Vote Of No Confidence: Governor Yahaya Bello Reacts, Blasts APC Chairman

– Kogi state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has reacted to allegations made against him by the leadership of his party in the state
– The state chapter of the party had accused the governor of sidelining leaders of the party when taking key decisions

– Governor Bello however said the APC leadership are free to recommend anybody for appointment
Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has dismissed the allegations made against him by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.


Kogi state APC chairman Alhaji Hadi Ametuo and Governor Yahaya Bello, when the going was good
The governor, who was reacting to the vote of no confidence passed on him by the state executive members of the party, said it is his constitutional responsibility to appoint his personal aides without any recourse to a group of people, provided the person meet up the requirement as stipulated by law of the land.



The ‎governor his stand known on the issue through a statement released to the media and obtained by NAIJ.com by special adviser on media and strategy, Mallam Abdulkarim Abdulmalik.
Governor Bello also stated that he was yet to be informed by the national secretariat of ‎APC about the petition by the state chapter of the party.
He opined that he is running an all inclusive government and the APC leadership in the state are free to recommend anyone for any appointment provided the person is well qualified to fill such position.
According to the governor, his government is working towards unity and as such his doors are always open to accommodate every body irrespective of religion, ethnic and political differences.
Governor however accused the state chairman of the APC, Alhaji Haddi Ametuo of moving against his government because his brother, Honourable Jimoh Lawal was removed as speaker of the Kogi state House of Assembly.
NAIJ.com recalls that the Kogi state House of Assembly has been enmeshed in crisis as two lawmakers were claiming headship of the house.
A situation that prompted the House of Representatives to intervene by taking over the activities of the house.
Governor Bello reiterated his commitment towards rebuilding the state and uniting the people for a peaceful co-existence through people oriented policies and programme.

“I don’t want to behave like the past leaders who were regretting for not doing the right thing while in office due to selfish pressure mounted on them by some people. Any body with impeccable credentials and feel that he has something to offer the state can come forward,” he stated.


Governor Bello was declared the winner of the Kogi state supplementary election held on Saturday, December 5 2015 after the death of Late Prince Abubakar Audu paved the way for his emergence as APC’s candidate.

https://www.naij.com/802029-vote-no-confidence-governor-yahaya-bello-reacts-blasts-apc-chairman.html

BUDGET IMPASSE: Buhari Returns From China, To Deal With Saboteurs

•Review looms as Presidency compiles areas of distortion

By Soni Daniel, Abuja

After spending a week in China to seal economic deals that could see Nigeria draw down $6 billion investments, President Muhammadu Buhari returned to Abuja yesterday to finish work on this year’s budget, which has been dogged by controversy.

But there was apprehension, last night, that Buhari, who feels highly embarrassed by the alleged distortion of the budget by some members of the National Assembly, might press for sanctions against those found culpable.

However, a source close to the Presidency said nobody could read the mind of the President on what he intended to do in relation to the crisis associated with the fiscal document.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that the apprehension of some powerful federal lawmakers, who allegedly sabotaged the budget for pecuniary reasons, had been identified in both chambers of the National Assembly.

The identification of the roles played by each of the lawmakers, according to competent sources, followed the week-long scrutiny of the document transmitted to the Presidency by the NASS.

Presidency sources confirmed to Sunday Vanguard that the major areas of distortion carried out by the NASS had been compiled, saying Buhari would likely address Nigerians on the matter.

It was also learnt that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who held a closed-door meeting with members on the budget, got to know how bad the budget had been ‘treated’ and offered to undertake a review to avoid further altercation with the Presidency on the matter.

Dogara’s disposition, it was learnt, followed a meeting he had with a Minister who gave him a breakdown of the distortion done to the budget by members of the Appropriation Committees of the NASS.

It was gathered that the Speaker had undertaken to do whatever was needed to ensure the review of the budget to ensure its success when assented to by Buhari and give succor to Nigerians.

It was also learnt that, despite the tough stance of the Senate on the budget impasse, some leading members who had been briefed on how far the budget was “padded”, had opted to soften their stance and review the document in the national interest.

