Where the pendulum swings for the Igbo nation has been a burning issue of discourse across the land, as we approach another electoral exercise next year. This issue recently engaged our platform, Nsu Economic Council, NEC, the think tank of Nsu community in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State. It comprises the elite of the bustling community and has done so much to reposition the community in its two years of existence under the pragmatic leadership of its initiator and pioneer president, Chief Pascal Egerue, an insurance impresario.

Part of the group’s mandate is to stoke economic and socio-political ideas to sensitise its people on the goings on in the polity and thereby map out strategies that will benefit them. It is not out of place, therefore, that the politics of 2019 has dominated much of NEC’s debate of late.

At the last forum,  Okey Williams had noted that the Igbo were not strategic thinkers but hyper critics.

Said he: “One thing I have come to realise about our people is that we are never strategic in thinking and talking. Open social media today the most criticism of government is from the Igbo while other tribes are busy looking for the opportunities inherent in the government to unlock for the interest of their zone. We play politics of brigandage and bear the cross for the development of other regions. Jonathan became president and the Igbo talked to hell in his defence while the North and the West were busy taking advantage. Now Muhammadu Buhari is the president the Igbo feel most wounded while the same West and South-South are busy building their economies. 

“We are from Nsu and have someone like Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, who is politically respected and adored across the divides of the nation. He should be our rallying point on issues of concerns to us as Ndi Nsu at this time when the next national cake is about to be shared. We should unite and ask him to go speak for us.

“Honestly, I await the survival of Igbo nation and this can come soon only if we change strategy. Let’s begin to see half glass of water as half full than half empty.” 

 However, the NEC president disagreed that the Igbo revelled in criticism and lacking in strategic thinking.

 According to Chief Egerue: “Certainly, the crop of Igbo that are not strategic thinkers are the Igbo in government. This did not even start today but right from history. The Igbo have been cursed by the most inferior and selfish representation, especially at the executive arm of the government. It is these Igbo in government, who, rather than think of how to locate strategic government assets in the East, take pittance as bribes and look the other way. 

“We have produced generation of ministers of aviation and yet we are struggling to have, at least, one international airport. We had Igbo in government when Dr. Basil Ukaegbu was denied the opportunity of owning the first private university in Nigeria. Today, the concept we lampooned is in every village in the South-West. We had the best chance under Goodluck Jonathan with very juicy ministries, yet nothing happened. The Second Niger Bridge is dragging because of our brainless representatives, who would rather dwell and waste time on technical analysis than play the necessary politics.

“We had opportunity to restructure Nigeria at the local government level with the Arthur Mbanefo Commission but at the end of his work, more LGAs were created in the North and the East remained the way it was. Our temperament as Igbo politicians is that as long as we are eating, nobody should make a noise.

“The truth is that apart from social media mute talks, the Igbo are not criticising this government enough. Governor Nasir El Rufai wrote a stinker to this present government, yet he is in power and well seated in Aso Rock than all Igbo politicians combined. Asiwaju BolaTinubu wrote stinkers and is always sending body language missiles, yet the Yoruba are busy gathering everything. No person in the senate has criticised this government more than Shehu Sani and yet his space is left for him. How many of these Igbo politicians even have the courage to speak Igbo? Check the pictures of banters at Federal Executive Council meetings and you will see our people either neck deep in files or meekly seeking for social acceptance. 

“Because of the docility, servility and sheer incompetence of our representatives, they will prefer to have a dumb acquiescent Igbo, who will either keep quiet in the face of frustration or clap for them stupidly whether they perform or not.

“So far, our people in government and in the corridors of power at federal and state levels are grossly deficient in strategic thinking. They all walk around as if they have impaired vision and can hardly see the impact of today’s government actions on the Igbo of tomorrow. We need to start thinking right. We need to start bringing out the Jew in us in everything that we do.”

Egerue reasoned that if Igbo presidency is not realisable yet, “we should get back to our mercantile life and use our industriousness to make Igbo land the best investment destination in Africa. This can happen if our elected leaders have this in their consciousness and begin to prioritise their development objectives. 

Chief Egerue’s thesis at Nsu Economic Council couldn’t have summed up the Igbo dilemma better. It is not just about criticising Buhari but having strategic alternatives. If truth must be told, the Igbo have learnt nothing from the debacle of 2015. It is even more stupid to be talking about Igbo president in 2019 when we should be pushing for restructuring. Igbo presidency will yield the same losses of the past.

I believe that the politics of 2019 is a jigsaw puzzle that the Igbo must get right. We have frittered away a lot of viable opportunities in times past when our timid leaders traded off our votes wholesale to Jonathan on gratis. 

Whatever must be done should be done expeditiously. The Nwajiuba idea is high flier any day. Even Okigwe South queuing behind its Rep aspirant, Hon. Frank Ibezim, is bankable idea. And, of course, regardless of  Rochas Okorocha’s limp endorsements, Imo State must do everything to exorcise his lurking ghost at all levels.

Nationally, yes, a lot of Nigerians agree that Buhari disappointed the nation… So what; what effectual alternatives are they offering apart from being diarrheic in the mouth? Politics is more than that and if things are not done properly, Buhari dey kampe for as long as his opponents remain emotional and continue to grope in the dark. 

As the rest of the world gradually but determinedly takes the needed bold steps to break free from extreme poverty, all available evidence in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, inexplicably points to an appalling lack of progress in this regard. Naked evidence of poverty litters every nook and cranny of the country, though the impact is more palpable in some parts than others. Reports released recently by two international financial institutions firmly confirm the endemic poverty in the country.

While the African Development Bank says that a staggering 152 million Nigerians, representing almost 80 per cent of the country’s estimated 190 million population, live on less than $2 a day, the International Monetary Fund insists that more Nigerians are getting poorer, despite claims that the country is desperately clawing its way out of a debilitating recession. What is really baffling is that a country adequately endowed with all the resources, human and material, needed to propel her dynamic population into a new era of prosperity has been stuck in the quagmire of endemic poverty.

The context of a country receding further into an abyss of poverty becomes quite patent when it is considered that in a 2012 report, the National Bureau of Statistics said the number of Nigerians living within the poverty threshold was 115.5 million. Yemi Kale, the Statistician-General, said, “In 2004, Nigeria’s relative poverty measurement stood at 54.4 per cent but increased to 69 per cent or 112.518 million in 2010.” Within another six years, the number has increased to 152 million. This is why the AfDB described it as unacceptable.

