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Crisis rocks Senate over secret recruitment

Crisis is allegedly brewing in the Senate over the employment slots allocated to the lawmakers by some federal agencies.

Some aggrieved senators have vowed to resist the sharing method allegedly adopted by the leadership of the Senate to allocate the slots.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the agencies gave the legislators the slots through their leaders.

But the slots were allegedly shared among the 10-member body of principal officers.

According to sources, many of the lawmakers are particularly bitter that their leaders allegedly shared the 100 slots allegedly given the Senate by the Federal Inland Revenue Service among themselves.

An aggrieved senator from the South-West, said on condition of anonymity, “We were given 100 slots by the FIRS but our leaders shared the slots among themselves.”

A ranking senator from the North-West said, “We have information that one of the leaders gave 26 slots to people in his senatorial district. There is a problem in the Senate already, because the leadership has cornered jobs meant for the entire Nigerians.

“Does it mean that you must know a senator before you get a job? Nothing is being done on merit. How will you get the best brains?

“The implication of this is that many people are being offered employment without undergoing any interview.

“They give them appointment letters because they know the leaders of the Senate. How can a single senatorial district get 26 slots when others have nothing?”

But a Senator from the South-East, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that he expected every legislator to have been given a slot.

A member of the Senate Committee on Federal Character, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, also confirmed that there was a crisis in the Senate following the development.

He said, “The fact that the leaders allegedly collected 100 slots and share them among themselves has shown that we cannot win the war against the lopsidedness that we talk about in this country.

“Some of our colleagues are already coming to lobby us to take it easy with the probe but we are going ahead with it.”

Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character, Danjuma La’ah, said he was aware that some agencies had been boasting that nothing would come out of the (secret recruitment) probe because they had allegedly reached out to the leaders of the Senate.

The committee is probing the allegations that some agencies had been secretly recruiting without advertising the jobs.

La’ah said, “We are hearing that some agencies will not honour our invitation because they have connection with the Senate leadership. I am not aware that any agency gave out employment slots to the Senate.

“The leadership has not told us that they received any slot.

“As the chairman of this committee, who is also representing Kaduna South, I am not in any way aware that we have been given any employment slots, so we are going ahead with our probe.

“I have taken it upon myself that I will probe deeply into the agencies’ claims and carry out an extensive investigation. We are going to expose all those that are tarnishing the image of the Federal Government.

“We are aware that some of the agencies are selling employment slots for as much as N1.5m when we have children who have not got jobs since they graduated.

“Some have become bandits and terrorists because the jobs meant for them have been cornered by some greedy people. Young educated Nigerians are joining Boko Haram because of a lack of jobs.”

On when the agencies would appear before the committee to defend themselves, La’ah said, “Never mind, they will appear soon.”

He added, “President Muhammadu Buhari is not happy with what is going and he has been looking for a way to sack people with bad records. I even want him to use this as a yardstick to sanitise the system.”

La’ah said on Friday the committee had asked the officials of the affected agencies to appear before them this week.

The committee last week started investigating the allegations of secret recruitment by some of the federal agencies.

They include the FIRS, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, National Space Research and Development Agency, the National Open University and the Federal Civil Service Commission.

Border closure pushed inflation to 11.24% – NBS

The Consumer Price Index released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed inflation index rose to 11.24 per cent in September, barely a month after the border closure.

The 11.24 per cent represents an increase of 0.22 per cent when compared to the 11.02 per cent recorded in August.

The prices of food items have been on a steady increase since August when the Federal Government closed Nigeria’s borders to the neighbouring countries.

The NBS report stated that increases were recorded in all the divisions that determined the index. It said the food index rose by 13.51 per cent in September compared to 13.17 per cent in August. It said the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, oils and fats, meat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish and vegetables.

The NBS report read in part, “The consumer price index, which measures inflation increased by 11.24 per cent year-on-year in September 2019.

“This is 0.22 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in August 2019 (11.02) per cent.On month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.04 per cent in September 2019; this is 0.05 per cent rate higher than the rate recorded in August 2019 (0.99) per cent.”

In the same vein, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted that the border closure could have recorded a drastic reduction in smuggling of rice, and petroleum products among others. It, however, lamented that genuine businessmen who transacted legal business in the sub-region were victims of the border closure.

The LCCI who spoke through its Director-General, Muda Yusuf, in a statement noted that the government might mean well, but there were many businesses in the informal sector that had been adversely affected.

It read in part, “The closure of Nigerian land borders for close to two months now has come with benefits and costs. There are upsides and downsides. Reports indicate a drastic reduction in smuggling of rice, poultry products and sugar. The smuggling of petroleum products outside the country to neighboring countries has also declined considerably. We note and appreciate these outcomes.

