President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Victor Ndoma-Egba as new chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
A letter to this effect is expected to be read on the floor of the senate on Thursday.
Ndoma-Egba, a senior advocate of Nigeria, SAN and former senate leader in the seventh senate, hails from cross river state.
He joined the All Progressives Congress, APC, in November 2015 after falling out with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the aftermath of the Party’s State Governorship Primary Election.
Ndoma-Egba is to replace Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, also from Cross River state, who was sacked by the federal government on July 16, 2015
Ewa-Henshaw however challenged his removal in court, arguing that by virtue of sections 2, 3 and 5 of the NDDC Act, they were entitled to four years unbroken tenure from December 16, 2013 to December 15, 2017.
The President has also appointed Nsima Ekere, former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, as the managing director of the NDDC.
Ekere succeeds Ibim Semenitari, who has been the managing director in acting capacity since December 21, 2015.
Protests erupted on Wednesday in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital among students over the continued closure of the State-run Niger Delta University, NDU, as a result of strike by the University’s lecturers.
The protesting students matched from Mbiama-junction to the government House gate, brandishing placards calling for the state government and the state chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to broker a truce and end the ongoing lecturers’ strike in the state.
The NDU branch of ASUU had on April 26 embarked on an indefinite strike citing the unpaid salaries by the state government dating back to December 2015.
The state governor, during negotiations with the association offered to pay them 50 percent of their salary arrears, but the offer was turned down by the lecturers who insisted that it was their full arrears or nothing.
The students lamented that the continued closure of the institution was a threat to educational development in the state and was not in anybody’s interest.
Kemeowei James, a student said the students were tired of staying at home.
“Yes, we are protesting over the ASUU strike that have lingered, because we are tired of sitting at home; you know that, an idle man, is the devil’s workshop. We want the government to resolve the situation; the strike has increased hardship, making us to sit idle and losing focus on our academic pursuit,’’ he said.
“We do not want our state to be known for criminality,” said Mary Goodluck, another student protester. “Right now, the strike has increased youth restiveness among other vices”.
Serena Dokuno-Spiff, Secretary to Bayelsa Government, who addressed the students, said ASUU is to blame for the strike as it has refused to honour their part payment agreement with the state government.
“I feel your pains, you need not to suffer what you are suffering, but it is because ASUU has refused to sit down with the state government,’’ Dokuno-Spiff said.
The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Jonathan Obuebite, in a statement, also called on the students to blame their lectures and not the government for the situation, urging them not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to cause unrest in the state.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has removed Abdulmumin Jibrin as chairman, House Committee on Appropriations.
The Speaker said Jibrin had requested to be replaced.
Jibrin, a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, from Kano State, had in the past been accused by fellow lawmakers of allocating to his constituency, projects to the tune of N4 billion, while he was chairman of the committee.
This led to calls for his removal but Dogara stood his ground with some saying Jibrin was being protected because of the role he played in Dogara’s emergence as Speaker.
But on Wednesday, the Speaker announced Jibrin’s removal, saying, “He came to me and said he cannot do it anymore and that the pressure was on him.”
He was replaced with Mustapha Dawaki, also a member of the APC from Kano State, who was the chairman, House Committee on Housing.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Chad President Idriss Deby received the first two African Union passports
One of the highlights of the 27th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government which was held between July 17 and 18 in Kigali, Rwanda, was the launch of the AU passport.
Analysts say the new AU passport which was launched during the opening ceremony of the summit, represents a symbolic and historic chapter in the Pan-African movement.
The idea behind the passport, which was launched last weekend, is for all African citizens to be able to travel throughout the continent without visas.
Chairperson of the AU and President of the Republic of Chad, Idris Deby, and President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda received the first passports handed to them by the head of the AU Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
“I feel deeply and proudly a true son of Africa after receiving this passport”, President Deby said, stressing the importance of fast-tracking integration on the continent to achieve socio-economic growth for the wellbeing of African citizens.
