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<h3>States afraid of negative effect of mass retrenchment on 2023 political agenda</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3>We’re doing PPP already, some projects are financed by World Bank, says Ekiti</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3>We’ll fish out ghost workers – Bauchi</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3>We are cutting down overheads – Enugu</h3>
</li>
</ul>
Many state governments have started reducing their overhead costs as part of measures aimed at addressing the dwindling funds from the federation account.
State officials, who disclosed this in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday, ruled out sacking  workers or slashing salaries in order to reduce the states’ wage bills.
Some of them also said that the governments had embarked on the private-public partnership to finance capital projects that had the potential of yielding revenue.
The officials said states that had yet to start the PPP, were also planning to embrace it to finance projects.
They confided in our correspondents that no matter how tight the finances of their states were, governors would not contemplate sacking workers  because of the possible political backlash.
Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, in a  letter dated April 26, 2021, informed  federal and state governments about its dwindling contribution to the federation account as a result of the bloated fuel subsidy.
The corporation also  indicated that it would not make any remittance for the April and May Federal Account Allocation Committee  after paying fuel subsidy from its revenue.
								
									
										
										
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As a solution to the dwindling revenue, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, at its meeting on May 20, called for immediate removal of fuel subsidy and suggested that the pump price of petrol should be  N385 per litre.
Despite the governors’ recommendation, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Kennie Obateru, in an interview with The PUNCH on Monday last week, ruled out the removal of fuel subsidy until  the conclusion of negotiations with the organised labour.
To compound the woes of the states, the Central Bank of  Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, after the CBN’s monetary policy committee meeting  in Abuja on Tuesday,  insisted that the bank  would start deducting budget support loans given to states.
At the National Economic Council meeting in April, the governors had  requested that the repayment of the loans borrowed from the CBN, which ought to start this month, be deferred.
On Sunday, a top official of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, who confided in one of our correspondents, said, “Except for a governor like El-Rufai (of Kaduna State), who is courageous enough to take decisions without thinking about the political implications for himself or his party, no governor will contemplate laying off workers less than  two years to the 2023 elections.
“Recall that one of the major causes of Chief Bisi Akande’s failure to win second term in 2003 was the reform that he carried out in the civil service as well as the teaching service. Some teachers were laid off because of the relevance of their subjects. Some civil servants lost their jobs because their certificates were not genuine.
“Although the old man is a good manager of people and resources, he lost the 2003 election partly because of the reform, which was in the overall interest of the state.”
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
We’re financing projects through PPP, IGR – Bauchi
 The Bauchi State Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Aminu Gamawa, in a text message sent to one of our correspondents, said the state government would not sack workers.
He,  however, said the state government would continue fishing out ghost workers in the payroll.
The commissioner stated, “The economies of Nigeria and Bauchi State are not in good shape. That is why some states are reducing their workers.  In Bauchi, we are approaching the problem in a creative manner.
“Instead of sacking  workers, we are focusing on ensuring that the payroll and the nominal roll of the state are sanitised to prevent fraud and corruption.  This will ensure that ghost workers and unproductive workers who are not adding value are fished out. This will enable the state to make some savings.
“We are also taking proactive and creative measures to increase our internally generated revenue.  This will provide the state with more resources to implement projects. Most of the projects that we are currently implementing in Bauchi are financed through the internally generated revenue and other creative ways like the private public partnership.
“We also believe that the role of the government is not to make people dependent on the government for handouts.  The role of the government is to create enabling environment for entrepreneurs and businesses to prosper, and create jobs, wealth and fight poverty.
				
					
						
						
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“We will ensure that workers are paid their legitimate salaries on time, but we will also ensure that the government gets value for the money it is spending.”
On his part, the Enugu  State Commissioner for Information,  Mr Chidi Aroh, said the state was working hard to cut down overheads.
Aroh stated, “He (the state governor) is also working hard to see how he will cut overheads in the state.
“ I am sure in a couple of weeks or so we are going to come out with a new principle to cut down a lot of  overheads in the state because the economy is bad and government must take the primary responsibility of   providing security and welfare of the people.”
In Sokoto State, Governor Aminu Tambuwal also said the state government was not considering sacking workers.
He stated, , “Instead an agreement would be brokered, when the need arises, to source for funds, we  will  tax elected officials and political appointees.
“Such funds and taxes would be used  to pay the civil servants pending when the situation improves and the deductions made would be repaid.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
“We give priority to prompt payment of salaries and pensions. The state government is doing its best in addressing the challenges of gratuity as well as other allowances to the workers.”
Also, the Kogi State Government  said that it had no plan to either sack  workers or reduce salaries of its workforce.
The Commissioner for Information and Communication Strategy, Kingsley Fanwo told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Sunday that the state government was still committed to its agreement with the state organised labour.
PPP has taken Ekiti this far in development – Commissioner
In Ekiti State, the  Commissioner for Information, Mr Akinbowale Omole, said  private public participation in projects execution had produced a lot for the state in terms of development.
Omole, who said that Ekiti was resolute not to sack workers despite the present dwindling resources, said the state was, however, reviewing the financial situation with a view to determine the way forward.
He said, “We are doing the PPP already. There are some projects that the World Bank is financing. There are some that the European Union is financing. We are doing that already and that is why we have been able to go this far in our developmental feat in the state.
				
					
						
						
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“We are still reviewing the financial situation that we are going through now, there is still no indication that it will continue for long period of time. We are still looking at it whether it will be a short-term problem or long term.
“If it is short term, I want to believe that we will still weather it. But if it extends too long, then we will sit back again and review the situation to see what will be done,” he said, while speaking on sustainability of the projects and as well meeting obligations to workers.
On efforts already taken by the state to address the situation, Omole said, “We run a serious government here and we set our priorities. There was a stakeholders’ meeting involving every stakeholder – the organised labour, the two state-owned universities, the political appointees and various groups that participate in revenue generation and share out of the revenue.
“We have looked at everything together and we have put some things before the stakeholders. The advice of various groups is coming in as per what the government should do in the circumstance and it is only a collation of these suggestions that will now determine the way forward. As I speak with you, we are still getting feedback from various groups,” the commissioner said.
 
We hope we won’t get to the level of retrenchment – Osun
Also, the Osun State Commissioner for Works, Remi Omowaiye, expressed hope that poor state of finances would not degenerate further and reach the level that the administration would consider sacking workers.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
Omowaiye, who declared that because of repayment of loans taken by the previous administrations, the state received the least amount from the federation account.
He  further said the administration had been performing its statutory obligations because of the financial ingenuity of the governor.
When contacted, Osun State  Nigeria Labour Congress Chairman, Jacob Adekomi, simply replied, “When we get to the bridge, we know how to cross it. Our national headquarters usually take decision on such issues.”
PPP is at the heart of all we do – Ogun govt
The Ogun State Government said that it would not drop any capital project, neither would it sack works despite the dwindling allocation from the Federal Government .
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kunle Somorin, who stated this in an interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday, said  the state government was creatively allocating resources to meet the developmental needs.
Somorin added that public private  partnership would be prioritised to ensure the needs were  met .
				
