Adelani Adepegba, Abuja

The police have arrested a 43-year-old fraudster, Augustus Akpan, for allegedly threatening to kill former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his family if he failed to withdraw from the presidential race.

The force spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, said Akpan from Edemaya village, Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, sent threat messages to Atiku, his wife and daughter.

The suspect allegedly threatened to rape Atiku’s wife, Jennifer and daughters, Fatima and Maryam if the Peoples Democratic Party presidential aspirant did not withdraw from the race.

The police said one Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge plus phone and the SIM card used by the suspect to send the threat messages to Atiku and his family members were recovered.

The threat message by Akpan read in part, “Turaki Atiku, we are watching you and your family, we ask you right now to withdraw from the race for Presidency.

“Let Buhari run against your PDP members. We know that you are bigger than all those candidates in PDP. That is why we need you to step down. We will blow your plane off from the sky and we will poison you and your family.

“Atiku Abubakar, take our words for granted and watch what will happen to your family before you. You are going to see what we will do to you and your family. We know where and where your children travel to.”

The police said that the suspect claimed to know the homes of Atiku’s daughters and their movements.

On receiving the complaint from Atiku, Moshood said the suspect was trailed and eventually arrested by the IGP Intelligence Response Team at the toll gate along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos State.

“He confessed to the crime and admitted that he resorted to the threat and intimidation when all efforts to extort money from the former vice president were unsuccessful.

“The suspect also admitted in his confessional statement that he is a professional fraudster and not working for any political party. He said that his statement in which he asked Atiku not to run against Buhari was merely to divert attention,” the force spokesman stated.

Moshood further explained that the suspect, who is fluent in English, Ibibio, Russian and Portuguese languages, confessed that he had defrauded many prominent individuals while posing as a Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency operative.

The police added that the phone Akpan was caught with was stolen from a lady who identified him as the person that robbed her a few months ago.

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Oladimeji Ramon

A former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, who was charged with an alleged fraud of N7.6bn, has urged Justice Mohammed Idris to stop hearing his case, contending that the judge lacks jurisdiction.

Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who appeared for Kalu in court on Wednesday, argued that Justice Idris could no longer hear the case because the judge had been elevated from the Federal High Court to the Court of Appeal.

Quoting sections  238, 239, 240 , 252 and 253 of the 1999 Constitution, Ozekhome argued that it had become illegal for Justice Idris to continue to hear the case, having been elevated.

The 11-year-old case was transferred to Justice Idris late 2016 with Kalu and his company, Slok Nigeria Limited, and Ude Udeogu, a former Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House, re-arraigned on October 31, 2016 on 34 counts.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission closed its case on May 11, 2018 after calling a total of 19 witnesses.

The defendants filed applications for no-case submission, but before the applications could be heard, Justice Idris was elevated to the Court of Appeal from the Federal High Court in Lagos.

To enable the judge to continue to hear the case, despite being elevated, Kalu’s lawyer, Prof Awa Kalu (SAN), applied to the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, for Justice Idris to be given a fiat to continue hearing the case.

Justice Bulkachuwa granted the fiat and said the case must be concluded by the end of September.

Having got the fiat to continue the case, Justice Idris on July 31 ruled on the defendants’ no-case submissions and dismissed the applications.

He ordered them to proceed to defend themselves.

But rather than proceed immediately to open his defence, Kalu prayed for a six-week adjournment to embark on a medical trip to Germany for an unspecified surgical operation.

Justice Idris granted the adjournment and fixed September 13 for further proceedings.

But on September 13, Kalu was nowhere to be found, with his lawyer, Mr Gordy Uche (SAN), explaining that he was held up in Germany to the displeasure of the judge, who was forced to further adjourn till September 20.

On September 20, counsel for the the second and third defendants urged Justice Idris to stay further proceedings in the case, saying they had appealed against the dismissal of their no-case submissions.

But the judge rejected the applications, holding that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 had outlawed stay of proceedings in criminal cases.

When the case resumed on September 21, Kalu’s lawyer, Prof Awa Kalu (SAN), said the ex-governor was ready to testify in his own defence but he would not enter into the witness box, so that the EFCC lawyer, Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), would not be able to cross-examine him.

Jacobs objected, insisting that there was no way Kalu would testify and not be cross-examined.

In a bench ruling, Justice Idris held that Kalu was at liberty to make a statement rather enter the witness box to testify.

He adjourned till Wednesday for Kalu to open his defence.

However, rather than open his defence on Wednesday, Ozekhome appeared for the ex-governor, insisting that Justice Idris must stop hearing the case because he had been elavated to the Court of Appeal.

But Jacobs urged Justice Idris to reject the prayer, noting that it was Kalu’s main lawyer, Prof Awa Kalu (SAN), who in June applied for a fiat for the judge to continue and conclude the case despite being elevated.

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Oluwatobi Akindele

A postgraduate student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, has accused a man, Adesoji Orenowo, of raping her in his house at European Quarters, Meiran, Lagos.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the 24-year-old met Orenowo at a wedding ceremony in Ibadan, Oyo State, in December 2017.

The duo had reportedly exchanged telephone numbers and kept in touch through social media chats and calls.

The suspect was said to have invited the student, who resided in Abeokuta, to his house in Lagos.

