By Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN

The purported appointment of Barrister Mainasara Kogo as the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) is irregular, unconstitutional, and legally untenable. This appointment directly contravenes Paragraph 15(3) of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Altered), which explicitly states:

“The Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC).”

It is an undisputed fact that Dr. Kogo was never recommended by the NJC prior to his appointment. This fundamental oversight constitutes a grave procedural error by those who submitted his name to the President.

If this appointment is allowed to stand, it will set a dangerous precedent whereby the executive branch circumvents the NJC in appointing judges and heads of courts, thereby eroding the independence of the judiciary and violating the constitutional framework governing judicial appointments. The established practice, in line with constitutional provisions, is for the NJC to recommend to the President the most senior member of the Tribunal for appointment as Chairman.

The Way Forward

Given that the former Chairman, Justice Danladi Umar, has exited following his removal, the NJC must act swiftly by recommending to the President the appointment of the most senior judge within the CCT as the new Chairman. This would not only restore compliance with the Constitution but also uphold the integrity of judicial appointments.

To mitigate further embarrassment for the government, the NJC could consider recommending Dr. Mainasara Kogo for appointment as a member of the Tribunal, allowing him the opportunity to ascend to the position of Chairman in due course, in accordance with established procedures. This approach would ensure strict adherence to the Constitution while maintaining the credibility of the CCT.

Furthermore, the irregular appointment of Barrister Kogo fundamentally undermines the legitimacy and authority of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, rendering it improperly constituted and therefore incompetent to preside over any trials. Any proceedings conducted under such an improperly constituted tribunal would be legally questionable.

We respectfully urge Mr. President to uphold the Constitution and judicial independence by rectifying this appointment. As a statesman and a democrat, the President has a duty to protect the integrity of our legal institutions and ensure that constitutional provisions are strictly followed in judicial appointments.

Professor Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN, FNIALS
President,
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS)

By Emma Amaize, Sam Oyadongha; Egufe Yafugborhi; Ozioruva Aliu; Akpokona Omafuaire & Chioma Onuegbu

An ex-Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Idada Ikponmwen (retd.), Udom Ekpoudom, Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG (retd.), and other Niger Delta stakeholders have called on the Federal Government to stop chasing oil thieves with already compromised security officials.

The stakeholders who examined information leakage by security agents to oil thieves said thieves in military uniforms would not deter thieves in civilian uniforms; rather, both would join hands together, which is currently the fad. They said some high-profile criminal gangs were conscripting their members into the nation’s security forces and urged the government to fish out the saboteurs and deal with them.

Controversial bombshell

The Chairman of the Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, in November, last year, accused some security officials of complicity in oil theft. He spoke when he received the national leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, led by its President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, at Oporoza, Delta State. Tompolo said Navy officials shot at operatives of Tantita, NSCDC and DSS who arrested a vessel in Rivers State and Ovwian in Delta State in recent encounters.

He said, “We want the NBA to support the President of this country and Tantita Security Services because while doing this work, we step on the toes of the big boys over there in Lagos, and Abuja. Most times, you see that Tantita Security now has confrontations with the Nigerian Navy and every well-meaning Nigerian knows the function of the Nigerian Navy and Tantita now, but nobody wants to come out to face the truth. If we happen to arrest anybody now, they will get a lawyer from Abuja, Lagos, or Ibadan to do your case very well.

“The GMD said production has increased to 1.8mbd. Some few days back, our people intercepted a vessel in Port Harcourt, where the Nigerian Navy was shooting at Tantita Security, with Police, DSS, and Civil Defence. We want to implore and beg that you have a role to play in this present situation because if we are not careful in this country we may not have money to do any reasonable thing. All of us here know that Nigeria is facing hardship. We are going to do our part locally but you are there at the top. If we make any arrests today, lawyers will stand on the other side and on this side. I appeal that you help us. Nobody can load a vessel of 500 metric tonnes in this area because they do not have the capacity. The person comes from either Lagos, Abuja or neighbouring countries. So we have to step on a lot of toes.

“I cannot travel anywhere after my court cases because of the key people fighting this battle. If I want to travel to Abuja to visit you, I have to go with security. If I have two or three security personnel, none of them is happy with Tompolo and they are now even working with people that are top players of oil theft,” he added.