					
						
						
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He said “The PPP is at the heart of all we do. No capital project will be dropped. We are creatively allocating resources to meet our developmental needs. Ogun won’t slash workers salaries.
“Ogun is solvent. We won’t sack for lack of funds. The people are the essence of governance. Anybody sacked must have undergone a fair and due process after committing  service infractions.”
Recall that there was a crisis in Kaduna State, two weeks ago, when workers embarked on a strike because of the decision of the state government to sack workers in order to improve its finances.
”Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. 
Contact: <a href="mailto:theeditor@punchng.com">theeditor@punchng.com</a>

States afraid of negative effect of mass retrenchment on 2023 political agenda We’re doing PPP already, some projects are financed by World Bank, says Ekiti We’ll fish out ghost workers – Bauchi We are cutting down overheads – Enugu Many state governments have started reducing their overhead costs as part of measures aimed at addressing…

States bank on PPP projects as cash crunch bites harder

Flying Eze

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Sunday, said his regime would ensure that those who killed a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Ahmed Gulak, are brought to justice.
Buhari said this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, titled, ‘President Buhari expresses outrage, sadness over Gulak&#8217;s murder’.
Gulak, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to former President Goodluck Jonathan, was killed in Owerri, Imo State, earlier in the day.
Shehu quoted the President as describing the killing a premeditated.
He said the President expressed outrage and disgust over what he termed &#8220;the heinous murder of the Adamawa State-born politician, in Owerri, Imo State by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.&#8221;
The statement quoted him as saying that, &#8220;I&#8217;m repulsed by such premeditated and gruesome murder of Gulak by evil people who are determined to undermine the peace, unity and territorial integrity of our country.
&#8220;Let me warn however that nobody or group of people who engages in such despicable acts should expect to go free.
								
									
										
										
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“We will deploy all resources at our disposal to ensure that such callous and criminal elements are brought to justice.”
The President extended his condolences to the family of the deceased, the people and government of Adamawa State as well as Gulak’s friends and associates.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Sunday, said his regime would ensure that those who killed a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Ahmed Gulak, are brought to justice. Buhari said this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, titled, ‘President Buhari expresses outrage, sadness over…

I’ll ensure Gulak’s killers are brought to justice, says Buhari

The Federal Government says it has begun gathering evidence on government officials linked to the alleged looting of $69bn (N28.3tn) stashed in various bank accounts in Texas, the United States.
The loot reportedly accrued from illegal oil deals involving some officials of the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Central Bank of Nigeria during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The PUNCH on Friday exclusively reported that an American assets recovery firm, Forensic Assets Investigation and Recovery Services LLC, discovered the $69bn loot.
Findings showed that the American company, FAIR, is a specialist in anti-corruption asset recovery working independently to trace and help repatriate money stashed away in foreign bank accounts and loot converted to real estate, luxury items, yachts and the money markets.
The firm, founded by a lawyer, Gary Riebschlager, comprises investigators, forensic accountants, bankers, and cyber experts who utilise Mutual Legal Agreements and global Financial Intelligence Units, Camden Assets Recovery Inter-Agency Network, Global Focus Point Network in Asset Recovery (Interpol), and the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative of the World Bank.
In a January 2019 confidential memo to the Special Presidential Investigation Panel, FAIR said it could help the Federal Government recover the money if hired and compensated for its services.
Out of the loot, $9bn was reportedly traced to a Texas bank account allegedly belonging to the late National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi.
								
									
										
										
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Azazi died in a helicopter crash in Okoroba, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in December 2012 alongside the Governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, and others.
Two months after FAIR wrote the SPIP, the latter wrote a letter dated March 18, 2019 to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), on the matter, explaining FAIR’s proposal.
SPIP stated that FAIR assured that the $9bn allegedly stolen by Azazi could be recovered within three to five months.
The SPIP’s letter to the President, with reference number SPIP/SH/2019/VOL.1/1, was titled, ‘American assets investigation and recovery company has traced a definite $9bn funds linked to the late Gen Azazi.’
The letter was signed by a former SPIP Chairman, Okoi Obono-Obla.
It read in part, “In January 2019, an American assets recovery company, Forensic Assets Investigation and Recovery Services LLC, sent a confidential memo to us stating the discovery of a definite total amount of $9bn in the State of Texas linked to the late General Azazi (former NSA), plus an additional huge amount in excess of $60bn from multiple sources of illegal sales of crude oil from Nigeria into the entire United States of America.
“Mr President, the confidential memo to us prompted our agency to seriously engage the US company to determine the veracity of the information, which resulted in an official invitation to them that they may visit us to further discuss and agree on steps needed to recover and return the funds to the Nigerian government.”
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
“Follow-up information from the Americans indicate that the definite $9bn can be recovered and returned to Nigeria within 3 to 5 months, if engaged and expense fee is provided, while compensation and charges shall be paid upon recovery. They also informed us that the major funds were stolen via the NNPC and the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the letter to the President further stated.
Following the overwhelming evidence provided by the assets recovery company regarding the $9bn and their capacity to recover and return the fund,  the SPIP explained that it decided to engage the American forensic experts on a face-to-face meeting scheduled for March 29, 2019.
The panel also attached a copy of the firm’s acceptance letter to its memo to the President and sought Buhari’s approval for the planned meeting with the American company.
The memo noted, “Mr President, we intend to work together with the Americans in order to secure the recovery of the definite $9bn within 3-5 months they stated and to engage them to see and recover the larger part of the estimated $60bn-$80bn stolen from Nigeria during the oil boom. Also, to engage the NNPC and the CBN in the overall recovery of those funds in the United States.
“Our prayers to the President are: To approve the engagement of the American company to recover the funds and assets in the US and to approve the support of the visiting American firm to integrate software technology in the CBN in order to trace fraud funds.
“To approve the presence of interface offices of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel in NNPC and the CBN. Your Excellency, the immediate recovery of the identified $9bn within the stated timeframe of 3-5 months will totally eliminate borrowing to fund the 2018 budget deficit and sustain the 2019 budget.”
However, two years after the SPIP notified the President of the loot, the Federal Government was said to have not taken concrete steps to recover the money.
				
					
						
						
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Also, Obono-Obla had yet to conclude the recovery process when he was removed from the panel by the President and replaced by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata.
Over 400 criminal and graft cases retrieved from the SPIP by the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice were also found to have been abandoned.
However, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Friday told one of our correspondents that the Federal Government had swung into action with the aim of getting adequate information on the $69bn loot allegedly hidden in American banks in Texas as well as the government officials involved.
The AGF also said the relevant bank details would be traced.
Malami’s Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr Umar Gwandu, who spoke on behalf of the minister, said the government was at the information-gathering stage and would work on verifiable information.
Gwandu said, “The government has swung into action to generate adequate information on the alleged $69bn, inclusive of the Nigerians involved, incidental bank details, and actionable intelligence to enable us to deal with the matter.
“The details of the alleged lawyers involved and what information is at their disposal can also be very helpful.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
“The office of the Attorney General of the Federation works on cogent and verifiable information, not on media sensations or on speculations.”
Gwandu said the Buhari regime had the track record of repatriating stolen funds stashed in foreign accounts, saying it was one of the “visible and indelible” successes recorded by the regime.
He said, “The Office of the Attorney General has established a historical record of acting on cogent and verifiable information that has led to the recoveries of looted assets upon valid revelations that are subjected to integrity test by the assets recovery units of the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
“The integrity test of information is not media-based but a process being conducted through the laid-down official process in compliance with the extant laws.
“One of the prime and uncompromising policies of the present administration under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is the fight against corruption.”
We have nothing to say now–NNPC
Meanwhile, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department, NNPC, Kennie Obateru, told one of our correspondents that the corporation had nothing to say about the allegations.
				
