NDDC controversial probe: More drama as MD faints at hearing, Reps, Akpabio clash, exchange words [Punch]
I just told you that we have records to show that most of the contracts in the NDDC are given to members of the National Assembly but you (Boma) don’t know about it. The two chairmen (Senate and House) can explain to you – Akpabio
You said you had no link to any contract – between yourself and the NDDC – that your job was just to supervise; but correspondences show that they (BPP) are giving you approvals for forensic auditors – Koko
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Monday said most contracts of the Niger Delta Development Commission were awarded to members of the National Assembly.
Akpabio said this in Abuja at the sitting of the House of Representatives committee investigating the NDDC.
Also on Monday, the NDDC acting Managing Director, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei, slumped while being interrogated by the lawmakers.
Besides the forensic audit of the commission ordered by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), both the Senate and the House of Representatives are currently investigating alleged financial recklessness in the commission.
Pondei and other top officials of the NDDC had on Thursday walked out of the House of Representatives committee probing the commission after calling for the resignation of its Chairman, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, accusing him of “crime against the commission.”
When the committee began its sitting on Monday, its chairman, withdrew from the probe and his Deputy, Thomas Ereyitomi, presided over the hearing.
Pondei was the first to make his presentation when the committee resumed its sitting at 12noon on Monday.
He said between January and May 31, N34bn was given to the NDDC by the Federal Government. He said out of the expenditure from October 31, 2019 to May 31, 2020, the current interim management committee led by him spent N59.1bn out of the N81.5bn spent by the NDDC within the period. He informed that he assumed office on February 20, 2020.
“Out of the N51.9bn, it is also verifiable that N38.6bn was spent on capital projects. The IMC published a list of contractors who have been paid up to May 5 (a total sum of) N35.3bn and no contractor said he was not paid. In all this, the IMC did not award any of those contracts; they are historical contracts that existed before we came.
“On recurrent expenditure, N20.5bn was expended by the current IMC between February 20 and May 31, 2020. It is good to note that a large proportion of the payments were from a backlog of expenditure that the previous managements had incurred and did not pay.”
We spent N1.32bn on COVID-19 palliative, not N1.5bn – MD
The committee asked Pondei about the N1.5bn spent on COVID-19 palliatives by the NDDC.
“It was not N1.5bn please. The figure is shown clearly. It is N1.32bn,” he argued. The lawmakers also asked from which budget it was taken.
“I will provide the answer. I don’t want to lie under oath. I’ll provide the answer for you,” Pondei said.
While the lawmakers insisted that Pondei specified the budget, the NDDC boss insisted on providing his response later.
He also said the commission was preparing to pay students on scholarship.
Responding to another question, Pondei said the IMC had so far received about N72bn.
The committee also asked him about another N641m paid to a contractor, Clear Point Communications and if it was budgeted for in 2019.
Pondei said, “This money was part of the N2.5bn that was for the forensic audit in the 2019 budget, out of which N1.2bn was approved. Out of that, N318bn was approved for the lead forensic auditors, and only a small percentage has been paid out before the budget expired on the 31st (of May).”
Forty-five minutes into his presentation, a lawmaker, Mr Enwo Igariwey, asked Pondei whether the money being spent by the NDDC was budgeted for.
Igariwey asked the MD where the commission would get money to pay students on scholarship since the operation of the 2019 budget ended on May 31 and the 2020 budget had yet to be approved.
While Pondei was trying to answer the question, another lawmaker, Mr Wole Oke, said the MD was not looking fine.
Oke had barely finished speaking when Pondei collapsed where he was sitting and he was carried by security agents and his aides out of the Conference Room 231, venue of the hearing.
At 1:02pm, the committee went on a one-hour break after the NDDC boss collapsed. When the lawmakers resumed, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, asked the panel to adopt Pondei’s written presentation.
National Assembly members get most NDDC contracts – Minister
Akpabio, who was interrogated on the committee’s resumption, accused members of the National Assembly of taking most of the NDDC’s contracts.
Defending the huge of expenses of the commission during the pandemic lockdown, Akpabio said, “We cannot close down the Niger Delta because of the security implication in the region. We cannot close down the NDDC because of the fact that we are doing forensic audit. The NDDC plays a vital role in ensuring the peace and security of the region, and 90 per cent or more of the resources of the country, on a monthly basis, comes from there. If you close it in totality, all you will have will be chaos.
“It is important that people who have gone to court, people who genuinely did jobs should be paid for their jobs. For me, I am not against it. Who are even the greatest beneficiaries? It is you people. If you look at your chairman, your chairman…”
While the deputy chairman of the committee interrupted Akpabio, another lawmaker, Goodhead Boma, asked the minister to name the beneficiaries among the lawmakers.