Inaugurate Marines to fight oil thieves —Ikponmwen, ex-Army Provost Marshal

Ikponmwen, a distinguished South-South leader, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard in Benin City, Edo State, attributed the ongoing charade to systemic failure, saying the Nigerian Navy, which is the country’s lead agency in the war against oil thieves, had no business pursuing oil thieves, which is poles apart from its primary role.

According to him, ”there are so many reasons why oil theft has not been solved; I do not think anybody takes the question of tackling it seriously. We have been hearing that the military is involved; are you not aware that those who are supposed to keep the law are the ones breaking it? When the people who are supposed to fight the scourge are deeply involved in it, who do we blame? Is the military supposed to police the seas? The primary responsibility of the Navy, jointly with the Army and the Air Force, is to protect the territory of Nigeria and preserve it from external aggression. That is the primary role of the military. Take the Navy out of this. Look at the United States that we have copied, they have the Marines.

“The Marines are responsible for the security of the maritime and the high seas, why can’t we create the necessary organs that can fight these oil thieves? The system is ineffective, we are running a democracy, but we all know there is no democracy.”

Govt. should deal with security infiltrators — Ekpoudom, ex-DIG

Ex-DIG Udom Ekpoudom, speaking in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, expressed concern about security officials passing information to criminals, saying the thievery would continue under such a situation if unchecked. He advised the government to ensure that security operatives who sabotage the fight against oil theft were dealt with, saying, “you cannot be fighting crime and be a criminal at the same time. But that is if the recent revelation by ex-militant leader Tompolo is true.”

Implement a see-through metering system — Brador, ex-oil bunkerer

A former oil bunkerer, Niyi Brador, stated, “As a way out of these endless accusations and counter-accusations, the federal government should adopt a transparent metering system in the oil industry to know the actual volume of crude oil leaving every flow station.

“The security agencies should not be blamed alone; the oil industry is also not immune to the large-scale corruption rocking the Nigerian society.”

Criminal gangs conscript members into our security forces — Akpan, activist

The Executive Director of the COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peace building in Akwa Ibom State, Saviour Akpan, said, “Unfortunately, the problem is associated with the recruitment process into the nation’s security forces. High-profile criminal gangs sponsor their members into different law enforcement and security agencies in Nigeria.

“Secondly, 98 percent of those who joined the nation’s security and armed forces were not out of patriotism but because the security sector has openings that can absorb even the starkest illiterate, who become a menace to the nation’s security apparatus.

“Thirdly, our reward and sanction system does not encourage patriotism, especially now that the number of people waiting to loot or steal the nation’s commonwealth is even greater than those currently stealing. I am not surprised with the revelations of the different actors and victims of this third-degree security services provision because the system encourages it.”

Oil cabal bigger than Tompolo, Tantita, says Clarkson, ex-MOSIEND spokesperson

A lawyer and former Spokesman of the Movement for the Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta, MOSIEND, Amaebi Clarkson, said Tompolo’s disclosure that some security officials were compromising the battle against oil theft by leaking information to the oil thieves was only re-echoing what was in the public domain.

According to him, “We, particularly in the Delta, know that our boys are not the major culprits in the illegal bunkering enterprises. The so-called Niger Delta youths branded as oil thieves are small fries. They neither have the resources to bring in vessels nor the reach and logistics to navigate deep seas where the oil businesses are done.

“I have said in several forums that the government knows the oil thieves and is possibly part of the racketeering. They only try to make a public show of this wolfish cry of oil thieves and parade our youths as fall guys for their thriving business. The Nigerian Navy should have the gadgets to know, see, and monitor any vessel that enters our territorial waters, so why are they unable to apprehend the thieves?

“Tompolo and his Tantita are a pawn in the chess game in the web of a well-oiled bunkering enterprise. He should get his cruise while it lasts because the players are far above his league. The Nigerian state cannot simply run institutions ranging from law enforcement agencies to economic regulation. It is worthless analyzing micro-aspects of a national metastasis.”

