….FG saves N4bn monthly on MDAs bank accounts

The Federal Government has recorded a whopping over N7 trillion in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) towards the end of March 2017, Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Ahmed Idris has said.In an interview with the Economic Confidential in Abuja, Mr Idris further said the amount represents monies belonging to different Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) put in portal in such a way that government can view the entire balance as one.

“When we say we have over N5 trillion in TSA, it does not mean free funds for spending. No! no! no!  These monies belong to various ministries, departments and agencies put in a portal in such a way that you can view the entire balance as one.

“The movement is now over N7 trillion. But as I explained earlier, these are not free money. People should not be thinking of why is government borrowing to fund budget.  These are budgeted monies for MDAs for projects and developments,” he said.

He said that the federal government through the implementation of the TSA has saved additional N4 billion monthly which could have been held by banks, noting that a total collapse of government activities would have occurred were it not that TSA was in place.

“But let me also make a strong and important point. If not because TSA is in place and now that the recession is here, only God knows what would have happened. A monthly drain of over N4 billion and yet no revenue coming in and leakages continued. It could have been a disaster. It was government’s foresightedness and focus even as TSA was in place before the recession. And that is why we are floating and not sinking, and we will not sink God willing,” he said.

“For instance, why would one university have over one hundred and twenty bank accounts, and some of them even hidden and missing and carrying huge balances. We also discovered that there are costs associated with keeping these multiple bank accounts. Every month the government incurs over N4 billion in maintaining these accounts!  Yet Government is borrowing its own money. And to stop government from borrowing its money and for the fact that there was no commensurate returns on such monies, it was double tragedy! This is like a sword with two sides that can cut from any of the sides. Sanity was brought with the introduction of TSA.”

Speaking on the transparency in the disbursement of federation account monthly, the AGF noted that transparency and openness are key to the present administration, adding that It is a desire to institute discipline, good governance and trust. The government cannot be trusted if it says one thing and does another.

“The meager revenue that has been accruing is being judiciously used and there is fiscal discipline in management of public resources. Let me give you an example in the previous administration. There was a time state government kicked against savings. Now because what they know and being practiced by government of the day, they have decided to imbibe the culture of savings”.

“What am I trying to say?  We have excess Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT).  These are excess taxes from petroleum tax. When we get money over and above budgeted figure, the excess is always being saved. If it were before, state governments and other stakeholders would say it should be shared. And this is what has been giving us buffer, especially at this time of recession”.

“Despite the lean resources, we take from it and augment accordingly. And this is being done transparently. All the stakeholders are aware of balances at any point in time. Whatever revenue comes in is shown at National Economic Council meetings including all the governors who will be briefed by the Minister of Finance. They have seen the openness and have accepted what government has put in place and the economic team. This is why we are achieving remarkable success amidst recession”, he said.

On staff welfare Mr Idris  said  “the welfare of the staff of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation is one of my cardinal objectives since I assume office. It is even a core objective I must say as managers of the treasury. Welfare as you may know promotes the best out of the staff apart from making them serve the system very well.  There are different types of welfare for the staff of the OAGF. Some border on entitlements, training to enhance the capabilities of the staff. We have also done very well in the provision of brand new staff buses we sourced from public spirited organizations including banks.”

“On the part of the Federal Treasury Academy, we have done very well in building hostel facilities, renovation of infrastructure and provision of generators, furniture for the classrooms and the auditorium and the provision of sporting facilities among others.  Right now, there is an ongoing discussion with some real estate developers to build four hundred one bed-room and two-bedroom houses at our land situated at Federal Treasury Academy Orozo, Abuja”.

According to him, “these developments are targeted at lower cadre officers. All these are some of the initiatives we have put in place. We pay the first 28 days to staff on first come first serve basis and each month we set aside the sum of N5 million towards that.  Any staff that  gets admission to tertiary institutions on part-time basis and would not disrupt his or her job schedule is allowed. So far we have given approval to such staff almost one thousand, most especially Nasarawa State University and University of Abuja.”

“We train them and also promote them, we maintain facilities here at the headquarters, we maintain and buy new furniture, apart from making the office environment conducive for work.  This is part of motivation, this is part of welfare.”

 For a better Society

Abductors of two Turkish expatriates in Akwa Ibom  State have demanded N200 million to release them.The victims were abducted on April 10 from their Airstrip Hotel room in Eket Local Government Area of the state.

A security source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Eket that the abductors had been in touch with the BKS Construction Company in Onna Local Government Area where the expatriates work.

He said the abductors contacted the construction company and demanded N200 million as ransom to release them.

“The abductors have demanded the sum of N200 million before the victims could be released to the company. The company is negotiating with the abductors to secure the release of the victims,” the source said.

According to the source, the firm is offering N500,000.

The State Police Public Relations (PPRO), ASP Chilly Ikechukwu, said the police were not aware of the ransom.

For a better Society

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has offered a paltry $1000 reward to whistleblowers who can offer information to arrest a Nigerian New Yorker, 32 year-old Kelechi Declan James.The agency has declared Kelechi wanted for allegedly scamming victims of more than $5 million.

A statement on FBI website reads: “FBI agents are looking for the public’s assistance in locating Kelechi Declan James. He has federal criminal charges against him from an investigation by FBI New York’s Cyber Crime Task Force.”

