Sagay accuses NDDC, Customs of corruption

The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PACAC) Prof. Itse Sagay, on Thursday in Abuja accused the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) of being reckless with funds meant for development.

Sagay alleged that the commission recently bought 70 cars, including eight Super Lexus Jeeps at N78 million each and 10 Landcruisers each costing N63 million.

He said the vehicles were acquired with funds meant for the provision of water, housing, hospital, schools and infrastructure development in the Niger Delta region.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sagay spoke at the opening of a two-day national dialogue on corruption organised by PACAC in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President.

“The cars were bought with money from funds meant for infrastructure, water, housing, hospital, schools, without conscience and without a thought for the wretched people of the Niger Delta.

“These huge sums were plundered from their allocations and yet the Managing Director was ironically complaining as reported by the Nation newspaper of Feb. 6, 2017 that the NDDC lacks funds to executive projects.

“The managing director also said that NDDC was in debt up to the tune of N1.2 trillion. What an irony.

“The recklessness with which public officers spend public funds is insensitive to the point of insanity. The level of insensitivity has become pathological.’’

Accordingly, Sagay took a swipe at the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) saying nothing had changed since the current administration came on board in May 2015.

Sagay cited an instance with the Tin Can Island in Lagos, where he said customs officials now charge fees to physically examine goods following the breakdown of the scanner.

Describing it as brazen corruption, he said there were many other instances which PACAC brought to the attention of the Comptroller General during a recent visit to him.

Sagay decried public apathy to issues of corruption in the country, noting that the people’s attitude to corruption had become hardened, and that there was no longer any fear of consequence.

“Now, we need to ask ourselves what the problem really is. We are definitely overwhelmed by the epidemic of kleptomania. But do we also have a collective psychiatric problem?

“Why should a person loot what he cannot spend in 10 lifetimes, thereby exposing the rest of the population to misery, hunger, poverty and wretchedness.’’

Sagay also reflected on judicial corruption, saying some judges still grant adjournments running into months in contravention of provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

He accused lawyers of contributing to the problem by using different delay tactics thereby causing the nation great embarrassment.

He said he had suggested to PACAC on the need to recruit a group of young lawyers to monitor court sittings and note issues of adjournments.

According to him, the reports sent by the monitors will be compiled and send to the National Judicial Council for appropriate action.

Sagay faulted the recent public demonstrations against the present administration, saying they were sponsored by those who lost elections and those whose appointments were not renewed.

Police foil plot to bomb Third Mainland Bridge

The police have foiled an attempt  by a notorious  Niger Delta militant group operating from the creeks of Ikorodu and Arepo on the outskirts of Lagos and Ogun states to  blow up  the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

A top commander of the group, Abiodun Amos, who is  also known as Senti, an Ijaw from Arogbo, Ese-Odo Local Government of Ondo State, who is also said to be the group’s explosive expert, was arrested  by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT), who trailed him to a river bank at Majidun, Ikorodu, Lagos.

Two  AK47 rifles hidden in a “Ghana-Must-Go” bag were found with the suspect. He led the IRT operatives to a vehicle parked discreetly within Ikorodu, where a large catche of dynamite and  detonators was recovered— from its  boot.

It was also learnt that Amos’ arrest followed intelligence generated by  the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), which was passed on to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, indicating that the group was at its final stage of carrying out an attack on the Third Mainland Bridge—Africa’s longest at 13 kilometres.

The IGP, who  was said to have been miffed by the report, directed his operatives at the IRT, led by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Abba Kyari,  to investigate the report. It was confirmed  that the group was actually planning to blow up the bridge at the end of November.  The group, detectives discovered, had acquired large quantities of dynamite and several other explosives for the attack.

In October 2016, the group, which has no known identity and was notorious for pipeline vandalism, kidnapping and bank robberies, demanded for amnesty, threatening to disrupt the economy within Lagos and Ogun states if the Federal Government did not dialogue with it and grant its members pipeline protection contracts.

The leader of the militant group, known as “General” Ossy Ibori, who coordinated most of the  bank robberies and high profile kidnappings, including that of three schoolgirls at Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in Ikorodu, four landlords at  Isheri North, Oniba of Ibaland, Oba Goriola Oseni  and  many others within Lagos and Ogun states, boasted in an interview that his group had over 21 “generals” commanding 7,800 battle-ready boys.

He added that the group was rich enough to fight the Federal Government as it had acquired  thousands of military grade arms and ammunition, which he said would be deployed in disrupting the economy within Lagos and Ogun states, should the Federal Government fail to dialogue with the group and grant its wishes.

Sources disclosed that the IRT operatives made several arrests within Ikorodu and other parts of Lagos State. One of the suspects is said to have given the police the information, which they used in trailing and arresting Amos, who was on his way into the creeks.

The 43-year-old suspect confessed that his group was formerly into pipeline vandalism but they resorted to kidnapping when it became difficult for them to vandalise and sell their stolen petroleum products. According to him; “ we went into bank robberies and kidnapping because we wanted to get government attention and all we wanted was for them to grant us amnesty and also offer us pipeline protection contract. We have made several appeals and the government is not listening to us. “General” Ossy said ‘if we don’t blow up the Third Mainland Bridge government’ they would not listen to us. We had concluded plans and we decided to carry out the attack by  November ending. I am the group’s  explosive expert  and before I was arrested we were going into the creek to conclude plans on how to carry out the attack.”

