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There appears to be
a different standard of judging a crime in the playbook of Nigeria’s
leading anti-graft agencies when it affects people presumed to be
“executive suspects”, an ongoing NEXT investigation of high profile
cases involving top brass Nigerians has revealed.

Using the case of
the Speaker of the House of Representative, Dimeji Bankole, as an
illustration, NEXT investigations found that the current institutional
cultures in both the Economic and Financial Crimes commission (EFCC),
and the Independent Corruption Practices Commission (ICPC) often lead
to very opposite resolutions regarding the same case, even when they
are armed with the same complaints and the same evidence.

Soji Apampa, a
leading civil society voice in the country and chief executive of the
Centre for Business Integrity in Abuja, located the problem in the
framework of what he characterised as the power struggles among the
statutory agencies charged with leading the anti-corruption battle in
the country.

“Clearly, what we
are seeing now is a difficulty, on the path of those responsible, to
fight corruption” he said, adding that “we are witnessing power
struggles, which have all along been in our society. But they are just
beginning to manifest.”

Last week a
business survey on crime and corruption in Nigeria discovered that
people have “little trust in anti-corruption authorities” partly based
on the belief that reports on crimes would not necessarily lead to
closure or effective investigations and or prosecutions.

The report was
jointly sponsored by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the European Union
(EU), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The 2.3 billion naira car scandal

A clear illustration of the problem was the 2007 car scandal in the lower chamber of the nation’s parliament.

In December 2007 at
an executive session presided over by Mr. Bankole, the lower parliament
approved the purchase of 380 units of Peugeot 407 cars; 5 for each of
the 76 committees of the house.

This transaction
was followed by wide allegations that some members made financial gains
from the deal because Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN), which supplied
the vehicles, allegedly supplied inferior vehicles at significantly
less cost than the approved ones. The House was also alleged to have
paid Value Added Tax twice to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

The ethics and
privileges committee of the House which investigated the allegations
cleared the leadership of any wrongdoing and instead questioned the
source of the documents presented by Festus Keyamo, a Lagos lawyer who
first raised the allegations.

Recommendation 3 of
the committee was that “the clerk of the National Assembly should
immediately carry out an internal investigation to unravel why certain
classified and important documents such as the letter of offer and
acceptance in the National Assembly were procured by unauthorised
persons …”

Consequently, the
EFCC commenced investigations on the scandal. However, in a recent but
dramatic entry into the controversy, the EFCC claimed that it has
concluded its investigations, sent a copy to its legal unit for
prosecutorial recommendation, and another copy to the Presidency for
its attention.

Farida Waziri, the
chairperson of the EFCC triumphantly told journalists at the EFCC
headquarters on June 7 that the commission’s report was ready and had
been sent to the “commission’s legal unit for advice.”

She also said the
commission had sent a report of its investigations to the Presidency
and was sure of the Presidency’s cooperation.

Passing blame

Hardly had Mrs.
Waziri uttered her comments than it was refused. The Presidency,
through its spokesman, Ima Niboro, denied ever receiving any report
from the EFCC, and advised the agency to do its job according to its
rules because, as he said, the Presidency was not in the business of
vetting law enforcement reports.

The Waziri-Niboro
tick-tack gave outsiders enough gunpowder to fire shots of doubt at the
anti-corruption claims of the administration; to suggest executive
tampering with cases.

Embarrassed at the
gaff, Mrs. Waziri’s herself quickly struggled to smoothen the rough
edges of her claims by. “I don’t think the Presidency will want to use
it (the investigation report) to blackmail,” she said. “You know the
Presidency believes in the rule of law.”

However succour
came by way of a civil society intervention when Mr. Apampa claimed
that “it is not that EFCC did not tell the truth”, adding that “I am
inclined to believe them” but shifting the blame to the doorsteps of
the Presidency. “Perhaps the people in the presidency are not quite
comfortable going ahead with it because each side is holding the other
to ransom,” he said.

However, Aduche
Wokochi, head of business law department at the Rivers State University
of Science and Technology, takes a contrary view. “The function of EFCC
is not supposed to be approved by the President before they institute
prosecution,” he said. “They are established by the law and the law
that set them up does not require them getting Presidential approval
before they prosecute anybody, he said challenging the agency to show
good conduct by re-submiting the document if it feels serious about
making it public that way. They should re-submit. Perhaps the period of
invisible presidency has led to the loss of the report. They must have
their own copies of every report. They should resubmit if they feel it
is necessary.”

Musa Ebho-imaha,
the special assistant on media matters to Mr. Bankole, appeared
confident that Mr. Bankole had no case to answer at the weekend,
telling NEXT that “He (Bankole) has never been invited (for
questioning), because there is no truth in the matter. The EFCC knows
there is no truth in the matter.”

Femi Babafemi, the
EFCC spokesman, declined to respond to questions or reply to text
messages on the status of the car probe scandal.

