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Tag: Probe

  • Ekiti poll: We’ll probe allegations of vote buying – INEC

    …as SERAP, TI, TMG, others condemn act

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will probe wide allegations of vote buying by some political parties in the just concluded Ekiti State governorship election.

    The National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Prince Solomon Soyebi, revealed this to one of our correspondents in Abuja on Monday.

    Soyebi, who was in charge of the Ekiti election, said the investigation would be a holistic one and the result would be made public soon after.

    He said, “We will investigate the conduct and every other aspect of the election very soon and we will carry members of the public along.”

    Meanwhile, some groups, including the Transparency International, the Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project; and the Transition Monitoring Group have condemned vote-buying during Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State.

    The groups, in separate statements, said vote-buying, had endangered the country’s democracy and could affect the credibility of the election.

    They said this just as the Police Service Commission stated that it had received 35 complaints bordering on vote- buying, financial inducement and restiveness in some polling units during Saturday’s Ekiti governorship election.

    Condemning the monetisation of the election, TI and SERAP said political parties that were not satisfied with the results must not resort to violence but seek redress at the tribunal.

    Recall that candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has since been declared winner of the election held on Saturday in the state.

     

  • Reps to probe N2.8bn Federal Fire Service fund

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday, said it would investigate the status of the N2.8 billion appropriated for the Federal Fire Service in the 2011 budget.

    This was sequel to a motion by Ayeola Abayomi (Lagos-APC) on the need to unravel the mystery behind the withheld fund at the plenary in Abuja.

    He said the House was at a loss over the whereabouts of the money; hence, there was a need to investigate the utilisation or non-utilisation of the N2.8 billion.

    He said investigation became imperative, considering the rising number of lives and property lost to fire in some parts of the country.

    ”Besides, the confusion over the status of the fund on whether it was not released or misappropriated made the investigation more imperative,” Abayomi said.

    He said it was disheartening that “the federal fire service is in a terrible condition, being poorly equipped and thus cannot respond to its current challenges.

    “In 2011, N2.8 billion was appropriated for the federal fire service to purchase trucks and equipment.

    “But till date, the money has not been released, hence the need to probe the whereabouts of the money.

    “Only 15 out of the 36 states of the federation have functioning fire services, this exposes people of the 21 states to the consequences of an inferno.”

    Abayomi said there had been several fire disasters in public places “such as the Ogbete main Market, Enugu in which 35 shops were destroyed in November 2017.”

    He also recalled that in 2016, during the Sabon Gari Market inferno in Kano, 3,800 shops were razed by fire.

    “The National Association of Nigerian Traders said that in the last 17 years, traders lost about N5.3 billion to fire disasters.

    “Oftentimes, people do not give the right of way to fire trucks to pass in the course of a fire incident.

    “In many cases, buildings have been arbitrarily erected in streets, thereby obstructing fire trucks from reaching burning buildings.”

    However, attempt by the Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyema, to discourage the House from proceeding with the investigation was rebuffed.

    Onyema said his argument was based on the fact that the non-release of the fund took place before the timeline of the current House, a development he said had limited the powers of the House.

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

    Dogara then referred the matter to the Committee on Interior for investigation.

     

  • Reps commences probe of $22bn NNPC’s Brass LNG project

    Reps commences probe of $22bn NNPC’s Brass LNG project

    The House of Representatives, on Thursday, resolved to set an ad hoc committee to investigate the expenditure and implementation of the $22 billion Brass Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project.

    This followed a motion by Rep Chinda Ogundu (Rivers-PDP) at the plenary on the urgent need to investigate the implementation of the project.

    Recall that the Brass LNG Project was originally set up in 2003 with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owning 49%, while other affiliates namely, Conoco Phillips, ENI, and Chevron hold 17% each.

    Moving the motion, Ogundu said the House noted that there had been several allegations of abuse and mismanagement of funds totaling about $22 billion meant for take-off and running of the project.

    “We are also aware that the project has been stuck in the planning stage for more than a decade, with some Western partners having pulled out because of tough operating conditions and unfavourable investment environment.

    “We are cognisant that the Federal Government’s investment in the Brass LNG project is too enormous to be treated with kid gloves, swept under the carpet or simply put aside with a wave of the hand,” he said.

    The lawmaker added: “With the provisions of Section 88(l)(a), (b)(i)&(ii) and (2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) which confers each chamber of the National Assembly power to conduct or carry out investigations into matter(s) such as this.

