Jega: I didn’t ask for INEC, but I will do my best

Vice Chancellor of the Bayero University, Kano (BUK) Professor Attahiru Jega, whose name has been forwarded to the National Assembly for confirmation as Chairman of the In Professor Attahiru Jega,dependent National Electoral Commission [INEC] following his nomination by President Goodluck Jonathan last week, says he did not ask for the country’s top electoral job.

Speaking at a magazine launch and public lecture organized by the BUK chapter of the National Union of Kebbi State Students in Kano at the weekend,   Professor Jega however called for prayers for him to succeed. He said, “God knows that I did not ask for this job. But I will give my best and our best will always be positive. And I want to urge Nigerians to continue to pray for us.”

Jega, who was among the illustrious sons from Kebbi State honoured at the occasion, also said if he eventually becomes chairman of INEC, he would do his best to serve the nation to the best of his ability, given the confidence Nigerians have reposed in him since the announcement of his nomination.

He said he hopes to succeed in the assignment given the tremendous goodwill displayed by Nigerians following his endorsement by the National Council of State, and he expressed confidence that Nigerians would give him all the necessary support to succeed.

Danmasanin Yauri Alhaji Abdullahi Lamba, who is the  Special Adviser to the Kebbi State governor on UBE, said that based on the recommendations of a committee raised by the Kebbi State government, chaired by Professor Jega, on the resuscitation of education in the state, all public servants including the governor would soon take all their wards to public schools.

He said the Dakingari administration would give every support to public schools to further encourage educational development in the state. More money, according to him, would be pumped into the sector in line with the committee’s recommendations.

Guest speaker at the occasion Dr Hussaini Mango of Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto said no private school  should measure up to the quality of free public schools.

In a paper entitled “Free Education by States: Benefits and Strategies”, Mango said all stakeholders must be made to put their children in the public schools.

Funding, he said, was the heart of free education while the stumbling block was economic, social and political misbehaviour, saying emphasis on free education should be placed on the intrinsic value of education before extrinsic value.

EFCC compiles cases against governors

 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has started compiling cases against some serving governors who would be interrogated at the end of their tenures when they lose constitutional immunity, Daily Trust learnt.
Indications that some governors have allegations of financial misappropriation to answer before the anti-graft body emerged yesterday when the spokesman of the EFCC Femi Babafemi told Daily Trust the reinvigorated investigation of local government chairmen in states showed complicity on the part of state executives.               
The president, vice-president, governors and their deputies enjoy immunity according to Section 308 of the 1999 constitution which says that they can only be investigated but not prosecuted till their tenure in office expires. Already, EFCC operatives have been detailed to Ogun, Kano, Benue, Enugu, Oyo, Kogi, Edo, Imo, Osun, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa among others collating evidence against local government chairmen who allegedly pilfered the Excess Crude Fund and Federation Account allocations meant to execute projects in their councils.

In 2008, EFCC Chairman Mrs. Farida Waziri launched an investigation of all 774 local governments in Nigeria supported by findings that dividends of democracy was not been enjoyed by those at the grassroots.

Babafemi said, “Based on recent intelligence reports we have found that some state officials are conniving with council chairmen to divert funds. This has made us realise that the third tier of government is not actually performing in terms of infrastructural development. For example In Oyo, all 33 local government chairmen have been interrogated along with state government officials, In Kano we are investigating all 44 local council bosses with state executives. There is hardly any part of the country we have not been to.”

He said, “This is a signal that governors in those states would have cases to answer at the end of their tenures.”

In Benue, 10 LG chairmen were quizzed for allegedly misappropriating over N900 million excess crude fund. EFCC is investigating a corruption case of N44 billion by all the local governments and the Permanent Secretary Ministry of local government affairs Alhaji Abdulmalik Yakubu alongside five others grilled last Thursday.

