How Buhari’s government is fighting corruption

The Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption says Nigeria’s current administration is fighting corruption from all fronts in order to enhance the citizens’ lives.

The Executive Secretary of the Committee, Prof. Bolaji Owosanoye, made the remarks in New York at a workshop on “Illicit Financial Flows and Assets Recovery’ on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was jointly organised by the Permanent Missions of Nigeria and Norway to the UN.

“Nigeria has taken a number of radical steps to affirm the commitment to fight illicit financial flows, diminish corruption and the responsible use of recovered assets.

“Some of the measures include the establishment of a very high-level Presidential Committee on Asset Recovery to address first, the Financial Action Task Force Recommendation 31 on Cooperation.

“This committee brings all the Heads of those agencies who have to deal with these issues, together.

“The government created an assets recovery account so that all the assets that are recovered by the country go into one account to remove the opacity of reconciliation that had dogged the country in the past and the report of re-looting of returned assets, so everything goes into one account.

“It introduced what we called the Treasury Single Account (TSA) because before, domestically, when government agencies and departments earned revenue, the law is that it must go into the consolidated revenue fund.

“But many agencies of government plead all manner of things including under-budgeting, under-funding; and they retain money that they earn in the course of their operations and spend it illegally without appropriation with the collusion of the banks.

“So government has enforced that regulation of what we call the Treasury Single Account; and it is the one that sustains the government in this very dire economic time.

Owosanoye said Nigeria is a leading voice against corruption given the unrelenting commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

The presidential aide also explained how the Federal Government has managed the recovered funds and assets from public officials.

“It has established an inter-agency asset tracing team to centralise the management of recovered assets, prevent re-looting and mismanagement.

“Also, government created an asset recovery line item in the budget so that if we are able to recover asset both locally and internationally.

‘’Since you need the power of parliament to spend, you have put there that this budget, this statement of income and expenditure.

‘’This year I hope to be recover from PEPS (Politically Exposed Persons) within Nigeria or through bilateral negotiations and through legal proceedings from outside the country, the money will go for this purpose.

“So it’s created a line item so if recovered items are raised during the year, the money can be properly spent.

‘`Of course, that spending is subject to the oversight of the legislature, civil society and other international development partners.

‘`Recovered and returned assets are also applied to very clear projects.

‘’It’s in the government policy; exclusively to social investment programmes towards helping the government meet SDGs. This is the current government policy.”

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Why Obasanjo imprisoned me for eight years – Abacha’s aide, Bamaiyi

A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd), has asserted that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo kept him incarcerated for eight years for fear of been overthrown.

Bamaiyi, who made the claim in his new book, “Vindication of A General”, said former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) told Obasanjo that he must handle Bamaiyi, else his government will be overthrown.

Following Abubakar’s disclosure to Obasanjo, the then National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu Gusau made it a duty to keep him locked up at all cost.

In Chapter 10, page 128 of his book, the former Army Chief wrote: “As soon as Obasanjo took over, Gen. Abubakar and some of his people told Obasanjo that if I were left free, I would overthrow Gen. Obasanjo’s government.

“This did not surprise me because while we were in service, General Abubakar set up a secret investigation of certain people during the Abacha rule. I had not been told although some soldiers in the army, like Sgt Rogers, were invited for investigation.

“When I had to replace my security officer, I asked for Capt. Najaja to replace Capt Bature, who was assigned to the USA. Gen. Abubakar said Najaja was being investigated. He realized his mistake and kept quiet. I did not bother myself about the investigation because I knew I was not involved in any criminal act.

“Abubakar’s committee completed its assignment and gave clean bills to all those questioned. When Obasanjo took over, some PDP big shots decided that based on the report, I had control of the Army and should be arrested. The government looked for avenues to arrest me.

“They started by checking Army accounts to see if I had stolen money. They spoke to the Director of Army Finance and Accounts, DAFA, Maj. Gen. Omosebi who told them he had never worked with an officer who believed in accountability like I did. They felt disappointed.

“The government wanted to take my personal house in Asokoro. The NSA, Gen. Gusau talked to Mr. Daboul, a friend of mine who had built the house for me. He told General Gusau of our agreement that I would pay for the house over 10 years. This saved my house.

“When everything failed, Obasanjo and his government decided to revisit their investigation. Col. JB Yakubu and Capt. Najaja were forced to implicate me. This gave the government the opportunity to start looking for me. I was following everything that was happening.
”

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Third National Youth Games to hold in Unilorin on September

Sept. 7 and Sept. 17^th have been approved as dates for the University of Ilorin (Unilorin) to host the third edition of the National Youth Games (NYG).

According to the Unilorin Bulletin issued Monday in Ilorin, the dates’ approval as well as venue approval were as a result of the university’s successful hosting of the second edition.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the second edition was held in 2016, with the first edition held in 2013 at Abuja.

The bulletin indicated that the 2017 edition of the Games is expected to provide the opportunities for the selection of athletes who will represent the country at the World Youth Games.