    “The Senate in January 2018, raised an alarm over massive fraud in the NNPC as it relates to the Brass LNG project and voted to investigate same, but nothing happened thereafter.”

    He said if the matter is not investigated, the essence of the fight against corruption would be defeated and the Nigerian economy and indeed teeming Nigerian masses would be worse for it.

    Ogundu, therefore urged the House to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the matter for posterity sake.

    When the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, put the motion on voice vote, majority of the lawmakers, across party lines, voted in favour.

  • Trouble for Obasanjo as EFCC begins probe of $16billion spent on power projects

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo may land in trouble as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched a probe into the controversy surrounding the $16 billion allegedly spent on power projects during his [Obasanjo’s] administration.

    Recall that Obasanjo had, earlier in the week, declared that he was ready for investigation, after President Muhammadu Buhari suggested that funds earmarked for power projects under his termite were mismanaged.

    The Nation reports that EFCC may invite two ex-ministers, former top officials of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), present and past officials of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company and all the people recommended for investigation by a committee of the House of Representatives.

    The scope of the investigation includes the total cost of the projects, how much was withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), the total number of contracts awarded, the extent of compliance with due process and the status of the execution of all the projects.

    A top source told the newspaper: “We are looking into all the allegations and issues surrounding the power projects.

    “We will conduct a comprehensive and forensic probe to ascertain the true status of all the projects.

    “This investigation will actually ascertain how much has been spent so far.

    “We have many figures being bandied about as follows: $16 billion, $13.278 billion, $10.3 billion, $8.4 billion and $8.55 billion.

    “This is not an investigation aimed at ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo or anybody. We have to step in to set the records straight.

    “Already, a team is collating facts and figures on these projects as part of the preliminary level/ bend of the investigation.”

    “We will retrieve the report of the House of Representatives Committee which investigated the power projects.

    “The House actually recommended 18 top former public officers, including two ex-ministers, for investigation by anti-graft agencies, especially EFCC and ICPC.

    “Many salient issues were raised for investigation by the House”.

  • $16bn power project: Arewa backs calls for Obasanjo’s probe

    The mouthpiece of Northern Nigeria, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has backed the call on President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to probe former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the alleged $16 billion power project scandal.

    The ACF said that doing so would send a signal to other public office holders on the need for prudent management of the nation’s resources.

    National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim Biu, in an exclusive interview with The Nation, said it is worrisome that those that were responsible for the failure of the power project were not brought to justice despite the previous probe by the National Assembly.

    According to the ACF spokesman, “the calls by some Nigerians on President Buhari to probe the alleged $16 billion power project scandal is not misplaced, considering the harm corruption has inflicted on the nation and the promise by this regime to fight it.

    “From 1999 to date, the promises made by our political leaders to improve power supply have mostly been observed in the breach.

    “The National Assembly had sometimes probed the alleged corruption associated with power supply, but Nigerians are yet to know the fate of that probe.

    “Most worrisome is the lack of the political will to bring to justice those found guilty by the probes which have, unfortunately, continued to encourage corruption by making it a way of life and culture.

    “Therefore, the change we need is to make public officials, however highly placed, account for their malfeasance while in office.

    “The probe will serve as a deterrence to others and also instil prudence in managing public office for performance.”

    Following fresh alarm by President Muhammadu Buhari, some civil society organisations have demanded for the probe of the alleged $16 billion power contracts.

    These organizations include Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership

    (CACOL).

    SERAP said: “We welcome the focus by President Buhari on the massive allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the power sector and urge him to expand his searchlight beyond the Obasanjo government by ensuring accountability and full recovery of the over N11 trillion squandered by the three administrations.

    “It is only by pursuing all the allegations and taking the evidence before the court that the truth will be revealed and justice best served. This is the only way to conclusively address the systemic corruption in the power sector and an entrenched culture of impunity of perpetrators.

    “Addressing impunity in the power sector should be total. This would help improve the integrity of government and public confidence and trust in their government. It would also serve as a vehicle to further the public’s perception of fairness and thoroughness, and to avert any appearance of political considerations in the whole exercise.

    “By immediately pursuing justice and recovery of any stolen assets in the power sector, the Buhari government would be acting in the public interest, and consistent with the spirit and letter of the constitution, particularly Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution dealing with Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, and providing that high-level public officials have a clear obligation to eradicate all corrupt practices and abuse of power.