Another highlight of the Assembly was the decision taken during the Ministerial retreat, which took place on the July 16, underscoring the need for the Continent to fully finance itself as well as its peace and security missions, among others.
President Deby expressed his profound gratitude to the government of Rwanda for hosting the summit, observing that the African Union “is facing emergency issues on a daily basis.” These issues, he stated, required instant and effective mechanisms to address them.
According to BBC Africa, there are two passports – one issued by the African Union for officials and people who travel a lot on business, and the other by individual countries for everyone else.
Some heads of state have already been given an African Union passport. The full roll-out for African citizens is supposed to happen by the end of 2018.
However, a lot of Africans took to the social media to criticize the new initiative with many arguing that the passports should not be issued to the “elite” first.
Others complained that it would have been cheaper to have an agreement about visa-free travel, adding that there were more important things to worry about in Africa, including malnutrition, poverty and improved education.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it will deploy 5,603 personnel for outstanding rerun elections in Imo and Kogi states scheduled to hold this Saturday.
The commission says 4,105 personnel would be deployed to Imo state for the election into one senatorial district in Imo North and three state constituencies – Isiala Mbano, Oru East and Owerri West.
According to the electoral body, the areas involved have a total number of 390,311 registered voters spread across eight local government areas, with 64 registration areas and 817 polling units.
INEC also announced it will send 1,498 of its staff to Kogi State for the re-run election to fill the vacancies into Kogi East senatorial district, and Ofu and Idah state constituencies, involving eight local government areas.
The area has 140,297 registered voters in 45 registration areas and 236 polling units.
INEC postponed the Imo North Senatorial re-run election On 19 February citing violence by some youths in the state, while that of Kogi was rescheduled because of irregularities in the voting process.
Just days after President Muhammadu Buhari directed the re-opening of investigations into the murders of Bola Ige and Aminosari Dokubo, the acting Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has also directed a fresh inquiry into the murder of Barnabas and Blessing Igwe, which occurred in 2002 in Anambra State.
Barnabas, who at the time of his gruesome murder was the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in Onitsha, was killed alongside his pregnant wife while alighting from his car on September 1, 2002.
There were unconfirmed reports at the time that before his death at a hospital where he was rushed to, Barnabas had made indicting statements against the then governor of Anambra State, Chinweoke Mbadinuju.
As leader of the Onitsha Bar, Barnabas was popular for his courageous criticism of Mbadinuju’s administration especially regarding the then governor’s protracted indebtedness to the state’s workforce.
The governor after the expiration of his tenure in May 2003, later faced a high profile murder trial in both Abuja and Anambra state in 2006. He was slammed with a three-count charge of conspiracy to murder the Igwes.
But he was discharged and acquitted by Justice D.O.C Amaechina of Onitsha High Court following an application he brought before it for a judicial review of the murder charges against him.
Vanguard newspaper quoted some police sources as saying that the IGP was not satisfied that despite the progress made on the case by investigators, which lead to the arrest of the suspected killer who later confessed to having pulled the trigger, nobody has been brought to book over the matter.
The newspaper’s source said investigation into the matter has been concluded and the case file handed over to the Anambra State Director for Public Prosecution, but up till date, nothing was done and the suspects are allegedly walking free on the streets.
The IGP is said to have told the new investigating team to go all out for the suspects and ensure the matter is resolved once and for all and that those involved in the heinous crime are brought to justice.
IGP reportedly promised the team total support and non-interference in the investigation.
Members of the Benue State House of Assembly engaged in a free-for-all on Tuesday during plenary over an alleged probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, into the purchase of cars for the lawmakers that reportedly gulped 750 million Naira.
Reports say the drama started when Kester Kyenge, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, member of the House, raised a point of order before the consideration of votes and proceedings of the previous sitting.
Speaker of the House, Terkimbi Ikyange, reportedly sensing something sinister in the motion, ruled Kyenge out of order.
But that decision did not go down well with the other PDP members in the assembly as they started calling for the removal of all principal officers of the House.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, legislators strongly resisted the move and a war of words ensued, almost degenerating to fisticuffs.