Akpabio said, “Are you asking me the beneficiaries in the National Assembly? I just told you that we have records to show that most of the contracts in the NDDC are given to members of the National Assembly but you (Boma) don’t know about it. The two chairmen (Senate and House) can explain to you. I was a member of the NDDC committee. I know what was going on.”
Responding, Boma said, “You were a member of the NDDC committee in the 8th Assembly. Are you telling me that a lot of jobs were awarded to you as a member?”
While Ereyitomi made efforts to stop Akpabio, the minister continued, “That is why we have to change the modus operandi. You must not allow the two chairmen to hijack the budget every year. You are like me. I was a member like you. I did not know what was going on.”
Another member, Shehu Koko, however, said, “You were on air. You said they (NDDC) gave contracts to the chairman of the committee (Tunji-Ojo) in April 2019. And the chairman was appointed in November. He was not a chairman of the committee. He was not even a member of the House.”
The minister responded “I think I must correct myself. I was giving an example of a contract of N10.9bn in the chairman’s place. I am saying that contracts are split to a point where it comes below the threshold of the minister’s approval. The contract is not for the chairman, but for the chairman’s state (Ondo).”
Koko, however, insisted that Akpabio should state whether Tunji-Ojo was awarded contracts or not.
Responding, the minister said it was not Tunji-Ojo because he was not even a member of the House then.
A member of the committee, Mr Kolade Akinjo, asked why Akpabio recommended Cairo Ojuogboh, a medical doctor, to handle projects of the NDDC, against Section 12(1)(a) of the NDDC Act. He asked, “How do you reconcile a person who is a medical doctor to become an Executive Director of Projects?”
Responding, the minister said, “You are asking of the qualification for the office of the executive director. I agree with you. That person should be somebody who is vast in project execution. The greatest project today in the world is medical, and that is COVID-19.”
The lawmakers, however, disagreed with the claim. A member, Goodhead Boma, asked if there was pandemic when Ojuogboh was appointed.
Koko said, “I listened to you very attentively through all your submissions. But I just want to tell you: You came here to mislead the parliament and you are under oath. That is what you have done deliberately. I have my argument and it should be in line with Section 20 of the Public Procurement Act. This is your report; this is what you have presented to the committee.
“You said you had no link on any contract between yourself and the NDDC, that your job was just to supervise. But correspondences show that they are giving you approvals for forensic auditors, between you and the BPP.”
Why Abba Kyari approved Nunieh’s sacking – Minister
Akpabio denied various allegations against him, especially by a former acting MD of the NDDC, Joi Nunieh.
Akpabio also said the immediate past Chief of Staff to the President, the late Abba Kyari, sacked Nunieh from the IMC over alleged insubordination and lack of certificates.
He said, “It is just that we don’t want to scandalise anybody. What we did was to expand the interim management and replace the then managing director, when we saw these flaws. But I pointed out on television that she was relieved of her appointment not because of anything but because of insubordination.
“My permanent secretary wrote seven letters to her. Even to attend the Federal Executive Council meeting on the 5th of February to come and give her scorecard, she refused to attend. She felt she was bigger than the minister and her budget was higher than the ministry’s.
“For insubordination, that was the reason she was relieved of her position. However, there were a lot of undercurrents. For instance, we did not want to scandalise her. She even swore to a fake affidavit that she had NYSC (certificate) when she did not have one.”
The minister stated that he had never asked anybody to swear an oath of allegiance to him. “Just for the notice of the committee, I have no presidential ambition,” he stated.
Akpabio also dismissed the claim by Nunieh that the IMC under her leadership spent only N8bn. “The total expenditure before the Pondei committee, that they spent, was about N23bn,” he stated.
The minister also denied asking Nunieh or any member of the IMC for N10bn to be spent as Christmas bonus. “That allegation is false and it is from the pit of hell,” he said.
Meanwhile, protesters clashed at the National Assembly premises earlier in the day.
There was heavy security presence in and around the National Assembly Complex as a result.
While the group supporting the National Assembly probe is Emerging Leaders Forum of Nigeria, the group backing the NDDC and Akpabio against the probe is Niger Delta Development Initiative.
Security operatives had to separate the two groups.
In a related development, a coalition of youth organisations in Nigeria on Monday stormed the popular Unity Fountain in Abuja and held a rally where they called on the Federal Government to intensify the battle against corruption in the country.
