No rift between Buhari, National Assembly —Enang

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Mr . Ita Enang , on Thursday insisted that there is absolutely no friction or tension between the Executive and the Legislature as people are made to believe .

Enang said this while answering questions from State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja .

He said, “ I am here to confirm to you that the relationship between the Executive and the Legislature is very cordial , constitutional , and in all manners , usual .

“ The relationship between the President and the Senate President is perfect and very cordial , personal and official .

“ You have seen at many times the President of the Senate and even the Speaker of the House of Representatives coming to have personal interactions and briefing the President on the affairs of the legislature and other functions of the state .

“ It appears that because of some incidences on the screening of some nominees , people think there are tensions. But let me assure you that there is no tension.

“ It is only that the constitution requires that when the President makes a nomination to the legislature , the legislature is to screen , consider and approve as thought fit .

“ If the legislature has reservations, there is always consultation. It will make its opinion known to the Executive by way of appropriate communication. ”

Enang said even if it appeared there was tension in the past , some developments during the week had doused such tensions.

He listed the developments to include the meeting President Muhammadu Buhari had with the leaders of the National Assembly and the meeting the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress had with Senators from the party.

“ Even if it appeared in the past that there were tensions, the actions of this week: the consultations between the President and the leaders of the National Assembly have doused all .

“ The intervention of the National Working Committee of the APC led by the National chairman has again completely put the question of tension or discord at rest.
“ That , too , has further brought down what it appeared to be tension .

“ In all the issues that have arisen, no question is raised by by the Legislature against the action of the President . It shows that in all manners , the President has not done anything that will make the legislature to call him to question ,” he said .

When asked why Buhari would set up a committee if there is no rift, Enang said, “ In setting up a committee led by the vice- president , the President felt that if there is any semblance of disagreement, it should be addressed .

“ This shows that this government is very responsive. It is a welcome development. ”

(Punch)

Probe $15.8bn NLNG dividends to NNPC, NEITI urges FG

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has urged the Federal Government to probe the status and utilisation of dividends and loan repayments by NLNG to NNPC from 2000 – 2014.


The Executive Secretary of NEITI , Waziri Adio , made the call in a statement signed by its spokesman , Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, on Thursday.

According to him , the federal government should institute an independent investigation into NLNG dividends to NNPC from 2000 to 2014, amounting to $ 15. 82bn.
According to Adio , NEITI policy brief stated that “ since the Federation ’s shareholding in NLNG is held through NNPC , dividends are paid to NNPC , which should remit same to the Federation .

“ However, NEITI ’s audits have revealed that until 2015, NNPC failed to remit the interests and dividends from NLNG to the Federation Account , ’’ he said.

He said that the total outstanding dividends and loan repayments by NLNG to NNPC not remitted to the Federation account stood at over $15. 8 bn.

Adio said the payments were traced to NNPC accounts by its independent auditors but there was no trace of its remittance to the Federation Account as required by the Constitution .

On domestic crude allocation and management , Adio raised concerns that earnings from the daily allocation of 445 , 000 barrels for domestic use have not been properly accounted for .

“ First, the refineries have been operating at below full capacity for a long time and currently process less than 100 , 000 barrels per day.

“ Between January 2015 and September 2016, NNPC lifted a total of 245 .4 million barrels of crude oil for domestic use .
“ Out of this total, only 24. 7 million barrels were delivered to the refineries.

This represents a mere 10.06 percent of the total crude oil lifted for domestic use for that period .

“ The remainder of this allocation was exported through a variety of channels: 64.8 million barrels or 26.4 percent were exported directly; 97. 6 million barrels or 39.77per cent were sold under the Offshore Processing Agreements (OPA ).

“ And 58. 29 million barrels or 23.75 percent were sold under the Direct Sales – Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme,’’ Adio said.

He noted that concerns raised in NEITI ’ s audits by other stakeholders about the inefficiency of these arrangements, especially the OPA , led to the discontinuation of the OPA in April 2016.

However, “ NEITI audits have shown that earnings from transactions arising from domestic crude allocation have not been fully remitted to the country ’s treasury.

“ Between January 2012 and July 2013, total revenue for domestic crude sales was $ 28.2 bn but NNPC only remitted $14. 54bn .’’

While calling for measures to recover over $ 14.5 m so far disclosed in its reports , Adio called for an urgent review of this arrangement to avoid huge revenue loss and leakages .