The Speaker reportedly invoked the relevant sections of the House Standing Rules by adjourning the assembly for thirty minutes, in the first instance, and later till Thursday July 21.
Later in an interview with journalists, Kyenge in company of his PDP colleagues, expressed concern that the Benue State government had failed to pay workers’ six months salaries, amidst rising insecurity in the state, and accused the Speaker of corruption.
The PDP members demanded the resignation of the principal officers in the House.
The Speaker on his part said that contrary to the PDP lawmakers’ claims, 13 of them violated the law in the purchase of the cars which prompted the EFCC probe.
Terver Akase, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Samuel Ortom, accused the PDP lawmakers of orchestrating a plot to set the state’s civil servants against the government.
It would be recalled that the Benue State House Speaker, his deputy, James Ikefe and 12 other members were invited and detained for some days by the EFCC in June for allegedly misappropriating N750 million meant for the purchase of official cars.
Governor Ortom had commended the questioning of the legislators saying he would not condone criminality or defend anyone who had a hand in fraud.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has a new mandate and it has nothing to do with money matters. It does not even have anything to do with stabilising the foreign exchange regime or strengthening the naira, desirable as that task is.
The new role of Nigeria’s apex bank is to launder Nigeria’s apparently battered image abroad.
In what is the latest in a trend of frivolous and wasteful spending of tax payers’ money, the apex bank in April engaged the services of APCO Worldwide Inc., a public relations and political consultancy firm based in Washington DC, to help launder the image of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the country in the United States.
In the last three years, the www.icirnigeria.org has tracked many of such controversial contracts amounting to over $6 million dollars awarded by different agencies of the Nigerian government to foreign firms to launder the country’s image abroad.
From our investigations, such contracts, it appears, are mere conduits for siphoning public funds.
Previous similar questionable contracts tracked by this news website include a $3 million lobbying contract awarded by the National Security Adviser, NSA’s office in September 2013 to Patton Boggs, an American law firm that specialises in lobbying and a $1.5 million PR contract awarded by the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, to Levick Strategic Communications, a Washington – based PR firm.
There is also a $700,000 PR contract awarded by the Nigerian Embassy in the US to Mercury Public Affairs.
Read our reports on these frivolous contracts here, here and here.
The latest image laundering contract awarded by the CBN has an initial fixed payment of $95,000, more than N33 million at the parallel market exchange rate today, and is for a period of three months beginning from April 18 to July 17, 2016. The contract agreement, however, gives wide room for APCO to negotiate further fees when necessary during the life of the contract.
According to a document obtained from the US Department of Justice by www.icirnigeria.org, APCO is expected to provide media relations, stakeholder engagement, and strategic communications services for Nigeria within the United States.
“Registrant (APCO) has contracted with Davebrook Digital PR Services Limited to provide services for the foreign principal (CBN) within the United States to promote positive relations between the United States and the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the document states.
The document states further: “A copy of the Registrant’s agreement with Davebrook Digital PR Services Limited is attached. The Registrant commenced services within the United States for the foreign principal starting on June 1, 2016.”
The CBN contract raises too many questions with nobody purportedly involved in it ready to provide answers. There are also many curious things about the contract.
First, the CBN did not award the contract directly to APCO but purportedly hired a Nigerian public relations firm, Davebrook Digital PR Services, to engage the US PR consultants. Davebrook, according to the document is located at No 1, Asabi Cole, Ikeja, Lagos.
“THIS MASTER ENGAGEMENT AGREEMENT (Agreement) made and entered into as of April 18,2016 (Effective Date) with offices located at 90 Long Acre, London by and between APCO Worldwide Limited WC2E 9RA, United Kingdom (“APCO”) and Davebrook Digital PR Services Limited…(“Client”)…” are the exact words of the agreement.
