Re: Dear Mrs Okonjo-Iweala - A Rejoinder To Sonala Olumhense

Written by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The problem I have with Mr. Sonala Olumhense’s articles on the Coordinating Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the general absence of verified facts and the basing of opinions on gross inaccuracies.

For instance, Mr Olumhense writes that $2.5 billion of Abacha money was recovered during Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s time as Finance Minister under President Obasanjo and that the money disappeared implying some involvement in the disappearance by the Minister. This is absolutely false. First, the amount recovered was $500 million, not $2.5 billion. The recovered amount was channeled into rural projects and programmes as per the agreement with the Swiss government which repatriated the funds. A combined team of Nigerian and Swiss NGOs with the World Bank later verified the use of this money on the ground in the projects cited and they certified the money had been accurately utilized.

The World Bank had written about this in a 2007-2008 Handbook on stolen Asset Recovery where the case was cited as a best practice example of how to deploy returned proceeds of looted assets. Readers of Mr Olumhense would benefit more if his passionate writings on Dr Okono-Iweala are supported by a bit more research as opposed to sweeping, unverified statements.

A second inaccuracy in Mr Olumhense’s article is the claim that NEEDS was to be the last reform agenda of Nigeria. Who on earth made such a claim? The idea that a country needs one magical reform startegy to take care of all current and future challenges is strange. It simply doesn’t make sense. Every country continues to reform as circumstances change – the name may change but the process of reform is and should be continuous. President Obama is currently reforming the health and immigration systems in America. The United States, like many other countries, has never stopped reforming. Why should Nigeria?

 I suppose I should thank Mr Olumhense for finding something positive in anything Dr Okonjo-Iweala has said, as he did on her comments on corruption in her TedxEuston talk. But if he listened to the talk carefully, he would have noted that most of the examples of political corruption were from Nigeria.

But unlike some of those that talk about corruption, Okonjo-Iweala has not stopped at talking. The clean-up of the fraud in the subsidy payments regime to oil marketers for which she paid a heavy personal price in the form of the abduction of her mother by paid kidnappers in November 2012 is one clear example. The sole demand of the kidnappers for the first three days of the abduction was that the minister should resign and leave the country for spearheading the clean-up. Her 83-year old mother was held for five days and it was only the intervention of the Almighty God in answer to the prayers of well-meaning Nigerians that brought her back, alive. Where was Mr Olumhense at this time? How can he claim that this woman is not at the forefront of the fight against corruption? Thank God her mother is stil alive to tell her traumatic tale and nobody should make light of that sacrifice.

Another example is the clean-up of the pension fraud with the establishment now of a new institution under the Federal Ministry of Finance – the Pension Transition Administration Department to ensure that pensioners under the old defined benefits scheme are not defrauded anymore. The department is a practical response to an issue that many of us feel very strongly about – the terrible experience that many senior citizens have to go through just to collect their pensions - and serious work is going on to ensure that fix this long-standing problem in a sustainable way.

On the NNPC oil accounts issue, Mr Olumhense seems to have forgotten that Dr Okonjo-Iweala has called for an independent forensic audit to establish the facts of any unaccounted for money and ensure that all every Naira that is owed the treasury is returned to the Federation Account. This is the best way to proceed given the conflicting claims by Mr Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the NNPC. After all the speeches and comments like that of Mr Olumhense, the fundamental problem of determining the facts as a basis for action must still be tackled. Is there room for more action on corruption? Of course the answer can only be yes. But action is needed to achieve change. Talk is cheap, action is crucial.

Mr Olumhense is entitled to his opinion of the status of the Transformation Agenda but his failure to say anything about visible achievements in roads, rail, power privatization, agriculture and job creation programmes like YOUWIN speaks volumes about the bias and lack of balance in his comments. Of course the foundation of a mortgage housing programe for the country, a project with profound positive implications for the overall economic development of the country is beneath Mr Olumhense’s gaze as a professional critic. Like many Okonjo-Iweala critics, he is too apoplectic with contrived rage to see anything good in whatever she does. Their minds – and eyes – are shut to any possibility of any positive contribution. As the minister has always maintained, we face serious challenges at so many levels as a country. But that is precisely why progress should be recognized so that it will act as a beacon for more work to achieve more progress. A climate of total and complete hopelessness, like the one which commentators like Mr Olumhense are working so hard to achieve, is not in the interest of any Nigerian.

Finally, on the issue of the recurrent budget, the Minister has publicly explained the origin of the present imbalance between recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure. The huge salary increase of 53% and attendant pension increases awarded to public servants in 2010 is the major factor. Unfortunately for Mr Olumhense, Dr Okonjo-Iweala was not in office then. Was Mr Olumhense a columnist then? I believe so. Since he is so passionate about the high recurrent expenditure, he should avail us of what his critical analysis of what transpired at that time. If he said nothing then, then he has no moral authority now to lay blame where it does not belong.

Paul C Nwabuikwu

Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance




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Why Jonathan may not be returned in 2015 (2)

By Uche Igwe

Last month, I wrote the first part of the above titled article and got several comments. Not surprisingly, some of them were supportive while many of them were not. Some of the respondents who strongly questioned the basis for my analysis dismissed my conclusions. After a few weeks of studied reluctance, I have decided to do a follow-up to continue the debate and give my readers more reasons why I still stand by the position canvassed in that article.  I do not have anything personal against President Goodluck Jonathan. He is a great man. However, I think that he has performed below expectations as a President and may be rounding off his assignments at the Aso Villa.

I listened partly to the Presidential media chat on Monday night. The deliberate tactics of prevarication employed by the most powerful citizen of Nigeria only further reinforced my position. His continued reluctance in declaring his bid to re-contest his position is a clear signal that he may even be doubtful, just like many, that he will be returned by the Nigerian electorate. I will give you additional reasons.

The first reason is the unwitting alienation of the President’s political family. The Jonathan Presidency has got many godparents and enthusiasts. They include Olusegun Obasanjo, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Rochas Okorocha, many parliamentarians and several NGO leaders. Many of them have now deserted him. Part of their grouse is the yet-to-be declared ambition of the President for another term. Even prominent politicians like Chief Tony Anenih now Chairman Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party and other bigwigs like Gen. T.Y. Danjuma can hardly declare their support publicly as they did in 2011. During the Obasanjo years, I remember that Danjuma was so fanatical about his support to the former President that he even threatened to go on exile if Obasanjo failed to win the Presidency. I remember that many coalitions of not-for-profit organisations aligned with prominent politicians and rallied around to canvass support for the Doctrine of Necessity.  It is clear that many of these people are no longer visibly pro-Jonathan and might have decided to take their support elsewhere.

Another reason is the myth about Jonathan’s popularity in the old Eastern Nigeria which is now giving way to reality. Here I mean what we now know as the South-South and South-East zones. During the 2011 elections, Jonathan swept more than 90 per cent of all the votes cast in these zones. In a society deeply entrenched in patronage politics, these zones now feel that they have got very little from the Jonathan administration so far to risk voting for him again. Last week, when the President was confronted by the Obi of Onitsha, during his brief visit to Anambra State, about the Second Niger Bridge, he only offered a lame promise to lay the foundations before the end of Governor Peter Obi’s administration in March. For a zone that almost became fanatical about the Jonathan Presidency, this is not only disheartening but unacceptable.

Many people assume wrongly that the fact that the President hails from the Niger Delta automatically means that he will get the support and votes of  the region full and square as he did in 2011. That is no longer the case in many areas. I will not talk about the crisis in Rivers State and the underlying factors that are already in the public domain. Probably the biggest political error that the President made about the Niger Delta is to continue to see the region from the lens of his native Ijaw tribe. While the Ijaw constitute a bonafide tribe in the Niger Delta, the region is highly fragmented and made up of many other tribes. The regular and sometimes unnecessary attention paid to the Ijaw by this administration, something alluded to by Obasanjo in his famous letter to the President recently, is already a source of worry among other tribes and may reflect in the pattern of voting come 2015. What about the Ogoni, Ikwere, Anioma, Ndoni, Efik, Ibibio among others? The Ogoni, for instance, are said not to be happy that the recommendations of the UNEP Report are not being implemented as expected. Rather than establish the Ogoni Environmental Restoration Authority, with a specific focus on Ogoniland, the Federal Government proclaimed a different organisation called HYPREP with a hazy mandate to clean up hydrocarbon spills in the whole Niger Delta region. Furthermore, those who are familiar with the history of the Niger Delta struggle know that the Ogoni played an important role in it.  One fruit of the struggle is  the Jonathan Presidency. It was the efforts of the legendary late Ken Saro-Wiwa that first brought the travails of the Niger Delta to global radar screen. A grateful beneficiary would have extended a little more attention to the Ogoni people than what is happening currently under Jonathan.

