MEDIA Rights Agenda, MRA has on Tuesday condemned the apparent blocking of three websites associated with #EndSARS protests in Nigeria.
The websites, www.feministcoalition2020.com, www.endsars.com, and www.radioisiaq.com, became inaccessible from Nigeria over the past few days but have remained accessible from other countries, a clear indication that they are being blocked only in Nigeria.
In a statement by Chioma Nwaodike, Head of MRA’s Legal Department, issued by Idowu Adewale Communication Officer in Lagos, described the action as a brazen and unjustifiable violation of the right to freedom of expression of the operators of the websites and other Nigerians who get information from the platforms.
Chioma contended that the blocking of the websites was illegal and a clear violation of the norms and standards established under international human rights law for the application of any limitation on the right to freedom of expression, particularly as the blocking of websites is not authorized by any law in Nigeria, no legitimate basis for such blocking has been established while the wholesale blocking of the websites cannot be a proportionate response to any offensive content that any of them may have published.
She noted that as a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Nigeria is bound by Article 19 of the instrument which requires that any restriction on the right to freedom of expression must be prescribed by law, pursue a legitimate aim, as well as necessary and proportional.
She accused the Nigerian Government of going down a frightening path by adopting such a highhanded measure of maintaining an information blackout in a supposedly democratic country in an effort to prevent citizens and other members of the public from receiving or having access to information that is critical of the government or that portrays the government in negative light, saying that is a usual feature of governments that are leaning towards extreme dictatorship.
Nwaodike argued that even if the operators of the websites have committed any offence, by blocking the websites without reference to the courts or the due process of law, the Nigerian government has constituted itself into an accuser, judge and executioner in violation of the rights to freedom of expression and fair hearing, guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution as well as regional and international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a party.
She said if the Government believes that any person or organization has committed an offense under any law in Nigeria, the proper thing for it to do is to bring the person or organization before a court of competent jurisdiction and not to resort to taking the laws into its own hands in total disregard for the constitutional rights of its citizens and the rule of law.
However, she charged the Nigerian Government to uphold its international commitments as a State Party to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the ICCPR and urged it to commit itself to following due process of the law.
MANY decades hence, memories of the youths’ October protests, tagged #EndSARS, and the rage that came on its heels would continue to haunt Nigerian leaders. Not only for its smooth handling and coordination by the organisers but by the massive looting and destruction of properties that followed when the government mishandled its containment.
It has been insinuated that some agents of government were complicit in the violence unleashed on the peaceful protesters. Thus, one of the first lessons for the youths who are trying to reclaim Nigeria from those at the helm of affairs at present is that their mission is not a tea party. Those who have been running and ruining the country are not about ducking under their wives’ beds because some youths are angry.
While many of our leaders are shivering and foaming in the mouth at the development, not a few patriots are heaving sighs of relief as to the dawn of a new era. For, while police brutality and extrajudicial killings were the issues that ignited the protests, it quickly evolved into a larger agenda. An end to chronic unemployment, poor funding of education and health sectors, obscene salaries and allowances of political office holders, poverty in the midst of plenty, rampant inequality and mindless corruption. Many concerned Nigerians have cried themselves hoarse highlighting these salient issues in the past.
In private conversations with some of my professional colleagues in the last few years on the Nigerian Question, the wonder has been how did Nigeria journey its way back into the wilderness, the political jungle we are in today.
At the dawn of civil rule in 1999, there was hope writ large on the political landscape. The 15-year period, 1984-1999, was a nightmare for millions of Nigerians. And understandably for many journalists, it was no less so.
Last May 29 made it exactly 21 years into democratic rule when Nigerians retired the military to their barracks. Alas, many thought that with their exit, the years of the locusts had ended. How wrong we were.
A new army of invaders took over the helm of affairs from the locusts who had laid the socio-economic and political landscape bare. And the patriots who might have made a difference were side-lined. Since 1999, the nation has been blessed (or is it cursed) with politicians at all levels of government who are nothing but parasites. Those who claim to serve Nigerians have behaved like a neo-colonial army who have nothing to lose. What with their greed and arrogance.
They have behaved like vultures, perching in their multitude on the commonwealth recklessly gorging themselves, giving free rein to their insatiable appetite. The political class’s total indifference to the suffering of millions of Nigerians is at the heart of the youths’ October revolt.
As the young men and women ruminate over the goodwill harvested from the protests, they must realise that going forward is not going to be a tea party. The rapacious and clueless politicians exploiting the nation are too well entrenched with their tentacles sunk deep into the nation’s treasuries. Thus, so used to filthy lucre, which comes to them with little or no sweat, they are not about to loosen their vice grip.
So, going forward, how do the youths “move Naija” into a new dawn? Although the streets of the cities and towns that bore the brunt of the youth rage in October are now free of protesters, the disquiet is not over. The genuine protesters are saying government has not done anything about their five-point demand. They include the release of all those arrested in the course of the protest; justice and compensation for the victims and families of police brutality; setting up an independent body to investigate all cases of police misconduct; carrying out a psychological evaluation and retraining of all disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad operatives before redeployment; and above all better conditions of service for men and women of the police force.
And the Youth Rights Campaign, YRC, served notice at a recent press conference that because of this perceived lethargy on the part of government in addressing the issues urgently, the youths might be heading back to the streets shortly. The members are saying the struggle to reclaim Nigeria has become a do-or-die affair.
