be confronted with his accusers eyeballs to eyeballs.

“It is consistent with common sense and jurisprudence that you cannot to accuse someone in the street and try him in the bedroom.

“I must confess that in my 45 years of legal practice, I have not witnessed this.

“You malign a man in the public and you seek to try him in the bedroom and have masquerades to testify against him.”

Muoma also argued the prosecution could only have brought such application if the accused persons were charged with terrorism offences.

But the Federal Government’s counsel in his response on points of law, said the submission by the defence was erroneous, arguing that section 232(4) paragraph (e) of the ACJ Act gave the court the discretion to grant protection to prosecution witnesses‎.

Ruling on the application has been fixed for 2pm.

Biafra: Court rules on FG’s witness protection application 2pm

No going back on sacked VCs – FG

The Federal Government will not reverse the decision to sack 13 Vice Chancellors appointed by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the government said Thursday.

The government had last week announced the sacking of 12 VCs of federal universities as well as that of the National Open Universities of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Tenebe.

The decision, which has drawn protests from different groups and civil societies, has generated controversies within the academic circle.

But Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, at the flag off of the 2015/2016 annual school census in Abuja, reaffirmed the sacking of the VCs by the federal government.

Asked why the VC of NOUN Prof. Tenebe, whose tenure had not expired, was removed, the minister explained that he was removed because of the petitions against him.’

He said: “Do you reverse government decision simply because somebody has criticized them? I don’t think there is any decision of government not going down well with everyone in the country.

“The ministry has received communications from some people who feel like this and we are looking at this.

“What I am saying is that they have already written to us. We are looking into their complaints. We will reply them.

Adamu said that all states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would be included in the school census.

He said that the exercise would aid educational planning, administration and inform decision making by government.

According to the minister, the current trend in the conduct of the annual school census was informed by the provision of the Nigeria Education Information System (NEMIS) policy of 2007 which provided for the collection of data from schools.

He said: “The Education Management Information System (EMIS) process has since been decentralized to the states to enhance efficiency in the collection, collation, management and dissemination of education data in Nigeria so as to ensure the availability of credible, reliable and timely education data.

“The states therefore conduct the ASC exercise while the Federal Ministry of Education through NEMIS co-ordinates and monitors the process.”

He said that the ministry has concluded arrangement to host the NEMIS software on the internet for real –time online data entry and processing.

“This will further ensure uniformity in data reporting so that end-users will have timely reports for decision making and research. I am optimistic that, beginning from this year, Nigeria’s education data, at the basic and secondary school levels, will be cleaner, more accurate, more accessible and up-to-date,” he added.

Earlier in his address, Minister of the FCT, Musa Bello, said that the census was required to keep up – to –date and comprehensive data in schools in terms of infrastructure, numbers of students and personnel.

“The annual school census is very important because it is the foundation upon which all our planning and therefore policy directions are built.

“I learnt that UNICEF has already supported the FCT’s 2016 school census by printing 7,234 census forms to cater for all public and private schools minus the tertiary institutions within the territory,” he said.’

No going back on sacked VCs – FG

Falana issues notice to sue FG over foreign loan

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has issued a notice to sue the Federal Government in order to compel it to retrieve about $66.5bn government’s recoverable revenues, royalties and levies from some public and private bodies as well as some individuals.

Femi Falana

Falana, in a letter dated February 12, 2016, which was addressed to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, threatened to file the suit against the Federal Government not later than February 29.

He said his planned suit was necessitated by the minister’s failure to respond to the “serious issues” which he raised in his earlier letter discouraging the Federal Government to go ahead with its plan to obtain $3.5bn loan from the World Bank and the African Development Bank but to instead recoup the recoverable $66.5bn.

His fresh letter issuing the notice of legal proceedings was entitled, ‘Re: Federal Government’s plan to seek $3.5bn emergency loan from World Bank and African Development Bank should be dropped.’

The letter read, “Our letter dated February 5, 2016 in respect of the above subject matter refers.

“Since you have not deemed it fit to react to the serious issues raised in the letter, kindly be informed that we shall commence legal proceedings not later than February 29, 2015 with a view to compelling the Federal Government to recover the said loans, royalties levies and other recoverable revenues of not less than $66.5bn.”

Falana had in his earlier letter to the Minister of Finance, argued that there was no need to obtain a $3.5bn loan to finance the budget when the Federal Government could recover about $66.5bn it was being owed.