But while Nigeria has been retrogressing, most parts of the world have been making progress. Globally, the population of extremely poor people was estimated to have fallen below 10 per cent for the first time at the end of the Millennium Development Goals programme in 2015. China, for example, has seen to the escape of more than 500 million people from poverty, posting a drop from 84 per cent to 13 per cent between 1981 and 2008, according to the World Bank. It is estimated that an average of 13 million Chinese are brought out of poverty every year. In November last year, the country which is now the world’s largest economy by some accounts, set out with another ambitious plan to lift 30 million more Chinese out of poverty by 2020.

But what is Nigeria’s target? Without being immodest, Nigeria could easily become the richest country in Africa if her resources are judiciously managed. But its fortunes have been gratuitously gambled away by a succession of inept, clueless and self-centred leaders who lacked the vision and knowledge to properly drive her development. For instance, Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil and one of the top 10 producers in the world. Yet, while others have been able to use their own oil and gas fortunes to develop their infrastructure, Nigeria’s stock of infrastructure remains both inadequate and decrepit.

The health system is in a complete shambles, as those who can afford it now travel abroad for routine medical conditions. So also is the education system, which now sees Nigerians moving in droves outside the country to acquire quality education, something that was taken for granted in the country a few decades ago. A former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku, once described Nigerian roads as worse than those in war-torn countries.

When a country finds it difficult to sustain regular electricity supply, it is difficult to create jobs and this, in turn, deepens poverty. Hundreds of thousands of youths graduate from universities or polytechnics each year without any prospects of being gainfully employed. The result has been an unprecedented upsurge in the level of criminality.

According to the NBS, the unemployment rate, as of the third quarter of last year, was 18.8 per cent, while a combined rate for the unemployed and underemployed stood at 40 per cent. It was also reported that a total of 7.9 million Nigerians became unemployed between January 2016 and September 2017. With such a high number of the unemployed, it is no wonder that the whole country crawls with poverty. The situation is also compounded by high birth rate, which has consistently outstripped the rate of growth in the economy.

It is obvious that oil and gas, the only booming industry in the country, can only provide for a very few. This is the time for the government to diversify the economy and encourage a return to agriculture, which has the prospects of providing job for a far higher number of people. It is also time for the country to revive its textile industry, which, in the past, created over 300,000 direct and 1.2 million indirect jobs. There should be a deliberate effort to encourage small and medium-scale enterprises, which drive the economies of advanced countries.

In an address to the 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 5, the Chinese Premier, Li Kegiang, said poverty alleviation would target the “development of local industries, education and health care.” He said that measures would be directed at individual households and poor population, including the elderly, people with disability and those with serious diseases. These are some of the steps that should be considered in Nigeria to make the kind of impact recorded in China.

Punch

The Federal Government has given tax defaulters up to March 31 to regularise their tax status under the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) or face prosecution. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who disclosed this in Abuja, last week, said that the government would establish special courts to prosecute the tax offenders, comprising high net worth persons and corporate organisations.

It is believed that government’s new initiative on tax evaders will stop tax leakages and shore up the country’s revenue base.      

Therefore, effective from April 1, 2018, special tax courts will be established to fast track the adjudication of tax-related offences under the VAIDS introduced on June 29, 2017. The VAIDS  is designed to shore up government non-oil revenue by growing the tax base and ensuring tax compliance.  The prosecution will involve tax defaulters who failed to take advantage of the nine-month amnesty window provided by the VAIDS. 

Already, government has identified not less than 130, 000 high-profile tax evaders. The VAIDS is a time-limited opportunity for taxpayers to regularise their tax status relating to previous tax periods and pay any tax due. And in exchange for fully and honestly declaring past undisclosed assets and income, taxpayers will benefit from forgiveness of overdue interest and penalties, and the assurance that they do not face criminal prosecution for tax offences or tax investigations.                                

According to the Finance Minister, the special courts have become necessary because of the seeming slow nature of our judicial system and the need to fast track the adjudication of tax-related offences under the VAIDS initiative. Under the scheme, all incomes, assets, and other properties earned and acquired from 2010 to date will be declared and appropriate tax paid on them. 

We lend our support to every good plan that will drive the effective implementation of the government’s tax policy. But, such policy must be in line with extant laws and all guidelines between banks and their customers. Interestingly, the minister has explained that VAIDS is covered by the existing tax laws in the country.           

It is, indeed, disheartening that high net worth individuals  and some corporate organisations do not pay commensurate taxes  after posting astonishing profits. This is often done in collusion with some tax officials. The planned special courts may seem drastic, but it is one of the measures that can redress Nigeria’s present low tax ratio to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which at 6 percent is one of the lowest in the world.  This obtains because of low tax compliance among high net worth individuals and a large informal sector that do not pay tax. If the initiative is successfully implemented, it will improve the current low tax to GDP ratio from the present level to between 12 and 15 percent.        

The recent disclosure by the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler, that the agency has realised N17bn from the scheme since its introduction, is encouraging. Not long ago, a survey conducted at a tax stakeholders’ forum organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, found that 70 percent of Nigerians said they do not pay taxes because the government cannot justify the use, 22.5 percent said it was due to tax rules that are unclear and compliance process that were too complex, while 7.5 percent claimed it was due to poor enforcement by tax authorities.

Whatever is the case, payment of tax is an obligation backed by law, even as we agree that the citizens deserve the right to know how the revenues from tax are utilised. There is need to follow laid down processes to bring defaulters into the tax net. This includes modalities in the Common Reporting Standards (CRS), which Nigeria entered into with 35 other countries, in August 2017 under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The device is a standard programme for automatic exchange of bank accounts information on   the ‘super rich’ individuals. It is about time to get our tax policy right and enforce penalties against tax offenders.

Sun

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has asked a Federal High Court in Owerri not to make absolute the temporary garnishee order it granted six chiefs representing the Ogoni community, compelling it to pay the sum of N122.53 billion on behalf of First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank).

CBN’s lead counsel, Professor Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) while responding to a new suit filed by the judgment creditors (Ogoni chiefs) seeking to commit FirstBank, its chairman, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, and managing director, Dr. Sola Adeduntan, to prison for alleged contempt for not paying them the sum of over N122.53 billion, stated that making the order absolute and compelling the CBN to pay out the huge sum would be against the interest of justice because the matter was still pending at the Supreme Court.

But in a statement yesterday, the bank said it was a responsible and law abiding corporate citizen with the capacity and character to, on a consistent basis, meet its obligations as and when due.

The case, which started in 1991, was originally instituted at the Rivers State High Court, Nchia Division, by six indigenes of Ogoniland against the Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Netherlands, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, United Kingdom, and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria Limited over alleged oil spills that occurred when Shell operated in the community.

The plaintiffs alleged that it was the same case that led to the Ogoni struggle championed by the late Mr. Ken Saro Wiwa.