The commission is also probing alleged diversion and mismanagement of N30 billion out of the Excess Crude Funds allocated to 28 local government areas in Ogun state. The case against 23 local government chairmen in Oyo involves an alleged N8.3 billion fraud and Secretary to the state government has been quizzed.



 

Senate directs IGP to fish-out Saraki's attackers

The Senate yesterday directed the Inspector General of Police Mr. Ogbonnaya Onovo to fish out those behind the alleged attempted murder of Senator Gbemisola Saraki.

A statement by the Chairman Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze (PDP, Enugu North) said there was an attempt on the life of Senator Saraki by yet to be identified persons at her home. The Senate condemned the act, saying, “We received with shock, news of the attempt on the life of Senator Gbemisola Saraki. Politics of violence and brigandage belong to our regrettable past and any attempt to return us to that inglorious era is unfortunate and completely unacceptable.”

Senator Ayogu said political differences should be resolved through dialogue and consensus building and not by recourse to thuggery and arm-twisting.

“We condemn the violation of the sanctity of Sen. Saraki’s household and the abuse of the constitutional rights of her relations and domestic staff”, the Senate said, adding,  “We call on the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies to step into this matter and fish out the master-minds and the culprits in this heinous act.”

Contract awards by FEC illegal — Makarfi

 The weekly award of contracts by the Federal Executive Council is in violation of the public procurement law which provides that the National Council on Public Procurement is the approving authority for all federal contracts, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance Senator Ahmed Makarfi has said. Based on the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007, the council should be headed by the Minister of Finance, with the following members: Minister of Justice, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of Service of the Federation, Economic Adviser to the President, six part-time members to represent the Nigeria


Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management, Nigeria Bar Association, Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Nigeria Society of Engineers, civil society and the media.

But the council is yet to be constituted three years after the procurement law was signed into law.

All the while, the Federal Executive Council has been considering and approving federal contracts during its weekly meetings.

Makarfi, who was speaking to Daily Trust at the weekend, said, “It is true that the Public Procurement Act provides for a council that should be dealing with all the issues that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has been actually dealing with and that is a constant breach of the act.”

The late President Umaru Yar’adua signed the Public Procurement Act into law on June 4, 2007 but did not constitute the National Council on Public Procurement up to the time he died last month. Makarfi said the failure of government to constitute the council has adversely affected the process of awarding contracts, adding “Not only is it a constant breach of the act, I believe it is an introduction of inefficiency because a lot of executive time is wasted in council meetings that ordinarily should focus on allowing ministers and heads of MDAs to be on their feet or inspecting ongoing projects and the programmes thereby enhancing efficiency and the level of performance of government.”

Makarfi said FEC has many other important roles to play in the business of governance. “The thing is that FEC should not constitute itself into a contract awarding body; it has a role in reviewing threshold and other things, but that is occasional discharge of functions. Some members of FEC would be in the Public Procurement Council, not all of them.”

He said the present arrangement lacks transparency as the people and other stakeholders have no say in the process of expending public funds. “No NGO or the media or other groups  sits in the Executive Council, it is only at the end of the meetings that people come and say ABCD has happened. But in this one, they would be part and parcel of the council as a watchdog, not to prevent executive function but to bring public participation and observance of the activities.”

He added, “It doesn’t involve the judiciary because it has its arm; it doesn’t

involve the legislature because it has its own role as an arm of government. The civil societies are to be in the council, the media and other bodies are in the council all in order to bring openness to government activities so that Nigerians get directly involved in how public funds are utilised through the processes of appraisal and award of contracts. It is to ensure that we get value for money in every kobo spent, through the award of contracts.”

He also said the National Assembly would soon draw the attention of President Goodluck Jonathan to the matter. “There is no way President Jonathan’s attention will be drawn by the relevant principal officers of government to this that he will not comply with provision of the

law. I am absolutely sure that his attention has not been drawn to it.”

The Public Procurement Act has been partially implemented with setting up of the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) which evaluates and certifies payment for contracts while the council that should actually award the contracts is yet to be constituted.