New report shows JTF neck-deep in Niger Delta oil theft

Ogala Emmanuel

A vessel mv sea express laden with some 2,500 tones of crude impounded by joint task force in the niger delta, Operation Pulo Shield at Okuboto creek in Bayelsa state.

In addition to providing security cover for oil theft, JTF officials own shares in oil theft consortiums, the report says.

A new report detailing the complexities of ongoing massive oil theft in Nigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta says there is extensive evidence that some corrupt members of the Joint Task Force, JTF, actively participate and profit from oil theft and illegal oil refining.

The report, published by Stakeholder Democracy Network, SDN, in October this year, says the entire oil theft is carried out under the watch and protection of the JTF. The report is the first that explains the complexities of the oil theft business in the Niger Delta region and relied on observation and anonymized respondents.

JTF, a joint operation of Nigeria’s defence outfits, is currently trusted with protecting Nigeria’s oil investments and ensuring most physical oil theft is stopped.

The JTF was deployed in the region at the peak of youth restiveness in the Niger Delta to combat militants that almost crippled Nigeria’s oil production. But that approach failed, forcing the government to adopt an amnesty strategy to end the blockade on Nigeria’s oil production in 2009.

In January 2012, following the recession of militancy in the region, and the escalation of oil theft, the JTF’s mission in the region was restructured to fighting crude oil theft – Operation ‘Pulo Shield’.

But the SDN research suggests that a “relatively small number” of top ranking JTF officers have criminal ties to the tap point owners, oil theft unions and camps managers – the most profitable part of the chain.

The reports adds that at the top of the oil theft chain, the tapping point, the most lucrative part of the business chain, top ranking JTF officers own shares alongside technicians and couriers.

“A consortium typically made up of at least three key parties (security, technical capacity and operational access) own each tap point,” the report said. “During the tapping process, the JTF ensure the surrounding waterways are clear so workers can install the tap without disturbance.”

The research also suggests that lower ranking officers are criminally involved in the low earning segments of the business. They “share the relatively small “transportation taxes” from distributor vessels as a supplement to their official wages,” the report said.

Outside the tapping points, some members of the JTF and marine Police collect cargo-by-cargo “transportation taxes” from boats carrying stolen crude or illegally refined products.

“Essentially a kind of protection money, these fees grant vessels open passage through the transport corridor. During their routine patrols of the inland waterways, officers will stop vessels and demand payments in cash,” the SDN report said.

Refiners interviewed for the research claimed JTF officials collect a flat rate fee for each trip, which sometimes vary depending on how much product a ship was carrying.

“If harassed by the security agencies during transportation, the middlemen pay security fees ranging from N20, 000 – N30, 000 per trip,” an informant in Delta State claimed.

A source in Bayelsa claimed that “sometimes, the JTF collect N10, 000 from us per trip but still seize our products.”
In some cases, camps in a given area network, pool their funds to make “regional payments” to security force members involved in protection rackets.

“Where the need arises, we pay a security fee to the security agencies of N300,000 monthly. We group together to make payments of N20,000 per refining camp, which is collected and handed over to them; they then advise us to “be careful.”

Camp operators pay security fees to the JTF to avoid raids even though these fees do not guarantee they will not be targeted if a clampdown is ordered by top officers.

Download the SDN report here.

In 2012, the Commander of JTF, Johnson Ochoga, a Major General in the Nigerian Army, claimed he ordered 7,585 of such clampdowns and seized 638 pumping machines, while 178 illegal fuel dumps and five surface tanks were destroyed.

During that same period, 133 barges, 1,215 boats, 187 tankers trucks, 18 ocean going Vessels were seized, and 1,945 suspects arrested – 38 of the suspects were foreign nationals from Ghana, India, and Lebanon.

“Also destroyed were 36,504 drums of illegally refined products, 638 pumping machines and 326 outboard engines,” General Ochoga said early this year.

Within the first ten months of this year, the JTF carried out far less clampdowns but said it recorded greater success, even though the crime is still booming.

Between January and October, the JTF captured 46 oil theft vessels, 70 badges, 994 Cotonou Boats, and 481 other boats.

Within the same period, the JTF “scuttled” 38,348 drums, 1518 surface thanks and 3110 plastic reservoirs belonging to 1647 illegal refineries.

The JTF also recovered 42 Engines, 70 generating sets, 469 pumping machines, and 27,842 jerrycans.

The JTF spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian Army, said 1703 suspects were arrested and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for prosecution.

Black sheep

In January this year, when Major General Johnson Ochoga was handing over leadership of the JTF in Niger Delta, he admitted the presence of “black sheeps” within his folds.

“In term of discipline, there is no organization that is devoid of black sheep. But we have sustained our zero tolerance to crimes,” he explained when probed about officers captured neck deep in oil theft.

But the current JTF command in the Niger Delta dismissed Ochoga’s “black sheep” comments as his personal opinion, arguing that no member of the JTF has been convicted [court martialed] over oil theft.

Unfounded Report

Although the JTF command in the Niger Delta admits some of its officers have been investigated for oil theft, it says referencing its officers in the report is biased and unfounded.

