Japan's longest-serving prime minister Shinzo Abe shot dead - by Abiolapaul

Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe died in hospital on Friday, local media reported, hours after being shot at a political campaign event in an attack condemned as “absolutely unforgivable”. Citing a senior member of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, national broadcaster NHK said “former prime minister Abe died at a hospital in Kashihara city, Nara, where he was receiving medical treatment. He was 67.” The death was also reported by other broadcasters as well as the Japanese news agencies Jiji and Kyodo. The assassination of the country’s best-known politician comes despite Japan’s strict gun laws and with campaigning underway ahead of upper house elections on Sunday. Earlier Prime Minister Fumio Kishida abandoned the campaign trail and flew to Tokyo by helicopter where he addressed reporters in a voice that wavered with emotion. “Former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot in Nara and I have been informed he is in a very grave condition,” he said. “I pray that former prime minister Abe will survive,” he added, condemning “a barbaric act during election campaigning, which is the foundation of democracy.” “It is absolutely unforgivable. I condemn this act in the strongest terms.” The attack came before noon in the country’s western region of Nara, where Abe, 67, had been delivering a stump speech with security present, but spectators able to approach him easily. Footage broadcast by NHK showed him standing on a stage when a man dressed in a grey shirt and brown trousers begins approaching from behind, before drawing something from a bag and firing. At least two shots appear to be fired, each producing a cloud of smoke. As spectators and reporters ducked, a man was shown being tackled to the ground by security. He was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, reports said. Local media identified the man as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, citing police sources, with several media outlets describing him as a former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, the country’s navy. He was wielding a weapon described by local media as a “handmade gun”, and NHK said he told police after his arrest that he “targeted Abe with the intention of killing him”. ‘A Large Bang’ Witnesses at the scene described shock as the political event turned into chaos. “The first shot sounded like a toy bazooka,” a woman told NHK. “He didn’t fall and there was a large bang. The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke,” she added. “After the second shot, people surrounded him and gave him cardiac massage.” Abe was bleeding from the neck, witnesses said and photographs showed. He was reportedly initially responsive but subsequently lost consciousness. Officials from the local chapter of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party said there had been no threats before the incident and that his speech had been announced publicly. Kishida said “no decision” had been made on the election, though several parties announced their senior members would halt campaigning in the wake of the attack. The attack prompted international shock. “This is a very, very sad moment,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at a G20 meeting in Bali, saying the United States was “deeply saddened and deeply concerned”. Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha was “very shocked” at Abe’s shooting, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply distressed” by the news. ‘Profoundly Sad And Shocking’ Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, held office in 2006 for one year and again from 2012 to 2020 when he was forced to step down due to the debilitating bowel condition ulcerative colitis. He is a hawkish conservative who pushed for the revision of Japan’s pacifist constitution to recognise the country’s military and has stayed a prominent political figure even after his resignation. Japan has some of the world’s toughest gun-control laws, and annual deaths from firearms in the country of 125 million people are regularly in single figures. Getting a gun licence is a long and complicated process for Japanese citizens, who must first get a recommendation from a shooting association and then undergo strict police checks. Japan has seen “nothing like this for well over 50 to 60 years”, Corey Wallace, an assistant professor at Kanagawa University who focuses on Japanese politics, told AFP. He said the last similar incident was likely the 1960 assassination of Inejiro Asanuma, the leader of the Japan Socialist Party, who was stabbed by a right-wing youth. “But two days before an election, of a (man) who is so prominent… it’s really profoundly sad and shocking.” He noted, too, that Japanese politicians and voters are used to a personal and close-up style of campaigning. “This could really change.”