					
						
						
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“You know the way NNPC is run, particularly on issues like this. We don’t have anything to say about it,” he stated.
However, some officials of the NNPC who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed doubt over the authenticity of FAIR’s findings.
“What is the entire budget of the country for a company to come up with an allegation that $69bn from illegal oil deals by NNPC was traced to American accounts?” asked an official, who requested not to be named due to the nature of the matter.
The official added, “Because somebody made an allegation does not mean that it has become a fact. Proper investigations should be done.”
Besides, as of the time of filing this report, efforts to get the reactions of the CBN, Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning had yet to yield positive results.
SERAP, CACOL, SAN, lawyers call for thorough probe
However, civil rights organisations, including the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, have called on the Federal Government to conduct a thorough probe of the alleged $69bn loot in Texas banks.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
The Executive Director of SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, said there were certain international procedures that Nigeria could follow to recover the looted funds, adding that the money was needed in the country.
He said, “The Nigerian authorities should investigate how the money got to the said accounts and hold whoever is/are responsible for it accountable so that the money does not get finally lost.”
Also, the Executive Director, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, said no stone should be left unturned in ensuring that the loot was repatriated back to the country.
“All of us should be vigilant, the media and the anti-corruption agencies, to ensure that no stone is left unturned on this matter,” he said.
Adeniran argued that the fraud happened in the first place because institutions such as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Office of the Accountant General, and anti-corruption agencies did not perform their duties of monitoring the receipts and expenditures of oil revenue.
He said, “There are international protocols which the Attorney General ought to have commenced but has been reluctant to do.
“The Auditor-General, Accountant General, and the minister under who it happened must answer questions.”
				
					
						
						
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Also, a human rights lawyer and former General Secretary of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Malachy Ugwumadu, said it was the responsibility of the government to recover stolen funds.
He said, “The government should try to avoid the pit-holes that we have all been encountering in the efforts to recover stolen funds in the past.
“Some of those pit-holes include the lengthy period of time that it takes to recover them.
“Take a look at the (Sani) Abacha loot, do you remember when Abacha ruled Nigeria?”
The lawyer advised that the issue should be tackled at the level of diplomatic engagement so that the loot would be “almost automatically” repatriated.
Meanwhile, the Convener, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution, Dare Ariyo-Akintoye, tackled the Buhari regime, saying it had no good reputation in dealing with foreign loot recovery firms.
He said, “Ordinarily, the Buhari administration is incapable of such recoveries, but if it can swallow its pride and seek the help of global assets recovery firms, it has a chance.”
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
Also, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, urged the government to recover the loot and use it for the benefit of Nigeria in a transparent and accountable way.
“The government should go ahead and recover the funds. It’s Nigeria’s money and it should be recovered and used for the Nigerian people. And there must be transparency and accountability in the use of the money.
“What projects is the money being used for? How is it being used? Where will it be kept first when it comes? How much is it? There must be transparency and accountability about it,” he said.
Meanwhile, when asked if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission would investigate the graft case, the commission’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, simply said the agency doesn’t give advance notice of its investigations.
He also declined to speak further.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission spokesperson, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
 Copyright PUNCH.
				
					
						
						
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All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. 
Contact: <a href="mailto:theeditor@punchng.com" target="_blank">theeditor@punchng.com</a>

The Federal Government says it has begun gathering evidence on government officials linked to the alleged looting of $69bn (N28.3tn) stashed in various bank accounts in Texas, the United States. The loot reportedly accrued from illegal oil deals involving some officials of the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Central Bank of Nigeria during…

Illegal Oil Deals

Illegal oil deals: FG to expose officials behind  $69bn loot in US banks

Parents and family members of the remaining kidnapped students and workers of the Greenfield University, Kaduna State, said they were forced to sell their property to raise ransom as the remaining victims regained freedom.
It was learnt that the bandits collected N180m ransom and eight new motorcycles.
The 13 students and three staff members of the privately-owned university were released by the bandits on Saturday afternoon some few kilomtres away from the school along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway.
They were abducted on April 20, 2021.
Bandits had invaded the university, killing an official before kidnapping 19 students and three female workers of the institution.
Few days later, five of the students were killed by the bandits for failure of the parents to raise the N800m ransom demanded by the bandits.
The spokesperson for the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Mohammed Jalige, confirmed the release of the remaining students and workers after 39 days in captivity.
								
									
										
										
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When asked of his health status, the police spokesman said once debriefed, “we will get back to you.”
Although the police were silent on whether or not a ransom was paid, it was learnt that parents paid some unspecified amount to the bandits who earlier demanded N800m ransom.
The bandits, however, reduced the ransom to N100m and 10 motorcycles and later asked the parents to pay N10m for each victim.
But our correspondent gathered from reliable sources that the parents paid ransom and provided eight brand new motorcycles to the bandits before the students regained their freedom.
Saturday Punch gathered that the bandits dropped the 13 students and three staff of the university at around a company from where the security operatives guarding the multi-million dollar firm.
Trouble started when the company security refused the parents who came to pick up their children, insisting that the students would be handed to the police.
The angry parents broke into the company and took their children away amid jubilation.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
Meanwhile, the aggrieved parents blamed both the federal and state governments as well as the Nigeria Police Force for the alleged non-challant attitude to secure the victims’ release.
They said they had to sell their assets to secure the release of their children from the bandits, who had earlier vowed to kill them if their demands were not met.
One of the freed staff members, Mrs Bassey, thanked God that they were returned safely and reunited with their families.
“I gave God all the glory that we returned safely. They tried to take care of us. We are eating normally,” she said.
Another parent, Mr. Bassey Bassey expressed joy over the release of his daughter.
He, however, expressed disappointment that Nigerian children had no future with the attitude of governments.
Bassey said, “After 40 days of trauma, trouble, confusion, disappointment that the future of Nigerian children were kidnapped, we are very happy that we see them again alive.
				
