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Tag: CCTV

  • FoI: SERAP seeks details of spending on failed $460m CCTV, other Chinese loans

    FoI: SERAP seeks details of spending on failed $460m CCTV, other Chinese loans

     

    Scio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, asking her to “urgently provide information on the total amount of money paid to contractors from the $460 million loan obtained in 2010 from China to fund the apparently failed Abuja Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) contract, the loan which the Federal Government has continued to re-pay.”

     

    SERAP urged Mrs Ahmed to “disclose specific details of local contractors, if any, that have received funds from the loan for the CCTV contract, reportedly awarded to China’s ZTE Corporation, as well as the implementation status of the project.”

     

    SERAP also sought: “disclosure of details of repayment for other Chinese loans for allegedly failed projects between 1999–2015, the status of any such projects, and details of local and Chinese contractors involved in the projects. We urge you to clarify if the N1.5 billion paid in 2010 for another apparently failed contract to construct the headquarters of the Code of Conduct Bureau is part of another Chinese loan.”

     

    In the FoI request dated 25 October 2019 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “We are concerned that Nigerians are being made to pay for the Chinese loans for apparently failed projects, and for which they have not benefited in any way, shape or form. Transparency in the spending of Chinese loans is good for everyone, as this would help to increase the effectiveness, legitimacy, and contribution of the loans to the development of public goods and services, and the general public interests.”

     

    SERAP said it would take legal action “if the requested information is not provided to us within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter.”

     

    SERAP said: “Servicing Chinese loans for failed projects is double jeopardy for Nigerians—they can neither see nor benefit from the projects; yet, they are made to pay both the loans and the accrued interests. The loans should never have been obtained in the first place, as successive governments should have drawn funds from the over $670 million (N241.2 billion) budgeted annually as security votes, but which remain synonymous with official corruption and unaccounted for.”

     

    The organization expressed “concern that the $460 million loan got for the failed Abuja CCTV project and the N1.5 billion for the construction of CCB headquarters, which may be part of another Chinese loan, may have been mismanaged or stolen, and in any case, remain unaccounted for.”

     

    The FoI request read in part: “SERAP is concerned that the allegations of corruption involving the use of the funds and other similar Chinese loans may be responsible for the security challenges confronting Abuja, and the limited capacity of the CCB to discharge its constitutional and statutory mandates to prevent corruption in asset declarations of presidents, vice-presidents, governors, and other public officers, as prescribed by the Nigerian constitution of 1999 (as amended).”

     

    “As trustee of public funds, SERAP contends that your Ministry has a legal duty to disclose details of spending on the $460 million Abuja CCTV project and N1.5 billion for the construction of CCB headquarters, to the beneficiaries (Nigerians) of the trust, if and when called upon to do so. Any failure or refusal to provide the information will also be clearly inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the FoI Act.”

     

    “If the allegations of mismanagement and corruption in the execution of projects for which loans have been obtained from China are true, such allegations will clearly amount to a fundamental breach of national anticorruption laws and the country’s international anticorruption obligations including under the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party. The facts relating to these serious allegations require your immediate and urgent disclosure and clarifications.”

     

    “As a key agency of government, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning has a sacred duty to ensure that the country’s loans including those obtained from China are transparently and accountably used solely for the purposes for which the loans are obtained, and for the effective development of public goods and services as well as the general public interests.”

     

    “This implies providing strong leadership in the efforts to curb public sector corruption, and to refer to appropriate anticorruption agencies any allegations of corruption in which any agencies of government and/or contractors may be involved. This leadership is important if the Ministry is to enjoy the public trust and confidence essential for its effectiveness and impact.”

     

    “We would like you to clarify if the N1.5 billion mobilisation fee reportedly paid in September 2010 to contractors for the construction of the headquarters of the CCB in Abuja is part of another loan obtained from China.”