“All that the President wants is to give Nigerians a budget that will reflate the economy and something to cheer about,” a Minister told Sunday Vanguard.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/budget-impasse-buhari-returns-china-deal-sabote

CCT: Saraki’s Camp In Disarray As Senators Seek End To Crises

Hours after the refusal of the fundamental rights application by Senate President Bukola Saraki to stop his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) by a Federal High Court in Abuja, there were signs at the weekend that some of his prominent loyalists within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may be retracing their steps. There were strong indications that they may be opting to support an ongoing move by the leadership of the party to unite the party’s caucus in the national assembly. Reliable national assembly sources told The Nation yesterday that prior to the judgment delivered by Justice Abdul Kafarati on Friday, some frontline supporters of the embattled Senate President have resolved to withdraw their support for Saraki in his bid to remain in office as Senate President while his trial at the CCT lasts. In the meantime, the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has ruled out the possibility of the party losing the senate presidency to the opposition. In an interview with an online medium, The Premium Times, he said, “We don’t take anything for granted. As they are planning, we are also planning. The situation is under control.” He insisted that the party is not likely to lose the position to the opposition, but noted that should this happen, it will have to be the ‘price’ for the desired ‘change’. It was also learnt that some members of the Senate President’s camp in the national assembly are now of the view that the incessant face-off between the legislature and the presidency allegedly being generated by Saraki’s trial at the CCT, is needless and avoidable. “Hence, some of them are ready to support a change in the leadership of the senate to save the ruling party from further crises and at the same time represent the yearnings of their constituents for good governance by ensuring strict adherence to the provisions of the laws of the country,” our source, a Senator from Lagos State, said. “Mr. Senate President is currently facing charges that borders on false declaration of assets … The issue has gone beyond mere accusations as he has already gone down in history as the first serving Senate President in the country to be docked in a competent court. “Sadly, one recalls that there is a way these things have been handled in the past to save the national assembly, and by extension, the government, from unnecessary embarrassment. All former presiding officers of the National Assembly, who were faced with similar charges, first resigned their positions in order to protect the integrity and sanctity of the country’s hallowed chambers.” The senator regrets that what has been happening in the last few months “were blatant display of disregard for the sanctity of the senate by some misled and confused senators whose loyalty is not to the country, but to an individual or group.” The senator added, “But one is happy today, to tell you that things are changing for better. For one, I can tell you the APC caucus in the senate is working towards uniting all. We are healing the divide imposed on us by self serving individuals. We are all returning our loyalty to the party and the government.” The Nation gathered that attendance at the regular and emergency meetings  of the ‘Like Minds Senators’, the group of senators loyal to the President of Senate, has plummeted in recent times, giving credence to talks about serious cracks in the ranks of Saraki  loyalists. Senate sources put the reduction in attendance to the activities of a committee instituted by the APC caucus in the national assembly to unite the legislators elected on the platform of the ruling party. According to reliable sources, the committee, that has core Saraki allies in the likes of Senators Aliyu Wammako, Danjuma Goje, Kabiru Gaya, Ahmed Yerima and Adamu Aliero, as members, is championing a united APC caucus that is loyal to the party and government as against the current arrangement of a divided caucus. For instance, a meeting called yesterday at the residence of Saraki in continuation of the one held earlier in the week recorded abysmal attendance in spite of the fact that it was scheduled early enough and a text message was sent few hours before the kick off to remind senators. Not only was the attendance low, the discussion, we learnt, was unimpressive. Those who attended, it was said, were downcast and disturbed. The meeting, unlike the one a few days earlier where the decision to review the laws establishing the CCT was taken, was devoid of the usual vibrancy, our source added. The Nation also gathered that the text message reminding Like Minds Senators of the meeting was, unlike the previous ones, sent by an aide of the Senate President. A prominent Senator from Kogi State is known to have sent invites to such meeting before now. “What we heard was that the Senator who used to do the invite tactically avoided doing same for the last meeting. To further cause anxiety in the Senate President’s camp, he was absent at the meeting where he was scheduled to brief the Senators on certain steps taken to advance the cause of the group. His action and absence formed the chunk of the discussion at the unimpressive meeting,” our source added. It was also gathered that the APC caucus in the lower chamber recently met to discuss the crises in the national assembly and resolved that members of the caucus must desist from taking side in the Saraki saga. “The House caucus took a decision that none of us should drag the lower chamber into the senate crisis by making inflammatory statements. Specifically, we are to henceforth toe the party’s line in all matters. The meeting also resolved that there should be no division within the caucus.” Another member of the lower chamber from Kogi State told our correspondent that effort to unite the APC caucus in the national assembly is yielding fruit to the detriment of the camp of pro-Saraki hardliners. According to him, it is only a matter of time before a final position on the various bones of contention in the national assembly is announced. The Nation also gathered that the dwindling fortunes of the Saraki camp is responsible for its inability to push through the suspension plot allegedly instituted against the Senator representing Zamfara Central, Kabir Marafa, an unrepentant critic of the Senate President. Weeks after the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, submitted its report on its investigation on Marafa, the Senate has failed to deliberate on the panel’s recommendations. Marafa was accused of granting a press interview to allegedly mislead the public about the senate. Marafa, a second-timer at the upper chamber of the National Assembly, served as the mouthpiece of the Unity Forum, an umbrella of senators that worked for Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North), the preferred candidate of the APC for the plum job. Following the Supreme Court verdict on the appeal of Saraki on his CCT trial, Marafa demanded the resignation of Saraki. He had said, “What is happening in the CCT is personal to Saraki and has nothing to do with his position as the Senate President. It has now reached the time when Saraki should take a bow to enable him concentrate on his case at the CCT.  I don’t have anything against him as a person.”