“James is known to frequent the Brooklyn neighbourhoods of East New York (Crescent Street and Loring Avenue; Vermont Street between Blake Avenue and Dumont Avenue), Brownsville, Bedford-Stuyvesant (MacDougal and Hull Streets), Crown Heights (Park Place and Utica Avenue), Flatbush (E 29th and Avenue D), and East Flatbush (East 51st and Winthrop Street). The FBI is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest.

“James is 32 years old, 6’0” tall, and approximately 175 pounds. He is a Nigerian national, has brown eyes and black hair, and may have a beard. Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of James is urged to contact law enforcement immediately. The FBI can be reached 24 hours a day at (212) 384-1000. He is not considered to be violent in nature.

“As alleged in a complaint sworn out of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, James, along with four other co-conspirators, ran a business e-mail compromise scheme that resulted victim losses of more than $5 million for their victims.

“As part of scheme, James and his co-conspirators defrauded victims across the U.S. by tricking them into wiring money to bank accounts the victims believed were owned by family members, friends, or business associates. They did this in two ways: by overtaking an e-mail account of an individual trusted by the victim and then requesting money be wired to a bank account; or by developing a relationship of trust with victim like an Internet romance and then asking the victim to wire money.

“As soon as the money was wired, it would be moved from one account to another, and the funds would be withdrawn. James’s role in this scheme was to withdraw the money from bank accounts.”

 For a better Society

Four unidentified gunmen have killed the newly sworn-in Ukanafun Local Government Council Secretary in Akwa Ibom, Mr. Ime Atakpa.Atakpa was shot when he was in his farm in his backyard at Ukanafun on Sunday.

His wife, Imo, who confirmed this to newsmen, said they went to Ukanafun for Easter service.

She said prior to the church’s service they decided to check on some pigs in the farm.

While she and the children were in the house, she heard gunshots.

When she tried to find where the sound of the gunfire emanated, she saw four masked men walking away from the compound.

The Akwa Ibom Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Chukwu Ikechukwu, also confirmed the incident.

Okechukwu said four gunmen shot the late council secretary in the stomach.

He added that he died on the way to hospital.

“The man was in his farm in Ukanafun LGA when four unidentified gunmen shot him,” he said.

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Nigeria was, Tuesday, ranked 152 among the 188 UN member states in the Human Development Index, HDI.According to the 2016 report released by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, in Abuja, Nigeria retained its 2015 status with a computation of 0.527 which was two points above 2014 computation of 0.525.

In the report launched by the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, Central Africa Republic ranked 188.

The HDI, a composite statistics of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, is used to rank countries into four tiers of human development.

Nigeria’s HDI value for 2016 positioning it at 152 of 188 countries puts the country on Low Human Development (LHD).

The country is followed closely by Cameroon in number 153 and Zimbabwe in 154 position.
The new report places Nigeria below neighbouring Ghana and Zambia positioned at 139 , Gabon, 109 , and Equatorial Guinea, 135 .

The report, however, showed a positive outlook for the country as Nigeria’s HDI increased from 0.466 to 0.527, a 13.1 per cent increase in the last 10 years under review between 2005 and 2015.

The represents a three-point increase over what the nation had between 2005 and 2014, when Nigeria HDI’s value increased from 0.467 to 0.514, an increase of 10.1 per cent.

Breakdown of the report shows that Kenya was placed at 145 position on the list of countries ranked low, with Central Africa Republic taking the last position at 188 in sub-Saharan Africa.

The global report was officially launched on March 25, 2017 in Stocklom, while the Nigerian version was launched Tuesday.

On the global front, Norway tops the table as the number one country in the HDI, closely followed by Switzerland and Australia which came joint second.

Similarly, Germany was placed on the fourth position while Denmark placed on the fifth position.

The HDI indicates the number of people with access to education and other basic amenities.

For a better Society

Four companies, convicted for laundering $15.591 million allegedly belonging to former First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, have urged the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos to overturn the verdict.Four men who represented the companies, namely Friday Davis, Agbor Baro, Dioghowori Frederick and Taiwo Ebenezer, pleaded guilty to laundering the money when they were arraigned before Justice Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

But the companies, through their lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, said the identities of those who “purportedly” pleaded guilty on their behalf were “unverified.”

According to the firms, the representatives did not present any evidence that they were duly appointed.

The companies are Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development and Investment Co. Limited, Trans Ocean Property and Investment Co. Limited and Avalon Global Property Development Limited.

They were arraigned along with a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamo Dudafa, a lawyer, Amajuoyi Briggs and a banker, Adedamola Bolodeoku, who all pleaded not guilty.

In the notice of cross-appeal, Ozekhome is arguing that  Section 477 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 requires persons seeking to represent corporate entities to have a statement of their appointment as the reongnised representatives.

“The persons purporting to be representing the cross-appellants failed to produce such statement of appointment which needed not to be under seal.  By virtue of Section 478 of the ACJA 2015, the court ought to have entered a plea of ‘not guilty’ for the cross-appellants, rather than allow the unverified plea of ‘guilty’ by persons purporting to be representing the cross appellants,” the firm said.

Ozekhome recalled that Briggs had vehemently opposed the guilty plea and urged Justice Kuewumi to change it to “not guilty” because of the joint charge and the doubt about the representatives’ authenticity.

Among the grounds of appeal the learned trial judge erred in law when he failed to grant Briggs’ application seeking to set aside the plea of “guilty” by the representatives.

For a better Society

One of the strangest, saddest sagas in NFL history came to an end on Wednesday morning, as the Massachusetts Department of Corrections says Aaron Hernandez killed himself in his prison cell.The news comes just days after Hernandez was acquitted of a double murder. Hernandez was still serving a life sentence after being found guilty in the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.

