A Nigerian newspaper and Online version of the Vanguard, a daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories, etc
Mechanical failure and pilot error caused a 2012 air crash in Nigeria that killed 159 people, accident investigators said in a report published on Monday.
The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) said two engines on the doomed Dana Air flight from the capital, Abuja, failed mid-air before it crashed on approach to Lagos airport.
“Engine number one lost power 17 minutes into the flight, and thereafter on final approach, engine number two lost power and failed to respond to throttle movement on demand for increased power to sustain the aircraft in its flight configuration,” the report stated.
The “inappropriate omission of the use of the checklist and the crew’s inability to appreciate the severity of the power-related problem, and their subsequent failure to land at the nearest suitable airfield” also contributed to the crash, it added.
Investigators said “lack of situation awareness, inappropriate decision-making and poor airmanship” were also to blame for the crash on June 3, 2012.
The Dana Air crash was one of the worst accidents in Nigerian aviation history.
The Boeing MD-83 aircraft was carrying 153 passengers and crew when it crashed into a densely-populated area in the north of Lagos and burst into flames. Six people were killed on the ground.
The long-running investigation involved officials from the airline, engine manufacturers Pratt & Whitney and international aviation experts.
“Everybody is satisfied with the final report and those found wanting have made necessary adjustments,” said Olateru.
Nigerian aviation authorities suspended Dana’s operating licence on June 5, 2012, two days after the crash.
But it was briefly allowed to resume operation in January 2013 after meeting some safety standards but did not start full operations until the following January.
Dana Air was among the most popular carriers in Nigeria before the accident, with heavy traffic on its Abuja-Lagos route.
AIB commissioner Akin Olateru told reporters the agency, which released a preliminary report on the crash in September 2012, spent so long on the investigation because of cash shortages.
He said the agency needed more funding, as the 16 million naira ($50,000, 47,000 euros) allocated in 2017 was not enough.
Nigeria’s worst air accident was in 1973, when 176 people died in a crash involving a Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 flying from Jeddah to Kano, according to the Aviation Safety Network website.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend Bank Verification Number (BVN) requirement to account holders in Microfinance Banks (MFBs).
She said this would facilitate the detection of bank accounts which might have been opened and operated in such banks by ghost workers and other syndicates.
A statement by the ministry's Director of Information, Mr Salisu Dambatta in Abuja on Monday, said Adeosun had written to the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to make her case.
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and Governor of the CBN, Mr.Godwin Emefiele,
The minister said that the introduction of BVN by the CBN had contributed immensely in improving the integrity of the Federal Government payroll on which more than 50,000 ghost workers were detected and removed.
She said that operating bank accounts in Microfinance Banks without requirement for BVN had left a huge loophole which individuals intent on financial crimes could use to hide and launder proceeds of crime and successfully escape detection by law enforcement agencies.
Adeosun referred the CBN governor to the discovery that prior to the deadline for obtaining the BVN, there had been movement of a large number of salary accounts of federal employees from commercial banks to microfinance banks.
"This is a suspicious activity and we have already commenced a review of such cases to identify and investigate any cases of fraud.
"We know that extending the requirement for BVN to Microfinance Banks may put a huge financial strain on the smaller Microfinance Banks; however, some MFBs such as National Police Force Microfinance (NPF), have over 27,000 salary accounts.
"Our inability to perform checks on such a large number of salary earners is a key risk."
" I am therefore seeking your cooperation to enforce compliance with BVN on any MFB with over 200 active salary accounts or those above a certain size.
"This will support the Federal Government's efforts at reducing leakages to create headroom for the capital projects that will support the growth of the economy," she said.
The CBN had, in September 2016, announced its intention to extend the requirement for the extension of the BVN to MFBs in the country, but the exercise had not taken off.
Hama Amadou, an opposition leader in the Sahel state of Niger, was sentenced to a year’s jail Monday on a charge of baby smuggling after a one-day trial that his attorneys denounced as a fix.
Amadou — who competed against President Mahamadou Issoufou in March elections in 2016 — had left for France and was tried in absentia.
He was one of a group of people accused of smuggling babies from Nigeria via Benin to wealthy couples in Niger.
Shortly before the verdict, defence lawyers walked out of court, saying legal procedures had not been upheld and that the goal was to prevent Amadou from running again for office.
“Hama Amadou lives in France and so all procedural documents must be sent to him France, and proceedings should be delayed,” said Ali Kadri, a lawyer from the defence team.
However the judge refused to grant the defence’s request for a delay, Kadri added.
Souley Oumarou, another lawyer for Amadou, said: “They want to judge Hama and condemn him… the goal is to reach a decision that will make him unable to run in the next election” in 2021.
Amadou had been charged for “complicity” in the alleged trafficking, but the charge was changed on the judge’s orders to that of “illicitly dealing in children.”
The defendants refused to answer questions.
His lawyers indicated they would appeal.
“There are means of recourse and we will use them,” said attorney Boubacar Mossi.
A former premier and parliamentary speaker, Amadou has been nicknamed “the Phoenix” for his political comebacks.
He was arrested on November 14, 2015 on his return from exile, and was forced to campaign for the presidency from behind bars.
He was released on medical grounds on March 16, 2016, four days before the second round of the voting, and flew to France.
Issoufou went on to win with 92 percent of the run-off ballot. With the opposition boycotting the election, Amadou only got seven percent of the vote.
Federal Government says it will partner with states in strengthening mining potential and turning them into great opportunities for investment.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this on Monday in Kaduna during a courtesy visit on Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai
Fayemi said, the ministry was on a National tour on mining locations.
According to him, Kaduna happens to be the first state where the first tour is kicking off.
The minister, while commenting on illegal mining, said it was a source of concern for the government, adding that steps were being taken to address the challenges.
He said the government had been active in pulling together the artisanal and informal miners to reduce illegal mining.
"We are also working with states in providing the technical and financial support so that they can enter the main stream of mining rather than operating illegally.
"But the duty we owe to our people is to also enlighten them on the need to engage in formal and organised mining practice.
