The Golden Voice of Africa - Alh. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa official visit to USA in July 25-28 1961

Group Identifies Gas Flaring As Cause Of Flooding

The Environmental Right Action and Friends of the Earth, an NGO, has attributed the incessant flooding in Nigeria partly to gas flaring by oil companies.
Mr Chima Williams, the Head of Legal Resources of the organisation, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin. that there was the need for climate experts and government agencies to find lasting solutions to the problems of oil spillage and gas faring in the Niger Delta.
Williams said oil companies operating in the region should be held accountable.
``It is on record that Nigeria flares more gas, associated with oil extraction, than any other countries thereby cooking the skies through gas flaring.
``This continuous flaring has contributed immensely to the climate change issues by releasing carbon, methane, and nitrous oxide, among others, into the atmosphere,’’ he said.
Williams explained that the climate change had negatively affected many communities, disrupting the environment and the economy through flooding.
``Although government, the international community and the oil companies have agreed to stop gas faring, government lacks the political will to do so,’’ he said.
According to him, gas flaring endangers human health, harms local ecosystems, and destroys plants and animals, food production and water among others.
``From pronouncements on climate change, coming from government agencies, it is obvious that government cannot plead ignorance of the massive contribution of gas flaring to global warming.
``After years of paying lip service, government must take urgent actions to protect the lives of its citizens and rescue the nation from the menace caused by oil companies.
``It is not enough to set up committees to look at the flooding problems but efforts should be directed at solving the problem of gas flaring holistically,’’ he said.
Williams said gas flaring had caused untold hardship to host communities, and called on the National Assembly to do more to stop the flaring.
He urged the government to review the nation’s environmental policies, which he said, had become obsolete.
Leadership

Ghali Na'Abba: Obasanjo Sabotaged Internal Democracy in Political Parties

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

By Ibrahim Shuaibu

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Ghali Umar Na’Abba on Monday identified godfatherism as the bane of Nigeria’s political parties.

And he laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, accusing him of encouraging dictatorship and godfatherism not only in PDP, but in all the political parties in Nigeria.

“In all honesty, since the inception of the Fourth Republic, in all the political parties, there is absolutely no internal democracy.”

Speaking further Na’Abba said “Our best brains are becoming causalities; and they are the ones that understand the workings of democracy. People now engage themselves in sycophancy so that they can remain relevant in the scheme of things.”

He added: “Sycophancy has stripped Nigerian politics of morality.”

Na’Abba pointed out that all political parties in Nigeria are guilty of these anomalies, saying that lack of internal democracy in the parties is gradually killing the system.

Addressing reporters in Kano on Monday at the NUJ Press Centre, Ghali Na’Abba noted that a great number of those in political positions in the country got there through the back door.

He explained that “While I was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, I did so much to entrench internal democracy - to see to it that the phenomenon does not continue and I did a lot, including even trying to impeach Chief Obasanjo.”

“You see, anytime this problem of lack of internal democracy is being discussed, Obasanjo’s name must be mentioned. He pocketed the PDP and planted his stooges as leaders and political office holders. He also planted his stooges in other political parties and caused confusion in the system.”

He continued: “During Obasanjo’s tenure, every region in the country, including his own zone, the South-West, complained of marginalization. I was aware that Obasanjo’s project was to destabilize the North; and at least three northern political leaders were helping him to achieve this agenda.”

Ghali Na’Abba further noted that: “The situation in the country is so bad that people don’t ask who is elected, but who is given the party’s ticket!”

The former Speaker, who is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), noted that “Our political parties today operate without manifestoes because politics have been privatised. Nobody talks of party manifestoes. The failure in the system is symbiotic. It is both the failure of the President, governors and the party leadership.”