It was gathered that Orenowo sent transport fare to the Osun State indigene.

The 35-year-old was alleged to have raped the victim during the encounter.

The postgraduate student, in her statement to the police, said she agreed to spend the night at Orenowo’s house because she trusted him.

She said, “The reason I visited him was to know him more after we met in December 2017. He told me that he was always busy at work and if I were free during the weekend, we could hook up. He sent me N3,000 for transport fare. That was the first time he would send money to me.

“When I got to his place, I slept there because I met his uncle and the uncle’s wife with some cousins, who welcomed me. Though I was still uncomfortable and was contemplating on going back home, his uncle’s wife said I was safe.

“Around 10pm, I went to sleep in the room provided for me, which was opposite his uncle’s room. Around 2.30am, I saw Orenowo beside me; he was touching and harassing me. I suddenly stood up and went to the passage. Fortunately, his uncle came out to urinate and saw me reading the Bible with the torchlight of my phone. I went to sit in the sitting room.

“Orenowo came and suddenly dragged me from the sitting room through the passage into the room. While hitting my head on the wall, he held my neck. I called for help, but his uncle did not come out.

“He (Orenowo) almost strangled me, saying if I said anything, he would kill me and nobody would trace me. I received a lot of punches and slaps. He stripped me naked and threatened to tie me to the bed if I did not cooperate with him. He penetrated me through the anus and private parts.”

The victim said she reported the incident to Orenowo’s uncle and left the house for a hospital.

She said a nurse followed her to a police station to report the case.

Orenowo, however, denied the allegation, saying he did not sleep with his guest after she turned down his advances.

He said, “While I was touching her after we had retired to bed, she told me not to touch her that she was in a fasting and prayer programme. She took the Bible on my bed and left the room.

“When she later came back from the sitting room, we started romancing each other and she insisted that she did not want to have sex and I left her to sleep.”

Orenowo was arraigned before an Ogba Magistrates’ Court on one count of sexual assault.

The police prosecutor, Inspector Christopher John, said the offence contravened Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The charge read, “That you, Adesoji Orenowo, on September 7, 2018, around 2am, at European Quarters, Meiran, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did unlawfully sexually assault one (name withheld), by penetrating her private parts.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The magistrate, Mr P.E. Nwaka, ordered that the suspect be remanded in prison.

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Theophilus Onojeghen, Warri

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria on Wednesday strongly warned the Independent National Electoral Commission that it must remain neutral in the 2019 General Elections in the country.

PFN stated that the electoral umpire would be setting Nigeria on fire if it compromises its neutrality at the polls.

Speaking at the end of a two-day strategic leaders meeting of the South-South Caucus for the 2019 General Elections, the National Vice President (South-South) of PFN, Bishop Simeon Okah also kicked against the use of the military for the elections.

While okaying the use of police and other security agencies, Okah stressed that such agents should maintain a high level of neutrality, and take the protection of the lives and properties of Nigerians as topmost priority.

He stated that PFN as a body would remain neutral in the 2019 but would push for credible and transparent electoral system that birth the kind of leaders the country had been yearning for years.
Bishop Okah, who also the senior pastor of Flock of Christ Mission in Enerhen and flanked by state chairmen of PFN from all six states in the South-South, called on INEC Chairman , Professor Mahmood Yakubu to live up to the expectations of Nigerians by conducting a credible poll.

He said Nigerians have confidence in Professor Yakubu, but it is now up to him not to disappoint the people’s trust at the polls.

According to him, “The PFN on its part, promised to be neutral, but it will stand for the truth at all times and put the interest of the Church and the nation first.

” All pastors have been directed to sensitize their members on the need for a free and fair election across the nation in 2019.

“We challenge INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu to live up to his credibility as a professor. Nigerians have confidence in Professor Yakubu , but it is now up to him not to disappoint the people. We want credible elections in 2019.”

The PFN South south leader said all votes must count, and there should be no room for any malpractices.
He notes that the two-day event with its theme; “Sustaining Godliness in Governance”, provided the opportunity for pastors to be educated on values to watch out for in aspirants as the various political parties hold their primaries.

“The church leaders were also told to educate their members to participate actively in the political process and not just sit back and complain”, Okah added.

The event was attended by the Delta State PFN Chairman, Bishop Kingsley Enakirherhi; Bayelsa PFN leader, Bishop Prosper Ayawei; Rivers chairman, Apostle Zilly Aggrey; Cross Rivers, Pastor Ekwok Lawrence;  Edo, Bishop Monday Igbinosa and that of Akwa Ibom , Dr Sylvanus Ukafia  while Archbishop Margaret Idahosa was represented by Bishop Curtis Fiano.

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Africans in the Diaspora to come up with suggestions on how to curtail the menace of corruption on the continent.

According to a statement on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President made the call on Wednesday in New York while addressing participants at the High Level Media Launch on “Illicit Financial Flows and the Fight against Corruption: Curbing the Existence of Safe Havens – the Role of Africans in the Fight against Corruption.”

The event was organised by the NEPAD/APRM Nigeria on the margins of the ongoing 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The President was also said to have enjoined the Africans in Diaspora to support measures against “Safe Havens” for illicit financial outflows from the continent.

