My Side Of The Story On Fund Recoveries Allegation By George Uboh -AGF Malami

by Salihu Isah/Press Release May 08, 2016

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has explained his role in the allegation levelled against him by one, George Uboh over the recovery of some alleged funds stashed away by individuals in different Nigerian banks as well as some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

This is contained in a letter Malami wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari through the office of the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari, and dated 4th April, 2016 with Reference Number HAGF/SH/2016/Vol.1/20 refuting the spurious allegations.
In a press release made available by his spokesman, Comrade Salihu Othman Isah, over the weekend, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice described as false the claims by Dr. George Uboh that he deliberately frustrated him in his effort to recover the over N300 billion his company, Panic Alert Security Systems (“PASS”) traced to some Nigerian banks.
The Minister also stated as untrue the insinuations that he made an unholy alliance with the banking sector mafia not to cooperate with PASS, and/or that he promised Access Bank that he would call Dr. Uboh to soft pedal on the bank, Malami has this to say:
Attorney general and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami “I must state that the above allegations are untrue, incorrect, false, a figment of the imagination of the author and a smear campaign by Dr. Uboh to tarnish my name. I did not make, never made and will never make any alliance with anyone in and outside of the banking industry to frustrate PASS or any firm from recovering any FGN’s funds stashed/trapped in the listed banks or any bank or company in Nigeria or elsewhere.”
He said, “In demonstration of my firm commitment to the recovery efforts of the FGN, I gave PASS a letter titled: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN dated 17th February, 2016, introducing PASS to the aforesaid banks/financial institutions.
“The aforesaid Letter of Engagement dated 9th February, 2016 and the subsequent Letter of Introduction dated 17th February, 2016 (“HAGF Letters”) were given to PASS on the firm understanding that PASS had already identified and/or tracked specific FGN funds stashed/trapped in the aforementioned banks and that PASS would promptly embark on processes that would lead to actual recovery and remittance of the traced funds into the designated account of the FGN in line with the proposals submitted, presentations made and the terms contained in its letter of 9th February, 2016.”
On why he had to revoke the letter of engagement given to PASS, Malami said he took the action when he discovered that it was on window-shopping mission upon receipt of the letter by going beyond his brief, embarking on subtle threats to all Nigerian banks, some private individuals and entities solely to shop for data and information to execute the brief contrary to the representations made to the Minister.
Malami’s averred that, “In a manner that clearly demonstrated that PASS was merely on a voyage of information and window-shopping, PASS, upon receipt of the letters hereinabove mentioned, went to town and unilaterally expanded the scope of its brief far beyond the Thirteen (13) banks covered by his brief and embarked on subtle threats to all Nigerian banks, some private individuals and entities solely to shop for data and information to execute the brief contrary to the representations made to me.” George Uboh
He added that, “Its only defence for the ultra vires were the fraudulent, baseless, unsubstantiated and illogical inferences that my letter of introduction dated 17th February, 2016 has endlessly expanded/enlarged the scope of its instructions while in actual sense, the said letter was expressly issued ‘pursuant to a February 9, 2016’s letter of engagement’ earlier given to PASS.
“In support of the claims contained in paragraph 9 above, I was inundated with the excesses of Dr. George Uboh of PASS and later found out that PASS actually wrote several banks (more than Thirteen (13) banks), private individuals, corporate entities (national and multinationals), government agencies and virtually all FGN’s Ministries soliciting for data, information, official records, remittances (funds and stocks) and records of whereabouts of all forfeited assets not yet disposed by some of the FGN agencies, amongst other things. George Uboh prison information in the US
“For the record, the entities, agencies and private individuals written by PASS in addition to the Thirteen (13) banks specifically/actually covered by its mandate include but not limited to the followings:
i. All Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
ii.     ALL Managing Directors of 25 Money Deposit Banks (MDBs) in Nigeria
iii.    Managing Director, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited
vii.   Managing Director, CitiBank Nigeria Limited
viii.  Managing Director, FBN Holdings Plc                  
ix.    Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON)
x.     Immediate Past M.D, AMCON
xi.    Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
xii.    Former Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Committee
xiii.   ALGON and some of its past and serving Executives
xiv.    DG/CEO, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)
xv.     Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Offences Commission
xvi.    Inspector General of the Police (IGP)
xvii.  Ag Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
xviii. Managing Director, Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC)
xix     Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA)
xxi.    Ag Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
xxii     Immediate Past Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji A. Dikko Inde
xxiii   Immediate Past AGF & Minister of Justice, Mr. Bello Adoke, SAN
xxiv   Ex-Minister of State for Finance/Minister of Finance, Mrs Nenadi Usman
xxv.   Immediate Past Governor of Akwa Ibom State,Senator Godswill Akpabio
xxvi  Mr. Tony Chukwu (who allegedly executed contracts on behalf of NDDC)
xxvii  Managing Director, Technip Offshore Nigeria Ltd.
xxviii Managing Director, Halliburton Energy Services Ltd.
Xxix   Managing Director, Intels Nigeria Ltd.
xxx   Managing Director, TransOcean
xxxi  Managing Director, Marubeni Nigeria Ltd
xxxii Managing Director, Nobles Drilling Nigeria Ltd.
xxxiii Managing Director, Japanese Gas Corporation Nig. Ltd.
xxxiv Managing Director, Snamprogetti
xxxv  Managing Director, SIEMEMS
xxxvi Managing Director, Julius Berger Nig. Ltd.
xxxvii Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria
xxxviii Accountant General of the Federation
xxxiv  Immediate Past Executive Secretary, TETFUND, Prof. Sulaiman Bagoro and other individuals not covered by PASS’ letter of engagement.”
Comrade Salihu Othman Isah further added that, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice also disclosed other excesses of Dr. George Uboh to include soliciting and/or requesting banks’ officials to allow him access to certain encrypted systems in order to enable him extract relevant information to execute the brief without appreciation of the security implications of such a delicate venture on Nigeria’s financial sector and without any prior discussions with and approval from me.
Also, Malami hinted that the PASS boss was also going about the execution of the brief in such a manner that would clearly embarrass the Federal Government, hence his decision to revoke the letter of engagement in order to avert any likelihood of security breach of high magnitude in the banking sector.
“I also gathered that Dr. George Uboh was soliciting and/or requesting banks’ officials to allow him access to certain encrypted systems in order to enable him to extract relevant information to execute the brief without appreciation of the security implications of such a delicate venture in Nigeria’s financial sector and without any prior discussions with and approval from me.
“In view of acting outside the scope of its brief and given the ways and manners Dr. Uboh was going about the execution of the brief which was clear to me would embarrass the FGN, and in order to avert any likelihood of security breach of high magnitude in the banking sector, I exercised my power under the letter of engagement dated 9th February 2017 by revoking the letter of engagement I earlier gave PASS vide my letter dated 24th March 2016.
“My decision to revoke the instructions was further re-enforced by the startling revelations, which were not disclosed to me by the personality (Dr. Uboh) that was requesting for those sensitive materials from the banks that he was indeed an ex-convict prosecuted after US law enforcement agents carried out a major raid on a credit card and bank fraud ring led by George Uboh in Georgia in 1992. He reportedly came out of jail on 16th January 2001.”
“Your Excellency, permit me to state emphatically that I did not fail to recover the above captioned sum allegedly traced by PASS as alleged. The fact is that the terms of letter of engagement I gave to PASS on 9th February, 2016 did not only place a duty on PASS to trace funds trapped in the listed banks (which to all intents and purposes PASS did not do prior to my revocation of the letter of engagement of PASS for acting outside its brief), the said letter of engagement imposed on PASS duties to trace, recover and remit FGN’s funds trapped in the Thirteen (13) banks listed in paragraph 2 of the letter.”
Malami also stated that, “I find it strange to read from PASS that I failed to recover the funds when it was clear that PASS had a duty to trace, recover and remit the funds with me providing requisite instructions and authority for PASS to do so which I did. To demonstrate my willingness, readiness and fidelity to the recovery exercise, I did not only give PASS a letter of engagement on the 9th February, 2016, I went further to give a letter introducing PASS to the Thirteen (13) banks covered by its brief on the 17th February, 2016, wherein I solicited the requisite cooperation, information and support of the banks to enable it carry out the recovery task on behalf of the FGN.
