Epileptic grid: SERAP gives Buhari 7 days to probe missing N11trn electricity fund

 

Epileptic grid: SERAP gives Buhari 7 days to probe missing N11trn electricity fund

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly investigate how over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply has been allegedly squandered by governments since 1999.”

 

SERAP said: “Anyone suspected to be responsible should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any missing public funds should be traced and fully recovered.”

 

SERAP also urges him to “refer to the International Criminal Court all unimplemented reports of corruption in the electricity sector gathering dust on the shelves, and to arrest and surrender those named in the reports to the court for prosecution.”

 

SERAP’s letter followed the collapse of the national grid, which has plunged the country into total darkness. Generation capacity has dropped to 2,000 megawatts with about 14 power plants shutting down.

 

In the letter dated 19 March, 2022 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “Nigerians have for far too long been denied justice and the opportunity to get to the bottom of why they continue to pay the price for corruption in the electricity sector–staying in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.”

 

SERAP said: “The staggering amounts of public funds alleged to have been stolen over the years in the electricity sector have had catastrophic effects on the lives of millions of Nigerians, akin to crimes against humanity against the Nigerian people.”

 

According to SERAP, “Investigating the allegations of missing N11 trillion electricity funds, prosecuting suspected perpetrators and recovering any missing public funds would end a culture of impunity. It would also address persistent collapse of the electricity grid, and improve access to and affordability of electricity in the country.”

 

The letter, read in part: “The situation will not improve unless you fulfil your campaign promises to probe corruption in the electricity sector, prosecute perpetrators, and recover any missing public funds.”

“Corruption in the electricity sector and the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds to support the operations of DISCOS have resulted in regular blackouts, electricity grid collapse, and unlawful hike in electricity tariffs.”

 

“Corruption in the electricity sector has also continued to disproportionately affect the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of the population who cannot readily afford expensive generators in order to have a reliable power supply.”

 

“Your government has constitutional and international obligations to ensure regular and uninterrupted supply of electricity, even in times of resource constraints.”

 

“SERAP urges you to urgently implement documented reports of cases of corruption in the electricity sector, and ensure full accountability and restitution.”

 

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”

 

“The failure of successive governments and high-ranking government officials to prevent corruption in the electricity sector and to bring suspected perpetrators to justice is the primary cause of the persistent crisis in the electricity sector, including the exploitation of electricity consumers, and collapse of the electricity grid.”

 

“SERAP notes that in your inaugural speech on May 29, 2015 you stated that, ‘it is a national shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less. We will not allow this to go on.’ The national grid collapse suggests that this promise remains unfulfilled.”

 

“The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has adjudged the failure of the States to provide basic services such as electricity as violating the right to health.”

 

“Corrupt officials and corrupt contractors in the electricity sector know well that their conduct is criminal and injurious, and the denial of human dignity coupled with a radical breach of solemn trust, aggravate their alleged crime.”

 

“Citizens are frustrated at persistent allegations of corruption in the sector, and the impacts on their human rights. Prosecuting perpetrators would address the grave travesty that has for many years occurred in the power sector.”

 

“Impunity for corruption in the electricity sector has for many years forced ordinary Nigerians to stay in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.”

 

“Successive governments have failed to increase power generation and provide Nigerians with regular and uninterrupted electricity supply, with many electricity contracts shrouded in secrecy, and trillions of Naira going down the drain.”

 

“Impunity for corruption in the electricity sector will continue as long as high-ranking public officials go largely unpunished for their alleged crimes. It is by pursuing these allegations and taking the evidence before the court that the truth will be revealed and justice best served.”

 

“The failure by successive governments to tell Nigerians the truth about allegations of corruption in the power sector amounts to a failure to ensure that electricity services are progressively made available, on the basis of equality and non-discrimination.”

 

“The details of the missing N11 trillion electricity funds are contained in a SERAP report titled: From Darkness to Darkness: How Nigerians are paying the Price for Corruption in the Electricity Sector.”

 

“According to the report, the total estimated financial loss to Nigeria from corruption in the electricity sector starting from the return to democracy in 1999 to date is over N11 trillion. This represents public funds, private equity and social investment (or divestments) in the power sector.”