However, the ICPC
insists on pursuing investigating into the matter. A source involved in
the ICPC investigation said PAN, which has always denied any wrong
doing, and which was initially trying to protect the House leadership
by keeping some necessary documents from ICPC investigators, “are now
cooperating; some House members definitely have case to answer.”

The car scandal is
not the first investigation over which the anti-corruption agencies are
refusing to prosecute or even invite Mr. Bankole, who has no immunity.

The Rural Electrification Scandal

Upon conclusion of
its investigations into the 5.2 Billion Naira rural electrification
scandal, the EFCC charged Ndidi Elumelu, the chairman of the House
committee on power, and his Senate counterpart Nicholas Ugbane, as well
as some other legislators and staff of the rural electrification
agency, to court on a 156 count charge.

Though Mr. Bankole
was widely believed to have been involved in the scandal, his
involvement was neither investigated, nor was he invited by the
commission for questioning.

“There was no point
inviting the speaker, he has no case to answer. If he is not in court,
it means he has no case to answer,” stated Mr. Ebho-imaha.

Again the story is
different at the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related
offences Commission (ICPC) which is also carrying out an investigation
over the scandal.

“We have almost
concluded investigations, but so far everything shows that the Speaker
also has a case to answer. There is no way he would be free, though we
will have to invite him to state his case,” the source, who is involved
in the investigation, stated.

Companies owned by relatives of Mr. Bankole, investigators believe, benefitted from the scandal.

When contacted,
Folu Olamiti, the ICPC spokesman simply said “our investigations are
still ongoing, but we are almost through with them.” He declined to
comment on Mr. Bankole’s involvement.

Buoyed by what they
describe as a “window available for complaints, and possible
prosecution resulting from investigations at the ICPC,” legislators who
branded themselves as progressives, and who are seeking the prosecution
of Mr. Bankole and other members of the House leadership over the
scandal are now relying on the ICPC to conduct what they say will be “a
thorough investigation on the latest 9 Billion naira scandal.”

The 9 billion naira allocation scandal

The 9 billion naira
allocation scandal in the House of Representatives indicates that,
whereas the EFCC makes a strenuous public show of its investigation
into the matter, it has nevertheless scrupulously pursued an
enforcement strategy that will avoid prosecuting Mr. Bankole.

In this case, some
legislators are accusing Mr. Bankole and the House leadership of
mismanaging 9 billion of the 11 billion naira meant as allocation to
the legislative house in 2009. The legislators petitioned the two anti
corruption agencies when a one-week ultimatum they gave the speaker to
resign expired.

The EFCC, which
claims it has set up a seven-man committee, stormed the National
Assembly offices of the legislators recently for more incriminating
documents, and interrogated some persons involved in the scandal.

However,
knowledgeable sources at the agency told NEXT at the weekend that, “the
investigation may well go the way of previous ones involving Mr.
Bankole had gone, which is either to exonerate the Speaker or that the
report simply not see the light of the day.”

Till date the EFCC
has not questioned Mr. Bankole. On Tuesday, July 3, in his office at
the commissions headquarters, Emmanuel Ayoola, the chairman of the
Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences commission
(ICPC) met with Dino Melaiye and Independence Ogunewe, leaders of the
“Progressive Minded Legislators”.

Contrary to media
reports, it was the legislators who called for the meeting. Mr. Melaiye
and Mr. Ogunewe, according to our source, brought more documents to
buttress their allegations against the speaker.

The ICPC boss,
according to investigators, personally led the interrogation of the
legislators because, “in any case, before they came, we had started our
investigations; though they gave us more documents to show the
speaker’s culpability,” the source stated.

Same old tale

The allegations,
which include price inflation purchase of unnecessary materials by the
house at inflated prices, and purchase of exorbitant cars for the
speaker and the deputy, have all been refuted by the Speaker and the
House leadership who accuse the anti-Bankole legislators of parading
fake documents.

“If they say the
documents we are presenting – even to the EFCC and ICPC are fake – let
them present the original ones to Nigerians,” stated Mr. Melaiye on a
radio programme.

“There was
definitely inflation of prices in their purchases – how can you
purchase a television set which even up till now is less than two
hundred thousand naira, for 525,000 naira?” stated an anti-corruption
source. “We however have to focus on who among them (the House
leadership) benefitted from the inflated prices.”

Mr. Wokochi is however worried at the possibility of multiple
investigations. “If one agency has concluded investigations, it should
commence prosecution, the other agency should discontinue because a
person cannot be prosecuted twice on the same matter,” he said.