Expectedly, pro-Saraki Senators made a huge show of the interview and demanded the immediate suspension of the Zamfara senator. But following an unexpected show of support for Marafa by other senators across party lines, Saraki referred the matter to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions.  He asked the committee to report back a week later. According to senate sources, the Senator Samuel Anyanwu (PDP, Imo East)-led committee has recommended Marafa’s suspension but the development has failed to receive the blessing of majority of the members of the senate as many feel Marafa has not done anything wrong that would warrant any punishment. Our source also attributed the new thinking in the national assembly to both the effort of some party leaders in senate and the failure of Saraki to stop his trial at the CCT in spite of several efforts to get competent law courts to declare that he shouldn’t be docked. Kafarati’s judgement on Friday put paid to earlier optimism that the Senate President will get a reprieve. The judge held that the reliefs prayed for by Saraki “are not cognisable under Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution”, which lists the fundamental rights of citizens. Saraki had, for the umpteenth time through his counsel, Ajibola Oluyede, filed the application challenging the trial at the CCT for falling short of Article 3 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution. He argued that the prosecution wants to achieve the political objective of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Saraki’s counsel, Oluyede has indicated intention to appeal the verdict of the court before the Court of Appeal. The APC chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun has declared that a political solution may not be in sight for the ongoing Senate President’s trial at the CCT. According to him, a purported political solution as is being bandied by a section of the political class will negate the change philosophy upon which the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government was voted into power last year. He said “The President is certainly not the type who will interfere in a judicial matter,” as that would also negate his straight personality. “Things must be done normally. And that is part of the change mantra that we must play by the rule so we don’t truncate the processes.” Odigie-Oyegun explained that “People don’t seem to internalize what change is. If the President says “court, free that man”, the same president can say “court, imprison that man.” Is that the Nigeria you want? No! Change means allowing the law to take the proper course. I can tell you the President won’t interfere. The President is straight definite, straight and firm in all facets.” On the possibility of the party losing the senate president position to opposition PDP, Oyegun said, “We don’t take anything for granted. As they are planning, we are also planning. The situation is under control.” He said, “I don’t think we will lose that position. But sometimes, for change to take place there is price you have to pay. So losing the position may be sacrifice for change.” On speculations of in-fighting in the party, Oyegun said this is normal as there are always different views. “Interests differ. Some feel they are not sufficiently rewarded or consulted. So, it happens. We are just barely one year in power.” On complaints that Nigerians have yet to feel the much-touted change, the APC chairman said change is a ‘process’ and a ‘progressive’ phenomenon. “When the process fully completes, we will have a totally new Nigeria.” http://thenationonlineng.net/cct-sarakis-camp-disarray-senators-seek-end-crises-2/

Why People Join Boko Haram By Charlotte Alfred (PICTURES)