Considering the losses in both lives and properties to the rage in October, not many Nigerians would be amused. The Lagos State police command has asked the youths not to embark on fresh protests. Even an attempt by the #EndSARS promoters to meet and discuss the issues and lessons of the protests at the Africa Shrine in Lagos was aborted by the police. The authorities are riding on the wave of the public’s incredulity at the massive loss of lives and properties that ended the protests on a tragic note. In a society where transparency is anathema, various figures have been bandied as to the number of people killed in not only the “Lekki Massacre” but at several flash-points.
Many of the wounded, with bullets still lodged in their bodies, are believed to have been left to their fate. A Premium Times report said some of them were hurriedly discharged from the private hospitals treating them because of intimidation by the Lagos State government. The bank accounts of some of the youths regarded as the promoters have been frozen by the federal government. As the epicentre of the protests, the authorities in Lagos State are still trying to come to grip with the massive damage to both public and private properties, estimated to be worth over a trillion Naira. The state has set up a Lagos Rebuilding Trust Fund.
Therefore, against the backdrop of the tragic note on which the protests ended, what next for the #EndSARS Movement? Although the Movement comprises many groups, opinions would surely be divided on what the next steps should be. For, youth is an identity and not an ideology. Many ageing Nigerian leaders of today came into the public limelight as youths. And not a few of the political office holders who emerged in the last few years are youth. And they are all equal in the eye of the storm for running the country aground. Alarmed by the fact that many youths holding public office have not made much difference, many are asking what guarantees there are that those protesting now would do better. Of course, this kind of scepticism is healthy.
Therefore, the ideas as to what to do to reclaim Nigeria will be as many as the different groups involved in the movement. That has its advantages as well as disadvantages. The youths must let these ideas contend. That is not going to be easy. It is an avenue those who don’t want them to succeed in their bid to salvage the nation will use to divide them. Right now, what should be of immediate concern to the youths should be a review of their well organised and coordinated October protests.
In spite of the fact that there is no mistaking the yellow card sent by the youths to the political class, those who have been running the affairs of this country for decades are not simply going to beckon to them to come and take over the reins of government on a platter of gold. As long as democracy remains a political game, the youths must get ready to take power through the ballot box.
Luckily, the Not Too Young to Run law has lowered the age at which Nigerians can contest for political office. The time is ripe to take full advantage of that law. They should not make the mistake a group of prominent Nigerians made in 2018 when frustrated by the mis-governance of the ruling elite of both the All Progressive Congress and Peoples Democratic Party, they rallied to plant a Third Force to counter the duo. The discerning knew immediately that the efforts would not yield much fruit. For, the spirited efforts came too late with barely a year to the general elections. There emerged over 60 political parties. And there were a plethora of presidential candidates, many of whom would not win a chairmanship position in a well contested local government election.
Thus, if the youths must recapture their country from the vice grip of those who have been running its affairs in the past 20 years, they must realise that all politics is local. Thus a mass movement that would embrace the grassroots in all the nooks and crannies of the country must have a taproot at the wards and local government levels. The first step is a mass mobilisation of youths of voting age to register to vote in 2023. Two, they should move to initiate a political platform to unify their vision into a realistic manifesto. The YRC is talking about a socialist state, “in which the commanding heights of the economy should be placed under the control of workers and not for individuals to make a profit at the expense of society”. This statement looks like a rehash from popular communist manifestoes of the 1960s and ‘70s. Against the backdrop of the prebendalism prevalent in our politics and the winner-take-all mentality of the political class, there is no doubt that what form of government to practice is one area that will task the youths in the months ahead. Thus, there will be some groups like the YRC canvassing socialism while others would be arguing for capitalism. Such arguments are healthy though. For it is not possible for all of us to lie down with our heads pointing in the same direction. A word of caution for the socialists though; contemporary history shows us that socialist states have a penchant for curtailing individual freedoms. Two, many workers in Nigeria, especially civil servants, have privatised their individual “fiefdoms”. So, they will be in the vanguard of those resisting socialism. That is because already, a good number of civil servants have perfected ways to earn extra incomes from the jobs they have been employed to perform. So, they have, like political office holders, already attached conduit pipes to the so-called “commanding heights of the economy”. And the harvests are flowing directly into their individual silos.
Ayodele Akinkuotu, former Editor – in – Chief of TELL, writes from Lagos
GARBA Shehu, the senior special assistant on media and publicity to the President Muhammadu Buhari, has described repeated and renewed calls to sack the nation’s service chiefs as out of place.
Garba, who stated this during an interview on Arise Television stated that it is the prerogative of the president to appoint or sack any of the country’s service chiefs.
While stating that he was not aware that the tenure of the service chiefs are subjected to any law or regulation Garba added that the president can keep the service chiefs as long as he is satisfied with their performance.
“I am not aware that the tenure of service chiefs is subjected to any law or regulation that is clearly stated. They serve at the pleasure of the president and (if) the president is satisfied with their performance, he keeps them. The buck stops on his table —with due respect to the feelings of Nigerians,” he said.
“The clamour for the sack is out of place considering that the president is not subject to the opinion of the opposition political party which has clamoured for this all the time. It is entirely his own determination; he decides who he keeps as his service chiefs and for how long.”