Buhari described corruption as a “cancer” which he said required global efforts to contain.

He recalled that the negative impact of corruption on the continent informed the “resolve of African Heads of State and Government to remain committed to the fight against corruption,” and the declaration of 2018, as the African year of combating corruption with the overriding theme: Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.

READ ALSO: FUNAAB postgraduate student accuses Lagos host of rape

He expressed his appreciation to his fellow African leaders for the honour bestowed on him as the African Union Anti – Corruption Champion to lead the continental War Against Corruption in 2018 and beyond.

The President noted that the change agenda of his administration “has overhauled, revitalised as well as institutionalised the machinery for an out and out fight against corruption and its agents, with a particular focus on illicit financial flows.”

Buhari, while acknowledging that the social and economic costs of corruption and illicit financial flows are massive, and have continued to stunt the development of Africa, cited a 2015 study by an African Union Panel led by Thabo Mbeki which estimated $50bn illicit financial flows out of the continent every year.

“According to the report, about $2.5bn of the $50bn of Illicit Financial Flows was in respect of commercial activities.

“It is obvious that the continent still battles with grand corruption at the highest level, with Safe Havens, opaque systems in many recipient countries and the outright willingness of some advanced countries to harbour stolen funds from Africa,” he said.

The President listed some of the negative impacts of illicit financial flows out of the continent to include draining of foreign exchange reserves, reduction of tax/revenue collection, poor investment inflows and escalation of poverty.

He noted that these “nefarious practices are being perpetrated by some of the 60 international tax havens and secret jurisdictions with thousands of disguised corporations, shell companies, anonymous trust accounts, fake charitable foundations, money laundering and transfer pricing mechanisms.”

Observing that efforts were now being made by African leaders to checkmate these ills and ensure greater transparency and accountability in government business, the Nigerian President said, “One of the measures necessary, if we are to make any headway is to bring in laws, regulations and policies that encourage transparent financial transactions, as well as implementing measures that would mitigate the incentives that facilitate illegal outflows from the continent.”

He recalled that during the January 2018 AU Summit, he pledged to “organise African Youth Congresses against Corruption, in order to sensitise and engage our youth in the fight against corruption; mobilise African Union member states to implement African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption; and advocate for the strengthening of the criminal justice system across Africa through exchange of information and sharing best practices in the enforcement of anti-corruption laws.”

On the measures taken at the domestic level to curb corruption in Nigeria, Buhari said, a mechanism had been put in place “for budget implementation and monitoring as well as assessing the impact on the lives of the citizens.”

“The Federal Government had successfully commenced implementation of a whistle blowing programme and so far tens of millions of Dollars have been recovered; as part of the global initiative, Nigeria has joined the Open Government Partnership having been committed in 14 areas which are categorized into four thematic areas as follows; Promoting fiscal transparency; Access to information under FOI Acts; Anti-Corruption and Asset disclosure and Citizens’ Engagement and Empowerment.

“The above measures have not only assisted in alleviating fears of foreign investors but have also attracted billions of Dollars in Portfolio investments since April, 2017,” Buhari added.

The President also noted that the “enforcement of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) has helped in no small measure to identify and curb the deep-rooted corrupt practices by looters of government revenue with multiple accounts.”

There was mild drama at Polling Unit 17, Ward 5, Adewale Street, Alekuwodo, Osogbo, when voters that came out to participate in the Osun State governorship rerun election refused to quit the queue in spite of a heavy downpour.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the election process started at 8am on Thursday but at 9:12am, there was heavy downpour which halted the process.

READ ALSO: Buhari seeks help of Africans in Diaspora to fight corruption 

The sudden rainfall had everybody running for cover but voters already in the voting queue, who initially ran for cover, quickly returned when they noticed that others who refused to take cover had moved forward to replace them.

By the time the rain subsided, all the voters in the queue were already drenched.

The voting, however, continued at 9:30am when everyone (INEC staff, security, media men and others) had returned to their posts.

Earlier, some middle-aged men and an elderly woman who came with Permanent Voter Cards from another unit had attempted to cast their votes but were disallowed by vigilant security and party agents.

(NAN)

The Federal Government says that the meeting with organised labour on the minimum wage did not end in a deadlock.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator  Chris Ngige, said this in a statement issued in Abuja by Mr Samuel Olowookere, the Director of Press in the ministry.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the minister met with labour leaders who were part of the Tripartite Committee on the new National Minimum Wage to give them an update on government’s position.

Ngige, who was reacting to some media reports, however, described the meeting as successful.

READ ALSO: Minimum wage: Labour orders nationwide strike

“The meeting was, in fact, successful as both the Federal Government team led by the Minister of Labour and Employment and the leadership of the organised labour agreed to reconvene the meeting of the National Minimum Wage Committee on Thursday, October 4, 2018.

“This is to give enough time for the National  Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission to round off the assignment given to it.

“As a result, labour agreed to reach out to its organs of leadership with the October 4th resumption date as demanded by its National Executive Council with a view to suspending the proposed strike,” the statement said.

(NAN)

Governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara State has warned governorship aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in the state against using insecurity to campaign against his government.

