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Tag: PRIMORG

  • 2023 elections fall out: PWDs score INEC low on equal access

    2023 elections fall out: PWDs score INEC low on equal access

    Persons with disabilities (PWDs) have faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over poor inclusion and participation of the vulnerable population in the recently concluded 2023 elections.

    INEC was said to have failed to make adequate provisions for persons with special needs during elections. Suitable means of communication such as braille, large embossed print, and electronic devices to assist people with disabilities in voting were not on the ground or could not be operated by the staff of the Commission.

    Prof. Mahmud Yakubu-led election body had, at different times before the polls, assured PWDs of total inclusiveness in the 2023 general elections.

    The PWD community made their concerns known during PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, an anti-corruption radio programme produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja,

    During the programme, a disability expert, Chris Obiora Agbo, stated that persons with disabilities were disappointed with INEC’s inability to make adequate provisions for persons with particular needs to participate in the 2023 elections.

    Agbo revealed that according to reports from the PWD community, there was insufficient deployment of communication equipment to aid the participation of PWDs during the polls, noting that “INEC did not deploy braille ballot guides in many polling units he visited.”

    He rated the Commission low on the inclusiveness of PWDs, urging that training of INEC’s ad-hoc staff should be prioritized as their limited knowledge to operate the equipment provided contributed largely to the disenfranchisement of vulnerable persons.

    “They (INEC) didn’t keep up with their promise. We couldn’t find most of the braille ballot guides in most of the visited polling units. Many people with visual impairment complained that they couldn’t find those materials in their polling unit, and magnifying glasses there were also complaints about not having them.

    “And when it comes to priority voting, in some areas, some PWDs enjoyed it, but in so many other places, they couldn’t, and we attribute it to the elections not starting early, so there was a whole lot of apprehension when they began, and that actually made the electoral officers not to be coordinated to allow PWDs to enjoy priority voting.

    “We are disappointed by what happened. We engaged to the highest level; even the INEC Chairman had meetings with us, and he also made mention of issues of disability in Chatham House. We expected we would have been more accommodated in the 2023 elections, but it never happened.

    “INEC needs to do more on the training of their ad-hoc staff. They need to involve us (PWDs) in the training of the ad-hoc staff. There is no expert in a disability organization that will tell you he was involved in the training of the ad-hoc staff. They need to involve us so that they know what is expected of them,’ Agbo stressed.

    On his part, Communications Assistant at Inclusive Friends Association (IFA), Festus Okpeh, lamented that the late arrival of election materials and violence affected many people with disability from participating in the elections.

    According to Okpeh, reports from polling units across the country during the presidential election put the deployment of braille ballot guides at 53 percent. He also called for more training of INEC staff, stressing that there should be a remarkable improvement on security during elections so that PWDs will come out and exercise their franchise in future elections.

    He noted that the general impression of the election is that there were enormous challenges, especially concerning the presidential election, which they (IFA) actually observed. He stressed that INEC did not live up to expectations.

    “We saw the braille ballot guide, but the problem is not in the deployment but in the usage because we discovered that these materials will be in polling units, but they will not be used. The election officers are not equipped with the right information on how to make PWDs use them.

    “We noticed that the braille ballot boxes were deployed to about 53% of the polling units we sampled in the presidential elections but out of this, a negligible percentage was actually used, so there is a gap between deployment and usage.

    “There needs to be more training of ad-hoc staff, especially for them to understand that where materials are deployed, they have to be used.

    “So we demand that there should be much more education in this regard, and in terms of security, there should be enough security of PWDs to come out and express their franchise,” Okpeh stated.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • Vote Buying: Nigerians urged to reject ‘Greek Gift’ from politicians

    Vote Buying: Nigerians urged to reject ‘Greek Gift’ from politicians

    Ahead of the 2023 general elections, Nigerians have been urged to resist selling votes to politicians, warning that electing the wrong candidates is dangerous to the nation’s democracy and will further shrink the civic space.

    Vote buying has become a disturbing phenomenon in recent off-cycle elections in Nigeria and is now a major concern ahead of the general 2023 polls.

