$50bn Heist: CBN Insists NNPC/Jonathan FGN ‘Stole’ 2/3rds Nigeria’s Money

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said today it would neither confirm nor deny a widely-circulated letter sent to President Goodluck Jonathan by its governor, in which he scandalously revealed that the Nigeria National Petroleum Resources has between 2012 and 2013 failed to remit nearly $50 billion into the Federation Account.
In a press statement by the bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, Ugochukwu Okoroafor, the bank said it considered any discussion of the alleged letter to be inappropriate.
Despite that, the CBN, citing a “gathering momentum in the public space,” and the fact the matter seems to be assuming a highly-politicized dimension, offered 10 “clarifications.”
Among them, the it stressed that in the performance of its role it is natural  for the CBN to be concerned  at the low level of accretion  to reserves and the Excess Crude Account, despite strong  international oil prices, especially as  Nigeria’s   performance  is  compared   with  other   oil  producing economies.
This amounts to a reiteration of the bank governor’s reason for writing the letter to President Jonathan in the first place, and that  the NNPC stands guilty as charged.
The CBN also took the opportunity to restate its support of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
“The  Central   Bank   of  Nigeria   recognizes   that   there   is  an urgent need  to  review  fiscal  terms  of  sharing  revenues  between the  Federal Government and oil companies  and to  improve governance and transparency in the official  oil sector,” the statement said.  “This underscores the  need  to  urgently pass a Petroleum  Industry Bill (PIB)  that  addresses  fiscal  terms  and the  structure of the  NNPC. We therefore support the  effort of  the  Federal  Government to pass a new PIB.”
In our original story dated December 9, 2013, SaharaReporters reported that in the letter, which CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi  hand-delivered to President Jonathan in September, he lamented the continuing failure of the NNPC to honor its legal obligations to the country, including failure to remit $49.8 billion to the Federation Account between 2012 and 2013, representing 76% of the value of crude oil liftings during that period.
He wrote: “Our analysis of the value of crude oil export proceeds based on the documentation received from pre-shipment inspectors shows that between January 2012 and July 2013, NNPC lifted 594,024,107 barrels of crude valued at $65,332,350,514.57.  Out of this amount, NNPC repatriated only $15,528,410,098.77 representing 24% of the value.  This means the NNPC is yet to account for, and repatriate to the Federation Account, an amount in excess of $49.804 billion of the value of oil lifted in the same period.”
Full text of the press statement:
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA   The attention of the Central  Bank of Nigeria  has been drawn  to an emerging public  discourse  around  a letter purportedly written by the  Governor  to   His  Excellency   the   President   of  the   Federal Republic     of    Nigeria,   Dr.    Goodluck    Ebele   Jonathan,    GCFR, expressing concerns  over non-remittance of oil revenues  by the Nigerian National  Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The  Central   Bank  of  Nigeria   will  neither confirm nor  deny  the existence of  such  a letter and  considers  any  discussion  by  it on the alleged  letter to be inappropriate. However, to the extent that  the matter is gathering momentum in the public space, and seems to be assuming a highly  politicized dimension, the Bank wishes to issue the following clarifications:
1.    The CBN is statutorily mandated to  establish  price  stability, protect the  external value  of our  national currency, manage  the external reserves  of the  Federation and ensure  the smooth functioning  of  our   financial   system, as  well   as  adviser   to  the President  on economic  matters.
2. The capacity  of the Bank to perform its role effectively is strengthened or undermined by the  extent to  which  the  nation  is able   to   increase   foreign   exchange   earnings  and  savings   from these  earnings, thus  boosting  the Excess Crude  Savings  Account, raising  reserve levels, providing currency  stability and moderating interest rates  with  limited risks to inflation and financial  stability.
3. In the performance of this  role it is natural  for the CBN to be concerned  at the low level of accretion  to reserves and the Excess Crude Account, inspite  of strong  international oil prices, especially as  Nigeria’s   performance  is  compared   with  other   oil  producing economies.
4. The  Central   Bank  of  Nigeria  is  aware  that   this  concern  is shared by   Mr.  President,  the     Federal     Ministry     of    Finance, Ministers, State  Governors, legislators, economists, analysts  and all  stakeholders involved in managing the  economy and discussions on how to  address the    matter are  being  held  at highest  levels of Government.
5. The CBN is aware  that, on the  instruction of the  Honourable Minister   of  Petroleum Resources,  the  audit  firm, PWC has  been directed to audit  the revenues  of the NNPC.
6. The  CBN is  also  aware  of  a proposal  to  set  up  a technical team  made  up of representatives the  Federal Ministry of Finance, the  NNPC and  the  CBN to  examine  the  sources  of  any  revenue leakages  and propose  appropriate fiscal controls.
7. The CBN welcomes  these initiatives and believes  that  they represent a positive contribution to  the  process  of improving the management of  the  economy, especially  if  they  lead  to  greater oversight      of   the    Finance    Ministry    over    oil revenues and improvements in disclosure  and transparency in the Oil Industry.
8. The  Central   Bank   of  Nigeria   recognizes   that   there   is  an urgent need  to  review  fiscal  terms  of  sharing  revenues  between the  Federal Government and oil companies  and to  improve governance and transparency in the official  oil sector.    This underscores the  need  to  urgently pass a Petroleum  Industry Bill (PIB)  that  addresses  fiscal  terms  and the  structure of the  NNPC. We  therefore  support the  effort of  the  Federal  Government to pass a new PIB.
9.   The CBN will continue to use appropriate channels of communication  in  these   matters and  hereby  assures  all stakeholders in the  country, of its continued support in all efforts aimed  at  strengthening the  Nigerian   economy   and  reducing   its vulnerability to shocks from  the external sector.
10.   The Central  Bank of Nigeria  will not issue further statements on this  matter and urges  the  general  public  to avoid  unnecessary politicization of  a technical matter while  awaiting the  outcome  of on-going consultation and reviews. Ugochukwu Okoroafor, Director, Corporate Communications