“JTF cannot be complicit in oil theft. If there is no oil, our salaries will not be paid, so we defend it with our lives,” JTF spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu said. “We are passionate about our mandate because it is not just the right thing to do but also because we must save our country from the ineptitude of some of our countrymen who are hell bent on plunging our nation into an abyss of economic unsustainability. It is a serious national security challenge, when a nation’s economic means of survival is threatened.”

The JTF insists it has rigorous checks on its officers that makes it impossible for them to get involved in oil theft; and when that system fails, it does not condone such officers, even though no officer has been convicted so far.
“JTF … cannot condone oil theft in whatever form it may come,” its spokesperson said.

PremiumTimes

Oyinlola rubbishes PDP disciplinary committee, says it is unknown to law

PRINCE OLAGUNSOYE OYINLOLA, THE EMBATTLED PDP AUTHENTIC NATIONAL SECRETARY

Embattled national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola has rubbished the Disciplinary Committee set up by the ruling party, saying that the committee was illegal.

According to him, he swore an oath of office that he will respect and protect the norm of the PDP in his capacity as the custodian of the seal of the party, hence will not be part of any kind of illegality.

Oyinlola, in a statement through his media aide, Deji Falegan said, “nominations to membership of the Disciplinary Committee at the national level shall be ratified by the National Executive Council of the PDP”.

According to the statement, Oyinlola will not recognize any Committee or panel that is alien to the National Executive Commitee of the party.

The statement reads in full, “as a law-abiding member of the PDP, he is not aware of the composition of any disciplinary panel that is not ratified or known to the National Executive Committee of the PDP’’.

“This reaction itself is being made out courtesy for the media and its right to inform and be informed, as Oyinlola has not received any correspondence from any quarters and would not honour any invitation from any illegal body since that would amount to violating the constitution of the party. As individuals and elders, the PDP national secretary has great respect for the members of the NWC committee that is, however, not recognised by the PDP constitution which stipulates that the party’s NEC is the statutory body to approve the composition of a disciplinary body at the national level,” he stated.

“It is important to stress that the first meeting of NEC of PDP, which is statutorily expected to be a quarterly affair, deliberated on the composition of NEC but never agreed on its membership at the meeting. I am also sure that the second NEC meeting, out of the seven meetings that ought to have been held statutorily by the present NWC did not also agree on the membership of any Disciplinary Committee. It is rather funny, illogical and antithetical to democratic conduct for the NWC that has consistently denigrated the judiciary, the constitution of the PDP and even the extant grund norm of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to be talking about discipline and internal party democracy, when it has continued to show disregard for the rule of law, and fundamental human rights.

“All these could only indicate indecent political behaviour and lack of accountability and integrity as the party’s spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh, who in his interview with the Sun newspaper of Tuesday, November 19, 2013, was quoted as saying ‘if you didn’t commit the act, the party will not suspend you.”

“Metuh’s reaction clearly gives cause for concern about their true commitment to democracy. I wish to re-assert that I will NEVER compromise illegalities and destructive tendencies that border on the culture of impunity, tyranny and oppression that could be interpreted as the hallmark of dictatorship.

“This is indeed the time for introspection and protection of the PDP from descent into anarchy’. If these people truly mean well, they would have taken the pains to examine the causes and effects of occurrences that are fragmenting the PDP instead of further adopting measures designed to put the PDP into disrepute. I was removed by Justice Kafarati on January 11, 2013, and vacated office immediately, as a politician with honour, respect for the rule of law, and a second address.

“Between January and August 2013, I took steps to dialogue with the national leader, His Excellency President Goodluck Jonathan and communicated my grievances to him in writing a couple of times; I made representations to the Chief Tony Anenih Committee; I submitted a memorandum to the PDP Governors Panel headed by His Excellency Alhaji Ibrahim Shema; consulted with the Prof. Jerry Gana Committee; and also had informal consultations with the Governor Seriake Dickson Reconciliation Committee through Chief Dosu Fatokun and agreed to meet with the committee, among other moves, to find an amicable solution to my persecution and illegal removal from office. Yet, they have continued to trail Oyinlola with rabid and unimaginable downbeat intentions.

“I pray that history will be merciful in judgement to all actors in this saga; and that some people will refrain from continuing to take actions that would enter their names on the negative pages of history.”

OsunDefender

R-E-V-E-A-L-E-D :Yar’Adua Poisoned By Obasanjo’s Kitchen Staff — Professor Ukandi G. Damachi, USA Cables

USA Wikileaks secret cables reveal that according to Professor Ukandi G. Damachi, Nigeria’s former president, Musa Yar’Adua was poisoned. Yar’Adua died while in office as president of Nigeria in May, 2010.

Professor Ukandi G. Damachi is a friend to US consul, long term confidant to Nigeria’s past president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida with privy to Nigeria’s government workings inside information.

The Wikileaks cable, reference ID 08LAGOS153, described in Professor Damachi’s narration, that late president Yar’Adua was given poison in his food, “his food was poisoned”, he alleged. Further stating that the president inherited his predecessor, president Obasanjo’s kitchen, and these kitchen staff were likely used to poison Nigeria’s president. The professor further revealed that when president Yar’Adua realized this he fired the Obasanjo kitchen staff.