In the last election, his party had 74,059 votes…
That is according to them, according to INEC.
His plans to ensure the next election is different
They rubbished the
entire democratic process. They stifled the voice of opposition and
eradicated any form of democracy that is a threat to them, as the
political party in power. This is a very peculiar country, but one
thing is very clear: the hand of the Almighty God has always being on
this country. The hand that brought Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan,
that same hand will position Reverend Okotie and once that is done, you
will know that our nationhood has evolved.
Why God would allow the (electoral) crises to persist
Because there is a
word in the scripture that is called long suffering and he delays
justice because of the poor that will suffer. If we break into
hostilities, it is these rich men that will first abscond. So many
times, the Lord is merciful because of we, the people; not because he
wants to perpetuate those people in power, but because he is careful.
The prophecy concerning the PDP has gone forth and they are going to
fight each other and destroy each other because that is how evil is
terminated. We can’t fight them. They are too strong for us. So they
most fight each other.
His previous assertions that he would president in 2003 and 2007
That is what I’m
saying, that my time will come. I already quoted Abraham Lincoln in the
sense that I am so sure that it is a divine mandate. All I have to do
is wait for the right time and not compromise my philosophy or
compromise my faith and join a conglomerate of men and women who call
themselves political parties, whereas they are just a conscription of
men and women of anti-theatrical philosophies who have no ideological
connectivity and their only common denominator is their desire to annex
wealth. Because I believe in a Nigeria where truth reins; a fresh
Nigeria which our party symbolises in F-Faith, R-Responsibility,
E-Equality, S-Security and H-Hope. This is the philosophy upon which I
have erected the citadel of my confidence because I believe only a
fresh Nigerian can salvage this nation. All this cosmetic and
superficial activity that are going on by the ruling party is a journey
in futility. This will also drift us back to square one, which we have
always been.
How soon the drift will happen
If we perpetuate a
PDP government, which I think Nigeria cannot afford, we will be back to
square one and that is a recipe for extinction. The party is
incapacitated, ab initio. But the party has been ruling for 12 years I
am aware and it was necessary for Nigerians to reach a point of
self-examination and re-assessment of this slavery. Our leaders have
betrayed us on a large scale and it takes a while to come to that
realisation and global events, as seen in the angry youth protest in
Abuja as Nigerians are recognising what they have to do without anybody
galvanising them. It is an evolution. Mao Tse Tung once said if people
no longer fear your power, it is because another power is on its way
and that is what we are seeing here. I believe with all my heart that
we are seeing the last vestiges of this oppressive leadership of the
PDP. I believe our people are coming to a place where they are willing
to make the necessary sacrifice to emancipate themselves and that the
money politics that the PDP has played for so many years is gradually
frittering out and there is going to be an implosion within the party
that will totally fragment it to the extent that it will be totally
powerless.
His silence when activists were protesting for rule of law
I do not know the
kind of newspapers you read, but I made my opinion known and at some
point in time, I called for an interim government to be installed so
that the entire malady that surrounded the executive could be cleared
and we will move on. The nation was inundated by the soap opera that
transpired with incapacitation of late President Yar’Adua and even
though we had urged the PDP to declare his whereabouts and be
transparent, nobody paid attention and we did not want to sound
insensitive with the fact that the president is incapacitated and be
more interested in politics. So, the sentiment of it all was something
that PDP capitalised on. But it was not because we were not quick to
articulate our views on the impact.
How he intends to tackle problems such as corruption, unemployment and power
Let me put this in
proper context; campaigns have not begun. What I just did was to
articulate my desire to run for the office. We are not suppose to
engage in any campaign until INEC (Independent National Electoral
Commission) says so. I can only give you observations that I have made
concerning the things that I have seen in the country from a very
constructive view-point. I believe the reason why corruption has been
able to flourish is because there is an enabling environment. If you
want to incapacitate those who participate in corruption, you will have
to change the environment, not just engender punitive measures. It has
to be juxtaposed with moral instruction for there to be meaningful
change. For instance if you take a fish out of water, it cannot
function; if you take an evil man into heaven, he cannot function, so
there are certain mechanisms in government that make it possible for
this charlatans to operate and until we dismantle this mechanism,
corruption will (only) at best be tackled on the punitive level which
is where you have the EFCC and all of those things. The 10 commandments
didn’t even save Israel, not to talk about EFCC saving Nigeria. We also
need to understand that there is cooperation between these charlatans
and those who are in the supervisory role; this is a major
characteristic of the PDP as seen in the House of Representatives,
where the speaker was indicted some months ago and we are right back at
it. That is why I respect the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo,
because he was bold enough to address that. When I become president, we
will change the environment.
