Introduction: Following the loss of corruption cases last week many Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) agree with the Federal Government that corruption is fighting back. However, before pointing accusing fingers at the judiciary it is pertinent to examine the facts and circumstances of the loss of such cases. In sharing my findings with the representatives of the CSOs gathered here I shall predict that the government stands to lose more corruption cases unless the federal government is prepared to reorganize the anti-graft agencies and review the anti-corruption policy in line with the proposals designed by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption.…
Author: Obayomi Abiola Benjamin
Obayomi Abiola Benjamin
I am Abiola OBAYOMI Benjamin, a Writer by Grace, an Author: (Developing Yourself Spiritually), a Blogger (Fridayposts.Com), Director, School of Marriage at Centre for New Dimension Leadership, Abuja and a passionate Nigerian. I believe Nigeria will be great again, but the change we need in Nigeria begins with all of us doing things differently. Collectively, we can make Nigeria work.
How will you deal with Malabu? When I posed that question to the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu last week Wednesday afternoon, I was watching out not only for what he would say but also for how he would say it. I had my reasons. As someone who rose to the top in one of the multinational oil companies operating in Nigeria, Kachikwu must know a lot about the management of our oil and gas sector. But he did not dissemble. “Malabu is a mess”, he volunteered, “But it has also presented us opportunities to deal with…
The House of Representatives plans to summon former President Goodluck Jonathan to explain his role in the controversial award of OPL 245 oil block licence, PREMIUM TIMES learnt Monday. Razak Atunwa, Chairman of the House Committee on Justice who leads an ad-hoc panel investigating the $1.3 billion Malabu oil deal, said efforts have commenced towards summoning the former president to testify. The money was paid by oil giants, Shell and ENI, for the oil block, one of the richest in Africa. About $1.1 billion of the money was paid directly into a Nigerian government account with JP Morgan while about…
The Federal Government says it will provide at least 15 million jobs for Nigerians by the year 2020 as captured in the recently launched Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, gave the assurance at a news conference on ERGP on Tuesday in Abuja. Udoma said that the implementation of the plan would deliver some key outcomes including generation of at least 10 gigawatt of electricity by 2020. “We want to bring down the rate of unemployment by creating over 15 million direct jobs by 2020 in agriculture, manufacturing, construction,…
What a relief! So, the Big Brother Naija reality television programme is finally over. It ended Sunday evening with 23-year old Efe Michael Ejemba, University of Jos graduate of Economics and singer winning the N25 million + SUV at stake, with 57.6% of the votes from over 24 million voters across Africa. Warri, where Efe’s family lives, erupted in excitement. At the Multichoice viewing centre in Ikeja, Lagos, where Katung Aduwak took charge so brilliantly, there was a similar eruption of incandescent joy. I was relieved because for about 70 days, the Big Brother Naija show was a big distraction,…
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), as well as some members of the National Assembly may have received about $400m from the $1.3bn paid by oil giants Shell and Eni, into a Federal Government escrow account, a new report suggests. A former Russian Ambassador and Intelligence Officer, Ednan Agaev, was quoted as saying this while speaking with officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States as well as Italian prosecutors, according to a report by an American news website, Buzzfeed. According to the PUNCH, detectives in the US, the Netherlands and Italy are…
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote joins the Diamond League today as he clocks 60. The international businessman, who started business modestly trading in sugar in the late 70s and early 80s, now presides over an industrial octopus, with interest in agriculture, oil, cement, oil, fruit juice, noodles and many others. Many prominent Nigerians have sent him congratulatory messages, with President Muhammadu Buhari, fittingly taking the lead. President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement Sunday joined the business world, Dangote’s friends and family in congratulating the Forbes’ rated richest African and black man for reaching the diamond milestone. Buhari noted Dangote’s patriotism and…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has auctioned $418 million at a marginal rate of N310 to a dollar, to airlines, agriculture, petroleum and raw materials sub sectors. The CBN acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor said in Abuja that the $480m offered last week was in addition to the $350 million sold as wholesale auction for travel allowance and school fees at the same period. He said that in the weeks ahead, the CBN would further sustain its intervention through the sale of foreign exchange to all segments of the market, like the interbank and the Bureau de Change…
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote joins the Diamond League today as he clocks 60. The international businessman, who started business modestly trading in sugar in the late 70s and early 80s, now presides over an industrial octopus, with interest in agriculture, oil, cement, oil, fruit juice, noodles and many others. Many prominent Nigerians have sent him congratulatory messages, with President Muhammadu Buhari, fittingly taking the lead. President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement Sunday joined the business world, Dangote’s friends and family in congratulating the Forbes’ rated richest African and black man for reaching the diamond milestone. Buhari noted Dangote’s patriotism and…
A federal high court in Lagos on Thursday ordered the final forfeiture of N1.83 billion, belonging to Dele Ezeoba, a former chief of naval staff. The court made the order for permanent forfeiture of the sum, following an application by Rotimi Oyedepo, prosecutor of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), pursuant to section 17 of the Advanced Fee Fraud Act 2006. Joined in the suit as defendants, were Chukwuka Onwuchekwa and Aquila Leasing Ltd. On March 15, Muslim Hassan, the trial judge, had issued an interim order for forfeiture of the said sum. Hassan had then ordered the EFCC…