By The authorities of the Nigerian Air Force in Port Harcourt have confirmed that a rocket, which fell from its helicopter on patrol on Friday, destroyed a building in Woji, Port Harcourt.
The Commander of the Nigerian Air Force Base, Port Harcourt, Air Vice-Marshall Abba Zannah, gave the confirmation, when he briefed journalists in Port Harcourt on Friday.
``This morning, a rocket flew out of the Nigerian Air Force helicopter and destroyed a building at No 98 Woji Street, in Woji Town, Port Harcourt,'' he said.
The helicopter was said to be on routine patrol of the Niger Delta creeks, and the Commander did not disclose if it had completed its mission or not when the rocket fell off.
He said the incident occurred about 6.30 a.m. on Friday, and that no life was lost.
A source told the News Agency of Nigeria that the damaged building has yet to be occupied and that a Toyota Camry parked near the building was also damaged.
"It was a technical error which was unusual in the system. But we are glad that no life was lost in the incident.
``It was not a normal thing in the Air Force system and the outcome of the investigation will allow us take certain measures,'' NAN quoted Zannah as saying on Friday.
The commander said the incident should not raise fears among the residents and appealed to them to go about their businesses.
He explained that the cause of the incident was being investigated.
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Friday, 20 April 2012
32 abandoned shipwrecks found in Lagos
By OLASUNKANMI AKONI & MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO IKEJA—Lagos State Government, yesterday, said no fewer than 32 abandoned vessels were discovered on the state’s coastline.
It appealed to the Federal Government to release ecological fund to the state to address erosion challenges at Alpha Beach in the state.
Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Prince Adesegun Oniru, who stated this at the 2012 ministerial briefing in commemoration of first year of the second term of Governor Babatunde Fashola administration, also condemned the environmental degradation caused by abandoned vessels on the state’s coastline.
He said some of the abandoned vessels were oil tankers, which can wipe out communities in the area within three months, if nothing was done to address the situation.
Oniru said: “Some of the vessels are oil tankers and you can imagine what happens to marine life when such vessels are scattered on the coastlines. Today, the ministry had found about 32 vessels across our 180km beach forest.”
He said lives and property on Alpha Beach are being threatened by the recurring erosion in the area.
It appealed to the Federal Government to release ecological fund to the state to address erosion challenges at Alpha Beach in the state.
Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Prince Adesegun Oniru, who stated this at the 2012 ministerial briefing in commemoration of first year of the second term of Governor Babatunde Fashola administration, also condemned the environmental degradation caused by abandoned vessels on the state’s coastline.
He said some of the abandoned vessels were oil tankers, which can wipe out communities in the area within three months, if nothing was done to address the situation.
Oniru said: “Some of the vessels are oil tankers and you can imagine what happens to marine life when such vessels are scattered on the coastlines. Today, the ministry had found about 32 vessels across our 180km beach forest.”
He said lives and property on Alpha Beach are being threatened by the recurring erosion in the area.
First female CJN emerges July 16
By Vanguard: Ikechukwu Nnochiri ABUJA — A female Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Mariam Aloma, has been nominated to replace Justice Dahiru Musdapher as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, come July 16 when Musdapher will retire.
However, her appointment is subject to ratification by the Presidency.
This came as Justice Musdapher, yesterday, debunked insinuations that he resigned his appointment, saying he only wrote to the National Judicial Council, NJC, to expedite process for the swearing-in of his successor on July 16.
In line with the express provisions of section 291(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, Justice Musdapher will cease to be a judicial officer on July 15, a day he would clock the 70 years mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court Justices.
Though Justice Musdapher who will spend only 11 months in office, took over the affairs of the Nigerian Judiciary in acting capacity on August 28, he was, however, confirmed as the 12th indigenous CJN by President Goodluck Jonathan on September 26.
Investigation by Vanguard revealed that Justice Musdpaher had on April forwarded her name to the Federal Judicial Service Commission, FJSC, and the NJC, for consideration, just as he equally tendered his notice of retirement to the two legal bodies.
Remarkably, Aloma had recently rejected an offer for international appointment, after she was nominated as the Chief Judge of The Gambia.
Sequel to speculations that he resigned after tendering a “quit notice” to the FJSC and the NJC on Wednesday, the CJN, yesterday, issued a statement in Abuja, debunking the rumour.
The statement signed by his media aide, Mr Mohammed Adamu, read: “The Honourable, the Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Dahiru Musdapher, contrary to speculations, has not resigned his appointment.
“The CJN had, on April 11, 2012, written to the National Judicial Council, NJC, to give three months notice of his retirement from service as a judicial officer.
“This, as the CJN indicated, is so ‘that the necessary processes will be commenced early enough to enable the swearing of a new Chief Justice’ by July 16, 2012.
“It is public knowledge that by the provisions of Section 291(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the CJN shall cease to be a judicial officer come July 14, 2012 when he would be 70 years.”
Justice Mariam Aloma who hails from Kano State, started her law career in 1967. She was be the first female judge to be sworn into the Supreme Court bench.
However, her appointment is subject to ratification by the Presidency.
This came as Justice Musdapher, yesterday, debunked insinuations that he resigned his appointment, saying he only wrote to the National Judicial Council, NJC, to expedite process for the swearing-in of his successor on July 16.
In line with the express provisions of section 291(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, Justice Musdapher will cease to be a judicial officer on July 15, a day he would clock the 70 years mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court Justices.
Though Justice Musdapher who will spend only 11 months in office, took over the affairs of the Nigerian Judiciary in acting capacity on August 28, he was, however, confirmed as the 12th indigenous CJN by President Goodluck Jonathan on September 26.
Investigation by Vanguard revealed that Justice Musdpaher had on April forwarded her name to the Federal Judicial Service Commission, FJSC, and the NJC, for consideration, just as he equally tendered his notice of retirement to the two legal bodies.
Remarkably, Aloma had recently rejected an offer for international appointment, after she was nominated as the Chief Judge of The Gambia.
Sequel to speculations that he resigned after tendering a “quit notice” to the FJSC and the NJC on Wednesday, the CJN, yesterday, issued a statement in Abuja, debunking the rumour.
The statement signed by his media aide, Mr Mohammed Adamu, read: “The Honourable, the Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Dahiru Musdapher, contrary to speculations, has not resigned his appointment.
“The CJN had, on April 11, 2012, written to the National Judicial Council, NJC, to give three months notice of his retirement from service as a judicial officer.
“This, as the CJN indicated, is so ‘that the necessary processes will be commenced early enough to enable the swearing of a new Chief Justice’ by July 16, 2012.
“It is public knowledge that by the provisions of Section 291(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the CJN shall cease to be a judicial officer come July 14, 2012 when he would be 70 years.”
Justice Mariam Aloma who hails from Kano State, started her law career in 1967. She was be the first female judge to be sworn into the Supreme Court bench.
Ajatta urges EFCC to probe Mimiko
By 
A governorship aspirant of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State, Mr. Jaiyeola Ajatta, yesterday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the alleged financial recklessness of the Governor Olusegun Mimiko administration.
He accused the Labour Party (LP)-led government of planning to pile-up debts for an incoming government.
Ajatta spoke in Ikaramu-Akoko, Akoko North West Local Government Area, while receiving defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and LP into the ACN.
He said the state government inherited over N38 billion from the Olusegun Agagu administration and has received over N500 billion from the Federation Account in the past three years, but has nothing to show for it.
Ajatta said: “I do not know why someone who claims to be the ‘master of all’ has refused to better the lot of the masses. But God has exposed how our money has been mismanaged. I commended EFCC for arresting the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) Chairman Debo Ajimuda over an alleged N61 billion fraud.
“This is how the Mimiko administration has been wasting our funds. The governor’s aides steal our money and spend it on exotic cars and mansion, while thousands of our youths lie idle.
“Mimiko promised to revive all moribund industries, but it has been three years and we are yet to see any of them functioning. He recently claimed that the Tomatos Industry is back to life, but it has been revealed that nothing is going on there.
“Our governor has been spending billions of naira on the Oba-Adesida-Oyemekun Road for three years, yet it has not been completed. When the project was flagged off, he said the road would be rebuilt into six lanes, but where are the six lanes?
“Mimiko has been celebrating some projects, such as the Fiwasaye and Ondo Roads, but these projects belong to the past administration, which had already paid the contractors 70 per cent of the contract sum. All the roads flagged off by the present administration are still on-going, such as the Arakale, Ondo and Owo roads.”
Ajatta urged the people to vote-out the LP in the next election.
Mimiko
A governorship aspirant of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State, Mr. Jaiyeola Ajatta, yesterday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the alleged financial recklessness of the Governor Olusegun Mimiko administration.
He accused the Labour Party (LP)-led government of planning to pile-up debts for an incoming government.
Ajatta spoke in Ikaramu-Akoko, Akoko North West Local Government Area, while receiving defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and LP into the ACN.
He said the state government inherited over N38 billion from the Olusegun Agagu administration and has received over N500 billion from the Federation Account in the past three years, but has nothing to show for it.
Ajatta said: “I do not know why someone who claims to be the ‘master of all’ has refused to better the lot of the masses. But God has exposed how our money has been mismanaged. I commended EFCC for arresting the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) Chairman Debo Ajimuda over an alleged N61 billion fraud.
“This is how the Mimiko administration has been wasting our funds. The governor’s aides steal our money and spend it on exotic cars and mansion, while thousands of our youths lie idle.
“Mimiko promised to revive all moribund industries, but it has been three years and we are yet to see any of them functioning. He recently claimed that the Tomatos Industry is back to life, but it has been revealed that nothing is going on there.
“Our governor has been spending billions of naira on the Oba-Adesida-Oyemekun Road for three years, yet it has not been completed. When the project was flagged off, he said the road would be rebuilt into six lanes, but where are the six lanes?
“Mimiko has been celebrating some projects, such as the Fiwasaye and Ondo Roads, but these projects belong to the past administration, which had already paid the contractors 70 per cent of the contract sum. All the roads flagged off by the present administration are still on-going, such as the Arakale, Ondo and Owo roads.”
Ajatta urged the people to vote-out the LP in the next election.
Police kill two suspects in Delta
By Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have killed two kidnap suspects after a gun duel.
Police spokesman Charles Muka, who confirmed the incident, said the police working with a local vigilance group ,received information at about midnight on April 18 that armed men were operating on the DSC Expressway, Udu Local Government.
According to Muka, the police got to the scene and engaged the suspects in a gun battle.
He said the police shot dead two of the kidnappers while two suspects escaped with bullet wounds.
The spokesman said the police have launched a manhunt for the fleeing gang members.
Items recovered from the gang include an AK47 rifle, two live ammunition.
The police said it recovered a grey Toyota Camry, AQ99UGH, snatched from Udu Ochuko.
An abandoned Nissan Primera was recovered.
Police spokesman Charles Muka, who confirmed the incident, said the police working with a local vigilance group ,received information at about midnight on April 18 that armed men were operating on the DSC Expressway, Udu Local Government.
According to Muka, the police got to the scene and engaged the suspects in a gun battle.
He said the police shot dead two of the kidnappers while two suspects escaped with bullet wounds.
The spokesman said the police have launched a manhunt for the fleeing gang members.
Items recovered from the gang include an AK47 rifle, two live ammunition.