(NAN )

Nigeria’s North-West, North-East, poorest in the world – Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi ll, on Wednesday, said the North - West and the North -East remained the poorest parts of the world .
Sanusi , made this statement at the Kaduna State Economic Summit in Kaduna , the state capital .
The monarch , who spoke on the theme ‘ Promoting investments in the midst of economic challenges ’, said the North , as a region , constituted the highest of the nation’ s population , but lacked the necessary indices for progress.
Sanusi added , “ We are living in denial . The North -West and the North- East , demographically , constitute the bulk of Nigeria ’ s population , but look at human development indices, look at the number of children out of school , look at adult literacy , look at maternal mortality , look at infant mortality , look at girl - child completion rate , look at income per capita, the North- East and the North- West Nigeria , are among the poorest parts of the world .
“ As far back as 2000, I looked at the numbers , Borno and Yobe states, UNDP figures: Borno and Yobe states, if they were a country on their own, were poorer than Niger , Cameroon and Chad .
“ Nobody saw this because we were looking at Nigeria as a country that averages the oil- rich Niger Delta , the industrial and commercial - rich Lagos , the commercially viable South - East , and you have an average.
“ Break Nigeria into its component parts, and these parts of the country are among the poorest, if it were a country . And we do not realise we are in trouble.”
Sanusi said for the region to leap forward developmentally , it must fix it social and religious problems .
He pointed out that women and children must be loved, not beaten, adding that the region must do away with the 13th century mindset of religion and culture.
Sanusi stated, “ Other Muslim nations have pushed forward girl - child education , they ’ve pushed forward science and technology . They have pushed forward the arts. We have this myth in northern Nigeria , where we try to create an Islamic society that never existed .”
He added that the northern Muslims had adopted an interpretation of culture and religion that was rooted in the 13th century mindset, which refused to recognise that the rest of the Muslim world had moved on.
He recalled that books , preaching love , were being burnt in northern Nigeria , calling for a better interpretation of Islamic views so that better life could be provided for women and the girl- child .
Sanusi stated, “ We need to understand the roots of the problem of northern Nigeria . Burning books , it happened in Kano . What is the crime of those books ? They were writing about (love ), and love apparently is supposed to be a bad word.
“ In a society where you don ’t love your women and you don’ t love your children , you allow them to beg , you beat up your women , why should anyone talk about love ?
“ We have adopted an interpretation of our culture and our religion that is rooted in the 13th century mindset that refuses to recognise that the rest of the Muslim world has moved on.
“ Today in Malaysia , you wake up and divorce your wife; that is fine . But you give her 50 per cent of all the wealth you acquired since you married her . It is a Muslim country . In Nigeria , you wake up after 20 years of marriage, you say to your wife, ‘ I divorce you ’, and that ’s it .
“ Other Muslim nations have pushed forward girl -child education; they’ve pushed forward science and technology . They have pushed forward the arts. We have this myth in northern Nigeria , where we try to create an Islamic society that never existed.
“ We are fighting culture , we are fighting civilisation. We must wage an intellectual war, because Islam is not univocal. There are many voices , there are many interpretations , there are many viewpoints , and we have for too long allow the ascendancy of the most conservative viewpoints . The consequences of that are that there are certain social problems .”

‘North Korea hacking banks in Nigeria, 17 others to fund nuclear programme’

North Korea’s hacking operations has expanded to more countries including Nigeria , a report by Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky has claimed .
The cyber security firm said hackers backed by North Korea are targeting financial institutions in 18 countries, including Nigeria .
According to a report on the hacking claims by CNN, two international security experts believe North Korea was likely spending the stolen funds were on its nuclear weapons programme .
“ Banks and security researchers have previously identified four similar cyber- heists attempted on financial institutions in Bangladesh , Ecuador, the Philippines and Vietnam ,” it read in part .
“ But researchers at Kaspersky now say the same hacking operation — known as “ Lazarus” — also attacked financial institutions in Costa Rica , Ethiopia, Gabon , India , Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya , Malaysia , Nigeria , Poland , Taiwan , Thailand , and Uruguay . ”
Hackers were traced to North Korea after Kaspersky detected a mistake , and a hacker from a group operation known as “ Lazarus” connected from North Korea , the United Press International also reported on Tuesday .
According to the report, the hackers had previously routed their attacks from computer services in France, South Korea and Taiwan , a move which made it difficult for security experts to identify the origin of the breaches .
It added that Lazarus began to focus on banks late 2015, just before North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test then began to test- launch dozens of ballistic missiles in 2016.

Amaechi-Kachikwu: Between a Fighter and A Manager.

While Crisis Management and Reputation Management are Public Relations functions, Conflict Management is another process of limiting the negative aspects of conflicts while increasing the positive aspects.
An interesting feature of President Muhammadu Buhari?s cabinet and in fact his ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) is the amalgamation of good fighters and good managers.