During the Anti-Corruption Solidarity Walk, the groups under the aegis of the National Youth Council of Nigeria raised the alarm that some persons were “arm-twisting the government of its patriotic anti-corruption war.”
Meanwhile, the NDDC in a statement by its Director of Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, said Pondei had been sick for two weeks.
Odili said, “The commission wishes to disclose that Prof Pondei has been ill for the past two weeks. This morning, his condition deteriorated, and his doctors advised against attending the hearing,” he said.
Wike must hand over Nunieh to us, police insist
The police on Monday renewed their call on the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to hand over embattled former acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr. Joi Nunieh, to them.
Recall that Wike had raced to Nunieh’s residence last week at Herbert Macauley Street, GRA to rescue her from a team of policemen who laid siege to arrest her.
Speaking to The PUNCH on Monday, Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, said the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit was still on the matter, insisting that the governor should hand over Nunieh to the police chief, Adamu Mohammed, whose monitoring team is investigating the case involving Nunieh.
Mukan said, “Abuja is investigating. It is the IGP Monitoring Team that is investigating. So the directive to him (Wike) is to hand over her to the IG.”
But in a swift reaction, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, said the police could not be talking of arrest when the matter was in court, urging the security outfit to vacate the court order restraining them from arresting her.
Oshiomhole angry Obaseki didn’t allow him become godfather – Edo [Punch]
The Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr Crusoe Osagie, has said the ex-national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, is disappointed because Governor Godwin Obaseki refused to be used in his quest to become a godfather in the state.
Osagie, in a statement on Monday, said the vituperation by Oshiomhole was just an expression of his frustration over his failure to achieve his goal to govern Edo State for a third term using Obaseki as a proxy.
“In 2016 when Oshiomhole nominated and supported Obaseki, his hidden motive was to use Governor Obaseki. who he thought would be a pawn in his game to defraud Edo people and enthrone himself as the ultimate godfather of Edo politics at the expense of the will and wishes of Edo people.
“However, Obaseki’s refusal to mortgage the interest of the majority of Edo people for the satisfaction of Oshiomhole and his handful of greedy followers is the cause of Oshiomhole’s bitterness which has led him to bury himself in pursuit of an innocent governor who is trying to do the right thing for his people,” Osagie said.
Nigerian entrepreneur commits suicide over rape accusation in US [Punch]
A creative designer and founder of Uhuru Designz, a United States of America-based clothing company, Izuchukwu Madubueze (simply known as Izu), has taken his own life over an allegation of sexual assault.
Izu, who resided in Tampa, Florida, reportedly moved to the US some years ago.
While his Lagos-based friend, Nelson Greyhood, confirmed the suicide to PUNCH Metro, efforts to speak to his family members proved abortive.
The telephone line of his brother, Ekene, was not reachable.
Our correspondent, however, read Ekene’s status update, indicating that his phone was ‘blowing up’ from multiple calls, as he asked his friends to send him text messages.
He had yet to respond to a text message from our correspondent.
Izu reportedly graduated from King’s College, Lagos, in 2013, before getting a scholarship to study at the University of Florida.
The King’s College Old Boys’ Association confirmed his death on its Twitter page.
PUNCH Metro gathered that a Twitter influencer and female rights activist, Nanichi Anese, added Izu’s name to a list of sexual offenders on the social media late June 2020.
She claimed to have received information from some anonymous ladies, who alleged that the victim sexually assaulted them.
Izu, who was contacted by friends, who saw the post, reached out to Anese, demanding the identities of his accusers.
However, Anese allegedly declined the request, saying she had sworn to protect the ladies.
After failed efforts to clear his name, the victim was said to have taken his own life.
Izu announced his own death on Twitter using Crowdfire App, an application which allows users to schedule their posts.
“Oh and if you’re reading this, I’m dead lol,” he wrote on July 17, 2020.
As reactions trickled in, his accuser, Anese @nanichianese, claimed she had spoken to him and they had apologised to each other.
When the criticisms increased, she deactivated her Twitter account.
However, before deactivating the account, Anese said her intentions were noble.
“I’m aching right now and have so many thoughts, so much anger, pain, guilt, sadness. But this isn’t about me. It never has been. For those of you healing so many wounds right now, I’m sorry if any of your pain has come at my hands. This is the last of what I would ever wanted and I am really struggling because my friend is gone,” she wrote.
Findings from earlier tweets by @nanichianese showed that she had listed the names of some men, including Izu, accusing them of sexual assault.
She urged them to have some “introspection” on their past dealings and seek the forgiveness of their former girlfriends.