The police said it recovered a grey Toyota Camry, AQ99UGH, snatched from Udu Ochuko.
An abandoned Nissan Primera was recovered.
Thursday, 19 April 2012
SUBSIDY PROBE REPORT: How NNPC, others looted subsidy fund
BY Vanguard: BEN AGANDE ABUJA—The House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee that investigated the implementation of the subsidy regime in the country, yesterday, recommended that the sum of N1,067,040,456,171.31 be refunded to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, marketers, companies that refused to appear before the committee as well as the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency.
Out of this amount, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation which came under heavy criticism from the Committee is to refund N310,414,963,613.00 for subsidy it collected on Kerosene after the subsidy on the product had been outlawed in the country; N285,098,000,000 for subsidy it collected above the PPPRA recommended amount and N108, 648,000,000 for self discount it granted itself while marketing companies are to refund a N8,664,352,554.00.
Companies that failed to appear before the committee are to refund the sum of N41,936,140,005 while the PPPRA is to refund the sum of N312,279,000,000 being excess payment it made to itself. The refunds are to be made within three months.
The Committee chaired by Hon. Faruk Lawan also recommended that relevant anti-corruption agencies should investigate and prosecute all persons and companies that have been found to have committed any crime while those companies that obtained foreign exchange, FOREX, but failed to import petroleum products should also be referred to the Anti-Corruption agencies with a view to verifying what they used the forex for.
And contrary to the official figure of subsidy payment of N1.3 Trillion, the committee noted that ‘the Accountant General of the Federation put a figure of N1.6 Trillion, the CBN N1.7 Trillion, while the committee established subsidy payment of N2,587.087 Trillion as at 31st December, 2011 amounting to more than 900 per cent over the appropriated sum of N245 Billion’.
It noted that the committee arrived at this figure based on the CBN figure N844.944Billion paid to the NNPC in addition to another figure of N847.942 Billion reflected as withdrawals by the NNPC from the excess Crude Naira account as well as the sum of N894.201Billion paid as subsidy to the marketers.
The committee which came hard on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ‘for not being accountable to anybody or authority’ recommended that the corporation be unbundled to make its operations more efficient and transparent, adding that ‘the Management and Board of the NNPC should be completely overhauled and all those involved in the following infractions should be further investigated and prosecuted by the relevant anti corruption agencies’.
See who to refund what? here
The infractions for which the committee recommended further investigation/prosecution are: Payment of N285.098Billion in excess of the PPPRA recommended figure for 2011; subsidy deductions of N310,414,963,613 for kerosene against a presidential directive; Direct Deductions from funds meant for the federation account in contravention of section 162 of the Nigerian Constitution and the illegal granting of price differential (discounts) of crude oil price per barrel to the NNPC to the tune of N108.648Billion from 2009-2011.
Wants NNPC audited
It further recommended that ‘the House do direct for the auditing of the NNPC to determine its solvency. This is as a result of plethora of claims of indebtedness and demands for payments by NNPC’s debtors which, if not well handled, will not only affect the entire economy of Nigeria but also the supply and distribution of petroleum products.
On the part of the PPPRA, the committee recommended that ‘the Executive Secretaries of the PPPRA who were the Accounting Officers, and under whose watch abuses were perpetrated that led to the government losing Billions of Naira should be held liable. We strongly recommend that those who served as Executive Secretaries of PPPRA from January 2009 to October 2010 should be further investigated/prosecuted by relevant Anti-corruption agencies. This should also include the GM Field Services, ACDO/Supervisor Ullage Team 1 and ACDO/Supervisor Ullage Team 2 within the same period for their roles in the management of the ullaging under the subsidy scheme.
Part of the committee report reads: “Our investigation further revealed that certain marketers collected subsidy of over N230.184 Billion on PMS volume of N3,262,960,225 litres that from the records made available to us were not supplied. Apart from proliferation and non-designation of bank accounts for subsidy payment, PPPRA and the OAGF were unable to manage in a transparent manner the two accounts they chose to disclose. There were indications that PPPRA paid N258billion to itself in 2009 and N157Billion in 2010. When confronted, the OAGF was unable to submit details of the bulk payments arrogated to PPPR A and the account from which the bulk sums were disbursed to the supposed beneficiaries.
“Curiously too, the particular Accountant General that served during the period 2009 was found to have made a payment of equal installments of N999 Million for a record 128 times within 24 hours on the 12th and 13th of January 2009, totalling N127.872Billion. The confirmed payments from the CBN records were made to beneficiaries yet to be disclosed by the OAGF or identified by the committee. We however discovered that only 36 marketers were participants under the PSF scheme during this period. Even if there were 128 marketers, it was inconceivable that all would have imported the same quantity of products to warrant equal payment” the report noted.
On the quantity of fuel that is consumed nationwide daily, the committee in its report noted that from its findings, ‘the consumption level for 2011 is estimated at 31.5 million litres per day. However, in 2012, marginal increment of 1.5 million litres a day is recommended in order to take care of unforeseen circumstances, bringing it to 33 million litres per day.
“And to maintain a strategic reserve, an additional average of seven million litres per day (or 630 Million litres per quarter) for the first quarter of 2012 only is recommended. Thus PPPRA is to use 40million litres of PMS in the first quarter as its maximum ordering quantity per day. In subsequent quarters, PMS daily ordering quantity should be33 million litres per day for Kerosene, the committee recommends a daily ordering quantity of 9 million litres” the report noted.
It therefore proposed a budget proposal of N806.766 Billion for the 2012 fiscal year for payment of subsidy on PMS and Kerosene based on its projection that the PMS consumption is 40million litres per day (including the strategic reserve for the first quarter of 2012); and 9million litres of Kerosene per day.
Other recommendations by the committee:
*Marketers without storage facilities and retail outlets should be excluded from participating in the PSF scheme.
*The services of the Accounting Firm of Akintola Williams, Deloitte and Olusola Adekanola and Partners should be discontinued with immediate effect for professional incompetence and should be blacklisted from being engaged by any Federal Ministry, Department or Agency for a period of three years.
*All those in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Director general Budget and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation involved in the Extra budgetary expenditure under the PSF scheme (2009-2011) should be sanctioned in accordance with civil service rules and the code of conduct Bureau.
*The overhauling of the PPMC management.
*Mr. president should reorganize the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to make it more effective in carrying out the much needed reforms in the oil and gas sector.
*Given the large and complex nature of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the committee recommends that two ministers should be appointed to take charge of the Upstream and Downstream.
*The PPPRA should provide the Nigerian Navy and NIMASA advance copies of allocation and vessel arrival notification documents to enable the navy monitor, track and interdict vessels seeking to avoid Naval certification.
*The committee recommends that the regulatory capacity of PPPRA be strengthened and the National Assembly should commence the process of amending the Act to make the Agency autonomous
*The committee recommends that FIRS should follow up on the companies listed earlier to pay their taxes with due penalties in line with the provisions of the Companies Income Tax Act.
*The PSF guidleines should be revised to make Tax compliance a mandatory pre-qualification requirement for all participants under the scheme.
*The CBN and the Federal Ministry of Finance should critically examine and review policy guiding payment for importation of petroleum products to avoid the current fraudulent system that allows importers to bring in products from off-shore ‘lome’ or cotonou to qualify for forex payments
*The committee recommends that the PPMC management be overhauled.
Out of this amount, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation which came under heavy criticism from the Committee is to refund N310,414,963,613.00 for subsidy it collected on Kerosene after the subsidy on the product had been outlawed in the country; N285,098,000,000 for subsidy it collected above the PPPRA recommended amount and N108, 648,000,000 for self discount it granted itself while marketing companies are to refund a N8,664,352,554.00.
Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke
The Committee chaired by Hon. Faruk Lawan also recommended that relevant anti-corruption agencies should investigate and prosecute all persons and companies that have been found to have committed any crime while those companies that obtained foreign exchange, FOREX, but failed to import petroleum products should also be referred to the Anti-Corruption agencies with a view to verifying what they used the forex for.
And contrary to the official figure of subsidy payment of N1.3 Trillion, the committee noted that ‘the Accountant General of the Federation put a figure of N1.6 Trillion, the CBN N1.7 Trillion, while the committee established subsidy payment of N2,587.087 Trillion as at 31st December, 2011 amounting to more than 900 per cent over the appropriated sum of N245 Billion’.
It noted that the committee arrived at this figure based on the CBN figure N844.944Billion paid to the NNPC in addition to another figure of N847.942 Billion reflected as withdrawals by the NNPC from the excess Crude Naira account as well as the sum of N894.201Billion paid as subsidy to the marketers.
The committee which came hard on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ‘for not being accountable to anybody or authority’ recommended that the corporation be unbundled to make its operations more efficient and transparent, adding that ‘the Management and Board of the NNPC should be completely overhauled and all those involved in the following infractions should be further investigated and prosecuted by the relevant anti corruption agencies’.
See who to refund what? here
The infractions for which the committee recommended further investigation/prosecution are: Payment of N285.098Billion in excess of the PPPRA recommended figure for 2011; subsidy deductions of N310,414,963,613 for kerosene against a presidential directive; Direct Deductions from funds meant for the federation account in contravention of section 162 of the Nigerian Constitution and the illegal granting of price differential (discounts) of crude oil price per barrel to the NNPC to the tune of N108.648Billion from 2009-2011.
Wants NNPC audited
It further recommended that ‘the House do direct for the auditing of the NNPC to determine its solvency. This is as a result of plethora of claims of indebtedness and demands for payments by NNPC’s debtors which, if not well handled, will not only affect the entire economy of Nigeria but also the supply and distribution of petroleum products.
On the part of the PPPRA, the committee recommended that ‘the Executive Secretaries of the PPPRA who were the Accounting Officers, and under whose watch abuses were perpetrated that led to the government losing Billions of Naira should be held liable. We strongly recommend that those who served as Executive Secretaries of PPPRA from January 2009 to October 2010 should be further investigated/prosecuted by relevant Anti-corruption agencies. This should also include the GM Field Services, ACDO/Supervisor Ullage Team 1 and ACDO/Supervisor Ullage Team 2 within the same period for their roles in the management of the ullaging under the subsidy scheme.
Part of the committee report reads: “Our investigation further revealed that certain marketers collected subsidy of over N230.184 Billion on PMS volume of N3,262,960,225 litres that from the records made available to us were not supplied. Apart from proliferation and non-designation of bank accounts for subsidy payment, PPPRA and the OAGF were unable to manage in a transparent manner the two accounts they chose to disclose. There were indications that PPPRA paid N258billion to itself in 2009 and N157Billion in 2010. When confronted, the OAGF was unable to submit details of the bulk payments arrogated to PPPR A and the account from which the bulk sums were disbursed to the supposed beneficiaries.
“Curiously too, the particular Accountant General that served during the period 2009 was found to have made a payment of equal installments of N999 Million for a record 128 times within 24 hours on the 12th and 13th of January 2009, totalling N127.872Billion. The confirmed payments from the CBN records were made to beneficiaries yet to be disclosed by the OAGF or identified by the committee. We however discovered that only 36 marketers were participants under the PSF scheme during this period. Even if there were 128 marketers, it was inconceivable that all would have imported the same quantity of products to warrant equal payment” the report noted.
