Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, has announced the plan by the Presidency to give whistle blowing policy that has so far helped to expose looted funds in their hidden places across the country a strategic and national direction.

According to him: “Government thinks that the whistle blower mechanism is too important to be left without a strategic, national direction.”

Garba Shehu, who spoke to news men at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today, Wednesday, made it clear that Nigerians to the whistle blower policy had boosted the tempo of the anti-corruption crusade of the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

He stressed that government is considering ways of enhancing the structural capacity of the whistle blower mechanism, saying: “the government is considering empowering the mechanism by either bringing it under the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PCAC or some other body to imbue the process with a strategic national purpose.

“In a word, government thinks that the whistle blower mechanism is too important to be left without a strategic, national direction.”

Garba Shehu insisted that no public policy could succeed or go far enough without public support and participation.

“When the citizens realize they were victims of corruption, they may feel encouraged to join the efforts to expose looted funds.”

The Presidential spokesman said that the huge amounts of looted funds being recovered by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the whistle blower efforts “is a revelation about the mindless, callous and reckless scale on which Nigeria had been robbed by unpatriotic and egregiously selfish public officials.

According to him, the election of President Buhari in 2015 was a divine intervention even as he said that stealing by officials under a democratic government at the expense of people’s welfare “is worst betrayal of voters’ mandate.

“Government is getting suggestions to bring the issue of illegal weapons in the hand of citizens that are being used to fuel intra and inter-communal violence under the purview of whistle blower policy.

“Yes, it is true; the presidency has received suggestions that call for the whistle blower policy to be extended to the possession of illegal weapons by powerful individuals in the country. The government will look at all that and make a pronouncement.

“Nigerians would be encouraged to expose the presence of illegal weapons in the homes of powerful politicians and other public figures, who may use those deadly arms for sinister political agenda.

“Those patriotic Nigerians exposing looted funds deserve all the encouragement and protection to sustain their enthusiasm, with a view to encouraging more citizens to participate in this major aspect of the anti corruption crusade.”

Garba Shehu assured that the Buhari’s administration would ensure judicious use of all recovered funds and commended Nigerians for their support. [myad]

The Director General of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke, staged what looked like a hide-and-seek drama with members of the Presidential press corps at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja today, Wednesday.

The Director General, whose suspension from office, along with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal by President Muhammadu Buhari, was announced earlier in the day,  had arrived at the gate of the Aso Villa to answer to a summon by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

As he was alighting from his Toyoto Landcruiser Jeep with registration no KSF 309 DH, the journalists surged forward to capture him with their cameras but, the Director General quickly turned his face towards the car, dodging the cameras. This was even as his security aides were frantically busy cordoning off the stubborn cameramen away from their boss.

Seeing that they could not stop the cameramen and other journalists from having a feast on the Director General, they led him by the shoulder to a corner of the Villa behind an electric poll where he hid himself for a few seconds, even as the journalists pursued him to the place, making him transparently uncomfortable.

The frightened NIA boss ran again into his car and drove towards the inner presidential parking lot, but was turned back by the Presidential security personnel, even as the journalists intensified the pursuit of him

In that confused state of affair, the embattled Director General was hurriedly driven out of the Aso Rock, with cameramen still pursuing his car, taking shots after shots.

Also, the SGF, Babachir David Lawal, who was attending a meeting with Vice President Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, at the time of the announcement of his suspension, emerged from the meeting looking confused.

When the news men asked him whether he was aware of his suspension, he asked: “by who?

When he was told that he was suspended a while ago by the presidency, he asked again: “who is the Presidency?” [myad]

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation into the allegations of violations of law and due process made against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr David Babachir Lawal, in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE).
The President has also directed the suspension of the SGF from office pending the outcome of the investigations.
In a related development, the President has ordered a full-scale investigation into the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has made a claim.
The investigation is also to enquire into the circumstances in which the NIA came into possession of the funds, how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to the NIA, and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds.
The President has also directed the suspension of the Director General of the NIA, Ambassador Ayo Oke, pending the outcome of the investigation.
A three-man Committee comprising the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the National Security Adviser, headed by the Vice President, is to conduct both investigations.
The Committee is to submit its report to the President within 14 days.
The most senior Permanent Secretary in the SGF’s office, and the most senior officer in the NIA, are to act, respectively, during the period of investigation.

FEMI ADESINA
Special Adviser to the President

[myad]

Chairman of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Kogi State Chapter, Toufiq Isah, has put to lie, claim by Senator Dino Melaye that he was attacked by unknown assassins, saying that the Senator simply “stage-managed” the attack in order to cause unnecessary tension.

Toufiq Isah, who is also the Administrator of Ijimu Local Government Area, said that he only heard that Dino entered Ayetoro with policemen who were shooting guns sporadically to scare people, and wondered why the Senator would turn round to claim that he was attacked.

The ALGON chairman told news men at Okoro – Gbede in Ijimu that as chief security officer of the Council, it was his responsibility to protect the lives and property of the people, adding that “if Dino cannot improve on the living standard of the people of Ijimu, he should allow them to have peace instead of causing unnecessary distraction.”

Senator Melaye was reportedly attacked by unknown gunmen in the early hours of Saturday at his residence in Ayetoro-Gbede, Ijumu local government area of the state. The assailants were said to have invaded the house few minutes past midnight and shot sporadically into the building.

Senator Melaye himself told newsmen that two of the vehicles parked within the premises, a security van and caravan bus were damaged and part of the building was also destroyed.

He confirmed that the gunmen shot for more than one hour with little breaks in between even as he fingered the Chairman of the Local Government Taofiq Isa as the person behind the attack. [myad]

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that Nigerians may not know the truth about the ownership of the over $43 million discovered in one of the apartments in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The anti graft agency which had already invited a former Governor and some others for questioning in respect of the huge sum of money, said: “unless we get to the root of this case, Nigerians may not know the truth or otherwise about the cash.”

It said that its operatives have already identified how apartment 7B where the money was found, was acquired even as he commenced investigation into the roles played by some apartment owners and tenants as it concerned movement of the cash into the Towers.

“The more we investigate this $43.4 million haul, the more we get fresh facts. It has become imperative to interact with some owners or tenants of apartments in the Towers.

“We have invited a former governor and other high-profile owners and tenants for interaction. It is just to ask a few questions on whether or not they were aware of such movement of cash.

“We have clues linking some occupants of the Towers to the cash haul. And in line with sections 16 and 17 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004, we are inviting these landlords or tenants.

“We are not saying that those invited are guilty of any infraction or having link with the $43.4million but we need to hear from them – in line with the ongoing profiling of those in the Towers.” [myad]