Judgment was eventually entered in their favour against Shell by the state High Court, whereupon the defendant appealed against the said judgment.

However, in 2001, a fresh suit was commenced by some representatives of the Ogoni people before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt presided over by Justice Ibrahim Buba claiming N17 billion and interests on the said sum for the losses allegedly caused by the oil spills.

Justice Buba, after listening to the submissions of the parties in the suit, in his judgment in 2010, awarded N17 billion to the representatives of the Ogoni people.

The court equally granted the Ogoni chiefs 25 per cent interest charge on the principal sum of about N17 billion.

SPDC then appealed against the judgment and applied for a stay of execution of the judgment pending the appeal.

As a condition for granting the stay of execution, the court required Shell’s bankers, FirstBank, to provide a guarantee of the judgment sum.

This condition was complied with. But Shell’s appeal failed at the Court of Appeal on technical grounds, ostensibly because it filed its processes out of time and without regularising them.

When the oil giant proceeded to the Supreme Court, it also failed as the court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal.

Accordingly, last December, the judgment creditors (Ogoni representatives) commenced garnishee proceedings at the Federal High Court in Owerri presided over by Justice Lewis Allagoa.

They urged the CBN to pay them N122.53 billion out of FirstBank’s account in its custody.

THISDAY gathered that they calculated the principal sum of N17 billion and the accrued 25 per cent interest charge per annum to arrive at the sum of N122,533,403,392.

In January, Justice Allagoa granted them a temporary order (garnishee nisi) ordering the CBN to pay them the sum from FirstBank’s account with it.

The judgment creditors, Chief Isaac Osaro Agbara and five others (representing the Ogoni community) are represented by Mr. Lucius Nwosu (SAN) as the lead counsel, while FirstBank is represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) as lead counsel.

Shell, against whom the judgment was made and who wants to be joined in the garnishee proceedings, having filed a motion for joinder, is represented by Mr. Wale Akoni (SAN), while the garnishee, CBN, which is allegedly in custody of the N122.53 billion is represented by Ajogwu.

When the suit came up for hearing before Justice Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Owerri last Friday, Ajogwu, filed a motion before the court to set aside the temporary garnishee order on the grounds that the CBN was not indebted to and does not have the private funds of FirstBank in its custody.

However, Akoni’s motion for Shell to be joined in the garnishee proceedings could not be taken.

Ajogwu contended that the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation was not obtained to attach the money alleged to be in the custody of a public officer, contrary to the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act.

He also argued that the funds alleged to be in the custody of the CBN could only be statutory funds, which cannot be attached for payment of judgment sums.

He further averred that in view of the several suits and appeals in the matter, the proceedings were an abuse of the court’s process and amounted to forum shopping.

In his motion, counsel to FirstBank, Olanipekun, also asked the court to set aside the temporary garnishee order.

He argued that the court lacks the jurisdiction to hear the case, and therefore asked the court to transfer the case to Abuja or Lagos.

But in his response, Nwosu stated that the Ogoni judgment creditors were entitled to the benefit of their judgment and opposed all motions by the CBN, Shell and FirstBank.

After hearing all the parties in the case, Justice Allagoa adjourned the matter to April 11, 2018, for the continuation of hearing.

But in a statement sent to THISDAY yesterday, FirstBank’s Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, said her organisation was a responsible law abiding citizen with the capacity and character to meet its obligations as and when due.

She said the events culminating in the issuance of the bank guarantee at the request of Shell and all the lawsuits arising from the case were before the courts.

She expressed confidence that the courts would dispense justice in the cases in line with constitutional obligations.

According to her, “FirstBank is a responsible and law abiding corporate citizen with the capacity and character to, on a consistent basis, meet its obligations as and when due.

“The events culminating in FirstBank’s issuance of the said bank guarantee at the request of Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited as well as all matters arising therefrom and associated therewith are subject matters of different lawsuits including Suit Nos. FHC/OW/CS/C4/2017, FHC/L/NJR/1/2018 and Appeal Nos. SC/511/2017 and SC/731/2017 which are ongoing.

“We are confident that the various courts will dispense justice in the cases in line with their constitutional obligations.”

Also, a source conversant with the case explained that FirstBank’s appeal was still at the Supreme Court and hearing on the case will come up on October 16, 2018.

He said irrespective of the fact that the Supreme Court had not ruled on the case, the counsel to the Ogoni chiefs, Nwosu, has been pushing for FirstBank to honour the guarantee.

He said FirstBank, however, has maintained that the parties have the right to exhaust their rights in law and that includes going to the Supreme Court.

According to the source, this was another attempt by Nwosu to stampede the bank into paying the N122.53 billion.

Opening up on other tactics employed by the counsel to the Ogoni chiefs to compel FirstBank to cough up the sum despite the fact that the matter is still being adjudicated, he said Nwosu had also petitioned the two legislative chambers of the National Assembly.

“Not stopping at that, he has petitioned the central banks of other countries where FirstBank has operations; he has initiated winding up proceedings against the bank in Lagos and Abuja which he discontinued; he took an action against FirstBank at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt which he abandoned; he obtained the garnishee at the Federal High Court in Owerri seeking to attach FirstBank’s funds at the CBN; then last week he filed contempt proceedings against the chairman and managing director of the bank.

“All these he has done irrespective of the case at the Supreme Court. But FirstBank from what I can tell is confident in the judiciary to do the right thing,” he said.

Thisday

Many federal ministries and agencies lack active websites despite spending billions of naira on information technology last year, Daily Trust investigations have shown.

Two key agencies under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology are absent online. One of them is the National Space Research Development Agency (NASDRA), which is responsible for Nigeria’s space programme and policy development of space science and technology.

Another key agency absent online is the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI). A part of its mandate is to synergise with other related agencies to commercialize Nigeria’s indigenous products in the areas of technology and business management.

Similarly, the website of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) is rarely updated. When Daily Trust reporter visited it last night, the former Director General of the agency, Prof Lucy Ogbadu, whose tenure ended about two months ago, was still displayed on the website, as the DG.

Even the link to the press release that announced the appointment of Mr Abayomi Oguntade as acting DG on January 28, 2018, was not found on the website.

Almost all the menus on the website were either not active or found, or outrightly blank. Of the 10 menus on the website, only that of the ‘Office of the DG’ was active. 

Even at that, of the six sub-menus under it, only the  one with the DG’s profile was active. All the remaining ones were blank.

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development website is active only half way as most of the sections are blank.

President Muhammadu Buhari administration is giving priority to agriculture, but there is very scant information regarding that on the website when our reporter checked last night.

Though there was provision for agencies, research institutes and colleges in the website, only the link to agencies display the agencies under the ministry. 