This Day

Jonathan Set To Drop Service Chiefs Friday

EKELE PETER AGBO

There are strong indications that President Goodluck Jonathan may drop the nation’s service chiefs this Friday, following the impending retirement ofthe incumbent Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal OluseyiPetinrin after thirty-five years of service.
The president is scheduled to have dinner with all the service chiefs tomorrow, Wednesday, where he is expected to thank them for their immense contributions, especially to internal security.
LEADERSHIP investigation has equally revealed that the President is likely to disclose his decision on the appointments of new service chiefs when he meets with the incumbents tomorrow, but is likely to delay the announcement till Friday.
In the past few weeks, feelers from informed military quarters have suggested that Jonathan may have pencilled some names in the military hierarchy to take over from the current service chiefs who have been in office for two years now.
Among those pencilled for the post of Chief of Army Staff (CAS) are: Major-General Lawrence Ngubane, Major-General JA Okunbor, Major-General MD Abubakar and Major-General Sarkin Yaki Bello, Head of Counter Terrorism, office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
Leadership

2015: North plots Jonathan’s ouster

BY SONI DANIEL, ASSISTANT EDITOR
Abuja — There are indications that the North is working assiduously towards dumping President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 election for one of its own.
The action of the North, it was gathered, is not unconnected with the deep-seated anger running across the region over Jonathan’s alleged betrayal and tampering  with the political economic interest of the region.

From Left: Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Sagir Saleh, PDP North-East Zonal Chairman, Sen. Mohammed Girgir, and PDP Bauchi State Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Yaro-Yaro, at the inauguration of PDP Secretariat In Bauchi State On Friday (28/9/12). NAN

Findings by Vanguard Newspaper reveal that the North is angry with Jonathan over his rejection of the zoning arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and subsequent contest of the 2011Presidential poll, which he eventually won.

Although Jonathan has not declared his intention to run, his foot soldiers have already begun to claim that Jonathan must be allowed to complete his two terms as provided by the Nigerian Constitution.
According to findings, Jonathan is said to have appended his signature as number 37th of the 47 political leaders in the country, who met with Obasanjo in his Ota farm in 2003 to firm up arrangement for the PDP elections.
But, following the death of Alhaji Shehu Yar’Adua, the President reportedly said there was no zoning arrangement barring him from running for the nation’s top job, thereby incurring the wrath of the North.
A member of the Northern Elders’ Forum, NEF, Prof Ango Abdullahi, confirmed the anger of the region against Jonathan when contacted.
According to Abdullahi, who is the spokesman of the NEF, Jonathan had betrayed the North and would not be supported in the next election.
Abdullahi, a former Special Adviser to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Food Security, admitted that the North was angry with Jonathan having failed them in many respects, chief among them being manipulation of the political process to emerge as the PDP presidential candidate in 2011 and failing to provide the needed leadership for the country.

Jonathan accused of neglecting the North

The former Ahmadu Bello University Vice Chancellor, said: “We in the North cannot trust Jonathan because of his attempt to deny the zoning formula he was a signatory to in 2003.
“The North expected him to have completed Yar’Adua’s tenure and step down in 2011 for the region to complete its term but he bought over some Northern lackeys to say that he could contest the election.
“The zoning agreement effectively disqualified Jonathan from contesting the 2011 election on moral grounds.
“But surprisingly, they cleverly manipulated the primaries and other processes and enthroned Jonathan. That was possible because some Northerners sold out and connived with him to undo the area for their own selfish interest.
“I can assure you that the North will not sit back for 2011 to repeat itself. That is what I can say at this point in time, we cannot support someone who reneged on a gentleman’s agreement that disqualified him from contesting in the election on purely moral grounds.
“Again, it is left for Nigerians to judge whether the man has come close to being an effective president for Nigeria since he became president, whether acting or substantial”.
Although he did not name those bought over by Jonathan to undo the area, Abdullahi said the people of the North had taken note of the ‘traitors’ and would at the appropriate time expose them to the world.
Beyond ‘imposing’ himself on the people, Abdullahi accused the President of failing to cater for the crisis-prone areas of the North, thereby showing himself as someone who has no genuine interest in the region.
He said: “Despite all the crises and problems in many parts of the North, Mr. President has never for once visited to see the victims or provide for their needs.
“Now, show me what attributes of leadership that Jonathan has exhibited as a President of a great country.
“As far as we are concerned, he has failed in all. He continues to make all manner of statements that portray him as totally unsuitable and unqualified for national leadership that Nigeria needs at this point in history.”
Abdullahi also accused the present administration of aiding and abetting corruption and piling up debts that had been partially cleared by the previous administrations.
He added: “Jonathan should not seek office in 2015 because even those who supported him initially have come out to say that he is one of the most incompetent presidents that this country has ever produced. Incompetence is the key word.

