The Zamfara Government has hinted that repentant bandits have surrendered 203 sophisticated firearm, under the state government peace accord in Gusau , the Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, Alhaji Garba Dauran has said.
Dauran also said that 2,566 live ammunition, 64 magazines, two handcuffs and 887 locally fabricated Dane guns were also surrendered by the bandits.
He called for cooperation from community leaders and citizens to check the activities of bandits.
Our correspondent reports that on Feb. 7, the Zamfara government in an attempt to quell banditry in the state initiated the peace accord.
The policy is another amnesty initiative for repentant bandits in the state.
We also gathered that the state government first announced the initiative in July, 2020, to encourage bandits terrorising rural areas to lay down their arms.
Gov. Bello Matawalle said some bandits who willingly submitted their guns have been resettled in Gusau.
Soldiers on Wednesday threatened to shoot officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that came to mark properties seized from Brig. Gen Jafaru Mohammed, the Director of Finance and Administration at the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The EFCC had obtained an interim forfeiture from a Federal High Court in Abuja on March 11, 2021, and proceeded to mark eight properties belonging to the NSA’s aide.
Newsfocusng team who visited Sun City in the Lokogoma area of Abuja on Wednesday, reported that after a team of EFCC officials began marking General Mohammed’s building located on 52 Main Street, Sun City, in red paint, armed soldiers arrived in a white Hilux marked GWA481EA and chased the EFCC officials away.
The soldiers took a bucket of water and soap and quickly cleaned off the markings which read, ‘EFCC Under Investigation, Keep Off!”
Our correspondent, who visited other properties linked to the general, observed that soldiers were on guard to prevent EFCC officials from marking them.
Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo had in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/007/2021 ordered the interim forfeiture of eight properties linked to General Mohammed who is a trusted aide to the NSA, Major General Babagana Moguno (retd.).
The investigation of Mohammed is part of a wider probe into the finances of the Office of the NSA.
Other properties affected include: A house at 7 God’s Own Estate, Road 1, Wamba District, a fenced plot at 1 Jubril Aminu Crescent, Katampe Extension, a plot at Kubwa Express Road directly opposite Abuja Model City Gate, A house at Block SD 22, Road 5, Kabusa Garden Estate, Abuja; Plot 15, 21st Crescent, Second Avenue, Gwarinpa, 3 Liverpool Close, Sun City Estate and 25 Osaka Street, Sun City.
The properties are believed to be worth billions of naira which far exceed the income of a brigadier general.
Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has opposed open grazing of cattle, saying it unislamic and should be discontinued.
Masari, in an interview with newsmen in Katsina on Tuesday evening, described open grazing as un-Islamic.
Open grazing has been generating controversy in the country since May 11 when the Southern governors at their meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, banned the practice in a move aimed at addressing insecurity in the region.
On Thursday last week, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, in an interview with Channels Television, said the ban was unconstitutional.
The Presidency, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Monday, supported the ban and described it and other resolutions of the governors as “acts of politicking.”
On Tuesday evening, Masari said necessary infrastructure on livestock farming should be provided in states for ranching, instead of promoting open grazing.
The governor stated, “This is something we have to do through development, provide necessary infrastructure that will make the herders not to move.
“The herders’ movement is essentially in search of two things: water and fodder. If we can provide these two items, why should they move?
The roaming about, for us is un-Islamic and it is not the best. It is part of the problems we are having today. I don’t support that we should continue with open grazing.”
The governor also spoke about other issues including current agitation for devolution of power through restructuring.
According to him; “I support devolution totally. The Federal Government is trying. But the states need to have resources to implement what should have been implemented by the Federal Government.
‘’If today the states will support the police, the police system will go up. If the states withdraw their support to security agencies, they won’t be able to move from here to there.
“So, I absolutely support devolution. As a government of Katsina State, we should be allowed by the constitution to decide many things that are peculiar to us.”
A committee set up to investigate sales of Kwara state assets has recommended the prosecution of former Governors Bukola Saraki and Abdulfatah Ahmed, and other former government officials to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
The committee’s white paper accused the ex-governors and other government officials of economic sabotage against the state through sales of public assets to cronies at giveaway prices.
The Chairman of the White Paper Panel on the unlawful sales of government’s properties from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2019 Hussein Buhari, made this known during the submission of the report that findings in the report were mind boggling and that nothing short of diligent prosecution, possible jail terms and recovery of many of the properties can avenge the “official connivances” that led to the pilferage of the assets.