NewsRescue

Letter To Jonathan: Show Proof That I’m Being Used To Run Killer Squad Or Keep Quiet, Al-Mustapha To Obasanjo

Former Chief Security Officer to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha on Thursday challenged former President Olusegun Obasanjo to provide evidence on his claims that President Goodluck Jonathan influenced the Appeal Court judgment which discharged and acquitted him of the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.

Al-Mustapha, who is currently overseas, also denied the former president’s allegation that he was being used by President Jonathan to run a killer squad the same way he allegedly operated the famous X-Squad during the late military dictator’s regime to eliminate political opponents.
Information Nigeria reports that in his December 2 letter to the President titled ‘Before it is too late’, Mr. Obasanjo had alleged that Mr. Jonathan interfered with the court process to set an unnamed murderer free, and organised a presidential reception for him.
Apparently, the former president was referring to Al-Mustapha, who was freed by the Court of Appeal in July over the murder of the late Kudirat Abiola.
But Al-Mustapha, who spoke through his counsel Barrister Olalekan Ojo yesterday, dared Mr. Obasanjo to produce evidence to back up his weighty allegations in the said letter.
Obasanjo had written: “Presidential assistance for a murderer to evade justice and presidential delegation to welcome him home can only be in bad taste generally but particularly to the family of his victim.
“Assisting criminals to evade justice cannot be part of the job of the presidency. Or, as it is viewed in some quarters, is he being recruited to do for you what he had done for Abacha in the past? Hopefully, he should have learned his lesson. Let us continue to watch”, he wrote in an 18-page letter that has now gone viral.
In his reaction, Ojo told Daily Trust: “To the best of my knowledge, President Jonathan never organised or sponsored any welcome rally to Al-Mustapha after his release”.
Al-Mustapha had been incarcerated for 14 years before he was acquitted by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, after being sentenced to death by a Lagos High Court.
Ojo said, “The impression (of Obasanjo’s letter) is that the Court of Appeal caved into pressure from President Jonathan, to that extent, the comment is disturbing, worrisome and unwarranted.
“The judiciary should be left alone and not be dragged into politics. The Justices of the Court of Appeal in Lagos that sat over the case are jurists of impeccable character and it is not fair for anybody, no matter how well-placed, to attack the integrity of these judges. We challenge Obasanjo to produce evidence of such interference to make it available to the public”.
He added: “My client was discharged and acquitted on the merit of his appeal. Majority of those who commented on the judgment expressed satisfaction. It is most unfortunate that a person like OBJ could accuse the President of using his exalted office for such a sinister and morally reprehensible thing. It must be stated that if OBJ has any issue to settle with the President, he should not drag Al Mustapha into it”.
Speaking specifically on the allegation that Al-Mustapha is being used by Jonathan to run a hit squad, Ojo said that the accusation was a pointer to the enormous hatred Obasanjo had for Al-Mustapha.
“At no time has he been involved in any such thing. It is totally false. Al-Mustapha is earnestly committed to the promotion of peace and harmony in Nigeria. It is most unfair that such an allegation should be made against him. It is an attempt to give a dog a bad name to hang him. When Al-Mustapha returns (from abroad) he will make a fuller response”, Ojo said.