Yari gave the warning in Gusau while addressing APC supporters at the party’s mega rally in support of Alhaji Mukhtar Shehu-Idris, believed to be his preferred aspirant.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the state APC chapter and 14 local government APC chapters in the state organised the grand rally to show support for the aspirant.

READ ALSO: Minimum wage: Meeting with labour not deadlocked, says Minister

Yari lamented that some APC governorship aspirants were using insecurity to campaign against his government and his preferred aspirant.

“I want to tell those aspirants that the issue of insecurity is the responsibility of government at all levels including the Federal, State and Local Governments.

“We all know the efforts of the federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari in addressing security challenges in the state.

“As at 2011, we only had 24 soldiers in this area, but after one heavy attack in Yar-galadima in 2014 village, the then federal government led by president Jonathan deployed 250 soldiers.

“But when President Muhammadu Buhari came into power between 2015 to date, he established a new Army Brigade with over 1000 soldiers deployed to all the nooks and crannies of the state to fight bandits and criminals.

He said that Shehu-Idris was brought to contest the governorship race on the party’s platform on account of his competence, adding that the party needed a candidate that would continue with ongoing projects and programmes.

“We will not deny any aspirant; we are ready for primaries, any aspirant that believes he is good, let him come out and try his luck.”

He urged people of the state to come out in large numbers to participate in the APC presidential and governorship primaries in the state.

In his remarks, Shehu-Idris appreciated the support and cooperation of the APC supporters in the state and assured that if voted as governor, he would continue with the development projects started by the Yari administration.

The state APC Chairman, Alhaji Lawal M-Liman, said the rally was organised by the party to show solidarity for the candidature of Shehu-Idris.

“We thank the support and cooperation of APC supporters from the 14 local government areas of the state,” he said.

(NAN)

The Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Olusegun Agbaje, has assured the electorate, voting at the state rerun election, of adequate security as voting process commences on Thursday.

Agbaje gave the assurance when he visited the polling unit at Ward 5, Unit 17, on Adewale Street, Alekuwodo Area in Osogbo.

He said INEC and the ad hoc staff were ready to conduct the election and that “the deployment of heavy security is an assurance that nobody or individuals can distrupt the process.

“INEC staff and ad hoc staff are prepared for the election and we have heavy security presence which will gurantee the safety of everyone.

READ ALSO: Minimum wage: Meeting with labour not deadlocked, says Minister

“Anybody coming to snatch ballot boxes is putting his or life in danger.

“Party agents should conduct themselves in an orderly manner, while the electorate should remain peaceful.”

Agbaje equally charged corps members serving at polling units to take their time and make sure they verify voter cards very well before they allow them to vote.

He said “election should close by exactly 2 p.m. because of the limited units and voters”, saying he was optimistic the election would run smoothly.

Mr Emmanuel Attah, the State Cordinator of National Youth Service Corps in Osun State, said INEC had assured him of the safety of corps members that would be participating in the rerun election.

Attah said that the NYSC and corps members were apolitical and that they would carry out their task without fear or favour.

“I came to check how my children (corps members) are doing and know if they are properly taken care of.

“I am happy about how the whole election process is going and I wish the parties involved the best of luck.

“NYSC is apolitical and the corps members serving as INEC ad hoc staff are doing their duties without favour to any party.”

(NAN)

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

Striking workers on Thursday paralysed activities in all the offices at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja. Our correspondent who observed activities at the secretariat located in the Three Arms Zone reported that most workers did not report for work.

A few of the workers who reported for work were however seen sitting idly at the gates of the complexes in the secretariat. Security was also beefed up at the gates to forestall breakdown of law and order.

Some of the offices affected were the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health among others. At the complex housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the flag of the Nigeria Labour Congress was hoisted on the main gate which remained closed to workers.

[READ ALSO] Osun rerun: Drama at polling units as voters defy downpour

The big car park located behind the Eagles Square meant being used by workers was virtually empty. Those who sell N100 ticket for those who park their cars inside the car park were however on duty. “Hunger will kill me if I should go on strike,” one of them told our correspondent who asked why he did not join the industrial action. The industrial action also affected petty traders who are usually patronised by the workers.

Most hit were food vendors who have their shops inside the car park. When our reporter visited the shops, only a handful of them were operational. Those who were operating were only offering skeletal services. “We only cooked small food since we heard about the strike before now.

We did not cook any ‘swallow,’ we only cooked rice. “In fact, since others are closing, we are also planning to leave now, “Amarachi, an attendant in one of the food shops told out correspondent. Despite the industrial action, however, military and para-military officials were seen taking part in the rehearsal for the Independence Day Parade at the Eagle Square.

Activities at the Benin Airport were grounded on Thursday as both entry and exit gates were locked, with hundreds of intending passengers stranded, arising from nationwide strike called by the leadership of organised labour.

Organised labour had on Wednesday directed all its affiliates to commence an indefinite warning strike on Thursday to press home its demand for a new national minimum wage.

The News Agency of Nigeria, reports that the strike caused gridlock within the axis of the Airport Road as motorists had a hectic time trying to negotiate the area.

While hundreds of intending passengers loitered around both entry and exit gates,  security personnel struggled to control both human and vehicular traffic.

