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Corruption, Ravaging Nigeria Under Buhari, SGF, Sagay, Others Cry Out …Vacate Office If You Can’t Lift Nigerians Out Of Poverty, President Told
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; and the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), yesterday, lamented that despite concerted efforts by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led administration to eradicate corruption, the scourge still ravages the country.
The duo among other stakeholders spoke at an event in Abuja where they highlighted steps that needed to be taken to strengthen the government’s anti-corruption agenda.
Also at the event: “One-day Dialogue Session on Strengthening the Anti-Corruption Agenda: Ensuring Accountability and Transparency,” goodwill messages were delivered on the subject matter by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes, Senator Sulieman Kwari; the Director of Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and organisers of the event, Idayat Hassan and Director, Africa Office, MacArthur Foundation, Kole Shettima, the funding partner.
The SGF, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Amina Shamaki, disclosed that the Buhari administration had since 2015, recorded “unprecedented level of successes” in the fight against corruption by securing “the most number of convictions, including very high-profile personalities” and making “world-record recoveries in terms of money and assets.”
He, however, lamented that despite the successes recorded, the anti-graft war had not been won.
He said: “Nonetheless, we should not rest on our oars with the illusion that the war has been won despite the level of the successes I have enumerated.
“While the fight has been very successful in tackling monumental corruption, less grandeur cases are perceived and even reported.
“While the government has displayed uncommon courage to relieve its appointees especially, in its agencies, of their positions and responsibilities, there still exist some level of infractions on Public Procurement Act, and other laws. These tend to diminish the efforts of government in this direction.”
While proffering solution to end the scourge, the SGF expressed the need to bring about “innovative legislations, policies and measures to deal decisively with the lingering acts of corruption.”
In addition, he posited that the roles of audit departments/units and auditors in aiding and abetting corruption in ministries, departments and agencies should be addressed.
To this end, he called for the prosecution of auditors who sanction corrupt payments alongside the main culprits in corruption cases.
He added: “I should like to see the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation come up with innovative policies and measures to empower auditors to halt any payment that is clearly in breach of Public Procurement Act, Financial Regulations, Public Service Rules in particular, and other laws, in general.
“For such auditors that compromise, or are complicit, such policies and measures should isolate them for disciplinary action which should not preclude prosecution.”
On his part, Prof. Itse Sagay noted that the consequence of corrupt acts, included “massive unemployment, unequipped clinics, and hospitals, wretched schools, colleges, and universities without facilities, bad roads, lack of electric power and so on.
“Deaths on the roads, deaths in hospitals, deaths in maternity facilities, militants, kidnappers, armed robbers, murders, suicides are also a direct product of this Nigerian culture,” he added.
As a short-term solution to the corruption problems, Sagay suggested that “the existing Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit structure be adopted as the centre of Nigeria’s intelligence databank for sharing information and intelligence on corruption.”
Adding his voice to the issue, the CDD Director, Hassan, who spoke through the Senior Programme Officer of the organisation, Lukman Adefolahan, also said “a lot more still needs to be done to strengthen the fight against corruption, promote accountability and transparency”, despite “the great strides” that had been made in the fight against graft.
“These different dimensions of corruption have characterised Nigeria’s landscape and by implication made it be consistently rated among the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International in its Corruption Perception Index.”
She accordingly called for “pragmatic measures to curb corruption to safeguard Nigeria’s future given the implication of the problem on security, political, social, and economic prospects of the country.”
But Kwari said the Senate through its committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes “is also reviewing all the anti-corruption and financial legislations with a view to bringing them in line with current day realities and making them more effective.”
Meanwhile, a leading legal practitioner in Nigeria and President of the Caleb and Greg Foundation (CAGG), Olusegun Bamgbose, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari should have nothing doing in the State House, if he can’t tackle poverty.
He called on the President to declare war on poverty and joblessness among the youths in the country.
Bamgbose had earlier told newsmen that he can fix Nigeria in 24 hours, if he takes over from Buhari in 2023.
In a statement, yesterday, the senior lawyer said, “Extreme poverty in Nigeria is alarming and assuming a new and dangerous trend. Most recently the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, asserted that 90 million Nigerians are living in extreme poverty.
“This is actually not shocking but a sad one. If these Nigerians were a country, it will be more populous that Germany. It’s really not good news because almost six people in Nigeria fall into poverty trap every minute.
“We, therefore, call on Buhari’s government to declare total war against extreme poverty and go further to declare state of emergency on joblessness in the country. Wars can’t be fought without weapons.
“The weapons should be pragmatic and purposeful programs that will clearly minimize poverty in Nigeria.
“The World Poverty Clock has clearly indicated that if nothing seriously and sustainable is done to curtail poverty, Nigeria might be home to 120 million people living in extreme poverty come 2030.