He said the former Governors and many of their aides have questions to answer on how public properties and shares were sold under questionable circumstances, including on the eve of their departures from public offices.
Buhari said none of these officials honoured the invitations for them to clear the air on the deals, and said the administration should prosecute them as a matter of justice a request the Governor said has been noted for action.
According to him; “The committee swung into action immediately it was inaugurated and went through the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry on the sales of Kwara State Government Assets between May 1999 and May 2019. There are so many rots perpetrated by the past governments especially in the 16 years before 2019.
For instance, the rots on Shonga Farms, Satellite Motel, and our properties in Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos were simply inconceivable. They were all sold to themselves at giveaway prices. We saw criminal conspiracies. In fact, Kwara State is now heavily indebted to some people because the past governments mismanaged our properties. I just wish Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq will have the courage and political will to implement the report so that everybody found wanting will be brought to book. And the Electoral Act is very clear that anybody who is found guilty of mismanagement of resources be banned for 10 years from holding political office. We wish the government will accept our recommendations and set up an implementation committee.
“There are so many instances where those in government before used their positions to acquire government properties in questionable circumstances. For instance, the High Court Complex in Tanke, Ilorin they removed all the steels and allocated the land to themselves, they built hotels and eateries on government properties. All our houses in Kaduna have been sold. Today, apart from our liaison office, we do not have anything in Kaduna.
“Government should take them to court and prosecute them for economic sabotage and, if found guilty, the government should ban them from holding political offices for 10 years.
“Also, some ministries, Bureau of Lands, Surveying Office and many other offices had shady deals with our land in Kwara State. So, anyone involved should be sanctioned and prosecuted according to the civil service rules. Even if they have retired, they should be brought to book because the connivance was too much. Look at what happened at KWTV. They sold almost all the land at KWTV to themselves. Despite the fact that you must live certain metres away from television mast, those rules were jettisoned.
“Also, Noktel Hotel is built right on top of aquifer which supplies water to Agba Dam, Ilorin. What we observed is unbelievable. So, for the hotel, we recommend outright demolition of it. Because they knew what they were doing. They have now blocked water from flowing to the dam.
Based on what we discovered, the people that were at the helms of affairs for the past 16 years connived to perpetrate evils and they were given ample opportunities to defend themselves by the judicial panel of inquiry and they refused to come. It shows they were accomplices in the whole deals.
“Also, our shares, bonds and stocks were sold out within five weeks of their leaving office. These are worth billions of naira. Even, the Amoyo International Market in which they claimed that they bought land for over N400m and paid about N200m and also swapped 10 pieces of our land in Abuja for Amoyo land by Harmony Holdings Limited. Personally, Bayo Sanni and Tope Daramola need to be brought to book on the issue.
“On Kwara Mall, it is sad that Kwara State Government put down the sum of N500m, gave land and C of O over the land and they used the C of O to collect another loan in a bank worth N500m and brought nothing to the Kwara State Government. In fact, the sharing formula is 70 percent to 30 percent. That is, 30 percent to the state government that put down everything.
“On Shonga Farms, you brought 13 farmers and you gave them land and huge money in foreign currency and yet nothing was remitted to the state government. They did not stop at that. They mortgaged the same land and collected money from different banks. We also found out that most of the government officials involved in all these are deliberately working against the government of the day for selfish reasons. It is impunity. They are working for their pay masters, and not the citizens of Kwara state.”
Human rights activist, Aisha Yesufu, on Thursday, lambasted Senator Remi Tinubu, wife of All Progressives Congress chieftain, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for displaying disgusting arrogance on Wednesday when she called a woman, a thug during a public hearing of the constitutional review.
She spoke to newsmen on Thursday afternoon, saying, Remi, senator representing Lagos Central was involved in a shouting match with some Nigerians who attended the event at the Marriot Hotel in Lagos.
Tinubu is leading the Senate Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution in the South-West.
However, there was a ruckus when a yet-to-be-identified woman was denied entry into the venue. The woman, who protested her exclusion from the venue, was flayed by Mrs. Tinubu for being “rude”.
Some Nigerians at the scene subsequently asked the senator to apologise to her but Mrs. Tinubu said, “I will not apologise for what I said. I saw it and I said it.”