BREAKING: FG releases identities of 69 fleeing terrorists - by Abiolapaul

The authorities of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) have released the photographs of 69 inmates, including Boko Haram insurgents and others who escaped from the Kuje Medium Custodial Centre on Tuesday following attacks on the facility by insurgents. But the names of Hamisu Wadume, the notorious kidnap kingpin from Taraba and Boko Haram Commander, Al Barnawi were not in the list. The NCoS authorities were silent on them. Wadume was being detained in connection with the killing of three members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in a special operation led by embattled Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari. The list which carries the names and photographs of the wanted terrorists and other inmates was the first to be issued by the Service through the office of the Public Relations Officer, Umar Abubakar. It could not be ascertained if the names and faces were that of some Commanders of the insurgents or members of their families. But the NCoS only indicated that they are wanted Boko Haram insurgents and inmates who escaped from the custodial centre on Tuesday night. Amongst the names are Abdulkareem Musa, Abdulsalami Adamu, Abubakar A Habibu, Abubakar M Sadiq, Abubakar Mohammed, Akibu Musa Danjuma, Amodu Omale Salihu, Ismaila Idris Abdullahi. Others are Suleiman Zacharia, Sunday Micheal, Baluye Modu, Adamu Hagola, Ibrahim Musa, Auwal Abubakar, Muktar Umar and Musa Umar, amongst others.

Boris Johnson resigns as British Prime Minister

Embattled UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson agrees to resign Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to resign, his office said Thursday, ending an unprecedented political crisis over his future that has paralyzed Britain's government. An official in Johnson's Downing Street office confirmed the prime minister would announce his resignation later. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made. Johnson had rebuffed calls by his Cabinet to step down in the wake of ethics scandals. He gave in after more than 40 ministers quit his government and told him to go. It was not immediately clear whether Johnson would stay in office while the Conservative Party chooses a new leader, who will replace him as prime minister. Minutes before the news broke, Treasury chief Nadhim Zahawi called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign just 36 hours after Johnson put him in the job, while another newly appointed Cabinet minister quit her post. Zahawi said Johnson knew "the right thing to do" was to "go now." Zahawi was appointed late Tuesday to replace Rishi Sunak, who resigned saying he could no longer support Johnson after a series of ethics scandals. Education Secretary Michelle Donelan, who was also appointed on Tuesday following the resignation of her predecessor, announced her resignation Thursday morning. Johnson had rejected clamors for his resignation, digging in his heels even as dozens of officials quit and previously loyal allies urge him to go after yet another scandal engulfed his leadership. A group of Johnson's most trusted Cabinet ministers visited him at his office in Downing Street Wednesday, telling him to stand down after losing the trust of his party. But Johnson instead opted to fight for his political career and fired one of the Cabinet officials, Michael Gove, British media reported. It is rare for a prime minister to cling on to office in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. The Guardian's frontpage on Thursday called him "Desperate, deluded." "He's breached the trust that was put in him. He needs to recognise that he no longer has the moral authority to lead. And for him, it's over," Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told The Associated Press. Johnson, 58, was known for his knack for wiggling out of tight spots. He remained in power despite allegations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament and was dishonest to the public about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules. But recent disclosures that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against Chris Pincher, a Conservative lawmaker, before he promoted the man to a senior position turned out to be the last straw. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations leveled against Pincher - and shifting explanations from the government about what Johnson knew when he tapped him for a senior job enforcing party discipline. Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other Wednesday over the scandal. The two Cabinet heavyweights were responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain - the cost-of-living crisis and COVID-19. Javid captured the mood of many lawmakers when he said Johnson's actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the Conservative Party and the British government. "At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough," he told fellow lawmakers Wednesday. "I believe that point is now."

UK, U.S. Caution Citizens In Nigeria, Declare Parts Of Abuja, 19 States ‘No Go Areas’