Slur campaign against Tompolo — Ekerefe, activist

National Leader of New Era Movement, a Niger Delta advocacy group, Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, said: “Though Tantita Security Limited has played a pivotal role in the fight against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region and significantly boosted daily crude oil production capacity of Nigeria, it is obvious that some bad eggs in the security agencies in collaboration with some big oil thieves are not comfortable with the operations of the company. They are doing everything, including sponsoring a smear campaign against Tompolo and Tantita Security Limited. While everyone is entitled to free speech, it is unacceptable for our people to be used to fighting a proxy war in favor of the oil cabals.

“We call on our brothers involved to desist from such acts and give room for dialogue and constructive engagement if they have genuine concern or grievances.”

Oil theft is an organized crime — Gbemre

Social justice advocate and Coordinator, Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC), Zik Gbemre, who noted Nigeria’s military involvement in oil theft, however, said Tompolo had no moral justification to engage in the recent blame game he sparked on the fight against intractable oil theft in Nigeria.

“The Defense Headquarters can no longer live in denial of the military’s deep involvement in oil theft. They aid and abet or directly engage in the money-spinning economic sabotage. Oil theft in Nigeria is an organized crime that involves collusion by critical stakeholders, including the IOCs, militant leaders, security agencies, industry regulators, especially the NNPCL, host community players, power brokers in government, and contractors who fix vandalized assets.

“This is already an open secret. Tompolo is not the first person to raise these allegations. As governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike fearlessly mentioned names of security personnel and service commanders directly sponsoring oil theft under his domain at the time.”

Culled from Vanguard.

A Lagos State-based finance house, Cool Financial Services has instituted an action against First City Monument Bank (FCMB) for allowing Goewe and Sons Ltd., one of its borrowers, to withdraw a N150 million loan sum from an account with an active freezing instruction.

Goewe and Sons Ltd. is a merchandise company owned by Ewere Godwin Orobosa. In July 2023, the company first approached the finance house for a N100 million loan at a 3.5% interest rate for a duration of 30 days.

Again, in September 2023, the company obtained an additional loan of N50 million at an interest rate of 1.5% for a month, bringing the entire loan to N150 million.

The borrower intended to pursue a contract and needed to have the said amount in its bank account, but the loan was not to be used to execute the potential contract.

Both Goewe and Sons Ltd. and Cool Financial Services then instructed FCMB to freeze the loan account so that the loan sum could remain untouched for the period of the transaction, according to a loan agreement dated September 18, 2023.

The borrower had earlier written to the bank to alter its account mandate through a board resolution dated September 15, 2023. The borrower appointed Ewere-Egharevba Orobosa, representing the borrower, and Roseline Anibueze, representing the lender, as ‘Category A’ signatories to the account.

The directive further specifically stated that the representative of the lender shall have the power to authorise any withdrawal below N150 million from the account while any withdrawal exceeding that amount shall be jointly authorised by the two signatories.

“Those measures were put in place to guarantee compliance with the terms and conditions of the loan facility,” Oluwafemi Adediran, head of the legal unit at the finance house, told FIJ on Wednesday.

After the loan duration expired, the lender wanted to withdraw it. So, on October 23, 2023, the finance house presented a transfer cheque at the Chevron branch of FCMB in Lagos, confident that the money was intact. But the cheque was dishonoured, and the bank revealed that the borrower had already withdrawn the loan.

“Upon our investigations and findings, we became aware albeit shocked that you disregarded the lien on the account and processed a loan of N150,000,000 (one hundred and fifty million naira) on the back of the restricted facility meant only as proof of funds. What is more, we are alarmed not only by this act but by the temerity and obviously premeditated criminal falsification of the signatures of the representatives of our client as signatory ‘A’ before the consummation of the unauthorised mindless transaction,” Justice John, a legal practitioner, wrote to a business manager at Sanusi Fafunwa Branch of FCMB and the FCMB managing director on behalf of the lender on September 26, 2023 and October 26 respectively.

On October 25, 2023, the lender visited the Sanusi Fafunwa Branch. There, Chukwuma Chukwuka and Isiaq Babatunde, both officials of the bank, appealed for a cure period of 72 hours to remedy the situation. An additional 48 hours was given to the bank to sort out the issue internally, according to a November 2023 court filing signed by Anibueze.