Hernandez was 27.

In a statement, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections outlined the event:

“On April 19, 2017, Aaron Hernandez was discovered hanged in his cell by corrections officers at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts at approximately 3:05 a.m., lifesaving techniques were attempted on Mr. Hernandez and he was transported to UMASS Leominster where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m. by a physician at the hospital.

“Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population housing unit. Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bed sheet that he attached to his cell window. Mr. Hernandez also attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items. The Massachusetts State Police are on scene and the investigation continues. Mr. Hernandez’s next of kin have been notified.”Massachusetts authorities say Aaron Hernandez killed himself in his prison cell Wednesday morning. (AP)

Hernandez leaves a daughter, 4-year old Avielle (she shares his November birthday), a fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, his mother, and older brother. His father, Dennis, died from complications after surgery when Hernandez was 16.

In a strange coincidence, Hernandez’s former team is scheduled to visit the White House on Wednesday to celebrate the Patriots’ win over the Atlanta Falcons last February. A team spokesperson told the Boston Globe the Patriots were aware of Hernandez’s death but “don’t anticipate that we will be commenting today.”

Raised in Bristol, Conn., Hernandez went on to win a national championship with the University of Florida in 2008. The New England Patriots drafted him in the fourth round in 2010, the same year they drafted Rob Gronkowski. Head coach Bill Belichick had long wanted to feature a two-tight-end offense, and in Hernandez and Gronkowski, he got the two players who could make that happen.

As rookies, Hernandez and Gronkowski combined for 87 catches and 16 touchdowns, and the next year was even better. In 2011, Hernandez recorded 79 catches for 910 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Patriots were so excited by what they saw from the duo that in the 2012 preseason, they made the almost-unprecedented move of giving both Hernandez and Gronkowski contract extensions after just two full seasons. On the day Hernandez’s extension was announced, he was emotional as he thanked New England owner Robert Kraft and the team for believing in him, and made declarations about becoming a role model for the Hispanic community.

Hernandez played just 10 games that year as he dealt with knee issues. But as he recovered, he and Jenkins-Hernandez welcomed their daughter, who was born on his 23rd birthday. Hernandez, who had always shown a fondness for children — after training camp practices, he was often spotted chasing or rolling around with the children of teammates and coaches — said it was “the best birthday gift you could have.”

But that’s also around the time whispers about what Hernandez was doing away from the Patriots’ facility began. He had fallen to the fourth round of the draft amid questions about his off-field activity and character; while he served a suspension at Florida, allegedly for failing one drug test, the Boston Globe reported shortly after he was drafted that Hernandez had failed multiple tests with the Gators.

Shortly after he was arrested and charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd in June 2013, an NFL scout read his team’s pre-draft scouting report to me, and one passage stood out, and proved ominous:

“Self-esteem is quite low; not well-adjusted emotionally, not happy, moods unpredictable, not stable, doesn’t take much to set him off, but not an especially jumpy guy,” the scout read.

With a budget of $155 million, India’s Bollywood is set to make the longest poem ever written into its most expensive film ever.The figure may seem paltry by Hollywood standards, but it is new territory in Bollywood, where costs for its highest-budget movies barely skim $25 million.

Based on the Sanskrit epic the “Mahabharata,” “Randamoozham” has surpassed previous record-breaking budgets like that of the upcoming Tamil-language sci-fi thriller “2.0,” which cost $62 million to make and stars 65-year-old action superstar Rajinikanth.

“It has even beaten the combined $65 million budget of the two-part blockbuster epic “Baahubali.”

The film will be financed by B.R. Shetty, an entrepreneur based in the United Arab Emirates, who has high hopes for the film.

“The ‘Mahabharata’ is an epic of all epics,” Shetty said in a statement. “I believe that this film will not only set global benchmarks, but also reposition India and its prowess in mythological storytelling.

“I am confident that this film will be adapted in over 100 languages and reach over 3 billion people across the world.”

“Randamoozham” will be an adaptation of the novel of the same name by M.T. Vasudevan Nair, an award-winning Malayalam author, who will also script the film.

It will be ad-maker-turned-director V.A. Shrikumar Menon’s second movie, with production expected to begin in September 2018.

Set to be shot in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, the two-part film will be released in 2020.

According to a press release, the cast and crew will “include some of the great names in world cinema including some Academy winners. The cast will have the best of talents from Indian cinema as well as some big names from Hollywood.”

At 1.8 million words and nearly 10 times the length of the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” combined, the “Mahabharata” is the longest poem ever written.

The text is believed to date back to between the 8th and 9th centuries BC and is traditionally understood to be written by Vyasa, a Hindu sage.

It tells the story of two sets of paternal cousins, the Pandava princes, whose father is the deceased King Pandu, and the Kauravas, sons of the blind King Dhritarashtra. The Pandavas and the Kauravas become rivals as they battle for the ancestral kingdom of Bharata.

Along with being an epic war narrative, the “Mahabharata” also contains philosophical and spiritual lessons.

For a better Society

…Arrest 13 suspected kidnappers, kills one

Security operatives from the Lagos State Police Command deployed to the riverine area of the Ishawo Community in Ikorodu area of the State on Wednesday commenced total demolition of illegal waterfront shanties within the creeks where criminal elements hibernate to perpetrate their nefarious activities.The State’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, who briefed journalists in Ishawo on the ongoing operations in the creeks by a combined team of the State Marine Police, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), mobile policemen and the men from the anti-kidnapping squad in coordination with the local vigilante group, said 13 suspected kidnappers have already been arrested and are currently aiding the team to track down the remaining suspects still on the run.