Another related point is that even the elite in the Niger Delta who participated in the struggle feel that they have been relegated to the background. The biggest lump sum amount spent so far in the Niger Delta has been expended on the militants. Yes, militants. So far, according to the Presidential Adviser on Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku, a budget provision of N234bn has been allocated to the programme since its inception in 2009. The need for peace in the region for the continuous exploration and exploitation of crude oil is valid. That the ex-combatants need to be kept busy with more productive engagements is also crucial. However there are many other stakeholders who feel that they made non-violent contributions to the struggle and who murmur that they deserve some attention. Such pockets of frustration might begin to crystallise as 2015 elections come closer and may alter expectations. And, beyond the payment and training of the “repentant militants”, what is the state of infrastructure in the region? Has the East-West Road, for instance, been constructed as promised?

Another reason that makes one conclude that President may not return is his recent actions that point to an inclination to religious politics. In the past few weeks, Jonathan has been visiting many churches across the country. As a Christian, there is nothing wrong for people to practise their faith. I mean both the leaders and the led. However, for a country that operates a secular constitution, it is important to exercise this right with some sensitivity about the wishes and aspirations of others especially when one occupies an elevated position as the President. Worse still, Jonathan uses his visit to churches to raise issues of national importance or respond to critics.The natural response to such religiously tainted comments from other religions will be an attempt to begin some level of political mobilisation along religious lines. That is a dangerous sign. Religious politics is a sore point in the history of our nation and must be condemned by all patriots. It smirks of political desperation and it is for those who are desperate for legitimacy. It is the very virus that has eaten deeply into our polity that must be rejected. For Nigeria to go forward, we must learn not to vote for people because they are Christians or Muslims, come 2015. Never again! That was part of the reasons that led to the post- election violence in 2011. That is the road we must not travel again. Our leaders must ensure that they play politics in a way that will assure adherents of all religions the opportunity to freely practise them with fear of intimidation or attack.

It is very discernible that the Jonathan loyalists and friends are decreasing by the day even in his home region. He is now under intense pressure. That is why he is shuttling around the country trying to make new friends and shore up primordial sentiments before his expected declaration. One thing is clear to many, however, he may not be returned in 2015 and he knows it.




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12 REASONS WHY PRESIDENT JONATHAN, MINISTER DIEZANI AND NNPC MUST INCUR THE WRATH OF NIGERIANS AND FACE JUSTICE

Please see below twelve patently corrupt and manifestly illegal actions taken by the NNPC and the Minister of Petroleum Resources from 2011 to date, with full backing and support of President Goodluck Jonathan. It is instructive to start by noting that the allegations do not all emanate from the ‘suspended’ Governor of Central Bank Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, nor is the list exhaustive.

Under the watch of President Goodluck Jonathan and Diezani as Petroleum Minister, the Federation may have lost much more than the $20 billion that the CBN has established beyond reasonable doubt as having been diverted from the coffers of the Federal Government, 36 states and the FCT, and the 774 local governments that make up Nigeria. With each infraction, we have estimated the leakage from the Federation Account in gross violation of sections 80, 81, 82 and 162 of the Constitution.

1.     THE MALABU (OPL 245) REVENUE DIVERSION SCANDAL ($1.3 BILLION)

In early 2011, the Minister of Petroleum Resources with the approval of President Jonathan, caused the proceeds of sale from OPL 245 amounting to US1.3 billion to be paid to Malabu Oil, owned by Dan Etete; in spite of the fact that a court of competent jurisdiction had ruled that the licence was validly revoked by the Obasanjo administration several years prior for want of payment of requisite consideration! This point was emphasized by a London High Court in 2012 whilst ruling against Dan Etete for the payment of brokerage fees and awarding an unprecedentedly high punitive damages in excess of US$100million.

We also have it on good authority that over half of the said proceeds, about $700million (over N100 billion) was laundered back to a few fronts of the President and the Minister? to prosecute the 2011 Presidential elections. This publicly available information has nothing to do with the Governor of Central Bank; just as it is pertinent to mention that the House of Representatives recently passed a resolution calling for the transaction to be cancelled with the proceeds being fully refunded to the public treasury!

2.     FUEL SUBSIDY FRAUD ($16 BILLION or N2.6 Trillion)

Following the arbitrary removal of subsidy on ?gasoline by the President on the 1st of January, 2012 and the ensuing public uproar, hearings and investigations, it was discovered that over N2.6 trillion (as opposed to the appropriated amount of N240 billion) was corruptly and illegally siphoned from the public treasury by an agency (PPPRA) under the watch of the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

No official has lost his job for the illegal payments without appropriation. None of the private sector culprits in the fraud has been convicted as of date and here again, this publicly available incontrovertible fact has nothing to do with the Governor of Central Bank. To the contrary, the CBN governor actually stood by the Government as perhaps the only credible voice to rationalize and justify the policy behind the subsidy removal; albeit distancing himself from the underlying corruption!

?UNLAWFUL ASSIGNMENT OF JOINT-VENTURE OIL BLOCS OWNED BY THE NNPC ON BEHALF OF THE FEDERATION

In 2010, the now rested Next Newspaper was the first to expose the corruption-laden unilateral decision of the Minister of Petroleum Resources to divert the Federal Government’s residual equity interest of 55 percent along with the appertaining operating rights in OML 30 to a private company – initially Seven Energy which metamorphosed into Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Limited, owned by Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore respectively; both are well-known associates of the Minister, without any transparency and due process whatsoever and in violation of Public Procurement Act 2007.

Again, this publicly available incontrovertible fact did not emanate from the now suspended Governor of Central Bank as we also have it on good authority that an agent of the Minister well-known for media deal-making offered to pay as much as US$20 million to the newspaper publisher for the story to be suppressed! The Jonathan government declared war on Next as a result, threatening advertisers with dire consequences, contributing to the death of that quality newspaper.

?OPAQUE CRUDE OIL SWAPS INSTEAD OF ENSURING DOMESTIC REFINING ($4 BN)

Another incontrovertible fact that was first raised by the London Financial Times and more recently by President Obasanjo in his public letter of December 2013 to President Jonathan is yet another covert and corruption laden crude oil of 445,000 barrels per day that is earmarked for local refining and consumption. Given that our refineries have not operated anywhere above 25 percent of installed capacity, most of the 445,000 barrels – at least 270,000 barrels in 2013, valued at about $30 million per day are being swapped for imported refined products by a subsidiary of NNPC – Duke Oil, through four private companies all connected with the Minister and the President, and handpicked by the Minister without any due process, accountability or transparent contractual agreements.

The leakage arising from these swaps are about $30 million daily – over a $1bn annually for the period the Minister of Petroleum has chaired the NNPC board. Since crude oil prices have averaged above $100 per barrel since 2010, a significant portion of an estimated $4bn have been diverted using these swaps.

5.     UNDECLARED REVENUES DIVERTED FROM FEDERATION & ADMITTED AS SPENT BY NNPC WITHOUT APPROPRIATION (BETWEEN $10.8 AND $12 BN)

Thus, the Central Bank Governor in his submission to the Senate Committee ?on Finance on the non-remittance of oil revenue to the Federation Account merely provided better and further information on items 2 to 4 above; in furtherance to his letter of September 2013 to President Jonathan on the subject. The ‘suspended’ Governor had indicated in the letter that there was a difference of US$49.8 billion between the value of crude oil exported by the NNPC and the amount repatriated into the Federation Account for the period January 2012 to July 2013.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources and senior officials of NNPC responded publicly that the shortfall was only $10.8 billion; with $8.5 billion expended on yet un-appropriated “fuel (mainly kerosene) subsidy claims” in spite of the public uproar and demonstration in 1. above, another un-appropriated $1.2 billion on management and repairs of pipelines and the balance of about $1.1 billion on “crude oil losses and holding strategic products reserves”! These explanations are merely afterthoughts and excuses for the unconstitutional diversion and expenditure of revenues belonging to 36 states, 776 local governments and the federal government.

?PAYMENT OF UNAUTHORISED KEROSENE SUBSIDY WITHOUT APPROPRIATION ($3.5BN)

The ‘suspended’ CBN Governor disclosed and exhibited a Presidential Directive dated 9 June 2009, by the late President Yar’Adua, to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, stating clearly that existing subsidy on consumption of kerosene be eliminated because the subsidy payments by Government on kerosene do not reach the intended beneficiaries!

