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Thursday, 26 December 2013

Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala replies Sahara Reporters over Import waiver granted First Lady to import 200 cars

Sahara Reporters published a report a few days ago, claiming that the office of the 1st Lady obtained import waiver to import 200 BMW cars for her “Africa First Ladies” summit in 2012. The ministry of Finance says the report is false. Saharareporters insists it’s true & has responded. Find a statement from the ministry of finance below and SR’s response after the cut…

Saharareporter’s story on waiver granted office of the First Lady is a complete distortion

The story by Saharareporters on the so-called waivers scandal in which the notorious news website made outrageous allegations against the Office of the First Lady is a false exclusive based on distorted information.

The website merely extracted and distorted information on the list of beneficiaries of the revised waivers policy which the Federal Ministry of Finance voluntarily published as part of its drive for transparency and accountability. Continue…

The revised waivers policy replaces the old regime of individual waivers with the objective of boosting key sectors such as agriculture, power, gas and mines/steel. The strategy is to deploy waivers as a stronger tool of economic development.

Part of the information published by the Federal Ministry of Finance was a list of state governments, private sector organizations and other institutions which were granted waivers to bring in vehicles for various events including sports festivals, conferences and workshops. This practice did not begin with the Jonathan administration.

Beneficiaries of the waivers for vehicle imports include state governments such as Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Lagos as well as organizations such as the continental First Ladies Forum which was granted a waiver for vehicles required for their event hosted by Nigeria. The First Lady did not in any way personally benefit from this waiver.

It is important to recall the fact that the country has a nascent leasing industry and no company in the sector currently has the quantity and quality of vehicles required for such events. Government is encouraging private sector organizations with the requisite focus and expertise in this area and the hope is that soon it would no longer be necessary to grant such waivers.

The resort to falsehood by Saharareporters based on a distortion of information voluntarily made available by government underscores the desperation of this scurrilous medium and its paymasters.

Paul C Nwabuikwu

Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance.

The Truth about the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Waiver Policy

1. You may recall that the

Punch Newspaper published editorials accusing the government and the Federal Ministry of Finance of running a corrupt waiver policy, and challenged the Federal Ministry of Finance to publish those waivers. (http://bit.ly/1jCH3j4)

2. The Federal Ministry of Finance categorically refutes the allegation that it is running a corrupt waiver policy.

3. Two years ago the Executive introduced a total reform of the waiver policy. Waivers are now only granted on a sectoral basis. This means that every company in the sector enjoys the same waiver privileges. All companies or entities involved in a sector or given activity will benefit from the same waivers once they meet the necessary criteria.

4. The Federal Ministry of Finance published an abbreviated version of the full waiver report in several newspapers. It was also announced that the full version is available at www.budgetoffice.gov.ng and on social media (http://on.fb.me/1fWHYG5).

5. The SaharaReporters claim that the Federal Ministry of Finance surreptitiously released an updated waiver list on the web only on December 22^nd, 2013 is categorically false. In the spirit of transparency, the full waiver list was made public on December 3^rd

6. For the avoidance of doubt: the Federal Ministry of Finance has never denied issuing waivers to African First Ladies Forum conference. This official event for First Ladies of all the other African countries necessitated vehicles for the transport of these visiting dignitaries. The waiver granted for this occasion is similar to other waivers issued to various state governments and government institutions such as Rivers, Lagos, and Akwa Ibom for similar official sporting and conference events.

7. As always The Federal Ministry of Finance welcomes all legitimate inquiries and criticisms. The Ministry of Finance cannot be expected to remain silent when falsification and distortion of facts occurs.

Paul C Nwabuikwu

Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance.

