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The people Buhari jailed in 1984 are APC kingpins today, laments Kukah

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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The people Buhari jailed in 1984 are APC kingpins today, laments Kukah

Matthew Kukah, outspoken Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, says some All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains are the same people that President Muhammadu Buhari sent to jail during his time as Military Head of State in 1984.

Kukah said it is only in Nigeria, where the citizens suffer from “collective amnesia”, that such a thing could be possible.

Describing Buhari as “a man I have tremendous respect for” even though he had not been close to him, Kukah said that his only problem with Buhari is the President’s belief that corruption is all about stealing money.

“My worry is that President Buhari thought, and probably still thinks, corruption is stealing money, and the people stealing money are largely bureaucrats or government officials, which was what happened in 1984,” Kukah said in an interview with online-based Gatefield TV.

“Buhari simply went around and arrested all the people who were holding government offices.

“The only thing we feel very sad about Nigeria is our collective amnesia. There are people who are key kingpins in APC today who were sentenced to various years of imprisonment by Buhari in 1984, some up to 100 years.

“But since this is Nigeria, many of them have finished serving their 100-year jail term. They have come back, joined APC and are active members of the party.”

Kukah implied that it was funds from such corrupt individuals that aided Buhari in winning the 2015 presidential election.

“Buhari was not brought into power by angels. We know the nature of the vehicle that would bring anybody to the presidency of Nigeria,” he said.

On the State of the nation, Kukah said that not even Buhari or any of his cabinet members can sincerely express happiness at the way things are currently in the country.

“In most part of northern Nigeria for example where children are stunting, when those children turn 30, 40 and they become part of your workforce, their capacity to interpret data or grasp the urgency of development is severely constrained.

“For me, these are some of the issues and that is why I say Buhari himself is not happy… except a few ministers, but even the ministers themselves are unhappy because they didn’t imagine that they would be going through the difficulty that they are going through.

“If I ask you to point at one department of government that is so upbeat about what people have achieved, I think it will be hard to find out any.

“We must get our people to a point in which they appreciate when the value of their life is depreciating. And that is what is happening to us now.”

DFID says $32bn lost to corruption during the Jonathan years

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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DFID says $32bn lost to corruption during the Jonathan years

Debbie Palmer, Head of the Nigeria office of the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), says an estimated $32 billion was lost under the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Palmer said this during an event organised by the Youngstars Foundation Initiative (YFI) as part of activities to mark the 2017 International Anti-Corruption day, in Abuja.

According to Palmer, the amount represents about 15 percent of the total revenue earned by the Nigerian government within the period. She even said it could be more.

“An independent report estimates that up to $32 billion was lost to corruption under the previous government,” Palmer said.

“This is around 15 percent of state resources during the period and could well be an underestimate. So the estimate is that nearly 16 per cent of the previous government’s money was lost to corruption.

“That is a staggering amount of money. And that is money that belongs to all of you and to your future. That is why we all should care about corruption.

“Millions of dollars also remain in other jurisdictions tied up in legal challenges.”

Palmer said Nigerian youths must strongly support the ongoing anti-corruption drive of the Muhammadu Buhari government.

She also reiterated that the government of the United Kingdom will continue to support all forms of anti-corruption movements in Nigeria.

Fayemi accused of aiding Dangote’s quest to monopolise cement industry

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Fayemi accused of aiding Dangote’s quest to monopolise cement industry

 

BUA Group, one of Nigeria’s biggest business conglomerates, says Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, is aiding Dangote group to monopolise the Nigerian cement industry and market.

This is contained in an open letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari by Abdulsamad Rabiu, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BUA Group.

Both Rabiu and Aliko Dangote, owner of Dangote Group, are from Kano State in the North West.

In the 10-page letter dated December 4, 2017, Rabiu accused “the Honourable Minister of Mines & Steel Development”, and “Dangote Group and their cohorts” of “undermining peace and security in Edo State and operations in and around our BUA Cement Okpella Plant,” following a dispute on a mining field that BUA claims originally belongs to it.