If you go back a
few years when Yar’Adua was installed as head of state, because they
had nothing to offer, they came with a nominal seven point agenda with
nothing on ground to corroborate the position. The laws of dialectical
materialism by Karl Marx, which involve having a concept called the
thesis, you find a concept that works against the thesis called the
anti-thesis, then both of them synthesize together to form what is
called synthesis which can be translated into chaos and this what PDP
does. They create chaos, then they get a group within the party to
oppose the chaos and then they resolve the problems within the two
groups and synthesize the third position, which is where we are headed
in the first place. So they create a problem and get a group of people
to fight it, like when they created the Yar’Adua problem. They create
that chaos and buy time using the diversionary tactics that makes
people then think; oh this is an emergencey situation whilst they have
nothing to offer.
Government is not
transparent in this country and they have refused to give room to the
fourth estate (journalism) to do what they are mentally meant to do.
God and the presidential system
The whole concept
of the presidential system comes from the bible, because God is our
law-giver; that is how you get the legislature; God is our judge, so
you have the judiciary; God is our King, you have the executive. That
is how it was patterned and it was devised as a concept of government.
We need a fourth concept that will articulate the plans on the purpose
of the government to the people. That is how the press came about. The
new Nigeria of our dreams that will soon transpire must be a government
of integrity. It must understand that Nigeria is no longer a pariah
nation, that we live in a millennium where the quest for innovation
knows no frontiers and that we are no longer isolated in some dark
continent. So, a Chris Okotie government will re-establish government
in its true definition, where the people are a part of it and know what
is going on.
His ability to build a structure that could win elections
If you take the
government of this nation in tandem, maybe from the civil war, you will
discover that there has always being a divine intervention at some
point and recent events corroborate my saying. Look at former
president, Olusegun Obasanjo who was out of government, incarcerated
for a phantom coup, from where he became the president of Nigeria. He
was not involved in any politics at that time, in terms of democratic
process, but he became the head of state. The late Yar’Adua, relatively
unknown with little or no quality pedigree more or less or his vice,
Goodluck Jonathan, probably known regionally, not at on the national
platform but today he is our President, because there is a divine
intervention in the affairs of this country. That is why it imperative
for a Chris Okotie to pontificate on the affairs of this country that
identifies him as a credible aspirant for that office; so that when the
opportunity presents itself, it will be easy to say this is the man.
Possibilities of merger with other political parties
Talks have already
commenced and, in due time, we will unveil our strategy. The talks have
always been on since as far back as the last two elections that I
contested, where some political parties approached me because of my
credibility. But I will not compromise my sense of purpose to give
Nigerians the right leadership by jumping at people who do not share
the same values as FRESH.
Adherence to
principles invokes respect, as all kind of overtures have come from
different political parties with most of them having leaders who do not
have the kind of intellectual capacity that is necessary for the kind
of government they are trying to put in place. But I have stayed with
my principle. I believe, just like Abraham Lincoln said, “I will study
and wait.”
What happens to his church if he becomes president
It will be bigger.
When God was sending Jesus to the world, he wanted to make him the
political leader of the world, not the spiritual leader. But for him to
be the political leader, he had to take the sins of the world through
his death. He will return as the governor, as stated in the bible, that
will rule with the rod, as a political leader. By this procedure, God
patterned Jesus to be a secular leader like Melchizedek during the time
of Abraham, so that Jesus can become both a spiritual leader and a
political leader. So, somebody like me, I am already a spiritual leader
and I will be a political leader because earth was given to man to
rule. Only a righteous government can exalt a nation.
Ethnicity and zoning formula in Nigerian political parties
We have gone
beyond that. Zoning is a PDP mechanism and anybody clamouring for these
issues cannot adduce evidence to substantiate that position. The best
election in this country was won by a Muslim-Muslim ticket, that
everyone across the nation voted for. Such clamour is a narrow
perspective of politicians who are unable by any sweat of their
imagination to acquire political recognition and so they think the only
way they can is to polarize the polity along religious and ethnic
divide. The process of galvanising ethnicity in political parties is
anachronistic, because the experience we have disproves that
philosophy. What Nigerians are looking for today is a credible
candidate, irrespective of where he/she is from, because both the
northerners and southerners will tell you that their leaders have
betrayed them. Zoning is the business of the PDP; a gargantuan
monstrosity and PDP is not Nigeria. I will run for the office of the
president, irrespective of the fact that Mr. Jonathan is also from the
South.
The experience of his divorce and second marriage Entering the
covenant of marriage is the highest possible level of spiritual
responsibility anybody can assume, because it authenticates the mystery
of the God head. I have found myself in a better place of understanding
which gives a conscious of responsibility for this life.