The publication noted that a meeting was held between the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development and the management of University of Ilorin.

“We will contribute something tangible as a legacy here”, it state,” the VC said

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Fayemi did all the bad things he could to become governor of Ekiti state - Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has accused his immediate predecessor, Kayode Fayemi of plotting a return as the State Governor through the back-door by arm-twisting the Supreme Court to review its judgment of April 14, 2015.

Governor Fayose made the allegations while addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Monday.

The Supreme Court judgement had validated Fayose’s election in the June 21, 2014 governorship polls.

He said that Fayemi was already claiming that he had the backing of three newly appointed justices of the Supreme Court, the Department of State Services (DSS) and other top organs of the federal government to force the Supreme Court to review its judgment on the Ekiti State 2014 governorship election.
The governor said the renewed efforts were consequent upon the brick-walls he (Fayemi) met on his plan to contest the 2018 governorship election as APC candidate.

He said: “We are not unmindful of the allegation made by a Supreme Court Judge, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta that the Minister of Transportation and former governor of Rivers State, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi begged him to ensure that my election was set aside and another election ordered for his friend, Fayemi to contest. Curiously, that grievous allegation was ignored by the powers that be.

“If Fayemi could try, using Amaechi to approach Supreme Court justices to procure black market judgment then, nothing stops him from trying to do same now that it is very clear that he can never achieve his ambition to be Ekiti governor once again through the votes of the people and we urge Nigerians to take note,” the governor said.

“Having realised how difficult it will be for him to clinch APC ticket not to even talk of winning the election proper, Fayemi has opted to seek power through the backdoor.

“Fayemi and his cohorts are even boasting that they are putting pressure on the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen to join them in the devilish plot.

“The question is: what unfinished business was he talking about in an election that he lost clearly? What unfinished business does Fayemi have with an election that I won fair and square, defeating him in all the 16 local governments of the state, including his home town of
Isan-Ekiti?

“Mind you, that June 2014 election was the second time I would be trouncing an incumbent governor, the first being in 2003 when I defeated the sitting Alliance for Democracy (AD) governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo.

“As I address you today, there is credible information that Fayemi has provided fund for the filing of the matter at the Supreme Court and he has assured his loyalists in the APC in Ekiti State that the Presidency and a section of the judiciary, especially the newly appointed Supreme Court justices are in total support of the plot to remove me at all cost.

“It is however my advice that the Supreme Court and indeed the entire judiciary should be mindful of this banana peel coming from the same people who orchestrated the DSS invasion of judges residences in the night just because they refused to assist them to perpetrate
injustice.

“This is more so that Fayemi and his collaborators are not unaware that Order 8, Rule 16 of the Supreme Court expressly stated that the court shall not review its judgment once giving, except there was a clerical mistake or slip.

“They are also aware of the position of the Supreme Court judgment on Andy Uba that there must be an end to litigation, a position also affirmed in the case of Prof. Steve Torkuma Ugba vs. Gebriel Torwua Suswam.

“Most importantly, in Segun Oni vs Fayemi, he (Fayemi) was a beneficiary of the suis generis (time bound) nature of election matter and the matter becoming functus officio once judgment is delivered by the final court as provided by the Electoral Act, and sane minds should wonderwhat magic he intends to perform by going to the Supreme Court on an election matter already determined at the final court, if not that he may have indeed gotten the assurance of the powers that be.

“One is therefore concerned that people who go about parading credentials as democrats will be so vicious that they won’t accept defeat, close to three years after they lost an election even in their own family house.

“We are therefore alerting Nigerians once again of this plot coming from Fayemi and his APC people who have proven over time that they are bad losers and will never respect the will of the people.

“The fact that I have more or less become the opposition last-man standing should not be made to become the reason an avoidable banana peel will be placed on the path of the Supreme Court and I urge our Supreme Court justices to be mindful of being rubbished by desperate politicians.

“If they are worried about my stance on national issues, they should do things differently in the interest of Nigerians that are hungry and suffering under the yoke of bad governance of the APC.

“However, let me state expressly that Fayemi and his collaborators will fail. They failed before, they will fail again. The harder they come against me, the harder they will fall. “Another governorship election in Ekiti is around the corner and if Fayemi is a democrat, he should prepare to contest in that election rather than continue to shop for ‘Oluwole’ and ‘Jankara’ judgment that will return him to office through the back door.

“Fayemi and his backers in Abuja must be reminded that Ekiti people are united behind me and will fight him and his cohorts with the last blood in our veins. The power of the people is mightier than ‘Federal might’ If they dare Ekiti, they will meet their nemesis. If they do not retreat and put an end to their diabolical plots, Ekiti will be their Waterloo.

“Finally, let me reiterate that I have an unflinching confidence that the Supreme Court will not debase itself. On the 2014 Ekiti governorship election, the apex court has spoken and it has spoken so clearly. Day-dreamers like Fayemi can continue to hallucinate. As for me and the Ekiti people, our focus is on the 2018 governor

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