“Our cement business has of late come under intense, consistent attacks — physical and otherwise — as the Minister, Dangote Group and their Cohorts have sought to employ instruments of state and other illegal tactics to forcefully wrest control of our Mining Areas related to Mining Leases ML 18912 and 18913 … being held and operated by BUA at Obu-Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area, Edo State.

“These actions are despite the existence of Suit No FHC/B/CS/7/2016 between BUA & Anor v. Honourable Minister of Mines &Steel Development and Suit No. FHC/B/CS/74/2016 between Dangote Industries Ltd v. BUA International Ltd before Honourable Justice Ajoku of the Federal High Court, Benin Judicial Division.

“The Minister, officials of the Ministry, Dangote Group and their cohorts have however acted with impunity and displayed unbridled contempt for the judiciary by taking extrajudicial steps to frustrate the matter in court.

“Dangote Group has recruited private militia to unleash mayhem in Okpella as part of strategies to forcefully take over possession and in the process damage the multi-billion dollar cement factory of BUA at Okpella, Edo State.”

“On 8th November, 2017 Dangote Cement directed its Chief Security Officer, Col Ahmed Yabagi (Rtd) to enter without permission BUA’s mining areas in company of some Okpella youths led by one Giwa Ibrahim with a view to forcefully take possession of the mining sites, unleash mayhem on the officials of BUA Cement factory and ultimately destroy the properties worth billions of dollars.”

According to the letter, The Ministry of mines and steel eventually stopped operations at the BUA cement plant on November 29, after a team of over 20 fully armed policemen, raided the plant, led by one Tunde Moboyo, a Deputy Commissioner of Police.

“Your Excellency sir, We should state that all the actions of Dangote Group with the collusion and connivance of highly placed officials of Government especially the Minister is directed towards destroying the business of BUA Cement with the ultimate goal of creating a monopoly in the cement industry in Nigeria and control the entire cement industry and market in the country,” the statement read.

“This with due respect should not be allowed in a democracy and a free market. Allowing such eventual monopoly is not only inimical to the growth of the cement industry and its attendant effect on the cost of construction and housing delivery to the mass of Nigerians, but also the economic well being of the Nation as a whole.

“It is also very worrisome that Dangote Group with all its visibility and international reputation is displaying an utter lack of respect for and trust in the Nigerian judiciary.”

Furthermore, BUA group accused Fayemi of “corruption, cronyism and impunity”, hence his display of blatant disregard for the rule of law.

“Why is the Minister supportive of Dangote Group who has no single cement factory in Edo State over BUA who took over a factory that has been in existence for almost forty years and went further to set up a new plant of over one billion dollars?

“Why will a serving minister choose to undermine the government by disregarding ongoing court processes rather than let the rule of law run its course?

“The answer to all the questions above is simple: corruption, cronyism and impunity in high places.

“Fortunately, Nigerians know your stand against corruption and impunity but it is also very clear that if nothing is done, despite us pursuing all legal means available, Dangote Group will have sent a negative message about Nigeria to the world that he and his cronies are above the rule of law in Nigeria and no one or business entity is safe from their blatant acts of impunity.”

How far can Wike, Fayose go as new PDP kingmakers?

YEKEEN Akinwale
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How far can Wike, Fayose go as new PDP kingmakers?

 

After 2015 elections, series of significant changes took place – there was (is) recession, which sent many millionaires under and produced new set of money bags. That’s what change is – no permanent champion but current champion.

Like the recession, the defeat suffered by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  during the 2015 elections has also thrown up a new set of kingmakers from what is left of the party.  There are only two of them; they decide who gets what and who is schemed out, as the case may be.

One has the resources and the other gift of the gabs. They are Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, and Ayodele Fayose, Governor of Ekiti State; they have assumed the position of kingmakers of the rejuvenated PDP. For now, they are the ‘Dynamic duo’.

