2019 Sheriff/Fayose Presidential Ambition Faces Stiff Opposition In PDP

Some power brokers in the Peoples Democratic Party are plotting to counter an alleged plan by the current Chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to transmute into the party’s presidential candidate in 2019.

There is a belief within the party that Sheriff and Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, are planning to jointly run for the presidency in 2019.

A reliable source within the party told our correspondents that Fayose backed Sheriff for the chairmanship position because he (Fayose) had plans to be Sheriff’s running mate in the 2019 presidential election.

Two weeks ago, Sheriff, a former Governor of Borno State, had said that God “used Fayose to make me chairman.”

Already, the PDP, which is in control of only two northern states (Gombe and Taraba), has zoned the presidency to the North in 2019.

A member of the Board of Trustees of the party from the North-East who spoke on condition of anonymity,  said there was no way both men would be allowed to fly the party’s ticket.

The source, a party man of several years standing, said, “This is a joke of the century. These two are controversial. Sheriff has not even been allowed into the party fully.

“Now, they are saying he wants to be President. It isn’t possible. That will signify the death of the party as millions would either defect or go and form another party.”

A reliable source within the party said some party chiefs were bothered by Sheriff and Fayose’s close relationship. In recent times, both men have attended several social events together including the wedding of Fayose’s niece in Lagos on Saturday.

He said, “Sheriff is rich but he is not the richest northern politician in the PDP. He does not have the backing of the northern elements in the PDP given the fact that he is still quite new in the party. Sheriff’s tenure is meant to end by May but there is a plot to elongate his tenure till 2018 and in the process, gain control of the party structure.

“He will then resign and run for the presidency but we will not allow him.”

The source said, “Already, supporters of Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State and former FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, are spoiling for a fight as both governors also have presidential ambitions. In the current dispensation, the  governors are two of the most influential PDP politicians from the North.

“Fayose has obviously miscalculated. He is going in October 2018 and his immunity will end seven months before Buhari’s tenure ends. With the way he has been attacking President Muhammadu Buhari, I don’t know how he will survive without his immunity within that period. He thinks his support for Sheriff will endear him to northern politicians but they are not happy with him with the way he has been attacking Buhari.”

Two weeks ago, the South-West chapter of the party had declared its support for the North to retain the PDP’s national chairmanship position and endorsed Senator Buruji Kashamu as its zonal leader.

Another source, a senior party man, told our correspondent that the endorsement of Sheriff was a ploy to ensure that he remained as the chairman till 2018.

The source who is a member of the PDP Ministers’ Forum, told our correspondent that Fayose, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Kashamu were “taking members of the party for granted”.

“Sheriff’s plan is to metamorphose from the chairman to the presidential candidate and that was why Fayose brought him in. Fayose, Wike and Buruji are the ones supporting Sheriff for President. The North will get the presidency but their plan will not work because Sheriff is not our candidate,” he said.

Read More At Punch Newspaper

#Dasukigate: We'll Probe Jonathan If... - Buhari's Panel

The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, has faulted a former Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Suleiman, regarding the culpability of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the current anti-corruption cases.

Suleiman, who is the spokesperson for the Peoples Democratic Party Ministers’ Forum, had said in a Sunday PUNCH interview that Jonathan could not be held liable because no stolen funds had been traced to the ex-president’s personal bank accounts.

The ex-minister had said, “All these issues of corruption under Jonathan happened between March and April last year. It was purely an election issue. Nobody has traced any money to Jonathan’s account up till now, but money was traced to Abacha’s accounts.”

However, Sagay told one of our correspondents during an interview on Sunday that although he could not say if there was a case against Jonathan or not yet, the ex-President could be held liable if it could be established that Jonathan made illegal approvals for funds to be paid into other people’s accounts.

He said if, for instance, it could be established that Jonathan gave the Central Bank of Nigeria a directive to pay someone money and the person was not deserving of that money, then the ex-President could be indicted.

