Infrastructure is central to every aspect of our national life. Improving infrastructure is not only critical for economic growth, but essential in ensuring the improved wellbeing of our people. Empirical research over the years has shown that there exist a strong link between infrastructural development and increased productivity. Productivity in Nigeria is low. No thanks to our confounding infrastructural deficit. Reports from World Bank revealed that from now through 2030, at least $57 trillion will need to be expended to build infrastructures ranging from ports, power plants, rails, roads, telecommunications, water systems, and other litany of facilities that the global economy needs. For developed nations of the world, the priority is to renew waning infrastructure; for emerging ones such as Nigeria, the focus is to build the infrastructures required to support growth. This is apparent in the deterioration of our state-owned roads and federal highways, the dearth of our public transportation systems, under investment in affordable housing and social infrastructure, and the skyrocketing of environmental menace. Making a case to invest in infrastructure is long overdue. The positive economic benefits of stronger infrastructure spending can never be overemphasized. It supports jobs and businesses, leading to lower levels of unemployment and increased economic growth. Also in the long run, competitiveness of private businesses will be enhanced, thereby leading to wealth creation and higher standard of living. Furthermore, increased investment in infrastructure will not only impact directly on the economy but will also spread through the economy through a chain of multiplier effects like curbing rural-urban drift. Pertinent to also state that infrastructure spending generates a positive economic return before projects are even completed, as the construction stage alone generates enough economic activity to almost justify the expense, even though the real economic benefit of public infrastructure is the long-term effect it has on productivity and business competitiveness – key mechanisms of a developing economy for which Nigeria is one. Improved infrastructure would lower the cost of doing business in Nigeria thereby allowing for higher rates of private investment and ensuring that Nnamdi’s company in Onitsha, Adekunle’s firm in Lagos and Tanimu’s establishment in Kano can grow, and overtime, becomes competitive on the global stage. The sad news however is that Nigeria would require about $8 billion annually to bridge her huge gap in public infrastructure. It is quite obvious that the country is at the precipice. Some reports have it that only 18 percent of the nation’s 197,000 kilometres of federal roads network which conveys 90 percent of persons across the country is paved. The situation in power generation and supply is still abysmal. Low cost Mass Housing schemes are rather derisory. In recent past, we have seen a steady decline in capital expenditure of both federal and state governments whilst recurrent expenditure has been on the rise. This simply translates into paucity of funds for building and maintenance of public infrastructure. The next big question now is, where do we turn to for solution to our current infrastructure financing challenges? The answer lies at the door step of The Infrastructure Bank Plc. A new-look, rebranded and dedicated infrastructure bank, providing financial solutions to support key long term infrastructure projects, including transportation infrastructure, municipal common services, mass housing, solid waste management and water provision, power and renewable energy projects.
At a time when other finance institutions are hesitant to provide resources for the huge but critical infrastructure investment required in Nigeria and Africa at large, The Infrastructure Bank is open to funding commercially viable projects that have significant developmental impact for both public institutions and private sector companies through the provision of specially designed and competitively priced loans which have medium to long term tenors. This game-changing institution being managed by a retinue of personnel with time-tested financial grandeur and economic finesse do not only advance financial loans as it is evident that the challenge facing Government and a coterie of private sector institutions is not only that of finance but also that of capacity. Capacity constraints are evident across the country. The Bank funds support programmes that provide technical assistance, capacity building and other value-added services towards strengthening institutional and delivery capacities. Not also leaving out fund management, propriety equity and offering of bespoke advisory services. Nigeria is at a unique moment that requires macroeconomic stimulus in the mode of investment in public infrastructure. This challenge, although grim, represents a refreshing prospect for the government. The economic benefits of investing in public infrastructure are countless. It provides the obviously needed stimulant in the short-term whilst contributing to higher productivity and a more competitive economy in the long run. Our infrastructural conundrum presents both crisis and opportunity. We either collectively leverage the opportunities The Infrastructure Bank Plc. offers or keep floundering in crisis.
Elvis Ogah, an Economist and International Affairs analyst wrote in from Abuja. elvisogah01@gmail.com. [myad]
Embattled Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has made it clear that he never struck any deal with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the upper chamber of the legislative arm of government before he was elected its President last year.
He said that what happened was that some members of All Progressives Congress (APC) decided to be absent at the election and so he simply walked over them. He asked: if a team refused to turn up for a scheduled match and was consequently walked over, would it be fair to blame the team that turned up and claimed victory? I believe those that made it possible for PDP to claim the DSP position were those who decided to hold a meeting with APC senators elsewhere at the time they ought to be in the chambers. What the PDP Senators did was to take advantage of their numerical strength at the material time.
Dr. Saraki who responded to some points raised by a media commentator and analyst, Dele Momodu in his column in This Day newspaper, stressed that he did not do any deal with the PDP.