Garba’s statement is coming 24-hours he told the BBC on Monday that the 110 farmers murdered by Boko Haram on Saturday evening in Zabarmari, a community in Jere Local Government Area of Borno state did not get military clearance before proceeding to their farms.
Clarifying the criticism that followed the statement, Garba explained he only said during the interview that the military had not certified those areas as being free of landmines and terrorists.
“My suggestion in the earlier news report is that the military had not certified those areas as being free of landmines and terrorists’ intrusions. Whether there are processes for getting licences or commissions, it is not for me, the military is in a better position to describe those processes,” he said.
Nigerians and various socio-political associations have seen the need for the president to create room for fresh ideas in the fight against terrorism and ravaging insecurity in the country by sacking his service chiefs who he appointed in 2015.
In July, the Nigeria Senate asked President Buhari to ask the service chiefs to step aside in a resolution moved by Ali Ndume who was ambushed by suspected bandits in Katsina State, leading to the death of 16 soldiers and 28 others, wounded.
But in a swift response, Femi Adesina, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, then said the presidency noted the “resolution and the president as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, will do what is in the best interest of the country at all times.”
Adesina reminded the senate how it is only in the prerogative of the president to appoint and sack his service chiefs.
NDU Nwokolo, the team lead of Nextier SPD, a consultancy firm on Human Security, has said that the Presidency’s comment on the killing of Borno Farmers lacks intelligence and empathy.
Nwokolo said this on Tuesday when he featured on Arise TV to discuss the rate of insecurity in the Northeastern part of Nigeria.
“I think that statement is without tact, lacks empathy and lacks intelligence, you don’t say that, and I like the question that was posed to him by the anchor of the programme which is; these are illiterate farmers, do they need clearance, it’s very obvious that our problem is of strategy implementation and programming,” said Nwokolo.
During an interview on Monday, Shehu had said that the slain Borno farmers were not issued a clearance before they resumed activities in the area where they were killed.
Nwokolo stated that for over a month, the governor of Borno State, Babangana Zulum has been telling the residents to go back to the farm or die of hunger.
He said that if the governor’s comment is related to that of Garba Shehu, the spokesperson to the Nigerian President it is contradictory adding that the contradiction implies that there is no synergy between the military and the state government.
He further questioned that does it mean that there is no security architecture for the farmers knowing fully well that this is their harvest period.
Nwokolo noted that on the implication of killing of 43 farmers in Borno State, there is a possibility that there would be food scarcity because fear has been instilled in other farmers in the state.
He stated that the farmers are likely to desert their farms and go to Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps in the state.
On claims that the farmers were attacked with such ferocity because they had refused to pay levies to Boko Haram terrorists, Nwokolo said it is likely because it is happening.
“It’s equally happening all over the country, it’s happening in Zamfara state, in Niger State, in Sokoto, Katsina, Farmers are suffering. You can’t go to a farm now without someone coming to take levies from you. The other day, I have my researchers in, Zamfara state, telling me that they (Boko Haram) actually wrote to farmers asking them to pay some sort of levy before they can go back to harvest their products,” Nwokolo said.
THE Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by Ishaq Moddibbo Kawu, the suspended Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), challenging the decision of the Federal High Court, to dismiss the no-case submission he filed at the lower court.
This is contained in a statement emailed to The ICIR by Azuka C. Ogugua spokesperson for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Monday.
According to the statement, Kawu, alongside Lucky Omoluwa (late Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Ltd) and Dipo Onifade, Chief Operating Officer of the same company, are currently facing criminal prosecution before Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa, by the ICPC for allegedly paying the sum of N2.5 billion seed grant for the Digital Switch-Over (DSO) project to Pinnacle Communications Limited.
The ICPC had in a 12-count charge, arraigned them for abuse of office, money laundering, and misleading a public officer with the intent to defraud the Federal Government, in contravention of Sections 26 (1) (c) and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
However, Kawu, through his counsel, A. U. Mustapha (SAN) filed a no-case submission in December 2019 at the close of the prosecution’s case, praying the court to discharge and acquaint him of the charge brought against him by ICPC.
Justice Ogunbanjo-Giwa while delivering her ruling in February 2020, held that ICPC had established a prima facie against Kawu, Onifade and Pinnacle Communications Limited, and ruled that they have a case to answer.
The suspended NBC boss and his co-accused then approached the appellate court to upturn the judgment of the Federal High Court.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, in its ruling, dismissed the no-case submission filed by Kawu and his co-accused and held that they had an explanation to give when he elected to facilitate the payment of N2.5 billion to a private company against the provisions of Section 13 of the government white paper guiding the operation of the Digital Switch-Over programme.
NIYI OYEDEJI, a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), has been shortlisted for the education reporting category of the 29th Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME).
Niyi was shortlisted for his special report in 2019 on Osun’s out-of-school children: Tales of poverty, pains, struggle.
The storyhighlighted the struggles and pain of out of school children in the state.
On Monday, DAME shortlisted Niyi alongside with other two journalists in the education reporting category.
According to DAME, the presentation of awards will take place at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lekki where all the necessary COVID-19 protocols will be observed.
Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) is an annual scheme designed to encourage media responsibility.
