The South-South Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Hilliard Eta, has said that what the party promised Nigerians was change and not miracle.
Saying that Nigerians are too quick to judge President Muhammadu Buhari, Eta insisted that “change takes time.”
Eta, who spoke at the first quarterly retreat of the APC in Calabar, the Cross River state capital, said that what Nigerians are passing through right now is a gestation period for change.
According to him, the President is doing the right thing to lay the foundation for the change the country desired, adding that with the signing of the budget by the President, things would now kick off smoothly. [myad]
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has reported that its workers and consultants have jointly stolen a total sum of $3.8 Million and is therefore suspending aid to Nigeria’s AIDS agency.
Spokesman of the organization, Seth Faison said today, Friday that Nigeria’s government has promised to repay the money to the Geneva-based agency and to prosecute suspects.
A report by the fund’s inspector general said that seven government workers and three consultants stole the money over five years between 2010 and 2014.
The report said that the fraud continued because the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) did not have proper audits.
The missing money is 95 percent of the amount budgeted to implement, administer and train users of a web-based reporting platform but a fraction of the $1.4 billion the fund has spent in Nigeria.
Summary of the Audit by Global Fund goes thus:
An Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audit of Global Fund grants in Nigeria has identified significant problems in procurement, supply chain, financial and program management. The auditors found discrepancies of over US$4 million between drugs ordered and delivered; US$20 million paid to suppliers without confirmation of delivery; stock-outs of eight months for critical medicines; and a total of US$7.65 million in unsupported expenditures. The Global Fund is reviewing corrective measures, particularly with regard to risk management, identified by the OIG as the root cause of many of the issues.
With more than US$1.4 billion invested since 2003, Nigeria represents the Global Fund’s largest portfolio. Programs to date have contributed to 750,000 people living with HIV/AIDS currently on antiretroviral therapy, 310,000 new smear-positive tuberculosis cases detected and treated and 93.4 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets distributed to prevent the spread of malaria.
Regarding procurement, the OIG found that Principal Recipients, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS and the National Malaria Elimination Program do not monitor the deliveries to the central medical store in Lagos of drugs arriving through the Global Fund’s Pooled Procurement Mechanism (a system that allows the Global Fund to bulk order health commodities at favorable prices). This resulted in discrepancies in antiretroviral drugs deliveries of US$3.7 million from 2013 to September 2015 and US$0.5 million in artemisinin-based combination therapy drugs. The OIG also identified payments amounting to US$20 million made to a procurement agent without confirmation of services rendered or goods delivered.
The auditors found major weaknesses in supply chain management including ineffective controls over inventory management and distribution directly affecting service delivery to patients in Nigeria. Stock-outs lasting 8 months of critical medicines such as antiretroviral drugs and artemisinin-based combination therapies were found in 42 health facilities visited by the OIG. In addition, HIV commodities worth US$5.4 million had expired in the last two years.
Although the OIG noted minor improvements since the introduction of a fiduciary agent in May 2015, financial management controls were found to be inadequate and ineffective. For example, the auditors identified a total of US$7.65 million of unsupported expenses linked to human resources, payment approval processes and advances management.
Significant weaknesses exist in the internal controls around data collection and reporting processes. This resulted in more than 10% of errors between the data recorded at the facility level and data reported to the state coordinator and the Global Fund. The issues identified were mainly for the HIV and malaria programs. Good practice, however, was observed on data recorded for the tuberculosis programs.
The OIG concluded that the Global Fund’s risk management framework in Nigeria is ineffective. The organization is unable to identify, mitigate and monitor the risks effectively. This explains many of the problems identified by the OIG audit. For example, although the Secretariat introduced the Pooled Procurement Mechanism to the Nigeria portfolio, limited preventative controls are in place to ensure that drugs procured through the mechanism are actually delivered and then distributed.
The Secretariat is currently reviewing a number of corrective actions including assessing potential recoverable funds, internal control deficiencies and the grant recipients’ ability to deliver key Global Fund objectives in Nigeria. [myad]
“Can someone please tell me why they are at my gate?” This was a question posed by the former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council, Femi Fani Kayode when the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stormed his house today, Friday.