“I did not have to because even before the PDP Senators as a group took the decision to support my candidature on the eve of the inauguration of the 8th Senate, 22 PDP Senators had already written a letter supporting me. What I did not envisage was a situation where some members of my party would not be in the chambers that day, especially when the clerk had already received a proclamation from the President authorizing the inauguration of the Senate.”
He said that the PDP Senators simply lined up behind Senator Ike Ikweremadu while those of them from APC voted for Senator Ali Ndume, adding that it was a game of numbers, “and we were hopelessly outnumbered. If the PDP had nominated their own candidate for the Senate Presidency position that day, they would have won. It was as simple as that.
“Secondly, I don’t know if you were aware that in the build up to Senate inauguration, the National Working Committee of the APC sent two signals. The first signal specified how leadership positions in the National Assembly have been zoned. While we were trying to give effect to this decision, the second signal came, which contained names of people to which these zoned position had been allocated.
“What was not acknowledged was that the President of the Senate is not an executive president. He is primarily one of 109 senators. Therefore, I cannot decide by myself who gets what in the Senate. Therefore, when they said I defied party directive in the choice of principal officers, they are invariably ascribing to me the power that I did not have.”
The full text of Senator Saraki’s statement goes thus:
My dear brother Dele, let me thank you most sincerely for your article last weekend, “My Candid Letter to Saraki.” I take everything you said in that article to heart and I must commend you for your candidness indeed and the sincerity of your intentions.
As you said in your article, you are someone I have known more by reputation than by any personal relationship, until recently when we struck up some personal acquaintance based on our shared political interests, especially during the last presidential election. However, I understand why you had to sound so defensive for knowing me at all and had to publicly map the boundaries of our relationship.
We have got to that point in our country when we no longer believe that anyone could stand for anything based on principles and convictions alone. Moreover, in the growing culture of media crucifixion and presumed guilt; it is rare to find a voice like yours that calls for fairness and justice.
I would have simply sent you a text message or call you up for your candid advice to me, which I take seriously. But I feel the need to make some clarifications on some of the issues you raised. One of them was that in seeking to be Senate President, I struck a deal with the PDP and made it possible for one of them to be the Deputy Senate President. I know this is the dominant narrative out there, but it is far from the truth.
I did not do any deal with the PDP. I did not have to because even before the PDP Senators as a group took the decision to support my candidature on the eve of the inauguration of the 8th Senate, 22 PDP Senators had already written a letter supporting me. What I did not envisage was a situation where some members of my party would not be in the chambers that day, especially when the clerk had already received a proclamation from the President authorizing the inauguration of the Senate.
Pray, if a team refused to turn up for a scheduled match and was consequently walked over, would it be fair to blame the team that turned up and claimed victory? I believe those that made it possible for PDP to claim the DSP position were those who decided to hold a meeting with APC senators elsewhere at the time they ought to be in the chambers. What the PDP Senators did was to take advantage of their numerical strength at the material time.
They simply lined up behind Senator Ike Ikweremadu while those of us from APC voted for Senator Ali Ndume. It was a game of numbers, and we were hopelessly outnumbered. If the PDP had nominated their own candidate for the Senate Presidency position that day, they would have won. It was as simple as that.
Secondly, I don’t know if you were aware that in the build up to Senate inauguration, the National Working Committee of the APC sent two signals. The first signal specified how leadership positions in the National Assembly have been zoned. While we were trying to give effect to this decision, the second signal came, which contained names of people to which these zoned position had been allocated.
What was not acknowledged was that the President of the Senate is not an executive president. He is primarily one of 109 senators. Therefore, I cannot decide by myself who gets what in the Senate. Therefore, when they said I defied party directive in the choice of principal officers, they are invariably ascribing to me the power that I did not have.
My dear brother, most people talk about the Senate Presidency position, but this was not my only offence. I have also been accused of helping to frustrate some people’s opportunity to emerge as President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate. But I have no problem with anybody.
My concern was that it would not be politically smart of us to run with a Muslim-Muslim ticket. I doubt if we would have won the election if we had done this, especially after the PDP had successfully framed us a Muslim party. I felt we were no longer in 1993. Perhaps, more than ever before, Nigerians are more sensitive to issues of religious balancing.
This, my brother, was my original sin. What they say to themselves, among other things, was that if he could conspire against our ambition, then he must not realize his own ambition as well. For me however, I have no regrets about this. I only stood for what I believed was in the best interest of the party and in the best interest of Nigeria.
Now to the substantive issue of my trial. As you rightly noted, this trial is not about corruption. And I am happy that since my trial started, people who have followed the proceedings have now understood better what the whole thing is about. I have had opportunity to declare my assets four times since 2003. Over those years, the Code of Conduct Bureau had examined my claims.