“I have remained steadfast and will continue. No stories will be released, no names will be released. I stand by that and will not waiver. Deal with that as you see fit and do not attach me to anything. But this thread will live on,” she wrote on her timeline.
Lawmakers Got Most Of NDDC Contracts – Akpabio [Leadership]
The unfolding drama in the probe of alleged financial recklessness at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) continued at the National Assembly yesterday, with the minister of Niger Delta affairs, Goodwill Akpabio, alleging that most of the contracts in the commission were awarded to National Assembly members.
Akpabio who appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC also refuted claims by a former acting managing director of the Commission, Ms Joi Nunei, that he approved N10 billion from the commission’s coffers for her to share to contractors.
The minister, however, insisted that the forensic audit of the commission ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 was ongoing as against the claim by the former acting MD that the audit was yet to commence.
Akpabio said that the forensic audit had taken off smoothly, adding that nobody would have expected that the account of the commission would not be audited after 19 years of its existence.
The minister noted that the N2.5billion earmarked for the forensic audit exercise was included in the 2019 budget of the NDDC, saying President Buhari heard so much negative reports about the commission and decided in October 2019 to institute a forensic audit in its activities.
At the resumption of hearing yesterday, chairman of the House of Representatives committee on NDDC, Hon Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, stepped aside from presiding over the ongoing investigation.
Tunji-Ojo’s decision was to enable some stakeholders, including the acting NDDC managing director, Prof. Pondei Kemerbrandikumo and director (Project), Dr Cairo Ojuogbo, who had expressed reservation about the chairman’s moral competence to head the panel, offer their testimonies before the committee.
Consequently, the deputy chairman of the committee, Hon Thomas Ereyitomi, took over as the chairman of the investigative hearing.
There was pandemonium at the venue when the acting managing director, Prof Pondei, collapsed while fielding questions from members during his presentation before the committee.
Pondei had finished making his presentation in defense of allegations of misappropriation of N81.5billion by the Interim Management Committee (IMC), and was responding to questions from members of the panel when he suddenly fainted and was rushed out of the National Assembly complex for medical attention, forcing the lawmakers to adjourn the hearing for 30 minutes.
99% Of Terrorists, Bandits Are Nigerians – Buratai [Leadership]
The Chief of Army Staff , Lt Gen Tukur Buratai has disclosed that 99 per cent of terrorists, bandits and kidnappers operating in the country are Nigerians .This is even as he appealed to the media to stop projecting the activities of bandits and terrorists.
Buratai spoke to State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja .
According to him, the totality of the people’s effort must be put in to the fight to see that insecurity in the country is reduced to the barest minimum.
He said “as to whether banditry, terrorism and so on will end, I think it all depends. If Nigerians want it to end today, I can assure you it will end today if everybody joins hands because these bandits are not outside Nigeria, they are not from foreign land.
“These terrorists, 99 percent of them are Nigerians. These kidnappers I will say 100 percent of them are Nigerians. So it’s not just a military, security agency task to end the insecurity in this country.
It’s only when it goes bad that we are called in, but everybody has the responsibility to handle that.
“Some of the insecurities are as old as history itself and it all depends on what you are doing to contain or defeat it at a particular time. It is the totality of your effort that will determine the escalation or containment of the insecurity in the country.
The Army Chief appealed to the media not to escalate the situation through reportage, giving prominence to the bandits, terrorists activities.
“This will go along way in weakening them. You know for the criminals publicity is their oxygen, without that publicity they will be ineffective. Couple with our efforts in the military and security agencies we will do everything possible to get rid of these criminals,” he added .
Buratai also said he came to brief President Buhari on the task he gave him which he has accomplished one aspect of the task .
“And to brief him on our operations, especially operations Sahel sanity in the northwest and of course the ongoing operations in northeast and other security issues, that pertains to the Nigerian army actually.
“I briefed him on the efforts going on in the northwest, we have seized the initiative. The security situation I assure you is under control and is not like what use to happen a month or two ago. We are working very hard and the troops are doing very well and I commend them for the efforts they have put in so far.
“This include the kinetic and the non-kinetic aspect of our exercise Sahel Sanity. We are there fully supporting operation Hadarin Daji, which is a join operation of the armed offices and the security agencies’’.
Former Minister, Media Impresario, Administrator, High Flying Businessman And Quintessential Bridge Builder, Isa Funtua, Bows Out [Leadership]
Elder statesman and President Muhammadu Buhari’s close friend and associate, Malam Ismaila Isa Funtua, is dead. He died yesterday night at the age of 78 after a brief illness.