“But it is important to reckon with the costs, supply chain disruptions and losses that businesses and individuals have suffered as a result of the closure. “Corporates, large number of informal sector players and individuals doing legitimate businesses across the borders have become victims of the border closure.

“This poses a dilemma. The government means well, but there are many innocent casualties.

“As we celebrate the benefits, we should also count the costs. Jobs have been lost; prices have skyrocketed; legitimate exports to the sub-region have been halted; intermediate products for some manufacturers have been cut off and some multinationals companies have been de-linked from their sister companies in the sub-region.”

It added that the economies of border communities had been paralysed with consequences for unemployment and poverty, stating that over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s trade with the West African sub- region was by road.

“We export manufactured products as well as agricultural products – detergents, toothpastes, plastic products, steel products, kitchen utensils, grains, ginger, onions, among others.

“We also undertake many exports to the sub-region. These are sources of livelihood of Nigerians doing legitimate business. There are also thousands of transporters who make a living from these legitimate trading activities. These are costs that would run into hundreds of billions of naira. We must weigh the costs and benefits.”

Most often, the LCCI noted, the government failed to count the cost of government policy on the citizens and businesses.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja reiterated that the border closure was an effort to support farming, fisheries and livestock sectors.

The President, represented by the Vice- Chairman of National Food Security Council and governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said this during the 2nd National Unity Food Fair 2019 organised by the National Council of Women Societies in collaboration with Travel Marketing Partners (Nigeria) Limited.

The President said he was not aware of protests against the closure of the nation’s borders, adding that the decision had been embraced by farmers who were already happy over it, as demand for locally produced foods had increased.

Nigeria insists Shell, Mobil, Chevron, others should pay $62 billion ‘arrears’

The Nigerian government has vowed to recover over $62 billion it claims as arrears of profits due it from 1998 under the production sharing contracts (PSCs) between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its joint venture partners.

The international oil companies have taken the matter before the Federal High Court in Lagos and are denying any liability.

The six international oil companies with joint operating agreements with the NNPC include Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and Chevron Nigeria Limited.

The others are Nigeria Agip Oil Company, TotalElf Nigeria and Pan Ocean Oil Company.

Under the terms of the 1993 PSC, the NNPC and the joint venture partners would review their profits sharing formula once crude oil prices rise above $20 per barrel.

But the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said this review has not taken place since October 1998 when oil prices rose above the stated threshold.

Recently, the government decided to trigger the review and demanded huge arrears of profits. But the joint venture partners have been reluctant to pay or adjust the profit-sharing formula in their various operating agreements.

Mr Malami was unable to say exactly how much Nigeria is claiming from the oil majors but he estimated the amount in excess of $62 billion.

Claims and counter-claims

Since the claim by the Nigerian government, the six JV partners with the NNPC have filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos to contest the allegations of violation of their PSCs and indebtedness.

However, Mr Malami told PREMIUM TIMES in Abuja on Saturday that the government has since filed a counter application.

“Regardless of the jurisdiction you look at, the case is about the rule of law and compliance with the prevailing laws; about rights and entitlements as they relate to the contract between the parties,” the minister said.

The six joint operating agreements

Apart from Shell, which holds 55 per cent equity in Shell/NNPC joint venture, the other five control at least 60 per cent of the interests in the shares.

In 2014, crude oil prices at the international market averaged $100 per barrel.

The minister said the IOCs told the court they were not liable to the payment because Nigeria made no formal attempt to activate the PSCs review clause after crude oil prices rose above $20 per barrel.

But Mr Malami said government filed a counterclaim that the activation was automatic.
“The concern of the IOCs is about the establishment of their respective rights. A case has been established about the right of the government to enforce its laws. If indeed there exists such a right, then the remedy must naturally follow.

“What matters is the reconciliation of the figures. The government went to court for the purpose of ascertaining the liability and the validity of the calculations of the claims,” he said.

Claim a matter of right

On the argument that government may have slept on its right by not enforcing the review of the PSCs immediately crude oil price rose above $20 per barrel, Mr Malami said it does not matter when the government decided to seek the enforcement of its laws.

He said as far as the PSC was concerned, it remained a function of law to activate the review at any time, so long as the law remained “valid, subsisting, applicable and enforceable.”

“The fact that government did not take immediate steps to demand the review and payment does not invalidate its action now to make a claim of right, provided the claim of right is rooted in law.

“As far as the Nigerian government is concerned, it is a function of law as to whether the review is automatic or not. The liability and responsibility of right are mutual and operative.