On the quantity of fuel that is consumed nationwide daily, the committee in its report noted that from its findings, ‘the consumption level for 2011 is estimated at 31.5 million litres per day. However, in 2012, marginal increment of 1.5 million litres a day is recommended in order to take care of unforeseen circumstances, bringing it to 33 million litres per day.
“And to maintain a strategic reserve, an additional average of seven million litres per day (or 630 Million litres per quarter) for the first quarter of 2012 only is recommended. Thus PPPRA is to use 40million litres of PMS in the first quarter as its maximum ordering quantity per day. In subsequent quarters, PMS daily ordering quantity should be33 million litres per day for Kerosene, the committee recommends a daily ordering quantity of 9 million litres” the report noted.
It therefore proposed a budget proposal of N806.766 Billion for the 2012 fiscal year for payment of subsidy on PMS and Kerosene based on its projection that the PMS consumption is 40million litres per day (including the strategic reserve for the first quarter of 2012); and 9million litres of Kerosene per day.
Other recommendations by the committee:
*Marketers without storage facilities and retail outlets should be excluded from participating in the PSF scheme.
*The services of the Accounting Firm of Akintola Williams, Deloitte and Olusola Adekanola and Partners should be discontinued with immediate effect for professional incompetence and should be blacklisted from being engaged by any Federal Ministry, Department or Agency for a period of three years.
*All those in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Director general Budget and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation involved in the Extra budgetary expenditure under the PSF scheme (2009-2011) should be sanctioned in accordance with civil service rules and the code of conduct Bureau.
*The overhauling of the PPMC management.
*Mr. president should reorganize the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to make it more effective in carrying out the much needed reforms in the oil and gas sector.
*Given the large and complex nature of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the committee recommends that two ministers should be appointed to take charge of the Upstream and Downstream.
*The PPPRA should provide the Nigerian Navy and NIMASA advance copies of allocation and vessel arrival notification documents to enable the navy monitor, track and interdict vessels seeking to avoid Naval certification.
*The committee recommends that the regulatory capacity of PPPRA be strengthened and the National Assembly should commence the process of amending the Act to make the Agency autonomous
*The committee recommends that FIRS should follow up on the companies listed earlier to pay their taxes with due penalties in line with the provisions of the Companies Income Tax Act.
*The PSF guidleines should be revised to make Tax compliance a mandatory pre-qualification requirement for all participants under the scheme.
*The CBN and the Federal Ministry of Finance should critically examine and review policy guiding payment for importation of petroleum products to avoid the current fraudulent system that allows importers to bring in products from off-shore ‘lome’ or cotonou to qualify for forex payments
*The committee recommends that the PPMC management be overhauled.
Govt kicks as US issues Boko Haram warning
By 
A MERICA issued yesterday a Boko Haram attack warning. But the Federal Government said security agents are prepared for such challenges. Should any country have doubts, it should contact the Nigerian authorities, the government said.
The U.S warned its citizens living in Nigeria that Boko Haram is planning attacks in major hotels in Abuja.
“The U.S. Embassy has received information that Boko Haram may be planning attacks in Abuja, Nigeria, including against hotels frequently visited by Westerners,” an emergency message on its website said yesterday.
“The Nigerian government is aware of the threat and is actively implementing security measures.”
The U.S. authorities issued a similar warning in November, naming the Hilton, Sheraton and Nicon Luxury as Abuja hotels that could be targets for Boko Haram, but it later retracted it.
The Federal Government said then that high profile hotels were always a possible target but security was tight and people should not live in fear. However, occupancy at those hotels dipped after the last U.S. warning.
The embassy did not name specific targets this time. The Hilton in Abuja said it always took security seriously.
But the Federal Government expressed concern over the security alarm raised by the U.S.
Information Minister Labaran Maku at the end of yesterday’s Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, cautioned the media against inadvertent support for terrorists and their activities through their reporting.
Maku said there was nothing new in the US warning, noting that it is similar to the one issued about a year ago.
While stating that the Federal Government concedes to every country the duty to ensure the safety of its nationals, the minister, however, said this must be done in such a way that it would not create panic in Nigeria.
Maku said: “I still appeal that if they (foreign governments) have any doubt about the preparedness of our security agencies to tackle insecurity in the country, they should communicate to us.
“Our security agencies have increased their capacity to respond to these threats here in the FCT and other parts of the country and other places of public interest. We will continue to appeal to all foreign agencies to align more with our security agencies. Security does not come from such measure (such statements).”
Maku added: “The media need some time off; it appears to me that we get a lot of panic from sensational reports. We have a responsibility in this country to have some discernment on the time and space we give to anti-state groups.”
“I believe it is wrong; I believe it is creating panic and hate across the country.”
Boko Haram’s purported leader, Abubakar Shekau, has appeared in two al Qaeda-style videos posted on the Internet this year but has made only vague threats and no clear demands.
The Senate yesterday asked President Goodluck Jonathan to crush the Boko Haram insurgents at all costs.
This followed a unanimous adoption of a motion entitled “Terrorist attack on Kaduna”, sponsored by Senator Sani Saleh (Kaduna Central) and 10 others.
Tension was high amidst emotional outbursts as the motion was being debated.
The lawmakers specifically dwelt on the Easter Sunday blast in Kaduna. More than 40 people died in the attack.
The Senate specifically called on the Executive to recognise that terrorists have declared war on Nigeria, which is a threat to the sovereignty, existence and economic wellbeing of the country.
The lawmakers resolved to ask the Federal Government to “respond (to the development) with all instruments of national power at its disposal”.
They condemned bomb explosions in parts of the country in its entirety and observed a one-minute silence in honour of those who died in the explosions and other attacks across the country.
The Senate mandated its joint committees on National Security, Intelligence, Defence and Army, and Police Affairs and Interior to intensify their oversight functions over the security agencies with a view to improving their capabilities in handling the security challenges.
However, the prayer that the government should compensate to victims of the Kaduna bomb explosion was rejected.
In his lead debate, Senator Saleh urged the Senate to note with deep sense of grief, the dastardly bomb explosion at Junction Road in Kaduna on Easter Sunday, by some suicide bombers.
He noted that the explosion was a stark reminder of last year’s Christmas Day attack that left dozens of people dead in Madalla, Niger State.
He observed that terrorist attacks continued unabated nationwide despite the assurances of our security agencies of “being on top of the situation”.
He said that the Easter bomb explosion in Kaduna claimed 13 lives, injured 32 people and destroyed property worth millions of naira, bringing untold hardship on victims, their relatives and residents of the city.
The prayer that the federal government should be asked to recognize that “these terrorists have declared war on Nigeria, which is a threat to our sovereignty, existence and economic wellbeing and to respond with all instruments of national power at its disposal” was unanimously adopted by the lawmakers.
Senator Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna North) described the bomb blast as sad.
He said: “It is a problem concerning all of us; we should volunteer information to security agencies to be able to arrest the situation. All measures including dialogue, should be used by government to solve the problem,” Makarfi said.
Senator Gyang Dalong Datong (Plateau North) said: “This country is going through a very sad moment because every Nigerian that is killed is either a brother or sister.”
Senator Olubunmi Adetunbi (Ekiti North) noted that the Senate has refused to pass a vote of no confidence on any security outfit.
He said: “Nigerians are tired of condemnation, of bombings and observations of one minute silence. One of the questions Nigerians are asking is: ‘Do we have a government?’”
The poser led to an uproar in the Senate.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, said: “Let’s take the matter with the seriousness it deserves. Let us allow our colleague to express his opinion. This is the high point of democracy.”
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe noted that the country is at war.
He said: “When you are at war, you do the needful. Security agencies have to step up to the challenge. They attacked the security agencies first in the North, which made them duty bound to protect themselves and in the process protect the citizenry. “
Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East) said something must be done about children who are affected psychologically.
Senator Mohammed Magoro said: “What we are facing is a very serious situation.”
He added: “It is because we have not been following the trend of events. Kano, Kaduna and Borno are at a standstill. Training and acquisition of modern equipment is necessary for security. Security agencies are doing their best. Physical checking of vehicles cannot take you anywhere.”
Ekweremadu said: “The most important business of government is the protection of lives and property and that is fundamental. If we need to even borrow money to deal with this security challenge that needs to be done.”
A MERICA issued yesterday a Boko Haram attack warning. But the Federal Government said security agents are prepared for such challenges. Should any country have doubts, it should contact the Nigerian authorities, the government said.
The U.S warned its citizens living in Nigeria that Boko Haram is planning attacks in major hotels in Abuja.
“The U.S. Embassy has received information that Boko Haram may be planning attacks in Abuja, Nigeria, including against hotels frequently visited by Westerners,” an emergency message on its website said yesterday.
“The Nigerian government is aware of the threat and is actively implementing security measures.”
The U.S. authorities issued a similar warning in November, naming the Hilton, Sheraton and Nicon Luxury as Abuja hotels that could be targets for Boko Haram, but it later retracted it.
The Federal Government said then that high profile hotels were always a possible target but security was tight and people should not live in fear. However, occupancy at those hotels dipped after the last U.S. warning.
The embassy did not name specific targets this time. The Hilton in Abuja said it always took security seriously.
But the Federal Government expressed concern over the security alarm raised by the U.S.
Information Minister Labaran Maku at the end of yesterday’s Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, cautioned the media against inadvertent support for terrorists and their activities through their reporting.
Maku said there was nothing new in the US warning, noting that it is similar to the one issued about a year ago.
While stating that the Federal Government concedes to every country the duty to ensure the safety of its nationals, the minister, however, said this must be done in such a way that it would not create panic in Nigeria.
Maku said: “I still appeal that if they (foreign governments) have any doubt about the preparedness of our security agencies to tackle insecurity in the country, they should communicate to us.
“Our security agencies have increased their capacity to respond to these threats here in the FCT and other parts of the country and other places of public interest. We will continue to appeal to all foreign agencies to align more with our security agencies. Security does not come from such measure (such statements).”
Maku added: “The media need some time off; it appears to me that we get a lot of panic from sensational reports. We have a responsibility in this country to have some discernment on the time and space we give to anti-state groups.”
“I believe it is wrong; I believe it is creating panic and hate across the country.”
Boko Haram’s purported leader, Abubakar Shekau, has appeared in two al Qaeda-style videos posted on the Internet this year but has made only vague threats and no clear demands.
The Senate yesterday asked President Goodluck Jonathan to crush the Boko Haram insurgents at all costs.
This followed a unanimous adoption of a motion entitled “Terrorist attack on Kaduna”, sponsored by Senator Sani Saleh (Kaduna Central) and 10 others.
Tension was high amidst emotional outbursts as the motion was being debated.
The lawmakers specifically dwelt on the Easter Sunday blast in Kaduna. More than 40 people died in the attack.
The Senate specifically called on the Executive to recognise that terrorists have declared war on Nigeria, which is a threat to the sovereignty, existence and economic wellbeing of the country.
The lawmakers resolved to ask the Federal Government to “respond (to the development) with all instruments of national power at its disposal”.
They condemned bomb explosions in parts of the country in its entirety and observed a one-minute silence in honour of those who died in the explosions and other attacks across the country.
The Senate mandated its joint committees on National Security, Intelligence, Defence and Army, and Police Affairs and Interior to intensify their oversight functions over the security agencies with a view to improving their capabilities in handling the security challenges.
