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Corruption: NNPC Recovers $1.6bn From Firms

The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, yesterday said the corporation had recovered 1.6 billion dollars from some companies fleecing one of its subsidiaries.
Baru disclosed this in Abuja while fielding questions from newsmen after a visit by officials of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (CIFIPN).
The institute conferred an award of Honorary Fellow and Patron to Baru and solicited partnership with the corporation during the visit.
CIFIPN is an anti-fraud organisation saddled with the responsibility of providing skills to professionals from relevant fields on the use of science and technology to detect, prevent and investigate fraud and also put some measures to prevent future occurrence.
He said that its upstream subsidiary fleeced was the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).
He also said that under his watch, the corporation had made significant progress in terms of fraud detection, prevention and control.
“There is a lot of sanity that has happened in the industry as a result of this. Recently, due to the work, we were able to get the Atlantic companies who were fleecing the NNPC subsidiary, the NPDC, and we got an award for them to refund 1.6 billion dollars to the NPDC, through the arbitration process.
“We have also been able to stem fraud. High profile court cases were been set up to defraud the NPDC.
“If you see the amount of money involved, if you do not have people who are determined to fight corruption, our chances would have been compromised by over 1.6 billion dollars.
“We have had cases, like NNPC versus IPCO, where they are demanding over 400 million dollars, and because of their activities, we were able to settle out of court with them for 37.5 million dollars, which is a saving of several percentages, about less than 10 per cent of the total amount.” he said.
Baru added that the recovery was possible as all staff of the corporation and its business partners had imbibe transparency in all areas of their operations.
Commenting on the honours, he assured that he would support the institute with his wealth of knowledge to help boost forensic investigation in the country.
“This institute’s intention is quite laudable and conferment of fellows on me will make me more determined to support them and being a patron will make me to share some of the knowledge I have,’’ he said.
Earlier in her remarks, Dr Victoria Enape, the Pro-tem President of CIFIPN, said the institute had watched the GMD with keen interest since assumption of office.
“We are here to sincerely appreciate you for being a champion of anti-corruption in NNPC, especially being a former chairman of the anti-corruption committee and now the chief executive, “We believe that NNPC should be one of the organisations free of corruption, having somebody like you who is a champion of anti-corruption,’’ she said.
She said the institute also recognised NNPC’s partnership with Nigeria Customs Service and Department of Petroleum Resources in the fight against petroleum products smuggling in the country.
This, she said, was commendable, adding that effort to manage oil marketers and maintaining adequate supply of products in the country had shown the high level of transparency and accountability in the operations of the corporation.
She said Nigeria had lost billions of money to fraud, corruption and cyber-crime, which had left the country with near empty treasury. Enape said that fighting corruption must be sustained for the nation to be developed.
“Corruption, fraud and Cyber-crimes have become an Octopus with huge tentacles extending into facets of human endavours and sparing no one in the process, politics, business and sports,’’ she said .
She solicited the support of the corporation in ensuring that the institute was established for the growth and development of the country.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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