					
						
						
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“But it is disappointing that both federal and state governments could not lift a finger to secure their release. No government showed any intention to help. It was parents that rallied round to ensure that the students were released.
“We paid a huge amount of money to secure their release. The people (bandits) collected a number of motorbikes which we had to give because our destiny was tied up.
“There was no effort, no fight by government or security agencies to get them freed. We suffered, and sold all our properties to rescue our children. No government, no security agencies that came to help us. It is shameful that those who did not contribute anything came out to take the glory.
“Now is not a time to take that decision of returning our children back to that school. The school authority tried well. We will take that decision later.”
Mr Chukwuemeka Lawrence, a husband of one of the kidnapped workers, insisted that huge amounts were paid as ransom.
He said, “We paid ransom before they were released. The kidnappers called us and told us that government is behind them; that the government knows what they are doing and that we should look for more money.
“We begged them but they refused to listen to our pleas. We sold houses. The total amount we paid was N150m. I cannot hide the truth. Government promised to protect us but they are not doing so. How can my wife go to work for two days and I will be paying over N5m? I can’t hide the truth. That is what is killing us in this country.”
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
But in a video that went viral on Saturday, a parent who did not give his name said N180m was collected as ransom.
He said, “N180m; that is what they collected from us parents, without the help of the government. None of the government officials came to our aid. Since the 20th of April they took these children, the government did not release a single policeman to go after them despite the dead bodies that have been brought. We say we have a government, I’m sorry we don’t have any government. We only have those that are selfish for themselves and not for the masses.”
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. 
Contact: <a href="mailto:theeditor@punchng.com" target="_blank">theeditor@punchng.com</a>

Parents and family members of the remaining kidnapped students and workers of the Greenfield University, Kaduna State, said they were forced to sell their property to raise ransom as the remaining victims regained freedom. It was learnt that the bandits collected N180m ransom and eight new motorcycles. The 13 students and three staff members of…

We sold properties to raise N180m ransom, bought motorbikes for our children’s kidnappers – Parents of recently freed Kaduna students

Chelsea have defeated Manchester City 1-0 to win the Champions League in Porto on Saturday.
This is Chelsea&#8217;s second Champions League title after their 2012 triumph, while Pep Guardiola&#8217;s Manchester City appeared in the final for the first time.
Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the Champions League final.
Chelsea shattered Pep Guardiola&#8217;s dream of lifting the trophy for the third time, a decade on from his last triumph.
Havertz rounded Ederson to score three minutes before half-time at the Estadio do Dragao and the Chelsea players ran to the far end of the pitch to celebrate with the German.
Coach Thomas Tuchel, full of energy on the touchline just like his opposite number, punched the air in celebration, and later jumped with joy on the pitch after Chelsea held on for victory in the second half as City lost distraught skipper Kevin De Bruyne to injury.
The London club may have finished fourth in the Premier League, a huge 19 points behind the champions City, but this, remarkably, was their third win over Guardiola&#8217;s side in six weeks.
								
									
										
										
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They shattered City&#8217;s hopes of a domestic treble when they triumphed in the FA Cup semi-finals in April and then delayed their title celebrations with victory in Manchester.
Now, in a final watched by a limited crowd of just over 14,000 fans who created a raucous atmosphere, they have denied City the first Champions League crown they and Guardiola so crave.
City have had to wait 13 years since being taken over by Abu Dhabi&#8217;s Sheikh Mansour just to get to the Champions League final.
They are now the seventh consecutive team to lose in their first appearance at this stage. The same misfortune befell Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain last year as well as Tottenham Hotspur when they were beaten by Liverpool in the last all-English final in 2019.
Chelsea also lost when they first got to the final, succumbing on penalties against Manchester United in Moscow in 2008.
They overcame the final hurdle by beating Bayern Munich, also in a shoot-out, in 2012 and now they have their second European Cup to move level with Juventus, Benfica and Porto as well as another English side, Nottingham Forest.
<img srcset='https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220113/chelsea-ucl-final-255x170.jpeg 255w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220113/chelsea-ucl-final-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220113/chelsea-ucl-final-640x426.jpeg 640w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220113/chelsea-ucl-final-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220113/chelsea-ucl-final-960x639.jpeg 960w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220113/chelsea-ucl-final.jpeg 1024w' sizes='(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px' loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1000715 " src="https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220113/chelsea-ucl-final.jpeg" alt="" width="735" />Chelsea&#8217;s German midfielder Kai Havertz (R) prepares to score after beating Manchester City&#8217;s Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson during the UEFA Champions League final football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Dragao stadium in Porto on May 29, 2021. Photo: AFP)
Their transformation into one of Europe&#8217;s super clubs has been down to the riches of Roman Abramovich, their Russian oligarch owner who was in attendance at the game in Portugal.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
Chelsea have been transformed since the appointment as coach in January of Tuchel, but City were still the favourites off the back of their third Premier League title triumph in four seasons.
Feeding off the energy of the crowd in a stadium that Portuguese authorities had allowed to be filled to a third of its capacity &#8212; all fans required negative Covid-19 tests to gain entry &#8212; both teams played with a level of intensity rarely seen in the last year of football in empty grounds.
&#8211; Havertz&#8217;s marquee moment &#8211; 
City pressed high but struggled to trouble Edouard Mendy in the Chelsea goal, while at the other end Timo Werner should have done better than shoot straight at Ederson in the 14th minute.
Chelsea then suffered an injury blow as an emotional Thiago Silva was forced off hurt, Andreas Christensen taking the Brazilian&#8217;s place in central defence.
Yet it was they who opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, Mason Mount&#8217;s ball splitting the City defence with John Stones out of position, allowing Havertz &#8212; their marquee 71 million-pound ($100m) signing last summer &#8212; to go around the lunging Ederson and convert into an empty net.
City now needed to break down a Chelsea defence that has been exceptional since Tuchel came in.
But they lost De Bruyne just before the hour mark, the brilliant Belgian taken out in a collision with Antonio Ruediger that appeared to leave him concussed.
				
					
						
						
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<img srcset='https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220723/ucl-chelsea-wins-255x170.jpeg 255w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220723/ucl-chelsea-wins-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220723/ucl-chelsea-wins-640x427.jpeg 640w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220723/ucl-chelsea-wins-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220723/ucl-chelsea-wins-960x640.jpeg 960w, https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220723/ucl-chelsea-wins.jpeg 1024w' sizes='(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px' loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1000719 " src="https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/29220723/ucl-chelsea-wins.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" />Manchester City&#8217;s Argentine forward Sergio Aguero (R) reacts to the defeat as Chelsea&#8217;s players celebrate winning the UEFA Champions League final football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Dragao stadium in Porto on May 29, 2021. Photo: AFP)
He came off in tears, and Guardiola instead turned to Sergio Aguero for the latter stages, but there was to be no glorious send-off as a City player for the Argentine, even if a Riyad Mahrez shot sailed just over in the sixth minute of injury time.
There was also no third European Cup for Guardiola, who remains one adrift of the record for the coaches with most wins in the competition, held jointly by Bob Paisley, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane.

Chelsea have defeated Manchester City 1-0 to win the Champions League in Porto on Saturday. This is Chelsea’s second Champions League title after their 2012 triumph, while Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City appeared in the final for the first time. Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the Champions League final. Chelsea shattered Pep Guardiola’s dream…

Sports

Champions League

Chelsea

Man City

Ucl Final

[UPDATED] UCL final: Chelsea beat Man City to win Champions League

•Obasanjo, Abdusalami, Sultan, Ooni, others to meet over insecurity
•69 killed in herdsmen attacks, bandits abduct scores along Abuja-Kaduna road
The regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), marks six years on Saturday (today).
Before the emergence of the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party had been in power from 1999 to 2015.
Saturday PUNCH reports that Buhari, the candidate of the APC, was inaugurated for his first term on May 29, 2015, after defeating former President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP in the presidential election of that year.
In 2019, he was re-elected when he defeated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP. He was therefore inaugurated for a second term of another four years on May 29, 2019.
In his campaign promises, the retired military officer had promised to secure the country and improve its economy.
								