“The parties are in court to interpret if the review of the PSC was automatic, or whether the Nigerian government slept on its right by not activating the right to review the sharing formula when it became due.

“That is a function of judicial interpretation. That is why the parties are in court. The existence or otherwise of liability as far as PSC agreement is concerned is a function of law and the parties are in court to determine as a function of law,” he said.

Government not targetting foreign investors

On the timing of the claims, Mr Malami said insinuations that the government was targeting and squeezing foreign companies for funds to pull the country out of poor fiscal condition was lacking in substance.

He said apart from the IOCs, the government was still pursuing its agenda to recover looted asset from individuals and groups at home.

On the impact of the claims on investment in the country, he said the government was conscious of its obligations to promote good investment climate with regards to the prevailing laws and their enforcement.

He said despite the ongoing court action, the parties have continued to meet, engage and discuss, saying he was optimistic the engagements would eventually translate to settlement or full-blown negotiation process.

On alleged threats by the IOCs to withhold decisions on further investments in Nigeria until the matter is resolved, the Minister said the government was not worried about any backlash by way of negative business sentiment.

He said the action will instead create a win-win situation for all parties.

Grateful Staffs Serenades Seyi Tinubu on Birthday…Organises Surprise Bash for Him

Teach us to number our days is a popular saying when birthdays are been celebrated, but it is very few who could say they have gained any sort of wisdom apart the unnecessaries. It will be right to say one of the few is Seyi Tinubu, the son of one time Senator who is also a former Governor of Lagos and is presently the National Leader of Nigerian Ruling political party All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Not minding his father’s influence in politics Seyi has created a name for himself in the IT world with the success recorded with his co-owned Loatsad Promomedia, raising it to one of the best in the country while he’s keeping a low profile. His way of life has further endeared him to everybody that comes in contact with him most especially his staffs who has taken it upon themselves to celebrate with their wonderful boss today which is his birthday.

Findings show the easy going but hardworking dude is found of giving to the needy a situation behind the establishment of his wife controlled Noella Foundation that has been giving back heavily to the people especially the kids from different motherless baby home they normally visits with foods and gift items every Friday.

He’s unlike some that are good to outsider but careless about those working closely with them, he is a good role model to bosses which is the reason his staffs sings his praise and goodness, according to some of the Seyi is the world best boss, it is based on this and many more good deed that we decided to join his grateful staffs and others like that to wish Seyi Tinubu, Happy Birthday.

Some of the birthday creative done by the staffs

2020 Budget: Buhari To Repair State House Buildings With N4.5bn

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has a plan to spend N4.5 billion to repair State House buildings in 2020.

The Federal Government intends to spend a total of N58,446,014,724 in the presidency during the year, according to details of the Appropriation Bill he presented to the National Assembly on Tuesday.

A perusal of the document showed that of the amount, rehabilitation and repairs of State House office buildings alone will gulp N4.451 billion.

Rehabilitation and repair of residential buildings will cost N69,693,262, while a curious sub-head noted that rehabilitation and repairs of “housing” will take N10,575,702.

Chefs in the Presidential Villa will also in 2020 prepare food for the first family and their guests with cooking gas worth N18.5 million.

Fuel for generator has a vote of N45,678,552; refreshment and meals will cost N135,668,651, and welfare packages N240,730,180.

The president will also spend N91.6 million to purchase bullet-proof tyres for the many bullet-proof vehicles and plain vehicles in the fleet.

Further scrutiny of the document revealed that the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning will spend 43.6 per cent of the N9.4 trillion Federal Government’s main budget for the year.

The ministry will spend N4.1 trillion or 43.6 per cent of the MDAs vote made up of N748,602,309,977 for personnel; N3,063,398,998,775 for overhead; N3,812,001,308,752 for recurrent and N362,791,562,425 for capital expenditure.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) got an allocation of N2.749 trillion while N1.4 trillion was allocated to Service Wide Votes.

Other big spenders include the Ministry of Defence with an allocation of N878.4 billion; Interior, N254.8 billion; National Assembly, N125 billion; Police Affairs, N409.1 billion; National Security Adviser, N138.4 billion and the Ministry of Transportation, N135.6 billion.

Others are the Ministry of Power, N133.4 billion; Ministry of Works and Housing, N287.1 billion; judiciary, N110 billion; Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, N171.0 billion; Ministry of Niger Delta, N106.7 billion; Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, N444.2 billion; Ministry of Education, N652 billion; Ministry of Health, N427.2 billion and Aso Rock, N58.4 billion.

Only Bello Can Beat Bello In Kogi Election ― APC Campaign Council

The campaign council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, on Saturday, said the array of personalities in the campaign council and the swell of support across the state can only mean it is only Governor Yahaya Bello that can defeat himself in the November 16 Governorship election.