"If you do this in a formal and organised manner, you will make more money; you will not be cheated by middlemen who took advantage of the unorganized system.
"These middlemen have often encouraged these illegal miners to escalate dangerous minerals that could be injurious to their health,'' he said.
The minister said: "We have a duty to teach them safer mining process and to ensure that they have the tools to be able to conduct legitimate trade.''
"The ministry is prepared to partner with states to include these miners in the scheme of things by formally issuing them small scale licence for such operations.
"It is not everybody that can be a major or mega miner, but for those who are small artisanal miners, they can pull their resources together to achieve the economics of scale in this regard, " he said
The Acting Governor, Bala Bantex, said the state would cooperate with the ministry to reposition the sector.
He said the state had, to a great extent, regularised the activities of the illegal miners in a manner to reduce the criminal exploitation of the soil.
Bantex said the state's initiative was helping to make miners accountable.
With a vision "to make Osun the food basket of the South West", Governor of the State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has so far achieved 8 major things in the vision he laid out six years ago when he took mantle of power on November 27, 2010.
A holistic agricultural policy taken by the government has placed the state on the green map of the South West in a space of 6 years; making it one of the major suppliers of agricultural produce to markets in Lagos and other South Western states.
Info-graph of Osun Agricultural sector
The governor, his deputy and other members of his team were recently seen in one of the major rice farms collaborating with the state government to produce Ofada Osun Rice.
Also, recall that Ogbeni Aregbesola recently led an official government delegation to Germany in search of new insights on modern agriculture in order to further realise the dream of making Osun the food basket of the South West.
Info-graph of Osun Agricultural sector
Germany has in the past four years trained over 40 young people from Osun in modern agriculture techniques such as '40days Goat Fattening' etc.
We present to you, eight (8) facts on the agricultural sector in Osun:
1. Over 50,000 tonnes of cocoa exported annually.
2. Over 16,000 jobs created for the indigenes of the State of Osun.
3. Over 700km of rural roads built to reduce cost of transportation for farmers and increase access to markets.
4. 30 bridges constructed, with access given to areas cut-off from civilization.
5. Over 2.8 billion naira given to farmers as loans.
6. Over 11,000 farmers have been supported with direct cash transfers.
7. 5,000 farmers' co-operatives registered.
8. Over 71,000 farmers have benefitted from the Governments interventions.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on Monday announced that it had commenced the installation of facilities for Digital Switch-Over (DSO) in Kaduna State.
The Director-General of the Commission, Malam Is'haq Modibbo-kawu, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen at the National Headquarters of the commission in Abuja.
Pinnacle Communications ltd., the major signal distributor for the Digital Switch-Over (DSO) in the country, is undertaking the installation at the instance of the NBC
Modibbo-kawu said that the commission was working assiduously to roll out Digital Switch-Over in each state across the six geo-political zones simultaneously.
He expressed optimism that with a high level of political support from the Government and the commitment of the commission, Nigeria would meet the June 2017 switch-over dateline.
" As I address you today, Pinnacle Communications Ltd. has commenced the installation of the facilities for Kaduna.
"I was there to inspect the work being done at the weekend. Our colleagues can go to the site on Rabah Road, Kaduna, to verify that work is advancing very rapidly there.
" They have also concluded plans for Delta and Gombe states, while the second signal distributor, Integrated Television Service (ITS), will similarly mobilise into Kwara, Enugu and Osun states,''he said.
The DG said that NBC had commenced the settlement of all debts arising from the contracts awarded in respect of the DSO.
Modibbo-kawu added that the commission had also effected payments to the Set Top Boxes manufacturers,and that the settlement was around N5 billion.
" The next phase of payment we are processing is what is due to the DSO backbone group, our Signal Distributors, ITS and Pinnacle Communications Ltd.
" These payments would help our various stakeholder groups to meet their obligations as well as deepen commitment to the entire effort to achieve a nation-wide DSO, "he said.
The director-general said that the NBC was committed to the highest standards of broadcasting regulation, assuring that it would do everything to assist the growth of the broadcast industry.
He said that the commission would continue to provide the "ambience for the flowering of broadcasting in the country and would never tolerate a regime of impunity".
He urged broadcast stations to obey the law , especially on prompt payment of license fees.
British MPs on Monday approved a bill allowing Prime Minister Theresa May to begin Brexit, voting down two amendments put forward by the House of Lords.
The bill now passes for final approval to the Lords, which had inserted the changes to protect the rights of EU citizens and give parliament a larger say on the final outcome of the Brexit negotiations.
Four among the housemates in the ongoing Big Brother Nigeria reality show have been nominated on Monday for possible eviction on Sunday, newsmen report.
The housemates for possible eviction are Efe, Tboss, ThinTallTony and Debie-rise.
Every Monday, each housemate is given the opportunity to nominate another for possible eviction on Sunday.
Initially Bally, Tboss and ThinTallTony got high nomination, thus they were nominated for eviction but Bassey as the Head of House saved Bally and replaced him with Efe.
In twist of events, Marvis used her power card to nominate Debie-Rise.
At least one among the four nominated housemates would be evicted on Sunday.
Since the show started in January, six real housemates and two fake housemates have been evicted.
The evicted real housemates were Soma, Miyonse, Coco Ice, Gifty and Uriel, while the fake ones were Ese and Jon.
Kemen, who was the sixth evicted housemate, was disqualified by Big Brother for fondling Tboss while she was fast asleep beside him.
The League Management Company (LMC) has intervened by helping two out of three clubs indebted to ailing coach Kelechi Emeteole remit the amount which represented salary claims by the coach on the two clubs.
Following reports of indebtedness of the clubs to the coach, the League Management Company (LMC) intervened and made the payment which will now be deducted from their Annual Basic Award.
Kelechi Emeteole
In a letter conveying the payment to Emeteole through his wife, Phoebe, LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko informed the family that the payment was made to their bank account and also notified them that the LMC was in contact with a group of former player colleagues of the coach based in the United States are also launching a fundraising campaign. The group is led by Godwin Odiye.