 

“It is estimated that the loss may reach over N20 trillion in the next decade given the rate of Government investment and funding in the power sector amidst dwindling fortune and recurrent revenue shortfalls.”

 

“SERAP also urges you to immediately implement the judgment by Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor in suit number FHC/L/CS/105/19 which ordered your government to immediately publish the names of companies and the whereabouts of the contractors paid by governments since 1999 to carry out electricity projects across the country but disappeared with the money without executing any projects.”

 

“The enforcement of the judgment could potentially reveal individuals, contractors, and companies allegedly responsible for squandering over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply under successive governments, lead to the prosecution of suspected perpetrators, and recovery of any missing public funds.”

 

The letter was copied to Mr Malami.

 

 

 

 

Kolawole Oluwadare

SERAP Deputy Director

20/3/2022

Lagos, Nigeria

Emails: info@serap-nigeria.org; news@serap-nigeria.org

Twitter: @SERAPNigeria

Website: www.serap-nigeria.org

For more information or to request an interview, please contact us on: +2348160537202

 

OPINION

OPL 245: What the Italian court said about Adoke

By Femi Oboro

In view of the serial and unrelenting misrepresentation of facts and mischief orchestrated by forgers, pathological liars and pseudo anti-corruption activists in partnership with an online publication globally notorious for its culture of blackmail and extortion, it is important to set the record straight on the pronouncements of the Court of Milan, Republic of Italy, in the OPL 245 trial. The court discharged and acquitted all defendants of criminal charges on 17 March 2021. Of particular interest to me is the extent of involvement of my client, Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN, who served as the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice of Nigeria between 2010 and 2015 during which the OPL 245 dispute was resolved and the oil block was acquired by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ENI S.p.A. from Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd for a combined consideration of $1.3bn.
Although Mr Adoke was not on trial in Italy, his name came up frequently in the court proceedings because of the desperate desire of Mr Fabio De Pasquale, the Deputy Public Prosecutor for Milan, to criminalise the OPL 245 transaction by impugning the integrity of Mr Adoke and casting aspersions on his legal advice as the Attorney-General of the Federation in which position he acted on the lawful and legitimate instructions of President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR.