On corruption, debts

“Corruption is at its peak under his leadership and that is why the country is reversing to the debt trap. Even Obasanjo left some substantial foreign reserves and virtually cleared the debt burden of the country before leaving office.
“But now the reserve is gone and we are back in debts. Subsidy is at the forefront of corruption. Over N2.6 trillion gone in the name of oil subsidy and it is evident that most people who fronted this scam did so to return most of the money to the electioneering campaign of 2011.”
Turning to the controversial onshore/offshore dichotomy Act of 2005, the NEF spokesman blamed top-ranking northerners in the Obasanjo government of also selling out the interest of the region to pass the bill into law.
According to him, it was wrong and against international law of the sea  for the National Assembly to pass the oil dichotomy bill, allowing oil-producing states to be paid revenue for oil taken from as far as 200 feet isobath, thereby denying other states of federal revenue.

Onshore/offshore dichotomy

He said: “Governors, ministers and lawmakers from the North were all compromised with certain things all in a desperate and selfish bid to pass the oil dichotomy bill.
“All those from the North who partook in the passage of the law are guilty of compromising the interest of the area and we have their names and will make them available to Nigerians at the right time”.
He therefore sought an urgent review of the law to make more national resources available to all Nigerians.
But the Political Adviser to the President, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, has warned against any attempt by the North to stop Jonathan in 2015, saying it was a big joke.
Gulak told Vanguard in an interview that it was the President’s right to run for two terms and that nobody had the authority to stop him in 2015.
Vanguard

House to Probe Otedola, AMCON Debt Deal

Mr. Femi Otedola

By Onwuka Nzeshi

The House of Representatives yesterday faulted the N140.9 billion debt settlement deal between the Chairman of Zenon Oil and Gas and Forte Oil Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola, and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), saying the procedure was unacceptable.

Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, said the transaction was suspect and that the lower chamber of the National Assembly would investigate it when it resumes from its one-week break.

In a statement made available to journalists late Monday, Mohammed said the transaction was done with “confidentiality and secrecy” regardless of the state of the Nigerian economy.

“We have observed with interest the payment of N140.9 billion, being the outstanding debt of a businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola, to AMCON. This payment was credited to AMCON's Managing Director, Mustafa Chike-Obi.

“Obi confirmed that the AMCON board met last Thursday and approved the transfer of the businessman’s assets as well as undisclosed cash to AMCON as full payment and final settlement of Otedola's liabilities.

“The 7th House of Representatives would, on return from its one-week oversight tour, constitute a committee to investigate the amount and the assets so transferred to AMCON.

“It is curious that AMCON, being a government establishment, which is under the purview of the National Assembly, could do that without the knowledge of the House.

“The National Assembly would be interested in getting full details of the transaction,” Mohammed said.