So far, the Petroleum Minister has not explained why the kerosene subsidy payments were continued or resumed under her watch, in spite of the directive other than claim that Presidential Directives that are not gazetted can be disregarded – a manifest falsehood and legal absurdity?! Earlier on, the NNPC had falsely claimed that the directive was never communicated to them by the then Minister Rilwanu Lukman until CBN records proved otherwise.

7.     EXTRA-BUDGETARY FUEL SUBSIDY “PAYMENTS” AFTER STOPPAGE BY LEGISLATURE

Another indicative evidence that the said “fuel subsidy claim” in 5. above is not only illegal but perhaps also bogus is the fact that NNPC had consistently rendered NIL returns on fuel subsidy claims to the Federation’s Account Committee since March 2012 through to December 2013, in compliance with the law that all subsidy claims must be submitted through the PPPRA. Again, the Minister is yet to provide any logical explanation for this self-evident contradiction!

?OIL REVENUES SHIPPED FOR NPDC BY NNPC AND DIVERTED FROM FEDERATION ($6BN)

In addition to the $10.8 billion illegal ($12bn according to CBN) if not phantom expenditure admitted by NNPC in 5 above, it also publicly admitted that the value of crude oil exports under the “Strategic Alliance Agreements” with Atlantic Energy in 3 above came to about $6 billion. ?Even so, the Governor of Central Bank showed in his submission that there are in fact 8 OMLs (4, 26, 30, 34, 38, 40, 41, 42) and NOT just one that the Minister of Petroleum Resources had covertly and unilaterally diverted to Atlantic Energy and yet another private company known as Septa Energy Nigeria Limited; which company is also owned by the duo of Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore!

What is further disturbing is that these ‘overnight oil companies’ pay no taxes because the Finance Minister granted them pioneer status thus enabling them to enjoy a five-year tax holiday! Thus, the diverted revenue from the Federation Account could well be considerably in excess of the admitted $6 billion!

9.     DIVERTED OIL REVENUES FROM “THIRD PARTY FINANCING” ARRANGEMENTS ($1BN)

The Governor also provided credible evidence in support of the fact that NPDC and Atlantic Energy also lifted crude oil to the value of $1 billion as “third-party financed” over and above the $6 billion ?admitted by NNPC in paragraph 8 above; which assertion is also yet to be contradicted by the Minister of Petroleum Resources!

10.   UNLAWFUL DIVERSION OF OIL BLOC SALES TO COMPANIES CONNECTED TO DIEZANI ($2.8BN)

The other private sector companies that bid for and acquired Shell’s 45% equity interest in the 8 oil blocks in 8 above, that were unilaterally transferred to NPDC and indirectly to Septa and Atlantic? Energy paid a total consideration of $2.3 billion; which when grossed up for the Federation’s equity interest of 55% gives a capital value of $2.8 billion that had been diverted without any consideration whatsoever being paid! Here again, the Petroleum Minister is yet to provide any explanation for this clearly illegal action!

11.   ORGANIZED THEFT OF CRUDE OIL AND PROTECTION OF BUNKERERS BY EX-MILITANTS ($12BN)

Given the pervasive concern of well-meaning people within and outside our shores on oil theft, illegal refineries and bunkering, the Central Bank Governor commissioned ?a well-known firm in the industry – Global Financial Integrity to conduct a comprehensive survey and provide a reasonable estimate of the loss to the nation.

The Report, which focused mainly on the period from 2010 to 2013 gave an estimated annual revenue loss of between US$6.5 to 12 billion! Clearly, this is an exercise that should have been conducted by the Petroleum Minister if the greater public good is of concern to her! Not only was this not done, the CBN Governor is also being vilified and persecuted instead of being commended for a worthy initiative!

12.   NNPC RANKED MOST CORRUPT NATIONAL OIL COMPANY IN THE WORLD UNDER JONATHAN AND DIEZANI’S WATCH

Finally, in 2011, Transparency International conducted a global review of the activities of 44 National Oil Companies as part of its report on “Oil and Gas ?Companies Promoting Revenue Transparency”. Needless to mention that the said review has nothing whatsoever to do with the Governor of Central Bank!  So, it came as no surprise that a reputable globally acclaimed corruption fighting agency ranked NNPC as number 44 out of the 44 national and global oil companies in the class; with an enviable score of zero out of a maximum of 100!

BONUS POINT: NNPC’s last audited account was in 2005; unlike the CBN whose account has been audited with clean reports by two reputable international audit firms every year up to December 2013! Thus, it is only in Nigeria that the CBN Governor? that has consistently submitted clean audited annual accounts would be suspended for “financial recklessness” whilst the Minister in charge of the least transparent agency of all the 44 national oil companies in the world, and the Finance Minister that ought to ensure revenues are not diverted continue to smile to the bank with their positions secured and guaranteed by the President!

ESTIMATED OIL REVENUE LEAKAGE FROM FEDERATION ACCOUNT: US $58 BILLION.

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Who Says The Northerners Are Inferior To The Southerners?

By Dr. Wumi Akintide

There could be some of you who used to view the North as” poor illiterate Gambaris” like I used to do as a young boy growing up in Akure. All the images" of the northerners I had were based on my subjective views of some  blind beggars and their young children or wives  wandering the streets of Akure, pan in hand, begging for alms and chanting “Sadaka Sabo da Allah.”  Few of them who have lived long enough in Akure and could speak Akure dialect or Yoruba Language often resorted to speaking the little Yoruba they knew. “E sanu mi” “ Akoba adaba Oluwa ma ji a ri ”  or “Nagode  Allah Ikemu” when you drop a few pennies into their collection pans.

My early impressions of the northerners at the time are totally different from what they are today, thank God. A few northerners that impressed me after I heard them speak the English language on radio were individuals I never met before. I heard about them because of the positions they held in Government. Two of them included the Bauchi man also called the golden voice of Africa. I am talking of Tafawa Balewa, the so-called Grade II teacher who became  Nigeria’s first Prime Minister. The second was Maitama Sule, a Minister in Balewa’s Cabinet who later became the permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations.

The two of them, as I recall, spoke English language better than many southerners I knew. I once had a chance to listen to a video recording of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello explain to a British reporter his reasons for adopting his "northernization" policy as Premier of the Northern Region. I could not believe my ears as I listened to that Fulani Prince articulate in flawless English his reasons for crafting his "northernization" policy which many southerners always criticized at the time. By the time he became leader of Government Business in the North less than 20 northerners held any important position in the northern Nigerian Public Service. Ahmadu Bello instinctively knew the North  had a long way to go in terms of education and western civilization and he was determined  to change that perception. He knew the northerners were far more knowledgeable in Islamic education than Western education per se. He knew the North was not in short supply of native intelligence, common sense and wisdom but he also knew the northerners had a lot of catching up to do with the South. If you listen to many of the hausa proverbs or if you have ears for the kind of music played by Dan Maraya, you will understand what I am talking about.

Ahmadu Bello said if he did not pursue the northernization policy the Igbos and few Yorubas who were in the North at that time would have monopolized  or dominated all the Government jobs  at the expense of the less educated northerners. He was not going to let that happen. He went on to further  defend his rational for kicking against the decision of Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo to fast-track Nigerian independence to occur in 1956 so Nigeria could beat Ghana and her Pan African leader Osagyefo, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s who beat Nigeria to the punch by getting independence for Ghana by fire and by force in 1957 three years before Nigeria. Ahmadu Bello had figured it out that the North was not ready and he did not want a situation where the Igbos whom he described as very greedy, (his words not mine) would have made a mockery of Democracy in the North by taking all of the juicy positions in the Northern Nigerian Public Service and even in the Federal Public Service that came into existence following Nigeria’s attainment of independence.

On hindsight, it was the correct position to take and I took off my hat for Ahmadu Bello. As a matter of fact but for Ahmadu Bello the Nigerian Biafran war that erupted from 1967 to 1970 would have occurred sooner and would have been far more deadly and brutal, had the Sardauna not have the courage of his conviction to put his feet down and to tell the British colonial masters  that the northerners were not ready.

Who says the Northerners are inferior to the Southerners? That could be me at one point in my life. I was one of many southerners I knew who thought that way because we did not know any better as I hinted in the opening paragraph of this article. All those images and impressions of the northerners began to change after I left Oyemekun Grammar School in 1960 for Ibadan Grammar School and after I went to Lagos to teach at Igbobi College, Yaba following my graduation in 1966 from the great University of Ife which has been named  after Obafemi Awolowo. That was the time I started seeing the northerners as real human beings like the rest of us in the South. Before then I used to see some of the Hausa beggars  on the streets of Akure with most of them seated in front of Akure Post Office or the few Banks in Akure at the time where they expect frequent visitors to those public buildings and Banks to give them some tokenism as they went back and forth to those buildings.