U.S. says crimes in Nigeria are endemic throughout the country The United States Embassy in Nigeria has warned its citizens in Nigeria against travelling to some areas of the nation’s capital Abuja just as the United Kingdom (UK) has declared 19 States of the federation as “no go areas” for its citizens resident in the country. The States include Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara and riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River. The States in which citizens of Western nations should be cautious in travelling to include Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, Niger, Sokoto, Kogi, within 20km of the border with Niger in Kebbi State, Abia and non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Plateau, and Taraba. The new travelling adversary came amid the Boko Haram terrorists’ sack of the Kuje Medium Security Prison where they freed hundreds of inmates including all their 64 terror comrades being held in the prison. The US Embassy, in a statement titled ‘Abuja FCT prison break near the airport on July 5, 2022,’ described crimes in Nigeria as endemic throughout the country. According to the Embassy: “On the night of July 5, 2022, an attack on Kuje Prison freed a large portion of the estimated 1,000 prisoners. The prison lies approximately 27 miles southwest of the Central Business District. “An increase in crime is expected in and around Abuja. It is recommended that U.S. citizens should maintain a high state of personal security awareness for the next two weeks and avoid unnecessary travel on the airport road. “Crime is endemic throughout Nigeria and tends to spike after dark. Avoiding locations and situations that increase the likelihood of being victimized is the best defence. Avoid displays of valuables and limit nighttime activity. “Terrorist groups and those inspired by such organizations are intent on attacking U.S. citizens abroad. Terrorists are increasingly using less sophisticated methods of attack –including knives, firearms, and vehicles – to target crowds more effectively. Frequently, their aim is focused on unprotected or vulnerable targets, such as: “High-profile public events (sporting contests, political rallies, demonstrations, holiday events, celebratory gatherings, etc.), hotels, clubs, and restaurants frequented by tourists, places of worship, schools, parks, shopping malls and markets and public transportation systems (including subways, buses, trains, and scheduled commercial flights). “Actions to take: Be aware of your surroundings, Keep a low profile, carry proper identification, monitor local media for updates, review your personal security plans, always drive with your windows rolled up and the doors locked, and avoid large gatherings and protests, review alternative travel routes in case of unexpected protests or unrest, exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings or protests, always keep the doors to your residence locked, even when at home.”

Eight Things To Know About Late OPEC Scribe Barkindo By Samuel Oamen.

Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Mohammed Barkindo is dead. The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, announced his demise in a tweet in the early hours of Wednesday. 1. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo was born on April 20, 1959. 2. Barkindo completed his bachelor’s degree in political science from Ahmadu Bello University (Zaria, Nigeria) in 1981. 3. He bagged Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University in 1991, Prior to his MBA, in 1988 and earned a postgraduate diploma in Petroleum Economics from Oxford University. 4. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Federal University of Technology Yola. 5. He was Secretary General of OPEC, from August 1, 2016 until his death. 6. He served as Acting Secretary General in 2006, represented Nigeria on OPEC’s Economic Commission Board from 1993 to 2008, led the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation from 2009 to 2010, and headed Nigeria’s technical delegation to UN climate negotiations beginning in 1991. 7. Barkindo visited Buhari at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, July 5, 2022. 8. He died around 11 pm on Tuesday, July 5, 2022.