Sahara Reporters Response below…
By Omoyele Sowore
Dear Minister Of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala : It has come to our attention that your Special Assistant on Media, Paul Nwabuikwu, is circulating a press statement to a select group of news outlets and bloggers describing as false a report by SaharaReporters about import waivers obtained by Mrs. Patience Jonathan’s office to import 200 BMW cars for her “Africa First Ladies” summit in 2012.
While your aide’s statement did not dispute the existence of waivers that were ultimately granted to Coscharis Motors to import the cars, he went to great lengths to accuse SaharaReporters of distorting the information released by your office.
We are not in the least surprised that you would authorize your aide’s misleading press release aimed at casting aspersions on us. This mendacious release is consistent with your style of responding to legitimate questions about your conduct as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance. You have established a reputation for intolerance of principled and accurate media reports once they raise questions about your ministerial judgments or reflect poorly on your performance.
You would recall that, on December 3rd, 2013, you published a doctored list of beneficiaries of import waivers in response to pressures mounted on your office by Nigeria’s PUNCH newspaper. Without question, you had hoped to bamboozle the public with this incomplete list. However, we refused to accept your list for publication, having received information from officials who should know that your list was distorted and incomplete, indeed an attempt to hoodwink gullible reporters and Nigerians. Yesterday, your office surreptitiously released an updated list on the web. It is this fuller list that revealed part of how the First Lady has benefited significantly from the questionable dispensation of import waivers to politically connected individuals and firms. We duly acknowledged our source.
The tone of your aide’s press statement makes it clear that you had hoped that your updated list would not become public knowledge. That explains the harsh and predictable attack on our medium.
Since your statement claimed that Mrs. Jonathan did not benefit from the imported BMWs, we urge you to go a step further: produce the list of beneficiaries and providing the chasses numbers of the BMWs imported under the questionable waivers you granted to Coscharis Motors in 2012. In addition, we challenge you to provide evidence that Coscharis Motors imported the vehicles for which the waivers were granted.
You should also do the Nigerian public the great service of explaining why presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, claimed that the Federal Government had not contributed a dime to the importation of the BMWs, when your office had indeed granted waivers worth N560 million to the controversial auto dealer.
Since you claimed that your latest release was driven by your desire to ensure transparency, we await a detailed response to the issues raised here.
Sincerely,
Omoyele Sowore
For Saharareporters.com

SSS Parades Airforce Official, Six Other Alleged Kidnappers of Sokoto Billionaire

The Department of State Security Service (SSS) paraded an Air force Lance Corporal, Suleiman Mohammed, and six others for alleged kidnap of one Abu Dankure. The suspects were paraded at the SSS headquarters in Abuja on December 24, 2013, Tuesday.

The others paraded were 31-year-old Mustapha Isah, a.k.a. Chief Coordinator; Mohamed Abubakar, Faruku Waziri, Mohammed Bukar, Usman Idah, and Abdullahi Musa.
SSS reminded that victim, a Sokoto-based businessman, Abu Dankure, was kidnapped at his construction site in Kofar Kwari, Sokoto on November 6. He was released on November 11 after a $290,000 (N45m) ransom was paid to his abductors. However, he died 11 days later.
Mr. Isah, who said he got N2.2 million from the ransom, said he left Sokoto two days after the kidnap of Mr. Dankure to negotiate with the family of the victim. He said he rented a three-bedroom apartment at Mabera, Sokoto, where they plotted and detained Mr. Dankure.
He said that on November 11, when he received the ransom at Kwali area of the Federal Capital Territory, he ordered Mr. Bukar, the chief custodian of the victim, to release him.
He also denied torturing or feeding Mr. Dankure with any kind of food that could have led to his death.
The Air force official, Mr. Mohammed, denied having links with the kidnappers. He told journalists that he met Mr. Musa, a friend to his cousin, when he sold a Samsung galaxy Note 2 to him.
He also said he travelled to Kaduna twice to collect money for the phone: N45,000 and N20,000 respectively.
While he denied supplying guns to the others, he said Mr. Musa only asked him if he had an idea on how he could acquire guns, to which he replied that he does not deal in guns but could ask his uncle in Jos, Yakubu Mohammed, who deals in guns.
He said he also told Mr. Musa that two AK47 riffles would cost him N500,000.
“I am not working with any of them, I don’t supply riffle to them. Abdullahi asked me if I can get riffle to them, I told him I don’t sell but can ask my uncle in Jos,” Mr. Mohammed said.
A 45-year-old Mr. Musa is an indigene of Mallam-Madori Local Government Area of Jigawa State and was convicted of car theft in 2008. He served a six-year jail term in Kuje prison.
The kidnap kingpin also confessed to being a member of a car-snatching syndicate operating in Rivers, Edo, Kogi, Abuja, among others states.
While other members of the gang denied knowing or having contact with Mr. Mohammed, Mr. Musa insisted that the soldier promised to procure two pistols at N500,000 for his friend Ali.
Doyin Adetuberu, who represented the SSS spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, said the gang will be charged to court soon.

Peter Okoye poses with scantily-clad ladies in sexy christmas outfits

Remember he’s a married man now..Well it’s showbiz and his wife isn’t complaining

A Bowl Of Rice Registered As A Voter In Anambra

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) presented a bowl of rice as one the registered voters during the recently concluded gubernatorial election in Anambra State. The bowl of rice pictured in INEC's voter's roll was registered as a 37 year old male voter in Umuerodili township in Anambra State.