There was no time that they raised any issues with me on any item contained in my declarations over those twelve years. This is why you should be surprised that while I am being tried by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, the witness and the evidence supplied against me were all from EFCC.
Like you, I have an abiding faith in the judiciary. May God forbid the day that we would give up on our judicial system. However, the onus is not on me to prove that I have confidence in the judiciary; the burden is on my prosecutors to prove to the world that justice is done in my case. If the process of fighting corruption is itself corrupt, then whatever victory is recorded would remain tainted and puerile!
Some people have wondered, why has Saraki been “jumping” from one court to another instead of facing his trial? To those people, I would say that I have only gone to those courts in search of justice. Strange things have happened, and they are still happening. For example, Section 3(d) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act states that the Bureau shall refer any breach or non-compliance to the Tribunal. However, where the person concerned makes a written admission of the breach, no reference to the Tribunal shall be necessary.
It was on this basis that the case against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was dismissed in 2011, by this same judge in this same Tribunal on the grounds that he was not given an opportunity to deny or admit to any breach before he was brought before the tribunal. This was the ruling that I relied on in making my case. But what did the judge say? That he had judged in error in 2011 and he had since realized his error and departed from it.
My question is whether a Tribunal of first instance has the power to reverse itself. I should expect that everyone would be worried if justice is applied differently to different people. However, in spite of my fears, I remain hopeful. Why? Because the judiciary does not end with this Tribunal.
Do you know the genesis of my real problems with President Goodluck Jonathan? I have had a touchy relationship with him, but the turning point was in September 2011 when I moved a motion on the floor of the Senate that exposed the N2.3 trillion fuel subsidy racket. I remain proud that I was the Senator that blew the lid on the most elaborate corruption scheme ever in this country.
But after that I became a marked man. My security was withdrawn. I was invited and re-invited by the EFCC and the Special Fraud Unit. I was even declared wanted at a point. I believe I am still one of the most investigated former governors in this country. I have no doubt that if the Jonathan government was able to find anything against me, they would not have allowed me to go unpunished.
Let me make this point clearly. I do not expect to be shielded from prosecution because of my contribution to APC, if there was genuine basis for such action to be taken against me. But I have every reason to expect not to be persecuted by the party that I contributed so much to build. The New PDP may not have given APC victory in 2015, but it was an important factor in the dynamics that produced that victory.
And with all sense of modesty, I was an important factor in the formation of New PDP; in leading that group to the APC; in ensuring our group’s support for the candidate during the primaries and in mobilizing substantial resources for the election. For these, I have not expected any special compensation. Rather, I only expect to be treated like every loyal party member and accorded the right to freely aspire!
Some people have complained that I have been taken Senators with me to my trial. But I did not force them to follow me. The Senators have freely accompanied me to the Tribunal not because they are loyal to me as Abubakar Bukola Saraki, but because they are committed to the principle that produced me as the President of the Senate. The same principle that produced Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President and produced Ali Ndume as Majority Leader.
They see all of us in the Senate leadership as manifestation of their jealously guarded right to freely choose their own leaders. Because they know they made us their leaders without any external interference; they are confident that they retain the power to remove us whenever they so wish. They also know what this trial is all about. They believe I am being victimized because they have expressed their right to choose their own leadership.
This is why I am not in any way perturbed by my absence in the chambers during this trial. Because I was not imposed on the Senate, I feel confident that the Senate will protect its own choice whether I am present or not. It is never about me. It is about the independence of the legislature. It has always been so since 1999. It is so today and it would be so in 2019, it would be so in 2023, and as long as we practice a democracy that operates on the principle of separation of powers.
My dear brother, let me end by observing that I am not alone in this trial. On trial with me in this process is the entire judicial system. On trial with me are our entire anti-corruption institutions and our avowed commitment to honestly fight corruption. On trial with me is our party’s promise to depart from the ways of the past, a promise that Nigerians voted for.
And I dare say, on trial with me is our media; and their ethical commitment to report fairly and objectively. In the end, it is my earnest hope that whatever we do will ultimately ennoble our country. [myad]
Sixty countries, including Nigeria, are set to converge on the United Kingdom in May this year to sign agreement on the sanctions to be imposed on corrupt political and public office holders.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami who spoke exclusively to the Nation listed sanctions that is likely to be imposed on treasury looters in members countries to include:
travel restriction or denial of entry visa into the 60 countries
rejection of request for political asylum by corrupt political and public office holders
likely loss of citizenship
no more approval of naturalization for any corrupt person
no establishment of shell companies abroad
the corrupt will not be allowed to operate foreign accounts in any of the 60 nations.
He said the agreement will make it difficult for those stealing public funds in the country to escape abroad or operate slush accounts to stash cash away.