Sagay, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, added, “Only the EFCC can say if Jonathan is culpable. Guilt in criminal law requires proof and there must be evidence. So, what I would say is that if a case can be established against Jonathan as regards public funds, then he has a case to answer.

“I don’t know if that has been done. I have not seen anybody who says he was given the money by Jonathan himself although one can say that instructions to any institution that public funds should be released to other people for purposes, which those funds were not designated, is in itself a criminal affair.

“So, it is not only when money is found on you that you have a case to answer. If you are a person in authority, and you issue directives to people under you, who are keeping public funds like the Governor of the Central Bank, and an illegal order is given to him for the release of funds, that, in itself, will raise a case for Jonathan to answer if in fact he issued such an order.”

Another SAN, Mr. Yusuf Ali, said it was too early to exonerate anyone as investigations into corruption that took place under the previous administration were still ongoing.

Ali stated, “The whole process is ongoing. Investigations are still ongoing. Until somebody is convicted, nothing bad can be said about such person. I believe when we get to the bridge, we shall cross it.

“There is no point for anybody to be excited or be happy for now until the whole story is in the open. Investigations are ongoing.”

On his part, a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, described Suleiman’s statement as provocative and highly irresponsible.

Ogunye said the fact that a number of persons, who served under the Jonathan administration, were facing criminal trial was enough grounds to charge the former President with conspiracy.

According to Ogunye, Jonathan, as the head of the executive arm, had liability for everything done by his subordinates because the buck stopped at his table.

Ogunye said, “That statement by him is provocative and highly irresponsible. And the reason I say that is that former President Goodluck Jonathan was the head of the executive arm of government at the time he presided over the affairs of the country.

“All the officials that are being held to account and during whose trials, as we speak, Nigerians are now learning about the mind-boggling  stealing or looting of public treasury, were answerable to him; they were running his errands and therefore Nigerians expect that being the person on whose table the buck stopped as of the time he was the President, that he would be able to superintend them and ensure that those his subordinates didn’t loot the nation’s treasury.

“It’s too early in the day for any Suleiman or anybody to give the former President or any other member of that administration a clean bill of health. When you are talking about no money has been traced to former President Goodluck Jonathan, what does it mean?

“On his instruction and while he was running for office, people turned our national security vote into a bazaar and they were giving this money out to his allies and acolytes. So, whose errand were those people running when they were distributing the money? Who wanted to become the President then? And based on those revelations alone, he is culpable, contrary to the claims of Suleiman that nothing has been traced to him.

“Can’t the former President be charged with conspiracy? He can, on the basis of those revelations because for what purpose was the money given to those people? On the strength of that alone, a charge of conspiracy can be sustained against the former President.

“For anybody to be annoying Nigerians with such a statement that nothing has been traced to the former President, one wonders what he was thinking. This is not theatrics, we are talking about things that have wrecked this country and then people are engaging in ludicrous polemics.”

APC Caucus Endorses Buhari As 2019 Presidential Candidate

Barely 10 months as Nigeria's new ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) members of the national caucus on March 23, endorsed  President Muhammadu Buhari as it candidate for the 2019 presidential election, Vanguard Newspaper reported.

The national caucus, comprising serving and former governors, the National Assembly leadership, and selected members of the national executive of the party, at the meeting said the endorsement of President Buhari for a second term would help to stabilise the polity in the face of what members described as the 16-year rot inherited from Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

According to them, the endorsement of Buhari for a second term would help to stabilise the polity considering the 16-year rot inherited from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The caucus at the meeting constituted a committee to resolve all pending issues in the party among other pressing issues agreed on. 

It was gathered that the caucus agreed that President Buhari should be allowed to seek a second term, though some of the caucus members also noted that it was too early to kick start a second term campaign for the president. It was further learnt that the matter was brought to the fore in a bid to curb restiveness among some party leaders, who have been split over their 2019 political ambition. 

The development is attributed to the problems that led to the crisis in the National Assembly and also the inability of the party to inaugurate its board of trustees (BoT) till date. A source privy to the situation in the party said: “With Buhari contesting in 2019, those who have been squabbling will now have to queue up behind him and put the interest of the party ahead.” In a related development, senators elected on the platform of the party on Tuesday night also decided to work together. 

