Anenih, Nnamani, Ali, Akande Jostle for PDP BoT Chair

Former Minister of Works, Chief Anthony Anenih

The former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, former Minister of Works, Chief Anthony Anenih, former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ahmadu Ali and former Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Board of Trustees (BoT) have thrown their hats into the ring to contest for the chairmanship of the PDP BoT.

The 120-member strong BoT of the ruling party will meet Fridaay night to choose a new chairman for the board.

The seat became vacant following former President Olusegun Obasanjo's resignation in April this year.

THISDAY learnt that the campaign for who will replace Obasanjo as the chairman of the BoT is intense as members have crisscrossed the states taking their campaigns to members of the board.

But it is uncertain as to where the interest of President Goodluck Jonathan lies.

Though no zoning formula is used in determining the chairman of the BoT, it is believed that there should be equity in the election of members into the various organs of the party.

The president is from the South-south, the same zone as Anenih who was ousted from office in 2007 by Obasanjo. Anenih was the chairman of the BoT from 2003 to 2007.

However, the national chairman of the PDP is from the North-east, the national secretary is from the South-west, while the chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum is from South-south, although the latter position is not a party post.

Yet pundits believe that given the fact that the president and chairman of the NGF are from the same geopolitical zone, it could count against Anenih.

On his part, Ken Nnamani, a former senate president, is banking on his popularity and for serving as the antidote for the third term project, to become the next chairman of the BoT.

He is also from the South-east that has complained that the zone has been marginalised in PDP affairs.

Also campaigning vigorously for the office is the former national chairman of the party, Senator Ahmadu Ali. He is from Kogi State, and the same North-central zone as the secretary of the BoT, Senator Walid Jubrin.

Also, Chief Harry Akande from the South-west has expressed interest to contest the election. He told THISDAY that he has filed his intention to become the PDP BoT chairman to the secretary of the board.

NLC Demands Sanusi’s Sack

Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the removal of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, for recommending that the Federal Government should sack 50 per cent of workers in the public sector as part of efforts to revive the national economy.

But as the NLC called for Sanusi’s sack, it was revealed yesterday that public servants spent N300 billion on the chartering of aircraft in 2011.

Sanusi had on Tuesday during the Annual Capital Market Retreat in Warri, Delta State, recommended halving the public sector workforce in order to reduce recurrent spending on salaries and entitlements for civil servants.

He argued that with less money spent on civil servants, there would be more money for capital infrastructure spending that would spur economic development.

Sanusi had advocated a compact and less expensive system of government that would reduce overhead costs.

But the NLC described Sanusi’s statement as a contradiction of President Goodluck Jonathan’s promise to create more jobs and reduce the high rate of unemployment in the country.

The congress, in a statement issued Friday and signed by its president, Abdulwahed Omar, accused the CBN governor of always making major pronouncements to pursue anti-people policies.

“Sanusi’s only understanding of governance is simply about saving money and not saving lives as his proposals are repeatedly devoid of human content and without consideration for the implications on the larger society.

“The burden that will come with a mass sack as high as 50 per cent of civil servants, in addition to the already saturated unemployment market, can better be imagined,” Omar said in the statement.

The NLC added that Nigeria’s economic problems are not caused by its workforce, but by corruption and lack of good governance, both of which would continue to affect the economy unless effectively tackled.

“Today, there are countless probe reports with names of those who have swindled our country of several trillions of both naira and other foreign currencies still living in Nigeria either walking freely around the corridors of power or directly holding public or political offices rather than being in jail,” the statement read.

Governance is about improving the quality of lives of the people and not destruction of productive lives, the NLC said, adding that the CBN governor’s call for the scrapping of the local governments showed that he is not fit for public office.

It reiterated that the local government structure is an important tier of government, which should be strengthened to enable it deliver its mandate of grassroots development through proper funding.

“Corruption has become a real burden on the economy and it should be the only priority item on the table of any serious government. Even if you sack all the workers in Nigeria, any amount saved from that will be stolen and the culprits will walk in freedom,” it added.

Sanusi, at the retreat, had further argued that 70 per cent of the nation's revenue is spent on the payment of salaries and entitlements of civil servants, leaving only 30 per cent for capital spending.

“What this means is that for every naira government makes, 70 per cent is consumed by civil servants. This is unsustainable,” he said.

Meanwhile, a mild drama played out Wednesday at the House of Representatives as lawmakers threw out a motion seeking to rein in government expenditure by reducing the cost of air travels incurred by civil servants in any given year.

It was also revealed that public sector officials had expended N300 billion in 2011 on aircraft charter.

Also Wednesday, a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide for the consent of the Senate and state Houses of Assembly for the removal of a federal minister or state commissioner failed to fly.

