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Betta Edu made illegal request to wire funds into personal account: on: Accountant General

by Leading Reporters January 6, 2024

written by Leading Reporters

The humanitarian minister had in a letter referenced: FMHAPA/HQ/S.208 and dated December 20, 2023, requested that the AGF transfer the money to the personal account of one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola, as the fund was meant for grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun and Lagos States.

The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, has revealed that she did not honour the controversial N585.198 million requested by the minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, Betta Edu.

But following the public backlash concerning the illegality of the request by the minister, the AGF, in a statement issued by the OAGF director of press, Bawa Mokwa, in Abuja, on Saturday, said it wasn’t her responsibility to make payments for projects and programmes on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

According to Mrs Madein, allocations are released to self-accounting MDAs in line with the budget and such MDAs are responsible for the implementation of their projects and payments for such projects.

The AGF’s statement read, “The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Dr Oluwatoyin Madein has clarified that the OAGF does not make payments on behalf of MDAs for projects and programmes implemented by the MDAs.

“The AGF was reacting to media reports concerning a request from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation for payment of grants to vulnerable groups in some States of the Federation.

“She stated that allocations are released to self-accounting MDAs in line with the budget and such MDAs are responsible for the implementation of their projects and payments for such projects,” she explained.

Admitting that, “her Office received the said request from the Ministry, it did not carry out the payment. The Ministry was however advised on the appropriate steps to take in making such payments in line with the established payment procedure.”

Explaining the appropriate way the request should have been made, the AGF explained that, “in such situations, payments are usually processed by the affected Ministries as self-accounting entities and no bulk payment is supposed to be made to an individual’s account in the name of Project Accountant.”

“Such payment should be sent to the beneficiaries through their verified bank accounts,” she added.

Mrs Madein expressed her resolve to uphold the principles of accountability and transparency in the management of public finances while she advised MDAs to always ensure that the requisite steps are taken in carrying out financial transactions.

January 6, 2024 0 comments

Headlines

Dr. Betta Edu paid money into private accounts, OAGF does not make payments

by Leading Reporters January 6, 2024

written by Leading Reporters

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Dr. Betta Edu paid money into private account against our advice

Accountant General of the Federation, AGF Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein has disclosed that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Dr. Betta Edu paid money into private account in desperation against our advice.

The AGF, reacting to media reports that the OAGF played a role in payment of funds meant for the NSIP into private account by the Minister, the OAGF in a statement on Saturday, 6 January, 2024 by Director of Press, Bawa Mokwa, said the Office does not make payments on behalf of MDAs for projects and programmes implemented by the MDAs.

The reaction was due to reports credited to Dr. Betta Edu that she made a request from the OAGF that grants be paid to vulnerable groups in some states of the Federation.

The reaction was due to reports credited to Dr. Betta Edu that she made a request from the OAGF that grants be paid to vulnerable groups in some states of the Federation.

The AGF asserted that funds are released to self-accounting MDAs, including Humanitarian Affairs in line with the budget which they are responsible for implementation of their projects and payments for such projects.

According to the statement, “The Ministry was however advised on the appropriate steps to take in making such payments in line with the established payment procedure.”

Accountant General of the Federation added that such payment should be sent to the beneficiaries through their verified bank accounts.

Dr. Madein reiterated her determination to uphold the principles of accountability and transparency in the management of public finances. She advised MDAs to always ensure that the requisite steps are taken in carrying out financial transactions.

January 6, 2024 0 comments

Headlines

N44.8bn fraud Alleged implicate Dr Betta Edu

by Leading Reporters January 5, 2024

written by Leading Reporters

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has alerted of desperate plans by some persons to implicate her in the N44.8bn fraud in the National Social Investment Programme Agency, NSIPA.

She insisted that some elements who have been trying to link her to a phantom fraud, “are behind this latest misadventure.”

“…says fund for vulnerable groups in 4 states approved, went through due process – Edu“

“…point fingers to Oniyelu Bridget is Project Accountant for Grant for Vulnerable Groups, she clarifies“

The minister, reacting to the allegation of her involvement through her Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair, on Friday evening, explained that the fund for the vulnerable groups in four states of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states was not only approved but also went through due process.