In trying to work to an answer, Mr De Pasquale came up with a series of investigative theories, some of which were propounded by the so-called anti-corruption campaigners who were out to win awards as transparency champions by trampling on the truth. To them, all is fair in war. They can cook up anything, forge any e-mail and stage-manage any interview as long as they would get applause from their funders and promoters.
Mr De Pasquale argued in court that the OPL 245 Resolution Agreement of 2011, which was based on a Settlement Agreement reached between the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd on 30 November 2006, was illegal. He argued that it was also illegal to award an oil prospecting licence (OPL) through a court-ordered Settlement Agreement. De Pasquale and his team theorised that the $801 million paid by Royal Dutch Shell plc and ENI S.p.A. to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd to acquire the rights to the oil block was illegal and was a scheme to bribe FGN officials. They alleged that Mr Adoke participated in the bribery scheme and profited to the tune of N300m ($2.2m at the time) from the $1.3bn transaction. Specifically, they said Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, a property developer known to both Chief Dan Etete, the promoter of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, sold a property worth N700m for N500m to Mr Adoke. They further alleged that the N200m difference was a bribe. The Italian prosecutors tried to use the property transaction as evidence of corruption.
Since some of these expended allegations are sub-judicial in Nigeria because Mr Adoke is still being tried in two honourable courts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the same issues, my comments would have to be limited to the Milan Court decision.
Also, some of the facts are already in the public domain and as such do not require any further comments from me. Luckily, the full text of the 458-page judgment, marked “Judgment No. 3055”, is available on the internet. Anyone interested in reading the document, which I intend to quote generously in this article, should google “OPL 245 full decision” and download it. It documents the key presentations made by the prosecutors and the final pronouncements of the court after nearly three years of trial.
It is significantly of note that no adverse findings were made against Mr Adoke, contrary to the lies being peddled online by the coalition of miserable pseudo activists. I may allow myself to speculate that some of their tantrums might be out of ignorance, because, admittedly, it is not every lay person that can read and understand a court decision. The judges normally summarise presentations by the prosecutors and the defendants before making a pronouncement. It is not uncommon for those not familiar with legal proceedings to take a summary of presentation as part of the court finding or decision. However, because these mischief makers have been on this project for a while, and because they have enjoyed the funding and support of those well versed in law, I am very much tempted to conclude that ignorance is not the case, or perhaps ignorance is just red herring. It is malice.
I will now go into the specifics. It had been alleged that Mr Adoke exerted “unlawful pressure” on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to endorse the Settlement Agreement. But the Milan Court pronounced at Page 241 of its judgment: “We cannot instead accept the comments on the fact that Adoke Bello allegedly exerted unlawful pressure on NNPC and DPR. In fact, as we have seen, it had been the Minister himself who had engaged these departments and demanded that an agreement be made reflecting their suggestions, so that the companies (Shell and ENI) were forced to give ground on recognition of the back-in rights, which were not included in the previous contractual framework, which called for direct purchase from Malabu, considering that that company had been granted a license free of these restrictions.”
On the rightfulness of awarding an OPL based on an out-of-court settlement (and the attempt to link it to corruption), the judges said at Page 248: “The opinions of the Public Prosecutor’s expert are absolutely contradictory and legally erroneous. Although she admitted that licenses in Nigeria may be issued by the government on a discretionary basis, it underscores the anomaly represented by the issuance of a license in the context of an out-of-court settlement agreement that involved a party, Eni, that was considered to have nothing to do with the legal disputes over ownership of the license. On the basis of these erroneous premises of its own expert, the prosecution transforms a fact from common experience (out-of-court settlements of disputes may come about through the intervention of a third-party investor or financier) into circumstantial evidence of underlying corrupt arrangements.”
They continued at Page 249: “Contrary to what was revealed during the trial proceeding, the prosecution argues that there were no other cases of assignments of oil license after out-of-court settlements, although the defense experts pointed out that the use of a Resolution Agreement as the basis for a direct award is not an unprecedented event. Examples are found in the Annual Report 2016 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry published by the DPR, which reports that certain assets were assigned/reassigned on the basis of out-of-court settlement agreements. The circumstance generates no wonder, since the settlement is a typical arrangement, which is common practice in circumstances involving a dispute. In this regard, we should mention in passing that, from the legal point of view, the license was not awarded with the Resolution Agreement, but the latter was used as the negotiating tool whereby the Government assured itself approval by Snud (Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep) and Malabu to reassignment in favor of Snepco (Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Co) and NAE (ENI-Agip). Indeed, the deed of assignment is comprised of a discretionary measure issued by the Minister and of which the Resolution Agreement constituted a simple factual premise.”
On the allegation of conflict of interest, the prosecutors argued that Chief Etete, as Minister of Petroleum in 1998, should not have awarded an oil block to a company in which he had interest. The court agreed with the position of the defence lawyer that it was never raised as a breach of law before any court. In fact, the 1998 assignment was subsequently confirmed several times by the government, even before Mr Adoke became AGF. The court agreed with the defence lawyer who had argued that the “fallaciousness of the prosecution’s reasoning was such that the Public Prosecutor was forced to contradict himself when he explicitly affirmed that confirmation of the license awarded to Malabu had legitimated it to sell the license”. The court then declared at Page 249: “So, the Court agrees with the defense attorneys, and even with the Public Prosecutor, that the confirmation of the license by the Nigerian Government in July 2010, during the pendency of the arbitration proceeding, definitively legitimated the negotiations for acquisition of the license itself.”