The catalog of atrocities committed by Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram is harrowing. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of women and children have been abducted from their homes. Captives report being gang-raped and forced into sexual slavery. Young girls have been sent to blow themselves up in suicide attacks. The relentless slaughter of men, women and children has made Boko Haram the deadliest terrorist group in the world in recent years. Why would anyone join such a group? A new report by aid agency Mercy Corps seeks to answer that question. The U.S.-based group interviewed 47 former members about the reasons they entered Boko Haram and published its findings this week. The militant group has thousands of members, including fighters and people playing other supportive roles, such as smuggling and logistics, analysts say. Its ranks are made up mostly of young men, but it also has some female recruits. The Mercy Corps report paints a complex picture of Boko Haram’s recruitment tactics. First, though Boko Haram has lately become notorious for abducting children and forcing captives to fight or carry out suicide attacks, not all recruits join against their will. Most ex-members interviewed by Mercy Corps fell in the gray area between coercion and choice. Some said they were threatened; some faced extreme pressure from friends, family or colleagues, while others saw the group as their least bad option in impoverished and marginalized northeast Nigeria. “I officially joined them when they started killing indiscriminately,” one man told Mercy Corps. “I needed protection and immunity from persecution by them so I could continue with my business.” Second, the group attracts recruits with a blend of religious ideology, social pressure and economic incentives. The financial draw is not just about escaping poverty and unemployment, both of which are high in northeast Nigeria. In fact, the study found Boko Haram recruits poor and rich, employed and unemployed alike. Rather, the group plays on the ambitions of young men who are struggling to get ahead in an area with scant financial services and pernicious inequality and corruption. Several former recruits depicted Boko Haram as a mafia-style organization, offering young entrepreneurs loans for small businesses like shops, salons and tailors and then forcing them to join the group when they couldn’t repay the loan. One man told Mercy Corps that his Boko Haram recruiter “started playing me their preaching tapes to convince me, and he equally started [financially] assisting me and my parents.” Soon after, his recruiter made it clear that he was obligated to join Boko Haram because of these financial “gifts,” so he fled for his life. Third, nearly half of the Boko Haram recruits interviewed for the study were women. Some of them were abducted or coerced by their husbands into joining; others were recruited voluntarily by friends or family. Some women told Mercy Corps that joining Boko Haram provided opportunities for religious study and status within the militant group. “I just wanted to learn more of the Quran and my religion,” one woman told Mercy Corps. The study provides an important insight into the profile and motivations of Boko Haram members and offers strategies to stem the flow of recruits. Mercy Corps urged more access to financial services, reintegration of former fighters and support for counter-narratives that have already proved effective against Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria. But it should be read with attention to an important piece of context — Boko Haram has changed almost beyond recognition since it first emerged in 2002. Before the death of its founder, Muhammed Yusuf, in 2009, the group was a radical but predominantly nonviolent sect that espoused strict Islamic governance as the answer to the region’s rampant corruption. After Yusuf was killed, Boko Haram went underground and re-emerged as a brutal insurgency under its hardline and elusive new leader, Abubakar Shekau. The study found a “marked difference” in Boko Haram’s recruitment techniques after 2009, Mercy Corps’ Rebecca Wolfe, who worked on the report, told The WorldPost. “As Boko Haram’s tactics became more violent, community acceptance started to go and people weren’t joining as much as being coerced,” she said. Further, some researchers said that the study’s depiction of Boko Haram attracting wealthier recruits through a coercive micro-lending scheme was more typical of the earlier days of the group under Mohammed Yusuf. “Yusuf was a wealthy man himself, as well as a charismatic preacher,” Virginia Comolli, the author of Boko Haram: Nigeria’s Islamist Insurgency, told The WorldPost. “He was able to offer people small amounts of money which they used to set up small businesses like motorbike taxis and paid the proceeds back into the group as membership fees.” “It was both a way of attracting people and attracting revenues.” Comolli and other researchers said they had not seen much evidence of such tactics since Yusuf’s death, but the Mercy Corps study found this practice of offering business incentives has continued. “We did speak with several former members who joined post-2009 who were at least partially influenced or coerced by the offer of business support,” study author Lisa Inks told The WorldPost. The study demonstrates how Boko Haram, like extremist groups around the world, has multiple ways to attract, intimidate and coerce recruits, including exploiting the socioeconomic and political grievances of the area. “People are attracted by the violent ideology and by their legitimate grievances against the state,” Comolli said. “You feel like you are somebody when you are given a gun and a mission.” http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/boko-haram-recruitment-tactics_us_571265afe4b06f35cb6fc595

Re: Why People Join Boko Haram By Charlotte Alfred (PICTURES)

Gov Polls: EFCC Arrests INEC Chiefs For Taking N675m In Bribes

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has found over N675.1m in the bank accounts of different Independent National Electoral Commission officials in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta states.

According to the anti-graft agency, the money was received and shared by the officials during the last governorship elections.