It would be recalled that two weeks ago, four Police Officers and one Army Captain lost their lives after an ambush unleashed on them by suspected militants in Ishawo area.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, while condoling with the families and loved ones of the departed officers, had assured that every perpetrator directly or remotely linked to the dastardly act would be brought to justice in the shortest possible time.

Owoseni said that the Governor immediately ordered a joint operation to hunt down the perpetrators, adding that the operation was yielding positive results.

“So far so good following the attack that occurred at Ishawo where we lost four of our policemen and army captain, we have deployed operatives in the water. What you have seen now is for us to appraise what we have been doing for the past one week. So, quality arrests have been made and we are talking to them because the arrests that were made we believe that we get some evidential value from them, so they are talking to us, at least that makes us to know who we are looking for so that we won’t be just wild catching,” Owoseni said.

The Commissioner of Police who was joined on the inspection of the joint operation to the den of the militants in Ishawo Creeks by the Commander, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Mr. Tunji Disu, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Habib Aruna, security squad leaders and some journalists, said the visit was to appraise the work done so far and the next line of action.

“Earlier this morning, they were able to get to the proper camps of these criminal elements where they saw some of them cooking food who fled immediately they saw the combined team. We just feel that we should take a decision to destroy the camps. The destruction of the camps are ongoing, that is why we are here and the officers that are handling the destruction of the camps, they are right inside the creeks now and at the end of the day, they would share the story as they finish that operations, but our movement here is just for you to see the terrain and see what the security operatives are facing with regards to policing this environment and that is why we are clamouring for the destruction of these shanties”, Owoseni said.

Owoseni said that one of the suspected militants died during a fierce encounter with the Intelligence Response team of the Inspector General of Police, assuring residents in the area that they would go all out to ensure that they fish out all criminal elements in the State.

“We still want to assure members of the public that these people have murdered sleep and they will not sleep, we will make sure that all of them are rooted out and that they face the full wrath of the law.

“The 13 suspects we have, we are interrogating them and they are making useful statements for us and we are making progress and you can see that helicopter surveillance is also supporting all what we are doing but we want to assure members of the public around this axis that the government is ready, the security agents are ready to ensure that we put an end to the madness of these criminal elements,” the Commissioner of Police said.

He said the Police have gathered necessary information on the perpetrators still on the run, assuring that one by one, they would be arrested and be made to face the full wrath of the law.

He commended the synergy of the combined efforts of the security operatives, just as he added that the efforts of the local vigilante groups who are familiar with the terrain was critical to the operation especially in aiding to navigate the hideouts of the militants.

“I want use this opportunity to thank the civilian men that have decided to join us and take us to navigate the water and also give us a lead to the centre of activities which is the creek where these criminal elements have been hibernating,” Owoseni said.

For a better Society

…Says PH International airport is abandoned

The Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bro. Felix Obuah is not happy that two years into the administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government, there are no tangible projects executed by the Federal Government in the State.Bro. Obuah in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, said the party frowned at this obvious indifference towards the State.

The Chairman cited the Port Harcourt International Airport which has remained abandoned by the Federal Government.

Bro. Obuah regretted that the APC-led Federal Government has failed to complement the efforts of the State Governor, His Excellency, Chief (Barr) Nyesom  Wike in the execution of capital projects which would have improved the wellbeing of the people of the State.

He lamented that the APC-led Federal Government ‘deliberately abandoned the State’ and also accused the federal government of treating the State badly despite all the support the State Governor is giving the Federal Government.

He mentioned the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos projects completed in record time, whereas the Port Harcourt International Airport remains abandoned.

It is against this backdrop, that the PDP Chairman has urged the APC-led Federal Government to have a rethink by giving deserved attention to Rivers State which is the Treasure Base of the nation, the Goose that lays the Golden Eggs for the rest of us.

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Amadu Chanchangi, Kaduna-based billionaire and Chairman of Chanchangi Airlines, is dead.

He died along Kaduna-Abuja road while being transported to a hospital in Abuja in the early hours of Wednesday, a family source said.The source disclosed that the business mogul had been sick for quite some time.

“He will be buried by 2pm today (Wednesday) according to Islamic rites at the Bashama road cemetery,” family sources added.

Among early sympathisers were Bala Ibn Na’Allah, Deputy Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali, former member of Kaduna State House of Assembly, among others.

Na’Allah, who is also the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, described the late Chanchangi as a man of peace and a shining example of a devout Muslim.

“His contribution to the development of the aviation sector, more especially in the North, will remain indelible,” he said.

He prayed to Allah to grant him eternal rest and the family, people of Taraba and Kaduna states, the fortitude to bear the loss.

Chanchangi is survived by three wives, 33 children, among them Rufai Chanchangi, a member of the House of Representatives.

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THOMPSON ANYADIKE,  Owerri

The need for the people of the South East and South South states of Nigeria to come together, sink their differences was the focus point of the conference held in Owerri under the auspices of a body called South East/ South South network (SESS Net) Convener of the conference which held at the links hotel Owerri, Mr. Daniel Elomba revealed that the exercise started in 2016 and aimed at coming together having understanding, one common ideology and to speak with one voice always like their  counterparts in Northern Nigeria.He noted that the exercise was a challenge which must be addressed and wanted to know why we are Nigerians because according to him many Nigerians are tired of the country. Mr Elomba regretted that Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore etc started with Nigeria but that these countries have gone far in integration, economic enhancement, employment creation etc. The convener then lamented that youths have no future pointing out that most of them with University degrees end up driving commercial motorcycles and allied jobs, he then accused Nigeria as being a specie that eats the young ones.