A family source told LEADERSHIP that the late Funtua died of cardiac arrest during a medical checkup at an undisclosed medical facility.
The source who did not want his name in print said, after returning from the Mosque, the deceased told members of his family that he had an appointment with his doctor but drove himself to his barber for a haircut first before going to the hospital.
At the time of filing this report, remains of the late Funtua was being dressed at Area 1 mosque preparatory to his burial according to Islamic rites today morning.
The late former minister under the Shehu Shagari administration was a media mogul, seasoned administrator, and astute businessman who as a bridge builder stood by his friend and close ally, President Buhari, working in the background to assist the current administration.
Until his demise, the Katsina-born newspaper publisher and industrialist was life patron of Newspaper’s Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and chairman of Bulet International Construction Company.
Reacting to rumours that he was a cabal in the Buhari administration, he once said he was not a member of any cabal but a cabal himself.
The late Funtua explained that Nigerians were using the term cabal in a derogatory manner, saying President Muhammadu Buhari was free to have people he trusts around him.
“I’m not a member of any cabal, I’m cabal myself. What is cabal? In short I think it means kitchen cabinet, people that you trust. People you believe will not deceive you, that they can do things in the interest of the country”, he stated when he appeared on The Morning Show, a programme on Arise Television in December last year.
Isa Funtua started his career in the Katsina Native Authority, where he eventually rose through the ranks working in the defunct North Central State. He later joined the United Textiles Limited in Kaduna as a personnel manager where he displaced great managerial skills.
He later became the Federal Minister of Water Resources in the Second Nigerian Republic. As a member of the 1994 Constitutional Conference under General Sani Abacha was listed as a target by the military regime.
He then retired into private business where he became a director of several companies. He was the founder of Funtua Textiles Limited and managing director of the Democrat Newspaper. He was also the founder and Chairman of Bulet Construction Company (one of the largest indigenous construction companies in Nigeria), responsible for building several federal buildings.
He Stood By Me Through My Political Journey – PMB
Reacting to the development last night, President Buhari said it was with deep sadness that he received news of the passing of his longtime friend and associate, saying stood by him throughout his political journey.
In a statement by presidential spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, the president condoled with family members of the deceased, government and the people of Katsina State, and all associates of the former President of NPAN, especially the media industry, on the loss, describing him as “greatly admired and respected’’.
President Buhari said the late Funtua’s death had created a huge gap in the media industry.
Shehu said, “President Buhari believes the demise of the publisher and businessman has created a huge gap as Malam Funtua consistently stood by him in his political journey.
“The President prayed to Allah for repose of Malam Funtua’s soul, and to grant the family strength and fortitude to bear the loss”.
Also, in a tweet, an aide of the president, Bashir Ahmad, expressed sadness over the passing of the media mogul.
“Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un! Just heard about Mallam Ismaila Isa Funtua’s sudden death. This life! May Allah accept his soul, forgive his shortcomings and grant him Jannah al-Firdaus,” Ahmad tweeted.
Similarly, the director general of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Prof Abubakar O Sulaiman expressed shock and sadness at the tragic news of the death of the former life patron of NPAN.
Sulaiman also commiserated with President Buhari, the deceased family, government and people of Katsina State and the country over what he described as irreparable loss, even as he prayed for his soul to rest in perfect peace.
NDDC spent N4.2b in one day, Akpabio tells Reps [Nation]
- Minister: cash paid out in tranches of N49 million
- ‘Lawmakers are beneficiaries of agency’s contracts’
CONTRACT splitting is rampant in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Niger Delta Affairs Minister Godswill Akpabio, said on Monday.
According to him, the management of the agency indulges in splitting contracts to outwit the minister and evade approval.
Speaking before the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta in Abuja, the minister alleged that the agency spent “over N4.2 billion in a day in tranches of N49 million.”
The committee is probing how N40 billion was spent by the Interim Management Committee (IMC).
Akpabio was invited with the Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei.
Pondei fainted during the proceedings and had to be revived and taken to the hospital.
The minister also told the panel why Ms. Joi Nunieh was sacked as the agency’s managing director. Ms Nunieh, Akpabio said, was sacked, following a letter from the late Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, that she did not posses the requisite qualification to occupy a public office.
On the allegation that the agency had been awarding contracts without going through the procurement process and signing of necessary documents, the minister said only three contracts had been awarded since his assumption of office.
The minister hinted that in all the contracting processes, both the technical and financial bidding processes were conducted before they were awarded.
Akpabio, however, claimed that NDDC managers have been splitting contracts to evade his signature, saying he has no hands in the contract payments by the agency as government regulation does not allow ministers to pay for parastatals’ contracts.