“The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping up the fight against corruption. I am happy to bring to your notice that Nigeria and 59 other countries will enter into an agreement in May on the imposition of international sanctions against corrupt political and public office holders. This will take place at the 2016 international summit on anti-corruption in the UK.
“At the May summit, these 60 countries will agree on some sanctions against those who steal public funds or launder money.
“Some of these measures are travel restriction or denial of entry into the 60 countries; rejection of request for political asylum by corrupt political and public officers; no more approval of application for naturalization by any corrupt person; and the corrupt will not be allowed to operate foreign accounts in any of the signatory nation to the pact among others.
“The affected countries will also design ways of sharing intelligence on corrupt officers and money launderers. We will all key into this understanding as part of the global action against corruption.
“With this development, there is no hiding place for any public office holder who steals funds in this country.
“The President will deliver a keynote address at the May summit. It all borders on the international appreciation of the anti-corruption agenda of this administration.
“In fact, Nigeria is being considered as the 2017 host of the international summit on anti-corruption.”
Former Aviation Minister and spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation in the 2015 electioneering campaign, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has told the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to go to hell for freezing his account.
The EFCC announced the freezing of Fani Kayode’s account as it steps up investigation into the alleged N4billion campaign bazaar cash received from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in the build-up to the 2015 elections. The funds were allegedly withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) and shared to 10 other directors, directorates, zonal directors and state directors of the Presidential Campaign Organization of Jonathan. Fani-Kayode declared yesterday that he knew nothing about the withdrawal of the cash from the CBN or funding of the campaign by the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki. But he admitted that campaign funds were paid into the account of a company linked with a former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, from where it was shared to him and others. He then dared the EFCC to “do their worse” in a statement in Abuja entitled “The Money Transfers and the Truth about the Presidential Campaign Funds.” The beneficiaries may be arrested for questioning by the anti-graft agency. Details of the largesse sharing are as follows: Fani-Kayode (N840million); Goodluck Support Group (N320million); Achike Udenwa and Viola Onwuliri (N350million); Nenadi Usman (N140million); and Okey Ezenwa (N100million). Giving his own side of the story,Fani-Kayode said he received the funds from ex-President Jonathan and he is accountable only to the former leader and not the EFCC. He said the funds disbursed were not from public coffers and these were routed through a private company. “Our funds were given to us by the President who was the leader of our party through the Director of Finance of the PCO and we were not in a position to inquire into the sources of funding of the party’s campaign. Indeed, it was not our responsibility to do so. “Once I got these clarifications and confirmations, I agreed to receive the funds into my bank account and use them for their stated purpose. “The transfers were made and I used the funds to carry out all our operations during the course of the presidential campaign. “It was an aggressive and well-run campaign and we gave our opponents a very hard time indeed. It was also very expensive and we barely had the resources that we really needed, but we did an effective job with the little we were given. “The whole nation, including our friends and our enemies, can bear witness to that and they saw the excellent quality of our work. Hardly anyone can dispute this, yet some fail to appreciate the fact that such a strong showing costs a lot of money. Media and publicity campaigns cannot be run on goodwill alone. You need cash and plenty of it. “During the course of the election and after its conclusion, I submitted detailed accounts of our expenses and evidence of our work to the Director of Finance of the PCO for onward transmission to the Director-General of the PCO and ultimately President Jonathan himself about how the money was spent and they were satisfied. “Given the fact that these were not public funds, the only legal body that can inquire into our expenditure of campaign funds is President Goodluck Jonathan who set up the PCO.” Continuing, he said: “I cannot sit by silently as my name is dragged through the mud in this way and I am convicted in the court of public opinion. This has happened to me once before and it took me seven years to clear my name. It will not happen to me again. “Consequently I am constrained to take this opportunity to state the facts of this matter, set the record straight and await my traducers and accusers to make their next move. It is indeed time to challenge those that are making these allegations and to kill the lie. “Given this, it is important that all the relevant facts are put before the world before I am subjected to the Dasuki treatment, put away indefinitely and not given the opportunity to defend myself before the public. Meanwhile, in their usual manner, after this is done, the EFCC will then flood the media with all manner of lies about my so-called atrocities which only exist in the figment of their imagination. “The allegation of fraud and the receipt of public funds from the National Security Adviser’s Office and Central Bank into my bank account are false. “These allegations are baseless, wicked, shameful and irresponsible. It is not true that any money was paid into my account by or from the National Security Adviser’s Office, the Central Bank of Nigeria or any other government agency or institution last year or at any other time.” He said the funds were wired into his account and others through a company associated with ex-Minister Nenadi Usman. ”As