Quoting Damachi from the US secret cables:

“There are lots of problems in Nigeria.” The first problem, he said, is the President’s illness; “his food was poisoned”, Damachi alleged. Asked whether he meant “food poisoning” or that someone had deliberately poisoned the President’s food, Damachi shrugged, replying “The President inherited Obasanjo’s kitchen staff”; Yar’Adua has now fired them all, and the kitchen has been cleaned out following the incident, Damachi said. At the same time, Damachi went on, the President did attend functions on both the Saturday and Sunday preceding his illness and ate some food at both of them. “What President eats at a function?”, Damachi asked rhetorically. The President was so sick that the day he signed the budget, he was unable to sign a second piece of legislation awaiting his approval…”

Link: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/04/08LAGOS153.html; Cable dated 24 Apr 2008

Yar’Adua was known to have stepped hard on his predecessors toes. Upon entering office president Yar’Adua, described by his wife as a very honest man who left no wealth behind; seriously went after the reversal of Nigeria’s public assets that his predecessor had sold to his allies, Aliku Dangote and Femi Otedola.

NewsRescue-The Truth Behind Dangote’s Wealth, The Cabal, Tokunbo Ban And Impoverishing Nigerians

Reuters reported on the serious transfer of Nigeria’s assets by Obasanjo to Dangote:

(Reuters) – “Nigerian tycoon Aliko Dangote has acquired a controlling stake in Nigeria’s third-largest refinery in Kaduna for an undisclosed sum, consolidating his grip on the OPEC member nation’s refining sector. It was the second major refinery purchase in a week by Dangote, who is a major financier of the ruling party and ally of outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo, after he bought the largest refinery in Port Harcourt on May 17.”

The Cabal: Dangote And Obasanjo

“In the weeks leading up to Obasanjo’s departure, Dangote’s privately held company has also scooped up a cement plant, a telecoms licence and mining concessions in a rush of privatisations that has triggered accusations of cronyism by opposition parties.”

By July of 2007, barely 2 months into office, Yar’Adua had held meetings with Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), to querry the sale of Nigeria’s refineries to Obasanjo’s henchmen, Aliku Dangote and tycoon Otedola. BPE reportedly justified the sale to Bluestar, saying it was transparent, but the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) faulted it, and maintained that the corporation was capable of running them efficiently.

President Yar’Adua “after considering the facts presented to him, the President directed that the sale should be revoked as the exercise was not transparent enough. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) praised President Yar’Adua for the revocation of the privatization of the refineries.”

President Yar’Adua, determined to recover Nigeria’s infrastructure and assets coveted by Obasanjo and his cronies, moved on to other government assets.

According to Bashani Aminu, as relayed in other cables, aka “Disentangling Obasanjo” :

“Aminu expects more of the same soon — particularly an overturn of the Transcorp purchase of the Abuja Nicon Hilton. Aminu also noted Yar’adua’s commitment to fighting corruption and told Post he gave the greenlight to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate anyone.

He predicted Yar’adua will overturn the Transcorp purchase of the Abuja Nicon Hilton soon. These deals will be aimed at removing the ill-earned gains of Obasanjo and his close allies such as Aliko Dangote. (NOTE: Dangote and Obasanjo’s Transcorp were both part of the consortium that purchased the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.) Aminu claimed Dangote gave Obasanjo a 35 million USD jet plane as a recent “gift.””

http://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07ABUJA1658_a.html

Yar’Adua also suffered from chronic allergic disorder and this was easily attributed to be the direct cause of his death.

The possibility of the poisoning to death of a Nigerian serving head of State will amount to a grievous crime. The exhumation of late President Yar’Adua’s body may be necessitated as well as a thorough investigation of ll who may have been involved in the murder of a president in office.

Late Palestinian premier, Yasser Arafat was recently exhumed due to evidence of polonium poisoning as an investigation into alleged Israeli intelligence poisoning was reopened.

OsunDefender

PDP’s Peculiar Mess

The reinstatement, last week, of the Peoples Democratic Party National Secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, by the Court of Appeal may not help the party already enmeshed in crisis, writes Shola Oyeyipo

The drama in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is unending. It is a reflection of an internal squabble that has persisted within the ranks of the party. They come in different dimensions that have made it impossible for book makers to postulate near accurately, how it could affect the fortunes of the party in the next general election.
The ugly side of the PDP crisis started to rare its head when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in a report stated that the conduct of the March 2012 national convention of the party was defective and insisted that in addressing the anomaly, some of the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party must quit office.

Those affected by the report included the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja; National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha; National Youth Leader, Alhaji Garba Chiza; Deputy National Youth Leader, Dennis Alonge Niyi; Deputy National Auditor, Senator Umar Ibrahim; Deputy National Woman Leader, Hannatu Ulam; and National Woman Leader, Kema Chikwe.

Also on the list were the Deputy National Organising Secretary, Okechukwu Nnadozie; Deputy National Treasurer, Claudus Inengas; National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon; National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, and the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Binta Goje.

Although the elections of the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur; former National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; former National Auditor, Bode Mustapha; and National Financial Secretary, Elder Bolaji Anani were classified among those that met required guideline, the Chairman of Ogun State PDP, Mr. Adebayo Dayo, allegedly working closely with an Ogun State moneybag and President Goodluck Jonathan's political protege in the region, Mr. Kashamu Buruji, proceeded to the Federal High Court, Abuja to disengage Oyinlola from the party's NWC.