PANDORA PAPERS: Inside Peter Obi’s secret businesses — and how he broke the law

Peter Obi serially violated the law by failing to declare to the Code of Conduct Bureau the companies and assets he tucked away in secrecy havens. Taiwo-Hassan AdebayoByTaiwo-Hassan Adebayo October 4, 2021 in Headline Stories, Investigation/Special Reports, Pandora Papers 11 min read Peter Obi, the ex-governor of Anambra State in Southeastern Nigeria, is widely regarded in Nigeria as an advocate of good governance, openness, and transparency. In addition to speeches on his governance records and statistics-laden prescriptions for Nigeria’s development, he likes to talk about how hugely successful he became in business before diving into politics. In speeches and in printed literature, Mr Obi is never shy, reeling out his numerous business affiliations and accomplishments. On his website, for example, the former governor said he “was chairman of Next International Nigeria Ltd, then chairman and director of Guardian Express Mortgage Bank Ltd, Guardian Express Bank Plc, Future View Securities Ltd, Paymaster Nigeria Ltd, Chams Nigeria Ltd, Data Corp Ltd and Card Centre Ltd.” On that same platform, the former governor also described himself as the youngest board chairperson ever appointed by Fidelity Bank Plc, a 34-year old Nigerian lender listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. But beyond the facade of priggish speeches and appearances, an investigation by PREMIUM TIMES has now shown that Mr Obi is not entirely transparent in his affairs as he likes Nigerians to believe. The investigation is part of the global International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)-led Pandora Papers project. The project saw 600 journalists from 150 news organisations around the world poring through a trove of 11.9 million confidential files, contextualising information, tracking down sources and analysing public records and other documents. The leaked files were retrieved from some offshore services firms around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore entities for clients, many of them influential politicians, businesspersons and criminals, seeking to conceal their financial dealings. The two-year collaboration has so far revealed the financial secrets of not less than 35 current and former world leaders, more than 330 public officials in more than 91 countries and territories. Mr Obi is one of the individuals whose hidden business activities was thrown open by the project. Indeed, he has a number of secret business dealings and relationships that he has for years kept to his chest. These are businesses he clandestinely set up and operated overseas, including in notorious tax and secrecy havens in ways that breached Nigerian laws. PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr Obi with written questions and had an in-person interview with him weeks ahead of this publication. The former governor admitted that he did not declare these companies and the funds and properties they hold in his asset declaration filings with the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Nigerian government agency that deals with the issues of corruption, conflict of interest, and abuse of office by public servants. He said he was unaware that the law expected him to declare assets or companies he jointly owns with his family members or anyone else. The Pandora Papers, the biggest cross-border collaboration of journalists in history, is an investigation into a vast amount of previously hidden offshore companies, exposing secret assets, covert deals and hidden fortunes of the super-rich – among them more than 130 billionaires – and the powerful, including more 30 world leaders and hundreds of former and serving public officials across the world. The confidential documents also feature a global cast of fugitives, convicts, celebrities, football stars and others, including judges, tax officials, spy chiefs and mayors. The leaked records came from 14 offshore services firms from around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore nooks for clients like Mr Obi, who seek to shroud their financial activities, often suspicious, in secrecy. Peter Obi, his daughter and a secret business Mr Obi has two children- a daughter, Gabriella Nwamaka Frances Obi, and a son, Gregory Peter Oseloka Obi. Sometime in 2010, more than four years after he became governor, the politician developed an appetite to set up his first discreet company in the British Virgin Island. He named the company Gabriella Investments Limited, after his daughter To set up what has now become a convoluted business structure, Mr Obi first approached Acces International, a secrecy enabler in Monaco, France, to help him incorporate an offshore entity in one of the world’s most notorious tax havens noted for providing conduits for wealthy and privileged corrupt political elites to hide stolen cash to avoid the attention of tax authorities. Tax havens are politically and economically stable offshore jurisdictions or countries with extensive laws and systems that provide little or no tax obligations, but enable high secrecy and privacy protection for foreign individuals and businesses. Mr Obi also paid Acces International to provide nominee directors for the company. Nominee directors are residents of tax havens paid to sit on boards of companies to hide the identities of real owners of offshore firms. So, after accepting a brief from the then governor or his representatives, Acces International officials headed to the British Virgin Island, a notorious tax haven, where it contracted a local registered agent – Aleman Cordero Galindo & Lee Trust (BVI) Limited (Alcogal) — to set up Gabriella Investments Limited for Mr Obi. The 36-year old Alcogal is a Panamanian law firm that went on to open overseas subsidiaries offering company formation and registered agent services in BVI, Seychelles, Belize, and Bahamas, and the preparation of corporate documentation in relation to the companies formed. It also provides trust services through its subsidiary trust companies in Panama, BVI, and Belize. After extensive documentation, Gabriella Investment Limited was born on November 17, 2010, with registration number 1615538. Two figureheads – Antony Janse Van Vuuren and Lance Lawson — were appointed its first directors while