FG Has Scrapped Security Vote To Top Government Officials - Sources

The Buhari administration has ended the controversial practice of routine security vote allocation to top government, military and security officials, according to Sahara Reporters. 

Sources in the Finance and Budget ministries also said that the order extends to the President himself, and the Vice President.  

In recent decades, security votes became popular among politicians, military officers and public officers, especially presidents and state governors, as a vehicle for siphoning public funds.  As the nation became more and more enmeshed in official graft, however, the practice began to generate tremendous public criticism.

Observers say it was a relic from the long years of military rule, but became even more prevalent as from the Second Republic, and assumed a more dramatic and wider form in 1999. Apart from principal federal government officials, state governors and local government chairmen often allocate huge sums of money to their offices as ‘security’ votes, even as the country grew increasingly insecure. 

Government sources now confirm that as soon as the Buhari administration took power last year, a clear indication was given of the new direction when President Muhammadu Buhari asked accounting officers in Aso Rock to keep an eye on his own expenses and that of his deputy, noting that they both intended to run a transparent presidency, with zero-tolerance for corruption. Subsequently, the President directed that there would be no routine allocation of security votes to he or anyone else as had been the practice since 1983, in the report. 

For state governors, security votes often run into billions of Naira annually in many states.  While the actual amount that normally goes to the president was always sketchy, there have been clear indications that it runs into several billions of Naira, sometimes on a monthly basis.

For example, under the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, several security vote accounts have been discovered not just in the office of the National Security Adviser, the State Security Service and the military, but also in accounts of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation. 

In one particular instance, Mr. Jonathan approved a controversial payment of N2.4b in one day for the rent of 13 house boats for the use of the military in Niger Delta under the Joint Task Force Operation Pulo Shield.  In the memo for the payment, the former president simply asked the then Petroleum Minister to “release the sum from NNPC security vote.” 

The records show that the memo was approved by Mr. Jonathan on February 16, last year.  It turned out, according to security sources, that the payment for the rent of the house boats was more than sufficient to actually buy several more house boats. The money was cashed from an NNPC account in Zenith Bank, Maitama, number 023-01571-41-13-4 and paid into the Main Account of the Chief of Naval Staff.

Budget officials say while security chiefs and top civil servants argued for retention of security votes in order to take care of security contingencies, the President cancelled routine vote allocations outright, and cut security votes in the budget by 25%.

This means that the National Security Adviser’s office, the Department of State Security and the Department of Military Intelligence have had their budgets slashed by significant sums to reflect the president’s order to cancel routine allocation of security votes.

A source added that in a similar vein, the President and his deputy no longer receive huge sums of money normally released by the NSA’s office whenever they travel, as was the practice in past governments especially the Jonathan administration. 

Sources revealed that in the past when the president or his deputy traveled, not only did they receive routine estacodes, the NSA would bring along loads of hard currency drawn from the security vote, sometimes as much as $50,000 per trip, told Sahara Reporters. 

On learning of the practice, President Buhari is said to have given firm instructions to stop such practices, providing only that he and the Vice President would only receive civil service rated estacodes and daily travel allowance when they travel abroad, or locally.

A consequence of the new standard is that prominent Nigerians who visit Aso Rock and depart with huge bags or envelopes stacked with money no longer receive such treatment. A source in the presidency said when prominent Nigerians visit the president or his deputy these days, they only get a very warm reception, tea, water, sweets and kolanut, but that no money exchanges hands. Sources said such monies given out to prominent visitors were normally drawn from the security vote allocation.

Bolivia's Morales loses his fourth term bids

Morales helped lift millions out of poverty by more equitably distributing natural gas revenues [EPA]

Bolivian President Evo Morales has lost a referendum to allow him to seek a fourth term in office, his first direct election defeat since taking the reign in 2006, according to official results. 

With 99.41 percent of votes counted, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported on its website on Tuesday that 51.33 percent of voters cast "no" ballots in the referendum, against 48.67 percent voting "yes".

If Morales' party had won the referendum it would have allowed the president to run for re-election in 2019.

The outcome of Sunday's poll also blocks Vice President Alvaro Garcia from running again.

Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, helped lift millions out of poverty by more equitably distributing natural gas revenues, spurring the creation of an indigenous middle class.

But his governing Movement Toward Socialism party has been hit by scandals. The vote closely followed a revelation that Morales may have been personally involved in influence-peddling.

Until Sunday's ballot, Morales had won nationwide elections, including a 2009 rewrite of the constitution, with an average 61.5 percent of the vote.

The referendum's margin of defeat coincided almost exactly with two unofficial "quick count" samples announced on Sunday by polling firms.