If you are in doubt, ask Alimodu Sheriff. He joined PDP in 2014 and by some manipulations in 2016, he became the Chairman of National Working Committee of the party and was at one time the acting National Chairman. No thanks to arms deal scam – those who could lay claim to the remains of the party were haunted by EFCC investigations.

Those who followed PDP would still recall how Wike and Fayose spearheaded the return of Sheriff and ultimately crowned him with that position. But they both superintended his removal because, according to them, his continuous stay as the National Chairman of the party would jeopardise the party. “Ali must go,” because “his leadership was destabilising the party,” Wike had said.

Sheriff was supposed to be third leg of their tripod stand because of his wealth; he might not really have that political clout and acumen, but he was becoming too powerful than they could imagine.

“I supported Senator Ali Modu Sheriff in good conscience. But when it became obvious that his continuous stay in office as the National Chairman will jeopardise the collective interest of the party, I had no option than to support his removal,” Fayose said after the 2016 national convention of the party held in Portharcourt.

They did the magic: expended all that was needed to see him out of the party and installed Ahmed Makarfi as the Chairman of the party’s National Caretaker Committee, the position Sheriff was made to vacate through court injunction.

That was indeed the beginning of their emergence as the two musketeers and the new PDP kingmakers but many within the party, including Bode George, former Deputy National Chairman, underestimated their strength.

Fayose and Wike have a lot in common and they perfectly fit each other. While Fayose has been the unofficial face of the opposition party since the buildup to the 2015 elections and up till date, Wike is the much needed engine room of the party, especially as he is about the strongest governor the party can boast of at the moment; he provides the finances.

SECONDUS’ EMERGENCE: WIKE AND FAYOSE’S VICTORY

In politics, loyalty is a scarce commodity; no one is loyal to anyone, or better put, there is no permanent loyalty. Politicians go to where their interests are protected. Therefore, it was mere display of political naivety that Bode George, Tunde Adeniran, Rashidi Ladoja and others from the South West could think that Fayose could possibly be on their side. No way, he was on the other side.

Fayose is always smarter; he knew the South West could not and would not clinch the position – because the convention was already held before that Saturday. He and Wike had decided who would be the party’s Chairman.

While George and others, though without such financial muscle to make delegates do their bidding in a game defined by money, were banking on the zoning arrangement they claimed had ceded the national chairmanship to the South West, Fayose and his partner had perfectly positioned Uche Secondus, who is from Rivers State, South South, for the seat. Secondus had always wanted that position before now.

By a fiat sort of, Wike, before the convention, came out clear about where the pendulum was swinging. He said Secondus, a former Acting Chairman of the party, was the best candidate to lead the PDP in view of his experience and track record.

“I have analysed the scenario. I have analysed the delegates spread of each state. There is no way that Prince Uche Secondus will not coast to victory by over 90 per cent of delegates votes,” Wike had said.

“I am talking because I am in the campaign team of Prince Uche Secondus and I am a delegate.

“Secondus has never said anything negative against any other candidate. He has remained focused on his campaign. Somebody who believes that he will win will not resort to writing petitions before the convention.”

And this is why Bode George was better and perhaps still bitter. Wike was quoted as saying that “National Chairmanship in the South-west will not change the fortunes of the PDP”.

According to him, the fortunes of the party did not improve in terms of votes in that zone, even when the President hailed from the South-west.

“The zone is prone to incessant crises as can be seen. Any candidate who emerges from the South-west will lead to further crisis from other factions from that zone.

“Only a candidate from outside the South-west such as Prince Uche Secondus can unite the zone. He has the reach and capacity to unite all factions in the South-west. He is the person suited for the party at this time, he said.

With these words, Tunde Adeniran and Taoheed Adedoja who eventually featured in the contest after George and five others withdrew, only made a mockery of themselves. Two hundred and thirty votes and none for Adeniran and Adedoja says more about the influence, power and control wielded by the two kingmakers.