the Director of Media and Publicity of the Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organization, I was asked to submit a budget for my Directorate by Chief Tony Anenih, the Presidential Adviser to the Presidential Campaign Organization and Mrs. Nenadi Usman, the Director of Finance. “My team and I prepared the budget and it was approved. “Rather than collect cash, for security reasons and the purposes of accountability, I was advised by the Director of Finance to open a bank account for this purpose, which I did. “The funds were paid into that account in instalments at the beginning of last year by the Director of Finance and each deposit was authorized and approved by the Presi dential Adviser to the PCO, Chief Tony Anenih. “The account that they used to transfer the money to me was a private company account which was owned or under the control of the Director of Finance. “It was the same company account that was used to send money to all the other Directors of the PCO and the Zonal Directors, State Directors and all our PDP governorship and legislative candidates during the various campaigns. “ When I asked about the sources of the funds, I was told by the Director of Finance that the funds were sourced from private individuals and private companies who opted to support and fund President Jonathan’s campaign. She told me that no money was paid into her company from any government official, account or agency. This she told me in the presence of witnesses and I believed her. “ I was told that there was a fundraising event held by our party (PDP) which took place in early January 2015 in which billions of naira were raised specifically for the Presidential campaign. I believed this to be true and I had no reason to doubt it.” The ex-Minister said the slush funds were shared to 10 other directors, directorates, zonal directors and state directors of the Presidential Campaign Organization of Jonathan.” He wondered why he has been the subject of “absurd and outlandish headline stories in various newspapers which have accused me of being a fraudster and which have claimed that funds were transferred into my bank account by the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, and by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.” Such stories, he claimed , portrayed him as having used public funds for the campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan. He branded such stories as petty, shameful, nauseating and “ also a reflection of the desperation of those that seek to pull me down and destroy me simply because my opposition to this government has been unrelenting.” “ In January 2015, I was appointed as the Director of Media and Publicity for the Jonathan/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organization by President Goodluck Jonathan. The Director-General of the Campaign Organization was Senator Ahmadu Alli and the Deputy Director-Generals were Alhaji Ibrahim Turaki SAN (North) and Governor Peter Obi (South). Chief Tony Anenih, an elder statesman and one of the most distinguished and revered leaders in our country, was the Presidential Adviser to the campaign organization. “There were at least 10 other directors and directorates apart from me and mine including the Directorate of Mobilization which was led by the respected Professor Jerry Gana and the Directorate of Administration which was led by Alhaji Aliyu Modibbo. There were also zonal and state directors of the Presidential Campaign Organization in all the zones and states of the country. “All these names that I have mentioned including all the other directors whose names I have not mentioned are, as far as I am aware, men and women of immense integrity and good character and they have mostly been either ministers of the Federal Republic or state governors at one time or the other in our history. It was an honour to serve alongside such people and I have absolutely no regrets about doing so. “Yet given the fact that I was not the only director in the campaign organization and in view of the fact that all the directors and zonal and state directors got their funds from the same source and account as I did, one wonders why only I and three others should be singled out for this reprehensible treatment and these false allegations. “ I chose to remain silent on the issue until now simply because the allegations have not been officially made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or anyone else, but the newspapers keep citing their sources “inside the EFCC” as their basis for these shameful allegations. Mr. Josef Goebbels, Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s information minister, when Germany was in the terrible grip of the Nazi party, said that once a lie is repeated enough times, it becomes truth to those who are continuously subjected to it. This is especially so if it goes unchallenged.” Fani-Kayode, who took swipes at the EFCC and The Nation in his statement, asked the anti-graft agency to “do the worst.” He said: “Yet if this is an attempt to intimidate, silence or distract me, they shall fail because I am not a coward and I do not fear them or those that sent them to torment me. “As long as Jesus is on the throne and our hands are clean, no matter how long it takes, we shall prevail and ultimately they will pay a heavy price for their malice, injustice and wickedness. “These are facts and readers can be rest assured that I will say nothing different from this if and when I am formally asked by anyone or any agency. “When the EFCC begins to leak their falsehood and salacious allegations to their agents in the media, kindly take note of the fact that, as usual, they will be telling tall tales and they will be lying. “Now I challenge them to do their worse. I have no fear of them or of those who have sent them to do this dirty job. May God judge them all and may He reward them for their wickedness. “The suggestion that the money was some kind of “cash bonanza” or “bazaar” as has been reported by the leading pro-government newspaper in the country today is childish and absurd. “If that had been the case, I doubt that I would have been foolish enough to open a bank account to receive government funds or “bazaar funds” as this would have been easily traced. “If I had anything to hide or if I was doing anything wrong, I would have insisted on collecting cash for my operations which would have been far easier to conceal. “The fact that the EFCC gained access to my bank account and leaked details of it to the media, including my inflows, is not only a gross violation of my privacy, but it is also unlawful.” [myad]