InformationNigeria
 

US Drone Hits Wedding Party Convoy In S Yemen, Kills 15

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Dec. 12, 2013

Fifteen people have been killed when a US assassination drone struck a convoy heading to wedding party in southern Yemen.

Yemeni security officials did not identify the plane in attack in the central province of al-Bayda on Thursday, but tribal and local media sources said that it was a drone, Reuters reported.

“An air strike missed its target and hit a wedding car convoy, ten people were killed immediately and another five who were injured died after being admitted to the hospital,” a local security official said.

Five other people were wounded in the attack, the officials said.
The United States has launched numerous drone attacks in Yemen that have killed many civilians over the past few years.
In October, the British-based legal action charity, Reprieve, said US drone strikes in Yemen were illegal under international law and were driving people into the arms of al-Qaeda.
The UK-based charity –which also has organizations in the United States, Australia and the Netherlands — censured the US administration for persisting in the terror drone operations, warning that the US drone policy is fuelling extremism and terrorism in the country.
In addition to Yemen, the US has been carrying out drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia.
Washington claims that the CIA-run operations target militants but witness reports and figures provided by local officials indicate that civilians are the main victims of the attacks.

NewsRescue

Nigeria's Ruling Party Leader Confirms President Jonathan's 2015 Re-election Interest

President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP Chair Bamanga Tukur

By Saharareporters, New York

National leader of Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) Bamanga Tukur has confirmed the interest of President Goodluck Jonathan to seek re-election for the office of president come 2015 when the Nigeria will hold its next general elections.
Although the president has not publicly announced his interest to contest in the next presidential election, there had been agitations by opposition parties and some members of the ruling party, who claimed that his body language and political developments across the country reveal his 'real interest'. For this reason,  some strong members of the ruling PDP including governors had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria's strongest opposition party, with an aim to wrest power from President Jonathan and the ruling party.
But, for the first time since the beginning of the crisis rocking the PDP, Mr. Tukur declared Thursday at a local event held in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city that the Nigerian leader has been chosen as the ruling party's presidential candidate for  2015. Urging party faithful not to be deterred by the exodus of some of its key members, the ruling party leader maintained that PDP remains insurmountable as the strongest and biggest party in Nigeria and Africa, according to Abuja-based local Leadership Newspaper on Friday.
"Don't be deterred by some people saying they are leaving the party. People leaving the party are individuals, not the party. It does not mean if they leave the party, the party leaves. No, the party remains. PDP is the only party in Nigeria that fields a candidate in every election that is held. Don't be deterred; don't be afraid, you are part of the ruling party," said the party leader who further tasked officials to play their roles wisely in making sure that Jonathan wins the 2015 election.
This declaration, may, however, evoke another round of controversy in the West African country.
Nigeria's former leader,  Olusegun Obasanjo had written an acerbic 18-page letter, officially acknowledged by the presidency, to Jonathan, advising him to step down his interest in seeking re-election into office in 2015, based on a promise he (Jonathan) allegedly made in 2011 to him (Obasanjo), to governors, party stakeholders and Nigerians in general. "Up till two months ago, Mr. President, you told me that you have not told anybody that you would contest in 2015. I quickly pointed out to you that the signs and measures on the ground do not tally with your statement. You said the same to one other person who shared his observation with me. And only a fool would believe that statement you made to me judging by what is going on. I must say it is not ingenious. You may wish to pursue a more credible and more honorable path," Obasanjo wrote in his letter to Jonathan.
Just as the president continues to keep mum on his second term ambition, there seems to be no end in sight to the crises rocking Nigeria's ruling party for more than six months now.