    The Executive Director of Daily Trust Foundation, Dr Theophilus Abbah, issued the caution during PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, an anti-corruption radio programme produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja, asking electorates to reject the “Greek gift” by politicians.

    While stressing the need for citizens to participate in the 2023 general elections, Abbah urged Nigerians to vote their conscience, noting that the outcome of the coming elections will shape what happens in the next four to eight years.

    He urged electorates to jettison the idea of collecting money offered by politicians during the election and voting their conscience, warning that any politician paying to vote is making an “investment” and will seek to recoup the money spent.

    “Nigerians are well aware that vote buying is not good for our democracy, anybody who gives money to get elected is actually making an investment, and if he wins the election, he will want to recoup that money as his salary is not enough to recoup that money.

    “The president does not earn up to N2 million per month according to the official salary of the president. Imagine if he distributed 100 billion to get elected. You can imagine how long it will take him to recoup that money from his salary. It doesn’t happen. That means anybody who gives so much money definitely is going to use the resources we have, that should have been used to develop society and provide social services to replenish his coffers.

    “And anyone who pays to get the vote, his conscience will not be pricked if he is stealing the money. He will say, after all, I paid to be elected.

    “You cannot in all conscience vote for another person. Your conscience will tell you, and you have eaten from this man, you cannot go against him; you must fulfil your promise. So, it is not the right thing to do, even if your preferred candidate is not going to win an election, you should shun that momentary pleasure, advantage derived from the little money,” stressed.

    Abbah decried the shrinking civic space in Nigeria owing to a spate of attacks on journalists and human rights activists by non-state actors and thugs working for politicians, cautioning that the development is impeding democracy.

    “When you look at the issue of civic space, in a situation whereby journalists, right civil activists, and anti-corruption activists are not finding it convenient to operate effectively in the country, it is not good for democracy.

    “if you vote for the wrong candidate in a sense that candidate who doesn’t respect the role of the media, who doesn’t respect the fact that the media are partners in the country’s democratic experiment, if you vote in leaders like that, it will affect the civic space,” He stated.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • NMA declares Korean hospital in Abuja patronised by top Nigerians illegal

    NMA declares Korean hospital in Abuja patronised by top Nigerians illegal

    …but Facility Still In Operation

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has declared the operations of an elite health facility, ‘The Lilu Specialist Hospital’ frequented by wealthy Nigerians, as illegal over activities that fall short of standards in medical practice.

    After four years of operating in Abuja, the Irregularities around Lilu Hospital, purportedly run by North Korean, were brought to the public glare following a recent investigation by the International Center for Investigative Report (ICIR).

    According to the report, the hospital enjoys patronage from a former Attorney General of the Federation, about four Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), and other highly placed individuals, particularly public officials, including those who work in the presidency.

    NMA Chairman, FCT Chapter, Dr. Charles Ugwuanyi, made the position of the body known during PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, an anti-corruption radio programme produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja

    Ugwuanyi, who lauded ICIR and PRIMORG for flagging the anomaly at Lilu Hospital, confirmed that the facility is not registered with the Private Health Establishments Registration & Monitoring Committee (PHERMC) in Abuja, which makes their operation illegitimate. “the hospital has been sealed while the authorities are still searching for the culprits.”

    His word: “We had a chat with the Chairman of PHERMC not too long ago, and he has assured us that they have visited that site (Lilu hospital) and discovered that there is no signpost there, and despite that they sealed it up, PHERMC is still in the process of looking for the principle outlaws.

    “We also know that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) are involved in this matter because they have also visited that facility.

    “We (NMA) swept into action and findings from our committee, we have confirmed thus far that yes, there is a hospital called Lilu hospital, but it is never registered,” Ugwuanyi revealed.

    He lamented the absence of solid legislation against quackery, stressing that the National Assembly must enact a law to punish culprits of quackery adequately.

    “There is no strong legislation in anti-quackery, so we must push very quickly to make sure that there is an act on anti-quackery so that it will be easy to prosecute people that we catch. Before now, we charged them with fraud and impersonation, which they always find a way to escape, and the case drags on for so long. But if there is strong legislation, it becomes easy to prosecute,” Ugwuanyi stated.