Even then only about three of the agencies have an active link that will take you to their websites. The hyperlink for research institutes and colleges was blank when Daily Trust visited last night.

The value chain sub-sectors were also not updated, apart from the names of the items displayed. The addresses of the ministry’s state offices were also not available. The last press release posted on the ministry’s website was dated January 26, 2018. 

The website of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) is also displaying outdated and wrong information. For instance, under ‘Special Advisers’ only two names were displayed even though there are dozens of them, as of last night.

The displayed information was also wrong. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, was addressed on the SGF’s website as special adviser on ‘new media’ to the president.

Though N65 million was spent on the website last year, according to the SGF Boss Mustapha, the last news item posted on the website was in October last year.

Most of the other ministries that have websites rarely update them.

Only last week, the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) disclosed that over 70 percent of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria have no websites.

The agency said less than 25 percent of them have functional telephone numbers and e-mail. The acting Director General of the bureau, Mr Dasuki Arabi, said this during the first edition of BPSR Lunch Time Reform Seminar in Abuja.

He spoke at an event themed: “Using ICT within the Public Service in the Ease of Doing Business to Enhance Public Access to Information.” 

Arabi said there is a huge gap and constraints to doing business in Nigeria as many institutions of government have no avenue to disseminate needed information by business operators.

“This shortcoming has not only created a huge gap and constraint to doing business in Nigeria but is also responsible for the country being ranked number 169 out of the 190 economies in the world. 

´In line with global best practices, institutional websites provide the means through which relevant information for starting business process could be obtained,” he said.

“It is also requisite where information concerning the activities of government organisation could easily be accessed. It is noteworthy to inform you that the federal government has adopted the scorecard in a letter dated 10 December 2017 which would serve as peer review mechanism among the MDAs to boost compliance to standards for government website and improve operationalization of the Executive Order E001 on Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria,” he said

An analysis of the 2017 budget shows that N20 billion has been spent by federal ministries and agencies on information technology services and consultancy.

The budget breakdown shows that the funds were meant for setting up data banks, e-governance, simplifying information dissemination, as well as digitizing work in the agencies.

The allocations were listed under sub-headings for internet access charges, information technology consulting, satellite broadcasting access charges, computer software acquisition, information technology training, reforms communication, and purchase of computers.

Despite these spending, processes of information dissemination by government ministries remain antiquated and slow.

Several visits to the websites of these agencies in the past weeks revealed that only a few of them display up-to-date information.

Most are rarely updated, have blank pages or contain links that lead to no pages at all.

Also, the Foreign Affairs ministry website is not being updated as most of the pages were blank with “coming soon” displayed, including pages on travel advisory, trade, and investment.

The page designated “Nigerian missions oversees” was blank. And the website was last updated on December 7, 2017. The ministry’s links to business, government, visiting, and employment were all not active as of last night.

The Nigeria Police Force has an active website but with very scant information. When this reporter clicked on the link of “wanted persons” it was found to be blank even though the police have lots of wanted persons still on the run.

Among the agencies with regularly updated websites are those of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Budget Office of the Federation, Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

Others in this category are the websites of the ministries of Information and Culture, Communication Technology, Power, Works, and Housing, among others.

Some of the big spenders on computer software acquisition and other IT related services according to 2017 budget are power, works and housing N5.5bn, DSS N1.04bn, communications N1.05bn, OSGF N1.04bn, National Security Adviser N1.04bn, and Code of Conduct Bureau N1.01bn.  

Salaries and wages commission spent N917m, National Population Commission N741m, National Immigration Service N600m, Voice of Nigeria (VON) N663m, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) N355m, Transports N357m, Finance N344m, Foreign N276m, Defence N281m, Interior N252m, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) N204m, and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) N288m.

Others include Debt Management Office N130m, Information and Culture N126m, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN)N122m, Trade and Investment N115m, Environment N147m, Education N111m, Economic Planning N169m, Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) N232m, ICPC N145m, Petroleum N170m, and Mining N245m.     

Board of Prisons, Immigration and Civil Defence spent N163m, Fiscal Responsibility Commission N85m, Nuclear Regulatory Agency N100m, Sports and youths N68m, Water Resources N40m, Federal Character Commission N95m, State House N181m, among others.

 

DailyTrust 

“Fellow Nigerians, finally, we have dutifully intervened to save this nation from imminent collapse. We therefore expect all Nigerians, including those who participated directly or indirectly in bringing the nation to this present predicament, to cooperate with us. This generation of Nigerians, and indeed future generations, have no country other than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together.”

Those who are old enough would remember these words. They were the concluding statements made by the then Major General Muhammadu Buhari on his acceptance of the role of the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces on January 1, 1984 following the overthrow of the Shehu Shagari civilian administration.

It was in continuation of the campaign for Nigerians to stay home and salvage the country together that the NTA created an “Andrew” who threatened in his American accent, to “check out” because there was no water, no electricity and no roads. In response to Andrew, a songstress, Veno produced a track in 1985 where she pleaded with “Andrew” not to check out because in her own words, “Nigeria go survive”. Please note that all this was long before the Trans-Saharan migration phenomenon which has in its own since developed into a global scandal

If Buhari could cast his mind back to those days and compare them with these days, he would only conclude that he was being clairvoyant as what he was talking about then was a child’s play to the Nigeria of today. If people were “checking out” in the 80’s for greener pastures, today, they are checking out in droves out of hunger, insecurity and lack of hope. And today, they are doing so, despite the grave dangers that lay wait on their routes which they are very much aware of. In fact one of the repatriated ladies from Benin who narrowly escaped death was so defiant when journalists confronted her. She insisted that if she had another opportunity, she would travel again through the same route in spite of the near miss she had. Her point was that it was no use remaining in here given that she also stood the risk of dying out of hunger or in the hands of robbers, kidnappers or herdsmen.

It has become stale news to hear that Nigerian, and indeed African migrants heading to Europe and Asia by land or sea were killed in their numbers or consigned to forced labour by fellow Africans in North Africa, often with the active connivance of their countrymen.

Those who choose to travel by land via the desert either die of hunger and exhaustion or are attacked, dispossessed of their belongings and killed by border criminals, human traffickers or fake travel agents, hence the endless sad stories of how human corpses and skeletons of dead migrants litter the Sahara Desert.

Those who choose to travel by sea either drown or are attacked and thrown into the sea, as a result of over crowded ships and boats. Stowaways on regular ships are often on a suicide mission as they are most certainly thrown into the sea if detected.

Most of these migrants who choose North African countries like Morocco and Libya as their traveling routes, hoping to get to Spain, Greece, Italy and other European countries, end up as corpses along the precarious routes while majority of those who survive the horrific experience end up in crowded refugee camps.