At a meeting held in Abuja, the senators vowed to unify themselves in order not to misplace their influence to the more united PDP caucus in the house. 

However, the national chairman of the party, chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke with journalists at the end of the meeting, clarified that there was no threat against his position. He dismissed reports of pressure on him to resign his office, saying: “I am not aware that my office is under threat. I led the party to the State House. It amazes me, occasionally it annoys me. That is one of the things you have to endure when you are in a position like mine.” The national chairman confirmed that a committee was set up to resolve all the crises in the party. 

He urged Nigerians to give the party time to deliver, assuring them that the administration would pick up after the 2016 budget is passed.

Why Nigerians Have Tortoise Mentality - TheGuardian

TheGuardian - The burning desire by Nigerians to see President Buhari succeed underscores the urgent expectation for change to manifest without delay. As it were, Nigerians are not disposed to being patient. Impatience is a norm. The virtue of patience is scarce and this is understandable.

Understandable in the sense that the country has been raped and bastardised and Nigerians denied the good things of life since independence. The desire for change started from October 1, 1960. That change did not come. Barely six years into independence, the country was plunged into a fierce fratricidal civil war that claimed over a million lives.

After the war ended in January 1970, and the military took over the reins of government, Nigerians continued to expect change. The civilian interregnum between October 1979 and December 1983, was a huge disappointment. The civilians re-enacted corruption and maladministration that brought back the military.

In a nutshell, from May 1967 to October 1999, a period of 32 years, Nigeria’s affairs were run by unaccountable military juntas that failed woefully to bring the expected change in the country. The country was put in a ruinous path that only a conscientious, patriotic and committed leader could reverse.

When a new democratic dispensation was birthed in October 1999 with former president, Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the helm of affairs, Nigerians re-enacted the desire for change. Obasanjo had the opportunity to bring change but failed after eight years of mesmerization. Obasanjo handed the baton to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who unfortunately died early in his administration. Nigerians think that Yar’Adua demonstrated inklings of change with his 7-Point Agenda that never materialised.

President Goodluck Jonathan succeeded Yar’Adua but instead of continuing with the 7-Point Agenda, floated a transformation agenda, which Nigerians interpreted as another side of the same coin called change. Jonathan’s perceived personal desire to bring change failed due to the greed and avarice of the powers in PDP. Thus, for 16 years, rather than see change, Nigerians saw unthinkable sleaze and utter degradation of the country.

It is little wonder, then, that when President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) capitalised on the psyche of Nigerians, which is desire for change, and came up with the CHANGE mantra during the 2015 general elections, Nigerians overwhelmingly bought it. The thinking is that if Buhari, whom they already know to be a no-nonsense man, is the man who will bring the change that everybody wants, so be it.

Consequently, Buhari won the 2015 presidential election and no sooner was he sworn in on May 29, 2015 that Nigerians began to demand for the change he promised. But the change is not by magic. With the mountain of problems, he ground has to be cleared first and foundation laid upon which change would be built. But Nigerians are not ready to take excuses. They want instant change.

The proverbial tortoise is known to be the wisest animal in the animal kingdom. But sometimes, it fails to apply the wisdom when it is mostly needed. Once upon a time, the animals conspired and threw the tortoise into a pit and left him there. After one year, the animals decided to bring him out of the pit. They informed the tortoise that he would be brought out from the pit on a particular day.

Rather than be patient, knowing that his ordeal would soon end, the tortoise became restless and began to hurry the animals to bring him out without further delay, claiming that the stench in the pit was killing him. The question is, after spending one full year in the pit and didn’t die, why can’t the tortoise be patient and let the animals pull him out on the appointed day?

I see a similarity between the tortoise mentality and the attitude of Nigerians who are rushing Buhari to bring change immediately even when the administration has not implemented a single budget. Granted that we all desire change, wisdom dictates that it is unrealistic to assess a government that has four years in less than a year. I think it is more sensible to support the government and watch what it is able to accomplish in four years.