One of the speakers Ms Aniko Briggs urged the two regions to sinks their differences as each has offended the other, according to her they could do this by countering the animosity that have sent them back socially, economically, industrially and think of ways to work together and forge ahead. She regretted that the two regions have made sacrifices in Nigeria but neglected and relegated affirming that they must rise and protect their status.

Also speaking Tochukwu  Ezeoke said all hands must be on deck to carry out aims of the conference adding that Nigeria needed restructuring but maintained that government was afraid  of changing the system because of their selfish  interests. He frowned over the politics on the construction of 2nd Niger bridge which he said was less than two kilometrs; but concluded by advising the two regions to conduct a plebiscite or a referendum for self determination.

Elder Uma Eleazu who was a member of the 1989 and 1999 constitution drafting committee while speaking enjoined the members to liaise with professionals in all fields to have a common ideology as their unity would be intimidating to others in the country.

He said the unity of the two is needed now that  the country  is economically challenged.

Other speakers like Rev. Olu Martins, Aloysius Osuji and representative of former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi; Prof. Stella Ogunna, etc enjoined the group to forge ahead with understanding and common aim but on the other hand work towards closing ranks.

For a better Society

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has met with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, barely an hour after the announcement of his suspension from office.The closed door meeting of the Vice-President with the suspended SGF might be connected with the committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate allegations of misconduct against the SGF.

The three-man committee, headed by the Vice-President, is also to investigate the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has made a claim.

The SGF refused to comment on the outcome of his meeting with the Vice-President, when approached by journalists.

Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke, who was also suspended from office over the discovered funds in Ikoyi, Lagos, was also seen around the Vice-President’s office immediately after the departure of the SGF.

The NIA boss, who noticed the presence of State House correspondents, however turned back and attempted to pass through the Vice President’s exit gate but was prevented from doing so by security officials.

Another attempt by the suspended DG to pass through the service chiefs’ gate was also turned down by the security staff of the gate.

The NIA boss later left the Presidential Villa without seeing the Vice-President at that particular moment.

For a better Society

…. Presidency cancels FEC meeting

SUNDAY ODE, Abuja, with agency report

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation into the allegations of violations of law and due process made against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. David Babachir Lawal, in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE).According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President has also directed the suspension of the SGF from office pending the outcome of the investigations.

In a related development, the President has ordered a full scale investigation into the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has made a claim.

The investigation is also to enquire into the circumstances in which the NIA came into possession of the funds, how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to the NIA, and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds.

The President has also directed the suspension of the Director General of the NIA, Ambassador Ayo Oke, pending the outcome of the investigation.

A three-man Committee comprising the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the National Security Adviser, headed by the Vice President, is to conduct both investigations.

The Committee is to submit its report to the President within 14 days.

The most senior Permanent Secretary in the SGF’s office, and the most senior officer in the NIA, are to act, respectively, during the period of investigation.

Also on Wednesday, the  regular meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) failed to hold on Wednesday but the Presidency promptly squashed speculation that it could be due to President Muhammadu Buhari’s i’ll health.

State House correspondents who had no prior knowledge of the cancellation, got to the Council Chambers venue of the meeting only to learn that it would not hold.

The Senior Special Assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said the cancellation was because the FEC secretariat staff had no opportunity to circulate relevant documents for the meeting because of the Easter holiday.

“I think it is because of the Easter holiday. The secretariat had no time to circulate the necessary documents,” he said.

According to him, there is a requirement in the law which states that the documents must be circulated to concerned individuals before the meeting.

When asked why the documents were not circulated before the holiday since the secretariat knew before hand that there would be a holiday, he explained that as human beings, they also needed the break.

“The staff on the Council secretariat resumed on Tuesday after the Easter. There was no time to  prepare and circulate memos to ministers. By practice, the ministers receive council memos two or three days ahead of meetings because they must read them and sometimes undertake research. It is not a rubber stamp council so everyone must prepare themselves well for debates,” he  said.

The presidential spokesman vehemently denied that the cancellation was related to the  Pesident’s state of health, saying that it would be wrong to make such assumption, adding: “That will not be fair.”

Buhari’s absence at FEC meeting last week, even though he was in his residence at the Presidential Villa, had stirred some fresh concerns over his health. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo presided over the meeting.

Explaining his absence from the meeting last week, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said Buhari did not attend FEC meeting because he was attending to other issues.

He said: “Clearly when we came in this morning, Mr. President was not in the chambers but the Vice President did preside over the council meeting.

“Understandably, that has sparked a lot of controversies and imputations in the mind of people.

“I just want to make this clear, Mr. President is in town. Mr. President is attending to other issues. Mr President looked at the agenda; it was a very light agenda and decided that the Vice President should preside.

“It’s not unusual for the kind of interest that is shown especially given the fact that Mr. President was away for a while on medical treatment and is not. We are not surprised that people will be wondering is he ill again?

“He is not ill, he is not sick. I am sure that later in the day or tomorrow morning, he will be back in the office. I just want to clear that misconception.

“Is not unusual even if Mr. President is hale and hearty and everything is going on well for the VP to come and preside over meetings of the federal executive council.