I repeat all those impressions began to change and fade away as I went to Lagos to take up a more lucrative job as a lecturer at Igbobi College. I used to see a cluster of those Hausa beggars around Leventis Stores at Oyingbo area and close to the Railway Junction at Ebute meta. You would have thought  the whole area was the Nigerian “Rendezvous” for  beggars in those days. Governor Fashola one of my old students at Igbobi College may have cleared up the area now in his very successful effort to keep Lagos clean. I have not been to Ebute Meta for years ever since I voluntarily checked out of Nigeria in 1987 to give myself and my children a new lease of life as I thought I had reached the peak of my career in Nigeria having attained a grade level 16 in the Public Service of Nigeria as an administrator in the Public Service.

Those jaundiced impressions of the Northerners began to drastically change once I joined the Federal Public Service on January 3, 1968 as a Foreign Affairs officer because all I ever wanted to be was to become an Ambassador like my brother-in-law, the one and only Victor Adegoroye of Akure. The ambition quickly vanished as I was sent to serve in the home service in the Ministry of Defense in the Republic Building on Marina, Lagos which housed both Defense and the Foreign Service Ministries at the time. I was sent to the Home Service because Awolowo had persuaded Yakubu Gowon to drastically reduce some of the redundant missions Nigeria was keeping abroad because Awolowo made the case it made no sense for Nigeria to keep those missions at a time Nigeria needed all the money it could get to prosecute the war at home without borrowing a penny from the World Bank or the I.M.F.

It was my first time to come in contact with Hausa Civil Servants like Damcida and late Yusuf Gobir from Ilorin who became my Permanent Secretary for some time at Defense. It was the first time I came in contact with Hausa soldiers and commissioned officers of various ranks in the Nigerian Military like late General Joseph Garba, late Murtala Mohammed who became the Chairman of the Recruitment panel for Army officers while I served as the Secretary to the panel as Assistant Secretary (Army) with one S.A Ogunleye from Ijebu Ode as my direct boss and B.G. Popo from Warri as Deputy Permanent Secretary to Yusuf Gobir. The late Major General Agbazikah Innih and General Ike Nwachukwu who spoke English with a northern accent because I heard one of his parents  was a Fulani from Katsina or something like that. Some of the northern officers I met were among the finest.

I met so many officers of northern origin in the Federal Public Service. One of them was my P.E.O in the Federal Ministry of Education, Mallam Mohammadu Mayo from Sardauna Province and my mentor in the Public Service, the one and only Ahmed Joda from Girei in Adamawa State. The man was one of the four Musketeer Permanent Secretaries comprising of Allison Ayida from Warri, Phillip Asiodu from Asaba, E.M.E Ebong from Cross River or Calabar. The man thought me all I knew as a young civil servant. That was when the Federal Civil Service was something to write home about. I remember those days with some nostalgia till now.

I met many more distinguished Hausa and Fulani public servants who completely changed my early impressions of the northerners. One of them was Alhaji Gambo Gubio who was my Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Establishments for a few years with Francesca Yetunde Emanuel as the Permanent Secretary. In the Civil Service Commission was a gentleman named Sule Katagun who was Chairman of the Department for years with Dr. Manuwa as his Deputy as I recall. Later on when I served in the Federal Ministry of Finance as the Secretary to the special task force on Student Financing in Nigeria with Obafemi Awolowo as Chairman, I had the rare privilege of meeting and working with a few northern members of the Task Force which included, Shetima Alli Monguno and Alhaji Shehu Shagari who later became the first civilian President of Nigeria in 1979. Other northerners included late Abdul Azeez Attah, the son of Ohinoyi the Attah of Igbira land as Permanent Secretary to Awolowo in the Ministry of Finance and Alhaji Aminu Saleh as Deputy Permanent Secretary.

I also had the privilege of meeting and serving under Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji  (Triple A) as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning. I was at the time the Secretary to the Joint Economic Commission of Nigeria with the rest of the world. All of those individuals were fine gentlemen in their own right and they were as smart as any of their southern counterparts in my esteem. My path briefly crossed with the late former Governor of Kano, the one and only Alhaji Abubakar Rimi who was one of the greatest orators I have ever met. He was very handsome and as smart as hell. The last and not the least was Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, son of the late Sulu Gambari, the great Emir of Ilorin and now the number 2 man to Ki Moon at the United Nations.

Who says the northerners are inferior to the southerners?  You could say there was more widespread poverty in the North than the South. I would not dispute that. The poverty mainly accounted for the present insurrection of Boko Haram in the North if you ask me. The uneven distribution of wealth in the North and the South was a big part of Nigeria’s problem. Once upon a time, the Rivers State was getting no lees than 1053 Billion Naira in annual subvention  while the while Yobe State got 175 billion while Bornu State was getting 213 billion Naira. The northern leaders were not using all the money they stole from Government to create gainful opportunities for employment like many of their counterparts in the South used to doN Awolowo was the first leader in Nigeria to increase & double minimum wage for workers in the Western Region. The northern leaders had no reason to do that or create freedom for all and life more abundant for their own working class. The whole of free education which Awolowo has embraced for the West was a no go area for the northerners. I would be the first to admit that, but to then conclude that the northerners are still inferior to the southerners till now would be jumping the gun. Whoever says that just don’t know what they are talking about. The North has come a long way.

This takes me to the current feud between President Jonathan and the current Governor of Central Bank who followed the track record of Adamu Ciroma, from the great University of Ibadan who  once served with distinction at the same apex Bank even though the man was a historian by education and training but that did not stop him from becoming Federal Commissioner for Finance and Governor of Central Bank. If Ciroma could be Governor of Central Bank, so could Lamido Sanusi. I have never met Lamido Sanusi but I have listened to him speak at some international forums as the distinguished Governor of the Nigerian Central Bank. He is a great Governor by any stretch of the imagination and he is no pushover at all in my judgment. I just listened to his interview on You tube by the great CEO and MD of Sahara News Media Company based in New York. I am talking of the one and only Omoyele Sowore who interviewed him about his on-going suspension or removal by President Jonathan.

If you listen to that interview in full, you will  come to the same conclusion I have drawn that the northerners have come a long way. A good number of them can stand their ground and hold their own against any southerner any where in the world today. Professor Jega the current Chairman of I.N.E.C is one of them. Jerry Ghana is another, Professor Yadudu is another. The list is inexhaustible. But you have to give kudos to Lamido Sanusi who has proved he is not a push-over compared to the first Ph.D holder on merit from the South  to ever hold the post of President in Nigeria. I cannot wait to hear the outcome of his litigation against the President in the Court of Law. I cannot see the President winning that litigation because Lamido Sanusi is as smart as they come. The few Sanusis of Kano that I know are no pushovers at all.

They are very patriotic and brave. I once served with one Ambassador Sanusi the Nigerian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco as I once narrated in some of my articles on this web site. The ambassador is the senior brother to Lamido Sanusi. They are both sons of the deposed Emir of Kano who was banished and exiled from Kano for refusing to be micro-managed by the Ahmadu Bello. He was a stubborn monarch with a mind of his own. He could have been reinstated by another regime in Kano who allowed him to return to Kano where he finally died and was buried on the tomb reserved for his ancestors. The deposed Emir was a cousin to the current Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero who is now in his 80s.

Lamido Sanusi sounded to me very much like his own father when he told Omoyele Sowore that if he won his case for wrongful suspension or removal  from office, he was not doing that for the purpose of returning to the Central Bank. He said he did not apply to be Governor and being Governor was not a do or die proposition for him. He was taking the President to Court on principle to prove a point and to send a powerful message to the President. That sounded pretty much like what his father said when he told the regime in Kano he was not interested in taking back the throne. The Government should let his cousin, Ado Bayero continue on the throne because he had no bitterness in his heart for him or for the Government. He just wanted to peacefully die and be buried in the  tomb of his ancestors in Kano.

I recall Lamido’s brother Ambassador Sanusi siding with my motion against Morocco that the chairmanship of C.A.F.R.A.D (African  Research Center in Training and Administration for Development) based in Tangiers, Morocco must be rotated just like it is done at the African Union. The Moroccan Chairman of the C.A.F.R.A.D Board of Trustees had expected Ambassador Sanusi to be in cahoot with another Muslim country to disown my motion to rotate the chairmanship of C.A.F.R.A.D which Morocco had monopolized for more than 40 years because no country has raised a contrary view.