In a statement by the Chairman of Media and Publicity of the Campaigns, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, the campaign council said Bello would shatter all records in the election.

“From East to the Central and West, the groundswell of support across the state has demoralized the opposition PDP ahead of the election. The State has never been this united behind a Governorship candidate.

“The Senator Smart Adeyemi-led Campaign Council is made up of the movers and shakers of the politics of Kogi Politics. With the arrival of Honourable James Abiodun Faleke and aspirants who contested with the Governor has shown that APC will win the coming governorship election massively.

“It is a bad time for the PDP and we sincerely sympathize with the main opposition party. They have lost their leaders to the APC; they have lost thousands of their members to the APC and also recently lost their only Senator from the State. He will soon be replaced with a competent Senator in person of Senator Smart Adeyemi.

“No matter their grandstanding, we know they are in a big crisis. They are imploding and exploding. We won’t allow them to dictate the direction of our campaign as we are poised to campaign with the giant strides of the GYB Administration.

Apprehension In Bayelsa PDP As FG Drags Guber Candidate Before CCB On Monday

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State is in a fix on how to handle a petition against its governorship candidate, Senator Douye Diri, over his failure to declare his assets before the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) while he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Principal Executive Secretary in Government House between 2013 and 2014

Tribune Online investigations revealed that Senator Diri is expected to appear before the CCB on Monday 14th of October, 2019, in response to the said petition filed against him by an anti-corruption group known as the Bayelsa Coalition for Good Governance and Accountability.

Tribune Online further learnt that the PDP flag bearer has since been duly served the CCB summon through the clerk of the National Assembly, but that he has allegedly refused to acknowledge receipt of the summon.

According to a source in the PDP, “Senator Douye Diri was evading service. When the summon was sent to his governorship campaign office, nobody was willing to accept it. That was when the summon was sent to him through the Clerk of the Natiional Assembly and served.”

Confirming the development in a chat with newsmen, the Executive Director of the Bayelsa Coalition for Good Governance and Accountability, Mr Joseph Ambakederimo, who filed the petition said they filed the petition and that they have appeared before CCB to defend their claims in the petition.

Ghana’s Inspector General Of Police Advises Prison Inmates To Watch Emmanuel Tv

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) of Ghana, James Oppong-Boanuh, has advised prison inmates to watch Emmanuel TV, the television station of Pastor TB Joshua, so as to be both ‘informed’ and ‘reformed’.

According to a report in The Ghanaian Times, Oppong-Boanuh made this assertion while presenting food items, a flat screen television and a decoder to inmates of the Sekondi Prisons in the Western Region of Ghana.

Presenting the items on behalf of the IGP, the Western Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Redeemer Vincent Dedjoe, entreated tthe prison officers to encourage the inmates to particularly watch the activities of TB Joshua on Emmanuel TV.

“This will help the inmates to listen to the Word of God, be informed and well reformed when they are released from prisons,”he stated, emphasising the gifts were “a measure of extending God’s love and care to them”.

Receiving the items, the Assistant Director of Prisons (ADP), Nana Amoku Quansah, expressed gratitude to the IGP, who was newly confirmed as Ghana’s top police officer by President Akufo-Addo, for the gesture.

Emmanuel TV is the world’s most watched Christian ministry YouTube channel with its videos attracting over 500 million views.

FIRSTBANK’S ADESOLA ADEDUNTAN JOINS OTHER GLOBAL FINANCE PRACTITIONERS AT ETHICAL FINANCE CONFERENCE, EDINBURGH

As part of the Bank’s financial inclusion and global thought leadership drive, the Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan participated in the 2019 Global Leaders Interactive panel session of the 2019 Ethical Finance Conference held on 8 – 9 October 2019 at RBS Conference Centre, 175 Glasgow Road, Gogarburn, Edinburgh. The event had in attendance over 500 leading finance practitioners from all over the world.

The Bank’s CEO, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, with other thought leaders, policy influencers and leading finance practitioners across the world deliberated on various topical issues that would help define and shape the transition of the global financial climate to a sustainable financial system where finance delivers positive change.

Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, along with Sarah Breeden, Bank of England; Dame Susan Rice, Banking Standards Board; Gary Gillespie, Chief Economist, Scottish Government spoke on the topic “Financing Sustainability: Designing for A Future on Earth” in the first panel session held on 8 October 2019.

Speaking on his participation at the event, Dr. Adeduntan said; “FirstBank is committed to exploring innovative opportunities that drive financial inclusion in Nigeria whilst harnessing widespread mobile-phone coverage to create low-price banking offerings across groundbreaking distribution channels, especially for the unbanked.”