Those who sniff around say billions of naira was expended before Secondus could coast home victory. In fact, delegates from the north and south zones, it was gathered became overnight millionaires after the convention, because, as it was said by those who saw it all, they were well paid to vote for the ‘right candidate’. Whether those who are aggrieved like it or not, this is a victory for these two men.

SO WHAT’S FOR SOUTH EAST, SOUTH WEST?

It is arguably not celebration yet for the PDP after its convention. The ability of those who produced its Chairman during the convention to manage “their success” from now on to 2019 will to a large extent determine whether or not the party is ready for redemption of Nigeria.

Though it is obviously looking like a house of commotion at the moment, it may be too early to judge anyway.  But certain issues must quickly be determined and resolved if the party must make any serious come back.

Ikwe Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President from the South East and the most senior political officer on the platform of PDP in the present administration, chaired the PDP Post-Election Review Committee that zoned the 2019 presidential ticket of the party to the North and the position of national chairman to the South.

Ceteris paribus, Ekweremadu was positioning himself as the Vice Presidential candidate if the North, as agreed in the report, takes the presidency, and the South the National Chairman. But with the result of the last weekend convention, it is obvious that the South West can only be assuaged with the position of Vice President, some analysts are asking: so what does the South East get afterwards?

It is not clear how the men who decide who gets what now in PDP are going to arrange the house. The belief carried to the convention by people like George and Adeniran was the 2016 zoning arrangement that gave the office of National Chairman to the South-West, with the understanding that the South-East would take the slot of Vice-President.

Now that the South East has traded off what could have been a golden opportunity to have a shot at the presidency, this is the beginning of an end for a party that is seeking to wrestle power for APC in 2019.

Under these men, can the PDP get it right especially with what seems to a false start? Despite the return of Atiku Abubakar to the party, hoping to find a platform for his presidential ambition, Ahmed Makarfi, is actually the man Wike and Fayose are rooting for. Between Makarfi and Atiku, there’s none of the two who could still be said to be a match for President Muhammadu Buhari if he decides to run again. If the President runs again and PDP fails to arrange its house and bring a people’s choice as its candidate, it does seem that it will still spend another four year as a pseudo-opposition party.

Unknown gunmen shoot Owei, AIT reporter in Bayelsa

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Unknown gunmen shoot Owei, AIT reporter in Bayelsa

Onisofie Owei, a broadcast journalist with the Africa Independent Television (AIT), was attacked by suspected armed robbers on Friday in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State.

Owei covers the Bayelsa State Government House for AIT. She was said to have been shot at Edepie area of Yenagoa, on her way from a church service.

Her attackers carted away her handbag, containing her mobile phones and other valuables, before escaping.

Reports say Owei was rushed to the hospital by a kind-hearted Nigerian, who, coincidentally, is married to a journalist.

Some of her colleagues and other members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State chapter, paid her a visit at the hospital, and reported that she was still in a critical condition and she hadn’t talked since.

Asinim Butswat, Public Relations Officer of the Bayelsa State Police Command, confirmed the incident, adding that an investigation into the incident was already underway.

This is the second time in 2017 that a journalist is being attacked by unknown gunmen.

In April, Famous Giobaro, a journalist working with Radio Bayelsa, was shot dead by suspected gunmen who attacked his residential house at about 5 am on Sunday, the 16th.

He was reportedly shot in the stomach while the attackers left without taking anything from the house, and without attacking any other person in the neighbourhood.

The killing triggered a protest by all the journalists in the state, who urged the state government to step up efforts to secure lives and properties in the state.

At that time, Butswat, the police spokesman, had promised that the force would do all in its power to apprehend Giobaro’s killers, but nothing has been heard ever since.