“Apart from the above, it is worthy of note that PASS did not submit any report to my office showing the tracing of the captioned sum or any sum at all upon which one could ascertain if PASS validly/actually traced the sum until after revocation of the engagement. Assuming without conceding that it traced, it was incumbent on it to recover and ensure remittance to the coffers of the FGN which never occurred during the subsistence of the engagement.”
“Specifically, the allegation that Access Bank met with me and extracted words of promise to the effect that I would talk to Dr. Uboh to soft pedal on the bank is unfounded and baseless. I state it with all sense of responsibility that no official of any Bank or anyone acting for the Access Bank or any other bank met with me in connection with PASS’ brief or any other recovery briefs. To allege that he sent a warning to me through my Personal Assistant that I should not call him on Access Bank and that I revoked his engagement because I could not talk to him is outright falsehood and the fact remains that I have never ever made an attempt to call him in life at any time prior to the engagement or thereafter and the idea of passing a warning on account of my purported call does not arise.”
To respond to the allegation that he refused to actualize the Presidential Committee on Asset Verification to be set up to probe the EFCC, the Attorney General of the Federation replied this way in his reply to Mr. President: “Your Excellency would recall that we discussed the need to probe/verify the assets of the EFCC, ICPC and PENCOM following which your Excellency gave a directive on the setting up of Three (3) separate committees to verify the assets of the above-mentioned agencies.
“It is clearly outside the scope of the engagement of Dr. Uboh to demand or raise issues that borders on the assignment in respect of which I am answerable and accountable to the Presidency. My opinion over this issue has been a subject of periodic report to the Presidency and my case is put to rest on that basis over this issue.”
“On the PASS’ claim that it engaged experts/contractors both in Nigeria and in the UK who purportedly worked with it to achieve ‘tracing’ of N300 Billion within 27 days, I state that PASS first laid claim to the purported engagement of experts/consultants through its letters to my office after I had revoked its engagement for acting outside its mandate.
“As a matter of fact, PASS just forwarded a preliminary report fraudulently backdated 23rd March, 2016 and served same on my office on the 29th March, 2016 after my revocation of its mandate in order for PASS to create an impression that the report had come in before the revocation. The claims of Dr. Uboh to the effect that he had indicated his readiness to submit a preliminary finding on some banks but for my official trip to Dubai is an afterthought and untrue as submission of reports, letters or documents are carried out in my Registry without my involvement before onward delivery to me by the designated officials.
 “Assuming without conceding that PASS had intended to submit a report to my office before the revocation, its claim can hold no water given the fact that the same PASS which claimed it had a report to submit could not promptly furnish my office with the documents I demanded for within 48 hours of receipt of my revocation letter pursuant to paragraph 5 of the revocation letter dated 24th March, 2016.
 “On Dr. Uboh’s claim that he worked under me at the Federal Ministry of Justice, I state that he had never and is not working under me at the Ministry or elsewhere. My decision to revoke PASS’ engagement is in the best interest of Nigeria and it is worthy of note that the issue of Five (5%) percent fee does not arise as conditions for earning such is not fulfilled in any manner whatsoever by PASS.”
In his letter to President Buhari, the HAGF/MOJ concluded that, “Your Excellency, the above are my comments on the three petitions forwarded to your Excellency by Dr. George Uboh dated 4th April, 2016. I did confirm I gave his firm, PASS an instruction to trace, recover and remit FGN’s funds tapped in Thirteen (13) banks contained in the Letter of Engagement I gave him on the 9th February, 2016.
“I further gave him a letter of introduction to the stated banks dated 17th February, 2016 when he asked for it so that he would get the required cooperation and support of the banks. However, I revoked the letter of engagement vide my letter dated 24th April, 2016 due to the fact that he acted outside of his brief by unilaterally expanding/extending the scope of the brief as evidenced in paragraph 10 of this Reply letter. The allegations against me forwarded by Dr. Uboh are baseless and I urge your Excellency to discountenance them as they are designed to disparage my office.”
Below is the full text of the letter to the Presidency by the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
RE:   1: PETITION: AGF MALAMI’S FAILURE TO RECOVER OVER N300 BILLION   TRACED BY OUR FIRM WITHIN 27 DAYS; AGF WORKED AGAINST US
       2: PETITION: ABUBAKAR MALAMI’S FAILURE TO ALLOW US TRACE   THE 1.993 TRILLION NAIRA EFCC FAILED TO REMIT TO THE FGN,  WHILE PROMISING TO SET UP A PHANTOM COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE EFCC
A Brief Background:
I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 15th April, 2016 together with an attached letter addressed to His Excellency, Mr. President by Messrs Panic Alert Security Systems (“PASS”) dated 4th April, 2016 and other accompanying documents, wherein you requested that I review the attached submissions contained in the documents and reply with comments as most appropriate.                                                                                
2.     By a proposal submitted to the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation (“OHAGF”) dated 3rd February, 2016, PASS, through its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. George Uboh, represented that its firm has the requisite capacity, competence and professional skills to render asset recovery services to the Federal Government of Nigeria (“FGN”) and that he had traced certain huge sums of money trapped in certain banks/financial institutions and other listed MDAs with firm assurances to recover and remit same to the coffers of the FGN if engaged by the FGN through the OHAGF.
3.      As a follow-up to the proposal referred to in paragraph 2 above, I acceded to his request to have further discussions with me with respect to his claims to recover and remit FGN’s funds trapped in certain Nigerian banks.
4.      Persuaded by his assurances and representations that he had actually traced the funds trapped in certain banks and MDAs with capacity to recover and remit same to the FGN, I decided to test his claims and restricted his instructions to Banks only and issued a letter of engagement in favour of its firm for asset recovery services on behalf of the FGN with specific mandate to trace and recover the alleged trapped funds in the following Thirteen (13) listed Nigerian banks: Access Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Limited, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Union Bank, Spring Bank – Enterprise Bank, AfriBank – Mainstreet Bank, Oceanic Bank – EcoBank, Bank PHB – Keystone Bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and Wema Bank, on the terms and terms expressly contained in the letter of engagement dated 9th February, 2016, among which was a term that payment of professional fees for the recoveries shall be contingent on actual recoveries (See Attached – Annexure 1)
Terms of the Engagement of PASS:
5.   For purpose of emphasis, the fundamental terms upon which PASS’ engagement rested are as contained in paragraphs 2 (iii.) (v.) & (vi.) of the aforesaid Letter of Engagement herein-below stated:            
(iii.)   A success fee of five percent (5%) of actual recoveries made and      remitted to  the designated accounts of the Federal Government      of Nigeria shall be paid to your firm as professional fees. This fee    shall be paid in respect of each recovery as soon as possible after        effective receipt of same by the Federal Government of Nigeria;     
(v.)    Your firm shall request and obtain the express approval of the undersigned before entering into any settlement, compromise or bargain (howsoever described)       involving a financial      claim, with any party involved in any proceedings or      processes connected  with this brief;
(vi.)   Without prejudice to my powers to demand a report of your activities at any time, you shall furnish my office with a monthly report (not exceeding the fifth day         of the succeeding month) detailing your activities and progress made, for the        month in question.
6.     By its letter dated 11th February, 2016, PASS wrote the OHAGF accepting all the terms contained in the Letter of Engagement of 9th February, 2016, assuring me of its diligence and professionalism in the discharge of the duties and obligations contained in the letter.
7.    Upon acceptance of the terms of engagement, Dr. George Uboh of PASS later requested and/or discussed with me to the effect that introduction of PASS to the Thirteen (13) listed banks/financial institutions (which are the definite/specific targets of the letter of engagement of 9th February, 2016 issued to PASS by me) would go a long way to enable PASS get the required cooperation and support from the Thirteen (13) Banks covered by their letter. In demonstration of my firm commitment to the recovery efforts of the FGN, I gave PASS a letter titled: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN dated 17th February, 2016, introducing PASS to the aforesaid banks/financial institutions ‘pursuant to its letter of engagement dated 9th February, 2016. (See Attached – Annexure 2)