Reacting, Yesufu said, “It’s so much disgusting arrogance from a Senator who is an elected official to speak to citizens in that manner and this is not the first time Remi Tinubu is doing this. She looks down on people. I’m sure she is used to people who come to her, rolling on the floor and she thinks everybody will bow before her family. That is why she keeps on carrying this arrogance around.
“It is good that the citizens called her out there and asked her to apologise and this is what needs to happen, we need to bring down this arrogance that these politicians have.
“What has been her contribution since she has been in the Senate? What has she contributed to national issues? What has she contributed to women issues? Nothing. She is just there just because she is there. People who get to power out of tokenism have this kind of arrogance that comes from emptiness. It is absolutely annoying and disgraceful that she behaves that way not knowing that she is there to serve the people.”
Mrs. Tinubu has had similar encounters since she became a Senator in 2011.
Just recently, she censured her colleague from Kogi State, Senator Smart Adeyemi, for expressing concern over the worsening security situation of the country.
Adeyemi had during a plenary session said that Nigeria was facing the worst instability since the civil war but Mrs. Tinubu interrupted him and tagged him a wolf in sheep clothing for allegedly speaking like an opposition.
Also in July 2016, Tinubu clashed with Senator Dino Melaye from Kogi State which saw both lawmakers calling each other unprintable names and charging at each other.
In 2015, Tinubu earned the rebuke of the Peoples Democratic Party senators when she stood up to speak while standing in the corner of the then Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Major General Farouk Yahaya as Chief of Army Staff.
Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, Acting Director, Defence Information, announced this in a statement on Thursday.
The statement reads in bits, ” The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Mohammadu Buhari has appointed Major General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff.
“Prior to his appointment Major General Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counter terrorism Counter Insurgency military outfit in the North East code named Operation HADIN KAI.
“Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counter terrorism Counter Insurgency military outfit code named Operation HADIN KAI”, the statement. Details shortly
Dr Talemoh Dah, Senior Technical Adviser, Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON-PAS) has identified funding and policy as major factors affecting Family Planning (FP) services in the Nigeria.
While adding that; “there is the need to also pursue a multichannel engagement with key government stakeholders, especially the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and Federal Ministry of Finance as well as all levels of government to prioritise FP issues.
He made this known during his presentation on “Family Planning Financing”, at a media round table on the Proposed 6th Nigeria Family Planning Conference scheduled to hold on the 7th to 11th of December, 2020 in Abuja.
Dah also challenged the media to ensure that funds allocated to family planning services were released and programmes fully implemented.
Saying; “All partners involved should share comparative advantages and strong relationships to advocacy.”
The SOGON technical adviser noted that the Federal Government updated its commitment at the FP Summit in London on July 11, 2017 with the target of reaching 27 per cent maternal Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR).
According to him, the Federal Ministry of Health with the approval from the Federal Executive Council renewed the MoU with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to ensure provision of four Million U.S. Dollars annually from 2017 to 2020 for procurement of contraceptives for the public sector.
The commitment, he said is an increase from the three million dollars committed from 2011 to 2014.
He further stated that; “With the MoU, Nigeria was expected to contribute N1.2 billion annually to the basket fund over a period of four years from 2017 to 2020.
“However, as at November, there is a gap of N900 million not released in 2019 and the N1.2 billion also not released this year,” he added.
Dah, therefore, noted that the forthcoming biennial FP conference would provide the avenue for stakeholders to brainstorm, debate and exchange ideas, share experiences on the progress made so far.
He said the stakeholders would also identify emerging issues on FP/reproductive health, and chart the way forward toward improving the existing situation.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has expressed interest in purchasing a 20 per cent minority equity stake in Dangote Refinery, Lagos, reputed to be Africa’s biggest oil refining facility and the world’s largest single-train plant.
The 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) integrated refinery, expected to process a variety of light and medium grades of crude, including petrol and diesel as well as jet fuel and polypropylene is owned by Nigeria’s Dangote Group and is worth about $15 billion.
It is designed to produce up to 50 million litres of petrol and 15 million litres of diesel a day, roughly 10.4 million tonnes of the product, 4.6 million tonnes of diesel, and 4 million tonnes of jet fuel per year, in addition to having a fertiliser plant, which will utilise the refinery by-products as raw materials.
NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Refining and Petrochemicals, Mr. Mustapha Yakubu, unfolded the investment plans on Wednesday at the end of a two-day Nigeria Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF), 2021, tagged: “Leveraging Opportunities and Synergies for Post Pandemic Recovery of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.”