However, the prayer that the government should compensate to victims of the Kaduna bomb explosion was rejected.
In his lead debate, Senator Saleh urged the Senate to note with deep sense of grief, the dastardly bomb explosion at Junction Road in Kaduna on Easter Sunday, by some suicide bombers.
He noted that the explosion was a stark reminder of last year’s Christmas Day attack that left dozens of people dead in Madalla, Niger State.
He observed that terrorist attacks continued unabated nationwide despite the assurances of our security agencies of “being on top of the situation”.
He said that the Easter bomb explosion in Kaduna claimed 13 lives, injured 32 people and destroyed property worth millions of naira, bringing untold hardship on victims, their relatives and residents of the city.
The prayer that the federal government should be asked to recognize that “these terrorists have declared war on Nigeria, which is a threat to our sovereignty, existence and economic wellbeing and to respond with all instruments of national power at its disposal” was unanimously adopted by the lawmakers.
Senator Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna North) described the bomb blast as sad.
He said: “It is a problem concerning all of us; we should volunteer information to security agencies to be able to arrest the situation. All measures including dialogue, should be used by government to solve the problem,” Makarfi said.
Senator Gyang Dalong Datong (Plateau North) said: “This country is going through a very sad moment because every Nigerian that is killed is either a brother or sister.”
Senator Olubunmi Adetunbi (Ekiti North) noted that the Senate has refused to pass a vote of no confidence on any security outfit.
He said: “Nigerians are tired of condemnation, of bombings and observations of one minute silence. One of the questions Nigerians are asking is: ‘Do we have a government?’”
The poser led to an uproar in the Senate.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, said: “Let’s take the matter with the seriousness it deserves. Let us allow our colleague to express his opinion. This is the high point of democracy.”
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe noted that the country is at war.
He said: “When you are at war, you do the needful. Security agencies have to step up to the challenge. They attacked the security agencies first in the North, which made them duty bound to protect themselves and in the process protect the citizenry. “
Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East) said something must be done about children who are affected psychologically.
Senator Mohammed Magoro said: “What we are facing is a very serious situation.”
He added: “It is because we have not been following the trend of events. Kano, Kaduna and Borno are at a standstill. Training and acquisition of modern equipment is necessary for security. Security agencies are doing their best. Physical checking of vehicles cannot take you anywhere.”
Ekweremadu said: “The most important business of government is the protection of lives and property and that is fundamental. If we need to even borrow money to deal with this security challenge that needs to be done.”
Nigeria’s break-up won’t hurt us, says North
By 
Professor Ango Abdullahi
Northern leaders yesterday spurned agitators for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC), where they intend to determine the continued co-existence of the regions.
They said the region has nothing to lose if the country breaks up and the North goes its own way.
The regional leaders said the North has not gained anything from the present arrangement of the country and would not be hurt by any break-up.
The northern leaders, under the aegis of the Arewa Elders’ Forum (AEF), said though they could survive in a divided Nigeria, they would not be the cause of the break-up.
A leader of the new group and a former Special Adviser to former-President Olusegun Obasanjo on Food Security, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, told the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), monitored in Kaduna, that the North has always been on its own and could survive without the oil resources from the South.
The former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, was reacting to calls from southern leaders for the convocation of an SNC.
He said some people are hiding under the agitation to show that they are tired of staying in a united Nigeria.
Abdullahi said: “We know this is an old call, because it has been on for over 20 years. They have been saying the corporate existence of the country and the federal system is faulty. They are keen on sitting down to discuss what kind of arrangement would be conducive for Nigerian. Some people are hiding under the guise of this agitation to show that they are tired of staying in a united Nigeria.
“Therefore, we have resolved that we are not going to be the cause of Nigeria’s break-up. But if others decide that the country should be divided, we would not say no, because there is nothing we are getting from the current arrangement that other sections of the country are not getting.
“If they insist, why do we not sit down and talk? If in the end everybody agrees that Nigeria should should break up, let it be.”
He said the North has always been on its own because the poor in the region have always been on their own.
Abdullahi said: “The poor feed themselves from what they cultivate in the farms and feed Nigeria up till tomorrow. It is possible that all northerners could return to what their forefathers did through agriculture, with which proceeds they built the North and Nigeria.
“The land is still there and the water. Our forefathers built all the factories, the textiles, the oil mills in Kano from agricultural proceeds. God has given us fertile land. So, if we return to what we have, we would not lack. We will surely stand on our own, no matter the situation this country finds itself.”
He lamented the state of insecurity in the country and reiterated their resolve to work towards the continued existence of the nation.
Nigeria safe for investors despite attacks - Jonathan
By
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan speak to the media after talks at the Chancellery on Thursday. Photo:Getty Images
President Goodluck Jonathan insisted on Thursday Nigeria was safe for foreign investors, while calling for Western logistical help to combat the Boko Haram sect.
The group, which wants Sharia (Islamic) law more widely applied across Africa's most populous nation, has killed hundreds in gun and bomb attacks this year.
This week, the United States embassy in Nigeria warned its citizens that the group might be planning attacks on the capital Abuja.
"We are building up our security infrastructure... I can say we are on top of this problem," Reuters quoted Jonathan as saying at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin after talks that focused on trade, energy and security issues.
Asked what kind of assistance Germany could provide, he said: "In areas of training manpower and modern equipment... You need superior technology to fight terrorists and we think Germany and others can help us in such areas."
Boko Haram usually targets police, authority figures and churches in the mostly Muslim north, although there have been a handful of deadly attacks in and around Abuja, which is home to ministries and foreign embassies.
Jonathan, who is a Christian from the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta, has been criticised by Nigerians and foreign diplomats for not curbing violence in the north.
The Nigerian government has dismissed the U.S. embassy warning of fresh attacks in Abuja, saying such statements created, "undue panic".
"I can assure the global community, especially investors from Germany, that the government is working very hard to bring this problem under control," Jonathan said.
"Nigeria is still safe for investment. Nigeria is one country where... investment returns are quite high and where we believe in the rule of law."
With 70 percent of its population below the age of 35, Nigeria offers a vibrant market for investors, he added.
Merkel said Germany stood ready to provide logistical and other support in the fight against Boko Haram.
She also urged Jonathan to provide a better business climate in his country.
As well as Boko Haram and other security challenges such as piracy off its coast, Nigeria's reputation among investors also suffers from rampant corruption, a patronage culture and dilapidated infrastructure.
The group, which wants Sharia (Islamic) law more widely applied across Africa's most populous nation, has killed hundreds in gun and bomb attacks this year.
This week, the United States embassy in Nigeria warned its citizens that the group might be planning attacks on the capital Abuja.
"We are building up our security infrastructure... I can say we are on top of this problem," Reuters quoted Jonathan as saying at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin after talks that focused on trade, energy and security issues.
Asked what kind of assistance Germany could provide, he said: "In areas of training manpower and modern equipment... You need superior technology to fight terrorists and we think Germany and others can help us in such areas."
Boko Haram usually targets police, authority figures and churches in the mostly Muslim north, although there have been a handful of deadly attacks in and around Abuja, which is home to ministries and foreign embassies.
Jonathan, who is a Christian from the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta, has been criticised by Nigerians and foreign diplomats for not curbing violence in the north.
The Nigerian government has dismissed the U.S. embassy warning of fresh attacks in Abuja, saying such statements created, "undue panic".
"I can assure the global community, especially investors from Germany, that the government is working very hard to bring this problem under control," Jonathan said.
"Nigeria is still safe for investment. Nigeria is one country where... investment returns are quite high and where we believe in the rule of law."
With 70 percent of its population below the age of 35, Nigeria offers a vibrant market for investors, he added.
Merkel said Germany stood ready to provide logistical and other support in the fight against Boko Haram.
She also urged Jonathan to provide a better business climate in his country.
As well as Boko Haram and other security challenges such as piracy off its coast, Nigeria's reputation among investors also suffers from rampant corruption, a patronage culture and dilapidated infrastructure.
2012 LONDON OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS NBBF invites 14 players
By
THE Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has invited 14 local players for camping ahead of the 2012 London Olympic qualifying tournament scheduled to hold in Venezuela in July.
Nigeria are eyeing one of the three places still available for the games and will be among the 12 sides trying to claim one of them in Caracas, Venezuela.
They will play in Group B against Lithuania, a team that has played at every Olympics since 1992, and hosts Venezuela. Players from Royal Hoopers of Port Harcourt dominated the list of players that are expected in camp which will be opened at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos from April 19- 22nd, 2012.
Royal Hoopers have four players namely: Dike Azuoma, Ohiero Michael Oko, Ojo Adeolu Olaiya and Onyeka Ekpete. Players called up from Kano Pillars are Usman Abubakar, Yusuf Ibrahim Adamu and Mathew Onmonya.
Dodan Warriors also produce three players and they are Yahaya Abdulwahab, Bukar Mohammed Biu and Akita Akpara. Others are Stanley Gumut from Nigerian Customs, Ikyaator Orsee from Lagos Islanders and Onyia Dalignton from Comets completes the list.
Coach Ayodele Bakare from Comets is expected to head the technical crew and will be assisted by Coach Ahmed Sani from Kano Pillars and Ayinla Johnson from Union Bank with Samuel Ogbedimu as the doctor.
THE Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has invited 14 local players for camping ahead of the 2012 London Olympic qualifying tournament scheduled to hold in Venezuela in July.
Nigeria are eyeing one of the three places still available for the games and will be among the 12 sides trying to claim one of them in Caracas, Venezuela.
They will play in Group B against Lithuania, a team that has played at every Olympics since 1992, and hosts Venezuela. Players from Royal Hoopers of Port Harcourt dominated the list of players that are expected in camp which will be opened at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos from April 19- 22nd, 2012.
Royal Hoopers have four players namely: Dike Azuoma, Ohiero Michael Oko, Ojo Adeolu Olaiya and Onyeka Ekpete. Players called up from Kano Pillars are Usman Abubakar, Yusuf Ibrahim Adamu and Mathew Onmonya.
Dodan Warriors also produce three players and they are Yahaya Abdulwahab, Bukar Mohammed Biu and Akita Akpara. Others are Stanley Gumut from Nigerian Customs, Ikyaator Orsee from Lagos Islanders and Onyia Dalignton from Comets completes the list.
Coach Ayodele Bakare from Comets is expected to head the technical crew and will be assisted by Coach Ahmed Sani from Kano Pillars and Ayinla Johnson from Union Bank with Samuel Ogbedimu as the doctor.
Parker regrets confronting Mikel
By
TOTTENHAM Hotspur midfielder, Scott Parker says he would live to remember his confrontation with John Obi Mikel during Sunday’s FA Cup semi-finals 5-1 defeat to Chelsea at Wembley.
Parker said he saw red after his clash with the Nigeria midfielder, an incident he can only liken to David Beckham’s infamous lashing out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone at the 1998 World Cup, which led the former England skipper being sent off.
”That was the only thing that riled me up a little bit,” said Parker, who had to be restrained by Chelsea players after Mikel caught him and ended up with a caution by centre referee Martin Atkinson.
The 24-year-old Mikel can be tough with his tackles, but certainly not renowned for dishing out malicious types described by Parker.
For a player handed a deep midfield role, Mikel often finds himself doing the dirty of a gatekeeper, whose role is to mop up pressure in front of Chelsea backline.