Saharareporters

Supreme Court Quashes Corruption Conviction Of PDP Chieftain Bode George

Bode George

Two days after former President Olusegun Obasanjo accused President Goodluck Jonathan of condoning corruption, a panel of judges at the Supreme Court of Nigeria today quashed the conviction handed Bode George a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain earlier jailed for corruption by a Lagos High Court.
The court discharged and acquitted Mr. George claiming that prosecutors at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had no evidence of Mr. George's intention to commit fraud at the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) where as chairman of the NPA board he was caught presiding over a contract bazaar the bled the nation of Nigeria.
 A panel of judges headed by a controversial judge, John Afolabi Fabiyi JSC, ruled that the charges of "contract splitting" upon which Mr. George was convicted is unknown to law.
 The pattern of today's quashing of George's conviction was similar to that of a Lagos Court of Appeal ruling which similarly quashed a death sentence conviction of Major Hamza Al Mustapha's for the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola in 1996. In Lagos, a panel of Court of Appeal cleared former Chief Security Officer of late maximum dictator, Sanni Abacha Mustapha of murder charges under controversial circumstances. Al Mustapha later wrote a letter thanking President Jonathan for arranging his judicial pardon.
 Al Mustapha case was handled by the same lawyer, former president of the Nigeria Bar Association , Joseph B Daudu was Al Mustapha's lawyer in the Lagos case. Mr. Daudu, a senior advocate of Nigeria, also played a lead role in securing Mr. George's freedom today.
 Since leaving prison a few years ago, Mr. George had been closely linked to President Jonathan, even sometimes openly bragging that his conviction will be upturned.

Saharareporters

Jonathan’s ‘fat list’ and Nigeria’s El Gordo: 400 Northerners To Be Bought…

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Dec. 13, 2013
Salisu Suleiman
Christmas is not the only reason why many people in Spain look forward to the end of the year. Another reason is that annually, thousands win huge sums of money from El Gordo, meaning the ‘The Fat One’ in Spanish. It is one of the largest prizes in lottery. As the day of the draw approaches, a lottery fever grips Spain and millions of people join lengthy lines to buy lottery tickets for a chance to win a share of The Fat One. In 2012, the equivalent of about N500 billion was shared among winners.
In Nigeria, El Gordo also takes place, except that participation is not open to the public, but restricted to a select few; top politicians, serving and retired military officers, traditional rulers and other elite. It has no fixed time, but comes up as politically expedient. The funds are not voluntarily contributed by the public through the purchase of tickets, but taken out of state coffers.
Nigeria’s next ‘Fat One’ will be in 2015 – with a prize of at least US $2billion. Not surprisingly, this has already triggered huge levels of excitement.
It was Niger state governor Babangida Aliyu, during his political brawl with Jonathan and the PDP (in what is no more than the first salvo in the early skirmishes in the battle for 2015), who taunted President Goodluck Jonathan by revealing that he knew of the existence of a list of 400 Northerners that had been penciled on a ‘fat list’ to be ‘persuaded’ to look the other way when the president’s electoral machinery overrides the region and retains power in 2015.
Even to Nigerians, who probably have the toughest shock absorbers in the world, it must have sounded like a below-the-belt attack on the president. However, the list not only exists, but has been used by successive administrations to bribe, cajole, appease, or all of those failing, threaten people to conform.
Governor Aliyu might have added an extra zero, but a list of 40 prominent Northerners actually exists. Each is to be given US $5 million to buy their silence and therefore complicity, in whatever the president, his party and INEC do to remain in power.
Listing prominent Nigerians on a ‘fat list’ has always been an instrument of government. It may be in form of a political appointment, oil block, humungous contract, fuel import license or raw cash – preferably in American dollars. The list often includes well-known politicians, traditional rulers, generals, religious and community leaders, rabble rousers and even ‘militants’.
For some, having their names on the list of ‘fat ones’ has become a do-or-die affair; others have exceptionally mastered the art of belonging to the list – by falling over themselves to reveal secret meetings or issues affecting the president, or fabricating evidence of conspiracy against government. In return, their names are a certainty all lists, allowing them to sustain expensive lifestyles with their eye, ear sand lip service to any government in power. The rewards can be very fat.
The last ten years have seen many ‘fat’ lists: Olusegun Obasanjo oiled the machinery of his re-election in 2003 with a ‘fat list’ containing the names of prominent people across Nigeria who got a slice of the action. Many of the same Northerners now shouting to high heavens against Jonathan were on that list and smiled to the banks as they outdid themselves to deliver the region to Obasanjo.
Later that year, the organizers of the 8th All Africa Games also had a list of ‘fat ones’. Anyone with a connection to government – real or assumed – got contracts, as did their wives and relatives, in addition to traditional rulers and other influential people. In the end, Nigeria staged one of the most expensive and scandalously corrupt spectacles in sports history, but no one has had the courage to probe what happened. The list was too fat.
When Obasanjo attempted to change the Constitution to run for a third term, another list of ‘fat ones’ also came out. Though very well funded, the bid failed because Obasanjo’s ambition was a bridge too far. However, as the elections of 2007 approached, all politicians that had an eye on the presidency also drew up their own list of ‘fat ones’. Peter Odili’s ‘fat list’ was so fat that people talk about it till this day.
Sadly, because of the near total erosion of moral and ethical values in Nigeria today, having one’s name on any list of ‘fat ones’, no matter how greasy or odious, is a thing of pride and a badge of honour, or evidence of one’s importance and power. Just look at how ‘fat’ the names on the Halliburton, Siemens, fuel subsidy scam and the Malabu oil scandals are.
In essence, Nigeria is not broke, but running a government by lottery where the treasury is a permanent El Gordo for the elite – Northern or Southern – who make the list.