READ ALSO: Osun rerun: REC assures adequate security, says ballot box snatching impossible

Edo Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr Emmanuel Ademokun, who spoke to NAN, expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance.

He told NAN that he and his team were going round to ensure total compliance with the stay-at-home directive of the NLC.

“We want to ensure that workers in the state comply with the directive of the NLC on industrial action.

“We are not just sitting, but going around to monitor things ourselves.

“I am quite satisfied with what I have seen so far and this will continue until there is a directive from the national secretariat,” he stated.

(NAN)

Oladimeji Ramon

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday adjourned sine die (indefinitely) the trial of a former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, who is being prosecuted for an alleged fraud of N7.65bn.

Justice Mohammed Idris, while adjourning the case indefinitely, noted that the fiat given to him by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, elapsed at the end of September.

The judge, however, said he was disposed to continuing with the case if the prosecution or the defence applied for a fresh fiat.

The 11-year-old case was transferred to Justice Idris late 2016 and Kalu and his company, Slok Nigeria Limited; and Ude Udeogu, a former Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House were on October 31, 2016, re-arraigned before the judge.

Shortly after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission closed its case after calling a total of 19 witnesses, the judge was in June elevated to the Court of Appeal.

In order to allow him to continue with the case, however, Kalu’s lead lawyer, Prof Awa Kalu (SAN), applied to Justice Bulkachuwa for a fiat to enable Justice Idris to continue to hear and conclude the case.

In granting the fiat, Justice Bulkachuwa said the case must be concluded by the end of September.

However, after Justice Idris dismissed the defendants’ no-case submission on July 31, the defendants had refused to open their defence.

Rather they first sought a stay of proceedings, which the judge dismissed; they later challenged the jurisdiction of the judge to hear the case, arguing that he was no longer a judge of the high court.

In one of the charges, the EFCC alleged that Kalu, who was Abia State Governor between 1999 and 2007, “did procure Slok Nigeria Limited –  company solely owned by you and members of your family –  to retain in its account, domiciled with the then Inland Bank Plc, Apapa branch, Lagos, an aggregate sum of N7,197,871,208.7 on your behalf.”

The prosecution claimed that the N7.1bn “formed part of the funds illegally derived from the treasury of the Abia State Government and which was converted into several bank drafts before they were paid into the said company’s account.”

The prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), said the ex-governor violated Section 17(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, and was liable to be punished under Section 16 of the same Act.

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Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Africans in diaspora to come up with suggestions on how to curb corruption on the continent.

According to a statement on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, the President made the call on Wednesday in New York while addressing participants at High Level Media Launch on ‘Illicit Financial Flows and the Fight against Corruption: Curbing the Existence of Safe Havens — the Role of Africans in the Fight against Corruption.’

The event was organised by the NEPAD/APRM Nigeria on the sidelines of the ongoing 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The President was also said to have enjoined Africans in diaspora to support measures against “safe havens” for illicit financial outflows from the continent.

Buhari described corruption as a “cancer” which he said required global efforts to contain.

Buhari, while acknowledging that the social and economic costs of corruption and illicit financial flows are massive and have continued to retard the development of Africa, cited a 2015 study by an African Union Panel led by Thabo Mbeki which estimated $50bn illicit financial flows out of the continent every year.

“According to the report, about $2.5bn of the $50bn of Illicit financial flows was in respect of commercial activities.

“It is obvious that the continent still battles with grand corruption at the highest level, with safe havens, opaque systems in many recipient countries and the outright willingness of some advanced countries to harbour stolen funds from Africa,” he said.

The President listed some of the negative impacts of illicit financial flows out of the continent to include draining of foreign exchange reserves, reduction of tax/revenue collection, poor investment inflows and escalation of poverty.

He noted that the “nefarious practices are being perpetrated by some of the 60 international tax havens and secret jurisdictions with thousands of disguised corporations, shell companies, anonymous trust accounts, fake charitable foundations, money laundering and transfer pricing mechanisms.”

Stating that efforts were being made by African leaders to check the ills and ensure greater transparency and accountability in government business, Buhari said, “One of the measures necessary if we are to make any headway is to bring in laws, regulations and policies that encourage transparent financial transactions as well as implementing measures that would mitigate the incentives that facilitate illegal outflows from the continent.”

He recalled that during the January 2018 AU Summit, he pledged to “organise African youth congresses against corruption, in order to sensitise and engage our youths in the fight against corruption; mobilise African Union member states to implement African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption; and advocate for the strengthening of the criminal justice system across Africa through exchange of information and sharing best practices in the enforcement of anti-corruption laws.”

On the measures taken at the domestic level to curb corruption in Nigeria, Buhari said, a mechanism had been put in place “for budget implementation and monitoring as well as assessing the impact on the lives of the citizens.”

He said, “The Federal Government has successfully commenced implementation of a whistle-blowing programme and so far tens of millions of dollars have been recovered; as part of the global initiative, Nigeria has joined the Open Government Partnership having been committed in 14 areas which are categorised into four thematic areas as follows; promoting fiscal transparency; access to information under FOI Acts; anti-corruption and asset disclosure and citizens’ engagement and empowerment.

“The above measures have not only assisted in alleviating fears of foreign investors, but have also attracted billions of dollars in portfolio investments since April, 2017.”