On the charge that Adoke’s involvement in meetings and communications with key actors in the OPL 245 negotiations was evidence of vested interest for corrupt enrichment, the judges said at Page 291: “Equally devoid of evidentiary value is the fact that the Minister Adoke Bello intervened in the context of these communications, guaranteeing the legitimacy of the agreements underlying the payments, legitimacy that has already been demonstrated and would in fact also be recognized by the Nigerian judicial authority at the request of the same public official (see the ruling of Judge Binta Nyako). The prosecution’s argument, based on the fact that the defendants knowingly provided the money for the bribe paid by Etete to the public officials, is reasonably contradicted by the outcome of the SOCA authorizations…”. SOCA is the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency which gave JP Morgan the go-ahead to transfer funds to Malabu in 2011 after investigating suspicion of fraud.
At Page 317, the judges, in dismissing allegations of bribery in the OPL 245 deal for lack of proof, reproduced the transcript of the interrogation of a defendant, Mr Vincenzo Armanna, a former ENI manager, by the prosecutor over the issue of kickbacks. Armanna said that, in fact, Adoke threatened to arrest and prosecute ENI officials for negotiating kickbacks. The conversation is reproduced below:
PUBLIC PROSECUTOR: But the meeting, which I can now specify directly because you mentioned it this morning, when the Attorney General said: “They’re bribes, I’ll put you all in jail,” when was that? And who was there?
DEFENDANT ARMANNA: It was the first one with a bigger group, so it was…I think it was after November 15.
PUBLIC PROSECUTOR: And what did he say exactly?
DEFENDANT ARMANNA: That they were bribes and that we were blackmailing Dan Etete and forcing him to pay a fee to Obi and that we would be arrested.
It is, therefore, a matter of public record that Mr Adoke actually warned against bribery in the transaction and threatened to get the commission agents arrested and prosecuted. This is the same Adoke that is being maligned and defamed as a bribe taker. Before Mr Armanna’s testimony, Ednan Tofik ogly Agaev, a former Russian ambassador to Colombia, had also withdrawn his earlier claim to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in which he said Mr Adoke was involved in bribery. Agaev refused to adopt the statement in court, saying he was pressured to mention a name during interrogation and he mentioned Adoke. In other words, Agaev lied to the FBI to get off the hook.
I must, however, regret that there was an allegation against Mr Adoke before the Italian court that was not exhaustively dealt with: the accusation that he bought a house from his supposed share of the kickbacks. Every piece of evidence was purely circumstantial and an over-extension of the facts just to fit the narrative: one, that Mr Adoke previously knew the property developer; two, that the property developer was close to Chief Etete; three, that Mr Adoke tried to buy a house for N500m after the OPL 245 transaction; four, that the property had just been acquired by the developer for N700m; five, that the N200m difference was his kickback; six, that as a public servant, where could he have earned the N500m to buy the property. Of course, the conclusion of the judges was that there was no proof of corruption and while we may say Mr Adoke was exonerated, that will still not totally solve the puzzle around the mortgage and will continue to be used by the mischief makers as evidence of corruption.
But here are the facts, most of which were presented in Italy by the prosecutors but which they deliberately jumbled together because they were shooting at a target. Mr Adoke never denied knowing Alhaji Abubakar, the property developer. He never denied being offered a house at Plot 3271 Cadastral Zone A06, Maitama District, Abuja. What he has said, and quite consistently, is that Alhaji Abubakar approached him to buy the property for N500m. He then approached his bankers, Unity Bank Plc, where he was a substantial shareholder, and asked for a mortgage of N300m. He was to make an equity contribution of N200m to complete the payment. The bank opened a mortgage account, credited it with N300m and transferred the funds to Carlin International, owned by the developer. However, because Mr Adoke could not raise his equity of N200m, Alhaji Abubakar had to return the N300m to Unity Bank. The bank took the money and closed the account. The developer then sold the property to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). All the documents presented in court by the prosecutors as provided to them by EFCC established the facts. Actually, Mr Adoke lost money because he had to pay high interests on the loan. But the prosecutors fiddled with the facts.
Since there was an agenda, the prosecutors said the same property had previously been purchased for N700m by Alhaji Abubakar. What they maliciously hid from the court was that three buildings were being developed on the 5,500sqmtr-plot. They also did not tell the court that it was just one of the three buildings that was offered to Mr Adoke for N500m. They made it look like it was the entire property and cruelly calculated a discounted “benefit” of N200m. This is evil, to put it mildly. Also, they failed to disclose to the court that the property now belongs to the CBN who bought it in 2013 because Mr Adoke could not complete the payment. Mr Adoke said he had been hoping to sell a plot of land in Abuja to raise his N200m equity but he did not get a buyer. He never said he was going to pay for it from his salaries as a public officer. But this was the impression presented to the court.
To sum up, the Italian court has, after an extensive trial, put a lie to the allegations levelled against Mr Adoke over his role in the OPL 245 deal. The Hon. Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court declared in 2018 that Mr Adoke could not be held personally liable for carrying out a lawful presidential order. The US Department of Justice investigated the transaction and brought it to a close in October 2019 without any charges. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) closed its own investigation in April 2020. As yet, no court of law has concluded that the OPL 245 deal is a scandal. It is just the narrative cooked up by self-serving pseudo activists and forgers, and vented by notorious online blackmailers. The truth will eventually prevail and those who participated in the defamation should know that they will pay when the stage-managed storm is finally over.
My intervention is aimed at those who may not know the truth and are confused or have wrongly believed the concoctions being served online in the name of activism. To be frank, I am not hoping that my clarifications would stop the mischief makers from continuing with their malicious project. They are not reasonable characters. All they want is miscarriage of justice so that they would be decorated with murderous medals for destroying an innocent soul. They will never succeed. But if the intention of Mr Adoke’s traducers is just to destroy his name and keep him busy with having to declare his innocence every day, they have succeeded to some extent. I congratulate them. They should continue to enjoy their pyrrhic victory. It is just a matter of time before they stew in their own juice. No matter how many miles a lie travels, it takes the truth just a nanosecond to pursue and overtake. In fact, with the truth now coming to the fore, many of them are already regretting their actions and apologising in private to Mr Adoke. But their day of inescapable reckoning beckons.