In his ruling on the suit filed by Dayo, the Judge, Justice Abdul Kafarati, said the election of Oyinlola did not follow due process. He held that Oyinlola could not have emerged as the nominee of the PDP in view of the fact that two courts of competent jurisdiction nullified the congress in which he was elected, adding that the action of both the PDP and Oyinlola amounted to a criminal conduct which was liable to imprisonment.

Kafarati, therefore, held that Oyinlola could not be recognised as the National Secretary of the PDP and as such, should vacate office immediately.

"These people, because they believe in illegality and imposition, had continued to do whatever they wanted without regard for the rule of law. The Adebayo exco instituted another case against Oyinlola as you are well aware that the South-west congress had been nullified and, automatically, there was no way Oyinlola could have remained in office. So, at the end of the day, this judgment only confirmed what transpired in the past.

“And what this means is that after God, the law comes next. The lesson in this judgment is that we must adhere strictly to the rule of law and I’m sure everybody has learnt their lesson. If they don’t want to implement this latest judgment, they would continue to push themselves further into problems and it’s only God that knows what can happen at the end of the day," jubilant Buruji had said following Oyinlola's sack.

That notwithstanding, like the proverbial 'Things Fall Apart', even where the party had been able to stage-manage coherence, the centre still could not hold. The relative peace enjoyed in the party lasted till Friday, January 11, when the Abuja court, sacked Oyinlola from the party exco.
Expectedly, the judgment did not go down well with Oyinlola and co. His counsel, Mr. Toyose Oyekunle, immediately served a notice of appeal and filed stay of execution, maintaining that Oyinlola's emergence as the PDP secretary was flawless.

“The whole world saw the PDP National Convention held in Abuja where Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola was elected National Secretary. The election was conducted in the open at the Eagle Square Abuja and one wonders how the court arrived at its decision that Prince Oyinlola was elected at the Zonal Congress held in Oshogbo, Osun State.

Since the judgment, the PDP crisis had deteriorated further. The suspended exco members have fought dirty, accusing Tukur and the president of desperation and high-handedness. Hence, they sustained a fierce legal battle against the party while at the same time formed a parallel PDP that has challenged the party’s authority in recent times.

To many, Oyinlola's travail could be associated with the fact that he is a loyalist of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who at some point had fallen out with President Jonathan, who everyone knew facilitated the latter's presidential ambition. It was also considered as a way of cutting Obasanjo to size in the scheme of things.

Not only Oyinlola was affected; other members of the PDP leadership believed to be loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, have been having a tough time with Tukur, who has the support of the president.

The development, however, contributed in no small measure to the infighting in the PDP. This manifested significantly during the last mini national convention in Abuja, when a former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and seven PDP governors now known as G-7 governors walked out of the convention ground.

The governors are Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Aliyu Babangida (Niger), Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara), and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa). There governors were also not alone; they had with them some prominent members of the New PDP like former Governors Adamu Aliero (Kebbi State), Bukola Saraki (Kwara State), Danjuma Goje (Gombe State), and Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa State).

It also has with it, several members of the National Assembly, organized under the leadership of Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje with Sam Sam Jaja as deputy chairman; National Secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Vice-Chairman, North-West, Ibrahim Kazaure, among others.
Their decision to form a parallel PDP has negatively affected the mainstream party. But the splinter faction had outlined its grievances against President Jonathan and the PDP leadership, prominent among which was the conduct of a fresh national convention, to allow members of the NWC shutout return to the party’s hierarchy.

Explaining why he joined the Baraje faction, Oyinlola said Tukur had engaged in too many excesses and all efforts to make him realise that have failed. According to him, the five governors, including the Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako, who was locked out of the party's mini convention at Eagle Square, were fighting the injustice of his removal as the PDP scribe.

"It was not true that I left their convention under the pretext that I wanted to go to the toilet. It was not easy for me to stay there and watch what they were doing there. They locked out the Adamawa State governor and his people. They doctored the lists of delegates from Anambra and Rivers States," he said.

While the internal wrangling persisted, the New PDP had continued to swell its rank. Its membership has continued to grow and spread wide. It was becoming a threat to the continued dominance of the political space by the ruling PDP. More importantly, the leading opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been working frantically to cash in on the cracks.

The party, which emerged from the merger of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a significant proportion of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) now has 12 states under its control and hopes to add the seven aggrieved PDP governors to grow to 19. This has elicited concerns in the PDP, especially that additional five governors are said to be waiting on the line to join the league.

As a result, some are already speculating a possible collaboration between the APC and the New PDP, but the likes of Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has remained resolute that he would not jump ship. In fact, he recently told THISDAY that there is the hope that the crisis in his party would end soon. He said the demands of the aggrieved governors were being looked into in principle by President Jonathan.

"When we met for the second time, in principle all our demands were acceded to. First, restoration of Adamawa party structure; two, recall Amaechi and give him his structure; three, sack Bamanga Tukur; four, new convention - election of new officials who have been shutout, then because there have been so much impunity, restore the party to the path of legitimacy and legality as per the laid down rules.