ultimate control resided with Mr Obi. On the same day the company was incorporated, the nominee directors met and issued 50,000 shares of Gabriella Investment in favour of Hill International Holding Corporation, a shell International Business Company operating under the laws of Belize, another tax haven. The director of the company is Mr Van Vuuren, also one of the directors of Gabriella Investment. It is unclear what businesses Mr Obi transacted with the entities but in some communications, they were sometimes referred to as investment vehicles. Mr Obi told PREMIUM TIMES the offshore entity is the holding company for most of his assets and that the business structure he adapted was to enable him to avoid excessive taxation. “I am sure you too will not like to pay inheritance tax if you can avoid it,” he told the reporters who interviewed him. The Memorandum of Incorporation of Gabriella Investment said it was set up to carry on or undertake any business or activity, including trading of any commodities or goods, to do any act or enter into any transactions. Recalibrating the structure and bringing family under the umbrella Mr Obi has since rearranged his offshore businesses. First, he renamed Gabriella Investment. Beginning February 10, 2017, the company became known as PMGG Investments Limited in what is a combination of the first letters of the first names of Mr Obi’s nuclear family. P for Peter (ex-governor), M for Margaret (the ex-governor’s wife), G for Gabriella (the ex-governor’s daughter) and G for Gregory (the ex-governor’s son). Mr Obi has also now created a trust known as The Gabriella Settlement, an entity also registered in the BVI. According to Fidelity Investments, a trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows a third party, or trustee, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries. Experts believe that trusts are traditionally used for minimising taxes even though they can offer other estate plan benefits as well. By the current structuring of Mr Obi’s wealth and offshore businesses, The Gabriella Settlement, which appears to hold all or a majority of his assets, is the sole shareholder of PMGG Investments. In turn, a New Zealander entity, Granite Trust Company Limited is the sole trustee of The Gabriella Settlement. Sam Access International, the Monaco-based secrecy enabler Mr Obi first hired in 2010 to set up his offshore structure, was until August 23, 2019, the sole shareholder of Granite Trust. Antony Janse Van Vuuren, who has acted as a consistent and perpetual director for almost all of Mr Obi-related offshore entities popped up again, making the filing that brought in another Monaco-based company, Rhone Acces Sam as the sole shareholder of Granite Trust. However, Rhone Trust and Fiduciary S.A., a Swiss entity, is the ultimate holding company for Granite Trust. *Mr Peter Obi and his Man Friday* A central and recurring figure in former Governor Obi’s network of offshore companies and on whom the politician appears to place immense trust is Antony Janse Van Vuuren, a 70-year old South African based in the principality of Monaco in France. Experts in Illicit Financial Flows consider Monaco a tax haven because of its generous tax laws and policies. According to KPMG Multi Family Office, the principality of roughly 30,000 inhabitants does not charge wealth tax, property tax, investment income tax, and capital gains tax. It also does not tax dividends and directors’ fees and unless they are French nationals, resident individuals are not subject to personal income tax while inheritance tax is zero per cent for spouses and direct beneficiaries. It is unclear if it was this mouth-watering tax regime that attracted Mr Obi to Monaco. What is however clear is that, in 2010, four years after he became governor, the politician or his representatives hired Monaco-based Acces International, where Mr Van Vuuren has been partner and director for 25 years, to help him create a secret and intricate scheme for managing his assets. Mr Obi told PREMIUM TIMES that British Lloyds Bank’s advice informed his offshore structure decision. From Monaco in France to Tortola in the BVI, to Wellington in New Zealand, and to Geneva in Switzerland, Mr Van Vuuren has travelled around the world running business errands for Mr Obi and taking major decisions on his behalf. While Mr Obi stays comfortably behind the curtain, the South African has remained the face of the ex-governor’s companies and the assets they hold. For the past decade, he is the politician’s number one business arranger in the offshore world as well as the custodian of the politician’s business-related documents and correspondences. Mr Van Vuuren, a veteran nominee director for possibly tens or hundreds of shell companies, attended the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Business Management. He also obtained an MBA from Durham University in 1977. *A History of Playing Offshore* A 1991 leaked incorporation document reveals a certain Peter Obi and two other individuals – Donatus Ogbogu and Uche Okagbue – to have incorporated Beauchamp Investments Limited in Barbados. The firm was incorporated as an international business company on August 20, 1991, with registration number 7305. The setting up of the company was handled at the time by a certain Peter L. Chase. What businesses the company does and what assets it holds remain unclear. Mr Obi denied knowledge of the firm as well as of Messrs Ogbogu and Okagbue. He said the individual who incorporated Beauchamp was possibly another businessman who happened to bear a similar name as him. However, Next International (UK) Limited, another of the former governor’s overseas companies, was incorporated on May 16, 1996, in London. Mr Obi and his wife, Margaret, were listed as directors while Next International (Nigeria) Limited (with 999 ordinary shares) and Mr Obi (with one ordinary share) were listed as shareholders. The exact businesses the company undertook in its 25-year history remained unclear, although, on March 8, 2001, the firm reported taking a mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank Plc for a property on 53 Clyde Road, Croydon. *Breaking the Law: Number 1* In Nigeria, a person is statutorily obligated to withdraw from engaging in or directing a private business, except if it is farming, upon becoming a public