The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, today received with shock, the ruling of Justice Rita Ofili- Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court Lagos, acquitting Mr. Femi Fani-kayode, a former minister of aviation, of the two count charge of money laundering preferred against him by the Commission.
The Commission is making effort to obtain a Certified True Copy of the ruling, to enable it respond appropriately after careful review of the judgment.
As you are aware, today marks exactly thirty-two days of the inauguration of a new administration under the APC, which was elected into power over three months ago on the basis of their numerous promises to the Nigerian people.
"We appreciate the efforts of the government to see that salary and pension arrears are settled without further delay . Our negation with government is that out of eight months owed us, the minimum we can take is Five months to resume work. As it is now, the strike continues while negotiations also continue. I appeal to all workers in the state to continue to stay at home until further notice. This payment is as good as no payment, because all deductions must have been made by our various banks. Because of this , there won’t be money for us to transport ourselves to work and feed our families. Until we have enough money to feed and for our transportation to work, we will not resume work. The strike continues.”he said
"We looked at the numbers for the Excess Crude Account. The last time the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, reported to the council, and it is in the minutes, she reported by November 2014 that we had $4.1 bn. Today, the Accountant-General Office reported we have $2.0bn.
Which means the honourable minister spent $2.1bn without authority of the NEC and that money was not distributed to states, it was not paid to the three tiers of government,” Adams Oshiomhole said
"It is curious that in their desperation to use the esteemed National Economic Council for political and personal vendetta, the persons behind these allegations acted as if the constitutionally recognized FAAC, a potent expression of Nigeria’s fiscal federalism, does not exist. But Nigerians know that collective revenues, allocations and expenditures of the three tiers of government are the concern of the monthly FAAC meetings. It is important to acknowledge the efforts of governors who are working hard to overcome the current revenue challenges facing their states without resorting to character assassination and blame games.
It is clear that this is the latest chapter of a political witch-hunt by elements who are attempting to use the respected National Economic Council for ignoble purposes having failed abysmally in their previous attempts to tar the Okonjo-Iweala name. It will be recalled that one of such attempts took place in May when some of these governors, hiding under the auspices of the Nigerian Governors Forum asked Okonjo-Iweala to explain $20 billion alleged to be missing from the same ECA. The Finance Ministry subsequently issued a news release and published an advertorial in national newspapers on May 25, 2015 giving details of what the Federal Government and states received from the ECA in the last four years. It also provided details of the use of the funds for payment of petrol subsidies for the Nigerian public and SURE-P allocations to the three tiers for development purposes.
After the publication, the accusers lost their voice. But the latest allegations show that these persons are still in the business of throwing up wild, unsubstantiated figures to damage Okonjo-Iweala’s name. For instance, within the last few months, Governor Oshiomhole and his fellow travelers have asked Okonjo-Iweala to account for “missing” $30 billion, $20 billion and now $2.1 billion. What they don’t seem to understand is that the strategy has lost all credibility because the falsehood is clear for all to see. How can some governors who fought FG’s efforts to leave robust savings in the ECA and even took the Federal Government to court over the matter turn around to make such unfounded allegations? The world knows that it was Okonjo-Iweala who pioneered, during her first stint as Minister of Finance in the Obasanjo administration, the practice of publishing monthly updates of all allocations to different tiers of government in order to empower Nigerians with information and knowledge of government revenues and expenditure.
This enabled the Nigerian public to ask questions about the utilization of these resources. Of course many elected and appointed public officials were not happy with this development. She continued this practice when she returned in 2011 and even added periodic updates on the Excess Crude Account, subsidy payments for verified claims by oil marketers for fuel imports as well as SURE-P payments to the three tiers of government. Against this background, the idea that she spent $2.1 billion “without authorization” is simply not credible given that details of government receipts and expenditure are public knowledge. We believe that Nigerians are too smart to be hoodwinked by this partisan desperation to tar the name of Okonjo-Iweala. In the interest of the country, we advise that public officials should avoid the temptation to politicize economic issues so that balanced analysis can lead to real solutions.”the statement read
“I can’t say what was responsible for her death because the incident occurred a few days after she was delivered of the babies in a hospital and was brought back to the woman’s flat. She was found dead, foaming in her mouth on top of a bed in one of the rooms in the flat.
“When the woman who harboured her in the flat heard the babies crying, she went to Joy’s room to find out what was happening only to discover that Joy was dead. She raised an alarm which attracted neighbours. I was among the people who rushed to the flat. The cause of Joy’s death could not be immediately ascertained as there was no report of autopsy from any doctor.”However, the woman who harboured Joy contacted her husband and family members to come get her corpse but they rejected her corpse. She then contacted Fatai who showed up at the place and also refused to take responsibility for her burial.
“Nigerians should grab a front row seat so they can watch clearly as events unfold in the ring of anti-corruption fight in the days ahead. It will no longer be business as usual as the Buhari administration seeks to make sure that every kobo of national funds is spent for the benefit of Nigerians, not to fill the deep pockets of a few fat cats.
“The rot met by the Buhari administration is sickening, and the President is working hard to plug all loopholes for siphoning public funds, in addition to recovering looted public funds.”
“Nigerians now know that the cash in the Excess Crude Account has been depleted by $2 billion without explanation. A panel of four governors has been set up to investigate what happened to the money that was not remitted to the Federation Account,” Mohammed said.He said it was noteworthy that some Western nations had also assured the Buhari administration of all possible assistance in its efforts to recover the billions of Naira stashed away by public officers in the past.
“The President travelled to Chad and Niger, and then hosted a summit of the Lake Chad Basin Commission that comprised Cameroon, Chad and Niger, with Benin also invited.
“The result is the decision to deploy the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), with headquarters in N’Djamena, Chad, on July 30 to pep up the fight against Boko Haram.
“President Buhari has also rallied the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) to work with Nigeria in battling the Boko Haram insurgency.
“A joint summit of leaders of both economic blocs is to be held shortly to concretise these efforts that will complement the one by Nigeria and its neighbours.
“President Buhari also travelled to Germany to meet with G7 leaders to present to them a wish list that included getting their support for the battle against Boko Haram. The leaders of the countries affected by the Boko Haram insurgency have compiled their requirements which are being forwarded to the G7 for appropriate action.
“While waiting for that, the US has announced a $5 million assistance for the fight against insurgency and the relocation by the Nigerian military of the command centre to Maiduguri. These are no mean achievements.”Mohammed also said that the Buhari administration had availed itself credibly within one month of assuming office by bringing Nigeria back to the comity of respected nations.
“The latest is the US President Barack Obama, who will play host to our President at the White House on July 20. There is no better indication of how much Nigeria is regaining its lost glory than the recent election of former Agriculture Minister, Mr Akinwumi Adesina as the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB).”Mohammed noted that in spite of the laudable achievements of the Buhari administration in the last one month, Nigerians were right to demand even a faster pace.
“Nigerians are right and justified in their expectations. All we ask for is a little more patience, a little more understanding and continuous support for the Buhari administration.
“We in the APC hereby assure our compatriots, who have expressed their concerns in recent times, that there is no cause for alarm. The Buhari administration is willing, determined and able to effect the change that Nigerians voted for, despite the initial challenges.”