“The fact that Mr. President is not in the office does not mean that he is not working.

“I have just been told now that the Secretary to the Government is already with with him in the residence working.

“So, the fact that you did not see him in the office does not mean that he is not working at all.”

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Amb. Arab Yadam from Plateau State was announced as acting DG of NIA, while Dr. Habibat Lawal from Bauchi State is to act as the SGF

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a sound engineer from releasing unpublished music by Prince after the late superstar’s estate objected.George Ian Boxill worked with Prince on five tracks in 2006, and made at least one recording — called “Deliverance” — available Wednesday for online sales. Prince’s estate and Paisley Park Enterprises sued to block it. © Barry Brecheisen/WireImage/Getty Images Prince performs at Day 2 of the Coachella Music And Arts Festival on April 26, 2008 at Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California.

U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina Wright late Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order to stop the songs’ release, and ordered Boxill to deliver the recordings to the estate. Wright said she would schedule a hearing later on a preliminary injunction.

The estate’s lawsuit said Boxill signed a 2004 confidentiality agreement that the recordings would remain Prince’s sole property. Prince sings and plays guitar and keyboard on the tracks.

Winner of multiple Grammy Awards, a virtuoso instrumentalist and global music icon, Prince passed away on April 21, 2016, at his Paisley Park compound in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Some gunmen on Wednesday killed an official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Sunday Afolabi, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.He was reportedly shot dead by his assailants near the state headquarters of the corps on Afao Road around 3pm.

A witness, who did not want to be identified, said two men ambushed him while he was on driving to the town in his Toyota Camry 2015 model.

“The two men dragged him from his car and shot him in the back and leg while he was trying to flee the scene. He died from shortage of blood because there was no one to help him.”

It was learnt that his service pistol was taken away by the assailants, who abandoned his car in a bushy path.

The NSCDC spokesman, Tolu Afolabi, confirmed the killing to reporters on Thursday.

He said investigation had been launched into the incident in a bid to unmask the killers of the officer.

Until his death, the late Afolabi was the head of the Intelligence and Investigation Unit of the NSCDC. He was an Assistant Superintendent Corps 1.

The NSCDC spokesman said his corpse had been deposited in the mortuary, while investigation was ongoing.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Alberto Adeyemi, disclosed that the late Afolabi was killed by suspected cult members along Afao Road.

He said his body was deposited in the mortuary by some policemen who visited the scene of the incident.

“I have just spoken with OC-SARS and he said the cult boys killed the officer along Afao Road where the NSCDC office is located.

“We sympathise with our sister security agency on the killing of the officer. Investigation has commenced into the incident,” he added.

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LAS VEGAS — President Trump’s companies own more than 400 condo units and home lots whose sale could steer millions of dollars to Trump, a USA TODAY investigation has found.USA TODAY spent four months cataloging every property Trump’s companies own across the country. Reporters found that Trump’s companies are sitting on at least $250 million of individual properties in the USA alone. Property records show Trump’s trust and his companies own at least 422 luxury condos and penthouses from New York City to Las Vegas, 12 mansion lots on bluffs overlooking his golf course on the Pacific Ocean and dozens more smaller pieces of real estate. The properties range in value from about $200,000 to $35 million each.

Unlike developments where Trump licenses his name to a separate developer for a flat fee, profits from selling individual properties directly owned by his companies ultimately enrich him personally.

Trump has never disclosed a complete, unit-by-unit inventory of his companies’ real estate holdings or sales, nor is he required to do so by federal law. Trump says he’s separated himself from his businesses, but the trust set up in January is run by his sons. Trump is the only beneficiary and can withdraw funds at any time.

The volume of real estate creates an extraordinary and unprecedented potential for people, corporations or foreign interests to try to influence a president. Anyone who wanted to court favor with the president could snap up multiple properties or purposefully overpay. They could buy in the name of a shell company, making it impossible for the public to know who was behind the sales.

© Provided by USA Today

The potential for conflicts is exacerbated by Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns or fully separate himself from his businesses, breaking with precedent set by presidents going back four decades. Since Congress passed the Ethics in Government Act in 1978, all six presidents from Carter to Obama established blind trusts or limited investments to assets like mutual funds. Trump has not.

The president is exempt from most conflict-of-interest laws that apply to others working in the federal government. He is not required to disclose when units sell or who bought them.

He is barred by the Constitution from receiving gifts from foreign governments or officials. Trump’s assessment that the ban doesn’t apply to market-rate transactions is debated in lawsuits and among ethics experts.

Regardless, it may be impossible for the public to even know who is behind purchase because the rules governing real estate transactions allow for shell companies to make purchases without disclosing who actually paid the money.

“Anyone seeking to influence the president could set up an anonymous company and purchase his property,” said Heather Lowe, director of government affairs at Global Financial Integrity, a D.C.-based group aimed at curbing illicit financial transactions. “It’s a big black box, and the system is failing as a check for conflicts of interest.”

Since Election Day, records show Trump companies have sold at least 14 luxury condos and home-building lots for about $23 million. Half were sold to limited liability companies. No names were listed in deeds, obscuring buyers’ identities.

Since launching his White House bid, Trump’s companies have sold at least 58 units nationwide for about $90 million. Almost half of those sold to LLCs.

That doesn’t count Trump’s ownership of millions of square feet of some of America’s priciest office and retail rental space in Manhattan, Chicago and San Francisco.