									
										
										
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While opinions differ on his performance in office in the last six years, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Friday, released a 45-page document of what he described as the regime’s giant strides.
 In his accompanying statement titled ‘The Buhari administration at 6: Counting the blessings one by one,’ the presidential spokesman claimed that the regime was recording giant strides enough to make Nigerians proud.
He added that only those who were “dispassionate and fair-minded, not beclouded by political partisanship and undue cynicism” would see the giant strides.
Adesina boasted that by the time the regime would end, the applause would be resounding “even from the worst of sceptics.”
The statement read, “The Muhammadu Buhari administration clocks six years May 29, 2021. This milestone affords the opportunity to reflect and recount the impact that has been made (and is being made) on different sectors of national life.
“From infrastructure, to finance, education, health care, sport, anti-corruption, human development, housing, oil and gas, foreign relations, and many others, the administration is recording giant strides, enough to make Nigerians proud.
“That is, those who are dispassionate and fair-minded, not beclouded by political partisanship and undue cynicism.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
“Some people claim: ‘we don’t see what they are doing. We don’t hear about it.’ Well, here it is. A fact sheet, a report card on the Buhari administration, just a bit of the successes, as the milestone of six years is attained.
“As it is said, the past is but a story told. The future may yet be written in gold. When the administration breasts the tape in another two years, by the grace of God, the applause will be resounding, even from the worst of sceptics. Facts are undeniable and always remain so. They are stubborn things.”
 On infrastructure, Adesina listed the establishment in 2020 of the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund with more than $1bn in funding so far; the launch of the Nigeria Innovation Fund to address investment opportunities in the domestic technology sector; the 156km Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail nearing completion; and the 327km Itakpe-Warri Standard Gauge Rail completed and inaugurated 33 years after construction began as some of the regime’s achievements.
On roads, he mentioned the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund investing over $1bn in three flagship projects: Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway, and the Executive Order 7 mobilising private investment into the development of key roads and bridges like Bodo-Bonny in Rivers and Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonshoki-Ojota in Lagos.
On social investment and poverty alleviation, Adesina said in 2016, Buhari launched the National Social Investment Programme, currently the largest of such programme in Africa and one of the largest in the world.
“Currently, the National Social Register of poor and vulnerable Nigerians has 32.6 million persons from more than seven million poor and vulnerable households, identified across 708 local government areas, 8,723 wards and 86,610 communities across the 36 states of the country and the FCT.
“From this number, 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households (comprising more than eight million individuals, in 45,744 communities from 5,483 wards of 557 LGAs in 35 states and the FCT, are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer programme, which pays a bimonthly stipend of N10,000 per household,” he said.
				
					
						
						
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On education and health, Adesina said since assuming office, the Buhari regime has committed more than N1.7tn of capital intervention to Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, through various means, including TETFund – with the universities taking the lion’s share of the total amount.
 He added, “The Federal Government has disbursed more than N170bn in UBE matching grants to states and the FCT since 2015, N8bn in special education grant to states and private providers of special education, and N34bn from the Teachers Professional Development Fund to states and the FCT.”
Other areas highlighted are creative industry and sports; fiscal, trade, monetary and investment reforms; presidential assent to legislative bills; executive orders; support to states; anti-corruption and transparency; security and justice system; diplomacy and international relations; and coronavirus response among others.
APC-led govt, a failure after six years –Reps minority caucus
Meanwhile, the minority caucus in the House of Representatives, on Friday, said it had taken stock of the performance of the administration of the APC-led Federal Government, describing it as a failure.
The caucus stated that the APC administration had failed on all fronts in the last six years, with its failure to “check the worsening insecurity and mass killing of citizens; its intrinsic corruption, mismanagement of our national economy, as well as the unrelenting assault on our national diversity.”
The caucus gave the verdict in a statement by the Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
The statement by the minority caucus partly read, “As lawmakers, our caucus is worried that exclusionist tendencies, trade restrictions, nepotism in government appointments, disregard to rule law, the relegation of constitutional order and principles of separation of powers; abuse of human rights, electoral malpractices, harassment of opposition and arrogant insensitivity to the sensibilities of the Nigerian people by the APC administration have occasioned instability, economic crisis and avoidable acrimony that are threatening our corporate existence as a country.
“Poor policies by the APC administration have stifled the economy and put the nation in dire straits with a disturbing 33.3 per cent unemployment rate, a scary 18.12 per cent inflation rate, over N32.9tn accumulated debt burden, a progressively devalued currency and collapsed infrastructure.
“Failure of the government to address escalated insecurity challenges has crippled the agricultural sector and disorganised commercial activities leading to imminent food crisis with the cost of food and other necessities of life skyrocketing beyond the reach of Nigerians.
“Nigeria, under the APC administration, has now become the poverty capital of the world, ranking 98th out of 107 in Global Hunger Index, with 22.95 food inflation rate and increasing morbidity and mortality rates.”
It urged the Federal Government to buckle down and use the occasion of May 29 to address the failures of the APC administration by taking urgent steps to tackle insecurity and other problems.
The opposition lawmakers added, “As representatives of the people, the minority caucus is worried that our nation is heading towards a failed state. We, therefore, urge President Muhammadu Buhari to buckle down and use the occasion of May 29 to address the failures of his administration by taking urgent steps to tackle insecurity, ensure respect for rule of law, end corruption in his government, adopt a more inclusive approach to governance and engage better hands to manage our economy.”
PDP cautions Buhari against empty speech, false performance claims
				
					
						
						
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In a related development, the PDP cautioned the President to use the May 29 speech to accept his failure in governance and desist from further exasperating Nigerians with his usual prepared text of false performance claims and empty promises.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, berated the APC for planning to “beguile Nigerians again with a planned fictitious performance campaign, when, in reality, there is no landmark achievement it initiated and completed for the benefit of Nigerians in last six years.”
The statement read, “President Buhari and the APC must know that Nigerians are no longer interested in their stage-managed Presidential addresses as well as the circus show of their so-called APC Legacy Awareness Campaign, particularly in the face of the horrendous situation they have plunged our nation.
“This is because in the last six years, President Buhari’s speeches have always been litanies of false claims, empty promises and lame excuses for failures, which the APC, in its penchant for lies, propaganda and beguilement wants to accentuate with their legacy awareness campaign.
“If indeed the Buhari Presidency and the APC have any achievement to showcase, would it be organising an awareness campaign to seek the understanding of Nigerians for its mass failures?
“It is trite wisdom that their works ought to be speaking for themselves like those of the PDP administration which are still being seen today in every sphere of our national life?
 “If they have anything to show, would President Buhari be begging that history should be kind to him for his failures? Would he go to faraway Paris, France, to declare that his administration is being plagued by ill-luck?
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
“Our party vehemently rejects this attempt by APC leaders to claim that their party failed because of the challenges that have befallen our nation, when in reality, the APC and the Buhari Presidency should be held responsible for their own failures.”
The PDP said Buhari and the APC must provide answers to why they had failed to forcefully condemn acts of terrorism in our country in addition to why they had failed to take decisive steps to vanquish terrorists, bandits and vandals ravaging the country.    ,,
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. 
Contact: <a href="mailto:theeditor@punchng.com" target="_blank">theeditor@punchng.com</a>

