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Senate Probes Brass LNG Over $784m Fraud …As Reps Indict FG On Poor TSA Implementation

The Senate has mandated its committees on public accounts and gas to investigate the alleged $784,265,947.54 fraud and other activities of Brass Liquefied Natural Gas (BLNG), including an illegal account in the name of the Federal Government.
Drawing the attention of senators to the issue, last Wednesday, Dino Melaye (Kogi-APC) accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of operating a fraudulent account in the name of the government.
Presenting a motion titled “Monumental Corruption at the NNPC”, Melaye noted that the Brass LNG was incorporated by the Corporate Affairs Commission on December 9, 2003, and limited by shares of $1million.
He said: “The Senate observes that the shareholders of this company are: the Federal Government (NNPC) represented by Mr Funsho Kupolokun with $490, 000 shares, Philip Brass Limited whose address is in Cayman Island, British West Indies represented by Mr R.L. Smith with a share capital of $170, 000, Eni International B.V. with address in Amsterdam, Netherlands represented by Mr A. Forzoli with share of S170, 000, while the fourth shareholder – Chevron Texaco Brass LNG Limited with address in Bermuda is represented by Mr J.R. Pryor with a share of $170, 000.”
Melaye said the board of directors of the company was composed of foreigners and five Nigerians, all NNPC staff or ex-staff members.
He listed them to include former Group Managing Directors of NNPC, Gauis Obaseki-Jackson and Yakubu Andrew; Ibogomo Gbeyansa, Dawa Joseph Thlama, Ige David, and Buba Mohamman, all staff of NNPC.
Melaye added: “The Senate observes that from the Memorandum of Understanding, Brass LNG is supposed to be a Joint Venture Company with NNPC having the controlling shares and their account domiciled with the CBN.
“The Senate is surprised that the account of this company is with Keystone Bank opened on August 1, 2012, with account number 1005825168; a USA domiciliary account with a closing balance of $137, 086, 462:54 currently, while $648, 179, 487 was recorded as the account’s last inflow on September 19, 2016, and a withdrawal of $4million was effected on the 18th November, 2016, without BVN.”
He stated that there was an urgent need to define the position of the company, its operation, management and mandate in order to halt the seeming corruption.
The Senate in its resolution mandated its committees on public accounts and gas to carry out a ‘holistic investigation into the activities of the Brass LNG and the complicity therein as well as the level of corruption that has taken place, and report back within four weeks.’
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Abubakar Danburam Nuhu has indicted the Federal Government for poor ownership and implementation of the TSA policy, even though it is frequently highlighted by the Presidency as one of its greatest achievements.
He said that the TSA lacks a coordinated office in charge of its implementation and monitoring.
“Issues are being raised by so many people and they do not have answers to them. Who should be responsible for implementation and monitoring?” he asks.
Nuhu, therefore, called for the establishment of a TSA agency to be headed by a director.
He made this point, yesterday, as a guest on Channels Television Business Morning Show, where he was joined by an Economic Analyst from Proshare Nigeria, Babalola Tope, to discuss some of the unfinished businesses surrounding the TSA policy.
The lawmaker said although TSA has been of great benefit to the government, curtailing corruption, blocking leakages and cutting off arbitrary charges previously collected by commercial banks, “The unfortunate thing with the TSA is that there are so many issues that are lingering and affecting the smooth implementation of the account.
“My committee has been doing a lot of work in terms of trying to investigate the TSA for quite some time now but the challenges that are there need to be resolved.”
Stating some of the challenges, he said “For the last two years, the TSA has not been audited and when we called the Auditor General (AuGF), it seems that he has not been part of the TSA implementation. He had to confess to us that there hasn’t been any audit in the last two years.
“Also, there has been no reconciliation between the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
Nuhu also revealed that the foreign currency component of the TSA has yet to be activated for unknown reasons.
“Therefore no one knows exactly how Federal Government funds collected in the Diaspora are administered.
“This means all accounts which are foreign denominated are not yet part of the TSA. They are still sitting in banks, which are probably out of the country or even in Nigeria,” he emphasised.
As at March, 2017, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, had revealed that the TSA has processed over N7trillion.
It was also revealed that over 20,000 commercial bank accounts where government revenue where previously stashed had been closed, saving the government about N4.7billion monthly in bank charges.
Although the TSA policy was partially implemented during the Dr Goodluck Jonathan era, the current administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari holds it up as its biggest economic reform strategy.
However, details emerging clearly show that the policy faces serious risks bothering on non-compliance by some agencies and failure to consolidate the policy – giving it a proper legislative backing such that its sustainability beyond the current administration is guaranteed.
Also, it was revealed that the service providers who are responsible for facilitating payments into the Treasury Single Account are being owed by the government.
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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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