ADEWALE Adeyemo, 39, a Nigerian – American diplomat who served under former US president Barack Obama is set for a second coming to the White House after Joe Biden, US president-elect tipped him to serve as deputy treasury secretary in his cabinet.
In August 2016, Adeyemo thought the defining point of his political career had climaxed as he assisted former US president Barack Obama to prepare for his final G-20 meeting in Laos and China while they both prepared to exit the public office.
“As you all know, this will be the President’s 10th and final G20 meeting. And I think in order to understand what we’re going to accomplish at this G20, it’s important to go back to the President’s first G20 meeting, which occurred in April of 2009,” Adeyemo said at a White House press briefing.
On that quiet Monday evening, Adeyemo did not anticipate fate would grant him the chance to become the first black man in US history to become Deputy Treasury Secretary until the outgoing US President Donald Trump lost the 2020 US presidential elections.
His family had emigrated from Nigeria to the US in the ’80s when he was a teenager, to pursue the famous “American dream”, before obtaining a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
He also earned a specialised law degree from Yale Law School, apart from a private law practice which spans a few years Adeyemo’s life has always revolved around politics.
Popularly known as “Wally”, he had spent most of his career convening companies, governments, and organisations until he got his first stint with the Obama government in 2009 after serving at the United States Department of the Treasury.
Adeyemo served as senior international economic adviser to former US president Barack Obama responsible for coordinating the policymaking process related to international finance, trade and environmental issues.
He served as Obama’s representative to the G7 and G20 summits and was also chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s provisions on macroeconomic policy.
Adeyemo was appointed the first chief of staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) where he helped to protect US consumers from unfair, or abusive consumer financial practices.
However, Adeyemo’s recent appointment is not unconnected to his political stance on multilateralism and globalisation which would play a key role in helping President Biden to unbundle the policies against globilisation by outgoing US President Donald Trump.
In an opinion article pubished on the Guardian in April 2017, Adeyemo clearly spoke against the wave of populism sweeping across the world which he claimed was a threat to globalisation with protectionist and nationalist stances.
“Globalisation and the international rules-based order that underpins it are under siege…While protectionism makes for good political soundbites, history is littered with examples of the failure of these policies.
“Protectionism and a retreat from international cooperation is clearly not the answer, but policy makers minimize the underlying mistrust of globalization and multilateralism at their peril,” he said.
Biden administration is expected to take a multilateral approach to foreign policy, easing tensions and increasing engagement with allies especially with trade.
Adeyemo will be instrumental in ensuring the effectiveness of the US global engagement with its allies
Trump’s government had an uninterested stance on US foreign private investment to Africa as US foreign direct investment in Africa decreased from $50.4 billion in 2017 to $43.2 billion in 2019 which Biden is set to increase.
After leaving the White House in 2016, Adeyemo signed on as a senior adviser at BlackRock, the global investment firm with assets management worth $6.52 trillion and also had a brief stint with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Adeyemo, a Hyde Park resident, joined the Obama Foundation in August 2019 as its first president with a salary pegged at $600,000, according to the foundation’s tax records.
Where he increased its leadership development and civic engagement initiatives, from the Community Leadership Corps, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and the Girls Opportunity Alliance.
As President Biden hopes to extend a hand of friendship to US allies across the world that have been disgruntled by President Trump’s policies, he turns to Nigerian born – American Adeyemo to smoothen the rough edges.
Jacob Lew, former treasury Secretary who described Adeyemo as skilled technocrat that would maintain the US interests spoke highly of him when he was the treasury’s lead negotiator on the currency agreement that was part of the Pacific trade deal.
“He has developed a network of international relationships in economic offices around the world to promote US interests effectively,” he said.
AN Abuja military court has demoted Olusegun Adeniyi, a former theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, by three years for producing and publicizing a video that embarrassed and ridiculed the Nigeria armed forces.
According to The Punch, Adeniyi was convicted on Monday after he was found guilty of violating Section 15 (g) of the policy of the Nigerian armed forces which forbids personnel from posting on social media “any video, audio, materials pictures during exercises/operations.”
The report further stated that Adeniyi’s orderly, Tokunbo Obanla, a private, was also found guilty and sentenced to 28 days in jail with hard labour.
In March this year, Adeniyi was seen in a viral video urging military authorities to supply them with weapons and accurate intelligence to combat the ravaging Boko Haram terrorists in the northeastern region.
He was seen in the videos that were widely circulated on social media giving a situation report to the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, a lieutenant general.
He blamed the deadly attack his troops suffered on “very wrong intelligence assessment” earlier conducted before they deployed.
“Since yesterday we have been met with very strong resistance – from more than pockets of Boko Haram. This morning, from every flank not less than 15 gun trucks were facing us,” he said.
In the video, the theatre commander was seen amongst troops lamenting that his team suffered a massive loss of men and equipment because it was outgunned by Boko Haram.
He also revealed how he lost several types of equipment and was almost rendered immobile due to a massive attack on troops’ vehicles.
“But what we have here, I will give you some estimates, sir. Boko Haram has fired more than a hundred mortar bombs at us; they have fired 80 to a hundred RPGs at us; in addition to eight to 10 gun trucks firing at us from all sides. We have not run, and the soldiers are not misbehaving or disobeying orders.
“We have casualties. I will come and see you in person on what we need to do. But we are not running.