Some of these desperate migrants chose these illegal routes mainly because they lack the resources, the necessary travel documents and above all the proper information and knowledge needed to understand the hidden dangers that accompany such risky journeys.

Stories have been told of how sea border security guards intentionally carried out attacks on desperate African migrants forcing their boats to capsize, while others have been accused of standing by to watch endangered immigrants drown without offering any form of assistance.

As at mid 2015, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHER) reported that out of over 350,000 people who journeyed across the Mediterranean, 3,075 died or disappeared. The report went ahead to disclose that six out of the ten largest countries of origin of refugees were Africans which included Somali, South Sudan, Gambia, Senegal, Central African Republic and of course, Nigeria.

In February 2013, Spanish police opened fire on a ship carrying hundreds of African migrants who were asking for help after their ship developed a problem while trying to enter Spain. Not less than 40 migrants, many of them Nigerians, were killed. The shooting incident attracted serious protests from the Nigerian community in Spain and widespread condemnation from Human Rights groups.

According to the International Organization for Migrants (IOM), about 50,000 people crossed the Mediterranean within January 2016, out of which 2,200 persons lost their lives while a dozen other migrants also died after crossing over to Europe. The report disclosed that this alarming number more than doubled the number of migrants and deaths recorded during the same period in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Dozens of other tragedies that are not captured here have obviously occurred, with many human fatalities and injuries. The alarming figure of 2016 gave a serious warning that huge danger lay ahead, unfortunately we have proved repeatedly that we are a continent that attaches little regard to the lives of our citizens.

In November, 2017 more than 30 migrants died and 200 were rescued after their boats had a problem off Libya’s western coast, according to that country’s naval authorities.

According to Agency France Press, migrants from Somalia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and equally Nigeria were among those rescued.

On the 17th of the same November, 2017, 26 corpses of young Nigerian girls lay in state in the winter sunshine in a cemetery in southern Italy. According to reports, out of the 26 women, only two of the women Marian Shake and Osato Osaro were identified.

In May, 2017, online media platform Premium Times reported the death of 44 African migrants including Nigerians, who died after their truck broke down at Sahara Desert in Northern Nigeria as they attempted to enter Europe.

The incident which was also reported by the BBC, involved three babies, two minor children and seventeen women amongst other victims.

While Nigerians and other peoples of the world were yet to come to terms with the alarming number of recorded deaths of Nigerians and other African migrants at the Sahara Desert and at the Mediterranean, then came the newest and very dangerous dimension of slave trade.

Slave trade, which is believed to have started in the 16th Century, is the business or process of procuring, transporting and selling human beings, especially black Africans to the New World. The fact that anti-human scourge like slave trade which ravaged humanity centuries ago could rear its ugly head and reappear once again not for the purpose of deliberation aimed at ending every trace of it, or for the purpose of payment of compensation to families of past victims, shows how Nigeria and Africa have failed as a nation and as a continent in the 21st century.

As usual, and very unfortunately, Nigerians top the list of the victims of this modern day slavery, even though revelations by victims have exposed the active involvement of Nigerian citizens, meaning that Nigerians are indeed, both the slaves and the slave masters.

Listening to horrifying stories from victims of the Libyan slave trade, especially those eloquently captured by one Mr. Imasuen from Edo State whose interview with the CNN broke the hearts of millions of viewers and Osaze Aghimie, one would easily appreciate the enormity of the tragedy that has befallen Nigeria as a nation and Africa as a continent. Both men got stranded in Libya, were tortured, sold and resold into slavery, extorted, detained, and finally rescued and deported through the help of IOM

Speaking on the ongoing slave trade in Libya, former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said that slave trade in the 21st century should be condemned in the strongest terms possible.

“What can we do and what must we do?” We must ensure that a conducive atmosphere is created for the genuine exchange of goods. This is what will ensure development within our country, sub-region, continent and the world which we live.

“But then today, migration has a very nasty connotation particularly when you watch the television and you hear the story of thousands of our youths daring to go through the desert.

“Then after they have embarked on such perilous journeys, some of them are sold as slaves. Slaves in the 21st century, Africans being sold by Africans and maybe to Africans.

“All of us as leaders must feel a sense of regret for what we have done or what we have not done to bring this to our own people’’ Obasanjo concludes.

Leaders and citizens of different countries of the world have continuously raised their voices in condemnation of the Libyan slave trade, yet there is very urgent and pressing need for leaders, especially those of African countries to go beyond the usual rhetoric of condemnation and ensure they sit down and make critical assessment of the issues responsible for this humiliating development which has subjected Africa to the worst forms of ridicule in the comity of continents.

It has been decades since the illegal migration of Nigerians to Europe began. Yet, past and present governments have failed to consider the issue a national crisis that must be resolutely and critically tackled with both political and economic will. On the contrary, Nigeria has behaved and has continued to behave as if the lives of her citizens do not matter.

Unfortunately, the more the news of the deaths of African migrants at sea are reported, especially by International news agencies, and reactions heard from countries  whose borders are affected, the more African leaders and media institutions play dumb.

Reacting angrily to the silence of African leaders in the face of the numerous tragedies which led to the death of thousands of African migrants in 2015, a Ghanaian Journalist, Elizabeth Ohene said “The AU wastes no time in vocalizing its thoughts even on matters they are not well informed about, However, their silence on this salient issue may hinder the world from taking their commentary on other issues seriously. I have heard African Governments make statements on issues that do not concern them in any way; I have heard them on issues when their opinions are not sought and I have heard brave statements on issues about which we obviously are not well informed. But the drama unfolding on the North African coast demands some noise of some kind from Africa. Otherwise we shall forfeit forever the right to comment on any other world event”.

The frustration expressed by this Ghanaian journalist is the same some of us feel concerning the unjustifiable, if not suspicious, silence of several African leaders while their citizens perish at sea or suffer and die as slaves in a bid to seek greener pastures.

If Europe whose citizens are not the real victims of these illegal migrations could be speaking out and coming up with measures to prevent illegal African migrants entering their countries,  why then have African leaders considered the issue inconsequential by their actions of collective silence and inaction.

Speaking on the issue in 2016, the sacked Gambian President, Yahaya Jameh, whose citizens were among the highest number of migrants embarking on the risky journey, called on the United Nations General Assembly to investigate what he described as “this man-made sinking”. He condemned what he called “the dangerous, racist and inhuman behavior of deliberately causing boats carrying black Africans to sink” and alleged that there was a deadly mysterious force causing boats carrying Africans to disintegrate.