. Femi Oboro, Solicitor at Gromyko Amedu Solicitors wrote via femi.oboro@gromykoamedusolicitors.co.uk

PRESIDENT BUHARI”S GOVERNMENT IS A COMPLETE FAILURE.

 

 

 

In all my adult life, I have never seen a government that is this confused, incompetent, spineless, uncreative, rudderless, tactless, clueless and demoralising like this one headed by a medical tourist, President Muhammadu Buhari. In seven years, it is a big shame that the Buhari presidency is unable to build a state of the art hospital that could answer his medical needs and the needs of other Nigerians . In seven years, our megawatts still revolve around 4,000 and 5,000 with so much so-called investment in the energy sector; and the president hops to London at the slightest opportunity to enjoy uninterrupted power supply, while leaving us in darkness. They go for medical tourism like post-graduate students seeking post-graduate degrees abroad. In seven years, electricity is in a quandary, possibly leading the country to a state of near total darkness;, and General Buhari would still thump his chest as president of Nigeria;  presiding over failure? In seven years, not a single Refinery has been fixed or has any brand new one being built. It is an unpardonable failure on the part of this APC-led Federal government under the watch of President Buhari. I have never seen this level of incompetence being exhibited in high office like what we are witnessing today.

 

 

 

Life has become unbearable under a system that is manifestly asphyxiating, dehumanising and discomfitting. Nigeria and Nigerians have become internally displaced persons in their own country as a result of the blood-spilling activities of bandits and kidnappers. From the North to the South, we are seeing rivers of blood flowing with cake of crimson, as a result of general insecurity.

 

Nothing seems to be working in Nigeria except failure. Only last week, the Auditor-General made mind-boggling revelations about the millions of barrels of oil without any trace under a president and minister of petroleum whose adherents see as “mai-gaskiya”. How on earth can 107 million barrels of oil be declared missing under a government that sings about anti-corruption, yet not many heads have rolled, nobody has been sacked, nobody has been apprehended and no one is cooling off in jail!! Imagine such a whooping figure as if it is a piece of groundnut in a pupil’s pocket. To make matters worse, the Finance Minister reportedly told the nation that the Federal Government was thinking of raising euro-bond cash to fund oil subsidy. What a cataclysmic catastrophy!. What impudence!

 

 

 

The APC and the Federal Government are two sides of a dysfunctional system that are unassailably confused, directionless and running amok. The president is confused, the APC is confused, the general psyche of the people has been utterly affected. Aside from dithering from one dysfunctional emanation to another, the confusion in the party is a manifestation of the confusion in the government. As if to rub insult on our collective injuries, the President’s Spokesman told an already befuddled nation and a citizenry that is heavily overburdened that “heaven will not fall”, no matter the lamentations and difficulties we are experiencing. Imagine such infamy! How do you score such a wicked and sullen statement from a government that was voted for? For over a month now, fuel scarcity has remained a perpetual crisis across the country. Man-hours wastages are affecting the economy in a very debilitating manner. Long queues of vehicles occasioned by the scarcity have become ugly sights across the country. Diesel has risen to over N700 per litre, kerosene which ought to be the cheapest for the average masses is now selling for N450 per litre. Electricity tariffs have risen astronomically, almost beyond the reach of the ordinary Nigerian. In all of these, an elected president abandoned his citizens to seek medical attention in London.