The lawyer urged the Federal Government to drop its proposition to obtain the foreign loan, noting that it required the endorsement of the International Monetary Fund, which he said, usually imposes stringent conditions on borrowing countries.

He lamented that the debt profile of the country had now grown to $64bn after it took much effort in 2005 for the country to exit the London/Paris Club after struggling to repay a loan of $12.4bn.

Falana urged the Federal Government to make effort to recover the over $66.5bn accruable to it, rather than obtain loan to finance the 2016 budget.

Falana issues notice to sue FG over foreign loan

FG underfunded police by N1.1tn in five years –IG

Details emerged on Sunday on how the Federal Government underfunded the Nigeria Police Force to the tune of about N1.1tn in five years, further weakening the capacity of the police to perform their duties.

The PUNCH learnt on Sunday that neither the funding of the capital projects of the police nor the overheads had risen beyond N11bn between 2011 and 2015, compared to actual funding requirement of up to N71bn for overheads and N345.7bn for capital projects in the case of 2015 for example.

Findings indicated that while the police needed N1.175tn between 2011 and 2015 for effective policing of the country, the government released a paltry N67.9bn to the police for both capital projects and overheads in the years under review.

For instance, as against the total of N891.1bn that the police required for capital projects, the government released only N36.7bn, while the police got N31.2bn for overheads as against the required N284.5bn.

The PUNCH obtained these details from a document on 2016 budget, which the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, submitted to the House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs in Abuja.

The document stated that the steady decline in police budget did not put into consideration the fact that the organisation was expanding in scope and operations across the five years.

It noted, “The Force has been expanding both in geographical spread and numerical strength over the years. As of January 2016, there are 317,540 police and traffic wardens and 10,849 civilian members of staff spread across the country in 12 zonal, 36 states and FCT, 127 Area Commands, 1,332 Divisions, 1,579 police stations and 3,756 police posts.

“Expectedly, this growth should naturally come along with a commensurate funding, unfortunately, allocation in respect of overheads and capital budgets over the years have failed to meet this expectation.”

A year-by-year analysis of the underfunding showed that in 2011, the police required N46.7bn for overheads, but received only N5.5bn. The capital component did not fare better, with only N6.4bn released out of a budget of N57.9bn.

In 2012, the Force received N8.1bn out of the required N52.3bn for its overheads. The capital budget was slashed from N49.9bn to N7bn.

The trend continued in 2013, where overheads requirement was N56.6bn, but the police was paid N7.9bn.

The highest allocation to the police for capital projects across the five years was N11bn in 2013. Ironically, the requirement for that year was N218.8bn.

In 2014, while overheads requirement was N56.6bn, the government released N5.2bn. For capital projects, it provided only N3.4bn (the lowest) out of a funding requirement of N218.8bn.

Being an election and transition year, the police had budgeted N71.8bn for overheads in 2015 but ended up getting only N4.8bn from the government. For the capital, the Force required N345.7bn but was given an envelope containing N8.9bn.

Arase lamented that, faced with the huge funding gap, it became increasingly challenging for many commands to fuel vehicles for operations or render other urgent services.

Citing the case of 2015, the IG wrote, “In the case of overheads appropriation, the total appropriation of N5.8bn, which was not even enough to fuel the fleet of police operational vehicles at an average minimal fuel consumption of 30 litres per day for seven months, was not fully released.

“Unfortunately, out of this amount, the sum of N250.1m was deducted at source for outstanding electricity bills, while the balance of N806.8m was not released.”

The document indicated that the funding constraints would worsen this year, as the total budget of the police for 2016 was put at N300.1bn.

This is broken into N17bn for capital projects; N4.5bn for overheads; and N278.5bn.

Incidentally, the police will need N18.5bn to fuel and maintain 8,698 vehicles, 2,937 motorcycles and 1,448 diesel engines this year.

The document observed that, by implication, the “N4.5bn projected for all sub-heads in the overheads for police formations and commands in the 2016 budget is not even enough to provide minimal fuelling and maintenance cost for police operational vehicles for three months.”

FG underfunded police by N1.1tn in five years –IG

FG must create enabling environment to grow economy - Obasanjo

LAGOS — Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, charged the Federal Government to create enabling environment to attract private investment which is needed to grow the economy.