From the above Statement, Jameh who had ruled Gambia for 22 years as at that time, left no one in doubt about his incompetence and unwillingness to rise to the challenges of his office. He chose to ignore the home made factors caused by poor governance which gave rise to the desperation of his citizens to illegally migrate to Europe, but chose to apportion blame on those who didn’t cause the illegal migration ‘ab initio’ while at the same time sounding unnecessarily superstitious.

Mr. Jameh’s statement bore the same disdainful resemblance to that of the former South African President Jacob Zuma, who, while reacting to criticisms in the wake of the xenophobic attacks in his country in 2015 said, “Why are their citizens not in their countries? Why are they in South Africa?

The statements from the two African leaders spoke volumes of the insensitivity and level of disrespect African leaders generally have for their people. It showed gross disrespect for human dignity. It also imposed huge moral burden on Africans who would want to criticize the West for alleged marginalization and racism, because the internal marginalization and racism we carry out against our people and fellow African countries cannot measure with the ones we accuse Europe, America and even Asia of committing against us.

There is a simple answer to this conspiracy of silence by the leadership in our continent. African leaders have failed to make their countries attractive enough to keep its people at home. They have failed to provide the enabling environment for their people to prefer being in their own countries to elsewhere. People who have come up with suggestions about reorientation and educational solution may be right, but they tend to forget that those do not change the situations at home.

Our governments, at all levels, must come up with sound economic policies that would not only create the enabling environment for the youth and take them off the streets, but also guarantee hope of a secure economic future for them. To the extent that they do not see a future within their countries, the youth would continue to take the risk of migrating given that they believe that if they remained in their countries, they faced the certainty of death by poverty and pestilence, while there remained a chance of survival if they made it alive to Europe.

Some people argue that there could be some justifications for citizens of some poor and warring African countries to illegally migrate, however, others that are neither poor nor at war like Nigeria are fighting a different kind of war. The economic war is the most potent war unleashed by failed governments against its people. As long as that war persists, people would continue to vote with their feet irrespective of the dangers that may exist out there. And they would tell you that if they stay here they would die, if they travel they may die, so let them travel and die, apologies to the “Ajekun iya n’ioje” maestro, Senator Dino Melaye.

A former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, may clash with Governor Rauf Aregbesola over the choice of who succeeds the latter as the preparations for the governorship election in the state begin to gather momentum.

Oyinlola, on Friday  tasked the people of the Osun West Senatorial District to search for a young and  educated  candidate  with the capacity to lead the  state after the expiration of Aregbesola’s  tenure in November.

But it  is believed in many quarters  that Aregbesola is backing his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, who is from Iragbiji in Osun Central Senatorial District to succeed him in the election scheduled to hold  in September.

Speaking in Ede at the 10th coronation anniversary lecture of the Timi of Ede, Oba Adesola Lawal, Oyinlola said he was ready to support whoever the people of Osun West would present as their governorship candidate.

Oyinlola, who has publicly identified with the coalition proposed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, explained that  Osun West had only ruled the state for 22 months out of the 27 years of existence of Osun State.

He noted it would be unjust to deny the senatorial district the chance to produce the next governor of the state, stressing that he would support the district in order to correct the imbalance.

Oyinlola urged the people of the state to dismiss the rumour that he had a particular person in mind.

He insisted that he had nobody in mind but promised to support anybody brought forward by the district to contest the governorship poll.

He, however, said he had no interest to contest despite the calls that he should contest again.

He said, “ Out of 27 years of existence of Osun State, the West has only been there (governorship position) for just 22 months. The aspiration of the founding fathers of the state is that no part should be marginalised.

“I don’t mind if I stand alone. I have told my political family to find an educated young person from the West Senatorial District who can lead the state after the tenure of the governor. I said that is the man I will want you to bring to me.

“Please, Oyinlola has nobody in mind. I am saying that in all sincerity  and in all honesty. In the West, scout for us somebody to lead us after the expiration of the tenure of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbeola, I’m not bothered about what anybody has to say.”

However, the Media Adviser to the Governor, Mr. Sola Fasure, when contacted by our correspondent, said Aregbesola had nobody in mind but that the governor would support anybody the party leaders brought forward as the consensus candidate.

He said, “The leadership of the party is holding a series of meetings on the matter and the governor says it is the candidate that the leadership of the party agrees on that he will support.”

Asked if the All Progressives Congress  would go through primary to pick its governorship candidate, the governor’s spokesperson said the party would  resort to this if the consensus arrangement failed.

Fasure said, “You know that the tradition of the party from the time of the  Action Group to the Alliance for Democracy  has been to have consensus but it is when consensus failed that they would go to primary.”

 

Punch 

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that naysayers had taken to social media and spending huge amounts of money to distort the situation in Nigeria.

The minister stated this at a mini town hall meeting which he organised for members of staff of the Nigerian Embassy in Berlin, Germany and a cross-section of Nigerians residing in the European country.

Mr. Mohammed was in Berlin to attend a meeting of African Tourism Ministers, on the side-lines of the International Travel Trade Fair in the German capital.

A statement issued on the mini town hall meeting in Berlin was made available to journalists in Abuja by the Segun Adeyemi, the Special Adviser to the minister.

The minister said the naysayers, who were hoping to override the string of achievements by the present administration in the country, were spending huge amounts of money to spread fake news about Nigeria.

He said: “Contrary to the fake news being peddled in the social media by the naysayers, President Muhammadu Buhari is putting Nigeria back on its feet.

“That is why Nigerians at home and abroad must ensure they have access to authentic information.

“One way is to download the FGNiAPP on their hand-held devices. It is free.”

“The economy is on a steady growth, as attested to be by the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics:

“The economy attracted 12.2 billion dollars in foreign investments in 2017, up from $5.38 billion in 2016.

“That represents 138 per cent increase.

‘’The economy further consolidated its recovery from recession with GDP growing by 1.92 per cent in Q4 2017, compared to 1.40 per cent in Q3 2017 and a contraction of -1.73 per cent in Q4 2016.

“This means the economy ended 2017 with a growth of 0.82 per cent compared to a
contraction of -1.58 per cent in 2016.

“GDP growth in Q4 2017 was driven by growth in crop production, crude production and natural gas, metal ores, construction, transportation and storage, trade, electricity and gas production.

“These are indications that the administration’s diversification effort is working.”

Mr. Mohammed blamed the incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen on environmental, rather than ethnic or religious issues.

He noted that contrary to the narrative being pushed in certain quarters that gave ethnic and religious coloration to the clashes, they were caused by purely environmental issues.

Mr. Mohammed said whereas, Nigeria’s population in 1963 was about 48 million, ‘’it is now about 180 million with the country’s land mass remaining the same.’’

He said the implication was that, there were more people per square kilometre, adding that this development raised the chances of clashes over dwindling resources.