"I wish to formally notify you that following our previous discussion, … has now been paid into your bank account, the details of which were provided us by your wife, Mrs Phoebe Emeteole," the LMC wrote in the letter signed by Dikko.
He explained that the LMC was unable to reach Heartland as the club was at the end of last season relegated from the NPFL.
The LMC actually made the payments and would deduct the said money from the two clubs when making the payout due to NPFL clubs from sponsorship incomes.
"Please note that this total sum consists of money being owed by El-Kanemi Warriors and Rangers International. We have been constrained in reaching Heartland FC for the similar purpose as the club is no longer in the NPFL," Dikko explained.
Odiye, a teammate of Emeteole in the 1980 Nations Cup winning Green Eagles communicated the fund-raising effort to the LMC through another ex-international and former Director General, National Sports Commission, Dr Patrick Ekeji who also was in the 1980 victorious squad.
Emeteole, popularly called Caterpillar in his playing days was recently diagnosed of cancer of the voice box and is in need of funds for treatment. He played for Rangers International, Spartans and Mighty Jets of Jos and also served as Assistant Coach of the Super Eagles to late Amodu Shuaibu.
The immediate past Governor of Ondo state, Dr Olusegun Mimiko will be delivering a keynote address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) public conference on health, in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday.
According to the Senior Vice President and Director, CSIS Global Health Policy Center, Stephen Morrison, Mimiko is expected to share his experience on the state of Nigeria's health sector and efforts adopted by his government in reducing infant and maternal mortality in Ondo state with an audience including U.S. government officials, health policy professionals, academics, and business representatives from across the world.
The conference will take place at CSIS headquarters in Washington, DC, on March 14, 2017.
The CSIS is an independent, bipartisan think tank that has advised the United States government on its global health, security, and foreign assistance policies for more than five decades.
The statement reads “the work of the Global Health Policy Center informs the U.S. government on how to fund and implement international health programs more effectively.
“As a new administration takes office in Washington, we believe it will be a timely moment to remind U.S. policymakers of Nigeria's importance and highlight health care as a sector where progress can be accelerated by new partnerships and modes of engagement.”
The former Ondo governor is to share his experience in wide ranging areas of health with policy makers from across the world at the event.
A group known as Goods Made in China Importers Association (GMIA) has advised Nigerians to stop blaming China for substandard products in circulation, whereas some minor greedy and unpatriotic Nigerian importers should be blamed, alongside those manning our borders.
According to a statement signed by Charles Udogaranya, Secretary of the association, this counsel has become necessary as the ever-increasing blame trade is growing into a proportional height that may affect the cordial economic relations between the Asian Tiger and the African giant.
"To put the record straight, we can confidently inform that from Beijing to Shanghai, to Guangzhou, to Shenzhen, Xiamen and across small and big cities in China, substandard products rarely exist.
China produces for various nations in the world that includes nations like USA, Australia, Britain and European nations with standardized quality.
The exception here is the illicit conduct of a minor Nigeria importers that pput pressure on their Chinese manufactures for an unacceptable, poor quality, in order to make the goods extremely cheap at the local market in Nigeria to lure more patronage due to economic condition in the country.
"We advise Nigerian buyers to only buy quality products as they will outlast the cheap and poor substandard products and in the long run saves money. We believe that if Nigerians can patronize only high quality products, importation of poor and substandard products will die naturally from our local markets".
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri ABUJA – Failure of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to produce its witnesses in court, on Monday, stalled trial of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s cousin, Robert Azibaola and his wife, Stella.Robert Azibaola and his wife
The duo are answering to a seven-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against them before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The defendants are facing trial over alleged $40million contract scam.
At the resumed sitting on the case, EFCC lawyer, Mr. Francis Jirbo, told trial Justice Nnamdi Dimgba that the prosecution was having difficulties calling witnesses in the order it intended.
Jirbo pleaded the court to grant the anti-graft agency one more indulgence to enable it to get the witnesses.
“My lord, we seek the court’s indulgence to enable the prosecution make the last independent efforts to get its witnesses to court in the manner and sequence it intended”, he pleaded.
It will be recalled that a similar scenario played out on January 30 which was the last adjourned date.
EFCC had earlier informed the court that it would call six more witnesses against the defendants, adding that three of them were operatives that investigated the matter.
At the resumed sitting on Monday, Justice Dimgba queried why the prosecution failed to produce the three operatives to give their testimonies while it await the other witnesses.
Jirbo insisted that calling the operatives at this stage of the trial would disrupt the sequence with which the prosecution wishes to conduct its case.
“We do not want to call our witnesses in a haphazard manner. We have sequence and how we want the evidence to flow. We do not just want to call anybody. We want the court to give us the last to produc our next witness”, EFCC lawyer added.
Meanwhile, the defence lawyer, Mr Goddy Uche, SAN, who did not object to the request for an adjournment, however noted that the prosecution has only called four out of ten proposed witnesses.
He said the defendants were anxious for an expeditions determination of the case in order to clear their names which he said the EFCC tarnished before the public.
“If, by the next adjourned date the defence is not able to present its witnesses, we shall be constrained to apply that this charge be struck out”, Uche submitted.
While adjourning the case till April 27 for continuation of trial, Justice Dimgba warned that the prosecution should concentrate on leading evidence to sufficiently prove its allegation against the defendants instead of focusing on the sequence with which it will presents its witnesses.
It will be recalled that Azibaola was arrested on March 23, 2016, and subsequently arraigned before the high court after he had spent 90 days in EFCC custody.
The anti-graft agency has so far called four witnesses who have all denied knowing the defendants or having anything to do with their company, Oneplus Holdings Nig. Ltd.
By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, has been condemned for trying to undermine President Muhammadu Buhari's anti-graft war by sacking an assistant director under her ministry, who exposed to looting of cash worth $229,000 and N800,000 meant for crucial projects.
Whistle-blowers
For that reason, a civil society advocacy group has called on the minster to urgently reinstate Mr. Ntia Thompson and tender an apology for trying o rubbish the good work of President Buhari.