Another curious point in the contract is that although APCO is an American firm, the contract is enforced by laws of the United Kingdom and Wales, not US statutes. Thus, the person who signed the document for APCO, which is headquartered in Washington, is James Acheson – Gray, the managing director of the firm’s London office.
Of the questions the contract raises, perhaps the most obvious is why the Buhari administration, which has enjoyed worldwide support and goodwill since its emergence in May last year, would need to embark on any image laundering exercise?
Besides, why would the CBN be the government agency to award a PR contract when the ministry of information and the office of the media adviser to the president exist?
Also, what will the Buhari administration benefit from a three-month image laundering job in the US?
But, most importantly, was due process followed in the award of the contract? For this kind of contract, the Public Procurement Act requires that the contract be advertised in at least two international newspapers and a bidding process conducted, among other due processes. From our investigations, it is unlikely that any of these processes was followed.
What clearly proves the contract to be bogus, however, is that the Nigerian firm which the CBN purportedly hired to award the contract to APCO denied any knowledge of its existence.
When our reporter contacted the Managing Director of Davebrook, Adesida Adelekan, who is shown to have signed the document for the CBN, to speak on the PR job, he expressed shock that his company was linked to a contract awarded by CBN. He said his company has never handled or been involved in any public relations contract with or for the apex bank.
“This is news to me. Please I want more details about this contract because this is the first time I’m hearing about it. We don’t have any contract with either the CBN or the federal government,” he declared, adding that some people might be using his company’s name to feather their nests.
But the biggest scandal of all is the denial by the CBN of any knowledge of the contract. When our reporter contacted the spokesman of the regulatory bank, Isaac Okorafor, to clarify issues surrounding the contract, he said that it does not exist as there was nothing in the records of the bank regarding it.
When he was first told of the contract, Okorafor denied any knowledge and said he would not “respond to a rumour.” He asked whether the reporter had evidence of the contract to which he got an affirmative response.
Okorafor then asked the reporter to “do an email stating the details of the contract.” On Tuesday morning, the CBN spokesman called our reporter to say that he had searched everywhere and asked everyone, but there was nothing about the contract in their books.
“I have searched through our system, I’ve asked around and looked out for what you said at every corner of our office and I can’t find anything like that. If you have any evidence or document to show me, you can scan it and show it to me,” he stated.
Asked if he confirmed from Kingsley Obiora whose name is provided as the liaison person for the bank, Okorafor inferred that the CBN governor’s aide also denied knowledge of the contract.
“I am telling you I haven’t seen anything. I’ve asked everybody. So if you have any document to show me you can scan and send to me…” he said.
He refused further discussion on the matter and added that the newspaper could go ahead and publish falsehood.
“I have answered your question. If you want to go ahead and publish falsehood, you can go ahead. You can’t expect me to comment on a document I have not seen. I am a professional.”
Also curious is the refusal of APCO to respond to issues concerning the contract. An email sent to Acheson last week Thursday was not replied until press time. Margery Kraus, founder and executive chairman of APCO, who is based in the US also did not reply an email sent to her email.
By U S law, specifically the Foreign Agents Registration Act OF 1938, as amended, every firm providing services for a foreign principal is required to provide detailed information about any contract signed.
The document in the possession of the www.icirnigeria.org was filed and signed on June 9, 2016 by Terry Judd, a senior director at APCO on behalf of the PR firm. He gives the registrant’s name as APCO Worldwide Inc. and its address as 1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20004.
In the filing, the foreign principal is given as “Central Bank of Nigeria (through Davebrook Digital PR Services Limited)” with address at “Plot 33, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Way, Central Business District, Cadastral Zone, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria.”
Also, in the document, the name and title of the official with whom registrant deals with is given as “Kingsley Obiora, Special Adviser to the Governor (Economic Matters) Central Bank of Nigeria.”
The detailed activity for which the PR firm will provide the CBN for three months at the cost of $95,000 is “media relations, stakeholder engagement, and strategic communications services within the United States to promote positive relations between the United States and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The contract document was signed on April 20, 2016 by Acheson- Gray and Adesida.