     

    “We are concerned that the CCB building project is still in foundation level several years after payment of N1.5 billion of the total contract fee of N3.5billion. However, the contract was reportedly reviewed in October 2012 from N3.5 billion to N8.7 billion, with the contract agreement signed on February 5, 2013.”

     

    “SERAP notes that the consequences of corruption are felt by citizens on a daily basis. Corruption exposes them to additional costs to pay for health, education and administrative services. Another consequence of corruption is the growing inequality in the country, where the privileged few have access to all public resources, while the vast majority of citizens are deprived of access to public goods and services.”

     

    “Also, corruption undermines economic development of the country, trapping the majority of Nigerians in poverty and depriving them of employment opportunities.”

     

    SERAP therefore urged Mrs Ahmed to:

     

    1. Disclose the total amounts of money, if any, that have been paid/released for the execution of projects for which loans have been obtained from China;
    2. Compel the contractors and companies including Chinese companies that have been paid from the loans to go back to sites and urgently complete the projects;
    3. Suspend repayment of any Chinese loans until there are specific guarantees by local and Chinese contractors and companies that transparency and accountability will be ensured in the execution of the affected projects;
    4. Disclose the amount of interests so far paid on the loans obtained for the project which have allegedly not been fully, properly or satisfactorily executed;
    5. Refer any allegations of corruption involving the execution of projects for which loans have been obtained from China to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for investigation;
    6. Ensure that anyone involved in alleged corruption in projects supported by China is brought to justice if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence;
    7. Set up processes and procedures to safeguard Chinese loans and mitigate corruption risks in the spending of the loans and to promote fair and free competition, consistent with Nigeria’s anti-corruption legal frameworks and international standard

     

  • FG to deploy CCTV, drones to fight mounting insecurity in South West – Ooni

    FG to deploy CCTV, drones to fight mounting insecurity in South West – Ooni

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Wednesday disclosed that arrangement is being made to deploy drones and CCTVs to boost security of lives and properties in the South West.
    He spoke with State House correspondents after leading other traditional rulers from the South West for a meeting with the President of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
    According to him, the President has agreed to fast-track the monitoring of the forests in the region with the use of technology like drones.
    He also said that CCTV will be mounted along highways in the region
    The Oba also said that the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and other key security heads were at the closed doors meeting with the President.
    He said that policemen and officers will be recruited among people born and living in the various communities in the region.
    “Community policing, so that they will recruit policemen and officers from the community, that were born there and brought up there and they won’t be able to move them around.
    “We can use that strategy to avert a lot of tension going on around South West in the particular now.” he said
    According to him, there will be restructuring of security architecture in the country.
    He also disclosed that any identified bad Fulani must leave the South West

  • Employee caught by CCTV stealing laptop, cash

    For allegedly stealing a laptop valued at N120,000 and N84,000 cash, a 20-year-old employee, Chima Uzor, was on Tuesday arraigned at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.
    Uzor, who resides in Agege, Lagos, is being tried for burglary and stealing.
    The defendant committed the offences on June 29 at Ogba, Lagos, the Police Prosecutor, Woman Insp, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court.
    She said that the defendant unlawfully entered into the office of the manager, Mrs Bamidele Layeni, to steal.
    “The defendant stole a laptop valued at N120,000 and cash of N84,000 totalling N204,000.”
    IIkhayere said that when the management discovered that the cash and laptop in the manger’s office had been stolen in the following morning, the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera was replayed.
    “The CCTV camera was played and defendant was found to be the culprit behind the theft.
    “It was based on the discovery that the defendant was handed over to the police,” the prosecutor said.
    The offences contravened Sections 287(7) and 308(2) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that section 287(7) prescribes three years jail term for stealing from employer, while section 308(2)attracts seven years for burglary.
    Following his plea of not guilty, Magistrate, Mrs O.O Ekundayo, released him on bail of N300, 000 with two sureties in like sum.
    Ekundayo said that the sureties should be gainfully employed and show evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
    Further hearing has been fixed for Aug. 18.