The amazing Ambassador openly sided with me as the distinguished delegate of Nigeria at C.A.F.R.A.D. He told King Hassan, he could not in good conscience support Morocco simply because he has to help another Muslim country.  His loyalty as ambassador  was first and foremost to Nigeria. He told His Royal Majesty  King Hassan, the young man referring to me had the right to table his motion and he, as the Ambassador of Nigeria supported me one hundred per cent. The guy praised my courage and he openly eulogized me for standing my ground. It was Nigeria’s finest hour, and one of my best days in the Nigerian Public Service. Nigeria went on to win the motion in a landslide. The only African country to vote for Morocco was the Mobutu-led Republic of Zaire. The other countries voted in a secret ballot for rotation and Nigeria became the first country outside Morocco to host the meeting of C.A.F.R.A.D and to appoint the first non-Moroccan Chairman of C.A.F.R.A,D in Chief Oluyemi Falae of Nigeria. I gave all the credit to Ambassador Sanusi who I believe is still alive and can confirm this or issue a rebuttal.

President Jonathan should expect a fight to finish with Prince Lamido Sanusi who would defend himself against the charges made against him by President Jonathan who could easily be faulted in the Court for double standard by seeking to indict or blackmail the prince charming for daring to call the President out on his low tolerance level for Corruption in Nigeria.

I am not defending Lamido Sanusi because I do not know the details of his indictment by the President but I would go to any length to say what I know about the Sanusis of this world. They are a breed-apart if you know them as well as I do. I am aware from my long association with some northerners that some of them can be very arrogant and few of them may occasionally overplay their hands by being arrogant but they are generally less corrupt and far less greedy than their southern counterparts. I saw a little bit of that in Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji, a Prince of the Sokoto Caliphate who was at one time the most powerful Permanent Secretary in the Federal Public Service of the  Shehu Shagari era in Nigeria. But Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji was a very able and competent Permanent Secretary without any doubt.

Lamido Sanusi may have been guilty of some arrogance as a Kano Prince but he sure knows what he is doing as Governor of Central Bank. I would be the last to agree he is a corrupt outlaw like the President was suggesting. I would count that as a low blow on the part of the President. Lamido Sanusi is a man of honor and a patriot like his father and brother.

If anyone is to be accused of any skeletons in their cupboard, I will call out Mr. President first before pointing accusing fingers at Sanusi. The statement is informed by the President’s high tolerance level for Corruption in Nigeria and the excesses of his first lady and some of his Ministers like Stella Odua and others.

Need I say more?

I rest my case.

NLC condemns Sanusi’s suspension, says Jonathan’s action “untidy, unethical and vengeful”

The NLC said Sanusi’s suspension is evidence the Jonathan administration is only paying lip service to the fight against corruption.

The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, has described the removal of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Lamido Sanusi, as clear evidence that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is only paying lip service to the fight against corruption.
Describing Mr. Sanusi’s removal as “untidy, unethical and vengeful”, the congress, in a statement, called on the National Assembly to suspend the nomination of a new governor until all the allegations made against Mr. Sanusi are “thoroughly and transparently investigated and proven.”
Last Thursday, citing a report by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Mr. Jonathan, through his media aide, Reuben Abati, announced the suspension of Mr Sanusi for what was termed “various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with the administration’s vision of a Central Bank propelled by the core values of focused economic management, prudence, transparency and financial discipline.”
However, Mr. Sanusi claimed he was suspended for blowing the lid off alleged $20 billion unremitted oil revenue from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and general corruption in the oil sector, a claim which is also the belief of many Nigerians.

President Jonathan, however, defended Mr. Sanusi’s suspension during the Presidential Media Chat on Monday. The president said the suspension was to pave the way for an unhindered investigation of the CBN accounts and allegations against Mr. Sanusi. He also said he had the powers to suspend the CBN governor.

The NLC, however, said the process of Mr. Sanusi’s removal from office was “unlawful and disdainful of the Act (as amended) establishing the Central Bank.”

“The forceful removal of Sanusi from office could be said to be clearly at variance with the rules of democracy if not out rightly vindictive and is capable of discouraging or frightening future whistleblowers.

“We believe a dangerous precedent has been sent which could be used tomorrow by a power-drunk president with dire economic consequences for the nation.

“We consider the reasons for Sanusi’s removal as spurious as much as they unconvincing. More curious is the haste with which the government has sought to replace him. While his immediate deputy was announced to act on his behalf during the period of his suspension pending investigation into allegations of professional misconduct against him, a few hours later, the name of the Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele was forwarded to the Senate for confirmation as the new Governor. This is a clear breach of known public service rules as any officer on suspension for reasons that are yet to be investigated needs to be given fair hearing and benefits pending the conclusion of the investigation.”

The NLC also called on the National Assembly to step up the investigation of the missing money at the NNPC with aim of ascertaining the actual amount and those that benefitted from it.


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The Seen and Unseen Hands Behind Sanusi’s Suspension

By Adekoya Boladale

In a palace coup reminiscent of the ouster of Generals Yakubu Gowon and Muhammadu Buhari, erstwhile Governor of Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was unceremoniously suspended from the apex bank a few days ago. Mallam Sanusi, like the two former heads of State was out of the country when the adjudged ‘clueless’ but now ‘ruthless’ President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (JP) announced his suspension on allegations of fraud and financial recklessness.

There have been accusations and counter-accusations on the motive behind the suspension of the awaiting Emir of Kano but the general consensus of a sizeable number of local and international press is that of ‘witch-hunting’.

Few weeks ago the outspoken Mallam was reported to have uncovered a record-breaking, government-backed financial fraud alleged to be in the realm of about twenty billion United States dollars ($20,000,000,000).

This amount was discovered to have developed wings ‘flying’ from NNPC’s office to CBN’s office. Though, NNPC claimed to have used the said billions as subsidy on Kerosene, the average Nigerian will not have this. The said subsidized product sells for N180-N200 per litre at local filling stations and at higher price in order designated areas and markets.

Let me state categorically that I am not a big fan of Mallam Sanusi, in fact I may never forgive him for the role he played in 2011-2012 Occupy Nigeria. He, like many more of his likes in government stood firm with Jonathan in short-changing the people of Nigeria.

Like his Minister for Petroleum counterpart who doesn’t believe some Nigerians still make use of Kerosene Stove when the people in my village still arch their fanning embers to generate flame for cooking purposes, Sanusi was taken aback when we mentioned ‘I better pass, my neigbhour’ (the small power generating set) to him. It shows how disconnected people like him who are saddled with the responsibility of making policies that will impact on the lives of the common man are from the people. In spite of this, I still strongly feel Sanusi’s suspension was ill-conceived.

I have read the reports of the Financial Reporting Council on which Mr. President claim to be acting. As much as I find the report revealing, with the exposure of how the suspended CBN governor claimed to have spent a whopping 1.257billion Naira on mere lunch, some unverifiable 38.233billion naira on printing bank notes, 2billion Naira on distributing currency nationwide through airlines that unfortunately do not operate in Nigeria, facility management expenses put above 7billon Naira among others, I feel Mr. President took the right step at the wrong time. While I acknowledge that these are substantial reasons to necessitate a suspension and even trial, I find it politically stupid and suicidal for the President to have sacked Sanusi at this point in time.

Elementary politics would even deem counterproductive to sink a man perceived around the world to be championing a crusade against corruption especially at this level in a similar hole of corruption at a time he is receiving public encomium. There are no two definitions to how the world will view it other than witch-hunting. It shows that the army of Advisers around Mr. President are bunch of bootlickers who lack the needed intellectual capacity to advise the president accordingly, but even if they fail to do the needful or are bunch of yes-men, is it not believed that the president should be capable enough to take proper decision at such point in time?
All said and done, I do not believe the same Goodluck Jonathan who has ruled Nigeria for the past three years has the ‘balls’ to wholeheartedly sanction any member of his cabinet on allegation of financial misappropriation. Totally different from how the world view it, I do not think the decision to handcuff the apex bank chief was one taken after deep thoughts on some reports. It is my belief that Mallam Sanusi has inflicted upon himself far away from the NNPC revelation some enemies who may have been directly responsible for his suspension.

In my inquisitive state I ask, who is/are the unseen hand(s) that influenced the suspension of Mallam Sanusi?

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s Connection
To say the relationship between Mallam Sanusi and Mrs Okonjo Iweala of the Ministry of Finance has been cordial will be an understament. Over the past few weeks, Sanusi has continued to openly criticize not just the economic policy of the Finance Minister but have severally accused her of aiding and abetting corruption and monumental fraud. Few days before the suspension of the Governor, ‘The Will’ reported that the former World Bank chief stormed the office of the president to tender her resignation letter over what she likened to ‘defiling’ of her office by the CBN governor with a scripted plot to drag her goodwill in the mud. The report said she was very angry and her body language was evidently clear that Mr. President only has one choice; either she leaves or Sanusi leaves. I think the choice made by the president on that day is crystal clear to all. But let us believe the self styled woman had nothing to do with Mallam’s suspension, is it possible some other individuals may have triggered it?