“For the avoidance, the said N585,198,500.00 was approved, and it is meant for the implementation of Grants to Vulnerable Groups, GVG, in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states,” she added.

A response to the allegation by the ministry, read:”The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation notes with dismay, on a memo from the Ministry to the Accountant-General of the Federation approving for payment, of the sum of N585,189,500.00 Renewed Hope Grant for Vulnerable Groups for four states, which is currently being circulated in the social media.

“It is glaring that the same sponsored disgruntled elements in the past few days have been trying to smear the Honourable Minister, Dr Betta Edu, and stain her integrity following the Federal Government’s ongoing 44.8 Billion Fraud in NSIPA. These elements have been trying to link her to a phantom fraud and are behind this latest misadventure.

“However, this latest vile effort of theirs is another infantile blackmail doomed for evisceration.

“For the avoidance, the said N585,198,500.00 was approved, and it is meant for the implementation of Grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states. We must, however, note that GVG was first launched in the Kogi state where recipients testified.

“Akwa Ibom and Cross River were launched in December 2023, Kogi in November, and others will be launched in the coming weeks.

“The general public is invited to note that the Renewed Hope Grant for Vulnerable Groups is one of the social intervention schemes of the federal government, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

“Oniyelu Bridget is the Project Accountant for GVG from the Department of Finance and it is Legal in civil service for staff, the Project accountant to be paid and use the same funds legally and retire same with all receipts and evidence after the project or Programme is completed.

“The evil motive of the mischief-makers behind the circulation of the memo is well-known and should be ignored. Of note is the fact that since assumption of duty about Five months ago, the Minister has religiously visited different parts of the country like Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Kogi, Plateau, Nasarawa, FCT, Lagos Cross River among others and this is done to ensure she delivers on her mandate and she has remained focused, unbiased and committed to duty.”

January 5, 2024 0 comments

Opinion

Nigeria’s gale of demolitions: The missing point

by Leading Reporters December 3, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

By Tonnie Iredia

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state (2015-2023) left no one in doubt that he had enormous capacity for project development. No other governor in the history of Nigeria ever evolved his type of schedule for the daily commissioning of projects for several months without stop. His penchant for saying things as they are, no matter who is hurt, may have earned him several political enemies but no one disputes his well-deserved award of ‘Mr Project’ first bestowed on him by former vice president Yemi Osinbajo. It was against this backdrop that his appointment as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT by president Bola Tinubu provoked great expectations of Abuja almost immediately wearing a new look along with consequential collateral damage of demolitions of buildings erected on illegally acquired land or without approved building plans.

Wike lived up to expectation as his first move revealed his determination to eliminate every distortion to the Abuja master plan and make the city befitting as Nigeria’s capital. At his maiden news conference, he confirmed his readiness to tackle all unplanned structures that can compromise urban development. To all those who have contributed to distorting the master plan he said “be you a Minister of anywhere, be you an ambassador, if you know you have developed where you were not supposed to develop, your house must go down. Those who have taken over the green areas to build, sorry, our parks must come back, the green areas must come back.” A few weeks later, FCT’s Department of Development Control identified thousands of illegal buildings for demolition in no less than 30 locations in the territory.

In fairness to Wike, the policy of demolitions in the FCT was not started by him. Former FCT Minister, Nasir El Rufai had in fact been more identified as the ‘demolition man.’ During his tenure, Nasir according to Mohammed Alkali, the then general counsel of the Federal Capital Territory Authority destroyed over 75,000 houses and other public property. El Rufai himself found time to explain that he had no regrets for doing what he did notwithstanding his stepping on several toes adding that he took the drastic actions to save Abuja from being turned into a slum by influential persons in the corridors of power. According to the former minister, rich and powerful elements in the military and politics had with the connivance of others cornered choice plots in the city through the back door.

If building demolitions were restricted to the FCT one would have attributed the trend to the special nature of the location as the most developed part of Nigeria with huge infrastructural facilities. But then, demolitions were also taking place in other cities. In kano state, the new administration of governor Abba Yusuf wasted no time in rolling out bulldozers to begin the demolition of private buildings, which he had earlier declared during his campaigns, as illegal structures erected during the tenure of his predecessor, Abdullahi Ganduje. Abba had actually anchored his campaign on a promise of mass demolitions if he got elected as he accused the previous administration of splintering public assets, specifically land, and selling them to its cronies.