The anti corruption operatives were said to have surrounded his house shortly after inviting him for interrogation over an alleged scam involving the sum of N840 million. He was said to have received the money from the Director of Finance for the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organization, Senator Nenadi Usman.
Fani-Kayode wrote on his official Facebook page: “Today the EFCC invited me to come their office on Monday. I have their letter. I agreed to be there. Now they have surrounded my house.
“The letter of invitation was served this morning and it was dated May 6. They said I should report on the 9th. Can someone please tell me why they are at my gate? They can’t even wait because they want to detain me so badly and keep me away for the weekend. I never refused their invitation. Why all this? I leave them to God.”
Fani-Kayode, who was the Director of Publicity for Jonathan’s campaign organisation, was said to have received the money in January, 2015. The money was said to have emanated from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In a letter signed by Mohammed Umar Abba on behalf of the Acting Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, the commission explained that Fani-Kayode’s name featured prominently in the alleged scam and he was needed to clarify some issues.
The letter read in part: “The commission is investigating a case of criminal conspiracy, fraud and money laundering involving Joint Trust Dimensions Limited which you featured prominently. In view of the above, you are requested to kindly report.” [myad]
Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has expressed sadness over the death of the Oba of Benin, Omo n’Oba Akpolokpolo Uku Erediauwa.
In a statement by her media assistant, Jamilu Yusuf, the President’s wife described the death of Oba Erediauwa as monumental loss to the nation.
Aisha who also mourned the Walin Sokoto, Ambassador Hazmat Ahmad as well as seven secondary school students and others who died in motor accident along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway recently said that the two men could not easily be forgotten in the history of the country due to their immense contributions in ensuring peace and unity.
The president’s wife asked Nigerians to emulate the deceased’s commitment to national unity and other good legacies they left behind.
Mrs. Buhari also condoled with the government and the people of Kano State over the death of seven secondary school students, co-coordinator of the school competition and the driver involved in a ghastly motor accident along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The statement read: “Mrs. Buhari expressed shock over the tragedy, describing the incident as sad and monumental loss to the country.
“Moved by the tragic incident, she urged the Federal Road Safety Corps to commence investigation into the cause of the accident in order to forestall future occurrence.
“The wife of the President also commiserates with the families of the deceased and prayed to Almighty Allah to grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.” [myad]
A new group called Niger Delta Avengers have warned international oil companies operating in the region that Nigeria military cannot save them from their attacks, even as they bombed Chevron’s Okan platform on Wednesday.
The group, after blowing up the major Chevron oil and gas facility off Nigeria’s southern coast, warned international companies that “the Nigerian military can’t protect your facilities.”
This was even as the bombed Chevron oil and gas facility, a U.S.-based multinational said that it was forced to shut production in the region even though its exports will continue.
The militants said that the attack was part of the promised Muhammadu Buhari’s government to launch, saying: “this is what we promised the Nigeria government. Since they have refused to listen to us, we are going to bring the country’s economy to zero.”
They issued a statement threatening more attacks including in Abuja, the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory and Lagos, the commercial centre of the country.
Security forces launched an offensive this year after militants renewed attacks that forced the closure of two oil refineries and a major export terminal, aggravating fuel and power shortages. President Buhari last week, ordered military chiefs to the region and vowed to treat “vandals and saboteurs” as terrorists. The military has denied reports of extrajudicial killings in the campaign but more than 10,000 civilians have fled the fallout.
Nigerian Navy spokesman, Commodore Chris Ezekobe said today, Friday that the attack occurred Wednesday near Escravos terminal in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta.
Chevron spokesman, Deji Haastrup said the facility was shut down but would not say how much oil production is affected, saying: “it will not affect our commitment to export crude.”
The militants want a greater share of oil profits for communities whose fishing and agricultural grounds have been ravaged by oil pollution. They also object to the government winding down a 2009 amnesty program paying 30,000 former militants. The amnesty ended attacks that cut Nigerian oil production by 40 per cent and killed 1,000 people a year.