An Osun High Court in llesha has sentenced a traditional ruler, Moses Adeniyi, to seven years imprisonment for raping two minors, aged 13 and 14. Adeniyi who is Loja Araromi Otokobo of Ilesha, was accused of raping the two girls in his hotel in the town. The Prosecutor, Tijani Adekilekun had told the court that the offence of rape contravened Sections 358 and 360 of the Criminal Code Cap 34 vol.11 Laws of Osun State. Adekilekun said the convict raped the minors at his hotel in Ilesa in May, 2010, after giving them a ride on their way back from school. “The minor accepted the offer because one of the girls’ parents was once a neigbhour to the convict. But rather than the convict dropping the girls at their homes, he took them to his hotel, Prince Way Hotel, Ilesha. “He ushered the girls into one of the rooms in the hotel and told them not to shout, warning them that if they do, they will die. “The convict thereafter raped the minors in turns after which he wiped their vagina with a white handkerchief and warned them not to tell anyone otherwise they will die,’’ Adekilekun told the court. He further told the court that the secret became opened when one of the girls’ mother was informed by another student that a man gave the two girls a ride on their way home from school the previous day. Adekilekun said the woman then went to the school to inquire from the teachers. “The girls were afraid to reveal the identity of their rapist because they were told they will die if they told anyone. It was after much assurance that the girls will not die before they narrated the whole story to their parents.’’ Adeniyi, who was first arraigned on March 28, 2011, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Judge, Justice Kudirat Akano, in her ruling, said the prosecuting counsel had proved his case beyond reasonable doubt. Akano said the convict was guilty of the charge and consequently sentenced him to seven years imprisonment. The defence counsel, Sokoya Ayodeji, said he would appeal against the judgment. [myad]
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve all former governors in his cabinet of their duties and appoint technocrats to run his change agenda if he wants to succeed in attracting foreign investment into the country.
Ex-Governors in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet include Babatunde Fashola, Rotimi Amaechi as well as Kayode Fayemi.
CNPP gave the advice in a statement issued in Abuja, which was signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu.
According to the CNPP, unless the former governors serving in his cabinet were removed, the image of the regime will remain tainted with corruption, his anti graft war notwithstanding.
CNPP recalled that some of the former state executives left their states with empty treasury, leading to the bailout loan by the Buhari administration just to enable them pay salary arrears of their workforce.
“For President Muhammadu Bujhari to succeed in his change agenda, all former governors in his cabinet must be sacked to create room for technocrats to run his government if he must succeed.
“Some former governors serving in this government not only left their respective states with empty treasury but also in heavy debts such that it took Mr President’s bailout fund for salary arrears of state workers to be paid.
“The states were so indebted that fillers from the state indicate that the bailout fund was not enough to clear salary arrears in some states.
“It is imperative that Mr President relieves the former governors of their positions and appoint technocrats to give the administration a fresh face as their presence in the government has left it tainted with corruption.”
The statement also reminded President Buhari that foreign investors he was labouring to attract will not come as most of them had the records of some of the former governors that ran their states aground.
“It will amount to effort in futility for the President to be labouring to attract investors as they will not entrust their hard-earned resources to well known bad managers.
“This is the reason the Buhari government will be one year next month, yet the regime has nothing to show for it except hardship and more hardship across the country despite the change mantra,” the statement read. [myad]
The Nigeria Women Football League will resume 2015/2016 season on May 21, according to the Chairman of the League ad hoc Committee, Babagana Kalli.
He made the disclosure in Abuja at the league’s annual congress held on Friday.
The ad hoc committee was set up by the Nigeria Football Federation to oversee the affairs of the league in February.
Kalli called on members to support the committee in the interest of the game, saying that 18 teams were grouped into two and would be participating in the Nigeria Women Premier league. Osun Babes FC, Tokas Queens FC, Nasarawa Amazons alongside Bayelsa Queens FC, Edo Queens FC, Abia Queens FC, Ibom Angels, COD United Ladies FC and Pelican stars are in Group A.
In Group B are FC Robo, Adamawa Queens, Sunshine Queens FC, Martin White Dove FC, Capital City Dove FC, Confluence Queens FC, Rivers Angels FC, FC Taraba Queens and Delta Queens will be participating. [myad]
The acknowledged richest man in Africa, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said that his group of companies is committed to rejuvenate Nigeria’s economy, especially in the areas where the country is not doing well right ow.
Dangote, who spoke in Lagos on Friday where he was honoured as “Man of the Year 2015’’ by The Guardian Newspapers Limited, said that he is working hard with his company to take Nigeria to the next level and that within the next two and half years, Nigeria is going to excel in some critical areas.
“We want to do that by looking at critical areas where Nigeria is not doing well in terms of local production and tackle the problem areas.
“Number one is refinery, Dangote Group is building a refinery which will produce 650,000 barrels of petrol per day; the current capacity that we have as a country now, both the ones that are working and the ones not working, is just 450,000 barrels per day.