The bill was promptly withdrawn because members kicked against it, describing its possible application as cumbersome.

The motion on foreign trips, sponsored by Hon. Eddy Mbadiwe sought to limit air travel tickets for civil servants to not more than business class.

In the lead debate, Mbadiwe argued that the value of public resources lost through overseas air travel by public servants runs into billions of naira annually.

He expressed concern that officials of the federal and state governments spent a whooping N300 billion on aircraft charter in 2011, while the presidency is expected to spend N1.2 billion on travels in 2013.

Apart from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Vice-President, President of the Senate and his deputy, Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy, state governors as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the motion urged all other government functionaries to restrict themselves to the business class tickets instead of first class when they travel.

Mbadiwe described the huge funds expended on these foreign trips as a waste of resources and demanded that steps be taken to reduce them.

“It is the desire of Nigerians to see a less expensive and more efficient service delivery at all levels of governance. We have a responsibility to make sure that public funds are not wasted.

“Government can provide estacode for a maximum of a business class ticket but any public servant who desires to travel first class should be made to pay for the difference,” Mbadiwe said.

In a subsequent contribution, former Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Musa Adar, argued that even the idea of government providing funds for public servants to travel business class was a waste.

According to him, in other climes, the business class tickets are usually reserved for businessmen who have the means and need to meet with other business executives while on board the aircraft while public servants usually travel in economy class cabins.

The situation in Nigeria, Adar said, had become ridiculous as public servants usually take over the business class while businessmen are confined to economy class.

He said that even some public servants have also abused the privilege of foreign trips as they usually travelled from one world capital to the other every day at huge cost to the public treasury.

He suggested a drastic reduction in the frequency of overseas travel for all categories of public servants.

Adar said there should also be a ceiling in terms of cost that should be borne by government after which such officials should sit back in Nigeria and do the job for which they were either elected or appointed.

The debate was, however, truncated when the Speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, interjected and reminded the lawmakers that the said overseas travel were usually statutory entitlements and the cost in line with the recommendation of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC).

He advised the sponsor of the motion to liaise with the House Committee on Rules and Business to seek more information on what the legislature could do to resolve the issues raised in the debate.

In a matter of minutes, Mbadiwe consulted with the Chairman, Rules and Business, Hon. Albert Sam-Tsokwa, the motion was immediately suspended.

House Summons Anenih over N2.3bn Failed Road Contract

Chief Tony Anenih

 

The former Chairman, Board of Trustees of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, was Monday summoned by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives over a N2.3 billion road contract which was awarded in 2001 and abandoned under questionable circumstances.

Also summoned were the contractor, Messrs Torno Internazionale Nigeria Limited, the Permanent Secretary , Ministry of Works as at the time the contract was awarded and the Federal Road Comptroller of Works in Nasarawa State.

The summon followed deliberations on the report of the Auditor General of the Federation on the activities of the Federal Ministry of Works.

The contract which was for the reconstruction of a road in Nasarawa State, was awarded in September  2001 to a contractor with a completion date of April 18, 2003.

However, it was observed during inspection of the project site in 2004  that the project was abandoned.

Furthermore, the Auditor General’s Report said, the contractor executed only 19 per cent of the job but was paid far in excess of the work done and no attempt was made to recover the N552million paid to the contractor as mobilisation fee.

Ordinarily, the contractor was expected to receive a maximum payment of N440.5million out of the contract sum but a scrutiny of the contract file revealed that the sum of N919.3million was paid to him.

It was learnt that when the contract failed, the Federal Government had made attempts to recover the mobilisation fee but the effort was frustrated when the contractor challenged the action in court and got a judgment that compelled government to pay him the sum of N1.3billion.

Anenih who was the Minister of Works at the time the road contract was awarded is expected to appear before the House Committee on Public Accounts to defend the contents of a memo he allegedly presented to the Federal Executive Council which persuaded the government to  approve the contract and take some other actions in respect of the project.

Chairman of the Public Accounts  Committee, Hon Solomon Adeola, decried the way public funds have  been wasted in a country that had huge infrastructure deficit.

Adeola  said that the committee  had hints that the man behind the contracting firm may have fled the country.

He warned that  the committee may alert the  Interpol to help track him down.

The committee is also considering reaching out to the Corporate Affairs Commission to reveal the Nigerian directors of the contracting firm.

Adeola disclosed that the committee was also on the trail of some project  engineers at the Federal Ministry of Works who inflated eight contracts to  the  tune  of N196million under the guise of building in  “administrative cost” to enable them supervise the projects.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Dr Abubakar Mohammed, has also been asked to produce 150 payment vouchers amounting to N2.2billion which were not presented for audit verification as at the time the Auditor General of the Federation compiled its report.