Chevron is the third-largest exporter in Nigeria, which is Africa’s biggest oil producer. [myad]
It is a matter of concern that over 40 years after the end of civil war, Nigeria is gradually relapsing into the circumstances that led to that war. One of such circumstances that led to the war, to be sure, was the ethnic hatred that permeated the length and breadth of this country. As a matter of fact, the major cause of such ethnic hatred and mistrust hinged on the over ambition of only one man, which was made to look as if the whole people had been subdued for which they must extricate themselves. While the people then were easily hoodwinked into taking arms against their brothers and sisters across the Niger, based on ignorance then, it looks like the same scenario is playing out now, but based on “too know” of the people, via, mainly social media. The Fulani herdsmen’s attack of some communities in Enugu state and other parts of the South have so far been given undue emphasis so much that no one has the courage or wisdom to think clearly as to whether it is possible for even a lunatic to attack the next door neighbour who has not done him anything. People have failed to apply the popular dictum which says that it takes two to tango. In other words, it doesn’t seem to make sense that herdsmen would just wake up one day and began to kill their hosts with whom they had lived and interacted for years without problem. It is on record that a few days before the herdsmen launched the attacks on Enugu state communities, some Fulani people were said to have been killed and buried in mass grave, but the social media played that issue down as if the lives of those herdsmen meant nothing. And when, obviously the herdsmen regrouped and launched counter-attacks, killing some of their hosts, the whole world began to shake. Indeed, there have been reports coming to us, as news managers, about how the hosts of Fulani herdsmen in many parts of the country have been molesting them at best and killing them at worse for no just cause. While we in Greenbarge Reporters do not support the attacks by Fulani, which led to the death of many in Enugu, and even elsewhere like Agatu in Benue state, we wish to appeal to all Nigerians to continue to respect one another and be their brothers’ keepers. After all, as purely prayerful people, our religions give emphasis to good neighbourliness and the quantum benefits of living in peace with neighbours. Most importantly, we appeal to those in social media, many of who operate from the confines of their rooms, even far away from Nigeria’s shores, to stop their destructive writing and posting. We should always think and act positively about how Nigeria can enhance the unity it has been enjoying since after the end of the civil war in 1970. We have come a long way together from that period and cannot afford to let ethnic hatred to creep into us now, to the extent of returning to that sad part of our history. We want to emphasize that since God has put us together, for the reason (s) best known to Him, hating one another because of our differences would not do any of us any good. We, by allowing hate to rule us, would only continue to complicate our growth and make life more difficult for us all. This is saying that the promoters of hatred, those who practice hatred and those at the receiving ends of the hatred cannot run away from the negative effect of such action when the bubble burst. At whatever level we operate, we should individually recall the word of the war time Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon who said immediately after the civil war that there is no victor and no vanquished. It is important to remind us that in fomenting trouble and relishing in it, the bottom line always is that ‘a child that denies his mother sleep himself cannot sleep.’ The earlier we accept that we have to live together and love ourselves the way we are, the better it would be for the beginning of our collective march to happiness, progress and peace of mind. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the controversial 2016 national budget, promising to make it his serious article of faith with Nigerians.
“The budget,”Buhari said before a crowd of politicians from National Assembly, All Progressives Congress (APC), friends, well-wishers and key operating staff of the Presidnetial Villa, “ is intended to signpost a renewal of our commitment to restoring the budget as a serious article of faith with the Nigerian people. This Administration is committed to ensuring that henceforth the annual appropriation bill is presented to the National Assembly in time for the passage of the Act before the beginning of the fiscal year.”
President Buhari expressed his pleasure in signing what he called ‘the first full-year budget of this administration into law,”even as he thanked the leadership of the National Assembly, in particular, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and indeed all members of the National Assembly for their cooperation in making this a reality.
He said that that the 2016 budget, aptly titled “Budget of Change,” through which his government seeks to fulfill its own side of the social contract.
“The Budget I have signed into law provides for aggregate expenditures of N6.06trn. Further details of the approved budget, as well as our Strategic Implementation Plan for the 2016 budget, will be provided by the Honourable Minister of Budget and National Planning.
“I shall be speaking in more details about the Budget, its implementation and the over-all national economic and social policies of the Government in my address on May 29,th God willing.”