“Our petrochemical is ten times that of Eleme, we are at 1.3 million, Eleme is 120,000, so it will be the largest petrochemical industry in Africa.
“In fertilizer production, we are not only trying to satisfy the market, but our size is three million tonnes which is ten times more than what is available in Nigeria today.
“We are trying to make sure we satisfy the local needs and also export and we thought about how to address our power issues, the only way we can address power issues is to have enough gas and sort out distribution. “Distribution is important because unless you collect money from the consumers, you cannot grow.
“There are two sub-sea gas pipelines coming from Bonny which will produce about three billion volume of gas which is exactly about the same size of LNG.
“We are committed to turning around the economy of Nigeria and in the next two and a half years, Nigeria will be the highest oil petroleum products export country, will be the highest in terms of fertilizer export, will be the highest in petrochemicals export.
“Nigeria will also be the highest in terms of cement export in Africa.”
Speaking on bailouts for the states, Dangote said: “I don’t believe the Federal Government should continue to be bailing out the states. The states have to sit down and plan to cut costs instead of looking for bailout and being lazy.
“They can create jobs and give incentives to people to come and invest, they should assure people that they are not going to be slammed with various taxes which is what some of them do.”
Dangote said that the current situation of the economy would push people to work harder, to work in terms of diversifying the economy.
Earlier, the publisher of Guardian Newspapers Limited, Lady Maiden Ibru, had said that they were honouring Dangote because of his impact on the lives of Nigerians and Africa. She restated the role of the newspaper in the society as working for the enduring benefits of the people and being critical and identifying as well as publicizing heroes as a way of redirecting the values of the society.
The first “Man of the Year’’ award was presented to former president Olusegun Obasanjo in 1987.
Some of the guests at the event were former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, Bishop Alexander Gianniris of the Diocese of Greek Orthodox Church, and former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Chris Ali. [myad]
Your Excellency, I’m convinced the time has come to write you this letter despite the fact that I have some measure of access to you. I decided to do this in order to tackle the mischief makers who believe I’m your very close friend and as such must be a rabid supporter of yours. I have been accused of all sorts of garbage including being paid heavy sums of money from your bottomless pocket. I’m aware that most of these guys can never believe that anyone could stand up for principle without pecuniary gains. But before I go into the meat of this letter, I need to state my background briefly as I’m sure you don’t even know me well enough to understand and appreciate my socio-political trajectory. I have read all sorts about you and I and it is necessary sometimes to put the records straight for the sake of doubting Thomases who can never see anything good in others. You were a Governor for eight years and I can’t remember ever meeting you one on one. The only time I believe we exchanged physical pleasantries would have been at the 70th birthday dinner hosted in honour of your mother-in-law, Erelu Ojuolape Ojora at The Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos some years back. I remember seeing and greeting you and a few of the former and current Governors present including Olusegun Osoba, James Ibori, Babatunde Fashola and others. I would later see one of the pictures I took at the party and read many years after that I was busy drinking champagne with James Ibori who was being wanted for several cases of corruption and so on. I could not believe my eyes because the picture showed clearly that I was chatting with Chief Olusegun Osoba while Ibori minding his business behind me but someone needed to rubbish me for reasons I could never fathom. Not just that, Ibori was still a Governor and would I run away from a function or refuse to greet people so as not to be accused of hobnobbing with corrupt leaders? The next time I interfaced with you was after you employed Mr Bamikole Omishore who was my American campaign coordinator in Washington DC, when I joined the Presidential race from 2010-2011. I was happy that you got such a brilliant young man to manage your social media. But you and I got closer for only one reason in the past one year plus because we both campaigned vigorously for Major General Muhammadu Buhari and you and Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi were the best of pals and he has been my friend long before he became Governor of Rivers State. I loved the way you, Amaechi, Kwankwaso, Wamako, Tambuwal, Atiku Abubakar, and others took the bold decision that would change the course of Nigerian history for better or for worse when you abandoned PDP despite threats and harassments. I must have met you about twice in your Lagos home to strategise and was particularly impressed with your ability to rally the likes of Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Wale Tinubu and others who ordinarily would have felt a need to support the government in power. I was informed you were able to raise some stupendous amount of money during and after the APC primaries. We talked more on phone and you assured me constantly that everything was on course. The rest is history. However trouble started as soon as victory came. I knew you had only one ambition and that was to become the Senate President. I thought that was a legitimate dream but did not envisage that it would turn out to be your albatross. Politics in Africa, and probably elsewhere, is a deadly game. You’ve fought several battles in your life but I doubt if you ever bargained for this one. It all started like a joke. Your party apparatchik was obviously opposed to your candidacy. You were equally determined to realise your life ambition. One of the rumours then was that you could not be trusted with power and that in the next four years you would have