The minister also said that Lake Chad that which used to provide water and other resources to more than 30 million people in four countries, including Nigeria in the early 1960s had shrunk by about 90 per cent.

He said the lake which had shrunk from 25,000 square kilometres to 2,500 square kilometres, forced those affected to move south in search of resources.

“These and other reasons, like desertification, have altered the resource landscape, heightened competition for dwindling resources and raised the possibility of clashes between farmers and herders.”

Mr. Mohammed, who assured of the Federal Government’s commitment to finding lasting solution to the clashes, noted that the establishment of ranches was one sure way of reducing such clashes.

He, however, said that in resolving the crisis, both the farmers and the herders must be willing to shift slightly from their positions grounded in their way of life over centuries.

For his part, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Tuggar, commended the patriotism and dedication of the Nigerians in Diaspora, especially those in Germany.

“There is a burgeoning Nigerian community (in Germany), committed to
the prosperity of Nigeria.

“They are well in tune with the policies of the Nigerian government and they are accomplished men and women and worthy ambassadors,” he said.

In their comments, some leaders of the Nigerian Diaspora commended the government for the progress being made in lifting up the country.

They stressed the need to step up efforts to ensure the security of life and property in order to attract more foreign investors to the country.

A naysayer is a person who says something will not or is not possible, or one who is sceptical or cynical about something.

 

NAN

South-East Governors on Sunday announced of plans to undertake the construction of 430 kilometres of road across the five states in the zone.

This formed part of the decision taken by the South-East Governor’s Forum during their meeting at the Enugu Government House.

A communique issued at the end of the meeting, which lasted for over four hours was read by the Forum’s chairman, Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State.

Other Governors at the meeting included Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Eze Madumere. The governor of Anambra State was absent.

The communiqué reads: “the South East Governors Forum at its meeting discussed extensively on the possible strategies towards economic development of the South East and at the end of the meeting resolved as follows:

“To undertake the construction of ring road covering a total area of 430 kms, that would connect all the States of the South East, to promote economic development of the South East States and for ease of transportation system in the region.

“Took presentation for Gas Pipelines in the South East and advised the Consultants to follow up on details of implementation especially as it relates to right of way.

“We commended presentation on Aba Independent Power Project by Prof. Barth Nnaji and asked him to liaise with the Secretariat for further implementation with the Presidency.”

The forum chairman further disclosed that the governors also received presentations on several issues, particularly, from National Addressing System of Nigeria and the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) on assessment of MDAs for effective performance.

“A private business enterprise presented to the forum a Lottery business proposal in the South East states. After much deliberation, the Forum advised him to reach out to various states in the South East in going about the proposal.

“Directed that the Five South East States Chairmen of Traditional Rulers Council be invited for amicable resolution of their crisis in our next meeting.

“Expressed deep appreciation to the Governors and the people of the South East for the able way they worked together to give the former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, a befitting burial and enjoined them to continue in such spirit to move the South East States forward”, he said.

 

DailyPost 

Nigeria’s largest independent power plant (IPP), Azura Edo Power Plant, exposed for suspicious use of offshore funds, is allegedly enjoying preferential treatment from the Nigerian government.

In the Paradise Papers global investigation, the firm was found to be moving millions of tax-free dollars through a network of Mauritius-incorporated offshore shell companies to a number of trusts and private equity firms. Azura has since denied any wrongdoing, saying it violated no law.

A new law suit by older power generating companies in Nigeria, however, accuse the firm of enjoying unfair advantage.

The suit filed by the Power Generation Companies in Nigeria, GENCOs, accuse the Nigerian government of conferring preferential treatment on Azura Power West Africa Limited, owner of the power plant, as well as Accugas Limited, to the detriment of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) and the power sector as a whole.

Phillip Iheanacho, Nigerian investor and a close ally of Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, has stakes in both Azura and Accugas, a subsidiary of Seven Energy.

The suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, has the GENCOs represented by Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (“Mainstream”), Transcorp Power Limited (“Transcorp Power”), Egbin Power Plc (“Egbin”) and Northsouth Power Company Limited (“Northsouth”) who are all Plaintiffs in the suit.

Sued as defendants in the suit are the Federal Government of Nigeria (1st defendant), Central Bank of Nigeria (2nd defendant), Minister of Power, Works & Housing (3rd defendant), Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET, (4th defendant), Azura Power West Africa Limited (5th defendant) and Accugas Limited (6th defendant).

According to the suit, the GENCOs are contending that the Nigerian government and its agencies have treated and intend to continue treating the GENCOs, their investors and suppliers unfairly and in a discriminatory manner.

This, the plaintiffs said, was despite the fact that the GENCOs have been bending backwards to continue generating electricity for the national grid.

They said they had been bearing the huge burden of not being paid for electricity generated and sold to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. (NBET), and facing the risk of going under due to their huge indebtedness to banks and financiers who provided the foreign currency-denominated acquisition loans with which the power plants were acquired from the FG during the privatization exercise in 2012.

HOW GENCOS CAME ABOUT

On November 1, 2013, after the disintegration and privatisation of the state-owned power company, PHCN, its separate pieces consisting of 10 power distribution companies (DISCOS) and four generation companies (GENCOS) were handed over to new owners in a coordinated exercise.

The development, considered the biggest event that changed the course of the power sector in Nigeria, began earlier in 2012. The power utilities acquired by various investors with foreign and local partners were part of the 18 core electricity asset grouped into Discos and Gencos of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

In 2012, the privatisation efforts in Nigeria were heightened beginning with how the preferred bidders made a 25 per cent advanced payment of about N73 billion ($469.032million) to the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).

Following the success recorded in payment earlier, former President Goodluck Jonathan handed over the 25 per cent share certificates to the preferred bidders for Geregu, Sapele, Ughelli, Shiroro, Kainji Gencos.

The Discos, including Benin, Enugu, Kano, Ibadan, Yola and Abuja, Ikeja, Jos, Eko, Port Harcourt, also received the certificates having paid the 25 per cent.

The preferred bidders received heavy pressure in August that year, following a deadline issued by the BPE handling the privatization exercise to pay up the 75 per cent balance of about $3 billion (N480 billion) before they could take over the plants.

Meanwhile, the handover of the power utilities was officially done by Mr. Jonathan amidst strikes and kicks from the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) over unpaid severance benefits to the workers.

This was, however, tackled with the signing of an agreement in late October 2013, to pay all such benefits and other claims of the workers before the end of November.

THE N701 BILLION INTERVENTION FUND

In its determination to ensure improved electricity supply, the Nigerian Government in July 2017 announced disbursement of N701.9 billion intervention funds to the GENCOs.