Our correspondents gathered that the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the 2015 election in Rivers State, Mrs. Gesila Khan, and other officials of INEC are already in EFCC custody. Khan was quizzed by the Department of State Services in July last year but was never charged.

However, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that Khan and four others were arrested on Thursday, by the zonal office of the EFCC in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The residences of all the suspects were subsequently searched and incriminating documents were said to have been recovered by the commission.

According to impeccable sources at the EFCC, Khan, who is now the REC in Cross River State, allegedly received N185.8m ahead of the March 28 and April 11, 2015 election.

A source at the EFCC, who did not want his name in print, said Khan had made confessional statements and was cooperating with the commission.

He alleged that Khan received money through a special bank account and the commission had received overwhelming evidence.

He said, “Khan was the REC in Rivers State in 2015 election before she was transferred to Cross River early this year. She was said to have received N185.8m. She has made confessional statements.”

The anti-graft agency also arrested one Edem Okon Essanga, who is a retired INEC official. Essanga was arrested alongside his alleged accomplice, Immaculata Asuquo, who is the Head, Voter Education, INEC, Akwa Ibom State.

Essanga was alleged to have received over N240m which he shared among INEC ad hoc workers during the last election.

“Essanga received N241.1m during the general election. He admitted receiving the money and confirmed sharing it with different ad hoc workers during the election. His accomplice Asuquo has also been arrested,” the source added.

The source also disclosed that the EFCC had arrested one Fidelia Omoile who was the INEC electoral officer in Isoko-South Local Government Area, Delta State.

Apart from tracing over N112m to her, the commission also recovered some sensitive electoral materials during a search of her apartments in Edo and Delta states.

“She received N112.4m during the 2015 general election. A search warrant was executed at her residences in Asaba and Benin. Sensitive materials used in the 2015 elections were recovered, including evidence of the suspicious bank transaction and land documents that will assist us in our investigations,” the source said.

The commission also arrested one Oluchi Obi Brown who was the INEC administrative secretary in Delta State. She allegedly received over N111m.

Further investigations by detectives revealed that Brown had about $75,000 in an account in the United States.

“Oluchi received N111.5m during the general election. Investigations showed that she operates a foreign account with the Bank of America. As of February this year, the account balance was $75,857, (N24, 274,240),” the source added.
The sum total of the money found in the bank accounts of the INEC officials is N675.1m.

When asked if the anti-graft agency had recovered any funds, the source said efforts were being made to recover the funds in Nigeria and abroad.

He said the commission was banking on using the confessional statements of the suspects to catch the ‘big fish.’
But the INEC has claimed ignorance of the development, saying it is not sure of the story.

The Deputy Director of Publicity and Voters Education of the commission, Mr. Nick Danzang, told our correspondent that he was unable to either confirm or deny the story.

“I’m not in town, but I have made calls. Nobody seems to know what is happening,” he said.

All attempts to get the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umana, to react to the matter proved abortive as he turned down calls from our correspondent. He did not also respond to text message sent to his phone.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Ekerette Udo, who responded to the call, declined any comment on the issue.

But the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Paul Ekpo, who responded to the call from our correspondent, said he was unaware of such development and he didn’t know either Efanga or Immaculata.

Reacting, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the investigation or arrest of Gesila Khan had nothing to do with Governor Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State Government or the state Peoples Democratic Party.

Tam-George explained that security agencies, including the EFCC, appeared to be conducting politically-targeted arrests since the beginning of the current political dispensation.

“We believe there is now a universal consensus that the security agencies, including the EFCC, appear to be conducting politically-targeted arrests since the beginning of this political dispensation.

“Mrs. Khan has particularly been viciously castigated by the All Progressives Congress for her steadfastness and incorruptible stance during the general election in Rivers State in April 2015.

“The fact that the governorship election she supervised in Rivers was ultimately validated by the Supreme Court speaks of her integrity. The world will watch closely to see if Mrs. Khan is being persecuted for her lofty principles and belief in popular democracy in Nigeria.”

The Chief Press Secretary to the Delta State Governor, Charles Aniagwu, while responding, said the government agencies should do their work diligently.

“Let the INEC (and EFCC) find out where the person got the money from. We cannot begin to talk about what we do not know anything about. I do not know about the person. We are not involved. The person accused of having N100m in his or her account should be able to explain the source of the money. We do not need to bribe people to get votes. We do not buy a crowd. We have the crowd behind us already. It is those who do not have the crowd behind them that can buy people with money. We do not buy people with money. We do not engage in bribery and corruption. The governor is a grass roots person,” Aniagwu said.