Scott Parker
TOTTENHAM Hotspur midfielder, Scott Parker says he would live to remember his confrontation with John Obi Mikel during Sunday’s FA Cup semi-finals 5-1 defeat to Chelsea at Wembley.
Parker said he saw red after his clash with the Nigeria midfielder, an incident he can only liken to David Beckham’s infamous lashing out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone at the 1998 World Cup, which led the former England skipper being sent off.
”That was the only thing that riled me up a little bit,” said Parker, who had to be restrained by Chelsea players after Mikel caught him and ended up with a caution by centre referee Martin Atkinson.
The 24-year-old Mikel can be tough with his tackles, but certainly not renowned for dishing out malicious types described by Parker.
For a player handed a deep midfield role, Mikel often finds himself doing the dirty of a gatekeeper, whose role is to mop up pressure in front of Chelsea backline.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Police kill Prison Warder in Yenagoa, DPO, others arrested
Tragedy struck in Yenagoa on Sunday evening when an Inspector with the Nigeria Prisons Service, Mr Erezidor Ugo was allegedly killed by a policeman during a scuffle. The incident, according to an eyewitness, occurred opposite Wisdom Estate, along Nikton Road in the Kpansia suburb of Yenagoa, Bayelsa.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the deceased, was shot in his house while entertaining two of his colleagues, who came to felicitate with him for buying a new car.
A Police patrol team, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ekeki Division, Mr Nemi Iwoh, was said to have arrived the place in response to a distress call from the area, which reported gunshots being fired in the vicinity.
The police team was said to have noticed one of the Prison Warders carrying a gun and tried to disarm him, but he allegedly refused to hand over the gun and in the ensuing scuffle it went off and killed Ugo.
However, wife of the deceased, Mrs. Binafegha Ugo claimed that her husband was shot dead by the police in her presence and that of her six-year-old daughter.
Ugo, who was said to have been shot in the abdomen, was immediately rushed to the Glory Land Hospital, Ovom, where he died.
When NAN visited the hospital, the body of the deceased was found covered on a hospital bed with his relations and friends wailing.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eguavoen Emokpai confirmed the incident, saying all parties involved in the incident, including the DPO and a Prison Warder had been arrested.
NAN reports that the family of the deceased had at about 7 pm retrieved the corpse from the hospital and placed it at the entrance of the Police Command Headquarters, demanding for “justice”
Security had been beefed up in and around the police headquarters to avert any break down of law and order. (NAN)
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the deceased, was shot in his house while entertaining two of his colleagues, who came to felicitate with him for buying a new car.
A Police patrol team, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ekeki Division, Mr Nemi Iwoh, was said to have arrived the place in response to a distress call from the area, which reported gunshots being fired in the vicinity.
The police team was said to have noticed one of the Prison Warders carrying a gun and tried to disarm him, but he allegedly refused to hand over the gun and in the ensuing scuffle it went off and killed Ugo.
However, wife of the deceased, Mrs. Binafegha Ugo claimed that her husband was shot dead by the police in her presence and that of her six-year-old daughter.
Ugo, who was said to have been shot in the abdomen, was immediately rushed to the Glory Land Hospital, Ovom, where he died.
When NAN visited the hospital, the body of the deceased was found covered on a hospital bed with his relations and friends wailing.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eguavoen Emokpai confirmed the incident, saying all parties involved in the incident, including the DPO and a Prison Warder had been arrested.
NAN reports that the family of the deceased had at about 7 pm retrieved the corpse from the hospital and placed it at the entrance of the Police Command Headquarters, demanding for “justice”
Security had been beefed up in and around the police headquarters to avert any break down of law and order. (NAN)
Ibori jailed over $250m fraud
LONDON (AFP) - Former Delta state governor, Chief James Ibori was Tuesday jailed by a British court for 13 years on for his part in a $250 million fraud of state funds. James Ibori, 49, who was governor ofoil-rich Delta State between 1999 and 2007, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court in London.
Scotland Yard says that during his two terms as governor, Ibori “systematically stole funds from the public purse, secreting them in bank accounts across the world”, in a fraud worth $250 million.
In February, Ibori pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder money, five of money laundering and one of obtaining a property transfer by deception.
He also admitted conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to make false instruments, and one count of money laundering linked to a $37-million share fraud surrounding the sale of shares in Nigerian company V Mobile.
Ibori “deliberately and systematically defrauded the people whose interests he had been elected to represent”, said Sue Patten, head of Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service central fraud group.
Britain’s International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said corruption was a “cancer” in the developing world and the sentence sent a strong message to people eying Britain “as a refuge for their crimes”.
“We are committed to rooting out corruption wherever it is undermining development, and will help bring its perpetrators like Ibori to justice and return stolen funds to help the world’s poorest,” he said in a statement.
Details shortly
Chief James Ibori
In February, Ibori pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder money, five of money laundering and one of obtaining a property transfer by deception.
He also admitted conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to make false instruments, and one count of money laundering linked to a $37-million share fraud surrounding the sale of shares in Nigerian company V Mobile.
Ibori “deliberately and systematically defrauded the people whose interests he had been elected to represent”, said Sue Patten, head of Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service central fraud group.
Britain’s International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said corruption was a “cancer” in the developing world and the sentence sent a strong message to people eying Britain “as a refuge for their crimes”.
“We are committed to rooting out corruption wherever it is undermining development, and will help bring its perpetrators like Ibori to justice and return stolen funds to help the world’s poorest,” he said in a statement.
Details shortly
No regret over Ibori being sentenced, says Clark
By
SOUTHSOUTH leader Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark will be sad today if former governors James Ibori is sentenced. He, however, said he will not regret the development as it will server as deterrent to those with corruption tendencies in Delta. According to him, corruption is the greatest canker worm that have eating deep into the nation.
Clark, who spoke yesterday in his country Kiagbodo home, in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, told reporters that lbori’s criminal attitude has brought bad image to the state.
He said there was no way Nigeria can grow or develop because corruption has taken over in the judiciary and every sector of government, noting that corruption has become an industry which some concerned Nigerians have been trying to eradicate.
According to the elder statesman, Ibori would not have walked his way into trouble if he had not tried to become a power broker after leaving the office.
Clark said: “It was when lbori started to parade himself as a celebrity on the corridor of power during the administration of former president, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua’s and part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that we said no, this should not happen. And he even wanted to be the president, the whole issue amounted to his own attitude and he never stopped stealing even after he left office.
“lbori was still stealing from Delta state because after he left office his brother was still there. So, whatever he could not complete then, he was completing under his brother and there are many cases of such only that we do not want to embarrass the present government.”
On whether if the monies that were stolen by the lbori’s administration will be safe if they are return to the state government, Clark said that the funds stolen by the ex-governor and the property should be return to the state since they are still around.
“Since we are around nobody will tamper with the funds as we will see to it that they used for the development of state. So, we are not afraid and not worried, let the funds be brought to us.
“Those of us who fault for the conviction of lbori are still around and we don’t believe the present government will do anything to give the impression that he doesn’t want Delta to benefit from the money that belongs to it.
“We will monitor it because the money is coming through the Federal Government and at that stage we will ask the Federal Government to announce what came so that it will not be treated like General Abacha’s looted money.”
Clark lamented that Delta state has received more than since lbori and the present governor came into power, but yet there are no meaningful development or completed projects and even the Asaba Airport which is so vital to this state has not been completed, not even the Asaba/Ughelli dual carriage road that has been abandoned.
SOUTHSOUTH leader Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark will be sad today if former governors James Ibori is sentenced. He, however, said he will not regret the development as it will server as deterrent to those with corruption tendencies in Delta. According to him, corruption is the greatest canker worm that have eating deep into the nation.
Clark, who spoke yesterday in his country Kiagbodo home, in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, told reporters that lbori’s criminal attitude has brought bad image to the state.
He said there was no way Nigeria can grow or develop because corruption has taken over in the judiciary and every sector of government, noting that corruption has become an industry which some concerned Nigerians have been trying to eradicate.
According to the elder statesman, Ibori would not have walked his way into trouble if he had not tried to become a power broker after leaving the office.
Clark said: “It was when lbori started to parade himself as a celebrity on the corridor of power during the administration of former president, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua’s and part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that we said no, this should not happen. And he even wanted to be the president, the whole issue amounted to his own attitude and he never stopped stealing even after he left office.
“lbori was still stealing from Delta state because after he left office his brother was still there. So, whatever he could not complete then, he was completing under his brother and there are many cases of such only that we do not want to embarrass the present government.”
On whether if the monies that were stolen by the lbori’s administration will be safe if they are return to the state government, Clark said that the funds stolen by the ex-governor and the property should be return to the state since they are still around.
“Since we are around nobody will tamper with the funds as we will see to it that they used for the development of state. So, we are not afraid and not worried, let the funds be brought to us.
“Those of us who fault for the conviction of lbori are still around and we don’t believe the present government will do anything to give the impression that he doesn’t want Delta to benefit from the money that belongs to it.
“We will monitor it because the money is coming through the Federal Government and at that stage we will ask the Federal Government to announce what came so that it will not be treated like General Abacha’s looted money.”
Clark lamented that Delta state has received more than since lbori and the present governor came into power, but yet there are no meaningful development or completed projects and even the Asaba Airport which is so vital to this state has not been completed, not even the Asaba/Ughelli dual carriage road that has been abandoned.
Ibori gets his prize today
By 
All eyes are on the London's Southwark Crown Court, where former Delta State Governor James Onanefe Ibori will get his prize for a life of fraud. He will be sentenced.
In February, he admitted stealing tens of millions of pounds from the oil-rich Delta State so much that he became known as the ‘oil sheik’.
Less than two decades after he worked as an employee at the DIY store and few years after quitting his £5,000-a-year job as a cashier for Wickes, Ibori had become one of Nigeria’s most influential and richest politicians.
Before his emergence as governor, he was an ally of the military regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha. Not much was known of his life before his romance with the Abacha regime through Maj. Hamza al-Mustapha, Abacha’s Chief Secretary Officer (CSO). But not anymore. His story, from his days as s store keeper in the United Kingdom, to the time he returned home and his tenure as governor are now open books, being read by all. It is now an open secret that he used a false date of birth to conceal previous convictions in the United Kingdom when he ran for governorship.
Antony Goldman, a journalist who worked in Nigeria, said Ibori offered services to Abacha. Goldman said: “He had an unspecified role in security. That could be anything, it was a very murky business.”
He said in the mid-1990s, Ibori was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in the United States (US) about how he came into the possession of millions of dollars that he transferred to accounts in the US.
The FBI, he said, suspected the money came from advance fee fraud and was able to prove the money came from his work with Abacha.
Ibori, whose address in England was given as Primrose Hill in North London, worked as a cashier in a branch of a DIY store in Ruislip, Middlesex and was found guilty of stealing goods from the Wickes store. He was caught by his employer allowing his wife, Theresa, walk through the till he was manning without paying for goods. They both pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court and were fined. In 1992, he was convicted for possession of a stolen credit card, which had £1,000 spent on it, and was again fined.
He knew his past could catch up with him. So, in 1999, when Ibori took out a mortgage on a property in Abbey Road, London, he got a new passport with a false birth date to mask his previous convictions. The birth date he chose was only a month after his sister’s birthday, which the prosecution told the court was medically impossible. He paid off the house immediately he became governor.