Ekiti
State Government has revoked nine road projects awarded to some
contractors due to poor handling of the projects, the state
Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Abiodun Olujimi has said.

Mrs. Olujimi, who
disclosed this while featuring on a programme organized by members of
the Nigeria Union of Journalists, said government had to revoke the
contracts because the contractors lack competent manpower and equipment
to carry out the job. Some of the contracts terminated by the Ekiti
State Government, according to Mrs. Olujimi were: Irele-Ogbe Road,
Ara-Isinbode Road, Ido-Aramoko Road, and Omisanajna Road in Ado-Ekiti.
“We are not ready to tolerate any shoddy job from any contractor,” she
said. “As government we owe the people of Ekiti that duty to provide
motor able roads for them. Government will ensure that no contractor is
allowed to short-change the government by executing poor projects.
Based on the poor handling of some of its projects, the (Governor) Oni
administration has reduced the number of contractors handling its
various projects.”

Mrs. Olujimi added that the state government has given a two-week
ultimatum to some other contractors to deliver quality project or have
their contracts revoked. The commissioner pointed out that the Mr. Oni
led administration had reached an agreement with the federal government
to repair all major federal roads in the state. She also stated that
the state government had ordered the arrest of three contractors who
abandoned various road project awarded to them.

Some criminals,
apparently targeting the asset declaration forms filled and submitted
for safe keeping by civil servants and other public office holders,
have carried out a raid on the offices of the Code of Conduct Bureau in
Abuja. Although the criminals failed to access any asset declaration
form, they made away with laptops and cash during the raid on the
premises of the Assets Declaration Department of the Code of Conduct
Bureau (CCB), located at Asokoro early in the week.

While CCB’s
corporate headquarters is located under the Presidency, and situated at
Phase II of the Federal Secretariat in Garki, its office specifically
responsible for the issuance, submission and safe keeping of asset
declarations is situated at Asokoro, a distance of about five
kilometres. Confirming the incident to our correspondent in a telephone
conversation on Thursday, the Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of
CCB, Idowu Jokpeyibo, said no arrest had been made as at Thursday by
the police even as no asset declaration form was taken away by the
saboteurs. As exclusively reported in NEXT on Sunday of July 4, 2010,
the conduct bureau is presently overwhelmed with petitions from members
of the public alleging false declarations of assets against many
federal and state public office holders.

Despite the fact
that the Code of Conduct Bureau Act does not permit the public
knowledge of assets declared by public servants, a deluge of petitions
from citizens who are privileged to know what some public servants
secretly declared as assets are being forwarded to CCB on daily basis,
revealing hidden facts and figures. According to the Chairman of CCB,
Sam Saba, the situation has now forced the federal government to
constitute a 25-man team of officials across the country to investigate
from state to state such petitions against asset declarations of
citizens. It is therefore not known as at press time whether the
burglars that raided the Asokoro office were working for public
servants who have petitions against their declaration forms or not.

No form stolen

“The security men
on duty were overpowered and the offices turned upside down,” said Mrs.
Jokpeyibo. “The matter was reported to the Asokoro Police Station which
personnel have taken photographs, finger prints, and interviewed the
staff and security men on duty when the office was burgled. While the
police authority had since commenced investigation not only to
ascertain what was stolen but also to establish the motive of the
thieves, we wish to inform the general public that only two laptops of
staff and some cash belonging to a staff were removed. No Asset
Declaration Form was taken away as alleged.”

Paragraph 3, part I of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers the Bureau to receive
declarations by public officers, examine the declarations in accordance
with the requirement of the Code of Conduct or any law, retain custody
of such declarations and make them available for inspection by any
citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as the National
Assembly may prescribe. According to Mrs Jokpeyibo, the Bureau is doing
all within its power to ensure the safety of the forms and to maintain
the general security of staff and properties.

The protocol
directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth office has apologised to
the Nigerian government for the wrongful raid on the home of a staff of
the nation’s high commission in the England. The directorate, in a
letter sent to the High Commissioner, Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, apologised
for how police officers ‘inadvertently’ entered the diplomat’s home on
the 17th of June in search of drugs after mistaking the heat given off
by a heating system for a cannabis factory. The residence was
reportedly searched after a police helicopter, using thermal imaging
equipment, spotted what was described as a higher than normal heat
signature in the roof of the building, assuming that the heat plume is
a sign that the property has being converted into a cannabis factory.

According to the
statement from the Directorate’s office, the letter expresses regret
for the unfortunate incidence stating that “We regret that police
checks failed to establish in advance that the property was the
residence of a diplomat,” the letter said, in parts. “Protocol
directorate would seek to ensure that such mistakes do not occur
again.” The Head of Information at the High Commission, Damian Agwu,
told NEXT that the apology is “being actively considered by the
Nigerian government.” Mr Agwu also corrected media reports that the
invaded house, situated in Northern London, was that of Mr Tafida. He
said the house, located on Hendon Way is inhabited by another diplomat
with the High Commission.

The Presidency,
under the late president, Umaru Yar’Adua stopped investigations that
would have exposed the Nigerian beneficiaries of the Siemens bribes,
NEXT has learnt.

A security source
familiar with the exercise explained that the Independent Corrupt
Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) had gone deep
into investigating the Nigerians involved when they were stopped by the
late president. While confirming the report, a senior official of the
ICPC, who pleaded anonymity, said: “We had already gone far into the
Siemens scandal, and already found some top Nigerians culpable when we
received a letter from the Presidency directing us to stop
investigations. They told us it what a financial crime and that we
should hands off it and leave it to the EFCC (Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission). They said it was not our duty.”