"In principle, all these were accepted. Now it is only the pronouncement we are waiting for because there was a committee which was set up by the president, headed by me and we made a submission part of which was that Adamawa structure should be restored to Nyako. So, really, that one is conclusive and only needs a pronouncement to bring it into being. That is all!

“Amaechi, because he went to court, they said there should be a procedure, therefore, the chairman of BoT would go and meet Amaechi and the others and then all cases pending in court in Rivers State would be withdrawn and that will also be restored. So in principle, all the terms given were agreed to. It is simply the implementation that we are expecting," Lamido said.

Conversely, with Oyinlola's victory at the Appeal Court, one may believe that those saddled with the management of the PDP are aware of the implication of refusing to yield to some, if not all of the demands of the G7 governors; who if defect to another party, could spell doom for the PDP. Though the process is not conclusive yet until the Tukur-led executive committee of the PDP, which says it is studying the judgment, decides what next line of action to take.
As it is, it
does not look like a development that would enhance the peace process in the party, given the growing mistrust amongst the active players. But however this is handled would give some clue where the party is headed in terms of its peace process.

ThisDay

Elizade, Globe, Coscharis, Others Trade Tackles with Stallion over Car Imports

•Vaswani challenges them to competition
•Group petitions FG over insider information on automotive policy
•Dealers seek two-year deferment on implementation

By Crusoe Osagie

Major importers of cars into the country are at one another’s throats over allegations made by a group comprising Elizade, Toyota Nigeria Limited, Globe Motors, Coscharis, SCOA and CFAO that one of their competitors, Stallion Group of Companies, was privy to insider information on the new automotive policy, thereby giving it unfair advantage over them.

In a petition written by the group to President Goodluck Jonathan, the auto dealers have warned that the federal government stands to lose about N134 billion in revenue due to a leak of the new automotive policy before it was announced.

But the Chairman/CEO of Stallion Group, Mr. Sunil Vaswani, has dismissed the allegation and challenged them to proper competition if they have the capacity to do so.
The Automotive Policy, which the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved on October 2, was formulated to encourage local manufacture of vehicles and the gradual phase-out of the importation of used and new vehicles to save Nigeria about N1 trillion spent annually on the importation of vehicles.

Under the policy, the federal government hopes to fast track the industrialisation of the country, reduce foreign exchange demand by importers of vehicles, and create thousands of jobs in the country.

The federal government had made public the new automotive policy on October 2, 2013 and set October 3, 2013 as the deadline for the establishment of Form Ms to import under the current tariff regime until February 28, 2014.

As at October 2, the duty on fully built units (FBUs) passenger cars was between 20 and 35 per cent, while a 10 per cent flat rate was imposed on commercial vehicles.
In order to encourage local manufacture of cars, the automotive policy jacked up the duty on passenger vehicles to 70 per cent and 30 per cent for commercial vehicles.

This means that all letters of credit (L/Cs) opened after October 3 would attract the new duty, while all L/Cs opened before October 3 would attract the old duty until February 28, 2014.

However, the group under the auspices of Auto Manufacturers' Representatives Group in Nigeria is alleging that Stallion Group, which imports Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Audi brands of vehicles into the country, among others, had a pre-knowledge of the details of the automotive policy and used it to its advantage.

In a petition dated November 6 by the group to the president, it alleged that as the deliberation on the automotive policy was on-going at FEC on October 2, the Stallion Group, headed by Vaswani, rushed to open letters of credit to the tune of $382 million to cover three years of imports for 20,000 cars.

The petition was signed, among others, by Chairman, Elizade Motors, Chief Michael Ade Ojo; Managing Director, Toyota Nigeria Limited, Mr. Chandrasheker Krishnadas Thampy; Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Globe Motors, Chief William Anumudu; Chairman, Coscharis Nigeria Limited, Mr. Cosmas Maduka; and Chairman, CFAO Motors, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas.

The letters of credit, THISDAY learnt, were opened with five banks on October 2 to beat the new tariff regime contained in the automotive policy.
This means that the federal government could lose about N134 billion because of the information leaked to the Stallion Group.
Sources said normally, Stallion Group opens letters of credit of about $100 million annually, but by shipping its imports on cars to beat the new tariff regime, the group has effectively distorted the market and created unfair competition.

The suspicion is that someone either in FEC or the Automotive Council of Nigeria leaked the information to Stallion Group.

THISDAY further learnt that Stallion Group was aware of the day FEC was going to meet and consider the memo on the automotive policy because it helped in drafting the new regulation.

The manufacturers’ representatives in the petition in which they are seeking audience with the president to iron out the grey areas, said: “It is obvious from this that the proposed automotive policy has been compromised and has resulted in providing undue advantage to one single group whose track record as a business entity has been monumentally notorious and whose owners have been deported twice in the last 10 years for economic sabotage.

“The federal government will be committing a grave error if such a group is given monopoly over the automotive industry in Nigeria.”

They also urged the federal government to probe the Stallion Group for allegedly evading the proposed duty increase by opening letters of credit and ordering vehicles thrice above its annual average import.

They also implored the federal government to set aside “what is apparently an unfair action taken and request that a fair and level playing field be provided to all members of the industry.”

They also said there was no representation from the Global manufacturers' representatives in the committee that drafted the automotive policy and therefore called for the constitution of a body comprising representatives of the federal government and stakeholders to review the policy and report back within six months.