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
For a while, the international monetary fund have been on the neck of Mallam Sanusi to devalue the country’s currency as they believe it is being overpriced at the stock market. Sanusi was reported to have shunned the IMF chief stating confidently that the country will not bow to international pressure on domestic policies and not even one coming from the IMF. However, Nigerians who follow international financial scene and are very familiar with the IMF-influenced Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) and how they choked the subsidy removal plan down the throat of African leaders will never underestimate the power and might of these guys. To say they cannot influence the removal of a public officer is an understatement.

Pastor Adeboye
Mallam Sanusi’s verbal diarrhoea manifested recently at the annual TEDX Talk in Abuja where he accused the General Overseer of the Redeemed Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye of aiding corruption and defending rogues like Erasmus Akingbola who was accused of siphoning depositors’ funds and influencing stock fraud. Sanusi claimed the pastor’s influence on the case saw to the sudden elevation of the judge handling the case to the Court of Appeal. Most Christians felt insulted by the accusation of Mallam and accused him of blasphemy and partiality as they claimed the Emir of Kano also solicited for a soft landing for the subsidy bribery syndicate, Farouk Lawan but Sanusi turned a blind eye on that. As God would have it, President Jonathan recently visited the G.O where various state issues were discussed. Though it is not clear if Sanusi’s issue came up for dialogue and may just be a coincidence or divine manifestation of the scripture …’touch not my anointed’. Nothing much has been said after that.

The Bank Mafias
In the first few months of assuming office, Mallam Sanusi effected the biggest shakeup in the history of the Nigeria banking industry. The major players of the industry which were before then tagged ‘lions’ were dragged to court for allegations bordering on financial fraud, mismanagement and cooking up shares and stocks. This single act saw big names like Ibru, Atuche, Adigwe handcuffed and tried.

Curiously, these set of individuals who have helped in cash and kind in the processes that lead to the emergence of Governors and Presidents are being disgraced publicly. It is not impossible that these set of mafia decided to serve their tea of vengeance while cold.

Alison Madueke
If there is one person who can make the president declare a war on any country, look no further than the ever gorgeous and dazzling Ms Alison Madueke, the Petroleum Minister who have been nicknamed by many as the ‘oil demon’. Her influence in the seat of power arguably now tallies with the same influence which Madam Patience, the first lady has. Some reports have connected the possibility of a more than public affair between her and Mr. President. Unfortunately Mallam Sanusi doesn’t seem to be in her good book either. The suspended CBN Governor has severally had cause(s) to link the fraud at the NNPC to her. In fact in the now famous open letter to Mr. President, Sanusi brought her to the cleaner on evidence of linkages between her ministry and the missing billions. So was the decision to suspend Mallam taken after a nice time with Mr. President or during one of those midnight ‘wake-up, I want to talk to you’ calls, when the brain is more asleep than awake?

Beyond all these however, the issue of Sanusi’s sainthood and personal credibility should be less debated. I strongly feel what Nigerians; either black or light skinned, tall or short in height, slim or fat in size, straight or bisexual should be more concerned about is the whereabouts of the $20billion. Sanusi is gone and never coming back no matter what the court says. But will we all sit down, cross our legs and watch this revelation take the issue on the path of case closed?

If you ask me, I don’t really care who have influenced Sanusi’s removal, the price here is getting back the $20billion and putting the culprit(s) in jail. Sincerely, there is an urgent need to reawaken the January 2012 spirit again.
Adekoya Boladale wrote via adekoyaboladale@gmail.com. Twitter is @adekoyabee

GEJ, SLS, NNPC And The Rest Of Us? -Chiechefulam Ikebuiro

Anyone who still thinks Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s suspension as the CBN governor, was because of “a clear display of incompetence, nonchalance, fraud, wastefulness, and abuse of due process etc”, is either not abreast of happenings in Nigeria in the past months or is simply being ignorant. This is not exonerating him from the allegations, but whatever it is he has been accused of, is not the reason he was suspended. The federal government knows we know.

We hear SLS was issued a query by the president in 2012 over the CBN’s financial statement of the same year. Not satisfied with his response, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria ‘ indicted’ him. The question now is, why did it have to take this long for us to know about this? Why has he not been suspended or removed since last year when he was ‘indicted’ since even the CBN act clearly state that a CBN governor can be relieved of his duties if he ” is guilty of a serious misconduct in relation to his duties”? Did it have to coincide with the same period  SLS was releasing his bombshell? Did the presidency have this ‘damning report’ on SLS all the while, hoping he shuts up about the NNPC in exchange for his walking away unscathed? These are questions we may never get answers to.

SLS  was sacked because he blew the whistle on the billions of dollars that is yet to be accounted for by the NNPC. Period!  I am still wondering what the haste to flush him out is , when he leaves in a few months.

I think the suspension is ill timed. I have heard people say the president was right in suspending him citing insubordination ala employee going against the employer and all. And my question since then has been, should Sanusi have kept quiet knowing that Nigerians (the oga patapata of both him and GEJ) are being gang rapped? Ha s everybody all of a sudden forgotten about the issue he raised? Do we ever think of posterity? Thank God the man does.

The man said he had sent a memo earlier to the president, letting him know about the monumental fraud going on in the NNPC and he was ignored. You have to be tempted to believe him because at no time did the presidency ever come out to deny the fact that he did send one. The FG must have thought him the same as the rest, who get to keep quiet in the face of ignominy. Well, the Mallam was not buying any of that, hence his whistle blowing.

I  like the fact that he has gone to court to challenge his suspension, not for himself, but for the office of the CBN. The Central bank of Nigeria does not have to be the play thing of anybody.

I think Nigerians owe SLS one, for letting us know the monumental petro-kero fraud that has been going on for years in the NNPC.The racketeering and rip off of all of us, while the populace suffers. They had us by the balls all along.  How else would you describe a situation where the NNPC gets to buy kerosene at 150 Naira per liter, sells to the marketers at 50 Naira per liter, and you and I get to buy it at between 150-170 Naira per liter? On top of this monumental rip off, the NNPC still makes subsidy deductions(illegally, as this had been ordered to stop by late president Yar’Adua) running into billions of Naira while you and I pay through our noses for something that we should have bought at a subsidized rate. How else would you describe the fact that the NNPC refines way less than the barrels of crude we give them per day? The remaining is either wasted or somebody is lounging on it. Do you know that there have been claims that the NNPC does not remit (all) funds to the federal account and there are three (3) reports from three (3) committees backing this? One report can be wrong, but three? Something truly is not right  and we need to know.

The good thing is that the wind has blown and the romp of the chicken has been revealed.

NNPC has been made and I think it has accepted that fact.

SLS as far as I am concerned did well at the helm of the CBN for the period of time he was there. He brought sanity to our banking industry amongst others and credit should go to him. That, however does not give him the right to engage in activities it is alleged he has committed.  Mallam SLS may have (or may have not) done most of the things they now claim he has done.  The only way we can find out is for him to be investigated properly (not witch hunted) and if found guilty, be made to face the music. While this is going on however, there needs to be a massive investigation of the billions of dollars yet to be accounted for at the NNPC. This is most important to Nigerians as we are worst hit. This is the bigger allegation. We cannot stay and just watch our money go unaccounted for, when we know how long 10, 20 (even if it is 1) billion dollars can go in changing our situation in this country. It is impossible that we will stay and watch a very few of us eat our future away. I also think it is time we started working on making our refineries better again.

We demand to know how our money was spent and if there is no proper account, the next thing we want to hear is prison numbers of everybody involved in this heist. Over to you, Mr president.

Chiechefulam Ikebuiro

thalynxis@yahoo.ca

@thalynxis




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The Case Against Sanusi Lamido Sanusi – Akin Oyebode

Akin Oyebode published The Case Against Sanusi Lamido Sanusi – Akin Oyebode on his blog today. He gave permission to have this re-published here.

I do not come to venerate Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, for he is not a saint. As much as I admire him, there are flaws too obvious to ignore. But this is not a time for psychoanalysis; it is a time to set truth apart from fiction. When the (suspended) CBN Governor made his submission on how our nation was being robbed at the Senate, the response was predictable; ignore the message, and go after the messenger.

I read the Financial Reporting Council report that formed the basis of Governor Sanusi’s suspension and I thought it useful to leave a few comments. While most of the accusations in the report are ambiguous and unclear, some of the more sensational are easily explained.