  • Smart cities initiative not a mirage, says FG

    The Federal Government says it is committed to its plan to create smart cities in the country, saying Nigerians should not be pessimistic about the move.

    The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, who at smart cities multi-stakeholders summit last year said the government planned to create smart cities in order to reshape the way public service is managed, gave the assurance on Thursday.

    Smart city is a municipality that uses ICT to increase operational efficiency, share information with the public and improve both the quality of government services and citizen welfare.

    Shittu, who disagreed that the plan might turn out to be a mirage due to electricity and other infrastructural problems in the country, added that the project was achievable.

    His words: “We do know that electricity is very key to developing smart cities but it is not only about electricity.

    “Smart cities involve the transport system in our localities, communities and states. It involves the sanitary disposal system, it involves the electricity system.

    “It involves even the security system to ensure that there are CCTV cameras all over so that people who commit crime are captured.

    ‘’It is even about your sanitation and environment. How do you manage your sanitation? How do you ensure that your waste products are disposed properly? For that you don’t need electricity!

    ‘’You need to imbibe manners and characteristics that make you look like decent people. It is about town planning. In building houses, you don’t make your communities chocked up.

    ‘’There must be proper town planning supervision to ensure that when buildings are being constructed in the communities, they leave room for fresh air, they leave room for vehicular movement, among others.

    The minister said the government was intensifying effort toward ensuring stable power supply in the country.

    ‘’So it is not a thing that we can be pessimistic about. Of course, you must also appreciate that in this government since it came onboard, has doubled the electricity mega watts.

    ‘’Before the government came Nigeria was producing 3,500 mega watts but today, we are producing 7, 500MW.

    “So that is also an improvement and an incentive to imbibing the smart cities culture,” he said.

    Shittu, however, assured that by the end of another two years, the electricity generation in the country would have been 10, 000 mega watts.

    ‘’So smart city idea is an idea which is for our own benefit and it will bring about comfort to our lives.

    ‘’And to that extent, I think everybody will want to be part of this new revolutionary way of planning and managing our cities,” he said.

    He explained that the idea was a multi-lateral philosophy with the view to involving states and local governments to buy into it and implement it.

    ‘’And we have established a yearly award ceremony so that states and local governments can be assessed to know how far they have complied and how far they have keyed into the smart cities idea.

    ‘’So it is not about Federal Government putting up a structure here or putting up an infrastructure there. It is an idea we have sold to Nigerians, particularly the states and local governments,” he said.

    He said the ministry planned to have another conference late this year or early next year for reports to be received from various states and local governments to know how far they have gone with regards to implementing the smart cities idea.

     

  • Smart City is not priority for Nigeria – FG

    Smart City is not priority for Nigeria – FG

    The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), whose policy and programmes shape the nation’s tech sector, has hinted that Smart City is not a priority for the federal government of Nigeria at the moment as other economic issues are hitting hard.

    Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Director General (DG) of NITDA, said this in his office when Mr. Richard Edet, Managing Director of Nokia Nigeria, came seeking the partnership of the NITDA with Nokia in areas of capacity building, establishment of innovation hubs and deployment of Nigeria’s Smart City projects across the country.

    “Smart city is very critical to our collective development as a nation but it should not be seen as our immediate priority. Our immediate priority is to see the advancement of capacity building, digital literacy and creation of hubs across the country where IT start-ups could be incubated,” the NITDA DG said.

    However, NITDA’s stance on support for creation of hubs in Nigeria has come under radar in recent times over alleged failure to meet its funding obligations to Information Technology Developers Entrepreneurship Accelerator (iDEA), an incubator jointly created by the IT agency in partnership with the private sector.

    But, Pantami believes that the projects are failing because of the failure to consider the peculiar problems of Nigeria in rolling out IT solutions.

    One of such projects he cited to have fallen short on this count was “the case of whopping sum of $470m the nation invested on the Close Circuit Television, (CCTV) project which has now become moribund”.

