By Augustine Akhilomen

Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia, says he has been re-invited by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Recall that last week Thursday, Mailafia was invited and released by DSS after he was grilled over some allegations he made on the security situation in the country.

Mailafia had revealed on a radio station that repentant Boko Haram insurgents told him and some leaders that a serving northern governor was a commander of the terrorist group that has held North-East geopolitical zone on the jugular since 2009.

However, his second invitation by the security agency was confirmed via a WhatsApp message.

Obadiah said he is standing with former House of Representatives Speaker, Alhaji Ghali Umar Na’Abba, who will also appear before DSS, today(Monday).

“We stand firmly with Comrade the Rt. Hon. Ghali Na’bba. Solidarity forever!

“Comrades kindly be notified that the Men in Black have invited me for a ‘chat’ yet again. I’m to appear before them at the Jos Command HQ of DSS at 12.00 noon today Monday. Solidarity forever!”

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The video footage of a Nigerian man whose shop was locked up for not paying a $1 million, N450 million, permit has generated controversy among Nigerians.

In the viral video, a Nigerian man whose identity was not disclosed was heard telling Ghanaian Task Force officials that he has paid all his permits and that his business is duly registered in Ghana but his plea fell on deaf ears as the officials went ahead to lock up his shop.

It is alleged that the officials had asked Nigerian traders in Ghana to pay $1 million, the Naira equivalent of N450 million each before they would be allowed to trade in the country.

Many Nigerians asked that the Nigerian government retaliates and also sanction Ghanaian businesses in Nigerian to serve as a deterrent.

According to them, what Ghana is doing is against the ECOWAS Chatter on free trade and movement of persons within the West African region.

Ovation magazine publisher, Dele Momodu lambasted the Ghanaians saying it is against African unity.

“Just imagine the uproar that would have followed if what’s happening in Ghana right now happened in the US… I’m so sad and repulsed watching these videos. As a good student of the teachings of THE OSAGYEFO DR KWAME NKRUMAH, in AFRICA MUST UNITE, I’m just speechless,” Momodu said.

Others said it is a ploy to ask Nigerians to leave Ghana as a retaliation for what Nigeria did to them in the 80s.

But speaking on the incident on a Ghanaian radio station, Starrfm, the Head of Communications, Ministry of Trade, Prince Boakye Boateng, said the Nigerian traders had failed to honour an ultimatum to meet the requirements.

He said, “It cannot be we’ve been insensitive; if that is what they’re saying, I’ll be disappointed because I’ll rather say they have rather been unfair to us as a regulatory body because we have given them more time than enough to the extent even the Ghanaians thought that the ministry was not even on their side or the ministry wasn’t ready to even enforce the law.”

He recalled that the shops were locked last December and later re-opened following the intervention of President Nana Akufo-Ado.

According to him, the traders complied but have not regularised their documents for verification.

Last month the Nigerian Embassy quarters under construction was demolished by Ghanaians who said it was an encroachment on their land. The Ghanaian government has since apologised for the demolition.

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The founder of Nigeria leading automobile company, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing (IVM), has debunked assertions that his company only assembles but does not manufacture vehicles.

“Let me use this opportunity to say this once again; Innoson does not assemble vehicles, we manufacture. We build 100 percent vehicle body here and over 60 percent of the products used in manufacturing the vehicle are gotten from Nigeria.

“We make all the carcass of all our vehicles here. We only import some engines and electrical components but produce all the plastic parts here. We have produced many new vehicles according to the demands of our customers and what they need those vehicles for. Even if they need what we do not have, we make the mould and produce their request and to specifications. That is why we are a vehicle manufacturing company, not assembling company.” He said.

Furthermore, he noted that the Federal Government is trying its best with a view to assisting the manufacturing sector but the policies being made are devoid of implementations.

“The Federal Government is doing everything possible to support the manufacturing sector with good policies, but the problem lies in the implementation. They have done enough in terms of policies to support local content but, like I said, implementation is the problem. So, I won’t say that government is not helping. They are doing their best. If you look at the policies, they are favourable.”

However, he noted that the National Assembly Law Makers rejected his vehicles because it was a made in Nigeria product.

“Didn’t you see what happened at the National Assembly recently? They decided to buy Toyota cars made in Japan, that they are too big to drive made in Nigeria cars. Didn’t you hear it in the news?”

Meanwhile, he noted that as it were, he has received orders from another African country.