“As you can see over that’s one of ours that bullets tore, we lost about 20 MRAP tires here. We have changed close to 250 Hilux tires due to the terrain.
“This is what we are facing in the Timbuktu triangle, sir. We are not running, we are fighting as a system to curtail the situation and achieve your mission, sir,” Adeniyi said.
He was subsequently removed and was directed to proceed to Abuja for trial by the Nigerian Army.
PEOPLE in Akwa Ibom are demanding proof of implementation of constituency projects in 2019 from their representatives in the state House of Assembly.
The call was made following claims by the state government that it spent N1.057 billion for “facilitation of 26 constituency development projects in the 26 State constituencies of Akwa Ibom State”, in the 2019 annual report and audited financial statements of the state for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Members of the House of Assembly who spoke to our reporters said funds were budgeted or spent no constituency projects in 2019 and expressed shock that N1.057 billion was posted in the report as expenditure for that purpose during the year.
The Akwa Ibom State Government on November 18 circulated an annual report and audited financial statements for the year 2019 after a news report raised an alarm about extra-budgetary expenditures in the annual report of the Accountant General of the state.
The government told journalists that figures in the previous report were a “coding error” which occurred during the preparation of the report.
In the new annual report and audited financial statements, an expenditure of N1.057 billion is posted for constituency projects in 2019.
Both serving and immediate past members of the House of Assembly whose tenure elapsed in June 2019 have said that they did not execute constituency projects in 2019.
The immediate past Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke, said members of the House of Assembly did not nominate constituency projects, as it is usually the tradition, in 2019.
However, it was confirmed that members of the House of Assembly were allowed to nominated constituency projects in 2018, some of which have not been completed.
The projects dominated by each of the 26 House members in 2018 cost N40 million.
“Most of the constituency projects embarked upon were not completed because the funds were not released. The projects were costed at N25 million including relevant taxes. N15 million was agreed as what will remain for us which would help some members use and support small businesses and other sundry expenses”.
“Sadly, till date, the resource persons who did the jobs have not been paid balance for the job; that is why most of us could not complete the projects we embarked upon. Those who used their money to complete some of the projects because of the elections are still owing banks the loan they got to facilitate the job”, a lawmaker who did not want to be named told these reporters. Other members of the House corroborated this.
A cross-section of Akwa Ibom citizens who met in Uyo on November 26 for the 2020 Community Forum on Constituency Projects called on the House of Assembly to show proof of implementation of the 2019 constituency projects published in the report.
The forum, which was convened by Policy Alert, with support from Actionaid Nigeria and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), in a communique requested the House of Assembly to publish details of the 2019 constituency projects and how much they cost.
The communiqué reads in part:”Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly (AKHA) members responsible for nomination of constituency projects across 26 state constituencies should publicly disclose the type of nominated and implemented constituency project(s) for 2019 and 2020 in their respective State constituencies.”
“AKHA members responsible for nomination of constituency projects across 26 state constituencies should publicly disclose the sites or location of the nominated and implemented constituency project(s) for 2019 and 2020 in their respective State constituencies.
“AKHA members responsible for nomination of constituency projects across 26 state constituencies should publicly disclose the current status of the project(s) nominated and implemented for each constituency project(s) for 2019 and 2020 in their respective State constituencies.”
“The members of the House responsible for nomination of constituency projects across 26 state constituencies should publicly disclose the contractors for the project(s) nominated and implemented for each constituency projects for 2019 and 2020 in their respective State constituencies.”
“The House members responsible for nomination of constituency projects across 26 state constituencies should publicly disclose the date of commencement, completion, and commissioning of nominated and implemented constituency project(s) for 2019”, the communique reads.
The forum said that henceforth members of the House of Assembly should provide details of proposed constituency projects in the budget for transparency and to enable grassroots actors track, ensure efficient implementation, exercise ownership and protect such projects.
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY REACTS
Some members of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly who spoke to our reporters said the expenditure posted in the report might put them and their family members under attack from their constituents.
Following the controversy generated by the state’s audited report for 2019, the House of Assembly held a closed-door meeting on November 25 with the Accountant General, Uwem Andrew-Essien.
The meeting, which was held in the office of the leader of the house of assembly, mr udo kieran, between 10a.m and 11:25 a.m was attended by deputy chief whip of the house, nse essien; aniekan uko member representing ibesikpo asutan; usoro akpanusoh (esit eket/ ibeno) charity ido (ukanafun); ifiok udoh (nsit ibom); Anietie Eka (uyo); kufreabasi edidem (itu); Esse umoh (ssien udim); and udeme otong (abak).
At the meeting, which was inconclusive, our source said the lawmakers agreed that the Accountant General should be invited to give explanations on the expenditure when the House of Assembly resumes from recess on December 3.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the House of Assembly Committee on Information, Aniefiok Dennis, has said that the House of Assembly will address the people of the state on the issue when the House resumes from recess.
“I’m working with the chairman, Public Accounts Committee and the chairman, Committee on Appropriations and Finance; in few days the House will have opportunity to address the press on the budget be it 2019 or 2020”, Dennis said.
EXECUTIVE RESPONDS
The Commissioner for Economic Development and Ibom Deep Seaport, Akan Okon, explained that the expenditure posted for the facilitation of 26 constituency projects in the 26 state constituencies in the 2019 report was payment for constituency projects done in 2018.