 

 

 

I have stated on several occasions in the last that a sick country cannot do well under a president that has health challenges;  one of the reasons I am vehemently opposed to those old and tired politicians who now want to temporarily acquire the Aso Villa as their retirement home, and use the office to rejuvenate and repair themselves by contesting for presidency. Rather than attend to our needs, they would be making all efforts to sustain their own wellbeing at the detriment and expense of Nigerians. They will force the country to work and walk at their own slow pace. Rather than be on the fast lane, the country will naturally be detained in a motion without movement scenario, because the supposed enabler is busy attending to his health needs. It is pathetic that in president Buhari’s 7 years in office, he could not build a world standard hospital to look after hisOWN  health needs and those of other citizens. Just take a look at the curious contradictions; the president of the country is in London for medicals, the First Lady is reportedly in Dubai, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the ruling party was in Dubai for medicals. Both party and government are immersed in unpardonable voyageS of wellness while the rest of the country can go to hell. This government is not just wicked and inconsiderate, but also a cultivator of poverty, impoverishment, deprivation, hunger and starvation. The government has shown visible signs of underperformance, incompetence and crass materialism. The level of corruption in the system rubbishes the so-called anti-corruption mantra of the government.

 

 

 

This is a clarion call to all and sundry that we must collectively add our voices to make the 2023 election a referendum by Nigerians against the abnormalities of the ruling APC. We have been demobilised by suffering and economic dislocations, hence we must speak with one voice against a system and party that has crippled our sense of creativity and productivity. As hard working Nigerians, we must conscientize, mobilise, and synergize amongst ourselves to create the right nexus for citizen action against the ruling party in 2023. We must bail our country from the octopoidal grip of the present incompetent leadership and lead it on the path of constructive and collective engagement in the overall interest of our people. We cannot continue to cultivate failure, embellish incompetence, glamourise inertia, celebrate nepotism and decorate cronyism in a 21st century world, as our article of faith. Never again! 2023 beckons.

 

 

 

Signed….

 

 

 

PRINCE KASSIM AFEGBUA

 

 

 

FORMER COMMISSIONER FOR INFORMATION,

 

 

 

EDO STATE.

 

 

 

MEMBER, PDP, WARD 5, OKPELLA.

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

SANWO-OLU MOURNS PUBLISHER OF HALLMARK NEWSPAPERS, EMEKA OBASI

 …Says Nigerian media industry has lost a Colossus

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has described the death of a veteran journalist and Publisher of Hallmark Newspaper, Prince Emeka Obasi, as a colossal loss to the media industry and the country as a whole.

Governor Sanwo-Olu in a condolence message issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, on Thursday said the exit of the former Abia State Commissioner for Information and Strategy is painful and heartbreaking, considering his impact in the journalism profession.

Prince Obasi, an award-winning journalist and publisher, who battled a medical condition over the past few years, died on Tuesday at an undisclosed hospital in Lagos at 58.

Sanwo-Olu urged the deceased family, especially his widow, Dr. Betty Obasi; as well as friends, colleagues and associates of Prince Emeka Obasi to take solace in God and the fact the deceased lived a good life.

The Governor also commiserated with the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) over the demise of the Publisher of Hallmark Newspapers.

He said: “The death of Prince Emeka Obasi is a great loss to the media industry and he will be greatly missed. He made lots of positive impacts during his lifetime, contributing meaningfully to the growth and development of journalism in Nigeria as well as politics at the state and federal level.

“Obasi’s landmark achievements in the media industry are unprecedented as he managed several newspapers, among which are National Mirror, Hallmark and Business Hallmark, thereby providing job opportunities for hundreds of people, especially journalists in different parts of the country.

“He also contributed his quota to governance in Abia State by serving as Commissioner for Information and Strategy.