The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), a civil society organisation currently engaged in a project to support the federal government’s whistle blower scheme, said Mr. Ntia Thompson deserves a national award for patriotism and not a sack letter for his act of nationalism.
AFRICMIL in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Mr. Chido Onumah, expressed disappointment and displeasure over reported dismissal from service of an Assistant Director in the Directorate for Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA), an agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ntia Thompson, for blowing the whistle on the diversion of $229,000 and N800,000 by key officials in the Directorate.
Mr. Thompson was initially suspended on December 19, 2016, before the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, who supervises the DTCA, approved his compulsory retirement on February 7, 2017, in a public notice addressed to all staff and signed by Sanda S. Isah, Head of Administration Department in DTCA. "AFRICMIL views the action of the Ministry not only as most unconscionable but also as another devastating blow to the war against corruption under the current administration.
"The sacking of Mr. Thompson for his attempt to contribute to accountability in the public sector by blowing the whistle on financial fraud in his workplace is the latest in the determined effort by some top government officials to ensure that the whistle-blower policy and, to a large extent the fight against corruption, does not gain any meaningful traction.
"Clearly, the Minister of State and other key officials of the Ministry were thoroughly embarrassed by the whistleblower's revelation and the only way to respond was through his illegal dismissal from service.
"AFRICMIL urges the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, not to approve the dismissal of Mr. Thompson, and hereby calls on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Police "to whom the malfeasance was initially reported" to properly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice ," Onumah stated.
The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Finance recently launched a whistle-blower policy to encourage and mobilize active participation of Nigerians in its anti-corruption campaign. While there are signs of potential gains with the announcement of recovery of some looted funds through whistle-blowing, it can also not be denied that government officials have from the beginning constituted the greatest stumbling block to the effective implementation of the policy.
Similarly, AFRICMIL called for an immediate end to the persecution of Mr. Aaron Kaase, a staff of the Police Service Commission (PSC) who blew the whistle that led to the recovery of N133million at the Commission. Not only has Mr. Kaase been on suspension without pay since May 2015, he is currently being arraigned in court on some dubious charges manufactured by some top officials of PSC.
AFRICMIL urged government to unequivocally discourage the shameless response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and PSC as well as punish forthwith any official(s) who perpetrate(s) such similar brazen acts of impunity that undermine a progressive policy of government.
"A whistle-blower deserves full protection and not victimization or persecution in any form," Onumah said. "Otherwise, potential whistle-blowers will feel disinclined to reporting fraud and that will sound a death knell to the whistle-blower policy in its infancy, and the anti-corruption war in the long run."
Pastor Reno Omokri has again lashed at critics of the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman, asking them, rhetorically, if the Apostle equally slept with Nollywood Actor, Leo Mezie, some widows and numerous poor people he has also helped since they(critics) have come to believe he slept with the Canada-based stripper, Ms. Stephanie Otobo whom he had helped only for her to come out and accuse him of having an amorous affair with her.
“Was Apostle Johnson Suleman sleeping with Nollywood Actor, Leo Mezie, when he paid his entire medical bill of £60,000 for kidney transplant in UK? This is what they don’t tell you!”
“Was apostle Suleman sleeping with the nine poor Nigerians (male and female) he gave cars to on February 5th, 2016?`”
“Was he sleeping with the 30 widows and other indigent people that he gave out millions to so they could start their own businesses?”
“This is Leo Mezie’s testimony ‘I want to at this point thank Apostle Suleiman Johnson for all what he did for me. I have never met him before; I took ill but as soon as he heard the news, he contacted me and asked that we stopped all further public appeal for fund.'”
“This is a man with a Christlike mind who lives and loves to help people and you wicked souls who will not even spare a dime to help your own starving relations, how much more a stranger, come here to condemn him!”
An official of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Ade Babatunde, on Monday told a Federal High Court, Lagos, how Segun Agbolade, a former General Manager (Finance), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), defrauded the agency.
Babatunde, while being led in evidence by the EFCC prosecutor, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, made the revelations at the resumed hearing of the case before Justice Babs Kuewumi.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oyedepo had led the witness as the first prosecution witness (PW 1) in the N6.8 billion fraud case against some former employees of NAMA.
NAN reports that EFCC had arraigned the accused including NAMA's former Managing Director, Ibrahim Abdulsalam; former General Manager of Procurement, Olumuyiwa Adegorite and Agbolade on a 21-count charge of N6.8 billion fraud.
Others are former acting General Manager of ICT, Bolaniran Akinribido; Sesebor Abiodun, Joy Adegorite and two companies- Randville Investment Ltd. and Multeng Travels and Tours Ltd.
When the case was called for continuation of hearing, Babatunde told the court how the funds belonging to NAMA were allegedly converted for personal use by the accused when Abdulsalam was at the helm of affairs.
He said that on July 13, 2015, a cash withdrawal of N3 million was made by Agbolade, (General Manager of Finance) from the account of Randville Investment Ltd.
The witness also said that on July 15, 2015, there was another withdrawal of N2.5 million from the account of Randville Investment Ltd. and same was transferred to the account of Agbolade.
"On Sept. 16, 2015, there was a credit transfer of N22 million into the account of Randville Investment Ltd.
"On Sept. 28, 2015, N100 million was deposited in a fixed deposit account, and on maturity, same was paid into the account of Randville Investment Ltd.
"On the same date, N28 million was transferred out of the account, but I cannot confirm the beneficiary, because it was not stated in the statement of account.
"Also, on Sept. 28, 2015, N100 million was placed in another fixed deposit account.
"On Oct. 28, 2015, the N100 million earlier placed in a fixed deposit account was paid into the account of Randville Investment Ltd.
"On Nov. 2, 2015, N50 million was transferred twice from the Randville Investment Ltd. and I cannot also confirm the beneficiary, because it was not stated in the statement.
"Then, on Nov. 10, 2015, there was a withdrawal of N3 million from the account of Randville Investment Ltd. by Segun Agbolade." the first prosecution witness told the court.