The decision of the court today will help the British government decide what to do with Ibori’s multi-billion naira assets in the UK. Will they be confiscated or returned to Nigeria? Today’s judjment will determine. His eralier guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to defraud lessened the burden of the court.
Ibori, 49, admitted stealing money from Delta State and laundering it in London through a number of offshore companies. Ibori admitted to fraud totalling more than $79 million, said to be part of total embezzlement that could exceed $250 milion.
Investigation revealed he bought six properties in London, including a six-bedroom house with indoor pool in Hampstead for £2.2 million and a flat opposite the nearby Abbey Road recording studios.
He also bought a property in Dorset, a £3.2 million mansion in South Africa and further real estate in Nigeria.
Prosecution said he owned a fleet of armoured Range Rovers costing £600,000 and a £120,000 Bentley. On one of his several trips to London, he was said to have bought a Mercedes Maybach for over £300,000 at a dealer on Park Lane and shipped it to South Africa.
He also bought a private jet for £12million, spent £126,000 a month on his credit cards and ran up a £15,000 bill for a two-day stay at the Lanesborough hotel in London.
Prosecutor Sasha Wass told the court Ibori had accepted he was involved in “wide-scale theft, fraud and corruption when he was governor of Delta State”.
Wass added: “Mr Ibori tricked his way into public office. He had tricked the Nigerian authorities and the Nigerian voters. He was thus never the legitimate governor of Delta State. He was never the legitimate governor and there was effectively a thief in government house. As the pretender of that public office, he was able to plunder Delta State’s wealth and hand out patronage.”
Detective Inspector Paul Whatmore of the Metropolitan Police said: “We are pleased with today’s guilty pleas which mark the culmination of a seven-year inquiry into James Ibori’s corrupt activities. We will now be actively seeking the confiscation of all of his stolen assets so they can be repatriated for the benefit of the people of Delta State.
“It is always rewarding for anyone working on a proceeds of corruption case to know that the stolen funds they identify will eventually be returned to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.”
Prosecution said as governor, Ibori racked up credit card bills of $200,000 monthly and owned a fleet of armoured Range Rovers. He was trying to buy a plane for £20 million at the time he was arrested.
The ex-governor’s wife, Theresa, sister, Christine Ibori-Idie, mistress, Udoamaka Okoronkwo, and London-based solicitor Bhadresh Gohil were earlier convicted of money-laundering.
His ‘travail’ was funded by the Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) at a cost of approximately £750,000 a year. The Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption unit (POCU) began investigating Ibori in 2005, collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC).
He was arrested by the EFCC in December 2007, but two years later a court in Asaba, dismissed the charges, saying there was not enough evidence. The case was reopened in April 2010; Ibori fled to Dubai United Arab Emirate (UDE) where he was detained at the request of the Metropolitan Police and extradited to the UK last April.
Britain’s International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said: “We are committed to rooting out corruption wherever it is undermining development, and will help bring its perpetrators like Ibori to justice and return stolen funds to help the world’s poorest.
Mitchell said: “Funding investigations such as these help to recover valuable stolen funds which can be returned to Nigeria to be used for development. Doing this is making a major contribution to Nigeria’s development, on a scale far in excess of the cost of the investigation itself. It is good value for Nigeria and for the British taxpayer.”
Ibori
Since he left the Government House, Asaba on May 29, 2007 as a two-term governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori has been facing corruption-related litigations. Though he was discharged and acquitted of all corruption charges by a Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, it has been a different ball game at a London Southwark Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. The court will today sentence Ibori, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU
All eyes are on the London's Southwark Crown Court, where former Delta State Governor James Onanefe Ibori will get his prize for a life of fraud. He will be sentenced.
In February, he admitted stealing tens of millions of pounds from the oil-rich Delta State so much that he became known as the ‘oil sheik’.
Less than two decades after he worked as an employee at the DIY store and few years after quitting his £5,000-a-year job as a cashier for Wickes, Ibori had become one of Nigeria’s most influential and richest politicians.
Before his emergence as governor, he was an ally of the military regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha. Not much was known of his life before his romance with the Abacha regime through Maj. Hamza al-Mustapha, Abacha’s Chief Secretary Officer (CSO). But not anymore. His story, from his days as s store keeper in the United Kingdom, to the time he returned home and his tenure as governor are now open books, being read by all. It is now an open secret that he used a false date of birth to conceal previous convictions in the United Kingdom when he ran for governorship.
Antony Goldman, a journalist who worked in Nigeria, said Ibori offered services to Abacha. Goldman said: “He had an unspecified role in security. That could be anything, it was a very murky business.”
He said in the mid-1990s, Ibori was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in the United States (US) about how he came into the possession of millions of dollars that he transferred to accounts in the US.
The FBI, he said, suspected the money came from advance fee fraud and was able to prove the money came from his work with Abacha.
Ibori, whose address in England was given as Primrose Hill in North London, worked as a cashier in a branch of a DIY store in Ruislip, Middlesex and was found guilty of stealing goods from the Wickes store. He was caught by his employer allowing his wife, Theresa, walk through the till he was manning without paying for goods. They both pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court and were fined. In 1992, he was convicted for possession of a stolen credit card, which had £1,000 spent on it, and was again fined.
He knew his past could catch up with him. So, in 1999, when Ibori took out a mortgage on a property in Abbey Road, London, he got a new passport with a false birth date to mask his previous convictions. The birth date he chose was only a month after his sister’s birthday, which the prosecution told the court was medically impossible. He paid off the house immediately he became governor.
The decision of the court today will help the British government decide what to do with Ibori’s multi-billion naira assets in the UK. Will they be confiscated or returned to Nigeria? Today’s judjment will determine. His eralier guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to defraud lessened the burden of the court.
Ibori, 49, admitted stealing money from Delta State and laundering it in London through a number of offshore companies. Ibori admitted to fraud totalling more than $79 million, said to be part of total embezzlement that could exceed $250 milion.
Investigation revealed he bought six properties in London, including a six-bedroom house with indoor pool in Hampstead for £2.2 million and a flat opposite the nearby Abbey Road recording studios.
He also bought a property in Dorset, a £3.2 million mansion in South Africa and further real estate in Nigeria.
Prosecution said he owned a fleet of armoured Range Rovers costing £600,000 and a £120,000 Bentley. On one of his several trips to London, he was said to have bought a Mercedes Maybach for over £300,000 at a dealer on Park Lane and shipped it to South Africa.
He also bought a private jet for £12million, spent £126,000 a month on his credit cards and ran up a £15,000 bill for a two-day stay at the Lanesborough hotel in London.
Prosecutor Sasha Wass told the court Ibori had accepted he was involved in “wide-scale theft, fraud and corruption when he was governor of Delta State”.
Wass added: “Mr Ibori tricked his way into public office. He had tricked the Nigerian authorities and the Nigerian voters. He was thus never the legitimate governor of Delta State. He was never the legitimate governor and there was effectively a thief in government house. As the pretender of that public office, he was able to plunder Delta State’s wealth and hand out patronage.”
Detective Inspector Paul Whatmore of the Metropolitan Police said: “We are pleased with today’s guilty pleas which mark the culmination of a seven-year inquiry into James Ibori’s corrupt activities. We will now be actively seeking the confiscation of all of his stolen assets so they can be repatriated for the benefit of the people of Delta State.
“It is always rewarding for anyone working on a proceeds of corruption case to know that the stolen funds they identify will eventually be returned to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.”
Prosecution said as governor, Ibori racked up credit card bills of $200,000 monthly and owned a fleet of armoured Range Rovers. He was trying to buy a plane for £20 million at the time he was arrested.
The ex-governor’s wife, Theresa, sister, Christine Ibori-Idie, mistress, Udoamaka Okoronkwo, and London-based solicitor Bhadresh Gohil were earlier convicted of money-laundering.
His ‘travail’ was funded by the Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) at a cost of approximately £750,000 a year. The Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption unit (POCU) began investigating Ibori in 2005, collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC).
He was arrested by the EFCC in December 2007, but two years later a court in Asaba, dismissed the charges, saying there was not enough evidence. The case was reopened in April 2010; Ibori fled to Dubai United Arab Emirate (UDE) where he was detained at the request of the Metropolitan Police and extradited to the UK last April.
Britain’s International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said: “We are committed to rooting out corruption wherever it is undermining development, and will help bring its perpetrators like Ibori to justice and return stolen funds to help the world’s poorest.
Mitchell said: “Funding investigations such as these help to recover valuable stolen funds which can be returned to Nigeria to be used for development. Doing this is making a major contribution to Nigeria’s development, on a scale far in excess of the cost of the investigation itself. It is good value for Nigeria and for the British taxpayer.”
US candidate Kim is World Bank president
By 
American Jim Yong Kim was last night named as World Bank President. The Dartmouth College’s president was picked after an unprecedented competition against nominees from Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria and Dr. Jose Ochampo from Columbia, who withdrew at the last minute.
The bank board confirmed the decision in a statement. Kim will now be the institution’s 12th president to succeed Robert Zoellick when his five-year term ends in June.The Board expressed its deep gratitude for Mr Zoellick’s outstanding leadership and his dedication to reducing poverty in its member countries, the core mandate of the World Bank Group.
A statement by the World Bank said: "The Executive Directors followed the new selection process agreed in 2011 which, for the first time in the Bank’s history, yielded multiple nominees. This process included an open nomination where any national of the Bank’s membership could be proposed by any Executive Director or Governor, publication of the names of the candidates, interviews of the candidates by the Executive Directors, and final selection of the President."
It added: "We, the Executive Directors, wish to express our deep appreciation to all the nominees, Jim Yong Kim, José Antonio Ocampo and Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Their candidacies enriched the discussion of the role of the President and of the World Bank Group’s future direction. The final nominees received support from different member countries, which reflected the high calibre of the candidates. We all look forward to working with Dr. Kim when he assumes his responsibilities.
"Dr. Jim Yong Kim is currently President of Dartmouth College. A U.S. national. He is a co-founder of Partners in Health (PIH) and a former director of the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organisation (WHO). Before assuming the Dartmouth presidency, Dr. Kim held professorships at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. He also served as chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and director of the François Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health."
In a statement after his election, Dr. Kim said he had spoken with Okonjo-Iweala and Prof. Ocampo. He said they have both made important contributions to economic development, and I look forward to drawing on their expertise in the years to come.
Meanwhile,President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has congratulated Dr. kim on his election as the new President of the World Bank. President Jonathan also thanked the leaders, governments, peoples and friends of developing countries, as well as the media and other civil society groups, for the support and encouragement given to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.
Okonjo-Iweala, who had earlier said she was pressured to withdraw from the race but she declined, also congratulated Dr Kim on his election as the World Bank President.
She said she looked forward to working with Dr Kim and would support him, staff and stakeholders of the World Bank Group for the benefit of poor people around the world, "their plight is at the heart of the mandate of the institution and we must never lose sight of that."
On the selection process, she insisted that "we need to make it more open, transparent and merit-based to make sure we do not contribute to a democratic deficit in global governance."
Jim Yong Kim
• Promises to draw on Nigerian, Columbian candidates’ expertise • Jonathan, Okonjo-Iweala congratulate him
American Jim Yong Kim was last night named as World Bank President. The Dartmouth College’s president was picked after an unprecedented competition against nominees from Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria and Dr. Jose Ochampo from Columbia, who withdrew at the last minute.