Congratulations, protests as Secondus emerges new PDP chairman

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Congratulations, protests as Secondus emerges new PDP chairman

Uche Secondus, former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, has emerged as the substantive Chairman of the party after Saturday’s national convention.

Result of the election was announced early on Sunday and Secondus was sworn in alongside his new executives at the Eagle Square, Abuja, venue of the convention.

However, out of the three candidates who eventually contested the chairmanship position, one refused to comment on the outcome, one left the convention ground in protest and one congratulated the winner.

Secondus, who was supported by all the 11 PDP governors, defeated all the other aspirants with a total of 2000 votes.

Reports from the convention ground say Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, and Ayodele Fayose, Governor of Ekiti State, openly campaigned for Secondus during the convention.

Out of the nine contestants that initially ran for the position, only four eventually contested: Secondus, Tunde Adeniran, Raymond Dokpesi, and Taoheed Adedoja.

Others pulled out of the race a day before or shortly before the election started on Saturday.

The candidates that pulled out were Olabode George, Jimi Agbaje, Gbenga Daniels, and Aderemi Olusegun.

George said he withdrew from the race due to the refusal of the party to micro-zone the office of the national chairman to the South-West.

While Agbaje told journalists he was withdrawing so as to enable the South West stand a better chance of winning the election.

The position had been zoned to the southern part of the country, while the presidential candidate was zoned to the North.

However, out of the nine persons that indicated interest in running for the seat, only two – Secondus and Dokpesi – are from the South-South; others are from the South West.

Ladoja refused to comment on the outcome, telling newsmen: “I’m consulting and will speak soon. We need to study its outcome before making any pronouncements.”

But Secondus said he would carry all the other contestants along in his administration to ensure that the party wins back power come 2019 general election.

“It is the party first. We have no other reason to remain contestants without the PDP,” Secondus said.

“Our interest is in the party and the desire to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). That should be our goal.

“None of us can do it alone. It is in our interest to come together and fight for Nigerians. All the contestants are capable of leading the party.

“I want to appeal to every member of the party to come together and be united. I’m appealing to all and sundry, we should all remain united and be committed.”

Meanwhile, Adeniran, another contestant in the election and a former Minister of Education, walked out of the convention ground in protest.

Taiwo Akeju, Director of Media and Publicity of the Adeniran Campaign Organisation, described the entire process as compromised, saying that the caretaker committee headed by Ahmed Makarfi should hand over the party leadership to the Board of Trustees (BoT).

“We reject the entire electoral process of December 9, 2017,” Akeju said.

“The election was grossly compromised to achieve a predetermined end in line with the illegal ‘Unity List’ prepared by Governors Nyesom Wike and Ayodele Fayose and foisted on the entire delegates.

“Consequently, we submit that this election is a sham and its result is unacceptable. We reject it in its entirety. We consider this so-called election as a travesty of democracy and due process, which further entrenches the culture of impunity that has done a great damage to the party in the past.”

Fayose, however, asked the contestants who lost to Secondus to accept it in good faith.

“Anyone who will contest the result of this election at the court of law is an enemy of the party,” he said. “It is not good to be a bad loser. If you did not win, just take it in good faith and support the winner.”

It was Dokpesi, Chairman emeritus of DAAR Communications Plc (owners of AIT), who congratulated Secondus on his victory, saying, (the delegates have spoken).

“I write to thank you (delegates) most wholeheartedly for voting at the just concluded Elective National Convention in Abuja,” Dokpesi said in a statement he issued soon after the results were announced.

“The delegates have spoken. I congratulate the newly-elected Prince Uche Secondus led National Working Committee.

“You will recall that I said that the PDP must be the ultimate winner at the end of the contest. God bless the Peoples Democratic Party. Congratulations PDP as I wish all our members the best of luck.”

ICIR’s Soyombo wins Wole Soyinka award — the 3rd time in four years

iCiR
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ICIR’s Soyombo wins Wole Soyinka award — the 3rd time in four years

‘Fisayo Soyombo, Editor of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), on Saturday night emerged winner of the online category of the 2017 Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting.