In Ogun state, many expect demolitions because the government had earlier marked several houses and directed their owners to remove them. According to Ola Oresanya who had served as Commissioner for Environment, the affected houses were built on drainage channels that were obstructing the flow of water. The government had warned that any owner who waited for official demolition would have to refund to government, tax payers’ monies incurred in removing the buildings. The Ogun state government has indeed, continued to express concerns over the impact of urban flooding in such parts of the state as Ikenne Local Government Area.  Like Ogun, Lagos state which has had a rather large share of demolitions and evictions in Nigeria, insists that structures built on drainage channels would be demolished.

Both the owners of demolished buildings and government spend ample time canvassing each other’s perspective. Here, the government which has organs of mass communication to propagate its viewpoint has expectedly had the upper hand. The major justification which government officials keep making is that the demolitions are usually done in the public interest. Tokunbo Wahab, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, in Lagos State probably beat everybody to it last Wednesday when he shared a photo of a house built on a canal in the state obstructing the free flow of water. But we caution against overblowing the story because not every demolished building was erected on a canal or some sort of drainage channel.

Some 5 months ago, a popular newspaper had used one of its editorials to condemn the immediate past administration in kano state for allegedly carving out plots from the grounds of public schools, hospitals and utilities, and selling or distributing them to government officials and their relatives in the state. Such plots which were reportedly taken out of school football fields, and also in-between classroom blocks, for the construction of shops for commercial activities cannot be justified. It is generally believed that right from the days of the Maroko saga in Lagos state, the motivation for the acquisition of plots and the demolitions of buildings in certain Nigeria cities is obviously not altruistic as government officials would want the public to believe.

The constant resort by some Nigerians to illegal acquisition of land or the construction of buildings, without appropriate approvals, is unacceptable. But if the people miss that point, a greater miss is the failure of the government to provide shelter for its citizens as seen in the huge figure of housing deficit in the country. In his ‘Hierarchy of Needs’, the legendary psychologist, Robert Maslow, had persuasively described shelter as a basic right. Interestingly, the Nigerian government despite Section 43 of our constitution which sees citizens’ shelter as a right, is yet to accept it as its duty to the people. Citizens ought to be motivated rather dissuaded from getting sheltered. Indeed, the sanctity of the subject as clothed in the next Section 44 of the same constitution abhors compulsory acquisition without compensation.

The real missing point in Nigeria’s demolitions is the failure of government to sanction insider abuses. To start with, government at the point of enforcement has a habit of not separating citizens in possession of approvals from those who have none. Once demolition is pronounced by the political head; everyone, the innocent and the guilty suffer same fate. Besides, many approvals which turn out to be phony were the handiwork of public lands and housing officials serving or retired. Nothing is known to have been done to them. If government was ‘demolishing’ such deviants from work the way they send bulldozers to penalize acclaimed wrong owners, building demolitions would have since been drastically reduced. But it is never so; instead such perverse personnel remain at work and more often than not, advance to the highest grade thereby encouraging the growth of such cabals and perpetuating their misconduct.

If other leaders claim not to know, minister Nyesom Wike cannot because he has made public how such officials had attempted to extort funds from him even as governor of Rivers state. It is therefore obvious that no one can really claim ignorance of the existence of the cabals because their methodologies and operational patterns hardly change. Why for instance is it that buildings get demolished several decades after they had been completed and occupied? Where were those who become super active during demolitions when such buildings were at foundation levels? Is it not an open secret that the real meaning of sign X placed on any building to stop further work is for the owners to visit the enforcement officials for settlement?

Some demolitions may no doubt be inevitable. But in such cases, government must proceed and function with a human face.  All those involved in the breaches necessitating demolitions which should include government officials should be equally sanctioned. Since we are in a democracy, punitive and ‘surprise demolitions’ such as midnight actions should be avoided even where court approvals have been secured. Victims should never be given grounds to imagine any form of discrimination.  We all desire beautiful cities, just as we all deserve affordable shelter.