Those cure periods were not adhered to. On October 31, FCMB, through Tosin Talabi and Akin Akintola, both legal counsel and head of litigation for the bank, said it had commenced an investigation into the issue.

“In accordance with our internal procedure, we have commenced investigations into the issues raised in your letter under reference and shall revert to you shortly with the bank’s position once the investigation (sic) is concluded,” the legal counsel wrote.

“At the time we went to the bank to verify how the money was withdrawn, we found out that the freezing instruction was still active on the account. We observed that our director’s signature was forged to make the withdrawal. The question the bank has not answered is, ‘How was it possible to withdraw money from an account with an active no-withdraw order?’”

More than a year after the letter referenced above, the bank was yet to reveal the findings of its investigation.

SEEKING REDRESS THROUGH COURT

In November 2023, the lender filed a suit marked FHC/2377/2023 before a Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to recover losses it had incurred as a result of what it considered “a criminal conspiracy”.

Sued in the lawsuit were FCMB as the first defendant, the borrower as the second defendant, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), FCMB’s regulator, as the third defendant.

“A declaration that the action of the 1st defendant amounts to breach of fiduciary duties owed to the plaintiff,” the first leg of the relief read.

“An order directing the 1st defendant to immediately pay the plaintiff its capital in the sum of N150,000,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only) with (an) interest rate of 21% per annum or at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria’s rate from October 23, 2023, when the plaintiff’s transfer request was dishonoured by the 1st defendant despite the plaintiff’s account being funded; and without any satisfactory explanation by the 1st defendant to the plaintiff.

“General damages in the sum of N250,000,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only) against the 1st defendant for the economic loss, embarrassment and financial exposures suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the devastating action of the 1st defendant, bearing in mind that the plaintiff is in the business of loans and SMS financing.

“An order of this honourable court directing the 1st defendant to pay interest on the judgment sums at the rate of 21% per annum or at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria’s rate, from the commencement of this suit till the date of judgment, and 14% per annum from the delivery of judgment till liquidation of the entire judgment sum to the plaintiff.

“An order of this honourable court directing the 3rd defendant to enforce compliance of the 1st defendant by drawing from the deposits of the 1st defendant in its care to settle all monetary sums and liabilities thereof by the 1st defendant herein in the event that the 1st defendant is unable to pay same.

“The cost of this action in the sum of N5,000,000 (Five Million Naira).”

The court has not fixed a hearing date for the case. At press time, FIJ learnt that FCMB had not filed any response to the lender’s filings.

FCMB had not responded to a request for comments at press time. On January 15, Rafiu Muhammed, a corporate affairs and media management officer at the bank, acknowledged FIJ’s email on the phone and promised that the bank would investigate and respond soon.

When asked to be specific when the bank would respond, Muhammed said, “I don’t want to give you an unrealistic time. But we will investigate and respond very soon.”

FIJ sent him a reminder on January 24, and Muhammed responded, “Give us till next week.”

FIJ called him again on Wednesday, and Muhammed requested one more week. “We will try to expedite our investigation. Give us till next week,” he repeated.

THE BORROWER’S RESPONSE

In the court documents, the lender accused the borrower of falsifying Anibueze’s signature and conspiring with the bank to withdraw the money.

On January 15, FIJ contacted Godwin Ewere, the director of the borrower, for his comments. He denied falsifying any signature, stating that he had defrayed the loan and was no longer indebted to the lender.

“The loan obtained from Cool Financial Services has been fully paid and liquidated. We no longer owe Cool Financial Services. No signature was forged whatsoever,” Ewere said, adding that he also wanted to sue FCMB.

“I don’t want to say anything because I want to sue FCMB.

“I am ready to meet them in court. I still see my name on (the) credit bureau that I am owing them [the lender]. They are saying over N20 million, which I don’t understand.”

Ewere showed FIJ a harmonised document containing a series of cheques he issued in the name of the lender.

When FIJ relayed Ewere’s response to the lender’s head of legal unit, he said it was a lie. He maintained that the borrower defaulted in repaying the loan and also withdrew the money illegally.

FIJ.org

Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr. Musa Aliyu, recently narrated how one hospital project was paid for in full by government officials, five times, without building the hospital.