It is the second time in a row, and overall the third time in four years, that Soyombo has won the award, organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).

In 2014, he won for Blood on the Plateau — a five-part series detailing the venomously-orchestrated killings in Plateau State and proffering solutions to ending the violence.

In 2015, he was first runner-up for his three-part series on the mismanagement of Ebola funds in Liberia.

In 2016, he was named second runner-up in the online category, for his story, UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION: Nigeria’s ‘Customs of corruption, bribery and forgery’. Moments later, he then won the first prize in the same category, for Forgotten Soldiers — a hard-won exploration of what it means for a soldier to suffer life-threatening injuries while defending his country’s territorial and existential integrity, and then watch helplessly as he is ignored and forgotten by the army, government and people he defended. For the same story, he claimed the overall prize and was therefore declared the Nigerian Investigative Reporter of the Year.

On Saturday, Soyombo won the online category for his story: UNDERCOVER: In Borno, children are dying at IDP camps, foodstuffs are ‘disappearing’ at SEMA store. Kemi Busari of Premium Times and Ebere Chukwu of Ripples Nigeria were first runner-up and second runner-up respectively.

Having won the award a maximum of three times, he is now ineligible to apply from 2018.

Back in December 2016, Soyombo won the Maritime Economy category of the Zimeo Excellence in Journalism Awards organised by the African Media Initiative, in Nairobi, Kenya, for his undercover investigation on the Customs.

Four days earlier, he had been second runner-up in the Investigative Journalist of the Year category of the 25th Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) — again for the same Customs investigation.

In November 2016, he won the Newcomer of the Year — Hans Verploeg Award at the 2016 Free Press awards, which held in The Hague, Netherlands — an award he dedicated to Enenche Akogwu, the Channels TV journalist killed by Boko Haram in 2012.

That award came a month  after he was named Journalist of the Year (Business and Economy Reporting) in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Awards, and three months after his short-listing for the 2016 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism.

He was first short-listed for the Kurt Schork awards in 2014, for ‘Blood on the Plateau’ — a five-part investigative series on the ethnocentric killings in Plateau state, published in December 2013. That year’s finalists were chosen from “almost 300 stories entered by 93 journalists from 41 countries”

Soyombo, a 2013 recipient of the Deutsche Welle/Orange Magazine Global Fellowship for Young Journalists, contributes opinions to Doha, Qatar-headquartered Al Jazeera and Germany-based TAZ.

A finalist for the 2015 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist from the Developing World FPA Award, his works have been translated into French, German and Arabic.

PDP national secretary: We haven’t paid our staff for three years, how can we rule Nigeria?

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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PDP national secretary: We haven’t paid our staff for three years, how can we rule Nigeria?

Ben Obi, National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, says if workers at the party’s secretariat in Abuja have not been paid for three years, the party cannot claim to be able to rule Nigeria.

Obi was speaking during Saturday’s PDP national convention where delegates are expected to elect new national executives of the party.

The convention, which is being aired live on various television stations, is taking place at the Eagle Square in Abuja.

“We have not paid our staff at the PDP secretariat for over three years. If we cannot do that, how can we claim to be able to lead Nigeria?” Obi said.

He said the convention came at the right time as a new National Working Committee (NWC) would bring about a smoother running of the administrative organ of the PDP.

Also speaking at the event, Ahmed Makarfi, PDP Caretaker Chairman, called for a one-minute silence in honour of Alex Ekwueme, one of the founding members of the PDP who died recently.

Makarfi reminded party faithful that the end to the myriad of court cases involving Ali Modu-Sheriff does not translate to an end to the numerous challenges facing the party.

“We took difficult decisions with a better PDP in mind,” he said. “We have laid a good foundation for the rebirth of the PDP, hence those who left are either coming back or knocking on our doors. Our doors remain wide open.