officer, Section Six (6) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act stipulates. However, our investigation, based on records obtained from the UK Companies House shows that Mr Obi continued to be a director of Next International (UK) Limited for 14 months after becoming the governor of Anambra State, thereby breaking Nigeria’s law. The politician resigned from the company on May 16, 2008, 14 months after he assumed duties as Anambra governor. He took office on March 17, 2006. Mr Obi did not dispute the records PREMIUM TIMES cited but he claimed he “resigned immediately” by handing his wife his resignation letter. He suggested that his company might have failed to effect the changes on time or the UK Companies House did not immediately document his exit. But the UK companies registry said Mr Obi indeed resigned on May 16, 2008, and that it received his notice of resignation for electronic filing on June 16, 2008. *Breaking the law: Number 2* Nigerian public officers are required to declare “immediately after taking office and thereafter all” their properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his (or her) unmarried children under the age of eighteen years,” Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution stipulates (Section 11, Part of the Fifth Schedule). PREMIUM TIMES investigation also found that Mr Obi breached this constitutional provision on assets declaration. We can authoritatively report that Mr Obi did not declare to the Code of Conduct Bureau the companies he tucked away in offshore secrecy havens. Mr Obi caused to be created for him a structure of secrecy that had previously, until the Pandora Papers investigation, meant he could continue to hold foreign assets in a way that breaches Nigeria’s law without the knowledge of authorities in the country. In an extra layer of secrecy, Mr Obi used paid nominees as directors, while he remains the ultimate beneficial owner, making it nearly impossible to discover his interests in those companies but we obtained rare incorporation documents proving his link. Otherwise, Mr Obi could have forever hoped to continue to hold the assets, that he did not declare when he had a statutory obligation to do so as a governor, without any authority or the public calling him to account. In his response, Mr Obi ridiculously suggested that those offshore companies and assets are jointly owned with his family members and that he was not under obligation to declare companies jointly owned. “I don’t declare what is owned with others,” Mr Obi told PREMIUM TIMES. “If my family owns something I won’t declare it. I didn’t declare anything I jointly owed with anyone.” This is contrary to the position of the Constitution, which specifies the declaration of all assets, whether jointly or partly owned, PREMIUM TIMES’ reporters told Mr Obi. He said he was not aware of that provision of the law. Nevertheless, leaked records show Mr Obi is the sole ultimate beneficial owner of the offshore companies. So he did not even jointly own it with anyone. In that case, Mr Obi has violated Nigeria’s Code of Conduct law and, if authorities decide to act appropriately, he could be arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, a special court that tries public officers for any contravention of the Code of Conduct for Nigerian public officers as spelt out in the Fifth Schedule of the Nigerian constitution. The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) were established to enforce “a high standard of morality in the conduct of government business, and to ensure that the actions and behaviour of public officers conform to the highest standards of public morality and accountability.” *Breaking the law: Number 3* The former governor could be charged with failing to declare his offshore holdings and their associated assets and operating foreign accounts while being a public officer. The Nigerian constitution and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act forbid a public officer from maintaining or operating a bank account outside Nigeria. However, as a governor, Mr. Obi continued to operate and maintain foreign accounts, including with Lloyds TSB. Mr. Obi told PREMIUM TIMES that he received the advice to create an offshore structure from Lloyds TSB, which then introduced him to intermediaries who helped him to set up com where he continued to operate a foreign account as a governor. The offences violate sections of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended. Asked if he is concerned that Nigerians would be disappointed at him following our finding of his opaque and lawless dealings as a governor, Mr Obi said he was more concerned about his U.K. and U.S. schools alumni network, his business and foreign creditors. He insisted that he served well as Anambra governor and Nigerians already have their opinions about him. The former governor could be charged for failing to declare the company and its associated assets and perhaps operating foreign accounts while being a public officer. Mr Obi told PREMIUM TIMES that he received the advice to create an offshore structure from Lloyds where he continued to operate a foreign account as a governor. The offences violate sections of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended. Mr Obi and missed tax opportunity In June 2017, the federal government launched the Voluntary Assets and Income Disclosure Scheme (VAIDS), an initiative seeking voluntary disclosure of previously undeclared assets and income with a view to paying all outstanding liabilities. The VAIDS offered a nine-month window and incentives that included immunity from prosecution for tax evasion and undeclared assets, which would have benefited people like Mr Obi. A key objective of the VAIDS was curbing illicit financial flows and tax evasion, which commonly feature the use of offshore holdings to shift taxes from where they are earned to havens where little or no taxes are paid. The government in 2017 said defaulting individuals and corporate bodies who failed to take advantage of the VAIDS would be subject to criminal prosecution. A number of Nigerian public officials with previously undeclared assets tucked away overseas participated in the VAIDS and got clearance certificates. Mr. Obi shunned the scheme and continued with his opaque business dealings in breach of the law.