Olusegun Obasanjo

Also, the Senate Committee chairman on Trade and Investment, Senator Sam Egwu, charged industries within the county to operate within the laws of the land as the National Assembly was ready to  make laws that would attract investment in Nigeria.

Speaking at the official opening of British American Tobacco Company Nigeria, BATN, head office in Lagos, Obasanjo said: “Government must partner with private sector to attract both local and foreign investments.

”In 1999, Nigeria emerged as a democratic nation and needs sustenance and support from private sector from within and outside its economy. A few investors were skeptical about the political and economic climate of Nigeria. The government then embarked on reforms programme and intensify calls for investment in Nigeria, bringing various investors and providing them with necessary information and government incentives and opportunity. So, BATN was among the first set of companies to take us serious and believe in the country.

“In the year 2001, BATN was the first tobacco company to sign a Memoradum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Grovernment which led to an investment of $150 million and the modernisation of its Zaria factory.”

He noted that the commissioning of the company’s office complex in Lagos signified continuity of business in Nigeria and it was also in the midst of the economic challenges that the company had showcased its entrepreneur mindset and had continued to play a key role in the social economy of the county, in the area of agricultural development and afrostation, corporate social responsibility, economic development partnership among others.

He pointed out that it was at such a time like this we are reminded of the importance of the role of private sector as the engine for economy growth.

In his remark, Senator Sam Egwu said: “The state of our economy today demands there is need for economic diversification to mineral resources to deliver economic growth.

“As a result, massive industrial development and expansion of existing industries must be rigorously pursuit and BATN seems to be leading in this.

“However, industries in Nigeria must operate within the laws of the country and in line with international best practices, considering the peculiarity of its products.

“As legislators, the Senate, and by extension, the National Assembly Committees on Industry,  are committed to ensuring the creation of conducive environment that will enable the private sector to enhance massive industrial development in the country.”

FG must create enabling environment to grow economy - Obasanjo

Don’t take World Bank loan, Falana tells FG

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has warned the Federal Government against obtaining loan from the World Bank to finance the 2016 budget.

Femi Falana

The Federal Government had disclosed plan to borrow $2.5bn from the World Bank and another $1bn from the African Development Bank.

But Falana, who wrote to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, on Friday, argued that there was no need to obtain $3.5bn loan to finance the budget when the Federal Government could recover about $66.5bn it was being owed.

The lawyer urged the Federal Government to drop its proposition to obtain World Bank loan, noting that it required the endorsement of the International Monetary Fund, which he said, usually imposed stringent conditions on borrowing countries.

He lamented that the debt profile of the country had now grown to $64bn after it took much effort in 2005 for the country to exit the London/Paris Club after struggling to repay a loan of $12.4bn.

Falana urged the Federal Government to make effort to recover the over $66.5bn accruable to it, rather than obtain loan to finance the budget.

According to him, part of the said $66.5bn was the sum of $20.2bn in form of underpayment/underassessment of taxes, royalties, levies and rents, which a former Executive Secretary of the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, called on the Federal Government to recover.

Falana also recalled that there was about $11bn which the Central Bank of Nigeria injected into the banking industry between 2006 and 2008 as bailout to commercial banks, which had yet to be recovered.

Besides these, Falana also recalled that the Federal Government had on September 6, 2015 announced that the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was in the process of recovering the sum of $9.6bn in “over deducted tax benefits from joint venture partners on major capital projects and the legacy OPA/SWAP oil contracts.”

He also made reference to the $750m of the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s loot, which the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), said arrangements had been concluded on it to recover.

Finally, he also recalled that the a recent probe by the Senate revealed that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria had accumulated about $25bn which, according to AMCON’s Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, was owed by “big men who fly in private jets, live in big mansions and they have taken money and they are not paying back.”

Falana said, “From the foregoing, you will agree with us that the hapless Nigerian people should not be made to pay for the gross mismanagement of the national economy by the Federal Government and the profligacy of the pampered members of the ruling class.

“Instead of taking a loan of $2.5bn with dangerous conditionalities from the World Bank, the Federal Government should recover the aforesaid loans and revenues of not less than $66.5bn with the assistance of the anti-graft agencies.

“While acknowledging the concerted efforts to recover the looted wealth of the nation through the anti-graft agencies and the Arms Procurement Panel, the Buhari Administration should embark on the immediate recovery of the aforesaid loans and accrued revenues with a view to financing the 2016 budget and the infrastructural development of the nation.”