December 3, 2023

December 3, 2023 0 comments

Headlines

NAGGW: Another Conduit of Fraud … N81.2bn Expended On ‘Non-Existing’ 21m Trees In 11 States

by Leading Reporters December 2, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

Despite several calls and text messages through the MTN number (0803-8537022) of the managing director of the National Agency for Greater Green Wall (NAGGW), Yusufu Maina Bukar and other efforts made to reach him for his comments proved abortive, the managing director of the federal government established agency under the Federal Ministry for Environment is alleged to have squandered over N81.2billion taxpayers money on fictitious tree planting exercise in 11 states of the federation.

In a petition made available to this medium by a Lagos based anti-corruption group, it was alleged that there is a glaring case of diversion of public funds through a ‘fictitious’ tree planting exercise at the whooping sum of N81.2billion.

Going by reports from an in-depth investigation of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee that made the discovery of the scam, it is clear beyond any iota of doubt that the Agency had as alleged squandered the whooping amount on non-existing trees for a fictitious fight against drought, afforestation and reforestation activities in Nigeria’s dry lands and ecological funding for Greater Green Wall activities.

According to the petitioner, a visit to most of the states mentioned as beneficiaries of the tree planting intervention to locate sites of the project was a herculean task that can only be located in the imagination of NAGGW.

For instance, the petitioners alleged that those locations in Bauchi, Jigawa, Kano, Gombe and Adamawa states could not be found anywhere after several efforts including contacts with relevant ‘benefiting’ state government ministries.

The petitioners added that part of their allegations were sourced from the report of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee that investigated the utilization of allocated funds to the agency since it was established in 2015 by Act of Parliament.

A breakdown of expenditure from NAGGW suspected to have been diverted include;-
The whopping sums of N697.372million, N500million and N480.657million separately expended on claimed renovation of office accommodation (number of offices renovated not stated)

The sum of N11.28billion expended on imaginary capital projects (projects not stated)

Huge unspecified amount of public monies expended by the Agency on claimed capacity building and other sub-heads not within the mandate of the Agency as specified in the Establishment Act 2015 that need further investigation.

Since 2015, the Agency has woefully failed or ignored to undertake any Audit of its Accounts which gives room for suspicion of certain hidden scandals.

With these development and several others that must have been swept under the carpet, the anti-corruption group is calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend the management of the agency under Yusufu Maina Bukar who was appointed in April 2022 to the exalted position and subject it to thorough investigation to expose other cases of corruption and malfeasance for subsequent action.

It was further understood that the managing director who allegedly mortgaged his conscience for sharp corrupt practices despite his claimed educational status, must have been bragging of operating under the executive cover of some influential federal government functionaries that are suspected to be the brains behind the ongoing scandals in the agency.

The petitioners further added that just within one year of his appointment, he had squandered such a humongous amount of public funds on fictitious projects that have no direct bearing on the lives of Nigerians
“At the House Ad-hoc committee session, the managing director shamelessly said the agency had planted trees in Borno, Yobe and other states with N2.4billion in the first phase and N7.3billion in the second phase but failed to name locations where the trees were planted for ease of verification
“May be those trees allocated to Borno State were planted in Sambisa or Firgitsi forests but definitely not within Maiduguri metropolis or any of the local governments that we visited to authenticate the truth”.

With this development, the National Agency for Greater Green Wall has joined the league of the most corrupt federal government establishments that should either be scrapped or the entire management held responsible for such a heinous scandal similar to those of Diezani Alli-son Madueke (former Petroleum Resources Minister), AbdulRasheed Maina (Pension Scheme), Godwin Emefiele (CBN) Ahmed Idris (former Accountant-General of the Federation), AbdulHameed Aliyu (NIRSAL) and several other crooks that presided and butchered public resources under the guise of service to Nigerians .

In subsequent bulletins, we shall publish more of our findings on how NAGGW is administered and how corrupt practices are encouraged and protected to flourish under Yusufu Maina Bukar and his co-travelers who agreed that the agency had long deviated from its core mandate.

December 2, 2023 0 comments

Headlines

Breaking: Tinubu Appoints Pius Akinyelure As Board Chairman Of NNPCL, Retains Kyari As GCEO

by Leading Reporters November 27, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Chief Pius Akinyelure, as the Chairman of the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Leading Reporters can authoritatively report.