Buyers and renters of Trump properties include companies or individuals tracing to addresses in at least a dozen countries.

The White House refers business inquiries to the Trump Organization, where four separate executives and spokesmen declined to answer specific questions.

Bobby Burchfield, an attorney hired as an independent ethics reviewer for Trump Organization business deals, wouldn’t answer specific questions about transactions.

Trump attorneys have argued that profits from individual real estate sales would route through a maze of Trump subsidiaries and eventually become mixed in a larger pool of undifferentiated money in the president’s trust. That, they say, makes a direct conflict from an individual sale more difficult to imagine. They do not consider sales of U.S. real estate to foreign investors as “foreign deals.”

Those in the business of selling Trump-owned real estate say business is up.

“I get a lot more phone calls now that he’s the president,” said Shari Sanderson, a real estate agent that sells units in the Las Vegas hotel-condo tower.

A mysterious bulk buyer

A couple of weeks before the Republican National Convention, a Las Vegas financial firm filed paperwork to found Milan Investment Limited in Nevada.

Days later, the newly minted company went on a buying spree. Milan spent $3.1 million over four months to buy 11 luxury condos in a shimmering golden tower near the Strip that Trump owns with friend and casino mogul Phil Ruffin. Trump Ruffin LLC collected the last of the money weeks before Trump was elected.

Milan Investment tracks back to what appears to be an incorrect address, the strip mall office of a financial services firm.

The owner, Thomas Sullivan, said he never heard of Milan Investment but said a federal “regulatory” agency visited his office in person asking similar questions. He declined to identify the agency.

“We’re completely in the dark,” Sullivan said. “We don’t know if it was a mistake, or they used our address for some reason, but we aren’t associated with them.”

On the deeds from Milan’s purchases, Eric Trump signed for the sellers. An accountant signed for the buyers, and deeds do not identify any people behind Milan.

USA TODAY tracked corporate, loan and property records across Nevada, Texas and Canada to tie three names to Milan Investment.

In Nevada, where rules let anyone form companies without identifying the owners, Milan’s officers are listed as Jun Xu and Qi Huang with an address at an office suite on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

Additional documents underlying the sale give two more addresses, both million-dollar condos in Vancouver, for Xu and Huang. Canadian records indicate they own both and hold a license to rent one. The records list Xu as a “businessman” and Huang as a “housewife.”

USA TODAY contacted every phone number and address found for Xu and Huang in two countries. Reporters also contacted every business associate identified in Nevada public records as having worked with the company or assisted with the condo buys, trying to reach Xu and Huang or find out more about them. Xu and Huang have not responded.

One more name tied to Milan is Chen Huang of Sugar Land, Texas, who signed loan documents “on behalf of Jun Xu and Qi Huang” when they borrowed money using the Vegas condos as collateral. Phone numbers for Chen Huang in Texas were answered but disconnected after a reporter identified himself.

Most Nevada real estate and legal professionals who handled deals would not answer questions. A lawyer who reviewed paperwork for the lender, Michael Wixom, said only, “We file the UCC paperwork and represent the bank locally. It’s all consistent with Nevada state law, and it’s not unusual to not know the name of the owners.”

Reporters sent questions about the identity-obscuring real estate sales to a public relations firm representing Trump in New York, the Trump Organization’s marketing vice president, its vice president of sales in Las Vegas and Eric Trump. None of the inquiries was answered.

The deal in 2016 makes Milan Investment the third-biggest investor in the Vegas building, behind Trump’s own company and Hilton Hotels, which owns 311 of the condos.

Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert and professor at Washington University School of Law, said there’s a strong argument for requiring disclosure of anyone buying real estate from the president.

“They’re doing it through Trump companies, but nevertheless, if it’s going to benefit the president, I think the public has a right to know who’s paying the president,” Clark said. One solution: making the president subject to the same rules as other public officials.

Who’s buying from Trump?

USA TODAY’s review of sales of Trump-owned real estate found dozens of transactions during and since the campaign involving buyers who have business in or connections with foreign countries, or are shielded by purchasing under the name of an LLC. None of the recorded sales prices appeared, on the surface, to be outside market value.

In February, businesswoman Xiao Yan Chen bought one of the president’s penthouses at Trump Park Avenue in Manhattan for $15.9 million, according to city records.

Chen is founder and managing director of Global Alliance Associates, a New York City firm described on its website as “a boutique business relationship consultancy for U.S. companies seeking to establish a presence in mainland China.” She could not be reached for comment.

A few days before Trump’s inauguration, a two-bedroom condo on the 55th floor of the Las Vegas tower sold for $639,000. The buyer of Condo No. 5507 is identified in deeds as Fashion Drive, a New York company named for the street below and formed days before the purchase.

© Provided by USA Today

The only real person named in company’s corporate filings in New York is Ivan Antonevich, a Ukrainian-educated pain doctor who did not reply to interview requests. It’s unclear whether he owns the condo, represents the buyer, or something else happened.

As part of a federal crackdown on criminals using real estate to hide illicit cash, title insurance companies in a handful of U.S. cities must gather identity information and report all-cash deals above certain amounts to the government. Industry insiders said the opacity of most shell company real estate buys is for practical, legitimate reasons.

“Privacy is a big driver of the LLCs, whether it’s celebrities protecting their privacy or foreign dissidents hiding assets from an oppressive government or law enforcement officers worried about their safety from criminals,” said Steve Gottheim, senior counsel at the American Land Title Association.