Don’t take World Bank loan, Falana tells FG

FG to probe 23,306 civil servants, banks over salary scam

The Federal Government is concluding plans to probe no fewer than 23,306 federal civil servants, who have been accused by a panel of defrauding the government of millions of naira every month through an organised salary fraud.

General Buhari

The preliminary report of an investigative committee, set up to probe the alleged fraudulent payment of salaries to either ‘ghost’ workers or payments to multiple accounts, indicated that some banks would also be called to answer questions on the huge scam.

In a branch of one of the banks, over 300 accounts were said to have been opened in one day and all the accounts have become inactive.

A competent source on the investigative panel, who spoke to our correspondent on Thursday, said the federal civil servants and the banks, which had allegedly been indicted, had been marked down for thorough investigations and possible sanctions.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the government had begun a plan to investigate and remove the names of the indicted civil servants from its payroll.

It was also learnt that some of the affected officers had started resigning their appointments as a pre-emptive measure to avert humiliation and sanctions at the end of the investigation.

Our correspondent gathered that out of 312,000 civil servants, whose bank accounts had been checked so far in the exercise through the Bank Verification Number platform, the accounts of 23,306 workers had questionable transactions.

The exercise was said to have led to the discovery of a high level of irregularities in salary payment.

The source told The PUNCH, “Out of the accounts of about 312,000 civil servants processed so far, the ministry has uncovered irregularities in about 23,306 of them. The account holders are suspected to have been collecting double salaries.

“These indicted individuals are in two categories. In the first group, we found out that the names of some civil servants, whose salaries are being processed, are different from the names on the accounts where their salaries are paid into. What this means is either those in this category are drawing salaries from two sources (which could be different parastatals), or they are ‘ghost’ workers.”

It was gathered that the panel also discovered that salaries were being paid into some inactive accounts, which had fuelled the belief that the Federal Government had been paying salaries to ‘ghost’ workers.

The source added that the Federal Government had placed some banks under watch over their roles in the unfolding salary scam.

It was learnt that the panel had discovered that some of these inactive accounts were domiciled in a particular branch of a bank.

“The investigating committee discovered that in a particular branch of a bank, over 300 accounts of some civil servants were opened on the same day and all of them have become dormant.

“By the time the ongoing investigation is concluded, Nigerians will be shocked by the sheer number of top and other categories of civil servants, who may be forced to resign as a result of their complicity in the salary scam,” the source added.

The Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Media Matters, Mr. Festus Akanbi, however, refused to confirm the preliminary findings of the panel concerning the number of federal civil servants and banks that had been indicted by the committee.

Akanbi, who spoke to our correspondent on Thursday, explained that the exercise was ongoing, adding that the public would be appropriately informed when the full report of the panel was submitted.

The finance ministry had said the adoption of the BVN became inevitable due to the failure of the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System to effectively deal with the issue of ‘ghost’ workers in the federal civil service.

According to the ministry, the strategy of using BVN rather than requiring the physical presence of each member of staff has significantly simplified and accelerated the progress of the project and at a lower cost.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had, earlier in the year, said the BVN, which does not require a physical presence of a worker, would help accelerate the pace of enrolment.

“To date, despite over five years since the initiation of the project, only 20 per cent of public employees have actually been enrolled into IPPIS due to a variety of reasons,” Adeosun stated.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, recently said some top civil servants in the ministry were dismissed for collecting N400,000 each from 400 applicants whose names were then included in the IPPIS.

FG to probe 23,306 civil servants, banks over salary scam

FG warns foreign airlines over ill-treatment on Nigerians

The Federal Government on Monday warned international airlines to stop treating in-bound and out-bound Nigerian passengers with disdain.

It also announced that the international terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport would be completed before the end of this year.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said there would be dire consequences for airline operators who treat Nigerians shabbily, especially on international operations.

Sirika gave the warning when a delegation from the Emirates Group paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.

A statement issued by the Deputy Director, Press and Public Affairs in the ministry quoted Sirika as telling his guests that the government would not condone the practice of subjecting Nigerians to all forms of suffering like making them to walk across long distances before boarding or using small aircraft that lack the capacity to carry the travellers along with their luggage to their destinations.

The warning was prompted by the recent action of Turkish Airlines, after it brought in passengers from Istanbul to Abuja on two occasions without their luggage.

Some of the angry passengers on one of the flights invaded the tarmac of the NAIA in protest against the airline, resulting into a serious security breach.