This Day

How Nigerian fraudsters scammed Kuwaitis of US$1million using Abacha’s name

Ben Ezeamalu

The Kuwaitis were ured into a shady deal with fraudsters from Nigeria who used Sani Abacha as bait.
Three Nigerians, claiming affiliation to the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, swindled US$1.375million (N204 million) out of two Kuwaiti businessmen, UK court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES have shown.
The multimillion naira fraud, which occurred between August 2001 and March 2002, also involved the now defunct City Express Bank although the presiding judge, Justice Treacy, largely found the bank innocent of “dishonest assistance.”
In his ruling, Mr. Treacy noted that there was nothing to show that the bank had prior knowledge of the impending scam.
The players
In May 2001, Qumar Bello, acting on behalf of Abdulkadir Abacha, alleged to be the brother of the late general, contacted Adnan Abou-Rahmah, a Kuwaiti lawyer, seeking his assistance to invest US$65million in an Arab country.
Mr. Abou-Rahmah flew out to the Republic of Benin, where the money, allegedly belonging to the Abacha family trust, was stashed; and by August, a formal agreement had been entered by both parties.
In the agreement, as a reward for Mr. Abou-Rahmah’s assistance in investing the US$65million in Kuwait’s “very buoyant” real estate, 40 percent of the trust money as well as 15 percent of the income produced would accrue to the Kuwaiti lawyer and his client, Khalid Al-Fulaij and Sons General Trading and Contracting company.
While in Benin, Mr. Abou-Rahmah also met with ‘bankers’, ‘ministers’ as well as a host of ‘public officials’, dissolving any prior suspicion of foul play.
The bait
After agreeing on the sharing formula with the Kuwaiti; the trio of Mr. Bello, Mr. Abacha, and a third colleague, Aboubakar Mohammed Maiga, claimed that a series of bureaucratic obstacles involving various payments had to be made before the trust capital could be transferred out of the country.
But the fraudsters agreed to clear the payment, only soliciting a “contribution” from Mr. Abou-Rahmah.
In August, 2001, the first part of Mr. Abou-Rahmah’s “contributions” – US$100,000 in cash wired to the fraudsters – as part of a US$450,000 they claimed had to be paid to the Ministry of Finance in Benin to secure authorisation of the trust capital.
Two months later, the Kuwaiti lawyer wired another US$450,000, part of a fee allegedly to be paid to the Benin Drug Enforcement Agency to obtain a drugs certificate needed for the release of the money.
Again, on the 9th of January, 2002, Mr. Abou-Rahmah wired US$400,000 to the fraudsters. Another US$225,000 was paid one month later. Both monies, alleged to be VAT payable on the trust capital, were paid into City Express Bank’s HSBC bank account in Poultry, London.
The funds were to be held for Trust International, the name of the client Mr. Abacha instructed the Kuwaiti lawyer to pay the money.
The bank subsequently transferred the naira equivalent sums of the money to its client’s account at Apapa, Lagos.
However, the actual name of the client was Trusty International while its principals were Yusuf Ibrahim and Nasir Saminu.
The duo cleared the money as soon as it reached the account.
The US$65million never materialised.
The fraudsters vanished.
Quest for justice
With their supposed business partners as well as their money disappearing without trace; Mr. Abou-Rahmah and his partner headed to the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, in London, accusing City Express Bank of “dishonest assistance.”
The Kuwaitis contended that the bank’s handling of the US$625,000 which it paid to Trusty International as against Trust International amounted to fraud against them.
In his ruling, the judge held that although Dare Faronbi, the bank’s Apapa branch manager, was aware that Messrs Ibrahim and Saminu were involved in a bureau de change business usually used to launder money for Nigerian politicians, who constitute a large number of their clients; his denial of not having any specific knowing that Trusty International was aiding corrupt politicians, at the time, was accepted.
“I have come to the conclusion that at the time… Mr. Faronbi probably suspected, in a general way that Messrs Ibrahim and Saminu might be, in the course of their business from time to time, assisting corrupt politicians to launder money,” said the judge.
“There was nothing to show that Mr. Faronbi had any particularly suspicions about the transactions which were the subject of this case,” he added.
The judge also dismissed claims from City Express Bank that Mr. Abou-Rahmah was an accomplice in crime since he must have realized that the supposed trust capital to be transferred to him were associated with the Abacha family, and thus, were the proceeds of crime.
“I should say at this stage that I regard the claimed relationship to General Abacha as yet another component of the fraud perpetrated upon the claimants; I consider it extremely doubtful that any such relationship existed,” the judge noted.
Also, the judge held that even if Mr. Faronbi had noticed the discrepancy between ‘Trust’ and ‘Trusty’, the production of documents would reasonably have overridden any question as to the intended recipient of the monies.
“The failure to observe the discrepancy between ‘Trust’ and ‘Trusty’ was not a wilful or reckless closing of eyes. It represented a failure to notice; something which could not be put any higher than mere negligence,” the judge ruled
Premium Times