become unstoppable if you decide to go headlong for the Presidency. I’m not a member of your party so I could not understand what the hullabaloo was all about. The manner you emerged caught everyone unawares. The biggest problem was the fact that you sought and got the unequivocal support of members of the PDP in the Senate and even did a deal that made it possible for one of them to become your deputy. That was the hara-kiri you committed and your enemies would never forgive you for that. One thing led to another, and things fell apart and the centre could no longer hold. You probably underestimated the resolve of your enemies to cut you down to size. The next we saw were allegations of impropriety levelled against you at the Code of Conduct Bureau. You were said to have been dodgy in your assets declaration forms. Anyway, it seemed you had touched the tiger by the tail and it remained to be seen how you would wriggle out of the monumental trouble you had inadvertently courted by your rebelliousness and bellicosity. I was personally irked that we were back to the Nuhu Ribadu days and I voiced my opinion openly. I was not defending you but defending the rights of man. I had thought naively that APC knew what it was getting into with an ill-assorted assemblage of different characters from varied backgrounds. I presumed there was an accord that all sinners became saints once they migrated and amalgamated with APC. The deluge of immigrants from PDP convinced me that President Buhari would have to sanctify the pollutants if any in the new party. Not once did I hear of any objection to the proliferation so I assumed all was well. I never said you should not be prosecuted but that we should discourage a situation where every successive government uses anti-corruption camouflage to punish its enemies. This position was not meant to protect you but to discourage a perpetuation of such tradition. I wrote copiously against the harassment of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he went on similar trial. I had demonstrated publicly against the Yar’Adua cabal when they tried to stop Dr Goodluck Jonathan from assuming power when his boss was terminally ill. I remember also when I wrote an open letter to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in 2007 and how I was viciously attacked by his supporters. But what happened after? Nuhu himself was forced into exile as a victim of impunity. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and The Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi, formerly known as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, became veritable victims of impunity and I was vehemently opposed to their ordeals. I needed to state this background very well as a way of documenting my modest contribution to the discouragement of impunity as a former victim myself under the military regimes. Now that it seems many Nigerians are comfortable with setting fire to an entire village in order to catch some rats, I will not belabour the issue further. Please, permit me to now address the case at hand. I want you to know that no matter what you do henceforth, the case against you will go on. The earlier you resign yourself to fate the better. You have done all you can to prevent this from happening and the time has come for you to defend yourself as best as you can. I understand the psychological trauma you are under. You are in utter shock that a party you laboured with others to build and nurture has decided to treat you as a pariah. You are stupefied at the sudden turn of events. But let me advise you, the Judiciary is still the best arbiter and if you’re truly innocent, you will be vindicated but if you are found guilty after exhausting all legal options available in the land you must take a bow and accept the judgment with equanimity. Even if the APC decides to sweep this under the carpet, someone may still bring it up tomorrow. It is in your best interest to face the bullet and hope for a miracle. I’m not one of those who have written off the Nigerian Judiciary. I will also not join those who have already convicted you in the court of public opinion. I’m a Christian and I know none of us can cast the first stone and we should be careful not to gloat over anyone’s misfortune. Please, note that you must do nothing to pervert the course of justice by enacting hurriedly-packaged laws ostensibly meant to block your trial. It will further diminish you and make your sympathisers recoil in shame. To whom much is given, much is expected. God has been very kind to you and as a Muslim you must submit yourself only to the will of Allah, the only one who can forgive our sins. Who knows what the outcome may be at the end of the day? I beg you in the name of God to take courage. Stand like a man and carry your heavy cross.
Senator Dino Melaye, from Kogi West Senatorial District, has assured the embattled Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki that it is only death that would stop him from supporting him.
He said: “And if you have no single supporter, it means I’m dead. No shaking.”
The self-styled anti-corruption activist made these statements via his Facebook page, on which he posted a picture of himself and Saraki.
Melaye said that Saraki, despite the allegations of corruption hanging on him, must remain in office for four years.
“My brother and friend Sen. Bukola Saraki, if you have 1 trillion supporters, I’m one. If you have one billion, I’m one. If you have one million, I’m one. If you have one thousand, I’m one. If you have ten, I’m one. If you have only one supporter, I’m one. And if you have no single supporter, it means I’m dead. No shaking. Four years too sure,” he wrote on the Facebook. [myad]
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Infrastructure is central to every aspect of our national life. Improving infrastructure is not only critical for economic growth, but essential in ensuring the improved wellbeing of our people. Empirical research over the years has shown that there exist a strong link between infrastructural development and increased productivity. Productivity in Nigeria is low. No thanks to our confounding infrastructural deficit.
My Candid Letter To The Senate President, By Dele Momodu
This article first appeared on Thisday. [myad]