The President said that in in designing the 2016 budget, “we made a deliberate choice to pursue an expansionary fiscal policy despite the huge decline in government revenues from crude oil exports. This is why we decided to enlarge the budget deficit at this time, to be financed principally through foreign and domestic borrowings. All borrowings will however be applied towards growth-enhancing capital expenditures.
“The signing of the budget today will trigger concerted efforts to reflate the Nigerian economy, a key element of which is an immediate injection of N350bn into the economy by way of capital projects. To illustrate our renewed commitment to infrastructural development, the 2016 budget allocates over N200bn to road construction as against a paltry N18bn allocated for same purpose in the 2015 budget.
“Despite the current difficulties we will work extra-hard to achieve our revenue projections. Our revenue generating agencies are coming under better management and are being re-oriented. The implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) is expected to contribute significantly to improving transparency over government revenues.
“Our determined fight against corruption is resulting in improvements in the quality of public expenditure. The work of the Efficiency Unit, as well as other public financial management initiatives, are also contributing in this regard. The continuing efforts to reduce recurrent expenditures should hopefully free up more funds for capital expenditure in 2017 and beyond.
“As I said in my New Year message, living in State House does not in any way alienate me from your daily struggles. I read the newspapers and listen to the TV and radio news. I hear your cries. I share your pains.
“We are experiencing probably the toughest economic times in the history of our Nation. I want to commend the sacrifice, resilience and toughness of all Nigerians young and old who have despite the hardships continued to have hope and confidence of a great future for Nigerians. But permit me to say that this government is also like none other. We are absolutely committed to changing the structure of the Nigerian economy once and for all.
“We are working night and day to diversify the economy so that we never again have to rely on one commodity to survive as a country. So that we can produce the food we eat, make our own textiles, produce most of the things we use. We intend to create the environment for our young peoples to be able to innovate and create jobs through technology.
“I cannot promise you that this will be an easy journey, but in the interest of so much and so many we must tread this difficult path. I can assure you that this government you have freely elected will work with honesty and dedication, day and night to ensure that our country prospers and that the prosperity benefits all Nigerians. God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Present at the signing of the budget today were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. Others included the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma; the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang; the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Samaila Kawo; the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, John Odigie-Oyegun; the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Danjuma Goje; and the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumuni Jubril. [myad]
Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has scheduled a visit to the state on Friday, May 9, even as he warned mischief makers not to regard the visit as political, “but to promote the state’s economic potentials.” Governor Masari said at a news briefing today, Thursday, in Katsina on the forthcoming Katsina State Economic and Investment Summit that the visit would help to focus the attention of the world on the state’s vast investment opportunities. “The President will visit the state to actively participate in the Economic and Investment Summit that is geared to uplift the economic status of the citizenry of the state. “The people of the state should accord high respect to the coming of the President as a citizen and indigene of the state. “The President should not be insulted as the gathering was not a political programme but an investment and economic summit.” Masari said the government had extended invitation to all officials of the 21 political parties with presence in the state to also participate in the summit. “I call on the political class not to turn the economic and investment summit into a political affair. The government through intelligence report has gathered that some disgruntled elements are planning to sponsor restive youths to stage demonstration so as to disrupt the summit. “The Katsina State Government will not fold its arm and allow mischief makers to scuttle the programme that was designed to create an environment for investors.” The governor said that the state is blessed with human and mineral resources that needed to be harnessed for the overall benefit of the citizens. Commenting on the security situation, Masari said that the state is completely safe for investment and that there are no cases of kidnapping or cattle rustling. He said that the state government had dislodged all the cattle rustlers in Rugu forest and recovered 11,000 cows, which had been handed over to their owners. NAN. [myad]
Former governor of Rivers state and current minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has admitted that he got a letter from the then Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and that he used the letter to campaign against the high level corruption that was rowing in the country then.
In a statement explaining his involvement in a letter forwarded to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, challenging the non-remittance of $49.8 billion oil windfall to the federation account.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, Amaechi strongly condemned reports in the media, which indicated that he “surreptitiously and clandestinely” leaked the letter, Amaechi said that when he got the letter, he approached Sanusi Lamido and made it abundantly clear to him that the bleeding of the nation had to be stopped, and that “all non-remitted funds remitted and that he was going to use the letter to do whatever is in the best interest of the nation and Nigerians.”