Aliyu (SAN), who spoke at a media engagement with Northern media executives and Bureau Chiefs, in Abuja said that the above case was only one of very many instances of endemic corruption in the country and that it must not be allowed to continue, urging the media and well-meaning members of the Nigerian public to sign-unto the fight against the scourge.

“There was a case of a hospital which was paid for100 percent, five times. Yet, there was nothing to show for it. That tells you how bad the problem of corruption has become. We cannot continue like this.

“All of us should join hands to tackle corruption in this country. Fighting corruption is not easy because when you fight corruption, corruption fights back. Those involved in corruption are united in their evil. They try to lie against us in order to discredit what we are doing. But as a nation, all well-meaning members of the public must join hands to tackle corruption.

“We don’t have an option. If we don’t tackle corruption, our children will have no future. If we don’t fight corruption, those involved will wreck the economy and we will all suffer for it,” he said.

Dr. Aliyu gave another instance of the corruption in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) where a government official listed his wife, son and an inlaw in the payroll.

He said the son was a mere student, far from working age.

The ICPC Chairman added that N20 billion which would have been taken by officials of another agency was blocked, last year, attesting to the commission’s strategy of proactive actions, to prevent frauds in the MDAs.

Huge assets abroad

Dr. Aliyu disclosed that huge assets stolen from the country and other African nations were kept abroad and that his team was collaborating with other anti-graft agencies within Nigeria and other African countries to trace and repatriate such assets.

Although the ICPC boss said he could not immediately put a figure to the assets, in property and cash, a forum of African anti-graft agencies has been formed to strengthen the efforts to identify and return such assets back home.

He criticized countries in the Global North, where such assets are held, for helping corrupt Africans to loot the continent, by providing them a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption.

Dr. Aliyu also condemned the practice by nationals of Global Northern countries where Nigeria’s assets and those of other African nations are kept for coming up with various obstacles to repatriating them, when traced.

Even when the authorities of those countries agree to release the assets, their nationals would come up with proposals to serve as consultants who must be paid huge commissions for any such repatriation to be effected.

The African Anti-Graft Forum, Dr. Aliyu revealed, has commenced actions towards encouraging African experts to team-up with and establish consortia, a view to tracing such assets and providing necessary assistance towards their repatriation.

Role of the Media

The Chairman appealed to the Nigerian media to see anti-corruption as a duty, particularly given their commitment to enthroning a just, prosperous nation, adding that corruption must be dealt with for the nation to witness the socio-economic development of Nigerians’ dream.

His team, he revealed, has commenced intense budgetary analysis, as well as, tracking and had, in some cases, blocked provisions where it was obvious that public funds would be misused.

Answering a question on the disposal of properties recovered from corrupt public officials, Dr. Aliyu said that ICPC would constantly adhere to the Proceeds of Crime Act and that the commission had set up a committee of critical stakeholders, including Civil Society Organisations, the media, and government procurement experts to ensure a hitch-free, transparent public auctions of such assets.

The chairman advocated a review of the nation’s laws to make corruption less attractive, as according to him, in some jurisdictions, even in Africa, anyone found guilty of corruption would not benefit from it.

Challenging the Nigerian public to stop eulogizing corrupt people, who have been discovered to be the problem of the society, he advised that such persons should be made to pay the amount involved in full to public coffers, with interest and barred from holding public office for as much as 10 years.

The National Identity Management Commission has identified over 6,000 Nigeriens registered on its database with the National Identification Number.

This was as President Bola Tinubu directed an inter-ministerial committee to ensure comprehensive data for the National Social Register for the Federal Government’s social investment programmes.

Impeccable sources in the Presidency told Saturday PUNCH that the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, briefed the Federal Executive Council on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, on the activities of NIMC, an agency under his purview.

The minister reportedly affirmed that the NINs were withdrawn from the illegal holders in an ongoing database clean-up.

On October 13, 2022, the Defence Headquarters in Abuja said troops in conjunction with the Nigeria Police and operatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service intercepted two suspected fake NIMC officials.

The Director of Defence Media Operations at the time, Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, in a statement, said, “It was revealed that the suspects had visited the Gagamari IDP camp in the Niger Republic to register non-Nigerians in the IDP camp.