PDP crisis spills into Govs Forum, meeting yet to hold by John Alechenu

PDP South West Congress: Senator commends reconciliation committee The crack among governors elected on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party has widened. The body which before now held regular meetings has been unable to hold one since the party’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, unveiled Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate. Disagreements which started over the zoning of the party’s presidential ticket went into hibernation with the setting up of the Governor Samuel Ortom-led 38 member zoning committee. Vanguard, however, gathered in Abuja that the once cohesive power block became split down the middle as a result of the individual ambitions of members. While governors of the party from the South aligned with their colleagues across party lines for power to shift in 2023, the party leadership prevailed on the PDP Governors’ Forum, to consider the party’s larger interest by refusing to be drawn into the internal squabbles of the ruling All Progressives Congress. The Ortom committee recommended that the presidential ticket be thrown open, a recommendation which was upheld by the party’s National Executive Committee. However, the outcome of the party’s presidential primary which former Vice President Atiku Abubakar won and his subsequent choice of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as running mate, exposed disagreements which were hitherto discussed in hushed tones. Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, his Enugu and Abia State counterparts, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu respectively and others, who supported the aspirations of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, had hoped that having emerged as first runner up, Atiku would at least have considered him as running mate. This didn’t happen. Instead, those who supported Atiku’s decision to pick Okowa, “went to town to not only celebrate but also cast aspersions on the person of Wike”, says a party insider familiar with the issue. The party source who pleaded anonymity in order not to jeopardize peace efforts said, “What one had expected was a genuine effort to unite the party and build peace. We have an election ahead, we cannot go into the election without first putting our house in order.” A former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, however expressed confidence that the PDP will come out of its current challenges stronger. He explained that, “We in the Peoples Democratic Party will always face the challenge of choice because of the quality of our members and leaders. What is happening is a passing phase because what is required is the management of the outcome of a decision already taken. “Nigerians will agree that the three persons presented to our Presidential candidate to choose from have intimidating credentials in terms of quality and their performance in various capacities in the past and presently. “Governor Wike (of Rivers State), is known all over as ‘Mr. Projects’. In terms of infrastructural developments, he has done well. He has been chairman, he has been chief of staff, he has been a minister and he has been governor for eight years, he is eminently qualified. “Governor Okowa (of Delta State) has also been in the local government, he has been Secretary to the State Government, he has been a commissioner in his state, he has been a Senator, he has demonstrated capacity and you can see the number of medical centers that were built under his administration. “If you go to Governor Udom (of Akwa Ibom State), he is a modern developer who understands wealth creation. So, when you have such men before you to decide upon, you must definitely be confronted with the challenge of choice. “But having said this, a decision has been made and the party’s decisions expectedly are supreme. We will surely overcome these challenges and come out stronger. How do I know this, we have men and women who have their eyes on the goal for greater good.”