NewsRescue

Kashamu Hits Back, Says Obasanjo Embraces More Criminals As Aides Than Any Nigerian President

By AfricanOutlook Correspondent

The controversial billionaire and money bag of Ogun State Chapter of Nigeria's ruling Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Prince Buruji Kashamu has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the nation's leader who harbors the most criminals as his closest allies, especially during his two terms as civilian president of the country.
Kashamu who was reacting to a recent letter attributed to Obasanjo, accusing the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of maladministration, pointed out that Obasanjo's misdeeds are no secret.

The party chieftain in a letter he copied to Presidency on Thursday available to AfricanOutlookonline correspondent in Abeokuta stated: "The files of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, will confirm this as well as the results of the most recent successful prosecutions in Nigeria and in the United Kingdom."

Kashamu in the letter by his lawyer, Prince Ajibola Oluyede, said he symphatized with President Goodluck Jonathan over Obasanjo’s letter, saying ity was "primarily designed to make you look incompetent and unproductive as a leader."

The letter added: "The state of our country today, be it in the ravaging corruption, the failure of state institutions, the economy and the polity are easily traceable to Obasanjo’s own failures as a leader in this country. He more than any other Nigerian has had the most opportunity to turn the fortunes of Nigerians around and he failed woefully to do so."

The billionaire politician, also threatened Obasanjo with court action over alleged libelous statement against him and President Goodluck Jonathan, describing Obasanjo as an ingrate, who lacked moral rights to run anybody down.

"As for his libelous statements against our clients we have written this rejoinder in order to complete the record but we will not stop there, as we intend, pursuant to our client’s instructions, to commence an action in Libel against Obasanjo in due course to punish him for continuing in this path of perfidy despite the latitude he has been given in the past," the lawyer declared.

However, the PDP leader in Ogun State regretted having anything to do politically with Obasanjo, lamenting that he was used by the former President to rescue him from his political nosedive allegedly caused by former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel in 2011 but ended up getting dumped after the successful fight.

"I have personally been involved with Obasanjo during the brief period before the 2011 elections when he relied on the successful activities of Prince Kashamu to take over the PDP structure in Ogun State and foist his candidates on the Party," Kashamu recalled.

"His daughter Senator Iyabo Obasanjo was also very close to Prince Kashamu during this period. The Obasanjos were constantly in communication with me during this period as the solicitor to the leadership of the Party. They were always full of praises for Prince Kashamu and readily cited the facts stated above about Prince Kashamu’s exculpation with regard to the false allegations of complicity in drug related offences in the U.S.," the letter emphasized.

He, however, denied any role in the alleged drugs related offences in America or any part of the world, as his counsel in the letter said it was a case of misidentification.

"He has never lived in or visited the United States of America and has never been involved in any narcotics or criminal activities in the United States of America. In 1998 as a result of his political activities in the Republic of Benin he was wrongly introduced into an indictment in the Northern District of Illinois, United States of America involving a group of drug pushers, members of which had been arrested and convicted in 1994 in the US and as a part of a plea bargain transaction had indicated that they had a West African link.

"None of these confessed criminals mentioned Prince Kashamu’s name and repeatedly indicated to their jailers that they did not know their West African accomplice by any other name than ALAJI. Apparently the US embassy in Benin, which was facilitating the enquiry by the U.S. Authorities as to who the “ALAJI” could be, somehow received information from some mischief-makers that it was Prince Kashamu.  Since he appeared to fit the profile, Prince Kashamu’s name was introduced into the indictment in 1998 by U.S. authorities."

"All these happened without reference to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Nigeria or in the other relevant West African countries in which the enquiries were being made and unknown to Prince Kashamu who at the time regularly visited the united Kingdom in pursuit if his cotton trading business in Liverpool," the statement explained.

AfricanOutlook