I would like to stress that the change that Nigerians want cannot be accomplished by the government at the centre alone. There will be no change in Nigeria without the involvement of the states. Unfortunately, the states are overlooked while everybody is focusing on the Federal Government, which is totally misplaced.

All the basic social amenities – water, hospital, roads, schools, health centres, etc, that we need are largely the responsibility of the state governments. Though, the Federal Government had taken it upon itself, over the years, to be in-charge of electricity, nothing stops any state government from getting involved in power generation as an independent supplier.

If each state government gets serious with power supply, the power from the centre would be negligible.

The same applies to roads. Available statistics shows that there are about 200,000 kilometres of roads in the country, out of which the total federal highways is about 34,340.90 kilometres. The states and local governments have responsibility for 165,660 kilometres of roads. If the states and local government councils do their roads, the federal roads will pave into insignificance.

It is ironic that while people lament over the dilapidated inter-state federal highways like the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos-Shagamu-Ore Expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, etc, no one mentions the intra-state roads that really serve the people. I can’t understand why the attention of Nigerians is always focused at the president while the governors are left out. Virtually, all the administrations that have presided over the affairs of Nigeria since independence passed through this unfortunate syndrome.

The worst set of Nigerians is those calling for the return of corruption with the hash-tag “Bring Back Our Corruption.” The promoters of this demented and crazy campaign argue that under corruption, food was cheap and life was better.

Across the civilised world, progress is made when there is rapport and understanding between the people and their leaders. There can be no progress when the leaders and the people are heading in opposite direction.  Buhari’s anti-corruption war, if it succeeds, is big change that this country badly needs.

Excerpted From TheGuardian Newspaper

FG Recovers 13 Ex-Govs, Ministers' $200b Loot, Properties In Dubai

President Muhammadu Buhari

All seems set for the repatriation of over $200billion stashed away by some former governors, ex-ministers and other public officers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), The Nation learnt yesterday.

Some mansions belonging to some former Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and their cronies or fronts may also be seized, a source said.

Under the searchlight for stashing away cash or acquiring properties in the UAE are seven former governors, six former ministers, a fleeing presidential aide implicated in the $2.1billion arms deals, ex-military chiefs under probe, agents / fronts of some of these public officers and five chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

A Federal Government team, comprising the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu and crack detectives from the anti-graft agency, yesterday started comparing collated intelligence notes on the PEPs with their UAE counterparts.

The EFCC officials arrived in Dubai on Saturday. The Minister left Abuja yesterday to join the team.

It was learnt that the AGF had barely returned from an official assignment when an urgent travel arrangement was made for him.

The delegation went to UAE in line with an agreement with the Federal Government.

President Muhammadu Buhari in January signed a “Judicial Agreement on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters, and Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters, which includes the recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth”.

Seven former governors, six former ministers and a fleeing Presidential aide implicated in the $2.1billion arms deals, ex-military chiefs under probe, agents / fronts of some of these public officers and about five chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) have either stashed away funds in Dubai or acquired properties.

A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The Federal Government team has met with those from the UAE on intelligence sharing, the list of those on EFCC radar, the number of highly-placed Nigerians with fat accounts in UAE and those with choice properties in Marina (Dubai), Bur Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

”Some of the former governors include one from the South-South, two from Northcentral, two from the Northeast, one from the Northwest, and one from the Southwest.

“A former-governor had made botched attempts to transfer about $517million loot to Dominican Republic because UAE law is now strict.

“More than six ex-ministers and a former presidential aide, who is on the run over the $2.1billion arms deals, were said to have acquired choice mansions and malls in UAE. One of the former ministers, who was alleged to own two houses in Dubai, was said to have served as a front for a former First Lady.

“Another ex-minister had bought some malls through a few cronies in Dubai. The list of such agents is being screened.

“Certainly, the anti-graft agency has tightened the noose on these former public officers and there is no hiding place for them.