However, the contract document itself was not filed as an annexture with the US Department of Justice as required by law. When our reporter checked www.fara.gov, the contract document was missing and he had to physically go to the Washington office of the Department of Justice to collect it. The official who provided the full contract document could not explain why it was missing in the documents filed with the Department of Justice.
The chief executive officer of the Public and Private Development Centre, PPDC, which advocates transparency in budget and public procurement processes, Seember Nyager, questions the entire contract and condemned the trend whereby public funds are being frivolously expended by several agencies of government to launder the country’s image.
“All government contracts must be bound by the Public Procurement law as long as state resources are involved. All contract will have to be through competitive bidding unless there is a reason to use a restricted method, and even then there has to be a justifiable reason,” she said.
“In any case why is CBN the one to award a PR contract for government? Is it because they have the resources?” she queried.
“I don’t think it is a good use of our resources. The unfortunate thing is that these things keep happening,” she observed.
A truck believed to be carrying fuel supply to a Boko Haram around Damboa was intercepted by the Nigerian Army on Tuesday.
Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, in a statement said a truck carrying 25 jerry cans of premium motor spirit and other goods cleverly hidden was intercepted around 8:00am at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the state capital Maiduguri by troops from the army’s Quick Response Force, QRF, of 251 Battalion, 7 Division.
“The driver of the vehicle, Muhammadu Adamu, claimed ignorance of the contents of the vehicle and called the owner of the goods, Tijjani Gambo, to explain. He too denied supplying terrorists fuel and other items, rather he claimed to be a mere trader that supplies goods to customers in Damboa based on demand.
“However, preliminary investigation revealed that he has been sending PMS and other goods through the same route at regular intervals without an identifiable corresponding recipient in Damboa as alleged,” the army said, adding that it is working with the theory that the suspects were being used to deliver much needed supplies to the insurgents in Sambisa forest.
“This is more so that there is a ban on the purchase and transportation of petrol in containers such as that within the theatre.
“Both suspects and the exhibits have been handed over to Joint Interrogation Centre for further investigations,” it concluded.
President Buhari in a group photograph with some Team Nigeria members
President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the Nigerian contingent to the 2016 Rio Olympics to be true ambassadors of the country and to prioritize integrity and honesty ahead of the quest to win medals.
The President gave the charge during a ceremony at the State House in which the athletes were officially handed over to Nigerian Olympics Committee and President Buhari was invested as the grand patron of the NOC.
He commended the athletes for their “outstanding performances” which qualified them to fly the country’s flag in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, assuring them that funds budgeted for the Games would be released without delay.
He however urged officials who have no important role to play during the games to stay back and cheer the team from home.
“We are all aware of our nation’s dwindling revenue and the current global economic challenges. It is therefore imperative that funds provided for the Games are utilized judiciously. In this regard, any official who has no business at the Games should stay at home to cheer the team from here and if they must travel to the Olympics, they should do so at their own expense,” he said.
The President advised the athletes and officials not to engage in acts that could dent the image of the country.
“I want to charge all athletes and team officials going to the Olympic Games to be worthy ambassadors of our great country, both on the field of play and outside the sporting arena,
“The eyes of the global community are on you and as such, you should desist from acts that could dent the image of our great country, Nigeria,
“You are very aware of recent doping allegations which cast aspersions not only on the individual athletes but on their home countries. Please keep Nigeria clean,” the President charged.
Buhari wished team Nigeria success during the outing urging them to “Please bring as many medals back home as a result of your efforts and endeavour,
“But remember it is more important to compete and acquit your country as a fair sporting nation than to bring a pack of medals as a result of bending the rules and denying the Games of fair competition.”
The President assured them of the support of all Nigerians as they strive to make themselves and the country proud.
Nigeria has a total of 78 athletes comprising of 49 male and 29 female athletes, to compete in 10 different sport disciplines.
A good number of Nigerian athletes have also qualified for the Paralympic Games, which comes up immediately after the Olympic Games in Brazil.