The statement which was issued today, Thursday by his media aide said that Amaechi got the letter from the person he called: “a concerned and patriotic Nigerian, who felt sufficiently troubled with what was happening.”
The statement said that the said letter was given to Amaechi in his capacity as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), saying: “like Amaechi, we should appreciate that concerned Nigerian’s patriotism.
“When Amaechi got the letter, he spoke with Sanusi, who was still the CBN Governor, to confirm the authenticity of the letter. Sanusi confirmed to Amaechi that he wrote the letter. During their conversation, Amaechi made it abundantly clear to the then CBN Governor that the bleeding of the nation had to be stopped, all non-remitted funds remitted and that he was going to use the letter to do whatever is in the best interest of the nation and Nigerians, which was the stoppage of the non-remittance and the recovery of all the non-remitted funds from oil sale. The CBN Governor did not agree with Amaechi on the way forward.
“Considering that the letter was given to Amaechi as Chairman of the NGF, he shared the letter with his colleague governors first, and with Senator Bukola Saraki (now Senate President), who before and around that period was doing some work or/and investigation around the oil sector in the Senate.
“Around that period, a delegation from the United States government, from the offices of the Secretaries of State and Defence, visited Amaechi in Port Harcourt to discuss the problem of oil theft in Nigeria.
“From their records, they gave Amaechi figures of billions of dollars (about $7 billion dollars annually) that was being lost to oil theft in Nigeria. They were discussing the issue and figures of oil theft, and that was how the CBN Governor’s letter to President Jonathan came up.
“In the presence of journalists covering the visit, Amaechi brought out the Sanusi letter to the visiting American delegation to buttress the point that Nigeria was losing far more money to non-remittance of proceeds from oil sale into the federation account, which everyone seemed to concur, was in itself, another form and another dimension to the problem of oil theft.” [myad]
Italian highest court of appeal has ruled that stealing small amounts of food to save off hunger is not a crime. Judges overturned a theft conviction against Roman Ostriakov after he stole cheese and sausages worth €4.07 (£3; $4.50) from a supermarket.
Mr. Ostriakov, a homeless man of Ukrainian background, had taken the food “in the face of the immediate and essential need for nourishment,” the court of cassation decided.
“Therefore it was not a crime,” it said.
A fellow customer informed the store’s security in 2011, when Mr. Ostriakov attempted to leave a Genoa supermarket with two pieces of cheese and a packet of sausages in his pocket but paid only for breadsticks.
In 2015, Mr. Ostriakov was convicted of theft and sentenced to six months in jail and a €100 fine.
For the judges, the “right to survival prevails over property,” said an op-ed in La Stampa newspaper (in Italian).
In times of economic hardship, the court of cassation’s judgment “reminds everyone that in a civilized country, not even the worst of men should starve.”
An opinion piece in Corriere Della Sera says statistics suggest 615 people are added to the ranks of the poor in Italy every day – it was “unthinkable that the law should not take note of reality”.
It criticized the fact that a case concerning the taking of goods worth under €5 went through three rounds in the courts before being thrown out.
The “historic” ruling is “right and pertinent,” said Italiaglobale.it – and derives from a concept that “informed the Western world for centuries – it is called humanity”.
However, his case was sent to appeal on the grounds that the conviction should be reduced to attempted theft and the sentence cut, as Mr. Ostriakov had not left the shop premises when he was caught.
Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation, which reviews only the application of the law and not the facts of the case, on Monday made a final and definitive ruling overturning the conviction entirely.
Stealing small quantities of food to satisfy a vital need for food did not constitute a crime, the court wrote.
“The condition of the defendant and the circumstances in which the seizure of merchandise took place prove that he took possession of that small amount of food in the face of an immediate and essential need for nourishment, acting therefore in a state of necessity,” wrote the court. [myad]
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The South-South Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Hilliard Eta, has said that what the party promised Nigerians was change and not miracle.
