News
EFCC Seeks Stiffer Sanctions For Financial Crimes
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Farida Waziri has advocated stiffer sanctions for perpetrators of financial crimes.
Waziri spoke at a public hearing, midweek, held by the House of Representatives Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes.
The hearing was on the bills for an Act to provide for measures to combat terrorism and related matters and one to repeal the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2004.
The Weekend Tide source reports that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and some other anti-money laundering agencies had placed Nigeria on their watch list.
The action led the Federal Government to inaugurate the Presidential Inter-Ministerial Committee to address identified weaknesses in the nation’s anti money laundering crusade. Waziri said the sanctions regime in the 2004 Act was not proportional as to discourage criminals, noting that the existing laws were ambiguous in defining the 20 offences the FATF categorised as money laundering and financial crimes.
“There is a need for the Money Laundering Prohibition Act (MLPA) to recognise and designate the 20 serious offences as recommended by the FATF.
“The bills, when passed, will also address the wide range of inadequacies in Nigeria’s AML/CFT legal framework as highlighted in country’s 2008 Mutual Evaluation Report by the FAFT and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA),” she said. According to her, Nigeria is rated non-compliant in majority of the FATF’s 40 recommendations, mainly on account of weakness in the country’s legal framework.
Waziri reminded the committee that Nigeria had been the target of review by the FATF on account of the weakness observed in the nation’s anti-money laundering regime and her readiness to combat terrorism.
She identified weak sanctions regime, inadequate provisions for customer, due diligence requirements, non-inclusion of politically exposed persons and lack of definition of suspicious transaction reporting as some of the weaknesses.
Waziri also cited the absence of legal protection for reporting institutions and persons and absence of legal provisions for the protection of information of Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
She said most countries have laws to protect informants so that they would not be endangered. “ We need to protect you (informants) so that we can encourage people to come forward, that is the whistle blowing we are talking about,” she said.
In his presentation, Mr Lanre Ipinmisho, Director-General of Nigeria Drug Law enforcement Agency (NDLEA), said all stakeholders must play a role by collaborating with one another in fighting corruption and drug related offences.Ipinmisho said it was through collaboration of all anti graft agencies and security outfits that the issue of drug barons and corruption would be dealt with.“As the nation prepares for 2011 elections and we want our votes to count, the problems we have is not the laws to implement all these but the commitment and sincerity of all relevant agencies.“We have all the laws; we also need the officers to implement the laws without pressure from international friends to deal with the drug barons who were ready to use their ill gotten wealth to rig elections in their favour,’’ he said.Declaring open the public hearing, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, said that all terrorist acts are crimes under international law, adding that legislation and gathering of intelligence must be used to combat terrorism. Represented by the House leader, Hon. Tunde Akogun, Bankole, pledged early passage of the two bills.He assured that the House would ensure transparency, probity and accountability in legislating against terrorism, money laundering and corruption.Chairman of the committee, Rep. Rabe Nasir, said it was the responsibility of all stakeholders to fight terrorism and money laundering as both were capable of ruining a nation.Nasir, however, said the committee was dissatisfied with the efforts of anti graft agencies in combating money laundering.The Weekend Tide source reports that there were presentations from the Central Bank of Nigeria, NFIU, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Corps and Securities and Exchange Commission.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.