He spoke just as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said it is targeting to generate and remit about N900 billion into the Federation Account in the second quarter of 2021.
Yakubu said discussions were already ongoing with the Dangote Group for the acquisition of the stake.
He stated during the virtual event that the collaboration will further ensure undisrupted product supply to Nigerians when the deal materialises.
While adding that one of its divisions, the Greenfield Refining Projects Division (GRPD) was handling the negotiations.
According to him ; “We have what we call the green field refinery and the Greenfield Refining Projects Division (GRPD) of the NNPC. What we do, our strategy is to collaborate and seek strategic partnerships with private investors.
“At the moment, we have Dangote Refinery, which is the 650,000 capacity barrels per day plus a mini 80,000 tonnes per annum petrochemical plant.
What are we doing there? I can tell you today that we are seeking to have a 20 per cent minority stake in Dangote Refinery as part of our collaboration and you know that there’s a huge quantity of crude for that refinery.
“That’s 650,000 barrels, going into a single crude distillation unit (CDU).
When that comes on board, it will also wet the nation for us.”
According to him, the corporation is also interested in partnering with the African Refinery in Port Harcourt, a co-location facility, the CNCEC Chinese group, which is interested in building two refineries in Nigeria, the Waltersmith modular plant, in addition to collaborating with Azikel refineries on condensate production.
Yakubu stated that notwithstanding the global push for renewables, Nigeria has a local, domestic and regional market for hydrocarbons.
He added that Africa will continue to rely on fossil fuels at least in the next 20 years.
He said the country would not just fold its arms and do nothing with its hydrocarbons just because the International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted a net-zero emissions scenario by 2050.
“Today, when you are bringing products into Nigeria, they disappear to neighbouring countries. There’s nowhere in countries around Nigeria that they sell fuel for less than N400 per litre. So, there’s a market,” he said.
On the country’s non-functional refineries, he said there was a deliberate effort to power the refineries down because of the need to do a full rehabilitation beyond the regular turnaround maintenance.
“We believe the only way to do that is to power them down to reduce some of the cost. We have heard that we are spending so much money on the refineries, yet they are idle.
“Of course, there are costs associated with idle refineries; we have staff salaries and remuneration and then the power plant utility operations. And also we need to maintain the plants in terms of preservation and lost investments because they are assets that we believe can be brought to life,” he said.
He stated that the NNPC was exiting the running of the country’s four refineries, and it has recently called for bids from competent and qualified contractors for that purpose.
Yakubu explained that NNPC was not in the best position to run the refineries and has opted for a new model, the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) for the running of the facilities.
He added that it is important to bring in O&M professionals, especially given the fact that as an engineer in the NNPC, no matter how competent, the employee must exit when they hit 60 years of age.
The COO said Expression of Interest (EoI) for organisations that would run the refineries was already out and many people had been evaluated.
He expressed optimism that the NNPC will choose the best contractors to handle the project.
According to him, it is becoming more difficult to get local lenders to finance fossil fuel businesses because of the renewable energy drive, adding that the NNPC is also looking for investors for the rehabilitation of its pipelines because they remain the best way to transport products from refineries to depots.
DPR Targets N900bn Remittance into Federation Account in Q2
The DPR has said it is targeting to generate and remit about N900 billion into the Federation Account in the second quarter of the year.
The agency has also received over $20 billion investment proposals since the inauguration of the Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC) in Lagos by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Director of DPR, Mr. Sarki Auwalu, at a strategic management session with the management of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) yesterday in Lagos, said the agency exceeded its first quarter revenue generation target by 6.99 per cent and that the actual amount it remitted was N452 billion.
The NEITI team was led by its Executive Secretary, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who said the team came to seek partnership with DPR on how to collectively ensure transparency and create value for Nigerians through the country’s oil and gas sector.
Auwalu added that the agency was working to double the first quarter remittance and is trying to support the government to deliver services to the people.
“January to March, we exceeded our target by 6.99 per cent. Actual collection, first quarter, N452 billion already sent to government and between April, May and June, I think if we are lucky, we will double this.
It is expected to be around N900 billion, which is the budgeted figure. We are trying our best to support this government to make sure that this government really works for Nigerians,” Auwalu said.
He stated that the agency was serious about recovering whatever was due to the government which could be through withholding service instruments and penalties.
He added that the agency would rather want more royalties than penalties as a business enabler and a revenue generator.
Auwalu said this could be achieved through the various strategies adopted by the agency like automation of business and making sure that it improves transparency and accountability.