After the witness' testimony, the defence counsel led by Mr Wale Akanni (SAN), sought for an adjournment to enable to them to cross examine the witness.
The judge, however, granted the request, and the case was adjourned till April 5 for continuation of trial.
NAN reports that EFCC had on Aug. 19, 2013, brought the accused before the court, accusing them of conspiring to induce NAMA to deliver N2.8 billion to Delosa Ltd., Air Sea Delivery Ltd. and Sea Schedules Systems Ltd.
The anti-graft agency of alleged that the delivery was under the pretence that the money represented the cost of clearing NAMA's consignments.
EFCC further alleged that between Jan. 2 and Dec. 17, 2013, the accused allegedly converted N191 million belonging to NAMA for their private use.
It also accused the NAMA officials of converting N728 million between 2013 and 2015 and other sums for their personal use.
The prosecution said that the offences contravened Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3).
A man convicted of leaving a box of poisoned marzipan hearts at a school in Northern Germany and blackmailing a supermarket chain has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.
Dubbed the "marzipan blackmailer'' by German media, the 38-year-old left the tainted marzipan at a school in Kiel last September and threatened to do so at three other schools if supermarket chain Coop failed to pay him 3.2 million dollars.
He demanded the blackmail sum in the digital currency Bitcoin.
Although no one ate the marzipan, judge Ralph Jacobsen told the Kiel court that the case had been especially serious because it involved the health of the city's school children.
"Half the city was worried,'' he said.
Experts who examined the marzipan hearts said they contained a substance that was not life-threatening but could bring about severe health problems.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyema, said on Monday that Nigeria and South Africa have agreed to set up an early warning unit to check future xenophobic attacks.
Geoffrey Onyema
Onyema, who is leading a Federal Government delegation to that country, disclosed this to journalists on telephone from Pretoria, South Africa.
The minister said the early warning unit would comprise representatives of the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, police, immigration, representatives of Nigerian High Commission, consulate and Nigeria Union.
" They will meet every three months and that will be a framework within which the Nigeria Union in South Africa will be able to engage on a permanent basis with the main high level government officials of this country.
" We believe that it will enable them in sharing intelligence, information and being proactive to prevent this kind of thing ever happening again, he said.
Onyema said the delegation had positive discussions with the South African Foreign Affairs Ministry and Home Affairs Ministry on how to protect Nigerians and their property.
He said the meeting agreed to set up the early warning unit to dialogue quarterly to prevent such incident.
The President of Nigeria Union, Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, said Nigerians in South Africa appreciated the delegation's visit.
" The spirit of our people here has been lifted. The mood has changed and our people are happy," he said.
Anyene said the early warning unit set up by the two governments was a positive development because the union would be in a position to interact with top government officials regularly.
" On our part, we will advance social cohesion between Nigerians and South Africans," he said.
The National Caretaker Committee Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has denied allegation that it was collecting N50 million monthly subvention from governors on the party's platform.
The committee's Publicity Secretary, Mr Dayo Adeyeye, made the denial on Monday in Abuja.
The National Chairman of PDP, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, had at a news conference earlier on Monday in Abuja accused the caretaker committee headed by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, of collecting money from the governors monthly.
Makarfi
Sheriff, who was represented at the conference by his deputy, Dr Cairo Ojougbo, also alleged that all organs of the party wanted political solution to its leadership crisis "except the caretaker committee''.
According to him, the caretaker committee does not want to let go because of the N50 million it was receiving monthly from the party's governors.
But, Adeyeye described the allegation as "a lie, cheap and unintelligent attempt'' to blackmail the committee members.
"It is a known fact by all critical stakeholders of the party and even the staff that the National Caretaker Committee has from inception been hamstrung by inadequate finance.
"This is so much that simple secretariat duties have been a struggle not to talk of payment of staff salary.
"To pay staff salaries of just N18 Million a month has been a problem for us because the funds are not available,'' he said.
Adeyeye added that members of the caretaker committee did not enjoy any remuneration, and that more often, they spent their personal money to meet some of the party's needs.
He said that the committee never complained publicly about the paucity of fund because it was an internal matter.
He said that the governors ruling on the party's platform were alive for people to verify the truth of their alleged financial support to the committee
The publicity secretary, however, pointed out that there was nothing wrong or untoward in receiving contributions from the governors or party members in running a party.
"Our only regret is that these contributions have not been forthcoming as expected, giving the heavy responsibilities placed before us.
"Weighty responsibility, especially the burden of having to deal with distractions caused by Sheriff and his group are left for us to deal with.
"Nevertheless, no matter how little, it is better to be funded by our party members than by the All Progressive Congress (APC) as is the case with Sheriff and his cohorts.
`Cairo should tell us which APC governor, minister or official bought Jeeps for them?
"Gov. Àyodele Fayose has also made a public allegation that Sheriff has received the sum of one million dollars from the APC to organize a new convention for PDP.
"Sheriff is yet to publicly refute the allegation,'' he said.
On Sheriff's call on Prof. Jerry Gana-led Strategy Review and Inter-Party Affairs Committee to stop speaking for the party because "it is illegal'', Adeyeye said that the committee remained legal.
He urged Gana and his group to continue with their good work aimed at repositioning the party.
On the status of Ojougboh in PDP National Working Committee (NWC), Adeyeye said Ojougboh parading himself as in that capacity was "an extreme act of impunity''.
He said that Ojougboh was neither elected into the position nor appointed by National Executive Council of the party.
"He was not a member of the NWC that existed prior to May 21, 2016.''
On political solutions to the party's leadership problem, he said that the committee has not rejected it, rather it had accepted the resolutions reached by former President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors.
"The agreement states clearly that all parties should resign their various positions.
"It added that our lawyers should therefore meet and draw up an agreement that we can present to the Supreme Court as a voluntary judgement that we have agreed to.
"These would have provided both political and legal solution to the logjam, but Sheriff rejected it.