    On her part, the Chairman Hospital Inspection, Medical Outreach and Anti-Quackery Committee, NMA-FCT, Dr. Whera Sagay, noted that the association is aware of the growing number of quacks in the medical profession, warning that “NMA is out to deal with those who are practicing quackery, and own illegal hospitals.”

    Sagay revealed that NMA is working with PHERMC, MDCN and the police to tackle the proliferation of illegal health facilities and quacks in the medical profession.

    Investigative Journalist with the ICIR, Marcus Fatunmole, said the hospital debunked the investigation’s findings, claiming that the facility was a spar center and not a hospital. He noted that the hospital’s operations continue to be shrouded in secrecy as they still do not have a signpost to tell the general public what they are doing correctly.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • Gender-Based Violence: PRIMORG takes campaign to school, urges Nigerians to speak up

    Gender-Based Violence: PRIMORG takes campaign to school, urges Nigerians to speak up

    As part of events marking this year’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, staged an enlightenment campaign on the effects of violence against women and girls at an Abuja secondary school.

    With the 2022 campaign having a theme, “UNITE! Activism to end violence against women and girls”, senior secondary students of Excellent Academy, Bwari, Abuja, at the weekend benefitted from one of the many advocacies PRIMORG had embarked on, especially on the need to enlighten young Nigerians against the menace of gender-based violence.
    Speaking during the event, PRIMORG’s Program Manager, Adaobi Obiabunmuo revealed that the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs till December 10, which is Human Rights Day.
    Obiabunmuo warned the students and Nigerians not to be silent when they face any form of gender-based violence, describing the culture of silence among Nigerians as ‘very dangerous’.
    She noted that bringing the campaign to the school is part of PRIMORG’s contribution to the fight against violence against women and girls.
    “PRIMORG has seen the need to take the conversation to younger people with the focus centered on the need to speak up against gender-based violence; the culture of silence amongst families and survivors of gender-based violence has continued to embolden culprits of gender-based violence to continue in their violent act.”
    Towing the same line, Lawyer, and Human Rights Activist, Oluwatoyinoyin Falaiye, Lawyer, branded silence as the biggest enabler of gender-based violence, noting that the perpetrators of gender-based violence often take advantage of the naivety and inability of their victims to speak up.
    Falaiye shared several real-life stories of gender-based violence and its effect on victims. And gave them (students) tips on detecting a potential gender-based violence perpetrator and how to survive it in case it happens.
    “Perpetrators of gender-based violence will always tell you not to share your story with anyone—the same thing with bullying, same with rape, and so on.
    “This is the age of awareness. This is the age you know that when you see somebody going through a bad act, you have to speak up,
    “if your father is bullying your mother, you can speak up. If you are being abused, you have to speak up – you can actually tell someone.
    “There are non-governmental organizations like PRIMORG that you can talk to, phone lines you can call, and help will get to you.
    “You can also run to a police station and make a report. You can run to a police station nearest to you and make a report. You can reach any government-owned welfare office and make a complaint. The bottom line is that you won’t be silent, rather speak up,” she advised.
    On his part, The Proprietor of Excellent Academy, Imudia Graham, lauded PRIMORG for choosing the school while expressing delight at the focus on enlightening the students against gender-based violence.
    His words: “Gender-Based Violence is real. It happens almost daily, and if someone is informed, they stand a good chance of being transformed to overcome the ugly act.
    “The information PRIMORG has brought to our students today will help them in their life journey. So I thank you (PRIMORG), and we appreciate the time, resources, and energy put into this advocacy.” Graham stated.
    PRIMORG has hosted radio programmes and engaged Nigerians on social media since the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence commenced.

  • Inadequate Manpower Crippling Primary Healthcare Centers, Nigerians Cry Out

    Inadequate Manpower Crippling Primary Healthcare Centers, Nigerians Cry Out

     

    … say situation breeding corruption

     

    Irked by the dangers of poor healthcare delivery, Nigerians have decried the worsening state of Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) occasioned by the shortage of health personnel across the country.