However, the DPR boss said since the inauguration of the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC) by the president, DPR had received investment proposals of over $20 billion from local and foreign investors.
Leadership of the National Assembly rose in Unisom on Wednesday with the conclusion that the Nigerian nation was at a cross road and under serious threat from the current security challenges across the country.
Both the Senate President, Sen. Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila both agreed that the very essence of the existence of the Nigerian nation was under serious threat.
Speaking at a three day National Security Summit organsied by the House of Representatives Special Adhoc Committee on National Security, the National Assembly presiding Officers also agreed that it was high time Nigerians work together in one accord irrespective of ethnic, political or religious affiliation to save the country from the impending catastrophe.
The summit which was earlier scheduled to begin on Monday was shifted to Wednesday in honour of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 others who died in a plane crash in Kaduna.
According to Lawan ; “I want to say here that Nigeria is at cross roads today. The very essence of the existence of this country is under serious threat. What started as insurgency in 2009 or so in the North Western part of Yobe has now snowballed into full scale insurgency in the entire north east.
“What was not known to us in the North West is now today the home of banditry and kidnapping. The North Central, as we all know is not safe. It suffers clashes between the herders and our farmers.
“And the recent introduction in the south east is another serious threat to the existence of this country where government institutions are targeted, our police and security agencies are being killed on a daily basis. Our institutions and buildings are burnt.
“I believe that these are threats, not only to those areas, but the entire nation. Our armed forces are doing their best. I must commend our armed forces and other security agencies for doing so much with the little we are able to give them.
“The National Assembly has always been on the side of giving the kind of support, either legislative, or the kind of financial support that our armed forces and indeed all other security agencies require, even though we have our limits.”
The Senate President who is also the Chairman of the National Assembly said the essence of the summit is to look for ways of improving the performance of the nation’s armed forces and other security agencies, insisting that “this summit is essential because we are tested as a country, we are tested as a people.
“Criminals everywhere have found probably comfort in doing what they do. This is the time for the legislature and executive arm of government to come even closer in finding solutions. I want to take this opportunity to appeal and ask the executive arm of government to implement whatever would be the outcome of this summit.
“A criminal has only one name and that is criminal. No criminal should have comfort in his ethnic enclave. Whoever, or where ever that person is, once he is a criminal, he is simply a criminal and must be dealt with in the appropriate manner regardless of where he or she is coming from.
“It is also important that we provide resources, more resources for our security agencies to enable them better tackle the criminal activities across the country and our armed forces can do that. But the fact remains that we have not enabled them enough.
“Today in this country, there is no better investment than investing in the security of our people. We must ensure that we protect the lives and property of our people. This is the essence of government.
“So while the National Assembly should work hard as it always done to provide more resources, I also want to say we must review procurement processes by the security agencies.
“While we are not going to open up how they do these things to the public, but as parliamentarian who approve the funding, we must understand how these procurement processes are undertaken.
“If the processes require that we change the way we do that, because of inefficiencies, we should go ahead and do so, because it is not enough to just put in more resources, but how the resources are deployed within the economy, with prudence and efficiency.
“I want to once again appeal to us in the National Assembly. The security agencies, we know are doing their best, but I think it is high time we work with the executive arm of government to look at the architecture of our security system for better performance.
“When I mention architecture, I also want to mention that all levels of government are responsible for securing the lives and property of Nigerians. The federal, states and local governments. And of course it is a well-known fact that the local governments does not function.
“The local government system does not function and that takes away a lot from our efforts at providing security for lives and property of people. And when I mention the local government system not functioning, our traditional rulers, who had played major roles in protecting us today have no function more or less.
“It is only when there are problems, we look for them. In the northern part of the country and I daresay all parts of Nigeria, our traditional rulers play key roles in ensuring security in their domains. Why can’t we look at the possibility of providing and official function for them, even if it is in advisory capacity in the constitution?”
Also, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila said Nigeria was a nation under attack, adding that Nigerians must work together in one accord irrespective of political or religious affiliation to save it from the impending catastrophe.
The Speaker said the victory of Nigerians over current security challenges in eh country will depend on the ability to set aside all differences and mobilise in one accord.
The Speaker said every Nigerian need to work for peace and the desired benefits and expressed the hope that the country will come out of the current challenges, saying; “It may well be that it is in the crucible of this battle for survival that we become a nation fully formed. Therefore, we must rise to the moment with passion and perspective.”