“The success of the collaboration between the Federal Government team and the UAE Government will determine when EFCC will release the concessions on some of these PEPs. Very soon, we will unveil these ex-political office holders.”

According to sources, the government delegation discovered that many highly-placed Nigerians, including a few ex-governors and money laundering fronts, have fled from Dubai to Singapore, Casablanca in Morocco, Dominican Republic and some islands in the UK and in the Caribbean.

Another source said: “From the trip so far, many big Nigerians have already ran away from Dubai to escape being arrested by the UAE authorities.”

“Some of the ex-governors have also avoided visiting UAE until the coast is clear. They do not want to experience the same fate like ex-Governor James Ibori.

“The frequency at which highly-placed Nigerians fly to Dubai for parties has considerably reduced because they are under watch by the UAE authorities.

A source in the government last night said: “Yes, the AGF and the EFCC chairman with some top officials of the anti-graft agency are in Dubai for a follow-up technical session on the Mutual Legal Assistance between Nigeria and the UAE.

“I can confirm the official trip and it is meant to recover looted funds.”

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debts, Senator Shehu Sani, said over $200 billion had been hidden in UAE.

He said: “Over $200 billion is stashed away from Nigeria in Dubai alone. This may be monies stolen in the past 20 years. I am not talking about estates and bonds and other securities bought with Nigeria stolen money.”

The anti-money laundering policy of UAE Central Bank reads in part: “Any person who commits, or attempts to commit, a Money Laundering offence shall be punished by imprisonment of up to 10 years and or a fine of between AED 100,000 and AED 500,000.

”In cases of multiple perpetrators, the Court, subject to its discretion, may exempt a perpetrator from the imprisonment penalty if he takes the initiative and reports the crime to the competent authorities prior to the knowledge of such authorities and if his actions lead to the arrest of the other perpetrators or seizure of the laundered money.

”Any establishment that commits an offence of money laundering, financing of terrorism or financing of any unlawful organisations, shall be punished by a fine of AED 300,000 and AED 1,000,000.

”Failure to report a suspicious transaction shall be punishable by imprisonment and /or a fine of between AED 50,000 and AED 300,000.

”Tipping off a person being investigated regarding a suspicious transaction shall be punishable by imprisonment of up to one year and/ or a fine of between AED10,000 and AED 100,000.

”Violation of the requirements of Airport Declarations shall be punishable by imprisonment and or a fine.”

Culled From The Nation Newspaper

EXPOSED: Fresh N3b CBN Largess Shared By Fani-Kayode, Olu Falae Others, See All Beneficiaries & Amount Got

Punch Newspaper - The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has traced N3.145bn transferred to the private accounts of some members of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation.

According to detectives at the EFCC, the money emanated from the account of the Central Bank of Nigeria and was transferred to the account of a company, Joint Dimensions Limited, and then sent to various accounts.

Authorities of the anti-graft commission said out of the money, the Director of Publicity of the organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, received N840m.

According to the documents sighted by our correspondent, the money was deposited into Fani-Kayode’s Zenith bank account, Maitama Branch with number 1004735721 on February 19, 2015.

The detectives said a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae, received N100m through a company, Marreco Limited, where he is chairman. The fund was credited into the company’s United Bank for Africa Plc account number 1000627022 on March 25, 2014.

According to the documents, N320m was also paid into the bank account of the Goodluck Support Group, an association which played a major role in Jonathan’s campaign.

A former Governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa, and a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri, according to the documents, got N350m in two tranches. The first tranche of N150m was paid into their joint account with Zenith bank on January 13, 2015. The second tranche of N200m was credited into their account with Diamond bank.

A source at the anti-graft agency who pleaded not to be named because he is not authorised to speak said, “The money was paid by the Central Bank of Nigeria into the account of the Ministry of External Affairs Library, from where it was moved into the account of Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited.

“It was from the Joint Dimension’s account with Zenith bank that the money was shared to various individuals and organisations for purposes that are not stated.

“Fani-Kayode was the chief beneficiary of the disbursement as he allegedly received a whooping N840m, paid in three tranches into his Zenith bank, Maitama branch account with number 1004735721.