    An investigative report by the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) uncovered that inadequate human resources and a rising deficiency of health workers are crippling PHCs in Ogun, Anambra, Nasarawa, and other states of the federation.

    During an anti-corruption radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja, Nigerians who had been directly affected by the unavailability of nurses and midwives at PHCs across the country ventilated their frustration.

    Narrating the state of affairs at PHCs, Journalist with the ICIR, Marcus Fatunmole, revealed that most health facilities in the rural areas are not functional and lack midwives. Additionally, PHCs are facing inadequate staff, poor welfare packages, dilapidated structures, and a general loss of public confidence.

    Fatunmole said, “In Nasarawa state, all the 17 PHCs visited, there were no nurses, there were only eight midwives, and out of them maybe four were contracted, meaning that the government was not paying them, so they’re collecting N5,000, or N10,000 monthly.

    “in Anambra, between January and June this year, 20 women lost their lives during childbirth. This is mainly because patients come to the facilities they don’t meet the workers. The health workers don’t stay in those communities. They prefer living in the cities.

    “When you are coming to PHCs in Nasarawa state, you will have to inform the gate man, who will be calling the nurse on duty to come and attend to a patient, and in the about 20 PHCs we visited, there were only seven births within six months, how could that happen in the 21st century in a state,” He questioned.

    According to Fatunmole, poor service delivery at PHCs across the country is making rural dwellers resort to traditional means and increasing the tendency for health workers to extort money from helpless citizens who are at their mercy.

    He hailed the impact of Basic Health Care funding on some PHCs while calling on state governments to recruit health workers permanently other than relying on part-time staff or volunteers from communities.

    On his part, Programme Officer at International Budget Partnership, Olaniyi Olaleye, while calling on states to increase the remuneration of nurses, midwives, and others working at primary healthcare centers, blamed the woes of PHCs on the failure of past and present governments to prioritize healthcare, noting that the Nigerian budget over the last six years has not met the Abuja declaration which African countries committed to allocating at least 15% of their budget to the health care.

    His words: “Government has not been performing its responsibility. Some states have not contributed their fund to that purse, and Primary Healthcare Centers are being neglected. The people go to secondary or tertiary institutions, putting pressure on the tertiary or secondary health centers.

    “Medical personnel are leaving the country because the government is not doing what it is supposed to do regarding remuneration.

    “Most people have given up on our PHCs because there has been a trend of government failure to address the needs of the people. So what the government needs to do is to build that trust back,” Olaleye advised.

    Earlier, some Nigerians called into the radio programme and narrated their ugly ordeal at different PHCs across the country.

    Chairman Pegi Community Development Association (PECDA), in Kuje, Abuja, Taiwo Aderibigbe, who called into the radio programme, claimed that only two nurses could attend to people at the community’s health facility. “In Pegi resettlement, the situation is not different. There are two nurses, no midwife, and no volunteer. Presently, I’m at a facility currently, and just 1 staff is attending to over 30 mothers,” He lamented.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • PRIMORG’s Constituency Project Tracking: Corruption Declining, Implementation Still Challenging Says ICPC

    PRIMORG’s Constituency Project Tracking: Corruption Declining, Implementation Still Challenging Says ICPC

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has reduced the incidence of corruption in the execution of constituency projects through its projects tracking exercise across the country.

    The anti-graft agency disclosed that following the advent of constituency project tracking in 2019, there had been a decline in the incidence of individuals diverting constituency projects to their private properties or contractors abandoning projects after receiving payment.
    ICPC made this known during a radio town hall meeting on constituency project tracking in Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency, organized by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, at the weekend in Lokoja.
    During the town hall meeting, ICPC’s Principal Superintendent Operations, Nathaniel Diton Sipki, who represented the Commission, revealed that compared to the level of corruption and mismanagement of constituency project funds uncovered in 2019 when tracking of constituency projects started, the narrative is now very different.
    According to Sikpi, ICPC set up a steering committee to track constituency projects in 2019 following a massive complaint by Nigerians that projects are only executed on paper.