    “SERAP notes that lack of access to uninterrupted energy/electricity services has forced many citizens to use and collect frequently contaminated surface water for drinking and household uses; and denied the citizens the ability and services for boiling, purifying, disinfecting and storing water, as well as for irrigation to increase the productivity of lands, thereby decreasing the availability of food supplies and undermining employment opportunities.”

    On its part, CACOL said: “Our stand is that the Federal Government should waste no time further but should probe whoever is behind poorly implemented national projects.

    “Now that the President has confirmed that $16 bn was wasted under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Buhari administration needs to summon enough courage and political will to bring the culprits to book.

    “Power, influence and political leanings should not be considered in bringing whoever is guilty to book.”

     

  • Reps threaten to order arrest of NEMA DG for shunning invitations

    The House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the ministry of Finance and other relevant parties to furnish the committee with all transaction details of N5. 6 billion funds released to four companies in relation to the Emergency Food Programme in the North East.

    The committee made this demand after another investigative session on the alleged breach of trust by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) at the National Assembly.

    According to the committee, the documents are to guide the panel to uncover the mystery surrounding the release of funds and to establish whether it was given to the companies as a loan or under whatever condition.

    The decision to ask for the documents arose when beneficiaries of the contract to mop up grains, which were said to have been distributed in the North East, and the accountant general of the federation said they were selected for the job without asking for a loan to finance it from the CBN, while the Central Bank, on the other hand, insisted that the N5.6 billion was a loan.

    Chairman of the committee, Hon Ali Isa J.C, also summoned the director general of NEMA to appear in its next sitting or face a warrant of arrest issued on him to compel him to appear.

    This is the third consecutive time the DG is failing to attend the hearing despite repeated invitations from the committee.

    Hon Ali said the agency has a penchant for sending notice of its DG’s absence from the meeting either 30 minutes before the hearing commences or when the hearing has already commenced.

    He added that the panel will give him one more chance to appear on the 31st of May, 2018, or face sanctions.

  • BREAKING: Obasanjo calls Buhari ignorant, sends him book to read on $16b Power Project

    BREAKING: Obasanjo calls Buhari ignorant, sends him book to read on $16b Power Project

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that he is ready for probe over the $16b Power Project while stressing that President Muhammadu Buhari is ignorant.

    He made this known in a statement by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi.

    The statement reads, ‘It has come to the attention of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that a statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari, apparently without correct information and based on ignorance, suggested that $16 billion was wasted on power projects by “a former President”. We believe that the President was re-echoing the unsubstantiated allegation against Chief Obasanjo by his own predecessor but one’.

    Obasanjo argued that while it is doubtful that a President with proper understanding of the issue would utter such, it should be pointed out that records from the National Assembly had exculpated him (Obasanjo) of any wrong-doing concerning the power sector and has proved the allegations as false.

    “For the records, Chief Obasanjo has addressed the issues of the power sector and the allegations against him on many occasions and platforms, including in his widely publicised book, My Watch in which he exhaustively stated the facts and reproduced various reports by both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which conducted a clinical investigation into the allegations against Chief Obasanjo, and the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of the Recommendations in the Report of the Committee on Power on the Investigation into how the Huge Sums Of Money was Spent on Power Generation, Transmission And Distribution between June 1999 and May 2007 without Commensurate Result,” he boasted in the statement.

    Obasanjo urged Buhari and his co-travellers to read Chapters 41, 42, 43 and 47 of My Watch for his insights and perspectives on the power sector and indeed what transpired when the allegation of $16 billion on power projects was previously made.

    “If he cannot read the three-volume book, he should detail his aides to do so and summarise the chapters in a language that he will easily understand,” Obasanjo added.

  • Mace Theft Probe: OmoAgege declines comment, says matter in court

    Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege on Tuesday declined comments on the April 18 forceful removal of the Mace in the Senate chambers, saying the matter was pending at the court.

    He made the remark in Abuja when he appeared before members of the Joint Ad Hoc Committee investigating the invasion of the National Assembly by hoodlums.

    Omo-Agege had dragged the National Assembly to court to stop the investigation.

    The committee had last week invited Omo-Agege (APC-Delta) and Sen. Mohammed Ndume (APC- Borno) over their alleged roles in the attack on the Senate.

    The Delta senator allegedly led thugs to the Senate chamber to “steal’’ the Mace while plenary was ongoing on that day.