“Money was not paid in full for all the projects. And mind you, some of the projects were completed in 2019, so the expenditure posted in the report is for payments done in 2019. It does not necessarily mean payment for new projects, but ongoing ones”, Okon said.
Also, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ini Ememobong, in response to enquiry on the controversial expenditure in 2019 for constituency project, said via SMS that the expenditure was payment for ongoing projects.
“In 2019, the Assembly transited from the sixth to the seventh assembly. The fifth and sixth Assemblies had undertaken constituency projects which had to be paid for in 2019. That accounts for the sum you find attached thereto”, Ememobong said.
Only one out of five serving members of the House of Assembly who spoke to these reporters admitted that the constituency projects he nominated in 2018 was paid for in 2019.
Two former members of the House of Assembly said though the projects they nominated were completed, the government is yet to pay for them.
THE idea of building an Independent Power Plant, IPP, for Delta State to address its power problems was first mooted in 2000, during the administration of Governor James Ibori. During his tenure, Ibori appointed a consortium of engineering firms to undertake a power survey of Delta State. The consortium was made up of three companies: Engineering Management Support Limited, Optimal Power & Control Engineering Limited, and George Spiropoulus & Associates. At the conclusion of its assignment, the consortium submitted a report that estimated that the power demand for Delta State would be between 440MW and 570MW.
However, Ibori, who left office in May 2007, did not take on the IPP project, but Emmanuel Uduaghan who took over from him did.
Entrance of abandoned IPP project, Oghara
The N23B IPP Project in Oghara.
In an executive council meeting held in May 2009, Governor Uduaghan approved the contract award for the acquisition and installation of two Open Cycle Rolls Royce Trent 60wle phase 111 Gas Turbine generators capable of being fired by natural gas and diesel oil.
The turbines were to have an installed capacity of 116MW and expected to generate 100MW of electricity for the State Independent Power Plant (IPP) project.
The contract was awarded to Davnotch Nigeria Limited, in partnership with an American firm, Southern Integrated Energy Limited, at the cost of $125million (one hundred and twenty five million dollars). The dollar exchange rate used for the contract was N176 to a dollar, which translated to N21,750,000,000.00 (twenty-one billion, seven hundred and fifty million naira).
In 2010, Ovuozorie Macaulay, the then Commissioner for Energy, in his brief to the state’s Economic Management Team, disclosed that the government paid 60% of the contract sum to Davnotch that same year. At the time the contract was awarded, one of its owners of the company was Victor Ochei who was at that time the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly.
Further investigation revealed that the contract sum of N21.7 billion did not include land acquisition, appointment of Prime/Resident Consults, Insurance coverage, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), construction of 132/33KVA transmission line to evacuate power to be generated and construction for gas supply for the IPP project, a development that led to the upward review of the contract sum in 2010 to N23.2 billion.
Governor Uduaghan Fails to Complete IPP Project.
On July 26, 2011, Uduaghan boasted to journalists during a briefing that work on the power project would be completed before he leaves office in May 2015, noting that with the successful completion of the turbines in Europe, work had reached an advanced stage. He added that he was optimistic that the turbines would be shipped into the country by August 2011.
But his promise to complete the project before he leaves office was never fulfilled.
Our reporter gathered that in line with the contract agreement Davnotch Nigeria Limited supplied the two Rolls Royce Gas turbines at the stipulated time, but the turbines were still awaiting installation when the contractor demobilized from site in Oghara, in 2014.
The lPP project was aimed at providing adequate, stable electricity for the people of Oghara, the hometown of Chief James Ibori and other parts of Delta State, however ten years later the project remains uncompleted and abandoned.
Governor Okowa’s government inherits IPP Project in May 2015.
The state Independent Power Project (IPP) was among the many projects inherited by Ifeanyi Okowa, when he assumed office on May 29, 2015. In 2016, to ascertain why the IPP project was abandoned, Okowa set up a 16 – man committee headed by David Edevbie, then commissioner for Finance, to investigate, proffer solutions and advise his administration on what could be done to revive the moribund multi-billion naira project. While inaugurating the committee, Governor Okowa also said his administration would prosecute anyone found culpable considering the huge resources that the project had gulped.
Edevbe’s Committee Swings into Action.
In 2016, Edevbe and members of his committee went on an on the spot assessment tour of the IPP facility. The delegation included the project consultants, A & A Global, officials of Access Bank, the financial advisers on the project, and representatives of the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
Since the IPP project remains completely abandoned, frantic efforts was made by this reporter to obtain Edevbe’s panel report but all efforts hit a brick wall. Not deterred Sunreporters wrote a Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, request to the office of the state governor, copying the Chief of State to the Governor, now incidentally occupied by Edevbe and the Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Power and Energy but there was no response until October 12, 2020, when the newspaper got a letter from the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice notifying it that the Delta State Government cannot release such documents under this federal Act and advised it to apply for the information under the Delta State Freedom of Information Act 2019, an advise the newspaper acted upon.
However, Edevbie, who spoke to this reporter on phone, explained that his committee submitted its report in 2017 but refused to disclose the recommendations in the report, stressing that government does not disclose internal reports to journalists.
“The committee report was submitted to the governor, we do not disclose contents of internal reports to reporters,” he stated.