    “in the first two phases of constituency project tracking by ICPC, there were a lot of issues of project abandonment and diversion of projects, but right now those issues have reduced.
    “From the third phase of the tracking exercise, we now discovered that the idea of collecting money and running away has reduced; and in the fourth phase of project tracking, almost all the projects randomly selected and visited were completed,” He said.
    Sikpi, however, disclosed that quality service delivery in implementing constituency projects is the current hurdle faced by constituency projects across Nigeria, adding that monitoring empowerment projects has also proven to be a difficult task for the ICPC’s tracking team.
    “In relative terms, the work ICPC has done has changed the narrative. The problem now is implementation. ICPC is still receiving reports of poorly implemented projects.
    “Another challenge we face is empowerment projects because they are challenging to track.

    This is because empowerment items are usually distributed months before the tracking team visits.”
    He stated that the Commission, in a bid to address the poor implementation of constituency projects, evaluate such projects and, if not satisfied, recommends recovery of the monies spent from the contractor immediately.
    On his part, a Member representing Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency, Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf has called on his constituents to take full ownership and sustain every project brought to their communities in the guise of a constituency project.

    Hon. Yusuf, who commended ICPC and PRIMORG for tracking projects and educating the general public, stated that the initiative has brought about a marked increase in project execution in Federal Constituencies across the country.

    Represented by his Special Assistant on Media, Richard Otitoleke, who revealed that his principal prioritizes needs assessment before nominating any project in his constituency and also is in constant touch with the people he represents.
    Otitoleke called on Nigerians and the people of Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency to disabuse their minds on the notion that lawmakers fund constituency projects moving forward.

    “It is instructive for Nigerians to know that lawmakers only initiate or facilitate a project, and its execution is routed through government agencies.
    “Funds meant for constituency projects are not domiciled in the bank account of any legislator. It is the government agency whose mandate covers the area that receives the budget of that particular project.
    “There is no legislator that receives the fund,” He stressed.

    Meanwhile, Woman Leader Lokogoma Community in Lokoja, Favour Bala, said she would take the exposure and experience she garnered from the town hall meeting to further educate her community on the need for them to take ownership and protect constituency projects brought to their community.
    The PRIMORG’s Radio Town Hall Meeting on Constituency Projects seeks to encourage citizens to take ownership of Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIP) and promote accountability and sustainability in their execution and usage.

  • Nigerians Kick Over Criminalisation Of Petty Offences, Say ‘Poor Citizens Targeted’

    Nigerians Kick Over Criminalisation Of Petty Offences, Say ‘Poor Citizens Targeted’

    Nigerians have frowned at the continued criminalisation of petty offences in the country while calling on the judiciary to use non-custodial punishment as arrest and prosecution of citizens for loitering, wandering or hawking persists.

    The call for the declassification and decriminalisation of petty crimes in Nigeria had been an age-long advocacy. However, a recent investigative report published by Premium Times exposed that underprivileged Nigerians are still hunted down, detained, and jailed if they cannot pay the fines imposed on them.

    An Abuja-based lawyer, Oluwatoyin Aladegbami, led the call for petty offences to be declassified during an anti-corruption radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja.

    Aladegbami asserted that poor Nigerians are mainly affected by the continued criminalisation of petty offences as the citizens from the upper strata of the society are never hounded by law enforcement officers. At the same time, noting that citizens’ rights continue to be trampled on for their lack of knowledge of the law.

    She called on the judiciary to deploy other means of punishing petty offences other than “using a sledgehammer on small house flies.”

    Aladegbami explained that, “When we declassify petty offences, we are saying yes, it is a crime, you should not do it, but it will not carry the kind of punishment that we currently have.”

    “I would rather say let’s declassify petty offences; how about doing community service? It will help. It will serve as a deterrent. Instead of having someone in prison for one month, how about the person serving the community for one month? We have a lot of places in our cities that are dirty and require cleaners. We can get them to do the job for free,” She suggested.