Folu Olamiti, the
resident media consultant to the ICPC however declined to comment on
the existence of such a directive. He also said the organisation was
not investigating the bribery scandal. “We are not investigating any of
the Siemens, Halliburton, or other such scandals,” Mr. Olamiti said.
The EFCC, which has been investigating the scandal since 16 months ago,
says its investigations are still ongoing. “We are still on it, it is
an ongoing thing,” Femi Babafemi, the EFCC spokesman, said. However our
source insists that the EFCC might continue its investigations forever
unless President Goodluck Jonathan renewed his desire to prosecute the
bribe beneficiaries. Siemens, the Germany based multinational
engineering firm, admitted, in a German court, in November 2008, of
bribing senior Nigerian government officials with 17.5 million euros to
secure government contracts.

Well-known people

Prominent Nigerians
including three former communication ministers: late Haruna Elewi,
Cornelius Adebayo, and Tajudeen Olanrewaju; and a serving senator,
Jubril Aminu were mentioned as beneficiaries of the 17.5million euros
bribe. Siemens paid 395 million Euro to the German government, and $800
million to the US government for paying the bribes. Following public
outcry, late Mr Yar’Adua ordered the company out of Nigeria and barred
them from getting contracts from Nigeria. He, however, reversed his
decision when he visited Germany. Siemens was later awarded another
multi-billion naira contract by the federal government. While reacting
to the non-prosecution of the Siemens bribe takers, civil rights
lawyer, Charles Musa stated “these people are well known, they are on
the Internet, they are in US court papers, and nothing has happened to
them. It is unfortunate.”

Members
of the House of Representatives, on Thursday, condemned the frequent
adjustments proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2010 Budget,
saying it does not portray the country as a serious nation.

The lawmakers,
during their plenary session, expressed their disappointment with Mr.
Jonathan after the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, read a letter from the
president proposing yet another amendment to the 2010 Appropriation
Bill, barely one month after he proposed the first amendment.
Consequently, the arrival of the president’s letter stalled the planned
passage of the budget yesterday.

In the letter,
dated July 7, 2010, and addressed to Mr. Bankole and the senate
president, David Mark, the president asked the legislature to approve
the revised Revenue Framework, adjustment to amendment budget proposal,
and amendment to the N639.8 billion supplementary budget.

Mr. Jonathan sought
the cooperation of the legislature in revising the revenue framework to
be based on assumptions for oil production of 2.2 million barrels per
day, and an oil price benchmark of $60 per barrel. This, he said,
follows indications from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) that oil production for the 2010 fiscal year is likely to
average at about 2.2 million barrels per day, as opposed to the 2.25
million barrels per day assumption in the last revision to the revenue
framework.

He added that the
revision will imply aggregate revenue for the federal government budget
of N2.392 trillion, and a deficit of about N1.829 trillion (or 5.6% of
GDP), based on the proposed amendment budget’s level of expenditure.

The president also
sought the cooperation of the legislators to substitute the budgets of
eight ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) with revised versions.
According to him, the substitution is a result of reprioritisation of
capital projects by the State House, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force,
Intelligence Community, and the Ministries of Aviation, the Federal
Capital Territory, and Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Jonathan
informed the lawmakers about slight amendments to the Consolidated
Revenue Fund charges, as well as the automatic adjustment to Statutory
Transfers, based on the revised Revenue Framework. He asked for slight
amendments to the budgets for certain MDAs, adding that their
allocations to some projects have either been reviewed or completely
dropped.

He listed the MDAs
to include Secretary to the Government of the Federation; the
Ministries of Information and Communication; Culture, Tourism and
National Orientation; Women Affairs; Federal Capital Territory;
Aviation; the National Planning Commission; and the National Assembly
Office.

Mr. Jonathan also
told the lawmakers that additional funds are required by the Foreign
Affairs to facilitate the posting and movement of ambassadors and
diplomatic staff, which are crucial aspects of the ministry’s statutory
responsibilities, while additional funds are required by the Niger
Delta ministry to commence training programmes for non-militant Niger
Delta youths.

Mr. Bankole had
hardly concluded reading the two-page letter when the chairman of the
House Committee on Appropriation, Ayo Adeseun, complained of frequent
changes in the proposed budget, pointing out that Nigeria will not be
taken seriously following the development.

Mr. Adeseun, a
member of the PDP from Oyo State, who said his committee finished work
on the 2010 Budget at about 4 am yesterday, with a view to passing same
day, informed his colleagues that officials of the executive arm
contacted them about 10 days ago about fresh adjustments to the
document, but that they kicked against it. According to him, agreeing
to it, could amount to bringing the amendments through the backdoor.

The lawmaker, who was livid when he spoke, said the frequent adjustments in the budget will make the country look unserious.

“That practice
almost always throw us into quagmire. This has been a recurring issue.
This is July, and there is no budget for the country. The economy is
dying, nothing is happening. People have been waiting for the budget,
but we keep amending and amending and amending. This does not go well
for us as a serious nation,” Mr. Adeseun said.

Also speaking, the
chairman of the committee on finance, John Enoh, strongly criticised
the president’s fresh request for adjustment in the budget, adding that
the committee had discussed the issue critically and frowned at it.