•Obasanjo, Abdusalami, Sultan, Ooni, others to meet over insecurity •69 killed in herdsmen attacks, bandits abduct scores along Abuja-Kaduna road The regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), marks six years on Saturday (today). Before the emergence of the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party had been in power from 1999 to…

May 29: Presidency, Reps disagree over Buhari’s six-year scorecard

<ul>
<li>
<h3>N28.3tn illegal funds remain in Texas banks since firm’s discovery in 2019</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3>Ex-NSA Azazi’s $9bn loot can be recovered within three months – US firm</h3>
</li>
</ul>
An American assets recovery firm, Forensic Assets Investigation and Recovery Services LLC, has traced  $69bn  (about N28.3tn) to different Texas bank accounts accrued from illegal oil deals by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
The money was believed to have been siphoned from undeclared crude oil sales under the Goodluck Jonathan administration allegedly by the NNPC officials and their collaborators in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Out of the stash, $9bn  was traced to a Texas bank account allegedly belonging to a former National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi.
Azazi died in a helicopter crash in Okoroba, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State,  in December 2012, alongside the Governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, Warrant Officer Kamal Mohammed; a prominent politician from Kaduna, Dauda Psokho; the pilot, identified as Commander Muritala  Daba; and co-pilot, Lt Col. Adeyemi Sowole.
The assets recovery firm in a confidential memo to the Special Presidential Investigation Panel said it could recover the money if engaged and its expenses and compensation paid.
The former SPIP Chairman, Okon Obono-Obla had yet to conclude the recovery process before the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), removed him from the panel and directed the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata, to take over the affairs of the SPIP.
Findings by The PUNCH indicate that the American company, FAIR, is a specialist in anti-corruption asset recovery working independently to trace and help repatriate money stashed away in foreign bank accounts and loot converted to real estate, luxury items, yachts and the money markets.
								
									
										
										
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The firm, founded by a lawyer, Gary Riebschlager, comprises investigators, forensic accountants, bankers, and cyber experts who utilise Mutual Legal Agreements and global Financial Intelligence Units, Camden Assets Recovery Inter-Agency Network, Global Focus Point Network in Asset Recovery (Interpol), and the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative of the World Bank.
In a letter to the President on the matter dated March 18, 2019, the SPIP explained that the assets recovery firm had  assured that the $9bn belonging to Azazi could be recovered within three to five months, if engaged and the necessary fee paid while its charges and compensation would be paid upon recovery.
However, two years after the SPIP notified the President about the loot, the Federal Government has not taken concrete steps to recover the money.
Our correspondent had reported that over 400 criminal and graft cases retrieved from the SPIP by the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice had been abandoned.
The SPIP letter with reference number SPIP/SH/2019/VOL.1/1 titled, ‘American assets investigation and recovery company has traced a definite $9bn  funds linked to late Gen. Azazi,’ was signed by the then chairman of the panel, Okoi Obono-Obla.
It read in part, “In January 2019, an American assets recovery company, Forensic Assets Investigation and Recovery Services LLC sent a confidential memo to us stating the discovery of a definite total amount of $9bn in the State of Texas linked to late General Azazi (former NSA), plus additional huge amount in excess of $60bn from multiple sources of illegal sales of crude oil from Nigeria into the entire United States of America.
“Mr President, the confidential memo to us prompted our agency to seriously engage the US company to determine the veracity of the information, which resulted in an official invitation to them that they may visit us to further discuss and agree on steps needed to recover and return the funds to the Nigerian government.”
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
“Follow-up information from the Americans indicate that the definite $9bn can be recovered and returned to Nigeria within 3 to 5 months , if engaged and expense fee is provided, while compensation and charges shall be paid upon recovery. They also informed us that the major funds were stolen via the NNPC and the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the letter to the President further stated.
Following the overwhelming evidence provided by the assets recovery company regarding the $9bn and their capacity to recover and return the fund,  the SPIP explained that it decided to engage with the American forensic experts on a face-to-face meeting scheduled for March 29, 2019.
The panel also attached a copy of the firm’s acceptance letter to its memo to the President and sought Buhari’s approval for the planned meeting with the American company.
The memo noted, “Mr President, we intend to work together with the Americans in order to secure the recovery of the definite $9bn within 3-5 months they stated and to engage them to see and recover the larger part of the estimated $60bn-$80 stolen from Nigeria during the oil boom. Also, to engage the NNPC and the CBN in the overall recovery of those funds in the United States.
“Our prayers to the President are: To approve the engagement of the American company to recover the funds and assets in the US and to approve the support of the visiting American firm to integrate software technology in the CBN in order to trace fraud funds.
“To approve the presence of interface offices of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel in NNPC and the  CBN. Your Excellency, the immediate recovery of the identified $9bn within the stated timeframe of 3-5 months will totally eliminate borrowing to fund the 2018 budget deficit and sustain the 2019 budget.”
Our correspondent sought the comment of the Forensic Assets Investigation and Recovery Services LLC on the hidden funds but the firm failed to respond to inquiries despite claims on its website that it responds to inquiries within 24 hours.
				
					
						
						
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But a special investigator with the SPIP, Tosin Ojaomo, asked Buhari to give approval for the continuation of investigations into certain cases that could make huge assets recoveries for the nation, noting that the AGF had placed an embargo on the operation of the panel and stalled its assets recovery efforts.
The lawyer, who appeared before the  Ad hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots, House of Representatives, on Wednesday said, “The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property has started the process of recovering most of these funds but the AGF has wielded his big stick by placing embargo on further operations of the panel.
“We hope that President Buhari can intervene in this matter to ensure that all the cases which were thoroughly investigated by the panel which is about to lead to huge recoveries for the country be allowed to continue. I advise that President Buhari after taking the audacious step of setting up the panel after 13 years of existence of the law should allow the constitution of this panel   and direct the immediate opening of its office.”
Ojaomo further called for support for the SPIP by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, stressing that the country has a lot to benefit from the panel’s operations.
Malami has a record of facilitating assets recoveries – Media aide
The Media Aide to the AGF, Dr Umar Gwandu, said his principal had a record of facilitating assets recoveries, noting that he could not have scrapped the SPIP as he was not the President.
Gwandu said the allegations against Malami was a figment of the imagination of mischief-makers “who are bent on destroying the hard-earned image” of the AGF.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
He stated, “The Attorney-General of the Federation has a record of facilitating the recovery of looted assets across the globe. It is evidently clear and records are available that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation has facilitated recoveries of looted Nigerian assets in United States of America,  United Kingdom, among others.
“The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has a record of leading the Nigerian legal team against the payment of USD9.5bn related to P&amp;ID case.”
According to Malami’s spokesman, “such a diligent and patriotic public office holder will never frustrate the recovery of any Nigerian looted funds. Please check your facts as to why the SPIP was scrapped? Who were the actors that resulted into the stoppage of the SPIP? The meaning of SPIP is Special Presidential Investigation Panel; it is presidential.’’
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. 
Contact: <a href="mailto:theeditor@punchng.com" target="_blank">theeditor@punchng.com</a>

				
					
						
						