Some investors in the Vegas building were easy to track down and willing to talk. One New York couple set up a company, SNJ Properties, to buy a unit in December. SNJ is owned by Susan and John Irwin of East Islip, N.Y., who bought a second condo in the building for vacation and as an investment. They said it didn’t have much to do with politics.

“I’m a big fan of his, but the fact that Trump is president didn’t influence our decision,” said John Irwin, who owns Irwin Construction. Irwin, who met Trump at the hotel once, said he doesn’t worry about other people’s blind purchases of Trump’s real estate. “It doesn’t bother me. He’s a businessman, and that’s who we elected.”

Trump’s leasable space in cities such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco bring in large sums as well. Commercial space at Trump Tower earned him almost $30 million in 2012, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission to back up a loan Trump took out against the space.

Among the revenue: multimillion-dollar lease payments from the communist government-owned Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.

The Chinese bank’s lease is one of several transactions flagged in a lawsuit against Trump by an ethics watchdog group, alleging Trump violates the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids government officials from taking gifts from foreign powers.

More deals ready to be made

The White House and Trump surrogates have broadly contended that the president is not involved in his business deals and scoff at the idea that a billionaire tycoon could be influenced by individual real estate transactions in the six- or seven-figure range.

The USA TODAY review of publicly available records — including figures provided by the president himself — shows that his individual real estate transactions add up and have substantially driven his income in recent years.

Consider the Vegas tower. In his federal financial disclosure in 2016, the income Trump said he received from the Vegas venture is more than the revenue he reported from all but one of his approximately 500 companies.

USA TODAY’s analysis of the 2016 report indicates Trump’s income includes at least $100 million a year from real estate sales and lease transactions. That number is probably higher because companies’ income is reported in ranges spanning millions of dollars.

Trump and his daughter Ivanka have reported drawing multimillion-dollar incomes from Trump International Realty in recent years. Trump’s financial disclosure reported about $4 million in commissions in 2016, and Jared Kushner’s disclosure reports his wife earns $1 million to $5 million a year in commissions and fees from the firm.

At Trump properties across the country, more deals are ready to be made.

“We’re selling quite a few of those now,” Ruffin said of the partners’ Vegas tower, where he and Trump own 388 condos and penthouses. “It’s picked up, our volume.” Ruffin owns an adjacent lot and is interested in building another tower and casino there, possibly partnering with the Trump Organization.

In total, records show Trump and his family own 32 residential condo units, plus 82 additional smaller units of real estate, including commercial property and storage spaces across New York City. That’s where the biggest money transactions are in the making.

Trump’s realty company lists one of his three-bedroom condos on the seventh floor of Trump Park Avenue for $7 million, touting solid oak floors, handcrafted Italian brass doorknobs, marble baths and “a sleek gourmet chef’s kitchen.” Also for sale: a Trump-owned seven-bedroom penthouse on the 32nd floor. The $75,000-a-month rent gets you “360-degree views of New York City’s stunning landscape.”

At 100 Central Park South, beneath the facade bearing the words “Trump Parc” in gold script, placards recently filled the windows advertising “RETAIL SPACE FOR LEASE.” The rent: $1.3 million a year.

Joanne Podell, the listing agent for Cushman & Wakefield, said that although there has been recent interest, the building’s powerful owner is far less important in attracting tenants as factors like foot traffic and size. “It’s a great location.”

© Steve Marcus, for USA TODAY Trump International Hotel Las Vegas Monday, April 28,

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Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has said the nation plans to get out of recession by boosting government non-oil revenues and cracking down on corruption.Reuters reports that Mrs. Adeosun made the remarks while fielding questions from reporters at the World Bank conference in Washington on Thursday.

Analysts said the Nigerian government’s anti-corruption war received a boost recently when the government suspended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, David Lawal, and ordered an investigation into the allegations of violations of law and due process made against him in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East, PINE.

Similarly, the government also ordered a full scale investigation into the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has made a claim. The Director General of the NIA, Ayo Oke, was also suspended.

There are insinuations that these and other funds recovered from similar anti-graft operations would be ploughed back into the economy.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Adeosun said the government will also issue more international debt to pay for infrastructural projects.

Nigeria is in its second year of recession, brought on by lower oil prices, which have slashed government revenues, weakened the currency and caused dollar shortages.

The development has stifled investment initiatives and frustrated businesses and households.

Earlier on Wednesday, the World Bank chief economist for Africa, Albert Zeufack, had said that fiscal adjustments in Nigeria would be “extremely challenging” and that the country needs to reform its finances to ensure it can hedge against any future currency crisis.

Mrs. Adeosun said her aim was to get the non-oil sector of Nigeria’s economy which accounts for around 90 per cent of GDP to contribute to government revenues.

“Improving non-oil revenues is something we are working hard on. We are rolling out measures to get more people into the tax net,” the minister said, Thursday.

“We are get out of recession because we are following the right type of policies. We are improving our revenues, we are improving our efficiencies in how we spend money.

“We are investing in the infrastructure that is needed, power, rail, road, the big enablers of growing sustainable economies.”

Commenting further, Mrs. Adeosun said liquidity on currency markets has been improving as the central bank has boosted dollar supply, occasioned by the recently rising oil prices.

The minister also added that government was harmonising fiscal, monetary and trade policies to get the economy growing again.

Nigeria also plans to issue long-term debt on the international markets more regularly for infrastructure projects, Mrs. Adeosun said, noting that Africa’s largest economy would take advantage of the country’s debt to GDP ratio of 13 per cent.

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