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Ozioma Ubabukoh

The need to link more people, especially in the rural areas, to financial services providers has brought about the upsurge in the use of financial technology in many parts of the world.

The growing presence of financial technology, or Fintech, companies is helping to deepen financial inclusion, with banks also investing in their own digital operations to build new ways of banking.

Fintech is the new technology and innovation that aims to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services, according to Wikipedia.com.

The International Finance Corporation, in its ‘Digital Access: The Future of Financial Inclusion in Africa’ report, noted that the launch and growth of digital financial services in Africa had led to an unprecedented increase in the number of people enjoying access to formal financial services.

“While East Africa has long been the star performer in terms of the evolution of digital financial services, West Africa is the new growth market. Not only in terms of reach, but also for innovation… Fintechs have sprung up from Dakar to Lagos, and the regulatory environment continues to improve,” IFC Head, Financial Institutions Group Advisory, sub-Saharan Africa, Riadh Naouar, said in the report.

In 2010, Nigeria made a commitment to reduce the adult financial exclusion rate in the country from 46.3 per cent to 20 per cent by 2020, and the National Financial Inclusion Strategy was launched on October 23, 2012 in order to attain the target.

Cellulant, a digital payments service provider, is one of the Fintechs committed to pushing the frontiers of innovation to reduce the number of the unbanked and underbanked in the country.

“Our own paradigm is that a structured network, which we call neighbourhood banking, is taken to these people to financially include them and then we will do a lot of community sensitisation because even the urban excluded, which you might call the poor or the inner-city poor, are also organised into communities,” the Chief Executive Officer, Cellulant Nigeria Limited, Mr Bolaji Akinboro, tells our correspondent.

He adds, “We take financial inclusion to them so that we can plug them into the ecosystem formally. In Lagos alone, you have got over four million customers that you could plug in, and we are going to come after them. But our own strategy is we want to start from where there is the maximum upside, which is northern Nigeria and then start coming down South.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria said in the exposure draft of the ‘National Financial Inclusion Strategy Refresh’ report that 58.4 per cent of the nation’s 96.4 million adults were financially served in 2016, compared to a target of 69.5 per cent – leaving 41.6 per cent (about 40.9 million adults) financially excluded.

“The regulator makes policies, and when you look at our policy framework, it is one of the best in the African continent but the policies are not yielding results because the private sector people are not deploying capital. And why are they not deploying capital? It is because when you look at pricing regime, the regulator is prescriptive in terms of pricing and private businesses do not work that way.  You create room for private businesses to innovate,” Akinboro says.

According to him, one of the big challenges facing financial inclusion is that there is a conflict between the policy environment and the profit requirements of businesses.

He says, “If the regulator can allow a bit more leniency in terms of pricing and tariff innovation, you are going to begin to see growth. But if it insists on the prescriptive regime, it will not achieve growth.”

The Cellulant co-founder says the Federal Government of Nigeria, using the company’s technology, solved one of the major problems in the rural areas in the country – identity management.

Akinboro says, “We have KYC 1/ KYC 2, meaning you have the details of the person, name, identity, location, address, and partial biometrics, and we have a picture for the person. So, that database is huge database with over 17 million farmers. We also built the profile database of service points across the country.

“If you want to deliver services to farmers in Nigeria, what are the optimal places to do that? We also built the database of the community actors, who are the people in the communities that you require to render services.”

According to him, telecommunication companies in Nigeria are unable to help enhance financial inclusion because they do not have a distribution channel.

He says, “A distribution channel means a network of service points that you control end to end. What the telecom companies in Nigeria have is a sales channel. A sales channel and a distribution channel are not the same.”

Akinboro stresses the need for companies to innovate in terms of merging structures in order to create the required momentum.

He says, “People selling recharge cards and mobile phone accessories are the ones they are hoping on to become mobile money agents; it is a totally false hope.

“Gross payment values in Nigeria are very high. When somebody says I want to do a mobile money transaction, the gross payment value is much higher than in other parts of Africa. The gross payment value per transaction is as high as $50-$100, which is equivalent to N15,000 – N30,000.  So, if you are to attend to 10 people in a day, you actually need physical cash of N300,000 or electronic float of N300,000.

“Those men selling charging cables, etc, are just trading with their working capital of about N50,000 to N60,000, so you begin to see the liquidity challenges.”

The Cellulant CEO also highlights the need for a new paradigm of banking.

He says, “Our own paradigm is neighbourhood banking, and the paradigm is: your banker is your neighbour and your neighbour is an operator of a micro bank branch.

“We innovate on what I call low-entry account, accounts that are easy to open, and we allow people in rural areas to function based on a level I call KYC level 2 and second degree verification.

Akinboro adds, “For example, if I wanted to collect a national ID card, you have asked me to bring certain supporting documents to prove that I am who I am but if I am in the rural area, I do not have a bank certificate.  The person that can verify that I am who I am is the local leader, so we need to innovate on local identity mechanisms. There has to be innovation in that area in terms of the way we reach them; we keep things simple for them.  They are not people in town who require all the complications in town. If we do those things, things will work.”

He says Cellulant has developed a product, called ‘TINGG, to solve the problem of economic and financial exclusion at the same time.