Besides, they sought a two-year deferment of the implementation of the automotive policy to allow some serious investors complete their ongoing feasibility studies and plans to establish motor assembly plants in the country.

But reacting to their petition, Vaswani, who spoke to THISDAY from the United Kingdom yesterday, said the petition was baseless in its entirety.
He said it was not true that he had fore knowledge of the automotive policy as all car dealers – importers and manufacturers alike – were carried along by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga for more than a year when the policy was being formulated.

“They were all in the know and made their input. Chief Ojo of Elizade, in particular, was one of the biggest advocates of the policy and all of them were aware of the duty increase before the policy was taken to the Federal Executive Council for approval.

“Besides they were wrong when they said that the duty regime came into effect on October 3. It would only come into effect when the circular on the new duties for commercial and passenger cars are released by the Ministry of Finance,” he said.
Vaswani said as long as the circular had not been released, his competitors were free to take advantage of the window till February 28, 2014 to beat the deadline.

He also denied that he had established Form Ms to import 20,000 cars, stating, “The quantity Stallion Group is bringing is much lower than that, and that includes the value of the L/Cs which we opened.”

He said it would be physically impossible for Stallion to bring in 20,000 units between October and February.
“Between Toyota and Elizade, which bring in the most cars into the country, they only import 17,000 units per annum, so how can Stallion bring 20,000 units in a space of five months.

“This just smacks of sour grapes on the part of those people who have written the petition because the grace period is still there for others to import before the circular is released.

“If they have failed to do so, it simply means they lack the capacity to import,” he said.
On the automotive policy, Vaswani said as a Nigerian citizen (he holds a Nigerian passport), he is very passionate about the policy, as it would create thousands of jobs.
He said Nigeria imports some 500,000 units of used cars annually and 60,000 units of news cars, but with the new policy, manufacturers could make cheaper cars that are accessible to more people in the country.

“The automotive industry is one of the best things that has happened to this country. Less than a week after it was announced, the Chairman/President/CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosen, announced that Nissan was entering into a joint venture with Stallion Group to assemble cars in Nigeria.
“The likes of Innoson Group is also very happy with the policy, and so is Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited (PAN),” he said.

Also, as a manufacturer of cars from Stallion Group’s Volkswagen of Nigeria (VON) assembly plant in Lagos, he said his company would rather produce cars that attract no duty than import.

“If we can manufacture at zero duty why would I want to import three years stock? It does not make sense because I will have to pay interest to the banks for the entire period and hold on to stock that is aging because model specifications of cars change so often.

“Our intention is to reduce our stock of imported cars from next year and churn out more cars from our plant.

“At VON, we have an installed and expansion capacity to assemble 45,000 units of complete-knock-downs (CKDs) units and semi-knock-down units.

“With NISSAN, we shall be rolling out Nissan Patrol SUVs by April next year, and move on to other passenger vehicles and buses, so efforts of manufacturers should be encouraged not run down by competitors who are resistant to the new policy,” he said.

When contacted, Aganga also dismissed the allegations by the group that it had not been carried along when the automotive policy was being formulated.
He said all the auto dealers were in the know and even went with the ministry to South Africa for a retreat on the policy.

According to Aganga, “The new policy is an adaptation of the South African Automotive Policy. Since South Africa started manufacturing cars, the industry today contributes 7 per cent to the country’s GDP, it accounts for 12 per cent of exports, and is the second largest employer of labour there.

“Also, Chief Ade Ojo was one of the first persons who approached me to adopt the South African model. It was for this reason I studied what my counterpart in South Africa had done to the extent that their minister became our consultant.

“As a result, when the policy was eventually approved on October 2, Chief Ojo was in my office on October 4 to intimate me of the plans he has with Toyota to set up an assembly plant.
“This is what I expect the policy will do: encourage investment and catapult us to industrialisation, not accusation being hurled by importers who want the status quo to remain.”

He said he was not surprised that some car importers were resisting the automotive policy and have asked for a deferment, but vowed that he would block it with every ounce of his being.

ThisDay

2015: The Hottest Battleground

Simon Kolawole

 