The bank board confirmed the decision in a statement. Kim will now be the institution’s 12th president to succeed Robert Zoellick when his five-year term ends in June.The Board expressed its deep gratitude for Mr Zoellick’s outstanding leadership and his dedication to reducing poverty in its member countries, the core mandate of the World Bank Group.
A statement by the World Bank said: "The Executive Directors followed the new selection process agreed in 2011 which, for the first time in the Bank’s history, yielded multiple nominees. This process included an open nomination where any national of the Bank’s membership could be proposed by any Executive Director or Governor, publication of the names of the candidates, interviews of the candidates by the Executive Directors, and final selection of the President."
It added: "We, the Executive Directors, wish to express our deep appreciation to all the nominees, Jim Yong Kim, José Antonio Ocampo and Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Their candidacies enriched the discussion of the role of the President and of the World Bank Group’s future direction. The final nominees received support from different member countries, which reflected the high calibre of the candidates. We all look forward to working with Dr. Kim when he assumes his responsibilities.
"Dr. Jim Yong Kim is currently President of Dartmouth College. A U.S. national. He is a co-founder of Partners in Health (PIH) and a former director of the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organisation (WHO). Before assuming the Dartmouth presidency, Dr. Kim held professorships at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. He also served as chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and director of the François Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health."
In a statement after his election, Dr. Kim said he had spoken with Okonjo-Iweala and Prof. Ocampo. He said they have both made important contributions to economic development, and I look forward to drawing on their expertise in the years to come.
Meanwhile,President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has congratulated Dr. kim on his election as the new President of the World Bank. President Jonathan also thanked the leaders, governments, peoples and friends of developing countries, as well as the media and other civil society groups, for the support and encouragement given to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.
Okonjo-Iweala, who had earlier said she was pressured to withdraw from the race but she declined, also congratulated Dr Kim on his election as the World Bank President.
She said she looked forward to working with Dr Kim and would support him, staff and stakeholders of the World Bank Group for the benefit of poor people around the world, "their plight is at the heart of the mandate of the institution and we must never lose sight of that."
On the selection process, she insisted that "we need to make it more open, transparent and merit-based to make sure we do not contribute to a democratic deficit in global governance."
N26b Police pension cash in five banks
By 
The Senate Committee probing the funds’ management also heard yesterday that the Chairman, Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, spends over N9 million monthly on security.
As the Senator Aloysius Etok-led investigative panel on Management of Pension Funds resumed sitting, seven bank chief executives appeared before the committee to clarify the allegation that some banks were conduit pipes to launder pension cash.
Director, Police Pension Office, Mr. Toyin Ishola, who disclosed the whereabouts of the controversial police pension funds, gave the breakdown of the amount traced to the five banks.
He listed Fidelity Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), ECO Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) and First Bank as the banks the funds were domiciled.
Ishola said that Fidelity Bank, UBA and Ecobank each holds N8billion. GTB has N2billion and First Bank N10 billion.
He said the Police Pension Office was working hard to locate N6 billion balance.
Only the Executive Director of Ecobank, Mr. Segun Jafia, who represented his bank, disputed the N3billion said to have been deposited in his bank.
Though Jafia agreed that Ecobank is one of the bankers of the police pensioners, he said the bank is only a paying bank. He admitted that N4 billion was paid into the police pension for payment of pensioners.
Jafia noted that the money had gone into paying police pensioners, leaving a balance of N200 million.
The Ecobank ED said the bank is one of the bankers of the Head of Service pension office.
Diamond Bank Acting Managing Director Mr. Oladele Akinyemi said it was not possible to give one account number to more than one person.
He said his bank does not have any codified account or any account with the name “Chairman”.
The committee mandated the bank to furnish it with details of the accounts of Police Pension, Head of Service, Custom, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office (CIPPO).
GTB Managing Director Mr. Segun Agbaje told the committee that the police pension account was opened on April 6, 2011, with a deposit of N3billion and closed on June 30, 2011.
He told the panelists that the Accountant General’s letter of authorisation to open the account was received on March 2, 2011.
Agbaje said N3billion was deposit placement done in a person’s name and withdrawal usually done by the same person.
He said the money came in form of Electronic Fund Transfer.
The GTB boss said N2b was later transferred to Ecobank on instruction.
Agbaje said the interest accrued to the account was N924,000.
He said the bank was directed on June 30, 2011 to close the account and transfer the money to a new account. The balance in the account is N1.1 billion.
Executive Director of First Bank, Kehinde Lawanson, said the bank was asked to reconcile 14 accounts.
Lawanson said FirstBank found out that five accounts were duplicated.
He added that essentially “we are dealing with nine accounts”.
On whether the bank assigned one account number to four individuals, Lawanson noted that “it is extremely improbable to give one account number to more than one person”.
On some deposits which the committee described as “unusual lodgments” totalling about N44.9 million, Lawanson said if it discovered any form of unusual lodgment of funds, the bank has a procedure to report to the appropriate authorities as specified in the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
He said his bank reported unusual lodgments whenever applicable.
He explained that in the case of Electronic Fund Transfer, once the account number and code are correct, it becomes automatic credit.
Fidelity Bank Executive Director I. K. Mbagwu told the committee that the bank received a request from the Police Reform Task Team to open an account on August 9, 2011 and N6 billion was lodged.
Mbagwu who said the money is still with the bank.
The banker described the account as a “memorandum account”, saying it existed as a “memorandum account” until the authorisation to open the account came from the Accountant General’s office.
He said the account became active only when the Accountant General’s office authorised its opening on August 17, 2011.
Mbagwu said N2billion was paid into the account on August 17, leaving a balance of N8 billion.
On the claim by the Pension Reform Task Team that it recovered N31 billion, he noted that N31 billion could not have been recovered since the money was in the Police Pension account.
Former Head of Service Prof. Afolabi Oladapo also said it was a false claim for the Pension Task Team to have said that it recovered six million pounds.
He said: “It was a false claim to say that six million pounds was recovered. Nothing was recovered because nothing was lost in the first place.”
He said the six million pounds was an investment account domiciled in the United Kingdom.
On the security of the Pension Reform Task Team leader, Maina, Ishola said they were told that Maina made himself inaccessible to pensioners by the surrounding himself with over 42 security agents drawn from the riot police, State Security Service (SSS), the Customs and Prisons Service.
Ishola said they were also told that Maina spends over N9 million monthly on security.
Chairman, Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina
Of the N32billion Police Pension Fund cash, N26 billion has been traced to five banks.The Senate Committee probing the funds’ management also heard yesterday that the Chairman, Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, spends over N9 million monthly on security.
As the Senator Aloysius Etok-led investigative panel on Management of Pension Funds resumed sitting, seven bank chief executives appeared before the committee to clarify the allegation that some banks were conduit pipes to launder pension cash.
Director, Police Pension Office, Mr. Toyin Ishola, who disclosed the whereabouts of the controversial police pension funds, gave the breakdown of the amount traced to the five banks.
He listed Fidelity Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), ECO Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) and First Bank as the banks the funds were domiciled.
Ishola said that Fidelity Bank, UBA and Ecobank each holds N8billion. GTB has N2billion and First Bank N10 billion.
He said the Police Pension Office was working hard to locate N6 billion balance.
Only the Executive Director of Ecobank, Mr. Segun Jafia, who represented his bank, disputed the N3billion said to have been deposited in his bank.
Though Jafia agreed that Ecobank is one of the bankers of the police pensioners, he said the bank is only a paying bank. He admitted that N4 billion was paid into the police pension for payment of pensioners.
Jafia noted that the money had gone into paying police pensioners, leaving a balance of N200 million.
The Ecobank ED said the bank is one of the bankers of the Head of Service pension office.
Diamond Bank Acting Managing Director Mr. Oladele Akinyemi said it was not possible to give one account number to more than one person.
He said his bank does not have any codified account or any account with the name “Chairman”.
The committee mandated the bank to furnish it with details of the accounts of Police Pension, Head of Service, Custom, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office (CIPPO).
GTB Managing Director Mr. Segun Agbaje told the committee that the police pension account was opened on April 6, 2011, with a deposit of N3billion and closed on June 30, 2011.
He told the panelists that the Accountant General’s letter of authorisation to open the account was received on March 2, 2011.
Agbaje said N3billion was deposit placement done in a person’s name and withdrawal usually done by the same person.
He said the money came in form of Electronic Fund Transfer.
The GTB boss said N2b was later transferred to Ecobank on instruction.
Agbaje said the interest accrued to the account was N924,000.
He said the bank was directed on June 30, 2011 to close the account and transfer the money to a new account. The balance in the account is N1.1 billion.
Executive Director of First Bank, Kehinde Lawanson, said the bank was asked to reconcile 14 accounts.
Lawanson said FirstBank found out that five accounts were duplicated.
He added that essentially “we are dealing with nine accounts”.
On whether the bank assigned one account number to four individuals, Lawanson noted that “it is extremely improbable to give one account number to more than one person”.
On some deposits which the committee described as “unusual lodgments” totalling about N44.9 million, Lawanson said if it discovered any form of unusual lodgment of funds, the bank has a procedure to report to the appropriate authorities as specified in the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
He said his bank reported unusual lodgments whenever applicable.
He explained that in the case of Electronic Fund Transfer, once the account number and code are correct, it becomes automatic credit.
Fidelity Bank Executive Director I. K. Mbagwu told the committee that the bank received a request from the Police Reform Task Team to open an account on August 9, 2011 and N6 billion was lodged.
Mbagwu who said the money is still with the bank.
The banker described the account as a “memorandum account”, saying it existed as a “memorandum account” until the authorisation to open the account came from the Accountant General’s office.
He said the account became active only when the Accountant General’s office authorised its opening on August 17, 2011.
Mbagwu said N2billion was paid into the account on August 17, leaving a balance of N8 billion.
On the claim by the Pension Reform Task Team that it recovered N31 billion, he noted that N31 billion could not have been recovered since the money was in the Police Pension account.
Former Head of Service Prof. Afolabi Oladapo also said it was a false claim for the Pension Task Team to have said that it recovered six million pounds.
He said: “It was a false claim to say that six million pounds was recovered. Nothing was recovered because nothing was lost in the first place.”
He said the six million pounds was an investment account domiciled in the United Kingdom.
On the security of the Pension Reform Task Team leader, Maina, Ishola said they were told that Maina made himself inaccessible to pensioners by the surrounding himself with over 42 security agents drawn from the riot police, State Security Service (SSS), the Customs and Prisons Service.
Ishola said they were also told that Maina spends over N9 million monthly on security.
69 oil marketers to refund N241.247b petrol subsidy
By 
Besides the illegal cash they got last year, 46 companies did not pay taxes, according to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
The committee established that N1.692trillion was paid as subsidy last year.
But stakeholders in the industry, including some oil majors, are insisting that the probe ought to be from 1999 to date.
Besides, the presentation of the report today by the committee has assumed ethnic dimension with a group, the South-South Youth Caucus, accusing the North of plotting to undermine President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
The Farouk Lawan-led committee discovered that disqualified subsidy claims by 69 companies amounted to N241.247 billion.
