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MONDAY JULY 9, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY
NEWS
Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268
Presidency Awaits Briefing on Adeosun’s Alleged Certificate Forgery NYSC to issue official statement today Tobi Soniyi in Lagos and Wale Ajimotokan in Abuja The presidency said yesterday that it was yet to be briefed about alleged forgery of National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) discharge certificate by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun. An online news portal, Premium Times, had in a report at the weekend, alleged that the minister failed to undertake the mandatory one year national service, having graduated at 22, and fraudulently obtained an exemption certificate at 42, in violation of the NYSC establishment act, Decree No 24 of 1973 as amended. Despite the weight of the allegation, the minister has kept quiet, failing to answer calls to her phones or return text messages from THISDAY. The Minister of Information and Culture,Alhaji Lai Mohammed could not also be reached on the matter. However, a reliable source at the NYSC Headquarters in Abuja told THISDAY that the service would issue a statement on the allegation today, refusing though to state whether the exemption certificate
was actually issued by it or not. NYSC spokesperson, Mrs. Adenike Adeyemi, also confirmed that the corps would issue an official statement but declined to give the exact date the statement would be made. But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, told THISDAY last night that he was yet to be briefed on the forgery allegation. “Well, I have not been briefed on this. I haven’t heard of it being spoken. I am completely unaware of anything,” he said in response to THISDAY’s query on what President Muhammadu Buhari was doing about the allegation that one of his ministers committed the crime of forgery. Expectedly, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had at the weekend called on Buhari to sack and prosecute Adeosun on the strength of the allegation by the online medium. The NYSC is compulsory for all Nigerians who graduate from universities or equivalent institutions at less than 30 years of age. In addition to being a requirement for government and private sector
Nigeria Kicks as Another Citizen is Killed in South Africa A Nigerian, Ozumba TochukwuLawrence was reportedly killed by a gunman on July 6, in South Africa. The Nigeria Mission in South Africa has condemned the killing. The Consul-General of Nigeria in South Africa made this known in a statement by the Vice Consul Information and Culture, David Abraham, yesterday in Abuja. Abraham said the Consul General received with pain the unfortunate news of the assassination of TochukwuLawrence by a yet-to-be identified assailant. He said the ugly incident was said to have occurred at 10 Koppe, Middleburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa, on July 6. “An eyewitness account has it that an unknown man made a way into the compound of Ozumba Tochukwu-Lawrence and requested to see him. “On being told about his guest, he came out to meet him, and the man opened fire on him and shot him six times, resulting in his death before he could reach the hospital. “The reason behind the sad incident is yet to be established, but this is very unfortunate and condemnable,” he said. He said the consulate commiserated with the deceased’s family and indeed, the entire Nigerian community in South Africa. The Consulate, he said, was also calling on the South African relevant authorities to unravel the mystery behind this dastardly act. “Efforts should be made by the police and other relevant agencies to apprehend the assailant and bring him to justice. “We also call on our nationals to cooperate with the police and judicial officers in their investigation and prosecution.
“The Nigerian Consulate will continue to advance the welfare and security of Nigerians in South Africa. “We also call on our citizens to remain calm and eschew violence as we seek to obtain justice for the deceased and members of his family,” he said. In her reaction, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, expressed worry over the killing. Dabiri-Erewa in short message sent to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja described the recent killing as unfortunate. “All enquiries should be directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama who has vowed to take decisive action with the new Foreign Affairs Minister in South Africa,” she said Dabiri-Erewa expressed disappointment over an early warning signal put in place by both ministries, which she said, had still not been implemented. She stated that no fewer than 117 Nigerians were extra-judicially killed in South Africa between 2016 and 2018 for one flimsy reason or the other. She said that many more had followed since then. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that killing of Nigerians in South Africa had been on the increase in recent times. Before the latest one, there was the assassination of ThankGod Okoro, who was reportedly shot dead in Hamburg, Florida West Rand, Johannesburg, on April 9, 2018, by the South African Police Flying Squad. There was also the killing of Clement Nwaogu in April, a father of two who was burnt to death by his assailant.
jobs in Nigeria, the enabling law prescribes punishment for anyone who absconds from the scheme or forges its certificates. Eligible Nigerians who skipped the service are liable to be sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and/ or N2,000 fine, according to Section 13 of the NYSC law. Section 13 (3) of the law also
prescribes three-year jail term or option of N5,000 fine for anyone who contravenes provision of the law as Adeosun has done. Subsection 4 of the same section also criminalises giving false information or illegally obtaining the agency’s certificate. It provides for up to three-year jail term for such offenders.