Fuel Subsidy Scam: EFCC Re-arraigns Ahmadu Ali’s Son, Others

Mamman Nasir Ali

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Monday re-arraigned Mamman Nasir Ali, the son of the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ahmadu Ali and three others before an Ikeja High Court over an alleged N4.4 billion fuel subsidy fraud.

The defendants were re-arraigned before Jusice Adeniyi Onigbanjo on a 13-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence, forgery and the use of false documents.

One of the defendants, Abdulazeez Afis is said to still be at large. Others arraigned alongside Ali were Christian Taylor, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Nasaman Oil Services.

EFCC had initially arraigned Ali  alongside Christian Taylor and Nasaman Oil Services on July 26 for an alleged N2.2 billion fuel subsidy fraud before amending the charge which led to their re-arraignment yesterday.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges as Justice Onigbanjo ordered that Ali and Taylor should continue to enjoy the N20 million bail earlier granted them by the court on July 26 when they were first arraigned.

The judge also fixed November 28 for ruling on the bail application filed by Ogunbambo’s counsel, Mr. Adebayo Adenipekun (SAN).

In the amended charge of 13 counts, the anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants were involved in subsidy fraud amounting to about N4.4 billion.

According to EFCC, the defendants had conspired to obtain the money from the Federal Government for the purported importation of 30.5million litres of Premium Motor Spirits (PMS).

The EFCC said their alleged offences contravened Sections 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006.

Like in 2007, Battle Shifts to Tribunal in Ondo

Olusegun Mimiko

Reminiscent of developments that strewn the aftermath of the 2007 general election in Ondo State, battle for the control of the state has continued with the filling of petitions by five political parties, challenging the return of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party as winner of the October 20 Gubernatorial Poll. James Sowole reports

Twenty one days after the release of the gubernatorial election result conducted on October 20 in Ondo State which returned the incumbent, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party (LP), as the validly elected amongst over 12 other candidates, battle for the control of the state continued penultimate weekend as five of the other candidates had filed in petitions.

While four political parties and their candidates had filed in their petitions at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal against the emergence of Mimiko, the Accord Party and its candidate filed a petition challenging their alleged exclusion from the contest. The parties and the candidates that had filed against Mimiko are the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which fielded Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had Chief Olusola Oke as its standard bearer; the Peoples Democratic Change (PDC) and its candidate, Mr. Victor Oluwafemi Adetusin as well as the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) whose flag-bearer was Mr. Soji Ehinlanwo.

The filling of the petition confirmed further, position of the aggrieved political parties and their candidates, who had been pointing accusing fingers, particularly at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as having colluded with the LP and its candidate to rig the election. Though, several political observers and election monitors commended the conduct of the election and the Federal Government’s demonstration of its commitment to ensuring free and fair poll, the aggrieved political parties and their candidates berated INEC for what happened on the day of the election.

Despite the position of many that the conduct of the election was an improvement on the July 14 governorship poll in Edo State, stakeholders submitted that there were many grounds yet to be covered in the conduct of future elections just as they offered several suggestions on how to improve in future exercise.

Therefore, most allegations contained in the petitions filed at the tribunal were directed at INEC and its officials. Like what happened in the aftermath of the 2007 general election, the issue now dominates discussion in many parts of the state.

Of the five petitions, the one filed by the Accord Party (AP) was unique because the party’s protest bothered on the alleged exclusion by INEC from the poll. The issue of the exclusion had earlier become a subject of litigation between the commission and the party when INEC released the list of cleared candidates and their parties for the election.

AP candidate, James Olawale alleged that INEC deliberately omitted its name and logo of his party from the ballot paper and this automatically prevented him from participating in the election. Olawale and the party claimed that the omission of the logo on the ballot paper used for the October 20 election was contrary to the provision of the 2010 Electoral Act.

The petitioners insisted that INEC sent three of its officials to monitor its primary held on August 1, 2012 but still excluded its candidate from the list of contestants. The party, therefore, prayed the tribunal to order INEC to nullify the election, which returned Mimiko and conduct fresh poll that would allow Olawale participate. But whatever happens between then and now, the party has expelled Olawale for challenging Mimiko’s victory.

The ACN and its candidate, Akeredolu, in the petition filed a day after the AP had sent in its own at the tribunal located within the premises of the Akure High Court, alleged that the election was fraught with many irregularities.

In the 190 paragraphs and 403 pages petition, Akeredolu submitted that Mimiko was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes. HeAkeredolu said the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices and or non-compliance with provision of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

The ACN legal team of 20 lawyers was led by the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Akin Olujimi SAN, Lasun Sanusi SAN while other lawyers include Wole Aina Edward Odugbesan, Kola Olawoye, Charles Titiloye, Victor Olatoyegun and Michael Lana among others.