He said: “It is not my business to approve payment for parastatal. Where they can come to me is when the payment is above N1 billion. Even at that, I must go to FEC to get approval.”
The minister said because of contract splitting, a minister could stay for four years in the ministry without knowing what was going on in the agency.
“Over N4.2 billion was spent in a day in tranches of N49 million,” the minister told the panel.
The management of the agency can award contracts less than N50 million while the board has the threshold of N500 million.
On the forensic audit ordered last year by President Muhammadu Buhari, he said the exercise was ongoing contrary, to Ms. Nunieh’s claim that the audit had not kicked off.
He added that nobody would have expected that the account of the agency would not be audited after 19 years of its existence.
Shedding light on what led to the sack of Ms. Nunieh, Akpabio said a memo from the late Kyari stated that “the former NDDC boss does not have an NYSC certificate”, adding that the letter formed one of the basis for her removal from office.
The other reason for her removal from office, he said, was insubordination and her refusal to honour a Federal Executive Council (FEC) invitation to offer explanation on certain actions of the commission.
Akpabio said:”She ignored the letter written to her by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry directing her to attend a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). She felt that she is bigger than the minister because she has a bigger budget.”
In a rather rowdy session, Akpabio said N2.5 billion for the forensic audit was included in the 2019 budget of the agency.
Amid the shout of ‘Hon. minister, it’s ok’; ‘Hon. minister, off your mic’, the minister kept talking, even when members urged him to stop his presentation.
Akapabio alleged that lawmakers benfit more from NDDC contracts.
He said: “Who are the greatest beneficiaries? It’s you people now…because if you look at your chairman…
“Are you asking me the benefits to National Assembly? I just told you that we have records to show that most of the contracts of NDDC are given to members of the National Assembly, but you don’t know about it. The two chairmen can explain to you. Let me explain…”
Akpabio however said “no” when asked whether he got a contract while in the Senate.
When asked if he had been usurping the powers of past managing directors and to what extent he had influenced or exercised such powers in the agency, Akpabio said: “If I find out that the MD of NDDC is not acting in the interest of the Niger Delta people, I will intervene. I had to do that once when I heard about the payment for Lassa fever. I called and found out that they had paid N2.9 billion and they were about to pay another N572 million. I had to intervene to say they should not because there was no budget at that time. The contractor wrote to me to approve N572 million.”
A member, Benjamin Kalu, accused the minister of not answering the committee members’ questions, but Akpabio denied, saying “I am giving you the facts.”
Kalu also accused the minister of usurping the functions of the managing director by writing a letter to the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPP) to secure a letter of no objection.
But, Akpabio said: “It is the NDDC that eventually became the procuring agency. What happened was that we thought the government was going to pay for the forensic audit. But when the approval of the President came out, he said the NDDC should pay and so the letter we wrote was withdrawn.
“We had even gone to the federal tenders’ board. But eventually, the NDDC became the procuring agency.”
Akpabio also denied Ms. Nunieh’s allegations that she got his approval to share N10 billion from NDDC coffers to contractors.
CBN boosts economy with N3.3tr credit [Nation]
- 35,640 bank loans worth N7.8tr restructured
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday said it has facilitated a credit of N3.3trillion to the productive sectors of the economy.
It has also given intervention funds to businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and endorsed the restructuring of loans.
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said the loans were granted to manufacturing (N815billion), retail and consumer loan (N615billion), agriculture, forestry and fishery (N255bilion), general commerce (N221billion) and information and communications technology (N208billion) through the implementation of the Loan-to-Deposit Ratio (LDR).
He spoke at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.
CBN, he said, adjusted the LDR to 58.5 per cent by May.
The LDR is reviewed quarterly to improve lending to the real sector.
It was pegged at 60 per cent in September 2019 following CBN’s directive to all banks to maintain the rate as a minimum LDR.
Emefiele said the introduction of the LDR has improved credit to key sectors, as loans from banks to the sectors has increased from N15.6trillion in June 2019 to N18.9trillion a year later.
The CBN governor also confirmed the disbursement of N49.195 billion of the approved N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) (COVID-19) loan to 92,000 beneficiaries as of June 30.
He said the banking system remains very strong, as non-performing loans were 11.1 per cent in May last year but dropped to 6.4 per cent as of June this year.
“For Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) which measures the size of capital that a bank deploys into risk asset, as at June 2019, CAR was 15.2 per cent but as at June 2020, it remains flat at 15 per cent.
“Liquidity ratio, in August 2019, was 48 per cent but as of June 2020, it had dropped to 37 per cent.