Police spokesman Don Awuna, a deputy Commissioner (DCP) said: “Yes, an individual was arrested. On sighting the policemen, the second suspect jumped out of his car and escaped into the bush, abandoning the operational vehicle.

”On searching the vehicle, two cartons of Gelatine dynamite explosives and hundreds of detonators were recovered in the boot of the car. Efforts are in progress to arrest the remaining gang members”.

We’re ready for dialogue, Niger Delta militants reply Buhari

NIGER Delta militants on Tuesday expressed their readiness to engage the Federal Government in dialogue to ensure that peace reigned in the oil-rich region.


The militants said the decision to embrace dialogue was reached after a meeting held on Tuesday under the auspices of the Coalition of Niger Delta Groups.

The militants, who made their position known in a statement via an electronic mail to newsmen, said they had no personal grudge against President Muhammadu Buhari and were ready to work together with his administration to make Nigeria better.


President Buhari had on Sunday called on the militants to come forward for dialogue over the Niger Delta crisis.

The leader of the Niger Delta Watchdogs, General John Duku; General Ekpo Ekpo of the Niger Delta Volunteers, Commander Henry Okon Etete of the Niger Delta Peoples Fighters and Commander Asukwo Henshaw, the spokesperson for the Bakassi Freedom Fighters who signed the statement, agreed to embrace peace.

“We wish to assure Mr. President that the Niger Delta militants and the people are 100 per cent ready for dialogue. We have no personal grudge against him and his government and we promise to work together to make Nigeria better,” the agitators said.

The militants commended President Buhari for calling on the Niger Delta militants to negotiate with the Federal Government.

They, however, condemned the call by the Senate for the resignation of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. Babachir Lawal, saying such a call was not in the interest of the country.

Explaining that they had uncovered a plot by some politicians to sponsor militants to protest for the removal of Lawal, the militants warned that they would resist any attempt to sack the SGF.

“We strongly condemn the recent call for the resignation of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation by the Senate. The call on Mr. President to remove the SGF is uncalled for, unpatriotic and not in the interest of the nation.

“The allegation levelled against Mr. Lawal is baseless, without facts and the handiwork of saboteurs, who are planning to bring down and destroy this government by all means, knowing very well that the SGF is the engine room of this government, hard working, 100 per cent loyal to the President and a threat to some self-centred politicians.

“It is on record that the SGF has resigned his position as the Managing Director of the company (his accusers talked about) as soon as he was appointed as the SGF.

“He neither presided over nor acted on behalf of the company anymore. However, a Senate committee refused to invite the SGF for public hearing because they know what they were up to and must deliver based on the directive from their paymasters,” the statement read.

The agitators stated that they were aware of plans to move millions of naira into the Niger Delta to mobilise some youths and militants to protest against the SGF, using some powerful governors in the oil-rich region.

African Commission on Human Rights visits NDDC. PHOTOS

The new Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba on Tuesday received members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) in his office in Abuja.











The members of ACHPR were in the office of the NDDC chairman as part of their routine visit to engage with various stakeholders in countries that are signatories to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights also known as the Banjul Charter.

In a chat with media professionals after a meeting with the ACHPR delegation, which centred on environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, Ndoma-egba said: “The environment has an impact on human rights and the commission (ACHPR) is concerned about the state of human rights. And fortunately, I think the Niger Delta area is already on the agenda of the African Commission on Human Rights. The commission will be holding governments and operators in the region to a certain level of setting standards. And I believe that it will enhance our work because we now know that people outside Nigeria are also watching what we are doing.”

The NDDC chief noted that the fundamental solution to the continued agitation by the people of Niger Delta which triggered off militancy in the oil-rich region was a rapid development of the area.

He said: “There are structured mechanisms under the law establishing the commission (NDDC) for engagement, and we are going to deploy those mechanisms to the fullest. I believe that the underlying solution to the agitation in the region is development. And the moment they begin to see development coming quickly, their anger will subside. And when I talk of development, I mean physical, economic and social development.”

Asked what he intends to do on the issue of paucity of funds, Ndoma-Egba stated that, “The key thing is judicious use of what is available. We must use whatever is available judiciously. And we are also working very, very hard to ensure that whatever the commission is entitled to is given to it.”

ACHPR Commissioner and leader of the delegation, Mrs. Lucy Asuagbor said: “The purpose of our mission is routine. As I mentioned in my introductory remarks, we have our mandate for the promotion and protection of human rights on the continent. And also we are mandated to pay visit to the respective countries in order to evaluate their compliance with their international engagements. And it is in line with this mandate that we are here. It is a routine visit and in the course of it we engage with various stakeholders. And that is why we believe that it is important for us to be here today to engage with the commission (NDDC); engage in a discussion to find out the mandate of the commission, the challenges they face and the prospects they have in future. At the end of this mission, we intend to write a report. We will be writing a report which will be made public after its adoption by the (African Union) Assembly of Heads of State and Government. But primarily it is not a secret that there are issues, environmental issues in the Niger Delta. And that is why we are here to be able to discuss with the competent authorities to see what plans they have. Our interest is to know what plans the authorities have in order to quell the agitation (in the Niger Delta). You’ve heard that there is need for development. And that once development comes in, at least, it is going to quell the agitation.”