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N28.3tn illegal funds remain in Texas banks since firm’s discovery in 2019 Ex-NSA Azazi’s $9bn loot can be recovered within three months – US firm An American assets recovery firm, Forensic Assets Investigation and Recovery Services LLC, has traced  $69bn  (about N28.3tn) to different Texas bank accounts accrued from illegal oil deals by the Nigerian…

Illegal oil deals: FG fails to recover $69bn loot in American banks

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has appointed Major-General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff.
This is according to a statement signed and released on Thursday by military spokesperson, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu.
His appointment came barely six days after the former Chief of Army Staff, Attahiru Ibrahim, and 10 officers lost their lives in a plane crash in Abuja.
&#8220;Prior to his appointment Major-General Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counter terrorism Counter Insurgency military outfit in the North East code-named Operation HADIN KAI,&#8221; the statement added.
Details later&#8230;

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has appointed Major-General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff. This is according to a statement signed and released on Thursday by military spokesperson, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu. His appointment came barely six days after the former Chief of Army Staff, Attahiru Ibrahim, and 10 officers lost…

Chief Of Army Staff

Farouk Yahaya

BREAKING: Buhari appoints Farouk Yahaya new Chief of Army Staff

• Land Use Act empowers governors to ban open grazing, it’s straightforward – Sagay
• Herders’ right of movement doesn’t cover right of cattle destroying farms, says Oyetibo
• South won’t yield its land to invaders masquerading as herdsmen – Gov Akeredolu
Prominent lawyers on Tuesday faulted the position of the Presidency that the Southern Governors Forum’s ban on open grazing was of questionable legality.
Senior advocates, including  Professor Itse Sagay, Mr Tayo Oyetibo, Damian Dodo and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, in separate interviews with The PUNCH, criticised the Presidency for its wrong interpretation of the right of free movement.
The lawyers stated this as the Northern Elders’ Forum took a swipe at the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). It blamed the situation in the country on his “multiple failures.”
Recall that Southern governors, at their recent meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, banned open grazing of cattle to stem the rising insecurity in the region.
								
									
										
										
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But the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, in an interview with Channels Television on Thursday said the governors’ action was unconstitutional.
The Presidency, in a statement by  the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Monday described the ban and other resolutions of the governors as “acts of politicking.”
It also stated that the ban  was of questionable legality, “given the constitutional right of all Nigerians to enjoy the same rights and freedoms within every one of our 36 states (and FCT)-regardless of the states of their birth or residence.”
Herders’ right of movement doesn’t extend to  right of cattle destroying people’s farms – Oyetibo
But a  constitutional lawyer,  Oyetibo (SAN), noted that it was correct to say that every Nigerian had a right to freedom of movement in any part of Nigeria.
He, however, explained that  that right did  not extend to cattle. He stated, “It does not include the right of cattle to destroy the farms of other people.
“If a governor passes as a law that prohibits open grazing, it is within the powers of the state government to do that. Such a ban does not in any way prevent other Nigerians or the Nigerians involved from moving freely within that state.”
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption,  Sagay , said the ban  ought to have the backing of each state House of Assembly.
He, however stated, “The governors are within their rights to ban open grazing. The Land Use Act gives them that power, so I think it is a straightforward matter.
“Millions of Nigerians in the South have had their families kidnapped, countless women have been raped and many farms destroyed. The statement by the Presidency does not show any concern for the Nigerians who have suffered from series of attacks by some of the herders. It is not a matter to be easily dismissed and the statement by the Presidency is regrettable.”
Govs acting within their powers – Dodo
Another SAN, Damian Dodo, stated,  “Although Section 39 of the constitution provides for the freedom of movement of all Nigerian citizens, such right has repeatedly been abused by some of the herders. Since the anti-open grazing law is reasonably justifiable in the circumstances and the governors are acting within their powers, I believe it has a legal basis.”
Rasheed Adegoke, SAN, also said the Land Use Act had placed the ownership of land in the hands of the state governments, saying the Federal Government had no land in any state of the federation.
He said, “Every state has what we call forestry law. The management and ownership of lands are all vested in the state government.”
				
					
						
						
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Also, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, said the position taken by the Southern governors did not offend the constitution.
He said, “The ban is on animals, not on human beings. It does not offend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in any way. It is only animals that graze, human beings do not eat grass. So, when there is a ban on open grazing, it means that animals are not allowed to stray without control over people’s property or land.
“I stand solidly behind the governors and I condemn the statement of Garba Shehu on behalf of the Presidency. It is uncouth, unduly belligerent, and totally pedestrian and should not have come from such exalted office such as the Presidency.”
Another SAN, Remi Olatubora, agreed with his colleagues that the Land Use Act vests in state governors the ownership of all lands within their territories.
He said, “The Land Use Act itself is incorporated into the constitution and the constitution is the fons et origo, which is the origin of all norms, the highest law of the land.”
Malami misled Buhari on legality of open grazing – Ozekhome
Also, a Human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, said Malami  misled the President.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
Ozekhome said this in a statement on Tuesday titled, ‘President Buhari Goofed on Southern Governors’ Anti-grazing Stance’.
He argued that the Presidency was wrong for saying the declaration by the 17 southern governors in Asaba last week was unconstitutional.
The statement read in part, “President Muhammadu Buhari has obviously been ill-advised on the well thought out southern governors’ stance against open grazing by the Attorney-General whose views were made known only two days ago.”
Ozekhome subsequently stated that he was ready to defend the governors free of charge in the event that such a case was instituted.
Open grazing: Garba Shehu not speaking for Buhari, says Akeredolu
Also on Tuesday, the Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, lambasted  Shehu.
This was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties and Strategy Dr Doyin Odebowale.
				
					
						
						
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The statement read, “ Anyone who has been following the utterances of this man, as well as his fellow travellers on the self-deluding, mendacious but potentially dangerous itinerary to anarchy cannot but conclude that he works, assiduously, for extraneous interests whose game plan stands at variance with the expectations of genuine lovers of peaceful coexistence among all the peoples whose ethnic extractions are indigenous to Nigeria.
“Mr Garba must disclose, this day, the real motive(s) of those he serves, definitely not the President. He cannot continue to hide under some opaque, omnibus and dubious directives to create confusion in the polity. The easy recourse to mendacious uppity in pushing a barely disguised pernicious agendum is well understood. The declaration that the recommendations of the Minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, a mere political appointee like Garba Shehu, are now the “lasting solutions” which eluded all the elected representatives of the people of the Southern part of the country, exposes this man as a pitiable messenger who does not seem to understand the limits of his relevance and charge.
“Mr Garba contends that ‘their announcement is of questionable legality,’ referring to the 17 governors of the Southern States, but the decision of certain elements to take the ancestral lands of other people to settle their kinsmen, including the gun-wielding killer herdsmen and their families, and provide ‘veterinary clinics, water points for animals, and facilities for herders and their families including schooling through these rehabilitated reserves’ for which ‘the Federal Government is making far-reaching and practical changes allowing for different communities to co-exist side-by-side,’   does not appear to him as a comprehensive plan for land grabbing, a precursor to internal colonialism. He wants to “revive forest reserves” but seems particularly uninterested in the current position of the same law, that he and his cohorts often misinterpret to serve parochialism and greed. Governors no longer have powers over the lands in their territories.”
“It is superfluous, and that is being charitable, for anyone to remind us of the constitutional right of bona fide citizens ‘to enjoy rights and freedoms within every one of our 36 States (and FCT)-regardless of their state of birth and residence.’
“Most traditional families in Nigeria have occupations. Pastoralism is not an exception. Any ethnic group still trapped in anachronism may be assisted to embrace modernity. Dispossessing communities of their ancestral lands, encouraging denizens of the forests to overrun lands belonging to other people and forcing alien bands of migrants on the local populace to live ‘side-by-side’ with other communities cannot be for the purpose of animal husbandry.”
South won’t yield its land to invaders masquerading as herdsmen – Gov Akeredolu
He also declared that “no inch of the space delineated and known, currently, as South-West, and indeed the whole South, will be ceded to a band of invaders masquerading as herdsmen under any guise.”
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
Count Benue out of planned  grazing reserves, Ortom tells Presidency
In Benue State,  Governor Samuel Ortom, asked the Federal Government  to count the state out of its planned rehabilitation of grazing reserves.
Ortom, stated this  in a statement  by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, while reacting to the Presidency’s position on the ban on open grazing.
The governor  said that there was   no land  in the state that had been gazetted for grazing reserve.
He added that the state had  embraced ranching and that the Southern Governors’ Forum and other prominent Nigerians had also supported.
He expressed concern that the  Federal Government was still pushing  what he described as archaic policy, stressing that,  “It is now clear that there is a hidden agenda which only the Presidency knows.
“In Benue, we  have embraced ranching as the viable alternative to open grazing and there is no going back on our resolve.”
				