Mr. Enoh, a PDP
member from Cross River State, who was also angry, told his colleagues
that, as a legislature, “we are not bound 100 percent by any proposal
emanating from the executive.”

Break for budget

Mr. Bankole,
however, calmed the raging lawmakers when he announced that the plenary
sessions would be suspended next week to sort out the issues of the
budget and the outstanding public hearings to be organised by the
standing committees.

Mr. Jonathan had
earlier, in a letter dated May 29, proposed adjustments to the 2010
Budget. In the letter, the president sought to make adjustments to the
budget due to significant revenue shortfalls in both oil and non-oil
revenue, which he noted may continue through the 2010 fiscal year. He
added that this would pose adverse challenges to effectively financing
the budget.

“Given the recent
drop in international oil prices from over 80 dollar per barrel to
under 70 dollar per barrel, it is prudent to revise the oil benchmark
price to a more realistic level,” the President had stated. On the
expenditure, the president said there a was need to review the
aggregate from the about 4.61 billion approved in the 2010
Appropriation Act, and to adjust the budget details accordingly.

According to him,
certain critical items such the statutory transfers, debt services, the
service-wide votes, and other critical expenditure heads which were
inadvertently omitted, or underprovided for, had made it necessary to
provide for them through a supplementary appropriation.

Other key
unanticipated items that needed financing, he explained, were the
negotiated civil service wage increase, Power Holding Company arrears
of monetization, and the 50th anniversary celebration.

“It is proposed to provide for all these expenditure through a supplementary budget,” he said.

The Presidency had in its initial proposal for the 2010 Budget,
pegged the oil benchmark price at about 54 dollar per barrel, but after
several reviews of the fiscal document, the National Assembly passed
the over N4 trillion 2010 Appropriation Act, leaving the benchmark at
about 70 dollar per barrel.

A
broad resettlement scheme to provide schools, housing and major
facilities for the native communities of Abuja, requires over N100
billion, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed,
said yesterday.

The minister said,
on Thursday, that several efforts at resettling the indigenous
populations of the federal capital, who have been displaced for years,
have failed due to lack of funds and enabling legislations that could
help the administration raise cash independently. He spoke at a House
of Representatives hearing on a new bill that will, if passed, help
strengthen the capacity of the FCTA to source funds from new property
taxes and levies. Mr. Mohammed said such proceeds, if made possible
through the bill presently considered by the House committee on FCT,
will be ploughed into completing a vast resettlement process for the
indigenous people displaced from the federal capital territory, which
has only gulped N25 bn since the inception of the FCTA.

Revenue possibilities

“Given the
opportunity we would now establish the required legal instruments so
that we can be collecting taxes and levies and we will be able to be
self reliant, but we don’t have the legal instrument,” he said. “FCT
can generate N500 billion yearly if given the opportunity and the
required legal instrument to collect levies such as tenement rate,
ground rate and advertisement rate among others. This amount may look
enormous but we can generate it if given the opportunity like other
states in the country.” The FCT administration requested for N15
billion for the major projects for the native dwellers in 2009, the
minister said, but received only N4 billion in last year’s budget. The
administration requires extra N15 billion this year to conclude some of
the ongoing resettlement projects begun by the previous administrations
in Abuja, he added.

In the past weeks, the indigenous populations and other Nigerians,
who have endured housing rents that grow at startling rates, have faced
more complex accommodation conditions after authorities restarted
destroying alleged illegal structures at some suburbs. At Lugbe area,
which is close to the city airport, a recent demolishing of homes
resulted in the deaths of five persons and the displacement of over
200,000 people over controversial residential location presently
contested in court. The FCT administration announced after the
incident, it will forge ahead with the demolitions but is only held
back by the legal action. Mr. Mohammed, who is a former senator, told
lawmakers he sympathises with the difficulties residents, particularly
the indigenous communities, face in Abuja.

The National Bureau
of Statistics (NBS) released its first ever crime and corruption survey
last Thursday in Abuja. The report’s statistics about bribery and its
effects on Nigerian businesses reflected the experiences of many
entrepreneurs in the country.

For instance, it
revealed that 71 per cent of the over 2,200 businesses questioned said
corruption was a major obstacle to their operations, second only to
crime and political instability. Not surprisingly, the police and
customs, as well as utility companies such as the Power Holding Company
of Nigeria (PHCN) were rated as the country’s most corrupt
institutions. Surprisingly, the nation’s courts were rated as one of
the least.

Not many of the
businesses turned to the justice system to resolve their disputes –
only 20 per cent – but of those who did, 84 per cent were satisfied
with their experience. The businesses were split, however, over their
access to information within the legal system. Thirty-eight per cent
felt they were adequately informed, while 27 per cent said they were
not.

It should be noted
that most businesses did not use the legal system at all. Five per cent
said their avoidance was deliberate, as the courts were just too
lengthy and expensive.