According to Premium Times, Adeosun’s official credentials showed that the minister “parades a purported NYSC exemption certificate, which was issued in September 2009, granting her exemption from the mandatory service on account of age.” Adeosun graduated from the Polytechnic of East London in 1989, at 22. According to her curriculum
vitae, the finance minister was born in March 1967. The institution changed name to University of East London in 1992. The minister has her certificate issued in the new name. Having graduated at 22, it was obligatory for Adeosun to participate in the one-year national service, for her to qualify for any job in Nigeria.
ROAD INAUGURATION
Delta State PDP Chairman, Mr. Kingsley Esiso; Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa; his Gombe State counterpart, Ibrahim Dankwambo and Obi of Abavo Kingdom, Obi Uche Irenuma, during the inauguration of Abavo Circular road, Abavo, Delta State...recently
BPP Unveils e-Government Procurement System Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has commenced the process of implementing a unified e-Government Procurement (e-GP) system that will integrate with existing systems to provide a centrally and unitary collaborative government procurement platform for all public procurement at the federal level. The implementation of the e-GP system will follow a phased approach to cover the entire public
procurement lifecycle in line with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, related regulations and government Information Communication Technology (ICT) policies, and other standards. A top presidency official familiar with the system told journalists weekend that based on the phased implementation approach, the BPP had developed a number of innovative IT solutions to improve public procurement practice and enhance its oversight functions.
According to him, the IT solutions, some of which were deployed since 2010 and have undergone series of upgrades include the National Database of Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers (ND-CCSP) Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO). The National Database was created in line with the provisions of Section 5(h) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA 2007), which mandates the Bureau to maintain a national database of
particulars and classification and categorization of federal contractors and service providers. The system serves as the first module of the e-GP sytem. The system helps in verifying the credibility and competence of contractors, consultants and service providers (CCSPs) doing or intending to do business with the Federal Government of Nigeria. It also helps in categorising and classifying consultants, contractors and service providers based on their capability.
N’Assembly Received Only 12 Bills from Executive in ThreeYears Deji Elumoye in Abuja The 8th National Assembly since its inauguration on June 9, 2015 has only received 12 Bills from the Executive arm of government. Findings carried out by Thisday at the National Assembly reveal that the Bills apart from the statutory budget-related ones were sent to both Senate and House of Representatives at the rate of four Bills per year. On its part, the legislature during the period under review had passed 213 Bills and also cleared 138 petitions from members of the public. Available records show that of all the 12 Bills presented by the Executive in three years, only two have inkling to the anti-corruption mantra that brought the Buhari- led administration into office on May
29, 2015. The two anti- corruption Bills are the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, 2016 which had since been passed by the National Assembly and Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2011 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2016 which was reportedly withdrawn by the Executive due to purported disagreement between the Office of theAttorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu. The remaining 10 Bills sponsored by the Executive in both chambers of the Federal Legislature in the last 37 months include: Communications Service Tax Bill 2015; Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2011 (Repeal and Reenactment) Bill, 2016; Mutual
Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, 2016; Chartered Institute of Directors of Nigeria (Est. etc,) Bill, 2017; National Lottery Act (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and the National Water Resources Bill, 2017. Others are the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Est. etc,) Bill, 2017; Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors in Nigeria (Est. etc,) Bill, 2017; Federal Institute of Industrial Research Bill, 2017; Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Repeal and Reenactment) Bill, 2018; Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (Est. etc,) Bill, 2018 and the Minerals and Mining Bills,2018. The Senate has, however, passed four other bills sponsored as individual Bills by Senators in support of the anti-corruption agenda of the present administration.
The Bills are Witness Protection Bill, the Whistleblower Protection Bill, Federal Audit Service Commission Bill and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Bill (NFIU).On the other executive bills forwarded to the National Assembly, the report of the Chartered Institute of Directors of Nigeria (Est. etc,) Bill, 2017 has since been laid and awaiting final consideration and passage by the Senate, while the rest are at different stages of legislative scrutiny by the relevant committees. On its part, the National Water Resources Bill, 2017 had to be stood down after its consideration at the second reading stage in June was mired in controversy following the antagonism by many Senators against it. The debate on the bill at the Senate plenary showed obvious division along geo-political lines among the Senators.