The results showed allegations of vote fraud by some members of the opposition to be unfounded, said Jose Luis Exeni, a member of the electoral tribunal.

The vote count had been unusually slow and Vice President Garcia said earlier on Tuesday that the outcome would be a "cliff-hanger".

He claimed a right-wing conspiracy was "trying to make disappear by sleight of hand the rural vote that favours Morales." Garcia provided no evidence to back the claim.

Organization of American States (OAS) observers reported no evidence of fraud, and the OAS delegation's leader, former Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez, left Bolivia on Tuesday.

Opposition figures celebrated their projected victory.

"We have recovered democracy and the right to choose," said Samuel Doria Medina, whom Morales twice defeated in presidential elections.

Morales had said he was prepared to give up on a fourth term if voters rejected the bid.

"With my record, I can leave happily and go home content. I would love to be a sports trainer," the Spanish newspaper El Pais quoted him as saying.

Kogi Assembly crisis Reps plans to intervene

Momoh Jimoh Lawal

The impeachment saga involving the Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Alhaji Momoh Jimoh, the House of Representatives yesterday resolved to intervene in the matter.

This follows the adoption of a motion moved by Karimi Sunday, representing Kabba/Mopamuro/PDP at the plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara following which the lawmakers mandated a 10-member fact-finding committee, led by the deputy Majority Whip, Mr. Pally Iriase, to probe the removal of Jimoh by five out of the 20 members of the House, which they said ran contrary to the provisions of the Constitution, The Guardian reported.

In a related development, a Lokoja-based lawyer, Joel Usman has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to also intervene as his silence over the political crisis in Kogi State may be mistaken for approval of the illegalities bedeviling the state.

This was coming on the heels of calls for prayers by a group, the Kogi Patriots for divine intervention over the myriad of problems and controversies that have trailed the emergence of Governor Yahaya Bello.

Members of the lower chamber who condemned the removal of the speaker also directed the Iriase-led committee to within one week submit a report aimed at proffering solutions to restore sanity and adherence to the rule of law in the Kogi State House of Assembly.

While leading the debate, Sunday argued that Jimoh’s impeachment ran contrary to the provisions of Section 90 (2) (c) of the constitution, which stipulates that the speaker or deputy speaker of the state assembly shall vacate office if he is removed from office by a resolution of the House of Assembly by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of members.

Alleging that Jimoh’s impeachment was masterminded by Governor Bello who was bent on installing his stooge as speaker of the state Assembly, he argued: “I am aware that in Kogi State, there are a total number of 25 members of the Assembly, but five of them had their elections nullified at the Court of Appeal and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to conduct a fresh election in the state constituencies.

“Accordingly, only 20 members are currently validly elected in the Assembly and two-thirds of 20 is at least 13 members.
The purported removal of the speaker by the House of Assembly on 16th February 2016 by only five of the 20 elected members is therefore, unconstitutional and void.”

House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila said it behooved members of the National Assembly not to allow what happened at Kogi State Assembly to reoccur in the polity.

Gbajabiamila (Ikeja: APC: Lagos) who recalled how he had always spoken against impunity in governance over the years, likened the way the impeachment of Jimoh was carried out as a treasonable act which required heavy sanctions on perpetrators.

Other members of the Iriase-led fact-finding committee include Nnenna Ukeje, Zakari Mohammed, Halliru Jika, Obinna Chidoka, Bassey Ewan, Sunday Adebutu, and Abdulsalam Dasuki.

The Majority Leader of the Kogi House of Assembly, Kolawole Matthew, who led 15 of his colleagues to monitor deliberations on the motion gave a vivid account of how the executive in Kogi plotted Jimoh’s removal.

“To be candid, the executive is behind everything, because when they invited some of our members, to go and impeach the speaker, we said no, that we were not going. Then they spoke to the five who actually agreed and after the announcement that the speaker had been impeached, there was no meeting.

“They went into the assembly and came out and addressed the press that they had impeached the speaker and they announced those who would occupy the positions.

‘‘Why I said the executive was behind them was that immediately it happened, 15 of us were in Lokoja, we held a meeting and passed a vote of confidence in the present leadership of the house. But what we saw the next minute was the removal of the speaker ‘s security detail.

“They removed all his security and on our way to Abuja to report to the National Assembly, they took a towing van, broke into the gate to the Speaker’s house and removed the official vehicles.

‘‘At the moment, the Inspector General of Police ( IGP) has instructed that the security be reinstated which has been done but his official vehicles are yet to be returned.