However, the Ijaw Youth Council. Worldwide has demanded the immediate release of the arrested officials, insisting that they are innocent.
Eric Omare, the group’s spokesman, said in a statement that Khan, who is also an Ijaw, was a victim of witch-hunt.

He said. “Mrs. Khan, had gone to the office of the EFCC to honour an invitation and having met with the EFCC team, they demanded for a first class traditional ruler or holder of the national honour of Commander of the Niger (CON) to stand surety to bail her. However, when the surety was made available on Thursday, the 14th of April, 2016, the EFCC at Port Harcourt claimed that they no longer knew her whereabouts.”

“This is an illegal conduct and flagrant abuse of power by the EFCC in the guise of fighting corruption. While all well-meaning Nigerians and organisations, including the IYC have over the years supported efforts at stamping out corruption from Nigeria, we insist that such a fight must be done within the ambit of the law.”

http://www.punchng.com/gov-polls-efcc-arrests-inec-chiefs-for-taking-n675m-in-bribes/

Buhari Didn’t Sign Any Loan Deal With China – Presidency

The Presidency on Saturday said President Muhammadu Buhari did not sign any loan deal with the Peoples Republic of China during his just-concluded one-week working visit to the country.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, gave the clarification in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH.

Ahead of Buhari’s trip which started last Sunday, there were media reports that he would sign a $2bn loan deal with China during the visit as the Federal Government sought funds to finance the over N2tn budget deficit.

Reuters had reported that Adesina confirmed that loan agreement would be signed but he could not say how much until it was signed.

But the presidential spokesman told our correspondent on Saturday that there was no iota of truth in the report.

“There was no loan deal during the President’s visit to China. All that is coming are investments into Nigeria,” he stated.

At the conclusion of the visit on Friday, the Presidency had said the President’s trip yielded over $6bn additional investments for Nigeria.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists.

Shehu said the President believed that the agreements concluded with the Chinese during the visit would have a huge and positive impact on key sectors of the Nigerian economy, including power, solid minerals, agriculture, housing and rail transportation.

He said, “In the power sector, North South Power Company Limited and Sinohydro Corporation Limited signed an agreement valued at $478,657,941.28 for the construction of 300 Mega Watts solar power in Shiriro, Niger State.

“In the solid minerals sector, Granite and Marble Nigeria Limited and Shanghai Shibang signed an agreement valued at $55m for the construction and equipping of granite mining plant in Nigeria.

“A total of $1bn is to be invested in the development of a greenfield expressway for Abuja-Ibadan-Lagos under an agreement reached by the Infrastructure Bank and Sinohydro Corporation Limited.

“For the housing sector, both companies also sealed a $250m deal to develop an ultra modern 27-storeyed high rise complex and a $2.5bn agreement for the development of the Lagos Metro Rail Transit Red Line project.”

According to the presidential spokesman, other agreements announced and signed during the visit included $1bn for the establishment of a hi-tech industrial park in Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone in Igbesa, Ogun State.

He added that the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone and CNG (Nigeria) Investment Limited also signed an agreement valued at $200m for the construction of two 500MT/day float gas facilities.

“An agreement valued at $363m for the establishment of a comprehensive farm and downstream industrial park in Kogi State was also announced at the Nigeria-China business forum.

“Other agreements undergoing negotiations include a $500m project for the provision of television broadcast equipment and a $25m facility for production of pre-paid smart meters between Mojec International Limited and Microstar Company Limited.

“About 100 Nigerian businesses and 300 Chinese firms participated in the Nigeria-China business forum, which took place a day after President Buhari began his visit to China,” Shehu added.

http://www.punchng.com/buhari-didnt-sign-any-loan-deal-with-china-presidency/

‘Treat Jonathan With Care; Falae, Anenih Too Old To Be Jailed’ – Sagay To Buhari

$2.1bn arms fund: Treat Jonathan with caution, Presidential Adviser, Sagay tells Buhari

.Says Yakassai, Anenih, Falae too old to go to jail

Professor Itse Sagay, SAN, is the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption. In this interview with TUNDE THOMAS, he urged President Muhammadu Buhari to apply caution over recent calls by some Nigerians that former President Goodluck Jonathan be invited for questioning over the raging $2.1 billion arms scandal for which ex-NSA, Sambo Dasuki and other top PDP chiefs are currently facing trial. Excerpts:

FORMER President, Olusegun Obasanjo, recently described EFCC as a toothless bulldog.He said that the anti-graft agency has lost its bite unlike when he was in power, how do you see his com­ments?