Gbajabamila said “we are a nation under attack. Our victory in this present battle depends greatly on our ability to set aside our differences and mobilise in one accord against an impending catastrophe that threatens all of us regardless of language, religion, politics or status.
“We hope for peace and desire its benefits. Yet neither fervent hope nor heartfelt desire will suffice because the ends of peace require action. As in the words of the former American President, Bill Clinton, ‘peace must be waged with a warrior’s resolve; bravely, proudly, and relentlessly. Secure in the knowledge of the single greatest difference between war and peace, in peace everybody wins.’
“Let us in this defining moment, work together to pursue the things that make for peace. Let us dedicate ourselves to ending violence, and disorder in our land, and to improving the quality of life for all our nation’s people. Let us work together to uphold the honour and glory of Nigeria, and free our nation to be a place of peace and justice forevermore.”
According to the Speaker, “an enduring peace depends on our ability to build a society where individuals can aspire to and achieve their righteous ambitions on the strength of their effort and regardless of the status of their birth.
“Yet, achieving this kind of society depends on securing the lives of our people, protecting property and investment, and ensuring that people can freely traverse the length of our country without fear of danger and molestation.
“The legislative obligation to make laws for the good governance of the country exists alongside a duty to make sure that the policies we develop and the legislation we consider and pass, address the most pressing concerns of the Nigerian people.”
He said further that policies and legislation of government must also include the considered contributions of our citizens and be capable of meeting the highest ambitions of our nationhood, saying “we have convened this Special Summit on National Security to jointly, as citizens and public servants, find solutions to the problem of insecurity in our country.
“We are here because we know that our national ambitions will not be attained without lasting peace and security. We are here to have honest conversations about where we are, how we got here, and the hard choices we must make to guarantee a secure future for all our nation’s children.”
He said the summit will consider the contributions of a cross-section of the Nigerian people and develop therefrom, recommendations that take into proper account the social and constitutional, political, and economic factors that contribute to insecurity in our country, while identifying specific legislative actions and make practicable recommendations for executive action.
The Speaker said; “we do not seek and do not have it in our power to put an end to all conflict. Our responsibility in government is to ensure that the lives and property of all the people within Nigeria are safe from the predations of those who use violence for profit or in service of religious or ethnic objectives. And to make sure that whosoever raises arms against our country is served the full measure of justice.
“This Summit is not an avenue for name-calling, for apportioning blame or absolving responsibility. Our national house is on fire, and the people we serve rightly expect that we will devote all our energies and resources to trying to improve the future, rather than be paralysed in the present, grieving about the errors and failures of the past.
“It is by the work we do now that we can redeem ourselves and save our beloved country. This Summit must be, and is solution driven.
“Our deliberations in this Summit and the recommendations that emerge therefrom will reflect all the factors that have precipitated our present circumstances, including issues of economic fairness, the allocation of state resources, the deficiencies of our criminal justice system, and the role of critical national institutions such as the National Assembly, the Judiciary, and the state and local governments.”
The Speaker announced that the Summit will be conducted behind closed doors to allow informed stakeholders to engage frankly on matters of National Security in a protected environment and allow all stakeholder participate in an exhaustive consideration of ideas.
He said while the National Assembly will act on and implement the recommendations from the summit, it will also present the recommendations to the President for executive action, saying; “Mr. President has assured me that he will receive and consider the report, as a good faith contribution by parliament to address a matter of urgent national importance.”
The House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee investigating the status of all recovered loots, movable and immovable assets from 2002-2020 by agencies of Federal Government is grilling the Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, over recovered loots and assets for the period under review.
Bawa is currently being cross-examined by the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee and other members.
There have been controversies over looted wealth recovered by the Federal Government.
Recall that on Tuesday, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, urged the Federal Government to explain to Nigerians how much loots it had recovered and what they were being used for. He spoke in Sokoto at the zonal dialogue with stakeholders on the National Ethics and Integrity Policy, organized by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, in collaboration with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission for the northwest zone.
The Sultan, represented by the Wazirin Sokoto, Prof. Sambo Wali Junaidu, said keeping mute on the recovered loots would spell doom for the fight against corruption in the country.
“The government owes Nigerians an explanation, we want to know how much billions of naira was recovered from our past leaders. Where the monies are and what are they doing with them?
“This explanation is necessary considering the state of our education and other infrastructure like roads which need serious government attention,” he had said.