8.   The aforesaid Letter of Engagement dated 9th February, 2016 and the subsequent Letter of Introduction dated 17th February, 2016 (“HAGF Letters”) were given to PASS on the firm understanding that PASS had already identified and/or traced specific FGN funds stashed/trapped in the aforementioned banks and that PASS would promptly embark on processes that would lead to actual recovery and remittance of the traced funds into the designated account of the FGN in line with the proposals submitted, presentations made and the terms contained in its letter of 9th February, 2016.
Revocation of PASS’ Letter of Engagement – How PASS Acted Outside of Its Brief:   
9.      In a manner that clearly demonstrated that PASS was merely on a voyage of information and window – shopping, PASS, upon receipt of the letters hereinabove mentioned, went to town and unilaterally expanded the scope of its brief far beyond the Thirteen (13) banks covered by his brief and embarked on subtle threats to all Nigerian banks, some private individuals and entities solely to shop for data and information to execute the brief contrary to the representations made to me. Its only defence for the ultra vires were the fraudulent, baseless, unsubstantiated and illogical inferences that my letter of introduction dated 17th February, 2016 has endlessly expanded/enlarged the scope of its instructions while in actual sense, the said letter was expressly issued ‘pursuant to a February 9, 2016’s letter of engagement’ earlier given to PASS.
10.   In support of the claims contained in paragraph 9 above, I was inundated with the excesses of Dr. George Uboh of PASS and later found out that PASS actually wrote several banks (more than Thirteen (13) banks), private individuals, corporate entities (national and multinationals), government agencies and virtually all FGN’s Ministries soliciting for data, information, official records, remittances (funds and stocks) and records of whereabouts of all forfeited assets not yet disposed by some of the FGN agencies, amongst other things. For the record, the entities, agencies and private individuals written by PASS in addition to the Thirteen (13) banks specifically/actually covered by its mandate include but not limited to the followings:
i.      All Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
ii.     ALL Managing Directors of 25 Money Deposit Banks (MDBs) in Nigeria
iii.    Managing Director, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited
vii.   Managing Director, CitiBank Nigeria Limited
viii.  Managing Director, FBN Holdings Plc                   
ix.    Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON)
x.     Immediate Past M.D, AMCON
xi.    Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
xii.    Former Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Committee
xiii.   ALGON and some of its past and serving Executives
xiv.    D.G/CEO, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)
xv.     Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Offences Commission
xvi.    Inspector General of the Police (IGP)
xvii.   A.g Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
xviii.  Managing Director, Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC)
xix     Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA)
xxi.    A.g Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
xxii     Immediate Past Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji A. Dikko Inde
xxiii   Immediate Past AGF & Minister of Justice, Mr. Bello Adoke, SAN
xxiv   Ex Minister of State for Finance/Minister of Finance,Mrs Nenadi Usman
xxv.   Immediate Past Governor of Akwa Ibom State,Senator Godswill Akpabio
xxvi. Mr. Tony Chukwu (who allegedly executed contracts on behalf of NDDC)
xxvii  Managing Director, Technip Offshore Nigeria Ltd.
xxviii Managing Director, Halliburton Energy Services Ltd.
Xxix   Managing Director, Intels Nigeria Ltd.
xxx   Managing Director, TransOcean
xxxi  Managing Director, Marubeni Nigeria Ltd
xxxii Managing Director, Nobles Drilling Nigeria Ltd.
xxxiii Managing Director, Japanese Gas Corporation Nig. Ltd.
xxxiv Managing Director, Snamprogetti
xxxv  Managing Director, SIEMEMS
xxxvi Managing Director, Julius Berger Nig. Ltd.
xxxvii Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria
xxxviii Accountant General of the Federation
xxxiv  Immediate Past Executive Secretary, TETFUND, Prof. Sulaiman Bagoro and other individuals not covered by PASS’ letter of engagement.(See Attached – Annextures 3 – 38)
      Other Excesses of Dr. George Uboh of PASS  
  11.    I also gathered that Dr. George Uboh was soliciting and/or requesting banks’ officials to allow him access to certain encrypted systems in order to enable him extract relevant information to execute the brief without appreciation of the security implications of such a delicate venture on Nigeria’s financial sector and without any prior discussions with and approval from me.
12.   In view of acting outside the scope of its brief and given the ways and manners Dr. Uboh was going about the execution of the brief which was clear to me would embarrass the FGN, and in order to avert any likelihood of security breach of high magnitude in the banking sector, I exercised my power under the letter of engagement dated 9th February, 2017 by revoking the letter of engagement I earlier gave PASS vide my letter dated 24th March, 2016 (See Attached – Annexure 39)
    Startling Revelations on the Past and Recent Convictions of Dr. Uboh for Serial Bank Fraud:
  13.    My decision to revoke the instructions was further re - enforced by the startling revelations, which were not disclosed to me by the personality (Dr. Uboh) that was requesting for those sensitive materials from the banks that he was indeed an ex - convict prosecuted after US law enforcement agents carried out a major raid on a credit card and bank fraud ring led by George Uboh in Georgia in 1992. He reportedly came out of jail on 16th January,2001.
  14.   As if history was repeating itself, the same Dr. Uboh of PASS recently described by the media as a serial fraudster was again prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to three (3) years imprisonment by Justice S. E. Aladetoyinbo of the
Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja on the Monday 25th April, 2016 (fifteen (15) years after he was jailed in the US) for converting the assets of the defunct Police Equipment Foundation (PEF) to his own personal use.
15.   Few days after I revoked PASS’ letter of engagement on the 24th April, 2016, Dr. Uboh forwarded a letter to my office on the 29th March, 2016  titled: RE: TRACING OF TRAPPED FGN ASSETS - PRELIMINARY REPORT OF RECOVERABLES OF OVER $598,698, 197.65 USD; N47, 138, 807, 063.49 NAIRA, 151,919.02 GBP and fraudulently back - dated the letter to 23rd March, 2016 purposely to make it pre – date my revocation letter of 24th March, 2016 in order to create an impression that he had furnished me with a report prior to the  revocation. (See Attached – Annexure 40)
16.     In furtherance of his antics against my clear instructions and by extension, the FGN, Dr. Uboh again forwarded on the same 29th March, 2016, another letter titled: EXPERTE ORDER AGAINST NON – COMPLIANT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS and also fraudulently back - dated the letter to 23rd March, 2016 purposely to also make it pre – date the revocation letter of 24th March, 2016 in order to further create an impression that he had sought my approval to proceed to court for an exparte order prior to the revocation letter. (See Attached - Annexure 41)
17.    Still  back - dated letters, Dr. Uboh also forwarded on the same 29th March, 2016 another letter titled: RE: LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT FOR ASSET RECOVERY SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA; PRELIMINARY REPORT ON RECOVERABLE OF OVER $589, 698,195.00 USD; 47; N138, 807, 004.00 NAIRA AND 23,517, 699.00 GPB, RE – REVOCATION OF LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT FOR ASSET RECOVERY SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA and also fraudulently back – dated it to 25th March,
   2016 - a date after my revocation letter wherein he made unsubstantiated claims and leveled allegations against me all in a bid to blackmail me, the allegations to which I  hereunder respond under a separate headings. (See Attached - Annexure 42)
18.     By a letter dated 11th April, 2016 and forwarded to my office on the same day titled: RE: LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT FOR ASSET RECOVERY SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA; PRELIMINARY REPORT ON RECOVERABLE OF OVER $589, 698,195.00 USD; 47; N138, 807, 004.00 NAIRA AND 23,517, 699.00 GBP, RE – REVOCATION OF LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT FOR ASSET RECOVERY SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA, Dr. Uboh forwarded a reminder on his earlier back – dated letter of 25th March, 2016 which was delivered to my office on the 29th March, 2016 with exact caption.
19.    By a letter dated 19th  April, 2016 and forwarded to my office on the same day titled: RE: LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT FOR ASSET RECOVERY SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA; PRELIMINARY REPORT ON RECOVERABLE OF OVER $589, 698,195.00 USD; N47, 138, 807, 004.00 NAIRA AND 23,517, 699.00 GBP, RE – REVOCATION OF LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT FOR ASSET RECOVERY SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA – SEVEN DAY NOTICE TO RESOLVE OUR 5% OUTSTANDING FEES, Dr. Uboh threatened, made false claims and demanded for payment of a Five (5%) fee based on his ‘speculative tracing’ despite failing to make any recover from the banks covered by his instructions or any bank or entity whatsoever before the revocation of his letter of engagement on the 24th March, 2016 on the ground that PASS acted and/or engaged in ‘various acts which are outside of its brief.
          REVIEWS AND COMMENTS ON THE THREE (3) LETTERS ADDRESED TO HIS EXCELLENCY, MR. PRESIDENT BY PASS ALL DATED 4TH APRIL, 2016
  20.   Central to the three (3) letters addressed to your Excellency, Mr. President by PASS on the 4th April, 2016 are:
(i.) The allegation that I failed to recover N300 Billion allegedly traced by PASS within 27 days
(ii.) The allegations that I made an unholy alliance with the banking sector mafia not to cooperate with PASS, and/or that I promised Access Bank that I would call Dr. Uboh to soft pedal on the Bank and;
(iii.) The allegation that I did not do anything to actualize the Presidential Committee on Assets Verification to be set up to probe EFCC. For the purpose of clarity and for the record, I would like to comment on each of stated allegations as below:
Allegation that I failed To Recover N300 Billion Allegedly Traced By PASS Within 27 Days:
21.  Your Excellency, permit me to state emphatically that I did not fail to recover the above captioned sum allegedly traced by PASS as alleged. The fact is that the terms of letter of engagement I gave to PASS on 9th February, 2016 did not only place a duty on PASS to trace funds trapped in the listed banks (which to all intents and purposes PASS did not do prior to my revocation of the letter of engagement of PASS for acting outside its brief), the said letter of engagement imposed on PASS duties to trace, recover and remit FGN’s funds trapped in the Thirteen (13) banks listed in paragraph 2 of the letter. I find it strange to read from PASS that I failed to recover the funds when it was clear that PASS had a duty to trace, recover and remit the funds with me providing requisite
  instructions and authority for PASS to do so which I did. To demonstrate my willingness, readiness and fidelity to the recovery exercise, I did not only give PASS a letter of engagement on the 9th February, 2016, I went further to give a letter introducing PASS to the Thirteen (13) banks covered by its brief on the 17th February, 2016, wherein I solicited the requisite cooperation, information and support of the banks to enable it carry out the recovery task on behalf of the FGN.
22.    Apart from the above, it is worthy of note that PASS did not submit any report to my office showing the tracing of the captioned sum or any sum at all upon which one could ascertain if PASS validly/actually traced the sum until after revocation of the engagement. Assuming without conceding that it traced, it was incumbent on it to recover and ensure remittance to the coffers of the FGN which never occurred during the subsistence of the engagement.
The allegations that I made an unholy alliance with the banking sector mafia not to cooperate with PASS, and/or that I promised Access Bank that I would call Dr. Uboh to soft pedal on the Bank
  23.    I must state that the above allegations are untrue, incorrect, false, a figment of the imagination of the author and a smear campaign by Dr. Uboh to tarnish my name. I did not make, never made and will never make any alliance with anyone in and outside of the banking industry to frustrate PASS or any firm from recovering any FGN’s funds stashed/trapped in the listed banks or any bank or company in Nigeria or elsewhere. Specifically, the allegation that Access Bank met with me and extracted words of promise to the effect that I would talk to Dr. Uboh to soft pedal on the bank is unfounded and baseless. I state it with
  all sense of responsibility that no official of any Bank or anyone acting for the Access Bank or any other bank met with me in connection with PASS’ brief or any other recovery briefs. To allege that he sent a warning to me through my Personal Assistant that I should not call him on Access Bank and that I revoked his engagement because I could not talk to him is outright falsehood and the fact remains that I have never ever made an attempt to call him in life at any time prior to the engagement or thereafter and the idea of passing a warning on account of my purported call does not arise.
The allegation that I did not do anything to actualize the Presidential Committee on Assets Verification to be set up t probe EFCC.                                                                      
  24.    Your Excellency would recall that we discussed the need to probe/verify the assets of the EFCC, ICPC and PENCOM following which your Excellency gave a directive on the setting up of Three (3) separate committees to verify the assets of the above mentioned agencies. It is clearly outside the scope of the engagement of Dr. Uboh to demand or raise issues that borders on the assignment in respect of which I am answerable and accountable to the Presidency. My opinion over this issue has been a subject of period report to the Presidency and my case is put to rest on that basis over this issue.
  COMMENTS ON ALLEGALTIONS, INFERENCES DRAWN AND SPURIOUS CLAIMS MADE BY DR. GEORGE UBOH AS CONTAINED IN HIS TWO LETTERS BOTH DATED 23RD, MARCH, 2016 AND DELIVERED IN MY OFFICE ON THE 29TH MARCH, 2016; HIS LETTER DATED 25TH MARCH, 2016 AND DELIVERED IN MY OFFICE ON THE 29TH MARCH, 2016 AND LETTERS RESPECTIVELY DATED 11TH APRIL, 2016 AND 19TH APRIL, 2016 BOTH DELIVERED IN MY OFFICE ON THE SAME DATES.                              
  Comments On PASS’ 1st Letter of 23rd March, 2016 Delivered to the OHAGF on 29th March, 2016:
25.    My comment on Dr. Uboh’s claims that he carried out some investigative assignment for me which took him to Dubai and UK where he traced the sum of 23, 365, 781.00 GBP in cash and regarding Mrs Cecilia Ibru under Ocean Bank report which he claimed to have submitted on the 3rd March, 2016 (para 3 of his letter dated 25th March, 2016 but delivered to my office on 29th March, 2016), he did not carry out any investigative assignment as claimed as he only submitted an already prepared proposal wherein he claimed that he has the requisite skills, capability, information and could trace, recover and remit certain funds of the FGN trapped in certain Nigerian banks. The report he claimed to have submitted on the 3rd March, 2016 was a proposal he submitted to my office prior to further discussions with him and PASS’ eventual engagement by the OHAGF to recover for the FGN, which fact I expressly stated in paragraph 1 of the letter of engagement I gave to him on the 9th February, 2016 and as such, his claim that he had been working for and/or with me prior to his formal engagement is incorrect, untrue and false. His engagement was for the joint functions of tracing and recovery and not severable chargeable fee for tracing and recovery.
26.    On the claim by PASS in paragraph 4 of the letter under review to the effect that PASS  sought for and obtained an expansion of its mandate on the strength of my letter of 17th February,2016 titled: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, I hereby comment that the letter of 17th February, 2016 did not, never intended and never expanded the scope of PASS’ mandate as the letter was given ‘pursuant to the letter of engagement of 9th February, 2016 (See paragraph 1 of the said letter) and was only meant to introduce PASS to the Thirteen (13) banks covered by the letter of engagement and nothing more. The letter of introduction was actually in response to the request from PASS that introducing PASS to the Thirteen (13) banks would further enhance the cooperation and support of the stated banks and nothing more. It logically follows therefore that all other acts of PASS outside of the Thirteen (13) banks are ultra vires of PASS and as such, outside of its brief.
27.   Contrary to Dr. Uboh’s claims in paragraph 5 of the same letter that he had earlier indicated his readiness to submit a preliminary report of his findings on at least Eight (8) commercial banks for specific recoverable of over $598 Million USD, N47 Billion Naira and 23 Million GBP prior to my official trip to Dubai, I wish to state clearly that I have never had cause to discuss anything official with him, inclusive of my trip to Dubai much less of requesting a report from him before the stated trip. His engagement was official and such demands are officially done. A formal written communication could have provided insight as to the truthfulness of the allegation or otherwise. Dr. Uboh did not and never stated his intention to submit to me any report prior to my said trip as it could be seen that the said preliminary report was fraudulently back - dated 23rd March, 2016 and forwarded to and/or received in my office on the 29th March, 2016 – a period of Five (5) days after revocation of the letter of engagement on the ground that PASS acted outside of its brief.
28.    On the allegations contained in paragraphs 6, 7 & 10 of the letter to the effect that pressures were mounted on me to bungle the recovery by promising to give and/or giving soft landing to Access Bank, I state that there was no pressure whatsover mounted on me by Access Bank or any bank to revoke the letter of engagement of PASS. As a matter of fact, I exercised my discretion pursuant to paragraph 2 of the revoked Letter of Engagement and/or elected to terminate PASS’ engagement solely because PASS acted outside of the mandate I gave to it which mandate only covered Thirteen (13) banks, and his material non – disclosure of his conviction at the time of the instructions which could have aided the exercise of my discretion in granting or refusing to grant my instructions.
29.    With regards to the demand for a Five (5) percent fees by PASS, I state that the terms of the revoked letter of engagement imposed on PASS the obligations to trace, recover and remit the stashed funds into the coffers of the FGN before PASS could lay any claim, earn or entitle to any fee under the engagement. However, PASS neither recovered/remitted any amount to the FGN nor submit any report of actual and verifiable tracing before the revocation of the engagement on the 24th March, 2016 and as such, PASS is not entitled to any fee from the FGN having not fulfilled the condition stated in paragraph 2 (iii) of the revoked letter of engagement.
Comments On PASS’ 2nd Letter of 23rd March, 2016 Delivered to the OHAGF on 29th March, 2016:
                                                                                            30.     My comment on the second letter of PASS dated 23rd March, 2016 and served on the OHAGF on the 29th March, 2019 after I had revoked its letter of engagement on the 24th March,2016 wherein it purportedly submitted a preliminary report for the first time after its engagement is that the said preliminary report came after revocation of the engagement and to the extent that PASS had not recovered and remitted any amount into the coffers of the FGN before the revocation, PASS has not earned the fee and cannot lay any  claim to such fees for assignments not executed as provided by paragraph 2 (iii) of the revoked Letter of Engagement.
Comments On PASS’ 3rd Letter of 23rd March, 2016 Delivered to the OHAGF on 29th March, 2016:
                                                                            31.    My comment on the third letter of PASS dated 23rd March, 2016 and served on the OHAGF on the 29th March, 2019 (a period of Five (5) days after revocation of PASS’ letter of engagement) titled: Exparte Order Against Non - Compliant Financial Institutions, wherein PASS sought my approval to proceed to court for an exparte order, is that upon revocation of PASS’ letter of engagement on the 24th March, 2016, its relationship with my office, and by extension, the FGN with respect to the brief extinguished and as such, PASS has no legal, moral or logical basis for seeking my approval after the revocation. Furthermore, the allegation that Access Bank penetrated my office to stall further investigation is ill conceived and baseless as I did not, never had and have not in any way prevented PASS from carrying on its mandate prior to the revocation of 24th April, 2016 which was clearly predicated on its acting outside of the mandate I gave it.
Comments on PASS’ Letter Dated 11th April, 2016 and Served On the Same Day:
32.    My comment on PASS’ letter of 11th April, 2016 served on same day reminding and demanding my expeditious action on the subject matter of an already revoked and extinguished mandate is misplaced, needless and off the point. It needs be borne in mind that there was/is nothing for me to act on in the circumstances of revocation of the PASS’ engagement solely for acting outside of its brief.
  Comments on PASS’ Letter of 19th April, 2016 and Served on the Same Day:
                                                    33.   My comment on PASS’ letter dated 19th April, 2016 and served on my office the same day after I had revoked its letter of engagement on the 24th March,2016 sub titled: ‘SEVEN – DAY NOTICE TO RESOLVE A FIVE (5) PERCENT OUTSTANDING FEE’  wherein Dr. Uboh referred to his letters of
  25th March, 2016 and 11th April, 2016 (both letters written, dated and served on the OHAGF after revocation of its engagement letter) and  further claimed that its mandate was to trace and not to recover funds, I wish to state that the provision of paragraph 2 of the revoked letter of engagement clearly mandated PASS to trace, recover and remit FGN’s funds trapped in the Thirteen (13) Banks listed in the same paragraph and to the extent that PASS had not evidently traced, recovered and remitted any fund to the FGN as contemplated by the cited paragraph, PASS has not earned any fee, is not entitled to any fee and  would amount to a mere rip off of the FGN to pay PASS any fee. 
34.    On the PASS’ claim that it engaged experts/contractors both in Nigeria and in the UK who purportedly worked with it to achieve ‘tracing’ of N300 Billion within 27 days, I state that PASS first laid claim to the purported engagement of experts/consultants through its letters to my office after I had revoked its engagement for acting outside its mandate. As a matter of fact, PASS just forwarded a preliminary report fraudulently back – dated 23rd March, 2016 and served same on my office on the 29th March, 2016 after my revocation of its mandate in order for PASS to create an impression that the report had come in before the revocation. The claims of Dr. Uboh to the effect that he had indicated his readiness to submit a preliminary finding on some banks but for my official trip to Dubai is an afterthought and untrue as submission of reports, letters or documents are carried out in my Registry without my involvement before onward delivery to me by the designated officials.
 35.   Assuming without conceding that PASS had intended to submit a report to my office before the revocation, its claim can hold no water given the fact that  the same PASS which claimed it had a report to submit could not promptly furnish my office with the documents I demanded for within 48 hours of receipt of my revocation letter pursuant to paragraph 5 of the revocation letter dated 24th March, 2016.
36.    On Dr. Uboh’s claim that he worked under me at the Federal Ministry of Justice, I state that he had never and is not working under me at the Ministry or elsewhere. My decision to revoke PASS’ engagement is in the best interest of Nigeria and it is worthy of note that the issue of Five (5%) percent fee does not arise as conditions for earning such is not fulfilled in any manner whatsover by PASS.
               Conclusion:
37.  Your Excellency, the above are my comments on the three petitions forwarded to your Excellency by Dr. George Uboh dated 4th April, 2016. I did confirm I gave his firm, PASS an instruction to trace, recover and remit FGN’s funds tapped in Thirteen (13) banks contained in the Letter of Engagement I gave him on the 9th February, 2016. I further gave him a letter of introduction to the stated banks dated 17th February, 2016 when he asked for it so that he would get the required cooperation and support of the banks. However, I revoked the letter of engagement vide my letter dated 24th April, 2016 due to the fact that he acted outside of his brief by unilaterally expanding/extending the scope of the brief as evidenced in paragraph 10 of this Reply letter. The allegations against me forwarded by Dr. Uboh are baseless and I urge your Excellency to discountenance them as they are designed to disparage my office.
    38.    While I appreciate your Excellency for the confidence reposed in me, I wish to assure your Excellency of my firm commitment and unalloyed loyalty.
  39.  Your Excellency, the above is for your consideration as I seize this opportunity to re - establish to your Excellency the assurances of my highest esteem and consideration.
  Abubakar Malami, SAN
Hon. Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice
          ANNEXTURES:
i.        A copy of Letter of Engagement dated 9th February, 2016
ii.         A copy of Letter of Acceptance dated 11th February, 2016
iii.        A copy of Letter of Introduction dated 17th February, 2016                  
v.          Copies of Letters to ALL Ministers of the Federal Republic of 
             Nigeria all dated 29th February, 2016
vi.         Copies of Letters to ALL Money Deposits Banks in Nigeria dated 7th  
             March, 2016
vii.        A copy of Letter to the M.D, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited dated  
             26th February, 2016
viii.       A copy of Letter to the M.D, Citi Bank Nigeria Limited dated 26th
             February, 2016
xiv.         A copy of Letter to the M.D, FBN Holding Plc dated  
             26th February, 2016
xv.        A copy of Letter to the M.D, Standard Chartered Bank Plc dated  
             26th February, 2016
xvi.       A copy of Letter to the Former M.D of AMCON dated 1st March,  
                                        2016
xvii.       A copy of Letter to the current M.D of AMCON dated 1st March,  
             2016
xviii.       A copy of Letter to the Chairman, FIRS dated 2nd March,  
              2016
xix.       A copy of Letter to the former Chairman, Presidential Amnesty   
             Programme 1st March, 2016
xx.        A copy of Letter to the current Chairman, Presidential Amnesty
             Programme 1st March, 2016
xxi.       A copy of Letter to the President, ALGON dated 2nd March, 2016
xxii       A copy of Letter to the former Secretary General, ALGON dated 2nd 
             March,2016
 xxiii.     A copy of Letter to the current Secretary General, ALGON dated 2nd  
             March, 2016.
xxiv.      A copy of Letter to the DG/CEO MIMC dated 7th March,2016
xxv.       A copy of Letter to Chairman, ICPC dated 1st March,2016   
xxvi.      A copy of Letter to the IGP dated 1st March,2016
xxvii.     A copy of Letter to the Acting NNDC dated 1st March,2016
xxviii.    A copy of Letter to the M.D PPMC dated 2nd  March,2016
xxxiv.    A copy of Letter to the M.D, NPA dated 1st March,2016
xxxv.     A copy of Letter to the Acting Chairman, EFCC dated 29th 
             February,2016   
xxxvi.     A copy of Letter to the former AGF & Minister of Justice dated 14th  
             March 2016    
xxxvi.    A copy of Letter to the former Minister of Justice dated 14th  
             March 2016.   
xxxvii.   A copy of Letter to the M.D, Technip Offshore Nigeria Ltd dated 7th  
             March 2016.
    xxxviii.  A copy of Letter to the M.D Halliburton Energy Services Ltd dated 
             7th March 2016
xxxvix.  A copy of Letter to the M.D, Intels Nigeria Limited dated
             7th March,2016.
xxxx.     A copy of Letter to the M.D, TransOcean dated 7th March,2016
xxxxi.    A copy of Letter to the M.D, Marubeni Nigeria Ltd. dated 7th  
             March,2016
xxxxi.    A copy of Letter to the M.D, Nobles Drilling Nig. Ltd. dated 7th 
             March,2016
xxxxi.    A copy of Letter to the M.D, Japanese Gas Corporation Nig. Ltd.  
             dated 7th March,2016
xxxxii.   A copy of Letter to the M.D, Snamprogetti dated 7th March,2016
xxxxiii.  A copy of Letter to the M.D, SIEMENS dated 7th March,2016
xxxxiv.  A copy of Letter to the M.D, Julius Berger Nig. Ltd dated 7th  
             March,2016
xxxxv.   A copy of Letter to the Governor, CBN dated 1st March 2016
xxxxvi   A copy of Letter to the Accountant General of the Federation dated 
             7th March,2016
xxxxvii. A copy of Letter to the former Executive Secretary, TETFUND 
             dated 16th March,2016
xxxxviii. Copies of letters to other corporate entities and private individuals.
 