Some of the companies are: Acorn Plc, Alminnur Resources Ltd, AMG Petro-Energy Ltd, Anosyke Group of companies Ltd, Ascon Oil & Gas Company, Avant Garde Energy, A-Z Petroleum, CAH Resources Association Ltd, Conoil Plc, Crust Energy Ltd, Downstream Energy Source Ltd, Dozzy Oil and Gas Ltd, Duport Marine Ltd, Eco-Regen Ltd, Eurafic Oil and Coastal Services Ltd, and First Deep water Discovery Ltd.
Others are: Frado International Ltd, Fresh Synergy Ltd, Heyden Petroleum, Ibafon Oil Ltd, Imad Oil & Gas Ltd, Integrated Resources Ltd, Ipman Investment Ltd, Knightsbridge, Linetrale Oil supply and Trading Company, Lingo Oil & Gas Company Ltd, Lloyds Energy Ltd, Lottoj Oil & Gas Ltd, Maizube Petroleum Ltd, Matrix Energy Oil & Gas Ltd, Menol Oil & Gas Ltd.
The report of the committee reads in part: “Discharges that suffered one or more of the above infractions were adjudged not sustainable and, therefore, not good enough to attract any subsidy. The disqualified claims to subsidy amount to N241.247billion.
“The associated PMS volumes of 3,453,690,070 litres are, therefore, deductible from the annual mass volume, with a view to determining the appropriate volume of consumption.
“These defective transactions should be further investigated by the EFCC to ensure that all those who collected unmerited subsidy are made to refund the amounts collected.”
The committee asked the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to account for over N213.678billion being excess subsidy payments in 2009 and 2010.
The report added: “The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) should account for N213.678billion being total of excess payments made by it over and above what the PPPRA identified as paid in 2009 and 2010. The OAGF is not only responsible for the accounts of the Federation, including the Petroleum Subsidy Funds (PSF) and Domestic Crude Account, but refused to provide further details on the account when requested to do so during the public hearing.
“EFCC and ICPC should ensure that the OAGF accounts for the over-recovery figures of NGN 2.766billion and NGN5.27billion.”
The panel faulted alleged conflicting figures from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
It said: “NNPC had two sources of recovery of its subsidy viz: (i) Direct deductions from Domestic Crude receipts accruable to the Federation. (ii) Payment by CBN through deduction from distributable revenues as per the Federation Account Component Statement.
“NNPC, in its submission, claimed to have earned N586 billion as subsidy from the supply of 7,576,726, 157 litres of PMS in 2011.
“However by PPPRA’s presentation, NNPC was paid a subsidy of N667.533billion for supplying 5,470,007,111 litres of PMS.
“By CBN’s presentation, NNPC was paid N844.944billion as subsidy in 2011. In addition to CBN’s payment of N844.944billion as represented on the Federation Account Component Statement, NNPC made a direct deduction of N847.942billion as subsidy in 2011, bringing all claims to N1.692 trillion.”
On the jump in subsidy to N1.6trillion in 2011, the Lawan committee said the PPPRA’s argument that it was due to computed arrears was untenable and illegal.
It said: “PPPRA, in its presentation to the House of Representatives, had hinted that the noticeable upsurge in subsidy payment in 2011 was due not only to increase in subsidy per litre but also due
to the computed arrears due NNPC for HHK discharges. This was established from NNPC’s submission to be N284.580billion.
“This payment of subsidy arrears on HHK was an illegality, having been proscribed by a presidential directive in 2009. NNPC was stopped from further collecting subsidy on HHK. The corporation abided by the presidential directive but unilaterally reversed the situation without any counter directive or order from the President.”
Following the leakage of the report, some stakeholders in the oil industry met last night in Abuja ahead of its presentation today.
After the session in a posh hotel, one of the stakeholders, who spoke in confidence, said: “For Nigerians to know the truth about fuel subsidy, we are demanding that the House should extend the probe to subsidy payment since 1999 or pre-1999 era.
“That is the only condition the report can be acceptable or credible. They cannot make those who imported fuel from 2009 to 2011 scapegoats. We want fairness for all.
“Nigeria can only clean its oil industry, if there is a comprehensive inquiry into the subsidy management since 1999 or before 1999.”
The Coordinator of the Southsouth Youth Caucus, David Osaro, in a statement last night, said: “The North wants to use the House of Representatives probe to bring down Jonathan’s government.
“It has become very clear that the current House of Representatives probe of the petroleum industry and the deregulation of the downstream sector is nothing but a subtle plot by the North to discredit and ultimately bring down the Jonathan administration.
“It is very evident that in order to achieve their aim, the North quickly cashed in on the fuel subsidy removal issue, and due to its sensitivity, everything was put in place to actualise their plans of truncating this administration. Otherwise, how else do you explain the fact that a probe into the activities of the oil industry should have predated the current administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan?
“Even more curious is the fact that similar probes in the past have not yielded anything that the ordinary Nigerian can be proud of, both in terms of findings and implementation of probe reports. Ordinarily, it would have been taken for granted that the House of Representatives panel may find nothing actually incriminating against the current government of Mr. President but the manner in which the House is going about it truly leaves much to be desired, in terms of its sincerity.
“If tradition is also anything to go by, it may be pertinent to state that the North is trying to use the House of Representatives to achieve its plan of shifting the power equation back to the North. If this were not the case, how then do you rationalise the failure of the House to actually extend the probe to also include the oil industry from 2009 till date?”
Hon Lawan
Stakeholders seek probe from 1999
The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy has asked 69 oil marketers to refund N241.247billion.Besides the illegal cash they got last year, 46 companies did not pay taxes, according to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
The committee established that N1.692trillion was paid as subsidy last year.
But stakeholders in the industry, including some oil majors, are insisting that the probe ought to be from 1999 to date.
Besides, the presentation of the report today by the committee has assumed ethnic dimension with a group, the South-South Youth Caucus, accusing the North of plotting to undermine President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
The Farouk Lawan-led committee discovered that disqualified subsidy claims by 69 companies amounted to N241.247 billion.
Some of the companies are: Acorn Plc, Alminnur Resources Ltd, AMG Petro-Energy Ltd, Anosyke Group of companies Ltd, Ascon Oil & Gas Company, Avant Garde Energy, A-Z Petroleum, CAH Resources Association Ltd, Conoil Plc, Crust Energy Ltd, Downstream Energy Source Ltd, Dozzy Oil and Gas Ltd, Duport Marine Ltd, Eco-Regen Ltd, Eurafic Oil and Coastal Services Ltd, and First Deep water Discovery Ltd.
Others are: Frado International Ltd, Fresh Synergy Ltd, Heyden Petroleum, Ibafon Oil Ltd, Imad Oil & Gas Ltd, Integrated Resources Ltd, Ipman Investment Ltd, Knightsbridge, Linetrale Oil supply and Trading Company, Lingo Oil & Gas Company Ltd, Lloyds Energy Ltd, Lottoj Oil & Gas Ltd, Maizube Petroleum Ltd, Matrix Energy Oil & Gas Ltd, Menol Oil & Gas Ltd.
The report of the committee reads in part: “Discharges that suffered one or more of the above infractions were adjudged not sustainable and, therefore, not good enough to attract any subsidy. The disqualified claims to subsidy amount to N241.247billion.
“The associated PMS volumes of 3,453,690,070 litres are, therefore, deductible from the annual mass volume, with a view to determining the appropriate volume of consumption.
“These defective transactions should be further investigated by the EFCC to ensure that all those who collected unmerited subsidy are made to refund the amounts collected.”
The committee asked the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to account for over N213.678billion being excess subsidy payments in 2009 and 2010.
The report added: “The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) should account for N213.678billion being total of excess payments made by it over and above what the PPPRA identified as paid in 2009 and 2010. The OAGF is not only responsible for the accounts of the Federation, including the Petroleum Subsidy Funds (PSF) and Domestic Crude Account, but refused to provide further details on the account when requested to do so during the public hearing.
“EFCC and ICPC should ensure that the OAGF accounts for the over-recovery figures of NGN 2.766billion and NGN5.27billion.”
The panel faulted alleged conflicting figures from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
It said: “NNPC had two sources of recovery of its subsidy viz: (i) Direct deductions from Domestic Crude receipts accruable to the Federation. (ii) Payment by CBN through deduction from distributable revenues as per the Federation Account Component Statement.
“NNPC, in its submission, claimed to have earned N586 billion as subsidy from the supply of 7,576,726, 157 litres of PMS in 2011.
“However by PPPRA’s presentation, NNPC was paid a subsidy of N667.533billion for supplying 5,470,007,111 litres of PMS.
“By CBN’s presentation, NNPC was paid N844.944billion as subsidy in 2011. In addition to CBN’s payment of N844.944billion as represented on the Federation Account Component Statement, NNPC made a direct deduction of N847.942billion as subsidy in 2011, bringing all claims to N1.692 trillion.”
On the jump in subsidy to N1.6trillion in 2011, the Lawan committee said the PPPRA’s argument that it was due to computed arrears was untenable and illegal.
It said: “PPPRA, in its presentation to the House of Representatives, had hinted that the noticeable upsurge in subsidy payment in 2011 was due not only to increase in subsidy per litre but also due
to the computed arrears due NNPC for HHK discharges. This was established from NNPC’s submission to be N284.580billion.
“This payment of subsidy arrears on HHK was an illegality, having been proscribed by a presidential directive in 2009. NNPC was stopped from further collecting subsidy on HHK. The corporation abided by the presidential directive but unilaterally reversed the situation without any counter directive or order from the President.”
Following the leakage of the report, some stakeholders in the oil industry met last night in Abuja ahead of its presentation today.
After the session in a posh hotel, one of the stakeholders, who spoke in confidence, said: “For Nigerians to know the truth about fuel subsidy, we are demanding that the House should extend the probe to subsidy payment since 1999 or pre-1999 era.
“That is the only condition the report can be acceptable or credible. They cannot make those who imported fuel from 2009 to 2011 scapegoats. We want fairness for all.
“Nigeria can only clean its oil industry, if there is a comprehensive inquiry into the subsidy management since 1999 or before 1999.”
The Coordinator of the Southsouth Youth Caucus, David Osaro, in a statement last night, said: “The North wants to use the House of Representatives probe to bring down Jonathan’s government.
“It has become very clear that the current House of Representatives probe of the petroleum industry and the deregulation of the downstream sector is nothing but a subtle plot by the North to discredit and ultimately bring down the Jonathan administration.
“It is very evident that in order to achieve their aim, the North quickly cashed in on the fuel subsidy removal issue, and due to its sensitivity, everything was put in place to actualise their plans of truncating this administration. Otherwise, how else do you explain the fact that a probe into the activities of the oil industry should have predated the current administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan?
“Even more curious is the fact that similar probes in the past have not yielded anything that the ordinary Nigerian can be proud of, both in terms of findings and implementation of probe reports. Ordinarily, it would have been taken for granted that the House of Representatives panel may find nothing actually incriminating against the current government of Mr. President but the manner in which the House is going about it truly leaves much to be desired, in terms of its sincerity.
“If tradition is also anything to go by, it may be pertinent to state that the North is trying to use the House of Representatives to achieve its plan of shifting the power equation back to the North. If this were not the case, how then do you rationalise the failure of the House to actually extend the probe to also include the oil industry from 2009 till date?”
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