This is just as the President has retained Mallam Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Limited following his impressive performance which has been described as unrivalled in the entire history of the national oil company.

Before his appointment as Chairman, Akinyelure was a member of the board of the NNPC Limited.

Akinyelure, a seasoned and distinguished administrator, and an oil industry practitioner is being appointed to Chair the NNPC Limited Board about five months after the President dissolved the board of federal government’s agencies and parastatsals including that of the NNPC Limited.

Before the President’s dissolution of board of federal government parastatals on June 19 this year, the board of the NNPC Limited was chaired by Mrs Margary Okadigbo who was appointed on January 5, 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

She occupied the position for 17 months before the dissolution of the board by President Tinubu.

Findings by Leading Reporters revealed that she is being replaced by Chief Akinyelure who is a certified Accountant with a Master of Science Degree in Management, specializing in organizational behaviour.

Chief Akinyelure also had over 30 years working experience in the Oil industry at top management/executive levels, both Upstream and Downstream.

Prior to his retirement from Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc on June 1, 1997, he was the Executive Director, Finance and External Relations for the company.

He has been Chairman/Director of several companies/financial institutions in the past, which include Wema Bank Plc, Credite Bank Ltd, Odu’a Investment Limited, Oluwa Glass Plc, Okitipupa Oil Palm Plc, Odu’a Telecomunications Limited, Cocoa Industries Nigeria Ltd, Hallmark Bank and West African Portland Cement Plc.

He is also Chairman/Director in several other companies like King Guards Nigeria Ltd, Seg Mahsen & Co.(NIG) LTD, POA Investment Ltd, Eres N.V Nig. Ltd, Transnational Computer Technology, SPA dredging Company Limited, Pak Oil Marketing Limited, ACOP Properties Limited, Betta Consortium (Ikoyi Hotels) and CAT Construction Company Limited.

Leading Reporters understands that Kyari’s retention as NNPC Limited GCEO is a confirmation of the confidence which the President has in the reforms and programmes being implemented under his leadership.

Kyari has kept his promise to the NNPC Limited and Nigeria by increasing the nation’s oil reserves to 40 billion barrels, from 37 billion barrels.

The NNPC Boss has also assisted in resolving disputes around deep offshore bloc to further boost the nation’s oil production and ensuring the successful flag-off of the construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project.

The project was described by former President Muhammadu Buhari as a game changer for the oil and gas industry.

The NNPC Group, which became a CAMA Company in 2021 following the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, grew its profit from N287bn in 2020 to N674bn in 2021 under Kyari’s leadership.

The N674bn profit posted by the NNPC Group in the 2021 financial period represents an increase of N387bn or 134.8 per cent when compared to the N287bn recorded in 2020.

The 2021 financial year made it the fourth consecutive years that the NNPC will be making its Audited Financial Statement public.

This was one of the innovations made by Kyari when he took over the helms of affairs of the National Oil Company.

Since he assumed office, Kyari has pursued his Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) agenda, a five-step strategic roadmap for NNPC’s attainment of efficiency and global excellence.

Kyari, during the inauguration, had said pursuing TAPE was the only way to turn around the corporation and make it competitive.

Under the roadmap, the Transparency component of the agenda was aimed at maintaining positive image, share values of integrity and transparency to all stakeholders, while the Accountability segment of the campaign is to assure compliance with business ethics, policies, regulations and accountability to all stakeholders.

In terms of the two-prong item of Performance Excellence, Kyari had said the idea was to entrench a high level of efficiency anchored on efficient implementation of business processes which would also emplace an appropriate reward system for exceptional performance among the workforce.

Just last month, the NNPC Limited and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Malam Mele Kyari, won the 2023 Nigeria GovTech Awards for exceptional service delivery in the public sector.

While the National Oil Company won the Best Federal MDA in Digital Initiatives in Reengineering Government Processes Award, the GCEO carted home the Distinguished GovTech Trailblazer Award.

The awards were in recognition of the GCEO leadership’s proactive steps in activating the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) that is hinged on digital automation of the company’s processes.

The single, sure-footed act of automation, emplaced to, among others, mitigate the effects of COVID-19, has brought about efficiency, high performance, and sustenance of the NNPC Ltd’s operations post-pandemic, for which the GCEO is now referred to as “Mr. Automation” in the industry.