The N701 billion was approved for NBET under the Power Purchase Guarantee Funds to enable it pay for power purchased. In other words, the GENCOS would receive the money for power generated whether or not the power was transmitted or distributed by other appropriate firms.

According to the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Fashola, the payment was part of various measures being taken to address liquidity crisis in the power sector.

But in their suit filed before the court, the GENCOs claimed that NBET has consistently defaulted in paying them for all electricity generated and put on the national grid, in breach of its contractual obligation, which required that the GENCOs be paid fully not later than 45 days of invoice submission, and in the event of delay in payment, be paid with interest at the agreed rate.

By reason of the failure of NBET to pay the GENCOs, they said they have in turn been forced to default in meeting their obligations to their lenders.

The GENCOs put the amount owed them for electricity generated and supplied by them at approximately N800 billion, adding that together with capacity and interest payments due to them, they are owed in excess of N1 trillion.

The suit alleged that while the GENCOs are getting very close to a point where their plants may not be able to generate power again and be shut down, the federal government entered into certain engagements with Azura and Accugas.

Under the agreement, they said, the firms were given the preferential treatment of having a World Bank Partial Risk Guarantee supported by the Sovereign Guarantee of the FG securing all payments due from NBET to Azura for power generated by the new Independent Power Plant and to Accugas for gas supplied to the Calabar NIPP, a facility government did not provide for GENCOs at the inception of the privatisation exercise when the risk was enormous.

ACCUGAS

In 2016, Seven Energy International Limited, signed a $112 million World Bank, partial risk guarantee (PRG) with the Federal Government for the supply of natural gas, to be delivered by its wholly owned subsidiary, Accugas.

The PRG is a financial instrument that would secure the supply of up to 130 million cubic feet per day (“MMcfpd”) of natural gas to the NIPP, thereby enabling the consistent generation of an additional 560 MW of electricity to the national grid, approximately 10 per cent of current power generation in Nigeria.

The arrangement, which guarantees payments to Accugas for gas supply, was backed by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Bank and reputed as the first of its kind for gas supply in Nigeria.

Commenting on the agreement, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo described the initiative as a very “significant” event that will encourage investment in gas infrastructure and result in positive multipliers.

Mr. Iheanacho, then Chief Executive Officer of Seven Energy, said the initiative was the first gas-to-power guarantee that the World Bank has provided for encouraging investment in the gas sector in Nigeria.

AZURA

In December 2017, Azura first turbine was synchronized to the national grid and began producing electricity for distribution across the country. The development signalled a positive omen for the country’s first large-scale, project-financed, independent power plant.

The Edo State government reacting to the development said the Azura Edo Independent Power Project (IPP), which begun generation of electricity seven months ahead of schedule, attracted investors to the state.

Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osage, in statement, said that the influx of investors and the “outstanding success” recorded by Azura-Edo Power, is a testament to the numerous reforms undertaken by the government.

Similarly, while inspecting the Azura project earlier this year, Mr. Fashola described the plant as a proof of the federal government’s commitment to improving power generation and experience for the purpose of diversifying the nation’s economy.

The minister also described the project as a statement about the commitment of the administration “to do everything it can to enable the Private Sector to deliver on its own specialty which is to make investments such as this.”

Earlier in November 2017, an investigation by PREMIUM TIMES and the International Consortium of Investigative journalist (ICIJ) revealed that Acura Edo Power plant might be a huge suction pipe set up to siphon millions of tax-free dollars through a network of Mauritius-incorporated offshore shell companies to a number of trusts and private equity firms.

The Paradise Papers global investigation revealed that Azura Power West Africa, owner of the plant, has two undated organisational charts. One of the charts, which appeared to be the original structure of the company, shows that Azura Power West Africa was wholly owned by Azura-Edo Limited, a Category 1 Global Business Company (GBC1) incorporated in Mauritius.

Azura-Edo Limited is further completely owned by Azura Power Holding Limited, a Category 2 Global Business Company (GBC2) also incorporated in Mauritius.

Azura Power Holding is then jointly owned by two GBC2 companies – Amaya Capital Limited (86.23 percent) and Hollyhock Limited (13.77 percent). Hollyhock Limited is the GBC2 subsidiary of the private equity firm, American Capital Limited.

Amaya Capital is jointly owned by The Principal Investment Trust (40 per cent) belonging again to Mr. Iheanacho, the co-founder of Investment firm, Afrinvest, and an ally of the governor of Edo State, Mr. Obaseki, with whom he co-founded Afrinvest.

The Rasa Trust, on the other hand, owns 40 per cent of Amaya Capital. The trust belongs to Sundeep Bahanda, a former top executive at Deutsche Bank, London, while David Ladipo, the founder of Lintstock, a corporate advisory company and a former adviser to the Nigerian government on energy, owns 20 percent of Amaya Capital.

The second ownership chart, showed that the Edo State government was also brought on board as marginal co-owner of the company with 2.5 percent stake.

The company explains on its website that the 2.5 percent equity was given to Edo State for providing 1100 hectares of land on which the company is built.

It is unclear whether the ownership structure of the company had any influence in the preferential treatment it allegedly receives from the Nigerian government.

When contacted, Edu Okeke, Deputy Managing Director at Azura Power West Africa Limited, said the company had little time to react to such allegations as it is committed to completing its power project.

“Building a large-scale electricity power plant is a challenging undertaking and we are currently in the final stages of the plant’s commissioning,” he said.

“All our energies are currently focused on this activity. Accordingly, it would be a poor use of our time to comment on the merits, or demerits, of any alleged claims made by other generating companies against the Federal Government or agencies thereof.”

Mr. Okeke also argued that a number of media outlets have published articles mentioning the Azura-Edo IPP, saying the facts and dates cited therein are occasionally incorrect or misleading. He, however, did not comment further on the allegations.

WHAT THE GENCOS WANT

Meanwhile, in the suit filed by the GENCOS, they want the court to stop any payment to Azura And Accugas that would be more than what the GENCOS themselves are paid.

The generating companies are asking for an interim Injunction and the hearing has been fixed for April 16 by Justice Binta Nyako of Federal High Court, Abuja.

When contacted, Hakeem Bello, spokesperson to Mr. Fashola, said what is expected is that the government and the minister will be served and will respond when the time comes.

Mr. Bello explained that there have been consultations with the GENCOs on different platforms, aside that they attend the monthly power sector stakeholders meeting. He hinted that a power sector stakeholders’ meeting has been scheduled to hold in Uyo on Monday and they (GENCOs) will be there. He, however, said that if there are additional updates, he will get back to our correspondent.

“If they sue the minister and the government, I think they will respond as appropriate,” he told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview.

 

PT