"Sheriff has continued to insist that he would conduct a National Convention but he does not enjoy the trust and confidence of the vast majority of party members,'' Adeyeye stated.
He added that if Sheriff truly believed in the unity of the party, he should resign "as the caretaker committee members are also willing to resign, saying, "no scarify is too much for anybody to make''.
Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa has decried the decay in the local government system, and declared that the councils had become "mere conduit pipes through which resources are siphoned".
"So much money is sunk into the local government system but all the resources get stolen. The local government system has become a conduit pipe for the theft of huge resources," Al-Makura said on Monday in Lafia.
Umaru Al-Makura
The governor, in a speech to inaugurate the chairman and members of the Local Government Service Commission, regretted that the local government councils had become ineffective.
"The workforce at the local governments is over-blotted beyond what the resources can cater for.
"The salary figures are staggering even when you cannot see what value workers add to the system. Clearly, this situation cannot continue," he said.
Promising that the workforce would be pruned, he said that his administration would re-position local government administration towards effective service delivery that would make the rural areas attractive.
He challenged members of the commission to work with the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to reverse the rot in local government administration, and called for strict adherence to due process in the recruitment, training and promotion of workers.
In his response, Chairman of the Commission, Mr Sani Bawa, thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve, and assured him of his team's utmost commitment to reviving the local government system.
Let me thank the leadership of Vanguard Newspapers for inviting me to lead the discussion on "The Hard Facts to Rescue the Nigerian Economy". As I reviewed three of my recent interventions on the economy ("Buhari vs Jonathan: Beyond the Elections" (January 2015); "Can a new Buharinomics Save Nigeria?" (November 2015); and "A Fragile State with a Failing Economy: Making Progressive Change work for Nigeria" (August 2016)) as well as the plethora of expert opinions, conference communiques, lectures, memos and blueprints that adorn our media on daily basis, I am not really sure what else to say.
Implicit in the Vanguard choice of topic is that Nigerian economy is in dire need of a rescue, and many would agree. Let me frame the context of this rescue agenda with quotes from two voices that must know what they are talking about. On the state of the nation, the distinguished Elder statesman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi sums it this way (12th February, 2017)
"Nigeria's project is not working, after 50 to 60 years the Nigerian project is not working despite everything we went through, constitutional conferences, the country is at a standstill……It is unfortunate we are still where we were more than 50 years after independence and have not been able to move away from where our colonial masters left us".
From Left; Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Former Governor of Edo State; Dr Kayode Fayemi,Hon Minister, Solid Minerals Develeoment;Prof Charles Soludo, Former CBN Governor/Keynote Speaker; Mr Muda Yusuf, Director General LCCI; Mr Bismarck Rewane, MD Financial Derivations Company ltd; Dr Alex Otti,Former GMD Diamond Bank; Mr Issa Aremu, NEC Member, NLC &; General Secretary,NUTGTWN and Dr Obadiah Mailafia, Former Deputy Governor CBN.At the Vanguard Economic Discourse with the Theme; The Hard Facst to Rescue The Nigeria Economy held at Civic centre Victoria Island Lagos yesterday. PHOTO; AKEEM SALAU
On the performance of the government that Nigerians have entrusted to rescue the situation, one of the shinning lights of that 'Team Nigeria' has the following to say (Memo to the President which is circulating: I have received it from three persons —not from El-Rufai):
These inherited problems were aggravated by the continuing slide in crude oil prices and the renewed insurgency in the Niger Delta that reduced oil production by more than 50 per cent! …. This, however, is merely the symptom and simplest explanation of our current economic problems. However, we cannot, after more than a year in office continue to rely only on this "blame them" explanation. We were elected precisely because Nigerians knew that the previous administration was mismanaging resources and engaged in unprecedented waste and corruption. We must therefore identify the roots of our enduring economic under-performance as a nation, and present a medium-term national plan and strategy to turn things around… We have no such clear roadmap at the moment…. In my honest opinion, we have made this situation worse by failing to be proactive in taking some political, economic and governance decisions in a timely manner. In very blunt terms, Mr. President, our APC administration has not only failed to manage expectations of a populace that expected overnight 'change' but has failed to deliver even mundane matters of governance outside of our successes in fighting BH insurgency and corruption. Overall, the feeling even among our supporters today is that the APC government is not doing well……(Gov Nasir el-Rufai: September 2016).
The key point of Ango Abullahi is that Nigeria seems to have been moving in circles since independence, while el-Rufai, in a rare patriotic duty, makes a frank wake up call to the President and the APC.
But there is a piece of good news. Finally, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) now has an "Economic Recovery and Growth Plan" (ERGP) which is supposed to be its blueprint for rescuing the economy. I commend the effort. At least we now have something to frame policy discussion, and how we wish that this lecture and discussions are centred around an evaluation of the new Plan: Is it a plan for transition to post-primary commodity economy or more of the same? In other words, is this plan the response to both Ango Abdullahi and el-Rufai as well as millions of other patriotic Nigerians who have called for a sense of direction to the ship of state? That will be for another day!
II: The FGN Response and Report Card So far?
To be fair, it bears repeating that the FGN inherited a bad economy. By May 2015, the FGN was already borrowing to pay salaries and about 30 states had challenges meeting their salary obligations. The previous government had an unprecedented rate of debt accumulation even at a time of unprecedented oil boom, and was even depleting our foreign reserves instead of more than doubling or tripling what it met (it could have more than doubled the reserves if it grew it by just 50% of the rate of growth for 2004-2008); etc. Oil prices were falling, and disruptions of output in the Niger Delta made matters worse. Of course, insecurity especially in the North East was very high, and corruption was pervasive. The situation called for a state of emergency, with a progressive rescue team that could run at the speed of 1000 kilometres per hour to halt the drift and lay the foundation for a post-oil economy.
Most Nigerians acknowledge the FGN's efforts in fighting insurgency (Boko Haram) and corruption. On the economy, it has implemented the Treasury single account (TSA) although we believe that it could have been implemented better without squeezing the economy of the much needed liquidity at a time of recession; payroll audit and discovering thousands of 'ghost workers' (every government discovers these ghost workers); and a mishmash of command and control measures, demand management and exchange rate controls – all of which have wreaked havoc on business confidence and private investment, massive capital flight and driven the macro economy into recession.