Saharareporters

Civil society groups link herds financing to money laundering, terrorism

A coalition of some civil society groups, the minority interest rights advocates in Nigeria (MIRAN) have called on the federal and states governments of Benue and Nassarawa to immediately constitute an all-inclusive panel of enquires in their respective states on the Agatu massacre and bring the sponsors and perpetrators of the heinous crimes against humanity to justice. The group advised the Economic and financial crimes commission (EFCC) to critically look into cattle herds financing as it can be inextricably linked to money laundering and possible terror financing in Nigeria. Speaking after an emergency meeting held in Abuja to deliberate on the state of insecurity in the country , the group led by comrade Iyah Iyah who is the executive director of CDLE Nigeria chided the recent position of the northern governors forum on the criminal activities of herdsmen in all parts of the country and accuse them of being economical with the truth and clannish with the fact as it were with the Boko Haram issues during the last administration. The group advised the Nigerian president to seek counsel and advice outside his political ranks and associates in order to address the conundrum, while stating that security is too important an issue to be left in the hands of government operatives and politicians to address. The group further expressed their disappointment with the state governments of Benue and Nassarawa, the minister of interior and inspector general of police (IGP). The group lauded the success recorded in the north-east against Boko Haram by the Nigerian military but warned that the feat achieved on that front is being eroded by the activities of the so called herdsmen in other parts of the country. The group also berated the leadership of the National Assembly of being selective as they were silent when the Idoma minority ethnic group in Agatu areas of Benue state middle belt Nigeria were being massacred and their lands occupied by the Fulani herdsmen in their hundreds and only came aloud after the ukpabi Nimbo community of Uzowani local government area of Enugu state killings, which shows how minority rights and lives are usually taken for granted by the Nigerian establishments. The group went further in looking into the patterns of insecurity in Nigeria and exhaustively examined the federal governments mechanism to govern it within the paradigms of its ant-corruption fight and advised the Economic and financial crimes commission (EFCC) to critically look into cattle herds financing as it can be inextricably linked to money laundering and possible terror financing in Nigeria.

Vanguard

Buhari orders military to crush new Niger Delta militant group

President Muhammadu Buhari

Fidelis Soriwei, Olalekan Adetayo and Bayo Akinloye

President Muhammadu Buhari has given a fresh order to the military to crack down on a new militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers, which has been attacking oil installations.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered on Saturday that the President gave the directive on Friday, following the group’s attack on Chevron’s platform in Warri, Delta State, on Thursday and its blowing up of pipelines linking Warri and Kaduna refineries on Friday.

Following the attack on the Okan offshore production platform on Wednesday by the militants, Chevron said it had lost about 105,000 barrels of oil production in three days.

The oil major said the incident had affected about 35,000 barrels per day of its own net crude production, or about 15 per cent of its output in the country.

“Approximately 35,000 bpd of Chevron’s net crude oil production in Nigeria are impacted,” AFP quoted a Chevron’s spokeswoman, Isabel Ordonez, as saying in a statement.

The General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr. Deji Haastrup, confirmed the figure.

He said, “This is a very difficult time for the country because it needs the revenue it can get from oil production. Incidents such as this have the potential to impact that. We do hope that it does not seriously affect the country.”

Workers on the pipelines told one of our correspondents that before the attack, they had pumped 28,000 barrels from the Escravos terminal on Thursday.

“Both Warri and Kaduna refineries also got a delivery rate of 903,000 barrels just before the attacks,” the workers who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

The workers said following the attacks, they counted about 10 military air patrols over the pipelines on Saturday.

They also added that it had been difficult for fire fighters to quench the fire from the bombed pipelines.

“The fire is still on and it’s going to be hard to stop it because it’s huge,” the workers said on Saturday night.

It was learnt that following the attacks, which has the potential of adversely affecting the revenue of the country,  the President instructed the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force to stop the activities of the new group.

A presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The President gave special instruction to the military, especially to the Chief of Naval Staff, that this ugly development of vandals in the Niger Delta should end immediately.”

It was learnt that the President also ordered the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, to ensure that all waterways and platforms were protected against further attacks by the militants.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. -Gen. Rabe Abubakar, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Saturday, confirmed that the military had gotten the directive.

He said, “We have the order from the President and we are monitoring the activities of the new group.  All efforts will be made to bring out those behind it.

“The suspects who perpetrated the first vandalism were apprehended and paraded the day before yesterday (Thursday).

“These ones are not going to be different. We are going out on our operation to stop and apprehend them in accordance with the presidential directive.”

Abubakar was not specific about what measures would be taken to address the current situation.

“We are not deterred; nobody is happy about it but we are not deterred from doing what we are doing. And more proactive measures would be put in place.

“What they are doing is complete economic sabotage; it is economic terrorism,” he said.