“I sympathise with his family, friends, business, associates, and entire media practitioners in Nigeria. I pray that God will grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

 

SIGNED

GBOYEGA AKOSILE

CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY

17 MARCH 2022

JULIUS BERGER EXHIBITS COMMANDING ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION CAPABILITY AND CONTRACTUAL RELIABILITY AS ICONIC SECOND RIVER NIGER BRIDGE NEARS INAUGURATION

• Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari commends Julius Berger’s performance as “Excellent and visible for all to see….we are very impressed with the work done so far,”

 

• Labour Minister, H.E. Dr. Chris Ngige enthuses: “People often say ‘seeing is believing, but today having not only seen but walked on the fully constructed length of the 2^ndRiver Niger Bridge, I now say, ‘Walking is believing; Julius Berger is reliable, indeed.”

 

 

• Works Minister, H.E. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, says,“Before now, some people said there was no bridge, but now we are walking on the bridge. This is real now….We will complete it as promised…from what we can all see today, the contractor (Julius Berger) has performed well; after the link of the spans on April 2^nd, this bridge will be awaiting inauguration for use by Mr President.”

The Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, led a federal Government delegation to inspect the 2^nd River Niger Bridge that is being constructed by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc on Tuesday, 8 March 2022. Other dignitaries in the entourage of the Chief of Staff included the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, and the Honourable Minister of Labour and Productivity, His Excellency, Dr. Chris Ngige. The Managing Director of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji was also on the entourage of the Chief of Staff to the President.

The inspection visit commenced at the Owerri interchange end of the project, where the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Engr. Dr. Lars Richter made a presentation to the Chief of Staff on the progress of the ongoing works. Richter spoke of Julius Berger’s introduction and implementation of innovative solutions for soil improvement using the Geotextile Encased Sand Columns (GEC) system for base reinforcement. The innovation, Richter said, is a foundation method for embankments on ground with low bearing capacity. It also consist of mega prefabricated vertical drains (PVD), which speed up the settlement and consolidation process, in which settlement happens within construction period. Richter significantly put progress so far achieved on the Second River Niger Bridge works at 83% as at February 2022. Status of the works as presented showed that the substructure of the Bridge is completed, while its superstructure and finishing works are in steady progress. Secondary bridges are also completed. Richter also pointed the visitors to ongoing culverts and drainage works. Julius Berger, in conformity with its impeccable adherence to safety on site, also held a Safety brief for the important visitors prior to walking the full length of the constructed bridge where finishing works are still ongoing. Other company officials, including Engr. Friedrich Wieser the Project Director for the 2nd River Niger Bridge, accompanied the Managing Director.

All things being equal, the second River Niger Bridge project is scheduled for commissioning by October this year. The bridge aims to minimize traffic congestion on the old bridge and to strengthen connectivity in the entire region. The project, which is being funded by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority through the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, is expected to boost economic activities and open up development in the southeastern part of the country.

The project involves the construction of a 1.6km bridge over the River Niger, scheduled for completion in August 2022, construction of two secondary bridges at CH25+166 (Amakom Village Road) and CH28+304 (Atani Road) spanning 21.7m each, which have now been completed. It also involves demolition of an existing flyover and construction of a new interchange at CH34+100 (Onitsha-Owerri Road), scheduled for completion in August 2022. The project also consists of the construction of a 3.3km approach road on the Asaba end and 7.0km approach road on the Onitsha end of the main bridge, scheduled for completion in October 2022. There is also a toll plaza at CH25+700 consisting of 8 lanes in each direction, scheduled for completion in October 2022, and Site clearing of the Right of Way (RoW) including the removal of all bush, trees and shrubs.

The second River Niger Bridge, when commissioned, will deliver huge socio-economic benefits for the nation, particularly the surrounding states, by improving commercial activities, enhancing traffic flow as well as road safety for commuters.

 

 

PRESS STATEMENT

CARE CONDEMNS INCESSANT ELECTRICITY TARIFF HIKES

LABOUR LEADERS’ REFUSAL TO RESIST TARIFF HIKES IS A BETRAYAL TO WORKERS AND THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed disclosed on Thursday, March 10, 2022, that the federal government had quietly removed subsidy on electricity tariff. The implication of this policy is that working people and the poor masses will be forced to pay higher tariffs twice every year. Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE) condemns the policy that will allow the power companies to hike tariff incessantly and periodically. Besides, the government claimed that it was subsidizing the power sector to the tune of N1.7 billion daily but in reality, the government was only bailing out the corruption, expensive lifestyle of the directors and top managers and unsustainable debts incurred by the power companies. For instance, N6 billion released by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) was subjected to insiders abuse and sharp practices in 2017 wherein IBEDC gave a loan of about N6 billion to its parent company (Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Group), this is one example of how privileged private companies mismanage so-called subsidy and bailout funds.