“This is dreadful. I want to say here with all sense of responsibility that this is certainly not the best of time for President Buhari to be out of the country for more than five days.
“The economic status of Nigeria being the poverty capital of the world must change.
“Something urgent and cogent must be practically done to nip in the bud this perennial problem of poverty, hardship and joblessness.
“The introduction of N-Power is quite good but more is expected from the government to reduce meaningfully the poverty trend in Nigeria.
“Poverty and joblessness breed crime and violence. Our youths are finding crime attractive because the jobs are not there.
“No country in the world has ever succeeded in curbing the wave of crime without first tackling poverty headlong.
“Mahatma Gandhi once said that poverty is the worst form of violence. It’s not in doubt that poverty is a nightmare.
“The government must search for extraordinary ways through which poverty will be minimized if not eradicated.
“It won’t be out of place to come up with a committee with a mandate to come up with blueprints on how jobs can be created and poverty minimized.
“If this government can’t find a way to minimize poverty then the government has failed in its responsibility.
“President Buhari has nothing doing in State House if he can’t tackle poverty. On our part as Foundation, we shall launch LEAP Community in 2020.
“Let’s Eradicate Abject Poverty (LEAP). It’s our expectation that about 25 million Nigerians will be part of the community.
“Our main aim is to join forces with the government and stakeholders to eradicate poverty in Nigeria not later than 2030. We, however, expect President Buhari to take the lead in fighting poverty.
“Our universities turn out graduates every year but joblessness stares at them. Crime and prostitution are now on the increase as a result of poverty and joblessness. The time to act decisively is now”, he added.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, has dissolved the State Executive Council.
The governor announced the cabinet dissolution yesterday in a statement titled ‘Government Special Announcement’, signed by his new Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi.
Governor Fubara directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.
He thanked the outgoing members of the State Executive Council for their service and wished them the best in their future endeavours.
The three-paragraph special announcement read, “His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, Governor of Rivers State, has dissolved the State Executive Council.
“His Excellency, the Governor, has therefore directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.
“His Excellency further expresses his deepest appreciation to the outgoing members of the Executive Council wishing them the best in their future endeavours.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, even as it seeks N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027.
An additional N171bn is needed to support INEC’s routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections, the commission stated.
The INEC boss said the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.
He explained that, although the details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the almost N1tn election budget is structured across five major components.
“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chief noted that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the Commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”
On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided an envelope of N140bn, stressing, however, that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”
The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.
He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.
Amupitan also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical glitches.
Speaking at the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.
He advocated that the envelope budgeting model should be set aside.
He urged the National Assembly to work with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid future instances of possible underfunding.
In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable the Commission to plan early enough for the 2027 general election.
The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.
The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Simon Along, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the Commission to ensure it receives the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, also pledged legislative support, warning INEC to be careful about promises it might be unable to keep.
He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made strong assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.
“iREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.
The N873.78bn proposed by INEC for next year’s general election is a significant increase from the N313.4bn released to the Commission by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.
President Bola Tinubu yesterday expressed grief over the death of a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and one of Africa’s foremost literary scholars, Professor Emeritus Biodun Jeyifo.
Jeyifo passed away on Wednesday, drawing tributes from across Nigeria and the global academic community.
In a condolence message to the family, friends, and associates of the late scholar, Tinubu in a statement by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, described Jeyifo as a towering intellectual whose contributions to African literature, postcolonial studies, and cultural theory left an enduring legacy.
He noted that the late professor would be sorely missed for his incisive criticism and masterful interpretations of the works of Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
The President also recalled Jeyifo’s leadership of ASUU, praising the temperance, foresight, and wisdom he brought to the union over the years.
Tinubu said Jeyifo played a key role in shaping negotiation frameworks with the government aimed at improving working conditions for university staff and enhancing the learning environment in Nigerian universities.
According to the President, Professor Jeyifo’s longstanding advocacy for academic freedom and social justice will continue to inspire generations.
He added that the late scholar’s influence extended beyond academia into political and cultural journalism, where he served as a mentor to numerous scholars, writers, and activists.
Tinubu condoled with ASUU, the Nigerian Academy of Letters, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Oberlin University, Cornell University, and Harvard University—institutions where Jeyifo studied, taught, or made significant scholarly contributions.
“Nigeria and the global academic community have lost a towering figure and outstanding global citizen,” the President said.
“Professor Biodun Jeyifo was an intellectual giant who dedicated his entire life to knowledge production and the promotion of human dignity. I share a strong personal relationship with him. His contributions to literary and cultural advancement and to society at large will be missed.”
Jeyifo was widely regarded as one of Africa’s most influential literary critics and public intellectuals. Among several honours, he received the prestigious W.E.B. Du Bois Medal in 2019.