					
						
						
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The governor said that while the state  might  not stop the Federal Government’s plan to rehabilitate grazing reserves or create cattle routes in other states, “we wish to make it clear that no land in Benue State had been gazetted for grazing routes.”
But the Northern Elders’ Forum  blamed the alleged anti-North stance of southern governors and the agitations from the region on the weak leadership by the President.
The NEF, in a statement on Tuesday by its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said it was convinced that it was time to respond to “issues that threaten our collective security and the unity and integrity of the country.”
It said agitations in the South were responses to “Buhari’s multiple failures.”
The statement was titled ‘Statement by Northern Elders Forum on Escalating Threats to National Security, Unity and Integrity.’
The forum noted that some leaders were  unwilling to steer the country away from the dangerous threats which were crippling it.
It alleged  that the South-East governors were yielding their political turf and mandates to secessionists, criminals and subversives, who thought they could exterminate federal presence and northerners from the region.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
According to the forum, in the South-West, “elected leaders and pampered ethnic bullies are closing ranks to provide a front that apes the do-what-we-want-or-we-leave-the-country  strategy of the marginalised leaders of the South-East.”
It stated, “The South-South is squeezed between fear and uncertainty, and its leaders are gambling that they can benefit from further weakening the federal administration and the North if it rides along with the rest of the South.
“A plastic unity is being contrived to create the impression that the entire South is united behind shared grievances against the Presidency and Fulani herders and  all northerners who are cast as fair game in responding to all of President Buhari’s multiple failures.
“A desperate but futile attempt is being made to split the North along lines that suit people who ignore its complexities and plurality when it is convenient to lump all Northerners and submit them to humiliation or attacks.”
The  forum warned  those attacking and killing Fulani headers to stop, saying there were   limits to every community’s tolerance.
The forum added, “The negative attitude of the Presidency towards engaging Nigerians to tap into ideas, grievances and goodwill of many citizens who mean well is ill-informed and, under our current circumstances, dangerous; so are postures that issue opportunistic ultimatums over convening national dialogue by the President.”
The elders stated that “the North will not be cowed and stampeded into escorting political ambitions of politicians at the cost of its rights, security and dignity.”
				
					
						
						
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The forum “demands that President Buhari asserts the powers our constitution gives him to protect our territorial integrity and secure citizens, or accept that he is incapable of leading the nation through these unprecedented challenges.”
The NEF added, “Attacks on lawful Fulani and other northerners in the South must stop and those who have killed them must be brought to book. The nation needs to know that northerners in many parts of the South now live in heightened fear as they are profiled and harassed by elements in host communities who believe that there are no consequences for their actions. The forum demands an end to attacks on federal agents and facilities.”
It also said Southern governors  must be unambiguous in their condemnation and resistance against  dangerous activities, adding that northern governors were rapidly receding into irrelevance.    ,,
NEF stated, “If our country is to survive its current difficulties and build a better nation, President Buhari must improve his level of competence, awareness that the nation is sliding into disaster and sensitivity to the frustrations of Nigerians. Other political leaders who take advantage of the limitations of the President to light fires should know that they will get burnt in them.”
But the Coalition of Northern Groups  asked the Federal Government to take immediate steps to evacuate all herdsmen currently in the South back to the north.
A statement by CNG’s Spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman in Kaduna on Tuesday, said a study had shown that at present, only 10 per cent of the Fulani herdsmen lived and conducted business in the entire South.
Elder Statesman, Chief Edwin Clark,  dismissed the Presidency’s attack on Southern governors over the ban on open grazing.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
Clark spoke to reporters shortly after the thanksgiving service to mark his 94th birthday anniversary, in his residence in Abuja, on Thursday.
The elder statesman said, “As I said this morning, he (Muhammadu Buhari), is the President of Nigeria. He is not the President of the North.”
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• Land Use Act empowers governors to ban open grazing, it’s straightforward – Sagay • Herders’ right of movement doesn’t cover right of cattle destroying farms, says Oyetibo • South won’t yield its land to invaders masquerading as herdsmen – Gov Akeredolu Prominent lawyers on Tuesday faulted the position of the Presidency that the Southern…

SANs fault Presidency attack on grazing ban, NEF slams Buhari

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has disclosed that Nigeria will get 12 fighter planes from the United States of America to help fight insecurity in Nigeria.
He disclosed this while answering questions at the end of a two-day monetary policy committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
Emefiele, who lamented how the economy is being crippled by insecurity, stated that the arrival of the planes is in line with a pact made between the Nigerian government and the US government three years ago.
He said, “If you want an economy to grow, the level of insecurity must be low because if there is a high level of insecurity like what we see today, the economy will suffer.
“Efforts are now targeted at South Eastern and North Eastern parts of the country. About three years ago, the Federal Government and the United States signed a pact that resulted in a government-to-government acquisition of military equipment
“Out of which, we are expecting 12 fighter planes that would help us solve our insecurity. I am aware that six of them are coming to the country in the month of July and August.&#8221;
He also advised bandits to drop their arms and be a part of the apex bank’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, which is in its fifth year, designed by the CBN to boost food production.
								
									
										
										
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“I, therefore, would like to appeal to our brothers, who decide that they want to live in bushes and forests that they should please, begin to retreat, drop their arms and come and embrace the anchor borrowers’ programme.
“If they do so, it will help them; if they choose not to do so, they will be confronted by the security as this battle continues.
“I am optimistic before the end of the year, around the year of the end, the security challenges confronting the country will substantially abate,&#8221; he added.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has disclosed that Nigeria will get 12 fighter planes from the United States of America to help fight insecurity in Nigeria. He disclosed this while answering questions at the end of a two-day monetary policy committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday. Emefiele, who lamented how…

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