“As of now, I have order of about $4.7million worth of vehicles from Sierra Leone. That’s what I’m producing now for Sierra Leone government. Normally, I do get order and supply from within and outside the country.”

In addition, he lauded the effort of the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma amongst the South-East Governors, stating the he is a leading light in the promotion of made in Nigeria products.

“However, if all the South-East governors are like that of Imo, then, we don’t have problems. The present governor is number one in implementing the local content. He deserves an award for that. Go to Imo, all the vehicles they are using are made in Nigeria. So Imo has got somebody in the governor who knows what’s good to do and we appreciate him for that.” He said.

Furthermore, he noted that the driving force of his successes is due to his ability to bring up new business ideas different from what others know.

“This is because when you go into any business, you have to put your own ideas in it and when you do, the difference will be clear and you can make more money than others. You can also drop the business when you think there isn’t much interest in it again. So, to succeed in any business, don’t follow the crowd, always bring your own initiatives. With that, you will be able to make profits.

“That has been my driving force, always looking for new ideas that are different from what everybody knows. For example, when you are into a particular business and it is no longer as lucrative and profitable as it used to because many people have ventured into it, you can leave the business for those people who lack ideas and go into a new business. This is because, as they are coming into the business, the profit margin will continue to diminish. So you leave it for them and find another fresh business idea to develop.”

“I started trading in motorcycle parts with my brother. I started by buying from companies like Leventis that were importing the parts then. From there, I started importing myself. Later, I developed a complete motorcycle and not just the parts. I was the first person to develop complete motorcycle in Nigeria.

“Because of my experience in the spare parts business, I found out that to bring motorcycle parts and couple them here in Nigeria was cheaper than bringing them as a complete motorcycle. So I decided to give it a try and it worked. I brought my own in parts and hired local mechanics to assemble and couple them. With this, my own cost was 40 percent cheaper. So, while others were selling at N150, 000, I was selling at N80, 000. Then, the cost of second hand motorcycle was N90, 000. People who used to buy second hand motorcycle decided to be buying my own since it was brand new and cheaper.

“That’s how I benched my competitors who were selling at N150, 000. So, they had no choice than to adopt my strategy in importing their motorcycles. When they started copying my method, I veered into local production of plastic components of motorcycle parts so that I could be bringing only the iron components from abroad.

“This also helped in bringing the price of my motorcycle down to N60, 000 which has been my aim from the onset. My competitors also discovered that it was better for them to buy plastic components from my company than bringing it from abroad. So, they started buying plastic components from me. With that, I left the motorcycle business for them.” He said.

Meanwhile, he noted that he decided to venture into manufacturing vehicles as a result of people who have already ventured into the business of motorcycles and after a study of all the variables why others have failed in that enterprise.

“After some time, I decided to do what I did in motorcycle in vehicle. So, that’s what I’m doing today. I ventured into vehicle manufacturing immediately I became weak on motorcycle. I changed my focus to vehicle. I studied about vehicle production for about seven years before I could start. When I was building this factory, all my good friends and everybody I knew were asking me why did I venture into the business?

“They said all the people who ventured into it in Nigeria failed. I told them to check all the businesses I have done, that none has failed. Before I entered into vehicle manufacturing, I have seen why others failed. And I told them that I would remove that which made others to fail and I did. That’s why I started by manufacturing and not by assembling. The people who failed started by assembling vehicles in Nigeria. And in that case, if anything happened to the parent company, the assembling plant here would lose because foreigners are not interested in building anything here.

“They are coming to Africa to make profit and not lose, they want to make as much profits as possible and go. They are not interested to build us.

“So, to avoid the pitfalls of others, I went and studied where we had problems and I paid for professionals, expatriates who came here and trained my people. I brought them to Nigeria, about 60 of them, in the first year we started this factory. Some of them finished under one year and left by the second year, I had about 42 and in the third year, I had about 15. Today, I have only eight.” He said.

In another development, he noted that there is an effort in place to open a factory in Imo State.

“I’m going to open a new factory in Imo in partnership with foreign companies. I believe the partnership will help us to develop motor manufacturing on a bigger scale in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, he reacted to the reason why the factory is not set up in the commercial city of Lagos, noting that Lagos is a very busy city.