Professor Ango Abdullahi, spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), has never left anybody in doubt about where he and his group stand: the North must produce the president in 2015. Speaking last week, he declared once again: “There is no going back on the presidency returning to the North in 2015.” Former governor of Sokoto State and member of the All Progressives Alliance (APC), Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, famously told TELL magazine in 2002: “We want our power back!” He lamented that the North made a mistake by conceding power to the South in 1999. This, in truth, is a popular sentiment in most parts of the North till today. There is a feeling of frustration and marginalisation in the Nigerian power equation.
It is not difficult to understand why. If President Jonathan wins in 2015, that will take him to 2019, meaning between 1999 and 2019 - a period of 20 years - the North will have been in power for only the three stricken years of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who died in office in 2010. But Southerners will say the North was in power for 36 years between 1960 and 1999 and should, therefore, not complain, having dominated for so long. Northerners will fight back by saying those were mainly years of military rule, not democracy. Southerners will say whether it was military or civilian, it was de facto power which clearly shaped the economic and political structure of Nigeria. The argument never ends.
Does the North mean business in 2015 as Prof. Abdullahi has said? I think so. The signs are there. The North does not go to political battles without a game plan. Agreed, the strategy does not always work, but you never know when it will work. I think the strategists who led General Muhammadu Buhari into believing he could become president through Northern votes alone (“we have the numbers” is an age-old Northern political motto) have now revised their game plan. The emergence of APC, with Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu finally agreeing to work together, is an indication of a change in tactics. If the arrangement works out, President Goodluck Jonathan will fight the battle of his life in 2015. A political marriage between the Hausa/Fulani and the Yoruba will be a handful.
In my opinion, the APC offers the Hausa/Fulani the best route back to Aso Rock. The ideal situation for the North, of course, is for both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APC to field Northern candidates, but Jonathan will never let go of the PDP. The “New PDP” - which is overwhelmingly Northern - is not likely to succeed in its move to take over the PDP. They may end up in the APC. This scenario is being test-run already. The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) chairmanship election was the first port of call. Governor Rotimi Amaechi won 19 out of 35 votes, while Governor David Jang got 16 votes (Yobe abstained). Most of the governors who voted for Amaechi are now gravitating towards the APC.
In fact, the 10 opposition governors that voted for Amaechi have moved into the APC (add Yobe and you have 11). Seven of the nine PDP governors that supported Amaechi are now in the “New PDP” with a chance of defecting to the APC: Sokoto, Kano, Jigawa, Adamawa, Rivers, Kwara and Niger (also called the G7 governors). The other two, Kebbi and Gombe, are still in the “Old PDP” and no one knows their next move. And, by the way, Sokoto, Kano, Jigawa, Niger, Kebbi and Gombe all voted for Buhari in 2011. These states have never been Jonathan’s strongholds. By simple math, APC is the platform the core North is banking on to reclaim Aso Rock.
President Jonathan, from my reading of his own game plan, is banking heavily on the South-east, South-south and Northern minorities for his re-election. However, I think Jonathan needs the South-west if he is to win at first ballot. And he has a potential in-road into the South-west, which currently seems aligned with the North. Faced with the stark reality of choosing between a Hausa/Fulani candidate and Jonathan, those South-westerners who naturally resent the so-called Northern “oligarchy” may rebel against Tinubu. This could be a game-changer. The South-west is definitely going to be the hottest battleground. It could swing the presidential election either to the North or to the South. I am looking forward to the most competitive election in Nigerian history.
Finally, and I have to say this, isn’t it sad that all political analyses in Nigeria still start and end with ethnic and regional dynamics? Whether it is Edwin Clark or Ango Abdullahi talking, the anchor is always regional sentiments. But I have not given up hope that one day, campaign for political office in Nigeria will be on the basis of performance: the incumbents showing off their achievements to seek re-election and their opponents playing up their own manifestos as better alternatives. It is not enough to say “vote for me”. You must tell us why you deserve it. And it is not enough to say “vote out the incumbent”. You must tell us what you will do better than him.
And Four
Other Things...
ODUAH PEOPLE’S CONGRESS
In a country where scandals involving Tafa Balogun, Bode George, Joshua Dariye, Salihu Buhari and Chuba Okadigbo drew anger and condemnation from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, it is disheartening that some narrow-minded persons are trying to reduce the armoured cars scandal involving the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, to an ethnic thing. I knew it was going to come to this, anyway, because that is the way we are in Nigeria. But no right-thinking Nigerian will condone the recklessness going in on government, irrespective of mother tongue.
GHANA’S EXAMPLE
While we are still dilly-dallying here, Ghana has just sacked the Deputy Communications Minister, Victoria Hammah, after being caught on tape allegedly saying she would stay in politics until she had made $1 million. Ironically, Hammah played a key role in President John Mahama’s election last year. But she has now been fired. Mind you, she was not sacked for stealing - but for allegedly suggesting that she was going to enrich herself. That is a saner society. No wonder, Nigerians are flooding into Ghana. Shame on us.
CLARA’S CASE
I find it quite objectionable that the health status of Mrs Clara Chime, wife of the Enugu State governor, has become a political issue. If anyone is suffering depression and having hallucinations, I believe these are personal issues that should not be celebrated on the pages of newspapers, except the patient so chooses. Our reactions to psychological conditions are fuelled by ignorance and outdated myths. These are conditions that are treatable medically, but many of us are still living in the age when twins were being killed because they were considered strange.
GOLDEN BOYS
We started the year by winning the Africa Cup of Nations and have now claimed the U-17 World Cup title as dessert. The Golden Eaglets were a joy to watch right from their first match, and I was delighted seeing tomorrow’s stars in the rampaging full-backs Musa Muhammed and Samuel Okon, the mercurial Kelechi Iheanacho, short-stopper Dele Alampasu and other highly gifted players. Congrats to coach Manu Garba for assembling such an athletic, entertaining and free-scoring team. The future of Nigerian football looks great. The production line just got better!