“In spite of these large sums granted, from N15.6trillion to about N18.9trillion, the prudential ratios are still looking so strong.
“This is a clear demonstration that the Nigerian banking sector remains very strong and resilient and able to support the economy,” Emefiele said.
Emefiele said the health crisis occasioned by the pandemic would have resulted in a doomsday for the banking industry and the economy and the loans would have gone bad if the CBN did not ask the banks to offer forbearance to customers.
As a result, Emefiele said 22 out of 27 banks have come to the Central Bank to restructure 35,640 of their customers’ loans of about N7.8trillion.
“This constitutes 41 per cent of the total industry loans which is N18.9trillion,” he said.
Emefiele said he would be happy if the forbearance was 65 per cent of the N18.9 trillion instead of the current N7.8trillion, which he considers small.
“We are working with the banks to give more forbearance to those customers. If we see forbearance moving to 60 or 65 per cent, we will get more comfortable that we have been able to turn the corners by assisting businesses to get over their business challenges,” he said.
On the COVID-19 intervention fund, the CBN Governor said over N152.9billion has been disbursed to 61 manufacturing companies from the N1trillion allocated to the sector.
Under the Agricultural Small and Equity Intervention Fund, Emefiele said the CBN has funded 11,613 crisis-ridden businesses with over N41billion.
It was agreed at the end of Monetary Policy Committee meeting that the Monetary Policy Rate should be retained at 12.5 per cent, same as the Asymmetric Corridor of +200/-500 basis points around the MPR.
The MPC also agreed to retain the Cash Reserves Ratio (CRR) at 27.5 per cent, as well as the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.
NDDC chief admits blowing of N1.32bn on IMC members as COVID-19 palliative [Sun]
- NASS members major beneficiaries of commission’s contracts –Akpabio
There were drama and tension at the resumed House of Representatives investigative hearing on the alleged expenditure of N81.5 billion by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), yesterday, as the acting managing director, Prof. Kemebradikumo Ponde, collapsed while he was being grilled by lawmakers.
Tempers also flared when the panel quizzed Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio on the matter.
Before the commencement of the session, there was a massive deployment of security personnel comprising policemen and operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence at the entrance of the National Assembly. Two Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and seven Hilux vans were deployed. Also, there was heavy security deployment within and around Hearing Room 231, in the House of Representatives wing of the National Assembly, venue of the investigative hearing.
Pondei had walked out on the Committee last week after he accused its chairman, Olubunm Tunji-Ojo, of corruption. He said because of that, his team will not speak before the committee.
When the panel reconvened, yesterday, Tunji-Ojo, announced his decision to step aside. He said though he had the support of his colleagues, he preferred to step aside in order to give all parties a fair hearing.
However, few minutes into the investigative hearing, the acting managing director was responding to questions on where he derived the power to spend N1.32 billion as COVID-19 palliative for staff of the interventionist agency, when he suddenly collapsed.
Earlier at a Senate hearing, he had said regarding the COVID-19 relief fund paid to NDDC staff, “only N1.5 billion was used to take care of staff” despite being paid their salaries.
But when asked about the ‘relief funds at the Reps hearing, yesterday, he said he must have said “N1.5 billion” in error.
“The amount the IMC used to take care of NDDC staff as COVID-19 palliative was N1.32 billion not 1.5 billion,” he said.
He also disagreed with the committee that the commission had extra-budgetary spending by approving that sum for themselves.
He also said N81.5 billion was spent from October 2019 to May 31, this year by the NDDC. Of this, he explained that the incumbent interim management committee which came in February spent N59.1 billion.
“Of this, N38.6 billion was spent on capital projects,” he said, from which “N35.3 billion was paid to contractors hired by previous administrations.”
He added that N20.5 billion was spent on recurrent expenditure between February 20, 2019, and May 21, this year.
“They are a backlog of debt for about three years,” he said.Duty tour allowance hasn’t been paid for three years; we cleared it.”
Scholarship fee hasn’t been paid since 2016, he said, adding that the NDDC paid N500,000 to each beneficiary.
The hearing was briefly halted after he started to doze as he lowered his head and dropped on the table.
The panel had also asked Pondie to explain the N642 million paid to a company known as Clear Point Communication.
When the hearing resumed, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila and Majority Leader Alhassan Doguwa joined the committee members to continue with the sitting.
When the hearing resumed at about 2pm, Akpabio refused to sit on the same seat he sat on at the central row in the hearing, before the collapse of Pondei.