Buhari had in April threatened that his administration would descend heavily on oil and gas pipelines vandals as well as other saboteurs the same way the nation’s Armed Forces were dealing with members of the Boko Haram sect.

The President who spoke in Beijing during a meeting he had with members of the Nigerian community in China, warned vandals and saboteurs blowing up oil and gas installations in Nigeria to desist immediately or face the  same drastic action being taken against Boko Haram  by the Armed Forces.

PUNCH.

Edo 2016: Oshiomhole, Odubu must not set Edo on fire- Onaiwu

 By Simon Ebegbulem, 

 They call him the ‘Solution’ but his real name is Earl Osaro Onaiwu. He is the Director General of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governors’ Forum as well as governorship aspirant of the PDP in the forthcoming September 10 election. In this interview with Saturday Vanguard, Onaiwu declares his preparedness to take over the mantle of leadership in Osadebey Avenue after Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s tenure. He also condemned the recent violence that occurred at Auchi when the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Pius Odubu visited the area to meet with delegates of the party.

 Excerpts:

 We learnt that PDP governorship aspirants were screened last Sunday, how was it? • Earl Osaro Onaiwu

We went for interactive session, it was a family affair. I believe that the four of us are qualified to govern this state but we cannot be candidates at the same time. As for me, I believe I am well equipped to govern the state because I have been involved in practicals in leadership, accountability, transparency and good governance. What I mean by that is I have had working relationships with serving governors. I can tell you that I know how governor Emmanuel Uduaghan built the Airport in Asaba, I know how he built the roads in Delta state. I can also tell you, I know how Governor Mimiko performed in Ondo state, how he built mega hospitals, beautiful roads, street lights. In Jigawa state, I was there when Governor Yuguda built the state stadium, the airport, new schools and many other projects. I can also tell you about Gombe. I have been involved in those things in the past nine years. I am therefore coming to bring that experience back home. I am not coming home to learn. I already have the experience. There are things we do which we call minimal impact and maximum output. I have learnt from my practical how to spend little money and achieve maximum output. I believe that the party will not make the mistake, but will look at the four of us and choose the right person to do the job. And because of the experience I have in working with governors, taking the youths off the street and empowering the women, the elderly, if I have been able to serve PDP governors for eight years, coming to serve our people is not to make money. It is about service, it is about loyalty, I want to come and give to our people what they gave to me. I am going to improve on what the present administration in Edo has done. 

 Do you think you have the structure to pick the ticket of the PDP?

 Party is the structure, a party that is strong, that is not weak is the structure. PDP is the only party that formed a government without any coalition, without agreement and it is in every local Government and every unit in this country. The party has been a strong structure since 1999. The only governor that was able to win election outside PDP was Mimiko because we had these new parties now. If there is anybody who believes that he has the structures as they claim, he should go and try in another party and see if he will win. After Mimiko did it and he won, any body who says he is a super star should try his popularity. I have been a faithful party man, I have been serving the party since 1999. PDP is the structure and anybody who has another structure should test it by running for the governorship under the umbrella of another party and test his popularity. For instance, we have over eight governorship aspirants in the APC and it is because the APC has formed government here, but if those aspirants feel they are popular let them try another political party and test their popularity. So PDP is the structure not the individual.

 In what areas do you think that Oshiomhole has not done well which you will want to do? 

 People criticize governors, not just Oshiomhole. Governance is a thankless job, people will always criticize you no matter what you have done. I can tell you for example that Jigawa state governor, while he was in office, lived in a three bedroom bungalow. In Abuja he stayed in Garki, he did not live in Asokoro or Maitama but people still criticized him. He transformed Jigawa state, but people still wrote petitions against him and he was dragged before the EFCC. Look at Bauchi state governor, when he took over in Bauchi, the civil servants were using Keke Napep, but by the time he left Bauchi every civil servant was riding a car and they built houses. He turned Bauchi around but people still say negative things about him. When you are a governor, no matter how hard you try, people will criticize you. Do you know that some people criticized Ogbemudia, despite all he did for the old Bende state? Are you trying to tell me that there is nothing Lucky Igbinedion administration did in Edo state, but you saw how they treated him. People have started criticizing Oshiomhole already and they will criticize him more when he leaves office.

 Odubu-Oshiomhole 

For me, the APC government in the state has done their best, we have seen their eight years, the PDP government which I will form by the special grace of God, will improve on what Oshiomhole has done and we will bring the PDP manifesto into play. The only area I frowned at by this government in Edo state is increasing the minimum wage at the tail end of the administration when we know that things are really bad with the economy. Though we know they have done well in boosting the IGR of the state but I believe the timing was not proper. I don’t believe in condemning a government out rightly or cancelling projects a previous government initiated unless they are not in the best interest of the people. I cannot say this man has failed or this one has failed because even at home, our wives complain about us, our children complain about us, no body is perfect. But when we form government, we will look at their policies and see what they have done wrong or right. The things they did wrong we will correct them while the good ones will be perfected. If they are building roads or schools they could not compete we will complete them because those things do not belong to Oshiomhole, they belong to the state. 

 Edo people cried for change after PDP ruled here for ten years and that brought Oshiomhole, do you think the people will vote for PDP this time around seeing what Oshiomhole has done? 

 I will not agree with you that the years of PDP were completely wasted. Don’t forget that that was the beginning of our democracy, we were testing democracy then so you should expect many mistakes. Governors who came at that time had that problem. Like I said earlier, government job is a thankless job, so people must talk. But for me, governance is about continuity and we must look at what is on ground so we can make progress. If I am sworn in as governor, if I don’t continue with Oshiomhole’s project people will say he failed but that may not be the case. But if you continue with those projects no body will say that governor failed. If Oshiomhole had continued with the projects inherited from the PDP people will not say PDP failed woefully. Whatever a previous government has done a new government should complete it as long as it is a project that will improve the lives of our people. For me, there is no benchmark to qualify the PDP’s ten years and APC’s eight years because it is about continuity. And whether the PDP will get the state back, yes we can. Because I am talking to market women, our youths, students, everybody. We are very optimistic that we will win in this state particularly when the APC at the center has not done well. The APC here does not have anything thing to campaign with that they have done at the Federal level so when we get into the elections we will have a lot to say about them. Buhari said he is fighting corruption but you know there are countries who give amnesty to corruption. If you say I have stolen money, charge me to court, not crucifying me in the papers. We hear every day that they have recovered money from people, let them publicly name the people they recovered money from and where the money is kept. The APC government as at today is anti people, look at it today everything has gone up, the price of food has gone up, so I don’t know what they will campaign with in the coming election in Edo state. 

Will there be free and fair PDP primary?

 We have insisted on transparent primaries, we have all agreed that we want to go to primaries. I have said that if we go for free and fair primaries and I am defeated, although I know I will not be defeated, I will embrace whoever is the winner. I know I am going to win so I will expect other aspirants to embrace me when I win the nomination. I am very optimistic because of my stability in the party, my sincerity of purpose, my dedication and service to the party. I know I will win the primaries and win for the party. People are already talking that I have no baggage so if I win the APC will find it difficult to campaign against me. Because we really do not need candidates that will create more problem for the party, that will be suicidal.

 How do you see the burning ing issues between Oshiomhole and his deputy? 

 I condemn that incident. Edo state is not known to be a violent state. Both of them must not set Edo on fire. I have asked the Commissioner of Police to please call a meeting of political parties and all the aspirants so that we can talk because some of the aspirants are moving around with thugs and it is not good. Edo is not a state of hooliganism but the level of hooliganism that we are witnessing already when the election has not come is scaring. We cannot go into a general election with this kind of tension, we must reduce the tension because if you want to be governor, you will be governor of the people so when you kill everybody how will you govern. Development cannot come when there is no peace in a state. I believe in peace, I am an apostle of peace. Even though we heard conflicting reports as to what really happened in Auchi but it is totally unacceptable to see that level of violence. We heard that the deputy wanted to go and intimidate Oshiomhole in his domain but Oshiomhole’s people chased him away. But the Deputy’s people said the attack was masterminded against the Deputy, so we don’t really know the truth but that is their own in-house problem. Whoever caused that violence, I condemned it totally. we don’t need violence in the state. What creates such tension is when politicians are desperate, giving money to thugs to go and cause mayhem. If you look at my campaign, each time I travel to a place you will never see thugs around me, I am a peaceful person and that is why everybody around me wears white, meaning purity. You cannot see my people shooting gun to scare any body and that I believe created the problem in Auchi. But both the governor and his deputy must not drag Edo people into their problem.