Most macro variables have worsened significantly: inflation (from 9% to 19%); exchange rate (from 197/215 to 305/465); unemployment (from 7.5% to 14%); GDP growth (from 2% to -1.56%); market capitalization of NSE (from N11.658trn or $54.2 billion at parallel market rate to N8.658trn or $18.6 at parallel market rate— with daily trading down from around N11billion to N1 billion or less, i.e., about $2 million); poverty escalating; and youth agitations increasing. Business confidence remains very low at (-29) while competitiveness index remains a low 3.39 points and ranked 124th in the world. Foreign reserves remain depleted and the current account balance remains negative. Savings- investment rates are very low and Sovereign credit ratings worsened. Nigerian workers have suffered a double whammy: average nominal wages are declining while real wages dramatically shrunk (with high inflationary pressures). Asset prices have collapsed, and household wealth has shrunk. Paradoxically, Nigeria's rank on the Corruption perceptions index remains unchanged at 136th position out of about 176 countries, while its ranking on the Fragile States index has worsened from the 17th and 14th positions in 2014 and 2015 respectively to the 13th position in 2016 (down from 54th position in 2005). Many economic agents have lost count of how many exchange rates operate at the same time. The overall direction of macroeconomic policy was largely more of the same. On fiscal policy, FGN continued to spend over 100% of its revenue on recurrent expenditure (as done by previous government) while borrowing ALL its capital expenditure. There remained half-hearted commitment to deregulation of petroleum pricing as well as privatization of refineries. The budgeting framework remained largely the same, with all the institutionalized inefficiencies (recall the 'budget padding' scandals). Monetary and exchange rate policies were in their own world.
Let me make a point that most analysts miss namely, that in domestic currency terms, the economy is in a recession, but that in US dollar terms, the economy has suffered massive compression. Depending on the exchange rate used, the size of Nigeria's GDP has shrunk from about US$575 billion when the current government took over to anything ranging from US$354 to US$232, and Nigeria has again lost the first and second positions in Africa's GDP ranking. At the interbank rate of about N375 per dollar, the GDP is probably around US$288 billion but if we use the parallel market rate of about N465, then we are closer to US$232 billion. Think about this: in the previous 16 years, Nigeria's GDP more than doubled in US dollar terms. In less than two years, the current government has managed to reduce the size of GDP in dollar terms to about 50% of what it met. We will get out of the recession any moment from now— with oil price and output rising—but it will be a miracle if the government is able to return the GDP in US dollar terms back to the level it met it even by 2023!
I must congratulate the government for plugging some of the loopholes and stopping some of the bleedings. The challenge however is that much of these have focused on the MICRO: while trying to tie down the chicken, we are either stopping the cows from coming in or chasing them away. For example, while we are fixated with stopping the import of toothpicks and stopping the petty traders from taking dollar cash away, we have created havoc that have shut down many factories and with low capacity utilization, as well as ignited massive capital flight and halted capital inflows— with the attendant impoverishment of millions, escalating unemployment and inflation, etc. Put simply, we have missed the MACRO picture! While we are winning selected micro battles, we are losing the war on the MACRO economy. In November 2015, I argued that the policy direction of government was inconsistent with its stated objectives of economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction, and that if it insisted on controlling price (exchange rate and capital controls) the way it was doing, the real economy (quantities) would adjust/contract with vengeance. I further warned that incomplete or dysfunctional adjustment would be costly. In a matter of months, Nigerian economy was plunged into an avoidable recession. Naturally, most people never admit their errors—but rather point to other "external factors". The last PDP government was blaming "external shocks" while the current APC government blames not only the fall in oil price/output but also the past PDP government. No one admits of policy errors, and that is the problem.
Have we learnt any lessons from the experience so far? We ought to, but I am not sure we did. One lesson we ought to have learnt is that we sought to re-write macroeconomics for Nigeria but sadly, the hapless millions of Nigerians have been the unfortunate Guinea pigs. A lesson is that the claim to Nigeria's economic exceptionalism is false. Nigerians, like economic agents everywhere, respond to incentives and sanctions. Furthermore, the pseudo-intellectualism framed around infantile but insular nationalism does not offer a practical template for prosperity in the 21st century. It merely massages our emotions, offering no pragmatic action plan. Another lesson is that Nigeria has refused to learn from the history of boom and bust cycles in oil/commodity prices. The current government is responding exactly like some did in the past: treating oil price/quantity fall as temporary while treating a rise as permanent/normal. It is merely embarking on short term demand management—just as "coping strategy" while waiting for oil price/quantity to return to "normal" and we get back to business as usual. Every government (except those forced by external agencies such as the World Bank/IMF to undertake painful adjustments) have always skirted around the margins when faced with negative shocks and passed on the hard decisions to the next government. Every government since the 1970s has lamented a lack of diversification of export and fiscal revenues but there has been no coherent strategy for a post-oil economy. Every government blames previous ones for "doing nothing" and promises to be the one that will "for the first time in Nigeria's history" get the job done. The cycle continues!
III: Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP): Is it the Plan for Transition to a Post-Oil Economy that Nigeria has been waiting for?
First, we must commend the FGN for this major effort. I will undertake a detailed evaluation of the Plan in the future. To motivate discussions here, let me raise just two or three points.
Whose Plan is the ERGP?