1. The CBN paid N38.223 billion to the Nigerian Security Printing & Minting Company in 2011 to print bank notes, whereas the entire turnover of NSPMC in that year was N29.37 billion.
The CBN uses four companies to print notes; NSPMC and three foreign companies. If NSPMC recorded 75% of the total amount spent, it only means the other three companies got 25% of the business. Let us move to the more serious ones.

2. The CBN allegedly made rogue payments as air charter fees to Emirates Airways, Associated Airline and Wings Airlines for nationwide currency distribution. Emirates Airways do not operate a local charter service, Wings was unregistered with NCAA and Associated did not have records of the payments from the CBN.

The FRC is correct that Emirates Airways does not operate a domestic charter service. The only problem here is that the CBN did not contract “Emirates Airways” to move currency, it used a private charter company called “Emirate Touch Airways” instead. When you want to accuse someone, at least get the names right. If Associated Airlines does not have a record of the transaction, why is the CBN to blame? The CBN’s responsibility is to show proof of payments made to Associated; if it has done so, the rest of the discussion is between Associated and the FIRS. The final one is that Wings was an unregistered airline, I am sure the NCAA can answer this with clear evidence of registration at the time of contract award.

3. Legal and professional fees spiked in 2011 compared with 2012 – N20.2 billion in 2011 and N0.46 billion in 2012
2011 was a landmark year for banking in Nigeria; starting with the sale of eight banks that failed the 2009 special examination. Five of those banks were recapitalized via mergers & acquisitions, while the other three were nationalized. AMCON was established to acquire qualifying non-performing loans (NPLs) from all banks in Nigeria and inject equity into the rescued banks. These transactions needed significant legal services, which explain the N20 billion spent in 2011. To rationalize this, N20b is about 3% of the N620 billion spent recapitalizing the bank alone. The CBN was also sued by shareholders and owners of the recapitalized banks, and needed legal services to set AMCON up. Not so scandalous anymore? I think so too.

Promotional activities of N3.1 billion from N1.1 billion in 2012 despite not having a competitor in Nigeria.

What the investigators imply is you don’t need to promote your activities because you’re a monopoly. It means that EFCC (remember “Maga no need pay”), NAFDAC and other federal agencies who use the media to amplify their activities and sensitize the public might be acting recklessly. It is worth remembering that the CBN introduced a Cash Lite policy and continues to focus on financial inclusion and literacy. If you dont promote these activities, how will adoption improve? If you have an answer, feel free to charge a bottle of Guinness to my account at St. Bottles Cathedral.

N1.3 billion to feed policemen and pay for private guards
It is easy to see N1.3 billion and scream corruption. But let’s employ some logic. The CBN is one of the biggest employers of security, especially for the regular protection and movement of currency and security documents. The question we should ask is how many security agents did that amount cover. It is well known that organizations are often responsible for police officers attached to them. If the CBN employed 2,000 police officers and paid them a stipend N2, 000 daily (or N60, 000 per month), that will come to N4 million daily and N1.2 billion per annum. Not so scandalous anymore? Moving on.

6. CBN’s investment in the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation without obtaining a board approval.
This investment was approved by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If the approval of the CBN board was not obtained, why did the President assent to this illegality? If Governor Sanusi is held accountable for every document he signed, the same should hold for President Jonathan.

The CBN Annual Report is available here for anyone willing to read over 400 pages of boring stuff. If like me, you want to get a summary, skip to Page 21. There, you will find that the CBN reduced its overall operating expenses by 6.5%, and contributed N80.3 billion to the Federation Account in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Before Governor Sanusi’s term, this amount was around N8 billion. Growing the CBN’s contribution to the Federation Account tenfold is the biggest indication of financial recklessness I found in the audited accounts.

I will conclude by saying that if you look hard enough at an organization like the CBN, you will find an infraction. If you don’t at the first attempt, some hair splitting will reveal something. Remember Professor Tam David-West was accused of corruptly signing the sum of $57m to an American company, Stinnes Interoil, for a wrist watch and a cup of tea. This is what we remember, conveniently forgetting Professor David-West was attacked because he criticized and exposed corruption in the oil industry.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi might end up in prison. For taking a stand to protect the future of our children, he has my gratitude and respect.

Via JJ Omojuwa

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10 Curious Points You Must Not Ignore While Reading The CBN Report By The Financial Reporting Council – Omojuwa

1. Based on the allegations raised, the suspended Central Bank Governor has a case to answer and he MUST as a matter of expediency state his own side of the issue. This should not be up for debate.

2. The report was prepared by The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), formerly the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB). The council operates under the Ministry of Trade and Investment. The Ministry of Trade and Investment has a Minister who is subjected to the President of Nigeria. Essentially, the President himself might as well have prepared the report. It is like being a judge in one’s own case.

3. The report repeated the same lines over and again. The 13 pages could easily have been two pages. May be those who prepared it felt repeating the accusations will make the number of accusations increase. Or repetition would make them believe their own report. One sensible way they could have increased the size of the report would have been to at least quote parts of the report of the referred joint auditors that suggest they DID NOT certify that the accounts give a true and fair view of the financial position of the CBN. The FRC stated their opinion was carefully crafted and was capable of deceiving the uninformed but the FRC could have helped the President better by at least quoting some of that “well crafted” opinion. May be they left it out to avoid the situation of that single line deceiving the President too?

4. The report failed to mention the increase (or decrease) in income generated by the Central Bank in the period under review. They failed to tell the President in their reporting whether the Central Bank was remitting less money into the Federation account since the advent of the Sanusi Lamido administration or it was remitting less. They should have stated this. Not stating it should get one curious.

5. According to the report, the Central Bank of Nigeria never did anything right with its financial reporting. This is interesting because one would assume that even the daftest of thieves would at least cover his/her tracks a little. It is either the suspended Central Bank Governor was naïve in never ensuring at least one thing was done right with the CBN’s financial reporting or the report of the Financial Reporting council of Nigeria had an intent from the beginning; nail Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by all means. One of my suggestions on this note is certainly likely to be true. Make your own decision.

6. The report while speaking of some expenses made sure not to state that the expenses mentioned were likely to have catered for the Central Bank headquarters in Abuja, its regional offices across the federation and all the other offices located in all the states of the Federation. The Central Bank has a presence in all the states of the federation. Its budget covers all these states. Surely, this should have been stated in a report that sought to clear the air on financial recklessness or otherwise. May be the report had a clear intent from the get go. Like reporting to a charge, “Get me a Financial recklessness report on Sanusi’s CBN!”

7. The report suggested the investigation into the allegations could not be carried out with the CBN Governor and his Deputy Governors allowed to continue in office. Curiously though, the President suspended only the Governor. Are we missing something here? This is of course not emphasizing that the Deputy Governors be suspended, it is only stating that surely Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was the specific target all along.

8. The report was sent to the President 7th June 2013. The president ended up suspending the Governor on the 20th of February 2014. Why did the President wait for so long? Could it be because the CBN Governor refused to keep quiet about what he thought was the administration’s continued mismanagement of the economy? Was the straw broken when Sanusi Lamido finally dared the Oil cabal? Or could it be that the President decided he had to make the illegal move of suspending the Governor seeing as even if the courts find it illegal, Nigeria’s slow grinding court system would have ensured that with the tenure of the Governor ending only months later, the court ruling would have little or no effect on a CBN led by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

9. The Financial Reporting Council let down its guard in its conclusion by finally giving an indication of the purpose of the report. It mentioned in its second bullet point “for political reasons.” Is a report that ought to be objective, based on facts and figures allowed to subjectively refer to “political reasons” as one of the reasons the President must act? This is probably arguably one of the most curious parts of the report.

10. The suspended Central Bank Governor no doubt has a case to answer based on this report, spurious or not. The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria under the supervision of the Mr. Olusegun Aganga’s Ministry of Trade and Investment certainly has a report that puts its independence on the issue in doubt. That’s expected, it derives its budget from the Presidency. It is an organ of the presidency.

Conclusion: It is impossible not to look at these issues altogether and not see that our country continues to be run like a Primary School Pupil’s club. Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison Madueke who could easily be assumed to be Nigeria’s de facto President openly stated on national television that she disregarded a Presidential directive that has since amongst other scams cost the country about $20 billion yet no questions have EVER been asked of her despite these and several other allegations. We see again and again that the Petroleum cabal is bigger than Nigeria and this will remain as long as the Jonathan administration, now globally renowned for its corruption, continues to hold sway.

God bless the patience and the looking-up-to-God energy of the people of Nigeria. Amen.