The statement noted that Sirika informed the visiting group that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority had been directed to invoke all relevant laws to protect the interest and rights of Nigerians and others from being flagrantly abused by airlines.

He, however, assured the operators of the Federal Government’s commitment to the complete overhaul and upgrading of the nation’s airport facilities to make the use of Nigeria’s airspace a delightful experience.

On the ongoing construction of the second terminal at the NAIA, the minister gave an assurance that the facility would be ready before the end of the year, stating that its completion would improve the comfort and convenience of both the airline operators and the flying public.

The Vice President, Aeropolitical and Industry Affairs, Emirate Group, Mr. David Broz, pledged the group’s commitment to serve Nigeria better, describing the country as the airline’s second biggest market in Africa.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Air Transport Employees has threatened to ground the operations of Aero Contractors Airline and prevent it from flying any of its aircraft out of the Lagos airport from today (Tuesday).

The Secretary General, NUATE, Mr. Olayinka Abioye, made the threat on Monday after leading a workers’ protest to the office of the airline in Lagos.

The protest was to register the workers’ displeasure over the airline management’s decision to sack some of its employees who are union leaders, describing the action as “insensitive and anti-labour.”

NUATE urged the management to re-instate the union leaders without delay, stating that it was firmly behind the sacked leaders and their co-workers.

It also urged the Federal Government to probe activities of the airline, alleging that the firm had mismanaged funds granted it by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria to reposition it.

However, the management of the airline has reported the association to the Ministry of Labour and Productivity Ministry, Aviation ministry, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Department of State Services, asking them to look into the matter.

The Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive, Aero Contractors, Iyene Amapakabo, called on the authorities to check the unwholesome practice of the union because of its serious safety implications on the airline’s operations.

FG warns foreign airlines over ill-treatment on Nigerians

Government won"t give free money to lazy Nigerians - Chris Ngige

ABUJA—Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, yesterday, said that the stipend of N5,000 promised by the government of All Progressives Congress, APC, for unemployed youths was not for the indolent people.

Chris Ngige

He said that no country would give free money, stressing that Nigeria would not be an exception.

Speaking to journalists yesterday at the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja, Ngige, however, revealed that the Federal Government would ensure that the youths were trained in various skills and programmes to justify the money.

He added that the project would also involve the state governments.

According to him, there will be categories of people, who would earn higher than the N5,000.

“We also have the programme on the commission cash transfer. Though even you, the press, has said it,  we won’t pay N5,000 for people to be indolent. No country in the world would pay people to go home and sleep and collect cash. So, Nigeria would not be an exception.

“We will pay some people N5,000, we will pay some N10,000, and even for people in teacher conversion scheme, we will pay more than N10,000 and N15,000 as stipend while in training, and then after the training, they are going to be employed by state government and the Federal Government in different institutions.

“It is not a programme we shall run alone, the state governments are going to buy into it. They are going to synchronize with us.We are going to do it in synergy.”

Ngige also stated that some of the programmes will “span through Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Labour.

“Agriculture, because we have some agricultural universities, we will convert some people to teach the relevant agricultural science.”

The minister who stated that Nigeria has various skill acquisition centers also underscored the importance of training the youth.

“The ministry has specialist skills acquisition centres; we have seven like that in the ministry under the commissioner of skills or directorate for skills.

“The NDE have over 120 centres scattered all over the country. We also have those that have been built by state government and we want to capture all of these into that scheme and then get people to the scheme to be bricklayers,  POP designers, builders, welders, electronics repairers and the one they called mecha-tronic, repair of vehicles, automobile carpentry, painting and fabrication of all sorts.”

Government won"t give free money to lazy Nigerians - Chris Ngige

Past govt spent N2bn to fix National Theatre roof - FG

The Minister of Information, Mr. Lai Mohammed, has said a past administration spent N2bn for the repair of a leaky roof at the National Theatre.

Lai Mohammed

The minister made the revelation on Saturday during a courtesy visit to Prof. Wole Soyinka in his office at the Freedom Park in Lagos.

Mohammed, who lamented the poor state of the edifice, however, did not say which administration spent the amount.

He said he could not say for sure if the money was actually spent.

Mohammed added that the Federal Government was planning to initiate a Public-Private Partnership that would help transform the theatre to become the pride of the nation.