    The incident occurred few days after he was suspended over a “dissenting comment’’ on Senate’s adoption of conference report on Electoral Act (2010) Amendment Bill and for taking the senate to court.

    Before the probe panel, Omo-Agege said “I will wait until the outcome of the litigation before I speak on the matter”.

    “Ordinarily, I would have loved to seize this opportunity to respond to the allegations you have raised.

    “As a senator, consistent to standing orders, I’m here to inform you that I have gone to court. The parties of the respondents to the suit that I have commenced at the Federal High Court are here enumerated.

    “The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; President of the Senate; Sen. Bala Na’Allah, and all members of the committee, Clerk of the National Assembly, Attorney-General of the Federation, Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Service.

    “This action was commenced on the May 21 and I have with me proof of service to indicate that all of the parties have all been served.”

    Earlier, Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Sen. Bala Na’Allah, had told Omo-Agege that some persons who had testified at the probe fingered him as connected with the April 18 invasion of the senate.

    The chairman said “some witnesses have mentioned your name (Omo-Agege). It is only fair that we invite you to shed more light on it.

    He said that three witnesses were unanimous on the fact that from the first gate to the main gate of the National Assembly, the lawmaker “cleared’’ the hoodlums during security check and they were allowed in.

    “At the entrance of the chamber, they accosted the men and allegedly, you said they were with you.

    “The deputy senate president also testified before us and said he was presiding on that day and he noticed you coming with those men toward the Mace table and that as soon as you got to the Mace table, you turned left.

    “And, the men took the Mace and left the chamber fighting everybody, and in the process wounding some people,” Na’Allah said.

    He said that he was not served any summons from the court as claimed by Omo-Agege.

    “I cannot be served by my office. You should know this.

    “I have no problem receiving service, maybe, due to my inadequate knowledge of the law; the service has to be personal.”

    The chairman, however, said that the committee was not bound by law not to investigate the allegations against the lawmaker.

    In his contribution, a member of the committee, Sen. Shehu Sani (APC- Kaduna) said that Omo-Agege should be able to defend his actions.

    “I came here to hear a revolutionary speech to defend your actions. If he is not ready to speak, we should not sit here and be discussion other issues,” he said.

    On her part, Co-chairman of the committee, Rep. Betty Apiafia, said that Section 62 of the Constitution did not stop the members from investigating the matter.

    Meanwhile, Sen. Ndume, who is accused of being an accomplice in the mace theft, denied any wrong doing.

    “I didn’t know we were that exposed, for some people to come and take the mace and ran away.

    “For me to prevent someone from doing his job is totally out of place because I don’t have the authority to do that.

    “I did not do that, I cannot do that and I don’t have the authority to do that,” Ndume said.

  • BREAKING: Buhari blasts, hints on probing Obasanjo over $16bn power project

    Indications emerged on Tuesday that President Muhammadu Buhari may set up a panel of enquiry to probe the spending of $16bn on power project during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    The president was speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while receiving the Buhari Support Organization led by the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Ahmed Ali.

    Though Buhari did not mention Obasanjo’s name, he, however, asked: “where was the power after a former president claimed to have spent $16bn on the project?”.

    Recall that the House of Representatives had in 2008 described $16 billion spent on power by Obasanjo’s government as colossal waste, blaming it on “poor budget planning and a lack of proper oversight by relevant bodies.

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project had also in 2016 urged the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Water Samuel Onnoghen, to immediately appoint an independent counsel to investigate allegations of corruption in the spending of $16 billion on electricity by Obasanjo’s government.

    Details later…

  • Double registration saga: I’m not aware of INEC’s probe – Bello

    Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has said he is not aware of the allegation of double registration levelled against him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The governor said this in response to INEC’s position that he has not been let off the hook over the alleged double registration scandal.

    He spoke through the state’s Director-General, Publicity and Media Strategy, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo.

    Fanwo stated that Bello had made it clear that he was not in the country on the day he was alleged to have registered for the second time.

    He said, “We are not aware that the governor was on any hook as far as the issue of double registration is concerned. He has said several times that he was not in the country when the purported double registration was allegedly done. We have evidence to that effect.”

    Fanwo insisted that the governor applied for the transfer of his Permanent Voter Card to his polling unit in Okene and that INEC had done what was appropriate in the circumstance.

    INEC had, on Thursday, said the governor’s case of double registration was pending and that he would have been prosecuted, but for his immunity adding that “the needful will be done at the appropriate time.”