    The legal practitioner tasked Nigerians to hold leaders to account and persuade lawmakers at the state and national level to amend laws that are not favorable to the populace. She also urged for more pro bono service by lawyers and human rights awareness campaigns for citizens by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

    “I call on NGOs that focus on these areas to please create more awareness for our citizens to know their rights, to know the steps to take – the dos and don’ts of the law. I would plead with the government to kindly help our citizens; we need a better environment to work in.

    “You’ll hardly see law enforcement agents go to a supposedly rich person and say that they want to arrest the person for carrying a laptop, but this often happens on the streets. Now the city also needs to be taught about good conduct. Approach is very important,” Aladegbami advised.

    On his part, a journalist with Premium Times, Kunle Sanni, called on the citizens to leverage the 2023 general elections to ensure candidates seeking to become legislatures buy into the decriminalization of petty crimes.

    Sanni said that criminalising petty offences is the same as criminalising poverty. He alluded that the Nigerian media has an enormous task in educating poor and underprivileged citizens who face harassment, extortion, and arbitrary arrest by law enforcement officers for petty crimes.

    According to him, the investigation was carried out in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and Lagos state and uncovered that many vulnerable people suffer from a “lack of access to legal assistance services and on many occasions end up in jail for hawking, loitering or being homeless.

    Earlier, a resident of Lagos state, Osinachi Ndukwe, narrated how he was jailed and asked to forfeit his commercial vehicle for committing a traffic offence and physically attacking law enforcement officers.

    Nigerians who called into the radio programme frowned at the treatment meted out to poor citizens for petty offences and urged that something be done urgently about it.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • Corruption stinks in passport offices as Nigerians knock NIS for extortion

    Corruption stinks in passport offices as Nigerians knock NIS for extortion

     

    Nigerians have raised the alarm over the inability of the electronic passport application system of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to curb extortion of applicants across the nation, instead incidences of bribery are increasing.

    Passport applicants affected by the reign of corruption at immigration made known their plight during an anti-corruption radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja.

    The lamentation by passport applicants is coming on the heels of a recent investigative report published by the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), revealing that the electronic passport application of the Nigeria Immigration Service is facing sabotage by corrupt officials.

    During the radio programme, many citizens narrated how they met bottlenecks at passport offices while seeking to get new international passports or renew an old one. Most of them said they paid higher than the approved money to the Nigeria Immigration Service personnel or had no choice but to bribe an official to get their passports on time.

    A victim of the exploitation, Emmanuel David, a resident of Abuja, revealed that he missed out on a scholarship abroad because he was following due process, describing his experience as one he doesn’t wish his enemy to go through.

    David said he had an ugly experience in the Abuja office and that many people like him are frustrated daily.

    “Sincerely speaking, thousands, millions of people out there are crying out because of this. So, if you pay online and get to the passport office, they will give you a chair to sit outside. You might sit there from morning to night and return the way you came without anything being done. If not for you to stand up and ask, please, I came for capturing, the first thing you will hear them ask is which officer is in charge of your passport.

    “I applied in March 2022. I got my passport in August 2022. I had to pay an extra twenty-five thousand naira to process it,” David narrated.

    An investigative journalist with the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Nurudeen Akewushola, disclosed that Nigerians in their numbers are affected by the scheming of immigration officials who end up extorting them in the long run.

    Akewushola stated that the Center had had volumes of extortion reports from Nigerians seeking international passports in Abuja, the nation’s capital, Lagos, Niger, and other states of the federation.

    “I was able to speak with people who applied in Lagos, in Abuja, and people who were extorted in other passport offices, but for the undercover investigation, I went to the NIS headquarters and observed that this is actually happening.”

    He stressed that without making the officers perpetrating the corrupt act at passport offices scapegoats, there would be no change. He knocked the Nigeria Immigration authorities for doing nothing to prosecute its officials extorting Nigerians despite ICIR publishing the faces of the indicted officers on the investigative report.

    “The NIS has not shown true commitment to wanting to tackle this menace. After the investigation, I called the NIS spokesperson and informed him, and he said it was a lie. So, we published the information, and they saw it.

