N20b vote for Amnesty scheme grossly inadequate, Senators told

                                  Brigadier-General Paul Borah

The Presidency yesterday expressed worry over N20 billion allocated for the Presidential Amnesty Programme in the 2016 budget, describing it as grossly inadequate.

It informed the Senate that most of its obligations in the Amnesty Programme would be frustrated should that amount be approved against the N64 billion it originally proposed for the scheme for the 2016 fiscal year.

Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta/Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brigadier-General Paul Borah (rtd), at a budget defence session with the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, disclosed that a significant number of the 30, 000 ‎Niger Delta ex-militants currently undergoing training overseas would be adversely affected.

“In view of the foregoing, I urge you most sincerely to consider an upward review from the proposed N20 billion to N64,824,488,493.27 billion for the sustenance of re-integration of ex-agitators in the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the 2016 fiscal year,” he said.Of the N63.06 billion ‎appropriated for the programme in 2015, N63.02 billion was released.
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Borah told the committee that the differences between what was submitted to the National Assembly as budget proposal for the amnesty programme was N44.8 billion.

According to him, while the programme had budgeted N19.950 billion for payments of stipends and allowances of students, a meagre N7.875 billion was voted in the budget proposal that was submitted to the National Assembly.

Another serious difference was that the budget with the National Assembly voted N10.290 billion for re-integration of the ex agitators while N41.804 billion was originally proposed.

Also, N3.07 billion was originally proposed to take care of operational cost but some N1.834 was eventually submitted to the National Assembly.

Borah further said: “With due respect, the proposed N7.875 billion for stipends and allowances can only accommodate 9,868 ex-agitators for the 2016 fiscal year‎, leaving a balance of 15,132 ex-agitators. However, if the proposed sum is to be utilised for the payment of stipends for the 30,000 ex-agitators, the monthly stipend will come to N21,875 for each ex-agitator which will be inadequate to cater for their accommodation and feeding allowances essential in the re-integration phase of the progranme.

“Mr. Chairman, distinguished Senators, this amount will be at variance with the initial agreement between the Federal Government and the stakeholders in the Presidential Amnesty ‎Programme which stipulates that daily feeding allowance of N1,500 and monthly accommodation allowance of N20 000 be paid to each of the ex-agitators”

According to the chairman of the committee, Peter Nwabo‎shi, the committee would also vet the list of 30,000 ex-agitators submitted to it to ensure that they were genuine.

The Committee asked the Presidential adviser to immediately disengage the 247 consultants who have been working for the Programme, pointing out that the economic reality in the country cannot ‎support the engagement of such number of consultants.

with The Guardian

$620,000 Bribe: Otedola To Testify Against Farouk Lawan

The prosecution in the trial of ex-chairman, House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy, Farouk Lawan, has indicated its intention to invite Femi Otedola, as one of its witnesses in the case aginst the former lawmaker.

Otedola was listed as a prosecution witness in some documents currently before the court, according to The Nation.

Lawan is standing trial before Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on a seven-count charge against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Commission (ICPC).

He was arraigned alongside the former Secretary of the House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy, Boniface Emenalo on February 2, 2013. The duo were accused of receiving $620,000 as bribe from businessman, Otedola, ostensibly to exclude his companies – Zenon Petroleum and Gas and Synopsis Enterprises Limited – from the list of companies found to have allegedly defrauded the Federal Government during the fuel subsidy regime.

Boko Haram: Operatives beef up security in Aso Rock

The Presidency has expressed the fear that terrorists focusing on high profile targets around the world may launch attacks on the Presidential Villa, Abuja if proper precautionary measures are not put in place.

It has therefore ordered that all vehicles, official and unofficial, must be subjected to thorough security checks before gaining access into the premises.

The order is irrespective of whether the vehicles are conveying Very Important Persons or not.

The directives were contained in an official memo signed by the Chief Security Officer to the President, Bashir Abubakar.

On Tuesday  a copy of the document titled, “Use of tinted cars around the Presidential Villa, Abuja” dated January 26, 2016 was sighted, according to The PUNCH.

Abubakar also frowned on a situation where drivers of cars with tinted glasses refuse to wind down at security checkpoints “on the excuse that they are security operatives or because the vehicles are official.”

He said such acts were not in tandem with proper security arrangements worldwide.

If unchecked, he said the acts posed security threat to the seat of power.

Henceforth, Abubakar said all workers and visitors to the Presidential Villa, irrespective of their status must subject themselves and their vehicles to proper security checks.

The document partly read, “It has been observed that some members of staff of the Presidential Villa driving tinted cars, especially security personnel are in the habit of refusing to wind down their windscreen for security checks before driving into the Villa.

“It is most worrisome that some of them used the excuse of either driving official cars or driving VIPs to justify their acts.

“This act which is not in tandem with standard security drill and procedure poses a serious threat to the safety and security of the Villa.

“It is important to note that the insistence of security operatives at the pilot gates to properly screen vehicles coming into the Villa whether tinted or not tinted, official or unofficial is not out of place.

“Therefore, there is need for all to subject themselves and their vehicles to security checks as the case may be, so as to prevent unscrupulous elements from exploring the situation to launch attacks on the Villa.”

I’m not under EFCC probe —Okonjo-Iweala

Paul Nwabuikwu

Media Adviser to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Paul Nwabuikwu has described as untrue, claims that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating the former Minister of Finance.

“While the headlines claimed that the EFCC Chairman, in response to a question by an APC, member Hon Razak Atunwa, stated that Dr Okonjo-Iweala is under investigation, the actual words quoted in the same reports told a very different story,” a statement by Nwabuikwu said.

“This is clear from eye witness accounts of the Budget 2016 presentation by the EFCC at the House of Representatives and gaps in the reported stories.

“Very soon we will go into the petroleum industry. Such investigation requires that we have to build capacity, we have to bring in experts to enable us tackle what we are doing properly and the investigation must be conducted properly. We have internal lawyers and external lawyers. We have to pay insurance…”

“The words said to have been spoken by the EFCC Chairman cannot support the lurid headlines that Dr Okonjo-Iweala is under investigation by the EFCC,” Nwabuikwu said.

Court sentences man to imprisonment for issuing dud cheque

             Sayyu Aliyu Zakari

JUSTICE Kudirat Jose of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja yesterday sentenced a middle-aged businessman,  Sayyu Aliyu Zakari, to five years imprisonment for stealing 9,000 cartons of Dangote Spaghetti worth N18,180,000, property of Michelle Edmund Ventures.
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Delivering the judgment yesterday, Justice Jose found him guilty of stealing and issuancing a dud cheque by his company, Alrander limited. The judge sentenced Zakari to ‎five years imprisonment and ordered his company, Alrander Limited to pay a fine of N1 million.

‎The convict (Zakari) and his company, Alrander Limited was arraigned on August ‎13, 2013 on three count charge bordering on stealing and issuance of dud cheque brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

With The Guardian