“In words and action, we must continue to reassure members that loyalty to the party pays. Our women have been blazing the trail in several endeavour.

“Youth must be factored in everything because sooner or later they will be taking over. They should be prepared for the task ahead by exposing them to leadership and its vagaries. Part of it is to ensure that they receive quality education.”

Makarfi advised that the PDP “should amend its constitution to make provision for students bursary loans”.

Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State and Chairman of the convention organising committee, assured the rest of the party that the committee would deliver the best elective process ever witnessed in the party.

He also urged all contestants to play by the rules.

Ex-House of Reps contestant ‘defrauds’ people of N100m by promising them juicy govt positions

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Ex-House of Reps contestant ‘defrauds’ people of N100m by promising them juicy govt positions

 

The Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja, has remanded one Eno Ekapong Ofem in prison custody after he was arraigned by the the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly defrauding several persons of over N100 million.

According to a statement by Rasheedat Okoduwa, ICPC’s spokesperson, Ofem, who contested for a seat in the federal House of Representatives during the 2015 general election, was arrested after a petition was written against him.

Ofem was said to have posed as a Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff to the President, while asking people to pay millions into his account in order to help them get juicy appointments from the federal government.

“Investigations by the Commission revealed that Mr. Ofem allegedly claimed to be a Special Adviser to the Chief of Staff to the President, a claim that he used to defraud citizens to the tune of One Hundred Million naira, on the pretext that he would get them ministerial, board and other appointments. The monies had been deposited into his bank account on various dates from June 2016,” the ICPC statement read.

“The charges brought against the defendant indicated that his actions contravened Sections 324 and 322 of the Penal Code Act and Cap 352 Vol. 4 LFN 2004.”

When Ofem was arraigned before Justice Valentine Ashi, he  pleaded not guilty to the six-count charge brought against him, following which Edidion Osungurua, his lawyer, filed a bill application.

The bail application was not opposed by the ICPC prosecution team, led by Elijah Akaakohol, who only asked for stringent conditions to be attached to the bail.

Justice Ashi, however, denied the accused person bail, ordering instead that he be remanded in prison custody until January 16 when the hearing was scheduled to commence.

Adeosun: I suspended Gwarzo because he threatened to blackmail me

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Adeosun: I suspended Gwarzo because he threatened to blackmail me

Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance, says she suspended Mounir Gwarzo as Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) because he threatened to blackmail her over the ongoing probe of Oando Plc.

Adeosun made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, explaining that Gwarzo had threatened to leak information to the media if any action was taken against him.

“Mr. Gwarzo personally delivered the memo using SEC staff seconded to the office of the Minister, in breach of normal procedures for the receipt of mail,” Adeosun’s statement read.

“The copy of the memo in the possession of the Minister was delivered with a message that any action against Mr. Gwarzo would result in same being leaked to the press.

“It was this threat of blackmail that strengthened the resolve of the Minister to suspend Mr. Gwarzo and allow the Administrative Panel of Inquiry to proceed with its probe.”

Adeosun said the reports Gwarzo was suspended because he refused to stop the forensic audit he ordered into Oando’s finances, were “misleading and mischievous.”

Gwarzo was suspended on November 29 alongside two other senior staff of SEC — Abdulsalam Naif Habu, Head of Media Division and Anastasia Omozele Braimoh, Head of Legal Department — over allegations of financial impropriety.

But days later, reports emerged in the media that Gwarzo’s suspension was as a result of his refusal to obey Adeosun’s directive allegedly ordering him to discontinue with a probe he ordered into the finances of Oando Plc.

Gwarzo was said to have written Adeosun, explaining to her why the Oando probe should be allowed to go on. But instead of heeding his counsel, Adeosun fired him the next day.

The House of Representatives waded into the matter on Tuesday, ordering a probe into the matter and advising Adeosun to reinstate Gwarzo pending the outcome of the probe.

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