My Abductors Took My Shoes, My Shirt says Primate Akinola

Primate Akinola

The immediate past primate of Anglican Church, Peter Akinola who was abducted by gunmen in Abeokuta yesterday and was rescued later by the Policemen from Ogun Command today recounted his ordeal in the hands of his abductors.
The clerygman,who worshipped today at the Abeokuta chapel of his church thanked everybody who had shown love and affection to him and his family members during his hours of predicament.
Addressing the congregation at Anglican Communion Church at tkhe Olusegun Osoba Hilltop, Abeokuta appreciated the concern shown and efforts made by individuals when he was abducted by the hoodlums.
According to the former CAN President, “I want to thank all of you for your outpouring of love and prayers, what happened yesterday was what I used to think is drama; something that we used to see on the television, until much more later that I realized it was real”.
Narrating how the incident happened, he said:”I left the house about 11 a.m to go to our site where we are building structures to train young people in Nigeria who are unemployed. The irony of it is that as I was coming out of the place where I had gone to give food to our workers for Christmas, as I was stepping out, these two young men came out of their car from nowhere. They asked me to open the door, knocking the window with their gun butt.
“I instructed my driver, Jonah, to open the door for them, they sandwiched us at the back of the car and they drove off. They told us to put our head down and that they would blow off our heads if we looked up. They drove for about an hour, where we don’t know until we discovered that we were in the midst of a thick forest. Then I requested to talk and informed them that there was no enough fuel in the car.
"They querried us for not having enough fuel in the car and my driver responded that we just returned from a journey. In the bush there, I was suprised at how they were able to locate a filling station, bought N3000 fuel and continued with the journey that was about three in the afternoon.
“They started asking questions about dollars, which I said there was none, i told them I was a village pastor that has just retired and that the car was given to me by the church. They asked about the security of the car and I told them there was none. They searched for it for almost two hours but couldn’t find anything”,he explained.
Akinola further stated,”I was just praying that God of mercy should come to our rescue; I was just remembering how God saved some believers in the Bible and I concluded that if I must die, how can it be in the hands of these people. Unknown to us, the news had started circulating around and people started praying. Meanwhile they have taken everything from us, they have taken my shirt, my shoes. I was left with my singlet and trousers, but my driver was not so lucky. His cloth, trousers and shoes were taken, he was left with boxers.
“They said i should walk on, when we moved about 100 meters from the car, I was asked to take the left while my driver was asked to take the right inside the bush. I was hearing how they were threatening my driver. After a while, we started hearing gun shots, apparently, the police were around. Later we learnt that the Governor himself with the Commissioner of Police, the secretary to the state government led the rescue team. When I couldn’t hear any more gunshots, I trekked back to the footpath shouting for my driver.
“Not quite long, I saw a vehicle coming, they approached me , I raised up my hands and told them it was my car they took and that am looking for my driver. They said they were police and they said I should come into the car. The leader of the police team, the State Anti-robbery Squad, they called him TJ, was a wondereful man, for the first time in my life,I doff my hat for the police for their performance.
“This same man, a muslim, approached me and said they have heard about what am doing that I should not stop, saying God has preserved my life for this purpose. He charged me to do more.
“Right from Imasayi to Ayetoro and right to Randa, it was just beyond my imagination that I came back in peace, but was worried about my driver who I later found out was at the hospital”,he recounted.

‘You can’t give an award like the Ballon d’Or to Ribery,’ claims Coentrao

The Portugal international has dismissed the Bayern Munich man’s claims on the prestigious prize, while also stating that Lionel Messi has been out of action for too long to win

Real Madrid defender Fabio Coentrao has rubbished Franck Ribery’s claims on the Ballon d’Or, arguing that “you can’t give an award like this” to the Frenchman.
The Portugal international believes that the Bayern Munich ace should not be mentioned in the same breath as the two other players shortlisted for the accolade, compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
Even then, Coentrao is of the opinion that there is only one obvious choice for this year’s Ballon d’Or, given Argentina’s finest has been plagued by injuries in 2013.
“Messi is an excellent player, but he has been out of action a long time,” the full-back told A Bola. “And you can’t give an award like this to Ribery, who only scored 22 goals.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has always been at the top of his game and scored [more than] twice as many.”
The winner of the 2013 Ballon d’Or will be announced at a special ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland on January 13.