“Commercial city of Lagos is too busy. I want where there will be space for manufacturing. I’m also looking at the proximity with my other companies because, the way our companies were set up, factory A can produce something for factory B and vice versa. Another reason is for easy communications and management. I’m not interested in any particular region, be it South-East, South-West or North.” He said.

Besides, he also reacted to the fact that he does not have interest in politics and has no ambition to become a politician with a view to holding a political office in the foreseeable future.

“I am not a politician and I’m not interested in politics. I am a manufacturer. I will be an industrialist until I become weak. When I grow old I go home and retire. I don’t have time for politics. There are people who are politicians, let them continue with their politics. And as for the 2023 presidential election, I’m not interested in who is coming out. When the time comes, I’ll make a choice among those contesting. And I don’t know who I will vote for; it depends on who comes out.” He said.

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Justice Samuel Bola in his ruling said Adanlawo could not prove his case beyond the shadow of doubt as he also failed to give any convincing evidence to prove his innocence.

The victim is a ‘Witness of Truth’, says the judge based on her courage and precision in her statements.

The defendant allegedly went to the victim’s house August 24, 2018 while she was alone and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her, warning her not to tell anyone, or else she will die.

When the victim complained of pains and could not walk, her mother took her to a hospital for examination where it was discovered that the girl had been raped.

The victim opened up, narrating how her father’s church member Omotayo Adanlawo had raped her.

The case was reported at Iju-Itaogbolu divisional headquarters of the Nigeria Police, before being transferred to Ala Area Command, and a medical report revealed that there was actual penetration into the minor’s private part.

The defendant claimed that the victim told him to lie on her after asking for 50 naira and chin chin.

He also claimed to be battling with a hernia and as such was not medically fit to have sexual intercourse with the girl.

Justice Bola in his ruling, however, said the prosecution was able to prove there was penetration in the rape allegation against Adanlawo

He also said the defendant gave no medical report to prove his health condition.

He, therefore, sentenced Adanlawo to life imprisonment in line with section 358 of the Criminal Laws of the state.

The defendant has been taken to the Nigeria Correctional Centre to commence his jail term.

Few days after the Ondo State Security Network Agency known as operation Amotekun was launched by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, armed men suspected to be kidnappers have struck in the state.

The gunmen on Saturday night were said to have kidnapped one Surajudeen Alao, a native of Oba Akoko. Another yet-to-be-identified victim was also kidnapped alongside Alao.

The two were said to have been abducted on Ikun-Oba Akoko road while returning from Ikun Day Festival.

It was gathered that the incident caused anxiety among residents of Oba Akoko.

Akoko axis in the Northern Senatorial District of the state has been a notorious route for bandits where they operate unhindered.

The families of the victims claimed they were yet to be contacted by the abductors.

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• Commission boss, Pondei, faces fresh probe September

The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions has said the information at its disposal is not sufficient to commence the probe of senators indicted in the alleged contract scam at the Niger Delta Development Commission.

The ad hoc committee set up to unravel the alleged financial recklessness by the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC had recommended an internal mechanism to investigate lawmakers indicted by the agency to have secured multi-billion naira projects without executing them.

There has been an outcry over the billions of naira stolen from the commission, even as a member of the NDDC Forensic Audit Committee, Prof Isa Sadiq Raddah, said recently that no fewer than 12,000 projects, some of which were partly paid for, had been abandoned.

Speaking at a workshop organised by the Network for Justice on Budget Monitoring and Tracking in Sokoto, Raddah, who is a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, said 1,700 contractors took mobilisation fees and disappeared.

He said, “NDDC for 20 years has got over $40bn. And when you convert $40bn to naira, we are talking of N116tn.

“The entire money was taken away by their young people,  leaders, agitators, activists and now the Niger Delta is as bad as many of the rural areas you find in Northern Nigeria.”

But the chairman of the senate panel saddled with the responsibility of carrying out the probe within four weeks, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, told one of our correspondents in Abuja that the ad hoc committee did not provide relevant details that could assist him in carrying out the task.

Akinyelure also said the probe of a fresh petition against the Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof Daniel Pondei, would wait till September when the National Assembly resumes its current annual vacation.

He said his committee members, who would need sufficient time to study all the allegations contained in the petition, were currently not available following the adjournment of legislative activities till September 15.The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, had said during an investigative hearing by the House of Representatives in July that some lawmakers were beneficiaries of NDDC projects.