“The first tranche of payment involving N350m hit the account on February 19, 2015. Another N250m was also paid into the account on February19, 2015 while N240m was similarly credited to the account a month later; precisely, March 19, 2015.

“The balance in this account as of December 31, 2015 was N189, 402.72.”

The detectives added that the Director of Finance of the campaign organisation, Nenadi Usman, also got N36.9m through her Zenith bank account with number 1000158311 on 7, Kachia Road, Kaduna.

Presidential Campaign Coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan in Anambra State, Chief Okey Ezenwa, who is also the brother-in-law to a former Rivers State Governor, Chief Peter Odili, also got N100m, according to the source.

He added, “But as things stand, the fact that most of the payments were made in the weeks preceding the last presidential elections leaves very little to the imagination. Yet, one knotty question that confronts the investigators is the unknown figure behind Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited and the account where the money was warehoused before being wired to sundry beneficiaries. The shadowy figure could help unravel the mystery shrouding the payments, once the veil is lifted.”

However, Fani-Kayode told our correspondent on the telephone that he never received money from the CBN.

Rather, he said the monies that were spent were received from Usman who was the director of finance of the campaign organisation.

The former Minister of Aviation said he never spent government funds but was told by Usman that the monies were sourced from private donations.

He said, “I served as the director of publicity and I was told to set up an account for the directorate, which I did. I never received money from the CBN but like all the other directors, we received money from the director of finance.

“I was assured that the monies were not public funds but were sourced from private individuals. I never knowingly spent government money all through. The monies were spent specifically on the campaigns. The accounts were audited and we were commended by the President.”

All attempts to get Usman proved abortive as her phone indicated that it was switched off.

Similarly, the phone number of Falae indicated that it was switched off when our correspondent attempted to reach him for comment.

However, the former SGF had said he received money to campaign for Jonathan through a former Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih

When contacted on the telephone, Udenwa told our correspondent that he never received any money as he did not even operate a Zenith bank account.

“I don’t operate a Zenith bank account, so, I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said.

$2.1 Arms Fraud: Over $120m Traced To 11 Foreign Accounts, See Full List of Accounts, Amount Transferred

Much of the $2.1billion arms funds put in care of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) by the Jonathan Administration was paid into 11 different accounts in the United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA) and Niger Republic, further probe of the money has revealed.

Dozens of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders, top government functionaries and retired/ serving military officers had earlier been linked with the sharing of the slush funds.

Some of them are already facing charges in connection with the funds disbursement.

The  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) which is investigating what became of the money which was originally earmarked for the procurement of arms to prosecute the  anti-Boko Haram war has traced payment transfers to more the foreign accounts.

Sources said yesterday that more accounts into which the funds were paid by the ONSA might be uncovered in the next few weeks.

The agency may seek collaboration with its counterparts in other nations to determine the legality or otherwise of such transfers.

Although the payment mandates indicated that the wired funds were for technical equipment or supply of vehicles, the EFCC is interested in establishing  whether or not the items were delivered and if the costs of the items were inflated or not.

Some of the transfers, according to sources, were effected through ONSA Foreign Operations Account No. 100367-USD-CABANK- with FBN Bank UK and a few others through the Central Bank of Nigeria and some commercial banks in the country.

Transfers being investigated are as follows:

• $10million (July 11, 2014) BSIC-NIGER, Code Bank NE 110, Swift Code BSAHNENI, Account 020383700112 );
• $38million paid to Societe Nigerienne de Banque (H0064B0100125111123981/22 CODEBIC( May 20, 2014)
• $16million to a different account in Societe Nigerienne de Banque (H0064B0100125111123981/41 CODEBIC (May 20, 2014)
• €1,401,869 transferred to SONIBANK (Republique du Niger (October 2, 2013)
• €1, 395,346.84 to another account in SONIBANK( Republique du Niger on December 11, 2013
• *€2,252,252.25 wired to SONIBANK (Republique du Niger) on April 1, 2014.