Mrs. Clara Braide, Special Assistant (SA) to the NDDC Chairman on Communication, stressing the importance of the visit said: “The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a participating member of the Organization of African Unity, OAU, (now African Union – AU) and a committed signatory to the ‘Banjul Charter’ which stipulates that ‘Freedom, Equality, Justice and Dignity are essential objectives for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples.’ The commitment to achieving such objectives make up the core pillars that form government institutions like the Niger Delta Development Commission which gives credence to conversations with the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, a commission vested with oversight and interpretation of the Charter.”

The ACHPR is a quasi-judicial body of the African Union (AU) inaugurated on November 2, 1987 in Addis Ababa, Ethopia, but was later relocated to Banjul, Gambia in November 1989. The commission is officially charged with the responsibility of protecting and promoting human and peoples’ rights and also interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The NDDC as an intervention agency was established in 2000 with “the mission of facilitating the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful.” Part of its mandate include: “Formulation of policies and guidelines for the development of the Niger Delta area; Implementation of all the measures approved for development of Niger Delta region by the Federal Government and the states of the commission and tackling ecological and environmental problems that arise from the exploration of oil mineral in the Niger Delta region and advising the Federal Government and the member states on the prevention and control of oil spillages, gas flaring and environmental pollution.”

FROM MICHAEL JEGEDE

MEDIA PROFESSIONAL, ABUJA

Niger Delta Amnesty Dividends :See Brand New 32-Seater Bus Manufactured By Ex-Militants

Pictured here is a 32 seater bus manufactured by ex-agitators who were granted amnesty and offer training by the federal government. The bus has arrived Abuja for onward delivery to President Buhari.
Hopefully, the Avengers will stop bombing and also think of better things to do.

FG To Train Ex-Militants In Farming

The Federal Government has announced its plan to train 500 ex-militants in agriculture and aquaculture under its amnesty programme.
read more

Niger Delta Governors Squander N10Trillion-Grassroots Group.

IN addition to spending their federal allocation running into trillions of naira in the last 16 years, the Niger Delta governors have reportedly also shunted over N10 trillion of the derivation funds for the region’s oil-producing communities.
read more

Asari Dokubo Becomes Private University Owner:Establishes ''King Amachree African University'' In Benin Republic.

Asari

Asari-Dokubo already has soccer institutions in Benin and Nigeria train youth free of charge.

The leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Muhajid Asari-Dokubo has joined the swelling rank of private university proprietors with his establishment of a university in the neighbouring Republic of Benin.

Mr. Asari-Dokubo, who already owns a soccer academy in the West African country and another one in Abuja, said the university, which will be known as King Amachree African University, KAAU, had already been accredited to commence degree programmes beginning September 2014.

He told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview in Abuja that the proposed university, named after his ancestor, was a product of his two existing institutions in Benin Republic, namely King Amachree Automobile/ICT Royal Academy and King Amachree Arts Academy. Both of them, he added, currently award Diploma to their students.

Mr. Asari-Dokubo said he chose to establish the institutions in Benin Republic because he does not only live there, but has adopted it as his country.

“What we have now, we are awarding only diploma now. “By next September, Insha Allah, the university will start,” Mr. Asari-Dokubo, who dropped out of University of Calabar, he said.

“For now we have King Amachree Automobile/ICT Royal Academy and King Amachree Arts Academy. Two of them were merged. We have merged the two of them into king Amachree African University.

“King Amachree is my great ancestor. He was king of the Kingdom of new Calabar.”

On his soccer academy, the 50 year old Mr. Asari-Dokubo, an indigene of Rivers State, who refused to be tagged a former militant, said it was established to train the youth in soccer free of charge.

“We plan to engage the youths. It is free. We have a soccer academy in Abuja and we have another one in Republic of Benin,” he said.

More Nigerians are forced to go to Benin Republic, Ghana, Togo and other neigbhouring countries to acquire education due to the incessant labour disputes and industrial actions within the Nigerian university system as well as the deplorable state of education in the country.

Currently, students of both the federal and state universities in Nigeria are at home due to the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, over the refusal of the Federal Government to honour its 2009 agreement with the union.

Other unions within the education sector, including the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, have also embarked on solidarity strike while the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, and Non-Academic Staff Union, NASU, are reportedly on the verge of doing towing that path.Students of the over 50 private universities in Nigeria, whose fees can only be afforded the rich, are however, in session.
Mr. Asari-Dokubo is, like former Niger Delta militants enjoying massive patronage from the current administration, believe to be very wealthy but his source of income is largely unknown.
There were speculation he made his fortune stealing crude oil in the Niger Delta. But he denied engaging in such practices, telling PREMIUM TIMES he had never been part of any act capable of endangering the Delta.