The fighting skills as well as managerial expertise of some of the members catapulted the party to victory in the last general elections. For instance, Rotimi Amaechi aided the emergence of the Buhari government when he successfully initiated a fight, as the Governor of Rivers State, against President Goodluck Jonathan. He tactically joined forces with other members of the People?s Democratic Party (PDP), including Senator Bukola Saraki of the National Assembly and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State among others in fighting the government. This helped to bring PDP down to its knee after 16 years as the ruling party.


PDP down to its knee after 16 years as the ruling party.


Rotimi Amaechi, even as the current Transport Minister has never stopped been a good fighter. He recently took on his counterpart, Petroleum Minister of State, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu on Niger Delta issue. The two Ministers are the unique faces of good fighters and managers in the Buhari administration. While Amaechi, as a politician believes in taking decisive actions on critical issues, Kachikwu is an advocate of managing any issue to a logical conclusion rather than through confrontations.

At a recent Federal Government Town-Hall meeting at Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, Amaechi defended the decision of the Muhammadu Buhari administration to scrap the Maritime University project on the ground that the previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan had paid too much to acquire a land for the university.

Describing the project as a ?misplacement of priority?, Amaechi said: ?My argument about Okerenkoko is that the land alone is N13 billion. If you give me N13 billion, I will buy half of Lagos. That N13 billion has built the university already.?

He added that anti-corruption agencies should be mandated to recover the N13 billion already paid for the land, then he would build the university for the Niger Delta region.


Like a bull in China shop, Kachikwu rose to defend the university project adding that he would source for the money to complete the project.

Kachikwu said; ?I disagree with the Minister of Transport. Any facility that is located in the South-South we should work closely to develop it. I don?t care the circumstances under which you are placed. It?s not in my position to determine whether land was valued at N3 billion or N10 billion. The appropriate institution, which is at the costing system, will determine that. That has nothing to do with development of infrastructure. And as far as I know, so much has already gone into the university.?

The drama must have generated heated debates but the great lesson is that we can fight some of the time to win but we should also devise ways of managing victory. Skilled managers rather than good fighters are required for political stability and economic growth.

Amaechi started his political fighting from the University of Port Harcourt, when he fought his way to become the President of the National Union of Rivers State Students (NURSS) after fighting for students? rights. After his graduation, he joined Pamo Clinics and Hospitals Limited owned by Dr. Peter Odili, his political godfather who became Governor of Rivers State and facilitated Amaechi?s election into the Rivers State House of Assembly where he emerged the Speaker in 1999. Their harmonious relationship was truncated when Amaechi launched a campaign against the State government, and fought Odili in an effort to succeed him as Governor in 2007. When his name was substituted as winner of PDP?s primaries for Rivers Gubernatorial election that year, Amaechi fought his way to the Supreme Court where he was pronounced the rightful candidate of the party and became the Governor on 26 October 2007. He was re-elected for a second term of four years in April 2011 with less fight.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kachikwu has never been a typical Nigerian politician who can fight his way to power and reckoning. He is an outstanding manager who has proved his worth in the media, academics and corporate world. Apart from bagging a first class degree in Law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Nigerian Law School with multiple awards, he also obtained outstanding Masters and Doctorate Degree in Law from Harvard University. He had worked with the Nigerian/American Merchant Bank, Texaco Nigeria Limited from where he joined Exxon-Mobil where he rose to the position of Executive Vice Chairman and General Counsel of Exxon Mobil(Africa).

Apart from his deep involvement in the politics of Niger Delta, Amaechi as Transport Minister has succeeded in the extension of rail lines across Nigeria and the completion of ongoing rail projects initiated by the previous administration, especially the Abuja-Kaduna route that is likely to be commissioned in July 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Meanwhile Kachikwu as Petroleum Minister and GMD NNPC was able to cut operational losses, deregulate the downstream sector, initiate a creative means of meeting the Joint Venture (JV) contributions and ensuring prompt payments of revenue to the federation account among others.

Kachikwu?s endorsement of first class engineer and thoroughbred bureaucrat, Dr. Maikanti Baru, as the new Group Managing Director of NNPC, is quite encouraging as the Minister now chair the NNPC Board of Trustees to oversee the complex oil sector and undertake critical consultations with stakeholders towards political and economic stability.

While we urge the fighters and managers in the cabinet of President Buhari to work closely and collectively towards political stability, national security and economic advancement, they should limit the negative aspects of their conflict and increase the positive aspects of the struggle. What Nigerians want now is more focus in managing the economy and security situations rather than in-fighting and internal-agency rivalry.

Yushau A. Shuaib
www.yashuaib.com
yashuaib@yahoo.com