    “After that, we invited them to a Twitter space to speak with Nigerians, but they didn’t come, and since we published that report, nothing was said or done, not even a press statement. So, the NIS needs to show true commitment. They need to make scapegoats out of people that are defaulting.

    “It’s not too much for the NIS to prosecute these officers,” Akewushola stated.

    On her part, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the Center for Transparency Advocacy, Stephanie Omere, called on the Federal Government and immigration authorities to embark on vigorous sensitization of the general public to curb officials taking advantage of the citizens.

    Some Nigerians who called in during the radio had these to say:

    Jacob from Garki, Abuja, said: “I renewed my passport for ten years and I paid the officer about N95,000, and I feel they should put a tracking for the electronic version so that we can track the position of the passport at every moment so that the duration of production is seen online.”

    Ashedu from Wuse 2, Abuja: “This issue has really gotten deep, and it’s not just for us to excuse a system, but there must be an overhaul of the whole system. If not, it will not work.

    “If we want this new system to work, we must set up departments that follow up and make sure that the system is not being jeopardized.”

    Solomon from Abuja also stated, “Honestly, what is going on in the immigration office is terrible. My friend that works there told me that I shouldn’t bother with doing online because it would take forever, but I’ll have to pay an officer who fast-tracked the process for me, and I got my passport within the space of 2 weeks, but that is not the way to go. If there’s a way to sanitize the system by punishing those officers that make the process not to work, that’s the way to go.”

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • 1956 Audit Law too weak to combat corruption – Nigerians Tell Buhari

    1956 Audit Law too weak to combat corruption – Nigerians Tell Buhari

    The existing Audit Law in Nigeria has been described as too weak and obsolete to tackle present-day corruption, implying that President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s avowed fight against corruption cannot be effective with the government still operating a 1956 audit law.

    The alarm was raised as a result of the urgent need for the strengthening of the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (OAuGF) to effectively fight corruption in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the government.
    The calls for strengthening OAuG were made during an anti-corruption radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja.
    Speaking during the radio programme, the Programme Manager – Public Finance Management, Center for Social Justice Nigeria, Fidelis Onyejegbu, underscored the importance of a new audit law while urging President Buhari to push for the passage of a new audit bill, stressing that it will be a significant feat in the fight against corruption.
    Onyejegbu, who alluded that Nigeria needs a brand new audit law, stressed that the 1956 Audit Law still in use is obsolete and too weak to fight corruption.
    “We need a new audit law, which is not up for debate. But one thing we also need to do is to see what best way to promote trust.
    “If the government does not improve the trust or try to bridge the trust deficit between the leaders and the led, it will be difficult to govern at any level. Citizens want to hear fewer issues of missing funds, then you can build trust, then govern, and you cannot do all of these without a new audit law that would oversee the expenditure of public resources.”
    He noted that the average Nigerian is after huge government expenses translating into good roads and hospitals, adding that “all of these (basic amenities) cannot be provided without public resources working for the people, and how can that happen when expenditures are not scrutinized using the tool of more modern audit legislation? And that can happen when the president signs a new audit bill into law,” Onyejegbu stated.
    Onyejegbu called for inquiries into why audit bills failed to be passed since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.
    “On three occasions, bills have been introduced and approved at the highest level, and it was at the desk of the president that they fell through. So, what we need to do now is to dig deeper and find out why those bills were not approved, address those reasons why they said no, agree on what we want to do, and then come back because it is unheard of that a law of 1956 is still the law we are a reference to in 21st-century auditing.”
    Towing the same line, the Executive Editor at Forefront Magazine, Cobham Nsa, called on the government to make getting the nation a new audit law a top priority.
    NSA said the interest of political leaders had become a major constraint to why the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation has not been strengthened over the years, lamenting that Nigerians are still suffering over financial improprieties happening at various MDAs.
    He noted that the reluctance to strengthen federal auditing by past and current heads of government was deliberate to avoid them being indicted by the implementation of the auditor general report.
    His words: “Nigerians have suffered from this issue of lack of implementation of the auditor general report, but you have to look at it in the context of the system we are operating. Someone appoints the auditor general, and he reports not directly to the person but the parliament. There is a constitutional issue, a legal issue, and political issues around it.
    “I believe that the appointment into that office should be thrown open, people should apply for it, and an interview panel created to interview them rather than having somebody to appoint someone. Consciously or subconsciously, the man who appointed you, you would want to owe allegiance to him.
    “A new audit bill should be a top priority, then the budgeting process too. The law is important. Citizens should take responsibility in asking questions about the audit,” Nsa said.
    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.
    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • Oil theft is high-tech fraud needing high-tech Solutions – Esele, Former PENGASSAN Boss