You can download the report of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and the Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s Memorandum submitted to the National Assembly on Non-Remittance of Oil Revenue below.

Sanusi berates Jonathan! Petroleum Minister admitted misappropriating N577 billion, yet you did nothing

The suspended Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank, Lamido Sanusi, has berated President Goodluck Jonathan’ attitude to corruption, saying his exposure of financial misappropriation by Nigeria’s state owned oil firm, NNPC, put him in the bad books of the president.

Mr. Sanusi gave an example of the president’s attitude to corruption, saying no action was taken against the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, despite that she openly admitted spending $3.5 billion (N577 billion) of Nigeria’s money without budgetary approval.

Mr. Sanusi said this while reacting to his suspension by President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday.

Speaking on the Hausa service of the Voice of America shortly after his suspension was announced, Mr. Sanusi said he knew that was how he would end his tenure as the CBN governor because of his frequent clashes with the government, the most recent and controversial of which was his allegation against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

Mr. Sanusi had, on September 25, 2013, written a memo to President Goodluck Jonathan alleging that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, systematically diverted funds, being crude oil sales proceeds, between January 2012 and July 2013. In the letter, Mr. Sanusi said that for all crude oil sales within the period, the NNPC paid only 24 per cent proceeds into the federation account, and diverted the remaining 76 per cent.

This led to reactions from the NNPC, the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; and the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Alison-Madueke, all countering the amount allegedly diverted.

During a recent Senate hearing into the missing funds, Mr. Sanusi said after the CBN reviewed its figures, it found out that the unremitted misappropriated fund was $20 billion (N3.3 trillion).

In his Thursday interview with the Voice of America, the CBN governor raised what he described as the laissez-faire attitude of President Jonathan administration towards the misappropriation of funds.

“For instance the Minister of Petroleum spoke on live Television before the National Assembly admitting that she spent $3.5 billion of tax payers’ money on kerosene subsidy without budgetary approval, but nothing was done,” he said.

Mr. Sanusi was referring to claims by Mrs. Alison-Madueke that a large amount of the missing funds was used to subsidise kerosene.

The CBN Governor, however, stated that he had no regret over his actions while in office.

“Whoever knows me knows that left to me, I would have left a long time ago because of the frequent clashes we’ve been having with the government,” he said.

He maintained that the President had no power under the laws of Nigeria to suspend him. He said although he was not interested in remaining in office, he would challenge the decision of Mr. Jonathan in court.

“I have no intention of going back to work, and I am not interested in going back, but we will go to court to find out if the president has the power or not to suspend a governor of the Central Bank. If that is not done, a CBN governor in the future will not be able to perform his duties effectively knowing that a president can easily suspend him,” he said.

He said his decision to challenge the suspension was in the best interest of the Central Bank as well as the nation as a whole.




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Nigeria Institutions Under Attack

Goke Butikakuro

In my tour of Westminster, United kingdom parliament that houses its House of Common that could be likened to Nigeria House of Representatives, and House of Lords, that could be described as Senate, I saw and learnt how institutions should be preserved.

There and then, I was taken to the corner of all Prime Ministers, and in a brief, you can know almost everything about each of them. Amongst them, Winston Churchill and Baroness Magret Thatcher stimulated my attention, because the duo came to the saddle in UK at very crucial periods, but one attribute connected the duo together, their interventions in stabilizing the UK economy at the nick of time.

Throughout my stay in London, I carefully found out that the only thing the Great Britain has working for her is the preservation of institutions, and ancient history. Having collected my pounds, my guides told me stories in return, and I can safely say that an average British is arrogant, because he or she believes there are institutions to protect him or her, and at best, there are stories to provide him a comfort zone anywhere he finds himself.

Yes, there is a notion out there that UK and USA have some things in common. Perhaps colonialism and mutual trust and suspicion, but my sojourn in USA revealed a wider difference, but that is a point for another day. The kernel of my story is that in rational clime, great nations have developed habit to save their institutions, and I knew it was like that until now, that the nation is witnessing a clannish President in President Good Jonathan.

It is painful that Nigeria that ought to be competing economically, and development wise with Brazil, South Korea, South Africa, and Malaysia is now begging for a space in the comity of pariah nations like North Korea and Afghanistan, not because the country is in a war, but because our leaders are not thinking.

Let someone tell me the rationale behind the methodical sack of the central bank governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi Lamido when the honey pot of corruption, NNPC is still there under the watch of corruption personified in persons of ministers, Director Generals, Group Managing Director, and directors.

We are in a soup in this country, Sanusi was a dutiful servant and loyal CBN governor when he joined the members of the cabinet of conspiratorial presidency to unleash terror of price hike of premium motor spirit popularly known as petrol on the hapless masses, but when he shouted blue murder on the missing billions of dollars, he became an enemy of establishment. It is not out of place to say that Nigeria is going pariah.

Know that I am not a fan of Sanusi, but it pains me that our institutions are being weakened on daily basis, because an insecured personality is held up in the presidency, and he must exercise power to create suspended fear that he is in control of the lever of power of the state, and my experience in the west rob salt in the sore.

Butikakuro is a journalist of intercontinental exposure.

APC criticizes Jonathan over Sanusi's suspension

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said today's suspension of Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by President Goodluck Jonathan is patently illegal, poorly thought-out and in bad taste, noting that it will definitely have negative consequences for the nation’s economy.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said the action is the clearest indication yet that President Jonathan, whose body language does not abhor corruption, is willing to silence any whistle-blower, no matter his or her status.

”As the country wallows in unprecedented corruption under the rudderless and corruption-hugging Jonathan Administration, the President may have finally decided to send a strong signal to all Nigerians that it will not tolerate any exposure of corruption under any circumstance. What better way to do this than to silence the man who has exposed the alleged missing $20 billion in the NNPC accounts?” it queried.

APC said that Sanusi’s suspension has also shown clearly that President Jonathan as a leader does not care if he destroys national institutions on the altar of personal ego and political expediency.

”First it was the judiciary which came under his sledge hammer, when he suspended then President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, just to satisfy the hawks in his party. Then it is the turn of the National Assembly, the Police and now the financial sector. President Jonathan should not destroy our institutions before he bows out of office next year. These institutions are older than him and will definitely outlive him,” APC warned.

The party said while Section 11 (f) of the CBN Act 2007 empowers the President to remove the CBN Governor, the section is clear that he can only do so if he has the support of two-thirds majority of the Senate.

”Nowhere in the Act is it said that the President can suspend the CBN Governor, as he has done in another of his serial rape of the country’s laws,” it said, adding that the reasons given by the presidency for Sanusi’s suspension are as puerile as they are unprecedented, and amount to calling the dog a bad name just to hang it.

The party said the questions that arise, based on those ridiculous reasons, are: ”Why has it taken almost five years of Sanusi’s tenure for the President to realize the irregularities of CBN under Sanusi? Why is the President acting on questionable allegations against Sanusi at a time the CBN Governor has opened the can of worms in the NNPC? Why has a President, who has always treated glaring corruption allegations against his political appointees with so much levity, now so quick to move against a CBN Governor who has never been accused, let alone indicted of corruption?

APC expressed serious concerns at the implication of Sanusi’s suspension for the nation’s economy, especially on the value of the naira; local and international investments; the stock market; inflation and the overall health of the economy.

”Coming at a time when the economy was already under pressure due to internal and external factors and is in need of significant investments in several sectors, such as power and manufacturing to maintain its economic growth rates, the uncertainty caused by the suspension will leave both local and international investors questioning the economic direction of the country and therefore their investment approach to Nigeria.

”At best, new investments will be delayed until investors consider that economic and political stability has been restored, and at worst, which is more likely, both new and existing investors will pull back.

”The Nigerian Stock Exchange that was already witnessing a withdrawal of portfolio investors, due to the US tapering exercise, is likely to be exacerbated as more investors, local and international, exit the market, further putting downward pressure on the country’s exchange rate at a time the CBN is already having difficulty defending the currency. In fact, the devaluation of the national currency looms.

”All these factors will also drive higher inflation rates with its attendant economic, social and political costs. No one can say for certain exactly how costly this action will be for the nation but there are no doubts it will be high,” the party said.

It called on Nigerians to stay strong in their determination to fight the canker worm of corruption, even as the government of the day makes clear it will not hesitate to punish whistle-blowers and reward corrupt persons.

”If anyone in this country is still doubting that the Jonathan administration lacks the wherewithal to fight corruption, operate under the rule of law and take Nigeria to greater heights, that person should now clear the doubt. This administration has clearly reached the end of its tethers and should be voted out next year to pave theway for a party that is willing and able to rescue Nigeria,” APC said.



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