“Items recovered from the suspects include National Identification Number registration machine, printing machine, laminating machine, a computer tracking machine and a generator set among other items.”

The fake agents were reportedly charging non-Nigerian citizens, primarily from neighbouring countries such as Niger Republic, to obtain Nigerian NIN.

Investigations revealed that such fraudulent registrations occurred in border communities, further heightening the risk of unauthorised access to Nigerian identity credentials.

The NIMC enrols citizens and legal residents, assigning them a unique NIN.

The 11-digit number is tied to an individual’s biometric and demographic data, providing a centralised system to verify personal identity for various governmental and private transactions.

Sources at the Presidency told our correspondent that President Tinubu wanted the existing database to reflect the details of the most vulnerable Nigerians who needed social interventions such as conditional cash transfers and student loans.

A source said, “It was the Minister of Interior that gave that briefing because, you know, NIMC is under him.

“The interior minister said NIMC is tidying up the database because they found over 6,000 people from Niger Republic who obtained NIN. But they have been wiped from the database.

“The humanitarian ministry needs the data for its social register to perform its function. Also, the education ministry needs that data for student loans. The President doesn’t want to disburse money to people they cannot identify. They (NIMC) are ensuring that they verify the data. They are also registering more Nigerians and fine-tuning the data. So, the President wants it done quickly.”

The source revealed that after the briefing, the President asked the national security adviser and the interior minister to join an existing panel overseeing the humanitarian ministry.

Recall that while announcing the suspension of the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, on January 7, 2024, Tinubu asked a panel headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance to, among other functions, “conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes to conclusively reform the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.”

On January 12, the President suspended all Social Investment Programmes administered by the National Social Investment Programme Agency, including the school feeding programme, for six weeks.

A day later, he approved the establishment of a Special Presidential Panel to be led by Mr Wale Edun.

The SPP included the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance as Chairman, and the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, as a member.

Other members are the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris; Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijjani; and the Minister of Youth, Ayodele Olawande.

The panel now includes the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; the Interior Minister, Tunji-Ojo; the Education Minister, Tunji Alausa; and the Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda.

Another source at Tuesday’s FEC meeting said, “It is an inter-ministerial committee; the President asked the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and the Minister of Interior to join. The National Security Adviser is also on that committee. The interior minister is there because, you know, NIMC is under him.”

Giving further context to the developments, the Director-General of NIMC, Bisoye Coker-Odusote, said the agency was working to ensure transparency and accuracy in government payments, particularly for humanitarian purposes.

In a phone interview with our correspondent on Friday, she said, “There is a presidential panel for the humanitarian ministry. If you recall, when the former minister left, they set up an interim panel. So the Minister of Interior and the others have been added to that panel to ensure that they can use the NIN to make payments for humanitarian ministry so that the NIN can be used to ensure accuracy and transparency.

“This literally means that the people collecting money are not ghost beneficiaries, they’re real people, and they’re identifiable. So, you have to use a verifiable set of records to identify them, and that’s where NIMC comes into play using the NIN.

“It will save the country a lot of money if you can tie NIN and identify those beneficiaries. That way, everything is transparent. Nigerians can see that the government has made the right choice and has paid the people that receive the money. The people that really need the money are the ones that get the money.”

Coker-Odusote added that the data clean-up would ensure accurate and verifiable details on the National Social Register.

“The National Social Register under humanitarian [ministry] houses the names of all the beneficiaries they want to pay.

“Now, you have to be able to verify the identities on those social registers, which means they must have a NIN for you to be able to make your payment.

“That way, you just ensure people don’t put fictitious names on the list. You’re able to make sure you verify the identities of those people. Once you’re able to verify the identity, you can make payments,” she added.

The NIMC DG clarified that recent reports about SIM registration concerns stemmed from the telecommunication companies, which had been rectified.

“What has been in the news about NIN-SIM linkage is from the telcos’ end. The telcos have more than one number for each person.

“So, they had an issue, a glitch on their end, and they corrected it already. It has nothing to do with NIMC. We don’t collect more than one phone number,” she stated.

As of the time of filing this report, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr Sola Akinlabi, declined to comment on the issue.

PUNCH