‘‘The executive has refused to release the official vehicles. They are telling us that the Federal Government owns the police but they own the vehicles. For your information, the swearing-in of the purported speaker took place in the office of the deputy governor. So that shows you clearly who is behind it.”

Speaking  in Lokoja, Usman asked that how five members would sit to impeach a speaker in the absence of 15 other members be properly investigated particularly since the President Buhari came to power on a change mantra, told The Guardian .

“If he is not part of the impunity then he should order an investigation to ensure the security agents are not the ones giving support to some of these illegalities”, Usman said.

The Kogi Patriots, in a statement signed by its publicity director, Dr. Kabiru Ahmed and made available to The Guardian in Lokoja yesterday said a situation where five lawmakers sat to impeach a duly elected speaker who has the support of an overwhelming majority of his colleagues showed all was not well with the state.

NIMASA N2.3Bn Scam: Witness says He Shared N121m on Accused’s Instruction

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  today February 23, 2016 presented the sixth witness in the ongoing trial of a former Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi and five others for the alleged diversion of over Two Billion Naira.

Others are Captain Ezekiel Bala Agaba, Ekene Nwakuche, Governor Ameche Juan, Blokz and Stonz Limited and Alkenzo Logistics Limited. 

At the resumed hearing today, the prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo,  led in evidence one Uchenna Emenalo,  younger brother to Emeka Emenalo, the owner of O2 Services Limited, the company that was allegedly used to divert part of the proceeds from the Committee on International Shipping and Ports Security in NIMASA.

Uchenna told the court that he approached the third accused person, Ekene Nwakuche as a former school mate to help him secure any contract that his brother’s company, O2 Services Limited could handled. 

The witness further disclosed that after his discussion with the third accused person, he was asked to provide their company’s name and account details.

The witness told the court how between March 2014 and June 2015, O2 Services Limited received about One Hundred and Twenty One Million which he personally disbursed based on instructions from the third accused person Ekene Nwakuche. The third accused persons provided him with different account number into which the said amount was paid.

When confronted with exhibit P17a and b which are documents that supposedly emanated from O2 Services Limited as Contract Application Document and Invoices for payment,  the witness said the signatures on the documents were neither his, nor his brother’s. Asked whether any of the contract awarded to his brother’s company were executed, the witnessed said ‘no’.

Earlier in his evidence,  Uchenna admitted that O2 Services Limited is into Agro Allied Products and lacked competence in security related services.

The witness also denied knowing any General Manager, Field Operations at O2 services Limited as the company is solely run by his brother. 

During cross examination, Joseph Nwobike, SAN, counsel for the first accused person asked the witness if he runs any business by himself to which he answered, no. Uchenna also confirmed that Ekene told him that the contract was Security related but that their company would be registered as RSO, Registered Security Organisation.

 E.D Onyeke counsel for the second accused person asked the witness if in the statement he made to EFCC he mentioned the email address of his brother or the address of O2 Services Limited.  Uchenna said he only used his house address in his statement as he was not asked the office address. The witness also said the same thing when he was asked if he gave the EFCC a copy of his brother’s company letterhead. 

When asked by Adio, counsel to Ekene, whether he benefitted from the money that was paid into O2 Services Limited account, Uchenna admitted receiving the sum of  Six Hundred Thousand Naira for Logistics and bank charges.

Nigerian Military is Exceptional and Outstanding – Liberian Minister

The Minister of National Defence of Liberia, Honourable Brownie J Samukai Jr has described the Nigerian Armed Forces as very professional and outstanding, adding that he would continue to appreciate them for the training support they have been giving to his home country since 2006.

The minister made this remark when he visited Nigeria’s Chief of the Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin in his office at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

The minister further stated that Liberia would forever regard Nigeria as a big brother for the role it played in the restoration of peace, democratic governance and security in their country.  He said the reorganised military they have is a product of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Samukai Jr who in the company of his country’s Ambassador to Nigeria solicited more support from the Nigerian Armed Forces in the areas of training and vacancies for courses and cooperation for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries said that his government would stand shoulder to shoulder with Nigeria in ensuring that terrorist activities are effectively stamped out in Nigeria. He therefore, stated his country’s readiness to support in whatever way to rout out terrorism in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

Responding, the CDS thanked the minister for the visit and assured him that the two countries would continue to partner in order to be able to contribute in the development of the two countries and the sub-region in general.

He also pleaded that the Nigerian Armed Forces would continue to render training support to the Armed Forces of Liberia in order to ensure collective security to the sub-region and the world at large.

Dignitaries present at the visit included, the Liberian ambassador and all the principal staff officers of the Defence Headquarters.