Soyinka, in his speech, said President Muhammadu Buhari was fighting the biggest anti-corruption war in Nigerian history.

He also commended the progress the President has so far made in the fight against graft especially in the $2.1bn arms scam.

The playwright said it was unfortunate that during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, money earmarked to fight terrorism was embezzled while children were abducted and soldiers sent to the warfront to combat terrorists without arms.

When asked if the anti-corruption war would stop abruptly like those of previous administrations, Soyinka said, “I don’t think that will happen this time and the reason is this: We have not had corruption being exposed on this scale before. We have not had a situation where it is being alleged and increasingly proved that money which was supposed to have been spent on defending our nation, ourselves and our neighbourhood has been shared among individuals.

“We have never had the experience where we were in a state of critical emergency where children were being kidnapped under our noses and we were helpless and our soldiers were being sent to the warfront to defend our very existence and we were not backing them up with conduct that shows integrity and commitment.

“During the civil war, I am not aware, may be it existed on this scale, I am not aware but I am just saying that as somebody that has gone through a civil war, even though some of us spent it in prison, I have not heard such exposé.”

Soyinka noted that the anti-graft war would not be easy because whenever anyone fights corruption, corruption fights back.

He, however, said plans by corrupt individuals to frustrate the anti-graft war would only intensify the war.

Asked if the anti-graft war would yield positive results, he said, “Yes, I am confident. I promise you that if I am proven wrong, I will give you my best bottle of wine.”

Reacting to allegations levelled against him by the Governor Nyesom Wike-led Rivers State Government that he partook in the sharing of N84m allegedly mismanaged by former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Soyinka said the allegation was insulting.

He said he was waiting for an invitation letter from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The Nobel laureate, however, joked that he would pretend to be sick if they attempted to whisk him away.

He added, “Anybody who wants to talk to me about this issue, as I said, you know where I live, I am a great respecter of the law. If you go properly, I will answer your invitation.”

Meanwhile, Niger Delta activist, Ms. Annkio Briggs, has criticised the revered playwright for his reaction to Wike‘s allegation against Amaechi on how he spent N82m.

Soyinka, in a statement titled ‘Those who flounder in the sewage of corruption,’ on Thursday, had described the allegation as a distraction and a sign of insecurity on the part of Wike.

Briggs, in a telephone interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, supported Wike, arguing that the governor’s allegation was raised against Amaechi, who is now the Minister of Transportation, and not Soyinka.

She said, “This is not a criticism about Soyinka per se. It is simply about facing the reality in Nigeria today. It is about the funds of Rivers State and how it was spent in Amaechi’s tenure and the fact that Wike is bringing up the issue today is exactly and precisely what the President of Nigeria is also doing. So, I do not believe the criticism that is being meted out on Wike is justified.’’

Past govt spent N2bn to fix National Theatre roof - FG

Tell Nigerians whereabouts of El-Zakzaky - Shi"ites tell FG

Bothered by his state of health, three weeks after his arrest and subsequent detention, members of the Islamic sect, Shi’ites, yesterday, asked the Federal Government to tell Nigerians the whereabouts of their leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife.

Picture of bleeding sheikh Zakzaky. Source: @ZahradeenAAhmad

In a statement by the President of the Islamic Movement Media Forum (IMMF), Ibrahim Musa, the group said its members were anxious of the whereabouts of its leader.

He said: The condition and whereabouts of the Islamic Movement’s leader Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky as well as that of his wife, are still unknown, three weeks after their arrest and detention by the  security operatives.

“The Islamic Movement as well as the general public are now seriously anxious.

“Where is Sheikh Zakzaky and why has he been denied his constitutional rights to an attorney, bail and visitation?

“If the government is truly interested in finding a peaceful way out of this crisis the army initiated and executed, as the government wants the public to believe, it should by now have allowed an unimpeded access to Sheikh Zakzaky.

“First and foremost, his first family members and leading brothers of the Islamic Movement and his doctor should have met him by now, since he was shot by the soldiers when they attacked his residence.

Adding, he said: “We are highly agitated by this seeming needless incommunicado the Sheikh has been placed in.

“The Federal Government should tell the public where Sheikh Zakzaky is, because rumours of various degrees are flying about his health.

“We believe it is only when the Sheikh’s health condition is made public by the relevant authorities that the tension brewing among the populace will be doused.”

Tell Nigerians whereabouts of El-Zakzaky - Shi"ites tell FG