Okowa’s Commissioner for Power and Energy Evades Interview
Okowa’s commissioner for power and energy, Basil Ganagana
Also all attempts made to speak with the state’s Commissioner for Power and Energy, Basil Ganagana, proved abortive as calls, and text messages sent to obtain comments from him on the said project were ignored. Our reporter also visited his office on several occasions, booked appointments through the ministry’s spokesperson but all efforts hit a brick wall.
Sources in the ministry also told our reporter that from 2016 to 2020 it has not made any budgetary provision for the completion of the moribund multi-billion naira project.
Contacted on phone Ovuozorie Macaulay, who was the Commissioner for Energy in 2010, declined to comment saying that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is investigating the project. He, however, said that the turbines were ready for installation before he left office as Commissioner.
Governor Okowa & CPS contradict each other.
Contacted to ascertain Okowa’s readiness to complete the abandoned project before the end of his administration, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Olisa Ifeajika, expressed his principal’s readiness to complete it before the end of his administration, stating that the project was never abandoned.
“The IPP project was never abandoned by His Excellency. I know it’s one of the projects inherited by this administration, I can tell you no inherited project will be abandoned, we are not known for abandoning projects.”
Ifeajika called for patience with his principal, just as he averred that the governor is taking his time to study the report submitted by the David Edevbe’s committee.
However, Governor Okowa earlier said in 2017 at a town hall meeting at the James Ibori Civic Center, in Oghara, that the Delta State government can no longer continue with the multi-billion IPP project as the project would still gulp over N200 billion.
On the Spot Assessment of Project site by our Reporter.
Entrance Gate of the abandoned IPP project in Oghara
When our reporter arrived the project site at Oghareki-Oghara in Ethiope West local government area, on August 25, 2020, for an on the spot assessment, he observed that the project site gate was locked. The site had a perimeter fence, three uncompleted buildings, a gantry and an access road constructed by Levant Construction Company. Looking at the site, it was obvious that what is on ground does not justify the huge amount expended on the project.
Devoid of human activities, the site was deserted and overtaken by weeds, with grasses as tall as1.2 meters covering the entire landscape. The current surroundings presents a conducive habitat for dangerous reptiles to breed. Also, the 1800 by 600 hectares of land acquired lies waste, a resource that could have served as farms to produce food for the host community. In addition, the access road to the IPP project site awarded to Lervant Construction Company has not been completed.
Some of the equipment sighted at Ibru warehouse awaiting installation. Photo by Markson
Some of the equipment sighted at Ibru warehouse awaiting installation. Photo by Markson
Our reporter also visited the rented warehouse where the two gas turbines and other equipment for the project are believed to be kept. The facility was also locked but a community source told this reporter that the turbines, among other machines purchased, are still lying there fallow. He disclosed that in January 2015, fire broke out on a nearby farm which spread due to the harmattan winds burnt the warehouse but he believes the fire did not do damage to the turbines.
Gas Turbines laying fallow waiting installation. Photo by Markson
The community source stated that Oghara, the host community for the abandoned IPP project, currently suffers epileptic power supply, a development that has slowed down business activities in the area. He hinted that part of Edjemuoyavwe community, the host community to Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, has been in total darkness for over three years, a development that made staff of the institution to relocate to as far as Edo State and other neighboring cities.
A welder, Mr. Esemedafe Oviri, disclosed that his marriage cashed because he could not afford to buy a generator plant to stay in his welding business. He said, since getting electricity in Oghara community has become a mirage, he was no longer able to provide for his wife and two kids.
Also the Oghareki Chief Priest, Prince Scout Akpoteheri Tegbeje, while speaking to our reporter at his residence, disclosed that for over three years, the community has suffered total blackout, noting that the IPP project if functional would have boosted economic activities and improved the standard of living of the people.
Akpoteheri also said the community lacks portable water as there is no electricity to power the community’s water system. Thus, people have resorted to water from River Ethiope to drink, cook and bath, a development that has caused them to continuously suffer from all kinds of water – borne diseases.
Abandoned Ago lane-Oghareki water system occasioned by no electricity to power it.
At the Oghara General Hospital, Oghareki and Ejemuoyavwe Health Center, our reporter observed that the health facilities had no power supply, but staff on duty declined to speak saying they were not authorized to speak to the press.
However one of the health officers lamented that the health center had no running water and electricity two important elements that will enable them function effectively.
Hotelliers and business owners also suffer the same ordeal. One of the hotel managers said they spend between N30,0000 to N40,0000 to buy diesel daily, a situation that has always made them run at a loss.
Another hotelier said he is set to sell off his hotel located at the heart of Oghara because of the huge cost of powering its operations.
In Asaba, capital of Delta State, residents and business owners have also decried the continuous power outage in the capital city.
At Infant Jesus, Anwai , Nnebisi, DLA, DBS and NTA roads in particular they lamented the frequent power blackouts in the capital city, appealing to Governor Okowa to look beyond his personal interests and give Deltans stable power.
Ogbolu Nneka, who owns a provision store along DLA Road lamented that she spends additional money to buy ice blocks to sell her water and drinks, which makes her profit almost zero. She noted that the power outage in the area spanning over four months with unpredictable rationing had crippled many businesses in the capital city while others have resorted to using generators.