“TINGG is beyond payments and it is beyond people – just having a wallet to store their value. Tingg is about powering financial inclusion through economic inclusion. If you ask me how we describe ourselves as a company, we will say we are stimulants. We power payments for market places that matter to Nigerians and those market places that matter to Nigerians are agriculture, because Nigeria has 200 million mouths to feed; and retail open market, because Nigerians go to the open market to do their day-to-day purchases,” Akinboro adds.

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When starting out, most freelancers do it all by themselves and that’s totally fine. But the mistake many make as they grow is overlooking how setting up business systems can make their lives and their work more efficient, easier and certainly less stressful. That’s a shame.

If you continue to do it solo as your business grows, you will simply find yourself putting in longer hours and not realising the enjoyment and the increased revenue you should. That’s not a path you want to tread.

This is where creating a business system becomes critical. Business systems are the practices, policies and procedures that entrepreneurs put in place so that their businesses can run smoothly and they can focus on the “meat” of their work, not the details or the “hired help.”

Freelancers who have grown their businesses and who seem to have time for themselves, their families and an increasing number of clients have understood seven things about setting up a business system. Take a look at these seven and begin to incorporate them now.

• Work on your mindset

There are people who are self-employed and there are people who are entrepreneurs. It’s a mindset really. If you continue to think of yourself as self-employed, then you will have the mindset that you are the business, not that you own a business.

If you own a business, then that business is a separate entity from you as a person, and you will do those things that will streamline operations so that you have some freedom.

• Identify your key business tasks

The best way to do this is to take inventory of all that you do within a week. How much time do you spend actually creating work product for clients? And how much time do you spend doing chores like marketing, creating e-mails/newsletters, maintaining your blog and taking care of all of the accounting tasks – invoicing, recording payments, sending out payment reminders, keeping tax records, etc.?

• List the steps of each task that relate to your business

Let’s start with a simple example – how often do you post on your blog or social media? What is entailed in creating a post?

The steps you probably take are:

• Finding a good topic
• Doing the research
• Finding or creating the visuals/media to include
• Writing and then publishing the post.
• Responding to comments/feedback
• Create the same “outlines” for all your business chores.
• Identify what portions of tasks can be automated or delegated

Take a look at the steps of each task process and see what you can automate.  Maybe you can spend one day a month creating your blog posts. Then you can automatically schedule their publication. The same with e-mail services. And, as for looking for topics? Use sites like Buzzsumo.com to get topic ideas in your niche. You can also set up an automatic feed from news sites or Google Alerts based upon keywords related to your niche.

Accounting tasks go without saying. Getting a software system that send out invoices, tracks payments, sends out reminders and even categorises everything for tax purposes is just a no-brainer. Many will even complete your taxes for you, based upon the figures that have been gathered each quarter.

• Consider outsourcing or hiring

As your business grows, it makes sense to see how you can “staff up” to get tasks completed by others. You might want to outsource some of your marketing or the maintenance of your blog. You could also hire a professional to handle your tax bills.

Think about those tasks that you don’t love and that seem to eat up time. These are the ones to delegate out. And using remote contractors or employees keeps your office expenses down.

• Re-evaluate continually

As you implement the business systems you have selected, make sure they are really working for you. Take time to evaluate if they are doing what you want them to do. If not, revise your plans and processes until they do. There are a huge number of resources out there – digital and human.

• Schedule the down time – it’s all about freedom

With systems in place, a freelancer can relax. But that relaxation also takes a mindset change. It is easy to get into the mode of work above all else, all of the time. If you find it hard to “leave the baby” with automated tools or other people, you will have to work into this gradually. Take an entire afternoon and evening off. At first, you will worry if all is going well, but over time, you will realise that the baby is in good care. Gradually, you can increase that down time and, for instance, go backpacking through Southeast Asia without having to deal with the hassles of currency conversion. This is how to gain the freedom you envisioned when you first started your business.

The whole point of business systems really is to provide more freedom to entrepreneurs – freedom to grow their businesses; freedom to focus on the tasks they really love; and freedom have a “life.” Take these steps and you’ll get control of your work life.

Source: Abdullahi Muhammed, a writer, entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Oxygenmat.

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Femi Makinde, Osogbo

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, has been declared the winner of the governorship election in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The Returning Officer, Prof Joseph Fuwape, declared Oyetola the winner of the election after the collation of the results of the supplementary election in seven polling units.

Oyetola polled a total of 255,505 votes to emerge the winner of the poll while the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party polled a total of 255,023 votes to come second in the contest.

Adeleke had scored the highest number of votes in the first ballot but the INEC ordered a rerun because the number of cancelled votes in the seven polling units was far higher than the margin by which Adeleke beat the runner-up.

Details later…

Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia

the indefinite warning strike action declared by the Nigeria Labour congress recorded total compliance in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, on Thursday.

Our correspondent, who monitored the exercise, reported that at about 9am students of Government  Primary and Post-Primary Schools in the State where  seen leaving their school premises.

A teacher who granted audience to our correspondent under the condition of anonymity said the authority asked the staff and students to go in line with the directives from the NLC.

When our correspondent visited the federal and state secretariats at Ogurube layout in Umuahia, the complexes were under lock and key.