Despite entreaties by the acting chairman of the panel, Thomas Eroyitomi, for the minister to resume his former seat at the central row so that members could have a good view of him, Akpabio refused.
The minister, who consistently complained about not hearing the lawmakers clearly, while responding to questions, accused the chairmen of the NDDC committees in the two chambers of the National Assembly of solely determining the NDDC budget to the exclusion of other members.
He told the panel pointedly that most of the contracts in the Commission (NDDC) were given to lawmakers.
A female lawmaker, Boma Godhead, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member from Rivers had interrupted him saying: “Can I ask you a question? What is the benefit that the national assembly is benefiting from NDDC?”
Akpabio fired back: “Who are even the greatest beneficiary of the contracts? It’s you people at the National Assembly.”
He added: “I just told you that we have records to show that most of the contracts in NDDC are given out to members of the National Assembly but you don’t know about it, the two chairmen can explain to you. I was a member of the NDDC committee so I know about it.”
Angered by the replied, Godhead, retorted: “You were a member of the NDDC in the eighth Assembly; if you were not awarded a contract why are you saying that you were aware that NDDC awarded a lot of contracts to members. How dare you? “
Akpabio, in his response said: “My honourable sister, that is why we have to change. We must not allow the two chairmen to determine the budget of the NDDC. I was a member like you. I did not know what was going on.”
There was another clash when Ben Igbakpa, a PDP member from Delta State, described the procurement process for the forensic audit of the NDDC as “faulty and fraudulent.”
The lawmaker had accused Akpabio of misleading the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to obtain a “no objection certificate” for the procurement of auditors.
“You are a former lawmaker, a lawyer. A former governor, who is very passionate about the Niger Delta, knowing fully well that the BPP act provided that every procurement must be appropriation-backed. Is it good to confirm that you misled the BPP and the Federal Executive Council to give to a certificate if no objection… What will tell us now about the status of the forensic audit bearing in mind that you cannot put something on nothing, because the procurement ab-nitio is faulty and fraudulent”
An infuriated Akpabio retorted: “The procurement letter was given at a time you had passed the budget. How can that be fraudulent? You have passed the budget in both houses. How can that be fraudulent? Are you telling me that BPP will commit fraud?
“May I plead that you withdraw the word ‘fraudulent.’ We must respect each other. Mr. Chairman, may I plead that the member withdraw that work fraudulent? The award that pass through BPP, passed through FEC was fraudulent? “
However, the acting chairman of the panel turned down the request to withdraw the statement.
Akpabio, who denied hijacking the forensic audit of the NDDC, insisted that the process was ongoing.
Meanwhile, Gbajabiamila have said Pondei will not appear before the committee again. He directed the committee to adopt the acting NDDC written response.
In a related development, the NDDC has given an insight why its acting managing director collapsed at the investigative hearing.
20 applicants submit proposals requesting N67bn grants to develop vaccines –CBN [Sun]
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has received more than 20 applications for the N67 billion grants under its Healthcare Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme (HSRDIS).
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this during the inauguration of the BoE yesterday. He explained that the programme was designed to increase research and development activities that would help support the development of Nigerian-made vaccines, drugs and herbal medicines.
He said, through grants to biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies, institutions, researchers, and research institutes, the country’s domestic capacity to curb the spread of COVID-19 and other communicable or non-communicable diseases would be improved, and it is expected that the grants would fund research and development of drugs, herbal medicines and vaccines for the control, prevention and treatment of diseases.
“Providing grants for research and development in new or revalidation of drug molecules, phytomedicines and vaccines will help in the control, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in Nigeria.
“It will boost domestic manufacturing of validated drugs (active pharmaceutical ingredients or APIs), herbal medicines and vaccines for the control, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in Nigeria. And this will reduce the nation’s dependence on other countries for these drugs and vaccines.
“It will also improve the capacity of the biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies, institutions, researchers, and research institutes in the development of approved Nigerian drugs, herbal medicines and vaccines for infectious diseases.
“This will help to support the capacity of relevant health agencies toward attaining WHO Maturity Level 3, a prerequisite for manufacturing of vaccines in Nigeria,” Emefiele said.
The SGF commended the CBN for the intervention, which he said has set the country on the path of recovery.
The chairperson of the BOE, director-general of NAFDAC, Prof . Mojisola Adeyeye, also lauded the CBN for its interventions in the health sector.
Adeyeye said the charge of the BoE was to review and evaluate submitted research proposals, as well as recommend projects with high potential for financing to ensure they contribute to development of essential orthodox and herbal medicines and vaccines for infectious diseases.
She added that the charge was to arrive at a rational scientific decision that justified the goal.