She wondered why the Okowa-led government signed an MoU with a private power company to power only government facilities leaving most Deltans to suffer total blackouts.
The situation is, perhaps, worse at Delta Broadcasting Service, DBS road where hotelliers and residents said that the blackout has lasted over nine months because of a faulty transformer feeding that axis of Asaba.
Ifeoma, a fashion designer, said since there was no electricity to iron and sew clothes, her customers have all deserted her, leading to a downturn in her business.
Our reporter observed that hoteliers along DBS Road have increased their room rates considering the high cost of using generators. A visit to some of the hotels along DBS Road and its environs revealed that the average room which would normally cost N10,000 per night now costs about N15,000 per night, leaving lodgers at the receiving end.
N16B Asaba Integrated Power Project
In an effort to improve the power situation in Asaba, Governor Okowa’s government on August 15, 2016, signed an MOU with Bastanchury Power Solutions Limited, to build the Asaba lntegrated Power Plant expected to generate 8.5 megawatts of electricity at the cost of N16 billion.
Bastanchury Ltd MD/CEO, Mr. Goziem Chidi signing MOU with Delta State Government, represented by Mr. Newworld Safugha.
On March 28, 2017, the governor sent a letter to the State House of Assembly to ratify an earlier approval of the State Executive Council for the building of the Asaba Independent Power Plant Project (AIPPP) by Banstanchury Power under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The project, which is a public/private partnership (PPP) will require the State Government to pay one hundred and N134 million monthly for ten years to Banstanchury Power Limited. The State House of Assembly on March 29, 2017, ratified the agreement and the financial implications for the State over the next ten years.
According to Okowa, the PPA required government to issue an Irrevocable Standard Payment Order (ISPO) in support of monthly power tariff and a related bank guarantee covering the cost of the project as required by Banstanchury Power financiers.
The governor also stated that he approved an additional N30 million monthly gas fuel pass-through charge bringing the total monthly cost to a maximum N164 million.
Government offices, to be covered by the Asaba power plant include New Government House, Old Government House, Felix Ibru Secretariat, House of Assembly Complex, Customary Court of Appeal, Office of Deputy Governor, Office of the Secretary to State Government, Ministry of Works/ Energy and Housing, Cabinet Office, Old Secretariat and Ministry of Information.
Entrance Asaba IPP
Some of the residential estates/ quarters to be covered include Fine Homes, commissioners Quarters, Permanent Secretaries Quarters, VIPs and New VIP lodges, VIP lodge Annex, House of Assembly Quarters, SSGs residence and others, Chief of Staff’s residence, Deputy Governor’s residence, Chief Justice’s residence and the Presidential lodge.
Investigations as to why the initial IPP project in Oghara remains uncompleted have raised more questions than answers. How come a project that was to cost about 23billion naira in 2011, now requires an additional 200 billion naira to complete? Why has Okowa’s government preferred to initiate another N16 Billion naira IPPproject that will only serves some areas in Asaba rather than complete the 116 MW IPP in Oghara?
Interestingly, after the State Assembly ratified the agreement between the State Government and Bastanchury Power in 2017, the then Commissioner for Power and Energy, Newworld Safugha, stated that the project would be completed in 2018.Two years after with N164 million being paid monthly for the said project, it is still not completed.
A visit to the site revealed that the project is still ongoing. An insider in the ministry told our reporter that the project would soon be commissioned for use. However, a top government official who prefers to remain anonymous described the AIPPP as a covert scam being used to settle some persons in the Governor’s kitchen cabinet, adding that irrespective of all the payments being made the project will remain uncompleted.
Delta state gov’t has no investment in N16b Asaba power project, says contractor
CHAIRMAN of Bastanchury Power Solutions Limited, Goziem Chidi has debunked speculations that the Delta State Government has invested huge funds as a contribution in the N16 billion 8.5MW Independent Power Project under construction in Asaba, the state capital.
The chairman has also denied that the state has been paying Bastanchury Power 164 million Naira monthly for the past three years, revealing that the company was not entitled to receiving any money until it had supplied power to the government.
Speaking at the site of the IPP with our reporter, Chidi said allegations that the project was a drain pipe were totally unfounded, pointing out that Bastanchury ought to be commended for initiating and executing the 8.5MW scheme at no cost to the government.
“The real challenge is that our people are convoluted in their understanding of how embedded independent power is funded. This is not a contract. So, no money is paid to a contractor. ASABA IPP is funded through a consortium of financial institutions. The process is transparent and the are internationally recognised standards for sourcing such funds,” he explained.
Chidi revealed that the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed between the Delta State Government and Bastanchury, backed by an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) was the guarantee needed to source for funds, adding that as result, the project has been concluded under the estimated 18 months period.
Rather than condemn the Asaba IPP, or speculate that the project was a drainpipe, the Bastanchury boss said the state, especially, Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, the state governor should be specially commended for foresight and exceptional courage to see the project to the end at no cost to the government.
“Governor Okowa should be commended for exhibiting foresight and exceptional courage for this project at no cost to the Delta State Government. There are no scams anywhere. Once we takeoff, all our traducers will shut their mouths,” he declared.
* This report was done with is support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting.
*The report was updated on Friday, January 15 to reflect the viewpoint of Goziem Chidi, chairman of Bastanchury Power Solutions Limited.