He subsequently released a list of the contractors, including a senator from Delta State, who allegedly had 53 projects against his name; another senator from the state with six projects against his name; a senator from Edo State, who also had six projects against his name; and a former senator from Imo State, who had 19 projects against his name.

Others were a former chairman of the Reps committee on NDDC, who had 74 contracts against his name; a former Delta State governor and another former governor of Abia State.

While the identified persons denied the allegations, the NDDC Director of Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, said in a statement that the Interim Management Committee of the commission stood by the list released by the minister. It said the names emanated from files in the possession of the forensic auditors.

The statement added, “It is not an Akpabio list but the NDDC’s list; the list is part of the volume of 8,000 documents already handed over to the forensic auditors. The ongoing forensic audit would unearth those behind the contracts.”

But in his interview with one of our correspondents, Akinyelure argued that the information at its disposal at the moment from the ad hoc committee on the senators accused of failed contracts, could not allow his panel do justice to the issue.

Lack of information hampers deep investigation –Panel

He said, “We have yet to receive detailed information from the ad hoc committee. Before my committee can entertain any petition, there must be specific allegations against certain sets of people and the allegations must be clear.

“We must have details of the contracts collected. There must be sufficient details about specific contracts, the level of execution, period of award, contract sum and amount collected. All these are not in the recommendations of the ad hoc committee.

“The ad hoc committee has not given details of the one they want my committee to sit on. We are still expecting them to supply us with information about the specific allegations against the affected senators. We need to have their identity.”

…insists Akpabio must provide more details on allegations

He explained that the committee needed to know the contract the senators collected without execution, adding that there must be specific allegations for the committee to verify and that the minister who made the allegation would need to supply more information.

He added, “I am aware that senators don’t award contract but if it is the ones they facilitated for their constituencies, we would investigate their links to the contractors.

“We will find out the procurement process they went through before the contracts were awarded, those who paid the contractors, and to whose account was the money paid to, was the contract executed or not?

“It is when we have these details that we could ask questions. So, we are still expecting the details of the petition to be forwarded to my committee. The minister (Akpabio), who made the allegations, will also need to supply adequate details.

“We want to know the senators who allegedly collected contracts and those who allegedly demanded bribe. It is when we get all the facts that we could do justice and present our report and recommendations.”

… says Pondei’s probe shifted till September

On the fresh petition against Pondei,  Akinyelure said, “We will start the investigation when we resume plenary in September. We have to take our time to find out those behind the petition and other details that would guide us on who to invite to come and give evidence.

“If we don’t have all these details, we cannot do anything. Moreover, most of my committee members are now on vacation. I cannot sit alone as chairman and claim that I’m conducting public hearing.”

He assured the public that the Senate would do justice to the issue.

My c’mttee has no further details on indicted lawmakers – Adetunmbi

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Senate ad hoc committee that probed the alleged reckless spending at the NDDC between October 2019 and May 2020, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi,  has said his committee has no further details on the issue apart from the ones already provided in its report.

He said his panel did an explicit job based on submissions of all stakeholders who were requested to provide both written and oral submissions while the exercise lasted.

He said, “I have done the work that was given to me. My report was explicit about the recommendations. I have yet to see details of what Senator Ayo Akinyelure’s committee was asked to do.

“All the information before us were considered and we have written our report. I don’t have any other information apart from what is contained in the report which the Senate had considered, approved and acted upon.”

CSOs ask NASS to submit lawmakers for probe

Two civil society organisations, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, and Transparency International, have demanded that the Senate and the House of Representatives turn in their members indicted in the NDDC contracts for probe.

CACOL’s Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran, asked the leadership of the National Assembly not to shield their indicted members from the ongoing probe.

He said, “We have made that call for long that the National Assembly should surrender its indicted members to the relevant anti-corruption agencies to investigate the allegations against them. Let them defend themselves. If they come out clean, they will be okay and if they don’t, let them face the consequences.

“If nothing has happened to the lawmakers indicted, the minister may not reveal further names. But the minister seems ready to spill the beans. There must be a reason why the National Assembly does not want him to continue talking.”

Also, the Head of the Transparency International in Nigeria, Musa Rafsanjani, said, “First and foremost, the National Assembly has the moral burden and they must ensure that they carry out their work with sincerity and compliance with the ethical values of the legislature.

“Some of the National Assembly members who have been accused and fingered in these allegations must be investigated. We expected by now that there should have been a thorough probe into the allegations made by the minister, Akpabio.”

Sunday Punch