“Our participation in the 2019 Ethical Finance Conference is a platform we are honoured to be in as shared knowledge with other global thought leaders and policy influencers is pivotal to promote inclusive growth in the global financial ecosystem, whilst contributing to economic growth, development and importantly, reducing poverty,” he concluded.

UBA Promises to Put Customers’ Needs First as it Holds 2019 Forum in Lagos

The pan African Financial Services Institution, United Bank for Africa(UBA) has again reiterated its commitment to surpass the expectations of its customers through the provision of products and services that meet their needs. The Bank made this promise at a special Customer Forum to mark the 2019 edition of the Customer’s Service Week.

The forum which was held at the bank’s Head Office, in Lagos, was very interactive and presented an opportunity for the management, staff and customers to share ideas on how to improve customer-satisfaction, in line with the bank’s Customer First Philosophy.

UBA’s Group Executive, Customer Fulfilment Centre, Mr Anant Rao, who welcomed customers to the forum, explained that the bank has deliberately re-focused and re-engineered its activities to put the customers first, adding that it has been leveraging on a three-prong lever of People, Process and Technology, in a bid to ensure maximum satisfaction to the customers, without whom the bank will not exist.

He said, “The singular mission of our consistent and superior customer experience has been imbibed into the DNA of each and every staff of the bank. In this way, there is no gainsaying that Service has been institutionalized at UBA. The mantra of our Customers being our employers has been ingrained into the psyche of each and every staff.”

l-r: Group Head, Online Banking, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, Mr. Austin Abolusoro; Regional Head, Lagos Bank, UBA Plc, Mrs Pamela Shodipo; Customer, High Chief Goddy Ulasi; Technical Adviser, Consumer & Retail Banking, Mr Babatunde Ajayi; Group Executive, Transformation and Resources, UBA Plc, Mr Chiugo Ndubuisi; Group Executive, Customer Fulfilment Centre, UBA Plc, and Group Head, Marketing, Mrs Dupe Olusola, at the special UBA Customer Forum held to commemorate The CUSTOMER Service Week in Lagos on Wednesday

Also speaking, the Group Head, Marketing, Mrs Dupe Olusola, said the bank has tailored a lot of products to assist customers to thrive in their various fields, adding that there was a lot of focus on small and medium scale enterprises which are growth drivers of any growing economy.

She said, “At UBA, we are constantly thinking about you, creating personalized products you need to achieve your goals. Right from the kids, children, young adults, students to the mass retail market; SMEs; creative industry; agricultural; UBA has something for everyone, and we are here at your service all the time.”

Some of the customers who were at the event, commended the bank for the services it rendered to them, and also pointed out areas of improvement and expectation, adding that this will lead to beneficial interests to both parties.

l-r: UBA Customers, Mr Adegbola Abiodun and Mrs Adebanke Adegbola; Regional Head, Lagos Bank, UBA Plc, Mrs Pamela Shodipo; UBA Customer, Mrs Adepele Amure; Group Executive, Transformation and Resources, UBA Plc, Mr Chiugo Ndubuisi; UBA Customer, High Chief Goddy Ulasi; Group Head, Marketing, Mrs Dupe Olusola; Regional Head, Lagos Bank, Ms Emem Usoro; at the special UBA Customer Forum held to commemorate 2019 Customer Service Week in Lagos on Wednesday

A customer of the bank, High Chief Goddy Ulasi, who has banked with UBA for over 15 years, commended the bank for helping him and his business grow over the years and called on the bank to make rates more competitive to ensure that customers and businesses also benefit even more from the bank.

In response, the Group Head, Transaction and Electronic Banking, Mr. Sampson Aneke, said the customers remain the key focus of the bank, adding that the bank is in discussions with the key agents to ensure ease of transactions.

Earlier, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, who wrote a statement on the significance of continuous excellent service delivery to customers, appreciated the staff who have worked tirelessly to satisfy customers, and urged them not to rest on their oars.

“Let’s strive to put the magical touch in everything we do to create a symbolic service experience for our ‘Employer’ – the Customer!”, Uzoka said.

The theme for this year’s celebrations, “Magic Happens Here”, embodies all that the bank represents as encompassed in its Core Values – the 3EEEs: Excellence, Enterprise and Execution.

The United Bank for Africa, Africa’s global bank, was founded 70 years ago in Nigeria and today, operates in 20 African countries and in the United Kingdom, the USA and with presence in France. UBA serves over 17 million customers across the globe with more than 1000 branches and touch points. In 2018, the bank received the award of Africa’s Best Digital Bank by the Banker’s magazine