I think Obasanjo was not well in­formed before making this comment. Indeed, there was a time EFCC went down because there were some ele­ments within the organisation whose hands were not clean.

Now, EFCC is under a new lead­ership, and the new man in charge, Ibrahim Magu is totally committed to the war against corruption. He is determined to ensure that cor­rupt people are not only arrested but made to face justice.

Obasanjo, during his time ap­peared to have succeeded in the war against corruption because it was during his time that we have the EFCC and ICPC Act. The type of successes Obasanjo achieved against corruption, and the method by which he achieved them can’t be practiced now.

Why sir?

I said so because Obasanjo broke all the rules. In most cases, he didn’t follow due process while waging war against corruption.

Look at what happened in Bayelsa State, how he got all members of Bayelsa State House of Assembly arrested while trying to ensure that the then governor Diepreye Alami­eyeseigha was impeached.

He did not only take the law­makers to Abuja, Obasanjo also compelled them to impeach Alami­eyeseigha. He threatened them that if they refused to do so, they would remain in detention.

Obasanjo used unorthodox methods to wage war against cor­ruption. His own methods can’t be used today. Don’t forget that Obasanjo also used the same meth­od in Plateau State when he used only five lawmakers to impeach Joshua Dariye, the then state gov­ernor who was accused of being corrupt. Obasanjo later installed a man called Botman as state gover­nor after illegally removing Dari­ye. But these kind of methods are abnormal. They negate principles of due process.

But a lot of things are going on in the war against corruption today. A lot of prosecution is going on, and these prosecutions are dynamic.

We have a lot of cases going on and these are being followed to a logical conclusion. For instance, the case against the Publicity Sec­retary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh is already completed, and Metuh lost his no-case submission, but to evade judgement, Metuh has now been trying to transfer his case to another court so that the case can start afresh.

EFCC is doing its own part. The Federal Government is also doing its best to tackle corruption. Look at the case against Saraki before the Code of Conduct Tribunal: The case is going on very well.

Look at the other corruption cas­es against Dasuki, Badeh and oth­ers. EFCC is doing very well. The agency has been very dynamic, so I don’t agree with Obasanjo’s claims. You know you have to fol­low due process before you can get judgement against those people be­ing charged to court, Like I said, Obasanjo was very unorthodox in his style when he was in gov­ernment. But I’m optimistic that EFCC will get some cases con­cluded before the end of the year.

You sound so optimis­tic sir, but we have many cases that have been lin­gering for years without be­ing concluded, what is the basis of this assurance that you are giving?

It is true that there are many cases like that with some dating far back to 2007. I want to assure that we are going to get some cases concluded before the end of the year.


Again, the administration of Criminal Justice Act which now makes it impossible for those who have been using various tactics to evade justice to do so again. I’m not saying that convictions, but I’m very sure that judgement will be delivered.

But the only thing that can make this impossible is if some judges decide to ignore the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, and decide to continue with the old bad ways.

Then, how do we ensure that this fear of some judg­es continuing in their old ways is addressed?

Our committee is doing every­thing possible to address the issue. We are interacting with judges on proper interpretation of Admin­istration of Criminal Justice Act, that they should not give adjourn­ments anyhow and that there can’t be more than five adjournments in a case.

The law says that when an appli­cation is made, you take the appli­cation and the main case together, so that at the end of the day, you will give ruling and judgement together, not that you adjourn and later give the ruling.

I noticed that some judges are doing this, but this has shown that they are ignorant of the law. But I believe with time, everything will fall into place.

The question of what should happen to looters and the loot being recov­ered has been generating controversy, what is your view on this?

The laws are already there. The punishments range from a maxi­mum of 21 years to others between 7 and 10 years.

There is also a provision for plea bargaining so that whoever is quick to admit to being involved in cor­rupt practices will be given light sentence for admitting to his guilt and for not wasting prosecution time. But this time around, recov­ery from anybody making plea bar­gaining will be total.

It will not be like a situation be­fore when somebody is accused of stealing N2 billion would be asked­to return N2 million under plea bar­gaining.

As for the recovered funds, I know that the money is being kept somewhere. At the appropriate time, government will decide what to do with it.