    “As a people we need to think globally and act locally,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Communications, cites Smart Cities among projects like e-Government, Girls in ICT, Open Data Initiative are being implemented by the government technology arm and the supervisory Ministry of NITDA.

    Smart cities use a mix of technology innovation to create futuristic cities that makes it easier for residents to live, work and play.

    Nigeria has in recent years embraced the idea of smart city which has become a growing agenda, while some State Government like Lagos, which is promoting its Smart City Initiative with Government of Dubai, have gone ahead to unfold implementation plans.

    Lagos State has also announced plans to train one million Lagos residents by 2019 to advance its Smart City ambition and position the State as the technology frontier in Africa “in line with the Lagos state Smart City initiative in partnership with Dubai Smart City.

    Smart City Resorts Plc which is promoting the Smart City sited in Lekki Lagos says on its website that the Innovation Hub from conception “has the close support and partnership of major public sector, corporate and private ICT-industry stakeholders”.

    Promoters of the Lagos-based Smart City says that “Sector regulator and enabler, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is collaborating with private sector players and teams to develop the technology park in furtherance of a shared vision to grow the contribution of Information and Communication Technology to national development”.

    When completed the ambitious Smart City’s Innovation Hub “will provide a conducive cocoon in terms of physical and ICT infrastructure, energy, regulatory and fiscal policies for the optimum and most profitable operation and development of technology products and/or service companies. It will bring together in physical proximity world-class ICT industry companies desirous of benefiting from the regional market and the #1 African market and its biggest economy, Nigeria.”

     

  • 2017 UTME: We’ll monitor conduct via CCTV, sanction cheats accordingly – JAMB

    2017 UTME: We’ll monitor conduct via CCTV, sanction cheats accordingly – JAMB

    …debunks claims of addition of extra 40marks by National Assembly

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, says it will watch recordings of proceedings in its Closed Circuit Camera Televisions, CCTVs, during the just-concluded Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.

    The board’s Head, Media and Information, Fabian Benjamin, said in a statement on Sunday in Lagos that such would enable it to detect places where examination malpractices actually occurred.

    According to Benjamin, where there is any semblance of irregularities, the board will not hesitate to do the needful, that is, sanction the cheats.

    “Those who know they were involved in any acts inimical to our examination ethics should not celebrate as their inglorious days of punishment will soon surface.

    “Again, we want to seize this opportunity to debunk messages being circulated by those who do not wish our education well that the Senate has passed a bill urging the board to add extra 40 marks to candidates.

    “There is no bill anywhere, not even a motion has been tabled before the two chambers of the National Assembly on the board’s 2017 UTME performance,” the statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said.

    “The board wants to state for the umpteenth time that our examination is not a ‘fail pass’ examination; it is a selection examination, so, it can never be said that there is mass failure.

    “It will be absolutely wrong for mischief makers to begin to analyse an examination that has just been concluded without even looking at the overall result.

    “We urge candidates to disregard all funny connotations online on their results as the board will not contemplate doing all that is being speculated as that will negate the ethics of an examination body as critical as JAMB.”

    It added that the board’s major concern had always been to ensure that cheating during and after examination were reduced to zero level, and this, he said, the board had substantially achieved.

    It also noted that in order to ensure that the 2017 UTME met international best standards of transparency, the registrar had constituted a taskforce with the mandate to examine the entire conduct of the examination

    The statement said the taskforce was expected to look at the fortification processes done by the board, identify loopholes in various centres if any and consider cases that would require urgent action, especially those involving candidates.

    According to the statement, the taskforce is also expected to investigate malpractice cases and recommend likely sanctions in accordance with the provisions of the Examination Malpractice Act.

    “One of the likely benefits of this taskforce which has renowned scholars and management staff is to ensure that it identified challenges to be addressed so that they don’t occur subsequently.

    “The board is determined to ensure equity and fairness to all candidates and will not hesitate to allow the weight of the law to deal with whoever is involved in any infraction,’’ it said.

    NAN