In a profit-first system there will always be unjust hikes in petrol and electricity prices just like other essential commodities. The bourgeois ruling class and their private collaborators always clamour for higher rates and prices to guarantee super profit. The power companies have shown obvious incapacity to develop the sector, they are only interested in higher tariff and outrageous estimated billing while power infrastructure and facilities are in decrepit conditions triggering incessant system collapse and leaving communities mostly in darkness. In fact, hike in tariff is a reward for failure and inefficiency. In the last 15 years, the government has spent over $15 billion on power and nothing to show for it fundamentally except darkness. Since the power sector was privatized in November 2013, electricity tariff has been steadily hiked from about N12.50 to about N48 representing a whopping 280% increment.

The most worrisome is the fact that the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Quadri Olaleye and other key labour leaders have kept quiet only for the government to quietly remove the so-called subsidy that practically implies that power companies can go-ahead to increase tariff so often and unjustifiably. Labour leaders threatened to embark on strike on September 28, 2020 over increment in the price of electricity and petrol only to back down and resorted to talks with the government. As a matter of fact, it was the botched strike action and the refusal of NLC and TUC to lead a mass struggle that led to the ENDSARS mass movement that protested police brutality and rising poverty. Talks with the government led to the setting up of a Technical Committee comprising 6 representatives of government/DISCOS and 3 representatives of NLC and TUC. The only thing labour leaders got from the talks was a delay in the implementation of the then tariff hike for a month and government acceptance to have labour represented in NERC. Given the labour strategic alliance with the self-serving ruling elite, it appears the natural course of action or inaction of labour leaders is to allow anti-people policies unchallenged and unchecked.

Put simply, labour leaders have agreed with the government to have electricity tariff increased so often despite growing poverty and cost of living. Labour leaders went into talks with the government but never reported back to Nigerian workers on what was agreed upon as they have chosen to remain quiet. It is the same manner NLC and TUC bark for a struggle but refuse to bite and undemocratically call off strikes. In October 2020, labour unfortunately and openly endorsed privatization and deregulation and so, it is not shocking to endorse tariff hikes, though quietly.

Labour leaders have left the flood gate open for numerous attacks on the working people. N30,000 minimum wage has not been implemented by many State Governments despite being eroded by the rising cost of living and labour leaders stand akimbo. Diesel and Kerosene have been deregulated and the prices have steadily moved up and currently, about 720 per litre and over N500 per litre respectively and this does not worry labour leaders. There is rising cost of living, hyperinflation and rising poverty; there is massive infrastructural deficit and unemployment and labour leaders are less concerned. There have been three electricity tariff hikes since NLC threatened to go strike in September 2020 but labour leaders have quietly looked the other way. The anti-labour policies such as casualization are endemic in workplaces but labour leaders pretend it is not happening while in some cases like what we have seen in the food industry, NUFBTE (Food Union) leaders themselves set up outsourcing companies for the purpose of casualizing workers. These privileged right-wing labour leaders are comfortable with the present socio-economic crises because they are now aristocratic and the capitalist system has made them privileged such that they do not feel the impact of the economic crises ravaging the working people.

Privatisation, deregulation and other anti-people capitalist policies are responsible for the growing socio-economic crises. Instead of doing away with these policies, the capitalist ruling elite is sustaining it for its self-serving profit interest. It is high time the labour movement and the working class struggled for an alternative socialist programme wherein the commanding heights of the economy are nationalized and democratically controlled by the working class. What the power sector requires like any other key sector of the economy is a massive public investment to expand infrastructure and facilities and to motivate workers via decent working conditions in order to guarantee uninterrupted electricity at an affordable tariff rate.

 

SIGNED:

Chinedu Bosah                                                     Shoyombo Monsuru

National Coordinator                                             National Secretary