On Dasuki’s case, it has been attracting so much publicity, and one of the reasons for that is that many people are wonder­ing why the man has not been released on bail after about 5 courts had granted him bail, what is your view on this?

My understanding is that Dasuki haa other matters that are not cov­ered by bail.

For some elderly, promi­nent Nigerians that were linked to Dasukigate, people like Chief Olu Fa­lae, Tanko Yakassai, Tony Anenih and others, some Nigerians are saying that they should be sent to jail if they are found guilty, their old age not withstanding, what is your take on this?

When Nigerians want to be radi­cal, at times, they go overboard. The law recognises the physical and mental state. There are people who are not fit to undergo trial. So, we can’t be an exception. There­fore, we can’t afford to drag a 90- year old man to jail.

At a certain age and a certain level of infirmity, the best you can do is to get whatever you can from such suspects. You can’t send ev­erybody to jail, you have to take into consideration, age and state of health. Like all criminal offences have mental ingredients, the ques­tion you ask again is this, what is the mental state of the person that receives money, did they know that the money being received was criminally obtained or do they think it was collection from the party that was given to them?

The fact that these elder states­men received money is not enough, there has to be a motive. Actual taking or receiving money by these people is not enough reason to send them to jail, you also have to con­sider their mental state when they were receiving it. We have to find out what the person understood he was collecting and from whom he was collecting.

Some Nigerians have been clamouring that for­mer President Goodluck Jonathan should either speak out or be invited to react to the allegations against him by some of these people that had been picked, what is your opin­ion?

Some Nigerians have been clamouring that for­mer President Goodluck Jonathan should either speak out or be invited to react to the allegations against him by some of these people that had been picked, what is your opin­ion?

It is a sensitive matter – we have to be very careful. My personal view is that somebody that is of high rank in this administration should talk to Jonathan. We have to handle the issue diplomatically. I’m not one of those persons that will say go and haul your former president into jail. The matter is sensitive. Like I said, somebody can be sent to Jonathan to get his own reactions or views regarding those who have been mentioning his name, and see what can be recovered. We should be careful about how we handle the issue. The issue can affect the im­age of the country.

How would you assess the ongoing anti-corruption war?

It is achieving the desired result. The impunity that you can commit fraud and escape with it is no longer there. People are now aware that it is no longer business as usual. Ni­gerians are being re-orientated that looting is evil. Nigerians are now being made to be aware that corrup­tion should not be tolerated. Then, Nigerians should also realize that the era of impunity is gone forever.

What has your committee been doing since it was in­augurated by the Federal Government?

We are working towards ensur­ing that the work of judges and anti-corruption agencies is made easier. We also have a manual on plea bargaining.

Your view on Supreme Court pronouncements on Rivers and Akwa Ibom State elections has come under criticisms in some quarters – that Supreme Court judgement or ruling should be seen as final, how do you react to this?

The Supreme Court is the final court. There is no appeal again ex­cept to God, but the judges at the Supreme Court are infallible. They make mistakes; and of course some of their judgements are wrong. But we can’t appeal against it.

But my own personal view again is that the Supreme Court judge­ments on Rivers and Akwa Ibom were terribly wrong. I call it per­verse. I’m going to write a com­prehensive review and my own opinion on those judgements, and I’m going to publish it. Nigerians ought to know what exactly went wrong.

We have certainly not heard the last on the elections in Rivers and Akwa Ibom State because the Su­preme Court judgement on the two states is going to have a profound effect on the future of election pe­titions unless something is done about it.

Is there a way your own view and what you intend to publish can have effect on subsequent Supreme Court judgements?

It can have. Of course the Na­tional Assembly can also make bye-laws to correct errors in pre­vious Supreme Court judgements. The lawmakers can make laws to correct Supreme Court.

Have you been receiving criticisms over your dissent­ing views to the Supreme Court ruling on Rivers and Akwa Ibom State elections?

I have been criticised by some people while some have also com­mended me. I have been criticised for attacking Supreme Court judge­ment on the pages of newspapers, some felt that I should have done so in a law journal, but remember that a law journal comes out in every five years. Even at that, only a few people will read it, but I want to do something that all members of the public will read. I have no apology for criticizing the Supreme Court judgement because what I’m doing is in the best interest of the country. I have no apology to offer anybody, my comment is for public good and in the interest of the Judiciary. This nation comes first – I will not allow any parochial interest to becloud my own sense of reasoning.

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