Significantly, the GCEO, through the NNPC IT Division, automated Key Performance Indicator Dashboard across the entire IT Enterprise and Architecture, thereby improving reporting efficiency real-time performance tracking.

Kyari also activated Microsoft Enterprise Additional Licenses for NNPC Digital Transformation initiatives, leading to an estimated cost-saving of over $1m to the Company.

Both the NNPC Ltd. and the GCEO shone like a thousand stars at the venue of the awards at the International Conference Centre.

November 27, 2023 0 comments

Headlines

Just In: Tinubu Vows to Crash Petrol Price to N150, Eliminate Hardships

by Leading Reporters November 27, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has vowed to find a lasting solution to the tough times facing Nigerians, saying that he was quite aware of the myriad of socio-economic and political problems Nigerians are grappling with.
He stated this yesterday at the 11th Convocation Ceremony of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State, where four sets of graduands participated in the ceremony.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Professor Garba Sharubutu, said he was not resting on his oars in his efforts to eliminate the current hardships in the country.

“Our policy instruments are being fine-tuned with the view to dealing firmly with the causes and not the symptoms of the problems,” he said.
“Mr. President promised that very soon the current exorbitant prices of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol would be “greatly reduced,” he added.

The president hinged his optimism on crashing fuel prices in no distant time on his belief that “very soon, some of our local refineries will start production.”
“He said part of the supplementary budget already approved by the National Assembly “will be applied to bring interventions at critical segments of the agricultural sector.”
On the persisting insecurity, which Tinubu identified as “a burden and a major challenge in Nigeria” the president assured the nation that “in no distant time, it will become history.”

However, he stated that his government needed sustained support and cooperation from Nigerians to realise the various solutions being g applied to address the present hardships.
“Bear with us and remain resolutely in support of this administration as we would leave no stone unturned in reversing the severe hardships that our people are currently passing through.”

Tinubu who expressed delight at performing his maiden duty as a Visitor to MOUAU, commended the institution for its exploits on academics and infrastructural development despite the many challenges facing the nation.

He underscored the critical role of the universities of agriculture in the nation’s quest for food security, which, he said, informed the establishment of additional universities of agriculture.

Tinubu urged private organisations to join hands with universities of agriculture “in forming partnerships and linkages to scale up agricultural research findings with a win-win target”.

“I strongly believe that we become a very strong nation by developing the natural, human, and material resources God has endowed us with,” he said.
In his address, the Vice Chancellor of MOUAU, Professor Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, announced that the combined 11th Convocation produced a total of 8,229 graduates at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, out of which 121 graduated with first class.
He said that under his watch, the university has achieved many landmarks in its digital transformation drive, research, infrastructural development, staff and students welfare, among others.

Maduebibisi, who is the 6th VC of MOUAU, noted that the institution “is still grappling with the challenges posed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the instability of the academic calendar” caused by industrial unions.
He also identified the paucity of funds as “a major brick wall” to be surmounted hence “the critical need for substantial financial support to improve our environment.”

November 27, 2023 0 comments

Headlines

BREAKING: FG revokes 1,633 mining licences

by Leading Reporters November 21, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

The Federal Government through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has revoked 1,633 minerals titles previously given to non-complying mining companies.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, announced this during a press briefing on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said the licenses of these mineral title holders were revoked due to failure to pay mandatory annual service fees of N1,500 per cadastral unit.

He said, “The Mining Cadastre Office has recommended the revocation of 1,633 mineral titles as follows: Exploration Licence, 536; Quarry Licence, 279; Small Scale Mining Licence, 787 and Mining Lease, 31.

In line with the powers conferred on me by the NMMA 2007, Section 5 (a), I have approved the revocation of the 1,633 titles.”

More details soon…

November 21, 2023 0 comments

Headlines

Police reforms: The elephant in the room

by Leading Reporters November 19, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

By Tonnie Iredia

In an address to a management retreat organized by Nigeria’s Ministry of Police Affairs last week, president Bola Ahmed Tinubu reportedly ordered the withdrawal of police personnel from Nigeria’s top elite group simply referred to as VIPs. If this is obeyed, the police can then take back their normal duties as spelt out by law. Now that it is the president himself that has reiterated the point everyone in the country has been harping upon, may be something would be done about it this time around. Indeed, virtually every former Inspector General of Police IGP began his tenure with a pledge to redress the situation more so as VIPs use police personnel for menial jobs thereby damaging the corporate image of the police.