Vanguard

MY CANDID LETTER TO THE SENATE PRESIDENT

PENDULUM By DELE MOMODU

Your Excellency, I’m convinced the time has come to write you this letter despite the fact that I have some measure of access to you. I decided to do this in order to tackle the mischief makers who believe I’m your very close friend and as such must be a rabid supporter of yours. I have been accused of all sorts of garbage including being paid heavy sums of money from your bottomless pocket. I’m aware that most of these guys can never believe that anyone could stand up for principle without pecuniary gains. But before I go into the meat of this letter, I need to state my background briefly as I’m sure you don’t even know me well enough to understand and appreciate my socio-political trajectory.

I have read all sorts about you and I and it is necessary sometimes to put the records straight for the sake of doubting Thomases who can never see anything good in others. You were a Governor for eight years and I can’t remember ever meeting you one on one. The only time I believe we exchanged physical pleasantries would have been at the 70^th birthday dinner hosted in honour of your mother-in-law, Erelu Ojuolape Ojora at The Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos some years back. I remember seeing and greeting you and a few of the former and current Governors present including Olusegun Osoba, James Ibori, Babatunde Fashola and others.

I would later see one of the pictures I took at the party and read many years after that I was busy drinking champagne with James Ibori who was being wanted for several cases of corruption and so on. I could not believe my eyes because the picture showed clearly that I was chatting with Chief Olusegun Osoba while Ibori minding his business behind me but someone needed to rubbish me for reasons I could never fathom. Not just that, Ibori was still a Governor and would I run away from a function or refuse to greet people so as not to be accused of hobnobbing with corrupt leaders?

The next time I interfaced with you was after you employed Mr Bamikole Omishore who was my American campaign coordinator in Washington DC, when I joined the Presidential race from 2010-2011. I was happy that you got such a brilliant young man to manage your social media. But you and I got closer for only one reason in the past one year plus because we both campaigned vigorously for Major General Muhammadu Buhari and you and Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi were the best of pals and he has been my friend long before he became Governor of Rivers State. I loved the way you, Amaechi, Kwankwaso, Wamako, Tambuwal, Atiku Abubakar, and others took the bold decision that would change the course of Nigerian history for better or for worse when you abandoned PDP despite threats and harassments. I must have met you about twice in your Lagos home to strategise and was particularly impressed with your ability to rally the likes of Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Wale Tinubu and others who ordinarily would have felt a need to support the government in power. I was informed you were able to raise some stupendous amount of money during and after the APC primaries. We talked more on phone and you assured me constantly that everything was on course. The rest is history.

However trouble started as soon as victory came. I knew you had only one ambition and that was to become the Senate President. I thought that was a legitimate dream but did not envisage that it would turn out to be your albatross. Politics in Africa, and probably elsewhere, is a deadly game. You’ve fought several battles in your life but I doubt if you ever bargained for this one. It all started like a joke. Your party apparatchik was obviously opposed to your candidacy. You were equally determined to realise your life ambition. One of the rumours then was that you could not be trusted with power and that in the next four years you would have become unstoppable if you decide to go headlong for the Presidency. I’m not a member of your party so I could not understand what the hullabaloo was all about. The manner you emerged caught everyone unawares. The biggest problem was the fact that you sought and got the unequivocal support of members of the PDP in the Senate and even did a deal that made it possible for one of them to become your deputy. That was the hara-kiri you committed and your enemies would never forgive you for that.

One thing led to another, and things fell apart and the centre could no longer hold. You probably underestimated the resolve of your enemies to cut you down to size. The next we saw were allegations of impropriety levelled against you at the Code of Conduct Bureau. You were said to have been dodgy in your assets declaration forms. Anyway, it seemed you had touched the tiger by the tail and it remained to be seen how you would wriggle out of the monumental trouble you had inadvertently courted by your rebelliousness and bellicosity. I was personally irked that we were back to the Nuhu Ribadu days and I voiced my opinion openly. I was not defending you but defending the rights of man. I had thought naively that APC knew what it was getting into with an ill-assorted assemblage of different characters from varied backgrounds. I presumed there was an accord that all sinners became saints once they migrated and amalgamated with APC. The deluge of immigrants from PDP convinced me that President Buhari would have to sanctify the pollutants if any in the new party. Not once did I hear of any objection to the proliferation so I assumed all was well.

I never said you should not be prosecuted but that we should discourage a situation where every successive government uses anti-corruption camouflage to punish its enemies. This position was not meant to protect you but to discourage a perpetuation of such tradition. I wrote copiously against the harassment of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he went on similar trial. I had demonstrated publicly against the Yar’Adua cabal when they tried to stop Dr Goodluck Jonathan from assuming power when his boss was terminally ill. I remember also when I wrote an open letter to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in 2007 and how I was viciously attacked by his supporters. But what happened after? Nuhu himself was forced into exile as a victim of impunity. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and The Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi, formerly known as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, became veritable victims of impunity and I was vehemently opposed to their ordeals.

I needed to state this background very well as a way of documenting my modest contribution to the discouragement of impunity as a former victim myself under the military regimes. Now that it seems many Nigerians are comfortable with setting fire to an entire village in order to catch some rats, I will not belabour the issue further.  Please, permit me to now address the case at hand. I want you to know that no matter what you do henceforth, the case against you will go on. The earlier you resign yourself to fate the better. You have done all you can to prevent this from happening and the time has come for you to defend yourself as best as you can. I understand the psychological trauma you are under. You are in utter shock that a party you laboured with others to build and nurture has decided to treat you as a pariah. You are stupefied at the sudden turn of events.

But let me advise you, the Judiciary is still the best arbiter and if you’re truly innocent, you will be vindicated but if you are found guilty after exhausting all legal options available in the land you must take a bow and accept the judgment with equanimity. Even if the APC decides to sweep this under the carpet, someone may still bring it up tomorrow. It is in your best interest to face the bullet and hope for a miracle. I’m not one of those who have written off the Nigerian Judiciary. I will also not join those who have already convicted you in the court of public opinion. I’m a Christian and I know none of us can cast the first stone and we should be careful not to gloat over anyone’s misfortune.

Please, note that you must do nothing to pervert the course of justice by enacting hurriedly-packaged laws ostensibly meant to block your trial. It will further diminish you and make your sympathisers recoil in shame. To whom much is given, much is expected. God has been very kind to you and as a Muslim you must submit yourself only to the will of Allah, the only one who can forgive our sins. Who knows what the outcome may be at the end of the day?

I beg you in the name of God to take courage. Stand like a man and carry your heavy cross.

A TOAST TO FOLUKE ABDUL-RASAQ AT 60

One of the very quiet but powerful achievers in Nigeria today is a lady I admire and respect so much, Mrs Foluke Kafayat Abdul-Rasaq who is marking her 60^th birthday today. I was stunned beyond words when I came across her resume recently. It is noteworthy that despite her intimidating credentials, she remains humble and focussed.

Mrs Abdul-Rasaq holds a Master of Science in Banking and Finance from the University of Ibadan and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, Boston, USA. She is a non-Executive Director of Africa’s global bank UBA and has been the Chairman of the bank’s Board Credit Committee. As far back as 1997, she was Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State. She later served as an Executive Director of ML Securities, a stock brokerage firm.

A passionate lover of education, she set up the famous Bridge House College in Ikoyi, Lagos, an independent private sixth form co-educational institution. She is happily married with children and grandchildren.

Please, help me raise a toast to this virtuous woman.  ​

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