ThisDay

Police and The Danger Ahead

THE VERDICT By OLUSEGUN ADENIYI

While still in the United Kingdom on his self-imposed exile circa 2009, former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai needed to revalidate his Nigerian passport. Quite naturally, he approached the Nigerian embassy in London whose officials decided to notify Abuja of the development. As it would happen, some people decided that since el-Rufai had made himself an enemy of the government of the day at the time, he should be denied his rights under the law even while hiding under some subterfuge. But it was not until the former minister went public about his ordeal that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua got to know what happened and he felt really angry. Of course, Mallam el-Rufai has a different narrative of the issue but the fact of the matter is that the late Yar’Adua had nothing to do with an action that could only have brought his government into ridicule as it sure did.

It is within the context of the foregoing that I can situate the disruption last weekend by the police of the meeting of some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors in Abuja. While I cannot imagine that President Goodluck Jonathan would approve of such unfortunate action, I will not be surprised if those who carried it out believed they were doing so to please him. The fact, however, is that they have hurt the president very badly.

Whatever anybody may feel about the G-7 governors and their politics, nothing can justify a situation in which policemen would behave almost like licenced thugs by storming into a government house to ask the chief executives of states to put an end to a lawful assembly. It is the height of recklessness for which the Inspector General of Police should be held accountable. The implication of the action is that Nigeria has become a society where the rights of citizens, including that of governors, can be cynically infringed upon because of the political beliefs they hold. Nothing eats away the credibility of an administration, especially under a civil dispensation, more than recourse to such authoritarian behaviour which in addition diminishes us as a people.

Even at that, the more I ruminate over the sordid action the more worried I become going by what it could have resulted into. The Nigerian Police is not known to be a disciplined force and for that reason, the command structure does not always matter. The men and officers posted to guard our big men (and women), including in this instance the governors, hold their loyalty to the people they serve, for obvious reasons. Therefore, notwithstanding the pretension about the control of the police by the federal government, the reality is that if the Asokoro policemen that stormed the Kano Liaison Office last weekend had tried anything funny, they would have been confronted with a serious gun-battle from their colleagues guarding the governors. In the event that had happened, it is the president who would have suffered the collateral damage of such a tragic situation. What is more disturbing is that what happened was not an isolated incident as it speaks to the culture of intolerance and arbitrariness that is fast taking over our land.

I am aware that it is an issue we hardly talk about but the most insidious form of corruption in our country today is the abuse to which critical institutions of state are subjected in promotion of what is often no more than the personal interest of political office-holders. And we see this sort of thing at virtually all levels of government today. Yet it is actually such abuse that breeds the impunity by which political office-holders would appropriate to themselves public resources without any compunction. What we ignore is the fact that by placing individuals above institutions we have unwittingly rendered impotent all the avenues for accountability and it is difficult to build a just society from such level of systemic perfidy.

The only person who can put a halt to the growing culture of lawlessness, especially one that is being promoted by officialdom, is the president and I believe it is in his interest to do so. Almost on a daily basis across the country today, the police now decide which lawful processions of innocent citizens to allow and which to disperse, depending on whether they are adjudged anti or pro federal government. Let us not even go to the most notorious case of the River State Police Command where the Commissioner has become a law unto himself. Yet what these overtly partisan roles do is to degrade the capacity of the police to protect the lives and property of Nigerians which is their principal responsibility. It is also making them to lose the respect of the people.

Whether those in authority realise it or not, the serial denial of rights and the trampling of the liberties of even the most highly placed citizens like Governors are the hallmarks of armed autocracy. It is also a most frightening threat to the possibility of genuine democracy anchored on the rule of law in our country. Indeed, when a civilian administration takes recourse to its control of the police to vitiate democratic rights and freedoms of citizens, then there is a clear and present danger for everyone.

Eclipsiastically Speaking

Last Sunday catapulted me back to 1979 when I was expected to see, like others at Orile Iganmu in Lagos, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo comfortably emblazoned on the moon. I was too young to understand the meaning of the frenzy at the time. But this time, it was about Eclipse, an astronomical event which occurs when the moon passes in-between the sun and the earth thus partially or totally blocking the former. I understand that in different cities across the country last Sunday, some people were carrying calabashes of water and all sorts, just to catch a glimpse of the life-changing Mr Eclipse. It was a crazy day. But trust Nigerians, the event was also marked by some creative headlines as to the “political significance” of the Eclipse. A confession is necessary here: I have nothing to do with the headlines below but as to where the stories were published, I think it should be ‘The Nigerian Eclipse Journal’. Now, check out the headlines:

•Don’t use Eclipse to intimidate our son, Edwin Clark warns North

•Eclipse is part of Jonathan’s agenda to destroy Nigeria, says Ango Abdullahi

•Presidency sets up Eclipse monitoring committee

•Minister buys 2 armoured anti Eclipse Vehicles to protect self

•Blame Eclipse if Anambra Guber polls fail—Jega warns

•APC to GEJ: Eclipse has weakened confidence of Nigerians in your Government

•Eclipse occurrence was setback to negotiations, strike continues, says ASUU

•Reps, Senators disagree over Eclipse allocation, summon Okonjo-Iweala

•Nigeria fails to acquire viewing rights for Eclipse, FG blames New PDP

•Police Disrupt Eclipse gathering in Abuja, Threatens G-7 Governors

•Eclipse stampede kills 50 in Yobe, Boko Haram claims responsibility

•Eclipse discussion will determine Nigeria’s future, Says Okurounmu

•Southern Kaduna cries marginalization over limited view of eclipse

 

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