• $36million remitted into CitiBank N.A.Canada Square, Canary Wharf London E14 5LB on May 20,2014;
• $5million to CitiBank N.A. Canada Square, Canary Wharf London E14 5LB on June 4, 2014
• $30million to CitiBank N.A.Canada Square, Canary Wharf London E14 5LB on March 9, 2015
• $50million to Deutsche Bank Trust Company in New York on March 9, 2015
• $6, 954,000 to Deutsche Bank Trust Company in New York on April 21, 2015

A reliable source in EFCC said: “We have succeeded in retrieving documents relating to some funds that were wired abroad by ONSA. We were able to identify more than 11 foreign accounts and the actual remittances.

“Already, we are tracking what the funds were used for including payment for technical equipment and supply of vehicles. Our investigation includes determining whether or not the equipment were bought and delivered; and whether the cost prices were inflated or not.

“This crucial aspect of investigation accounted for why some military officers were handed over to the EFCC for investigation.

“We are also collaborating with anti-corruption agencies in other jurisdictions to determine the validity of such transfers and confirm if the funds were not laundered.

“The EFCC is being painstaking in its investigation to ensure fairness to all suspects under probe.

Responding to a question, the source said:”the EFCC has recovered $2.3million from a suspect involved in the arms procurement contract scandal in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

“The affected person is a contractor and not one of the military officers referred to this agency. He has more money to refund and we have decided to keep his identity under wraps until full recovery of the slush funds is made.

“We also do not want to reveal his identity in order not to jeopardize ongoing investigation.”

The presidency had handed over a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh and 17 others, including 11 serving senior military officers and 22 companies, to EFCC for investigation on the alleged $2.1billion arms deals.

Apart from Badeh, others under investigation  are ex-Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal M.D. Umar; a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki ; Col. N. Ashinze , who was the Special Military Assistant to the ex-NSA; and a former Chief of Air Staff, A.N. Amosu; the most senior Air Force officer, AVM A. M. Mamu (the Chief of Administration); AVM O.T.Oguntoyinbo (former Director of Production, Defence Headquarters);  AVM R.A. Ojuawo (Air Officer Tactical Air Command, Makurdi;  AVM J.B. Adigun (former Chief of Accounts and Budgeting in NAF); and AVM JA Kayode-Beckley(Director, Armament Research in Air Force Research and Development Centre); AVM T Omenyi (MD, NAF Holdings) four top officers at the Defence Headquarters(DHQ), Air Cdre AO Ogunjobi; Air Cdre GMD Gwani; Air Cdre SO Makinde; and Air Cdre AY Lassa.

Source: The Nation

"The Truth MUST Be Told", Tinubu's Daughter Says, Attacks Buhari, APC Over Market Women

Folashade Tinubu-Ojo

The Iyaloja General of Nigeria and daughter of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, on Thursday accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration of not carrying market women along.

Mrs. Tinubu-Ojo said this at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja when she led hundreds of market women to voice their complaints against the party. She said despite their efforts during the electioneering campaigns, they had not been adequately compensated after the inauguration. “I am here to represent market women and men of Nigeria.

There have been agitations. It’s not even agitation but allegation. The people believe that the government of the day is not carrying them along as it should be. That they worked round the clock for the party during the electioneering campaign, but after the inauguration, most of us are not carried along.

“We only hear on the news that the First Lady is doing a programme this and that and we just see it on the news and they wouldn’t allow me. All the complaints come to my table morning and night and I say okay, enough is enough! We even heard of another FCT woman leader that is organising another market association and named it Association of Organised Market People in Abuja. Most of these people are Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They were nowhere to be found when we were working for the party day and night. So, now our people are not happy because they need to benefit from where they believe they have the right to.

What we need and what we are crying for is for the government to give them sense of belonging and carrying them along properly.”

Tinubu’s daughter, who said the protest was not a mobilization against the APC, said “I am solidly behind the party, I have worked for the party before and I will still work for the party tomorrow. But that does not stop me from saying the truth.”