Akeredolu alleged that the voters register used for the election was falsified by INEC to ensure victory for Mimiko, adding that some named political office holders in the state also connived with security agents and INEC staff to rig the poll in favour of the LP candidate. Also in the petition were allegations of ballot box hijacking, ballot box snuffing, massive multiple thumb printing of ballot papers by LP agents.

The petitioners alleged that the election was marred with irregularities, non compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act and that there was glaring violence, malpractices and allocation of votes for LP, as well as the creation of secret unit and collation centre where the electoral fraud was perpetrated. The ACN further alleged that LP deployed cash and materials to induce voters throughout the state.

ACN, which listed 117 witnesses, pleaded all video clips, report of local and international observers and the media, fingerprint experts, medical reports and election materials used in the conduct of the poll.

On their part, PDP and Oke listed Mimiko, LP, INEC, Resident Electoral Commission for Ondo State, Mr. Akin Orebiyi, and the Returning Officer, Professor Biyi Daramola, as respondents.

Oke, who deposed to a 1,480-paragraph statement contained in the 248- page petition, averred that Mimiko’s election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act. He also said Mimiko, who is the first respondent, was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast at the election, alleging also that the election in most polling units and wards in 15 out of 18 local government areas in the state where election took place was marred by violence, intimidation, harassment, ballot box stuffing and ballot paper snatching.

He mentioned such local governments as Ese-Odo, Irele,Odigbo, Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo, Ondo West and Ondo East where the irregularities were rampant. Other local governments identified are Akure South, Akure North, Idanre, Ifedore, Ose, Owo Akoko North East, Akoko South Est and Akoko North West.

Based on several allegations contained in the petition, Oke sought among others, eight reliefs from the tribunal. He sought an order setting aside the purported election and return of Mimiko as governor of Ondo State based on the election conducted on October 20.

Oke also sought a declaration that having regard to lawful votes cast on the election, it was him (Oke) and not Mimiko that scored the majority of lawful votes cast at the election and also secured at least 25% in more than 2/3 of the 18 local government areas in the state and ought to have been declared winner of the election.

He is also seeking an order declaring him winner and returned as governor of Ondo State, having polled majority of lawful votes cast and achieving 25% in at least 2/3 of local governments in Ondo State. Alternatively, Oke sought a declaration that the governorship election is null and void having been marred and vitiated by massive rigging, widespread substantial non-compliance and corrupt practices.

As a result, he sought an order nullifying the governorship election and directing INEC to conduct a fresh governorship election in the state within a period determined by the tribunal.

Like the Accord Party, PDC and its candidate, Adetusin in the petition claimed that the absence of its party logo on the ballot paper made him lose many votes to the LP candidate whose party logo was similar to that of the PDC.

Adetusin alleged in the petition that INEC, which is one of the respondents deliberately and wrongfully, omitted his party’s logo, which was similar to that of the LP and which made many voters who ordinarily, would have voted for him to wrongly vote for the LP candidate.

In the 34-page petition filed by his counsels led by Yinka Orokoto, Adetusin said those votes credited to the LP candidate are his votes and should be counted for him and returned as winner of the election. The petitioner, therefore, sought an order of the tribunal annulling the election and the return of Mimiko as winner of the election. Otherwise, he sought an order of the tribunal to conduct fresh election in all the polling units, wards and local government areas of the state at the time that the tribunal decides.

For the CPC, Ehinlanwo and his running mate, Mrs. Damilola Oluyemi, they have substantial evidence that there was massive violation of the Electoral Act and irregularities in respect of the election that would not make them accept its outcome.

In the petition filed on their behalf by Mr. Segun Ogodo, the CPC and its candidate which have as respondents, Mimiko, the LP, INEC, Orebiyi and Daramola, prayed the tribunal to correct the anomaly and declare the poll result as null and void in view of the obvious flaws in the process.

"As we indicated throughout the governorship campaign, we wish to restate our avowed commitment to the promotion of strong democratic ideals in our dear state and beyond. In our march to make the state a reference point in good governance, we will remain extremely focused, undaunted and determined.

"We believe that by the grace of God, our state will surmount the current setback through the strong collective will of our people to ensure that truth, justice and fair play triumph. We urge our people to remain steadfast in this struggle as it is not just a fight to liberate our state from an unpopular government but it is also a struggle to guarantee a brighter future for our children,” the petition reads.”

While the public awaits Mimiko’s defence and that of his party, the battle in Ondo has obviously shifted to the tribunal and that is where attention would be directed for a long time from various interests in the state until the cases are completely dispensed with.