Not all good news

Nigerian
entrepreneurs, like their counterparts outside the industry, did not
trust their public institutions. Though anti-corruption body, the EFCC,
was the most highly rated agency among businesses, it only garnered 51
per cent of their votes. The media fared no better, with 43 per cent.
Scores went down even further when the respondents were asked to rate
the honesty of institutions.

The EFCC, still the highest, got 38 per cent of the vote, while the media nabbed 25 per cent.

While the popular
belief is that corruption helps to ‘grease the wheels’ and move
bureaucratic systems along, the report said that the prevalence of
corruption in the country’s public institutions was actually hindering
development.

For one thing,
bribes were often paid for no specific reason and without any
particular effect. Many businesses reported that they paid bribes as a
matter of course, and often, more than once to the same individuals and
institutions.

Bribes also
disproportionately fell on small-scale enterprises which reported
paying more frequently, though in smaller amounts, than their larger
counterparts.

Organizers warned
that the actual numbers might be much higher, as many businesses would
not even say whether they had been asked for bribes or not. Few
businesses reported these incidents to law enforcement, as many felt no
action would be taken.

As Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration steps up its anti-crime campaign, it would be
gratified to know that few businesses saw bribery in a positive light.
Most agreed that the country would be better run with its elimination.

Hopes of more to come

The report was
conducted in 2007 with funding from the European Union and the United
Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and operated in conjunction
with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). It was
released in December last year after donor organisations reviewed the
data.

Organisers hope to stage another survey to update the report’s information. However, E. G. Thomas, assistant chief statistician at the NBS, said they had to wait for funds.

“This is the first survey on crime and it will be used as baseline
data.” Mr Thomas said. “We know that since the survey, there have been
a lot of changes in government and the structure of things. But we have
no way of knowing whether there has been any improvement or not. Except
we conduct a survey, we cannot know authoritatively.”

The National Union
of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) said yesterday that it is
committed to make good its threat to disrupt normal petroleum products
supply to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, from next Monday,
if government fails to accede to its demands.

National president
of the union, Atetse Igwe, who spoke with NEXT in a telephone chat from
Abuja, listed its demands to include improved operational environment,
particularly the repair of the nation’s roads, and the provision of
standard condition of service by multinational oil companies for
majority of its members.

He said NUPENG has
resolved to stop lifting and distributing petroleum products from July
12th, when its 21 days ultimatum contained in its petitions to the
relevant arms of government, including the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources, Labour, the Presidency, and the National Assembly, lapses.

“We have never
hidden our demands to government for the repair of the nation’s roads
networks, which are not only bad, but are more of death traps to our
members.

“We have lost
several of our members and other innocent Nigerians through avoidable
accidents on these roads. If government refuses to meet our demands, we
will have no alternative than to stop fuel supply to Abuja.

“Everybody knows we
deal with a highly volatile product, which, if not properly handled,
will result in serious crisis. We have made our position known
severally to government on the need to maintain these roads. But, it
appears our appeals have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.

Citing the Aba-Port
Harcourt Express Road and the East-West Road as examples, Mr. Igwe
noted that a trip through these routes would present a glimpse of the
ugly experience members of the Union face in transporting petroleum
products to all parts of the country.

“These roads, like
most others across the country, are completely impassable. Yet, we are
expected to lift products from the Port Harcourt Refinery for
distribution in Abuja and other parts of the country,” he lamented.

According to the
union leader, NUPENG has already threatened to withdraw its services to
protest the illegal practice by the multinational companies operating
in the nation’s oil industry, particularly Shell Petroleum Development
Company (SPDC) and Nigeria LNG Limited, which have refused to give
conditions of service to those categories of workers they call ad hoc,
contract or casual workers, despite signing several memoranda of
understanding (MOUs) since 1999.

“Most of these
workers have been with these companies for more than 15 years, without
any condition of service covered by government insurance scheme that
would entitle them for some benefits at the end of service, or in case
of accident or sack. Yet, they are the ones that work to sustain the
country’s economy.

“We are saying, the
practice where our members work for over 15 years and the oil companies
would wake up one day and sack them without any benefit, apart from
their last pay, should stop. We have complained against these issues
for a long time, without any positive action. It appears officials of
the Federal Ministry of Labour are collaborating with these
multinational companies to deny our members their rights,” he said.

Strategic Abuja

On why the union
chose to disrupt fuel supply to Abuja in particular, Mr. Igwe noted:
“We choose Abuja because those who have the power to do something to
resolve our grievances live there. It appears they are busy having fun
at the expense of the rest of Nigerians.

“Every other day
the National Assembly keep fighting over how to increase their salaries
and improve their welfare, without thinking about the deplorable
conditions other Nigerians are facing, in terms of lack of basic
infrastructures like roads, electricity, and other services.”

He decried the
situation where the Nigerian Content Act, recently approved for
implementation in the industry, does not have a single provision that
takes care of the interest of Nigerian workers, in terms of their
conditions of service.

“It appears government is insensitive to the fact that there is no
other oil producing country in Africa that this type of practice is
allowed to continue,” he pointed out.