This might sound trite but that is the issue. Ownership will determine whether the Plan is just a public relations document or will be implemented. I have seen a Plan where the President, in his handwriting constituted members of the drafting committee, commented on every page of the draft and even wrote some pages himself; spent 90 minutes every week at a meeting with heads of all economic MDAs to coordinate implementation, etc. There was the National Reform Council that included leaders of the National Assembly, leaders of the ruling party, etc. That Plan exceeded most of its targets and secured debt relief for Nigeria. On the other hand, I have seen several glossy Plans at state and federal levels prepared by bureaucrats and launched with fanfare by Presidents and governors and the rest is history. More fundamentally, to what extent is the ERGP consistent with the APC Manifesto? The APC manifesto promised "a conscious plan for a post-oil economy":
As a change Agent, APC intend to cleanse our closet to halt the dangerous drift of Nigeria to a failed state; with a conscious plan for post-oil-economy in Nigeria. To achieve this laudable programme APC government shall restructure the country, devolve power to the units, with the best practices of federalism and eliminate unintended paralysis of the centre (APC Manifesto).
All previous Plans (see all the national development plans since the 1970s, SAP, NEEDS, Vision 2020, etc.) have all promised to diversify away from oil. How is ERGP different? (I read the Section on "ERGP's New Approach", and I am not too sure of the claims). Where is the new structure of the country that will deliver the new Plan? Where are the best practices of federalism that will eliminate the paralysis of the centre— and alter the incentive system and drive competition in a post oil world? How will you transit to the post oil economy when the Plan is designed to intensify dependence on it and other primary commodities—agriculture and solid minerals? Or are we trying to repeat the same thing over and over and hoping for a different outcome?
b) Macroeconomic Framework as a Wish or More of the Same?
Some of the figures in the real sector and fiscal accounts as presented in the Plan are surprising. Except I am missing something, the numbers largely do not add up. Also, they are certainly inconsistent with the objective of moving to a new economy. Given the LEVEL of prices and GDP at market prices, the level of revenue/expenditure (about 3% of nominal GDP) or even declining capital expenditure (perhaps around 0.5% of nominal GDP), constitute a drop in the ocean. When the planners therefore state that "growth will be driven by fiscal stimulus…", I wonder what exactly they mean by fiscal stimulus— with a budget of 3 – 4% of GDP?
When you think of these figures in real terms and for an anaemic economy, there could be cause for concern. The private sector ought to more than double its expenditure/investment to fill the slack. How will this happen with low domestic savings and reluctant foreign investors? Needless to say, that the envisaged 15 million new jobs to be created during the Plan period is a nice wish. The growth vis-Ã -vis job accounting does not support such a wish. Up until 2018 (the last effective fiscal year for the current government), the Plan envisages to continue the practice of the last government of borrowing to finance recurrent expenditure. The deficit will continue to exceed the capital budget, meaning that every penny of capital expenditure will continue to be borrowed as done by the last government. So, what has changed? We do not see a clear programme of action on what to do with the over 520 federal agencies and parastatals.
More fundamentally, the Plan talks with tongue in cheek about "improved implementation of a flexible foreign exchange rate regime to support growth". On external balance, it talks about "expenditure switching policies to promote exports….". Interestingly, there are no projections for the trajectory of exchange rate or foreign reserves. This is the elephant in the room. Let me say that in the context of any serious transition Plan to a post oil economy, the exchange rate regime, including a target path for a competitive real effective exchange rate (REER) will be decisive. It is not the silver bullet but like the advert for the American Express, 'you don't leave home without it'. Attracting the badly needed foreign savings/investment as well as diversifying into competitive export-oriented industrialization will not happen without a competitive REER. You cannot accumulate foreign reserves on a sustained basis without it.
The rapid accumulation of forex reserves and massive FDI and portfolio inflows in the period 2004- 2008 was not an accident. Take out the excess crude savings from our reserves, and one would see that the CBN's component of the reserves grew very rapidly during this period ostensibly because we deliberately targeted to ensure that Nigeria avoided the Dutch disease syndrome (over-valuation of the real effective exchange rate) when oil price was rising. The IMF complained that the Naira was undervalued and pressured us to sell down reserves to mop up excess liquidity. We refused, and convinced them of the logic of our actions. If we had not maintained an undervalued REER, the nominal exchange rate would have been around N70 -N80 but reserves at no more than US$20 billion (instead of $54 billion) at the start of the global financial crisis in 2008. The story of the Nigerian economy would have been a totally different one, and perhaps by now the Naira exchange rate would have far exceeded N1000 per dollar. This is a subject for another day. My key point here is that the macroeconomic framework will remain dicey until we remove the huge uncertainty and opacity surrounding our exchange regime.
The Plan as packaged is a good effort, but in terms of our expectations as a Plan for transition to a post oil economy (as promised by the APC), it is a missed opportunity! It is a generic plan, and in several aspects resembles the NEEDS document (designed for a different era) with some tinkering. It is a plan to consume the oil and commodity rents and not one to restructure in order to replace them. With rising oil price and output, the economy will recover and grow but in spite of the plan and not because of it. It will take the next oil/commodity shock for us to lament that we should have had a Plan to transit from oil/commodity dependence. I am willing to bet that not much will happen in terms of the structure of the economy or the structure of fiscal and export revenues at the end of the plan. The Plan's claim that by 2020 Nigeria would have made significant progress towards achieving structural change with a more diversified and inclusive economy is also a nice wish. If only we know precisely how to measure if we made "significant progress"! The next Plan will probably start by stating that this Plan failed to restructure and diversify the economy or achieve an inclusive economy. Every Plan however is a life document. Perhaps before it goes into full implementation, there is a need for Extended ERGP or ERGP Plus Plus!
Conclusion:
There is no doubt that the current FGN and most of the state governments mean well for Nigeria. However, the road to hell is always filled with good intentions. We have wasted too much time trying to reinvent the wheel and Nigerians are paying for it. It is never late to make a fresh and strong beginning. Our development path bypassed competitive industrialization which is sorely needed in the transition to a post oil economy as well as to provide jobs for the millions of youths. But crafting and implementing a Plan to steer a totally new direction in a society already numbed by easy life from oil rents is not a tea party. Furthermore, politics is around the corner and easy populism will stand in the way of the hard but painful choices that must be made for a new economy. Politics of survival will dictate business as usual or mere tinkering at the margins as we have seen so far. What Nigeria needs at this time is statesmanship politics: men and women ready to pay a huge political price to fundamentally lay a new foundation.
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