Some civil servants who had reported for work in the morning were seen leaving the two complexes.

At the state high court complex on Ikot-Ekpene Road, Umuahia, lawyers and their clients were seen standing in front of the court with its gate locked.

A legal practitioner identified as Mr Uzoma Nwaigwe, said the exercise stopped the hearing of a case involving one of his clients.

“I came to represent my client who has been in detention for over  three weeks, he was supposed to be charged to court today so that he can regain his freedom, but unfortunately the court is on strike and the police have no option but to take him  back  to the cell.

“I heard that NLC is on strike and the association of judiciary workers complied with the strike,” he said.

He urged the organised labour to keep dialoguing with the Federal Government to increase workers minimum wage, and expressed fear that increasing the wage from N18000 to N56,000 might also have some inflationary consequences on the economy.

“Government should dialogue and see what they can do to help the workers,” he said.

Chief Ben Torty, who came to the court for the hearing of a matter involving his community, expressed disappointment that the matter could not come up because of the strike action.

He however said the NLC was fighting a just cause because government workers had been suffering for a long time under the current wage being paid to them.

He said, “The strike affected our matter because the government is involved and the court is involved too, we will wait until the court resumes and we will take another date for the hearing.

“The government should increase the minimum wage because the Nigerian masses have been suffering for a long time, particularly in Abia State.”

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Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt

THE National Industrial Court in Port Harcourt on Thursday struck out a case filed by dock workers against Port Terminal Operators Nigeria Limited.

The trial judge, Justice Polycarp Hamman, stated that the decision was taken due to the failure of the claimants (dock wokers) to prove that they were permanent workers of the company.

He specifically said that the inability of the dock workers to provide their permanent employment letters left him with no other option than to dismiss the case.

The dock workers had gone to the National Industrial Court in 2013, praying for an order that the defendant (Port Terminal Operators Nigeria Limited) to pay them all their entitlements based on the payment of N33.000 minimum wage approved for dock workers by Federal Government.

But Justice Hamman held that that the sacked dock workers were not able to prove that there was a relationship between them and the organisation they took to court.

According to him, what the workers submitted to the court were temporary appointment letters as against permanent appointment letters from the company.

He maintained that the court could not grant them their prayers for the payment of the new minimum wage based on the temporary letter of appointment they submitted.

The judge, however, did not award any cost against the parties involved in the matter, adding that the claimants (dock workers) have the right to go to court despite failing to stick to the remediation clause in the agreement between them and the company.

Counsel for the dock workers, Mr. Uche Ogwudu, explained that the judge’s decision to strike out the suit was based on the inability of his clients to produce permanent appointment letters.

Ogwudu added that he would advise his clients on the next line of action after he must have studied the court’s ruling on the matter.

In his remarks, counsel for the defendants, Mr. Angus Chukwuka, hailed the court’s ruling, describing it as a welcome development.

Chukwuka noted that the failure of the sacked dock workers to produce their permanent employment letters before the court made their made their prayers inefficient.

However, one of the claimants, Mr. Samuel Ochegba, said the judgement was unacceptable and insisted that they would take the matter to the Appeal Court.

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Evander Holyfield says a possible bout between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will  elevate boxing to where it was during his heyday in the 1990s, The National reports.

Negotiations between the sports two marquee heavyweights have yet to yield an agreement on a fight that would unify the division, with Wilder’s representatives insisting this week they had “no desire” to meet with Joshua’s camp until a “real offer” was presented.

Joshua, the reigning IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO world champion, sealed a 22nd consecutive victory on Saturday night, stopping Alexander Povetkin emphatically in the seventh round at a packed Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday.

Asked who he wanted to fight next, Joshua named Wilder, while an April 13 date, again at Wembley, has already been set for his 23rd bout. American Wilder, the current WBC champion, fights Tyson Fury in the United States on December 1.

However, Joshua-Wilder remains undoubtedly the most appealing clash in the division. Holyfield, boxing’s only four-time world heavyweight champion, added to the clamour on Wednesday, saying he had been blown away by the support garnered by Joshua having witnessed it firsthand at Wembley. He also called upon the fighters’ respective parties to get the deal done.

“It would be a great fight,” said the American in Jeddah.  “When it’s all said and done you’re talking about what’s fair. Deontay was the heavyweight champion first, but with Joshua, he’s got all these people. I went to Saturday’s fight and there were 100,000 people coming to see him. It’s my first time seeing that ever in my life, to see a man, a boxer, draw that many people.

“I still think as a balance, both of them champions, somebody’s going to win and somebody’s going to lose. But when both people are that good, that’s when the promoter comes in, brings up the big money and gives everybody even money. If you think you’re the champ, you feel that you’re going to win. The whole big thing is what the fight would mean to the individual.”

During a pro career that spanned three decades, Holyfield was involved in some of boxing’s most memorable fights – he was undisputed champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight – including the infamous 1997 bout against Mike Tyson.

Asked if Joshua and Wilder are talented enough to bring the heavyweight division back to the level it enjoyed in the 1990s, Holyfield said,  “I truly think they are. Because Joshua’s a good fighter and he knocks people out, people want to see it. Deontay’s not a skilful fighter, but he knocks people out. People want to see the action.”