    Oil theft is high-tech fraud needing high-tech Solutions – Esele, Former PENGASSAN Boss

     

    A former President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria PENGASSAN, Comrade Peter Esele, has dropped a hint on how the government can eliminate the unabated crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.

    Esele, who is a former president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), said one effective approach is the deployment of technology in the region to stop the collaboration of officials, oil workers, and community members in the big business of crude theft in Nigeria.

    He also identified corruption as the driving factor hindering past and present governments in Nigeria from nipping oil theft in the bud while urging the establishment of modular refineries and the removal of petrol subsidies to prevent further economic losses.

    Esele was speaking during an anti-corruption radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja.

    Comrade Esele emphasized that systemic corruption is the main factor holding the Nigerian government back from tackling oil theft headlong.

    According to Esele, the federal government must take advantage of technology to check oil theft: “Federal government can deploy area surveillance, and aerial surveillance these days is not so expensive, we have drone technology, and that can help.

    “It is not just the federal government. Oil theft is affecting you, me, infrastructural development, healthcare, education, and until the federal government decides to stand up and take the challenge frontally, we will continue to talk about it,” Esele warned.

    He revealed that the widespread oil theft is an organized venture run by groups in collaboration with security operatives, faulting the government for being unserious with finding a lasting solution to oil theft but only reacting presently because the country is “financially sick.”

    To curb the menace, Esele, a former board member of the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), urged the federal government first to get the buy-in of the oil-producing communities as the oil theft worsened by their sense of injustice.

    An investigative report by the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) revealed that the volume of crude oil lost to theft and sabotage between 2016 and 2020 can massively provide infrastructure, reduce national debts, and build thousands of Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in Nigeria.

    Also, speaking during the radio programme, the founder of Afrisankofa360, Tamunokuro Iyo Obietonbara, advocated strongly that the federal government encourages the setting up of modular refineries and removal of petrol subsidy if Nigeria must reduce oil theft to its barest minimum.

    According to Obietonbara, “Nigerian government is hypocritical because government officials and top security officials are benefitting. They are the ones to a large extent, responsible for the oil theft,” he alleged.

    He advised that the administration after President Buhari must be sincere with exposing perpetrators of oil theft, set up modular refineries, engage the communities, and fully deregulate the petroleum sector.

    “An honest government will have the courage to expose and prosecute those culpable of sabotaging our economy.

    “The incoming govt next year should engage the communities, set up modular refineries, fully deregulate the petroleum sector, let us bear the pain once and for all, take off subsidies, take off the corruption in the sector, and let market forces determine the price,” Obietonbara stated.

    Earlier, a journalist with ICIR, Harrison Edeh, called for all hands to be on deck in the fight against oil thieves in Nigeria, noting that the country cannot quantify the impact of losing about 400 barrels of crude oil per day.

    Edeh said, “everybody’s hand has to be on deck to solve this menace. It is a huge concern because it affects our economy and livelihood, and inflation is rising because we are borrowing overboard.

    He welcomed the launching of an applications platform by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to monitor crude oil theft. Still, He urged the government to establish a conciliatory pact with the oil-producing communities whose environment had been affected by oil exploration.

    “The government must come out straight and strong in its approach. Don’t talk from both sides of the mouth. Find a way to engage relevant stakeholders from that region.

    “Oil remains our mainstay. Everybody must sit at the table to make their demands known. The modular refineries are key, but they should also be guided so they don’t pollute the environment,” Edeh advised.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.