On his part, the current IGP, Kayode Egbetokun believes that withdrawing police mobile personnel from escort/guard duties would better position the police to effectively handle the internal security architecture of the country. Although, he made the statement at a meeting with crack squadron leaders and tactical commanders of the force, there is doubt if Egbetokun can achieve the plan bearing in mind that his predecessors were unable to do so. It should be noted that Tinubu is not the first Nigerian president to issue the withdrawal directive. Former president Muhammadu Buhari issued the same directive to no avail.

The boldest step to recall police personnel attached to VIPs was probably the move by IGP, Ogbonna Onovo in 2009 to recall all orderlies attached to those not entitled. According to Onovo only 22 beneficiaries are officially listed and this does not include former civilian or military presidents. But can the police ever withdraw orderlies attached to Gowon, Obasanjo, Buhari, Babangida, Jonathan or even those of former stategovernors? The truth is that the issue of those entitled has since given way to those who can pay for the service. For example, some two months ago, during the convention and electoral process organized by the Adamawa state students, three police personnel were seen serving as escorts to the student union president.
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The implications of sending several police personnel to undertake guard duties are many. First, it further depletes the existing inadequate numerical strength of the Force. Second, it turns a large figure of police personnel into mere domestic servants functioning as handbag carriers and gate keepers. Why is the trend allowed to subsist? Some 5months ago, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting ICIR took a hard look at the subject and concluded that the regular notice of an end to police escorts for unentitled persons is mere rhetoric meaning that the police hierarchy does not appear to mean their directives on the matter.

According to the ICIR, after issuing a directive for such withdrawal in 2003, former IGP Tafa Balogun turned around to ask those attached to judges to remain. Nothing was done about the deadline given in 2009 by IGP Onovo for all unapproved orderlies to report for redeployment in 7 days. In 2011, a monitoring team set up by IGP Hafiz Ringim to monitor compliance with his withdrawal directive made feeble impact. The threat by IGP Adamu in 2020 that commanders will be held liable for continued illegal attachment of police escorts to unentitled persons did not alter the precarious situation.

Many large towns and villages hardly see any police personnel whereas individual elite groups could have dozens guarding their private residences. Governors and their government houses had hundreds of orderlies. At a point the Rivers State Police Command announced that former governor Rotimi Amaechi had 187 escorts. The same command was however silent on who deployed the escorts to him. Did governor Amaechi get the assistance of a foreign power to invade the police command to appropriate 187 operatives? Of course, Amaechi was ‘indicted’ only after he stopped enjoying good relationship with the presidency.

Interestingly, now and again successive past governments kept setting up panels on police reforms without doing anything about the reports of the panels. Reports of the Murtala Nyako panel (1989), the one set up by General Abacha (1995) another constituted by the Ministry of Police Affairs (2000) as well as the one headed by Professor Tekena Tamuno (2002) were all discarded. The reports of the Vision 2010 committee and the one led by former IGP Danmadami (2006) were similarly treated. In 2008 former IGP M.D. Yusuf chaired one that produced 125 recommendations which government is still experimenting upon.

At the same time, the police has a chief executive in charge of day to day administration of the Force. It also has a Police Service Commission, a Ministry of Police Affairs and a Police Council which point to too many cooks in the police kitchen. In another clime, the enormous minute by minute societal demands on the police which require immediate attention would not encourage a bureaucratic Ministry of Police Affairs. No wonder, we keep debating police reforms instead of allowing the management of the organization to follow global realities in policing. In fact, that the police leadership is incapable of implementing its own rules on basic issues such police escorts points at the elephant in the room.

The above explains why the police hierarchy is also unable to implement the scrapping of illegal checkpoints which every IGP vows to stop on assumption of office. What makes this more disturbing is that activities at checkpoints always lead to extortion and sometimes end in fatal injuries. Although, Muyiwa Adejobi force spokesperson publicised only 3 things to be presented to the police at checkpoints which are vehicle licence, driver’s licence and insurance certificate, additional fault-finding items are always demanded by the police. The goal is to get as much money as possible from road users especially in a lucrative route such as Lagos to Onitsha which is said to have more than 50 checkpoints.

In 2019, a report by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project SERAP did not only adjudge the police as the most corrupt institution in Nigeria, it also stated that “a bribe is paid in 54 percent of interactions with the police” adding that “there is a 63% probability that an average Nigerian would be asked to pay bribe each time he or she interacted with the police.” The argument that the police are virtually addicted to the operations of illegal checkpoints because their salaries are poor is certainly puerile. These days how many public officers are not poor?

Apart from legislators who have between 100 and 200 million naira each just to purchase official car, no one is really financially comfortable with the salary structure of the public service. Extorting from tax payers because of insufficiency of their salaries is a criminal breach of trust. If other police personnel were that guilty, we would never have had the likes of Francis Erhabor, a serving police officer publicly commended by government for rejecting a bribe of N2million. During the 20th Anniversary of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission ICPC, Erhabor who was at the time serving as a Divisional Police Office (DPO) Itam, Uyo in Akwa Ibom state was one of two Nigerians honoured by the ICPC as icons of integrity.

It is time to deal with the real problem of the police which is pervasive greed and financial indiscipline among many personnel. It is suggested that the new Police Act of 2020 be strictly followed in the appointment and promotion of officers as well as the operations of the police. For instance, the Police Act in its Section 66(3) provides for a lawyer to be attached to every police station in the country to help promote human rights compliance. Former IGP Solomon Arase who is currently Chairman of the Police Service Commission should work with the current IGP to further reduce the number of personnel attached to only entitled persons. Incidentally, he reduced the figure for state governors from over 150 to 62 when he was IGP.

Finally, the police should embrace technology which all over the world has been recognised as the redeeming feature of humanity. With improved technology, there would be no need to deploy police personnel to voting centres where they are often accused of acting as catalysts for electoral malpractices. Our police personnel need value re-orientation.

November 19, 2023

November 19, 2023 0 comments

President Bola Tinubu travels Leadingreporters

Headlines

Tinubu to depart Nigeria for Investment Summit in Germany on Saturday

by Leading Reporters November 18, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

President Bola Tinubu is set to leave Abuja this Saturday for Berlin, Germany, where he will participate in the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) Conference on November 20, 2023. The conference is hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

This was disclosed by the President’s spokesperson on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.

The conference will see President Tinubu engaging with Heads of State and Governments from CwA member countries, bilateral partners, and Heads of International Organizations. Their discussions will center on the immediate enhancement of economic and business cooperation, aiming to identify concrete measures that will foster investments in crucial areas such as energy, trade, infrastructure, and new technologies.

According to the statement, the G20 CwA Conference is scheduled to occur concurrently with the Fourth G20 Investment Summit, which will be co-hosted by the German government and German business associations.

He said the President is committed to attracting foreign direct investment in Nigeria is resonating worldwide. Taking charge of Nigeria’s delegation at the investment summit, he is poised to propel the mission to new heights.

What the Presidency is Saying

Furthermore, Ajuri stated that the President will be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar; the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite; and the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu.

He said,

“This visit also affirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to diplomatic reciprocity as the invitation to Germany from the German Chancellor is being honoured following the visit of the German Chancellor to Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria, from October 29 to October 30, 2023.
“Leveraging on the opportunity presented by the Fourth G20 Investment Summit, the Nigerian delegation will follow up on productive meetings previously conducted with high-ranking representatives from German business organizations who were part of the official delegation of the German Chancellor to Nigeria.
“In his discussions with Chancellor Scholz in October, President Tinubu highlighted the imminent need for more German companies to invest in the Nigerian market across multiple sectors of the Nigerian economy, such as transportation, mining, and energy, all while noting that Nigeria remains Germany’s second-largest trading partner in Africa.
“Nigeria and Germany, being the largest economies in Africa and Europe, respectively, recorded an increase in bilateral trade volume from two to three billion Euros between 2021 and 2022.”

President Tinubu will return to the country following the conclusion of the conference.

November 18, 2023 0 comments

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