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‘Missing’ N89 trillion: Presidency speaks *Says scammers at work
“If the Federal Government can find N89 trillion, it can pay off all its debt, both foreign and local currency and all state government debts and still have over N10 trillion left.”
This was the way the Presidency waved off claims of a missing N89.09 trillion from stamp duty, as false, saying scammers who had earlier tried to hoodwink the Federal Government, were currently at work in promoting the ridiculous narrative.
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, who responded to the scandalous claims, said in a statement on Tuesday that the claims being made by Gudaji Kazaure, member of the House of Representatives on mismanagement or embezzlement of stamp duty funds, was patently false.
Kazaure, who said he is also the Secretary of the Presidential Committee on the reconciliation and recovery of all stamp duties, had in a recent interview, not only made the allegation, but accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), and the protocol department of the State House, of conspiring to prevent him from briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on the findings so far made, in order to brief him on progress reports on efforts to trace trapped N89.09 trillion.
But, the statement, in dismissing the claim, explaining how the issues surrounding the development, began when the President came into office in 2015 and discovered that a law, which stipulated for the collection of a “token on banking transactions existed but was not being correctly implemented,” because certain characters apparently formed a cartel with collaborators in the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) and were allegedly “collecting and pocketing this money.”
A Non Government Organisation (NGO) was said to have brought up the issue before the new government, claiming that the country had lost the sum of over N20 trillion to the Nigerian Inter-bank Settlement System ((NIBSS) between 2013-2016 in this regard, assuring that the money could be recovered and paid back into the government coffers.
“The consultants asked to be paid a professional fee of 7.5 percent and were placed under the supervision of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Following the lack of progress in the promised recovery, the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, wrote on March 8, 2018 to the SGF conveying a presidential directive that following the lack of progress and several expressed concerns received, the activities of the consultants be discontinued.
“In the aftermath of this dismissal, the consultants sued the government. A court of competent jurisdiction subsequently ruled in favour of the government.
“Arising from the outcome of the litigation and the well-known controversy on the legally responsible agent for collecting this levy, the administration went to the National Assembly and caused an amendment to the law and removed NIPOST from the duty of its collection.
“Having lost a potentially lucrative line of business, the characters returned to the drawing board to formulate one form of trick or another to intimidate the government but the vigilant teams of the administration kept them at bay. They returned lately to the government through honourable Muhammadu Gudaji Kazaure with a plan to track the so-called lost stamp duties with the erstwhile consultant as chairman and honourable Gudaji as secretary.
“When it emerged that the petitioner and lead consultant of the committee the President had dissolved via the late Abba Kyari’s letter of March 28 had masqueraded himself and re-emerged as the chairman of the new recovery committee championed by the Hon. Gudaji, the President rescinded the approval he gave and asked that it be stopped from operating under the seal of his office.
“In addition to this committee being chaired by a petitioner, there were also other concerns relating to natural justice and fair hearing in having the Chief Justice of the Federation as a committee member and a serving member of the house of representatives as secretary, which are not in line with section 5(1),(a)&(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“Once the President rescinded his approval to constitute this committee, (it) lost all legitimacy. Arguments have in recent days been flying left and right over the rightfulness of a committee being dissolved. People are entitled to hold opinions. But these opinions do not change the fact that under our constitution, the power of the President to appoint and remove persons or groups is duly entrenched and unless such powers are shared with the parliament, the President can hire and fire literally at will, and in line with the law.
“Therefore, there is evidence to debunk claims Kazaure’s claims on the missing funds. The same set of consultants claimed in 2016 that there was N20 trillion to be collected, but it was found to be false. To go back to the main issue though, it is now evident that the consultants and petitioners’ claims of a missing N89 trillion from stamp duty appears false and a figment of their malicious imaginations. The entire banking sector deposit is not even up to half of N89 trillion.
“Indeed, if the Federal Government can find N89 trillion, it can pay off all its debt, both foreign and local currency and all state government debts and still have over N10 trillion left. So, the claim by these so-called consultants and the disbanded committee is totally ridiculous and a complete mockery.”
Meanwhile, in a recent a video clip in Hausa and a press release in English, Kazaure had asked Shehu to answer pertinent questions relating to the matter particularly the sources of the $171 billion in the CBN’s I&E window account; N23.4 trillion CBN gave as a loan to some banks; and N13 trillion loan to the federal government from FMDQ;
In response, Shehu said: “To my knowledge, the CBN-established investors and exporters (I&E) window is a foreign exchange trading platform where banks and other authorised dealers can buy or sell foreign exchange. These trades are recorded by the CBN daily and reported as turnover or activity in the market.”
“Contrary to Hon. Kazaure’s assertion, the I&E window is NOT an “account” where foreign exchange is deposited. It is simply a platform for trading foreign exchange. As of April 2020, the total amount of foreign exchange traded (either bought or sold) in the window was about $171 billion. The size of this amount suggests that there is adequate liquidity or availability of foreign exchange and that anyone who wants to buy or sell would easily find a counterparty to trade with. The amount does not mean that we have $171 billion stacked away in some vault or saved in any account.
“Note that both the CBN and authorised dealers are free to bring foreign exchange to the window, and in fact, the CBN is not the major seller of foreign exchange in that segment of the market.”
On the N23.4 trillion loan the apex bank was to have given some banks, he described the lawmaker’s assertion as “baseless,” adding: “The CBN is best placed to respond to this question though I must say the assertion itself is both baseless and misleading. The total balance sheet of the CBN is not anywhere near N23 trillion. So how can it give such an amount in loans to any or some banks?”
Also speaking on the source of the FMDQ loan to the federal government, the presidential spokesman, quoting data from Debt Management Office (DMO) said the total amount of Nigeria’s domestic debt as of September 2022 is N21.6 trillion, wondering that if Kazaure suggesting that a “small company in Lagos holds over 60 percent of Nigeria’s domestic debt.
“More also, of the N21.6 trillion domestic debt, only N4.5 trillion are in treasury bills? How then can a company in Lagos hold more treasury bills (N13 trillion) than the entire treasury bills issued by the federal government? For the avoidance of doubt, I also took time to reach out to the FMDQ (Financial Markets Derivative Quotes) and understand from their audited financial statements that their holdings of FGN treasury bills is just N7.99 billion as of December 2021.”
Stating that he could not provide a response to Kazaure’s enquiry on the ‘total equity of CBN and its national budget.’ he said: “Anyone who understands this question should provide an answer. I can offer this information: on an annual basis and in line with the fiscal responsibility act, the CBN transfers 80 percent of its operating surplus to the federal government as part of the budget revenues. In the last six years, this contribution has amounted to over N150 billion.
“Let me inform, that Mr. President has not completely ignored these matters. Indeed, a duly authorised committee under the attorney-general and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) is working to reconcile, recover and transfer all stamp duties into stamp duties central account. The work is ongoing, it is not finished yet and the President will continue to show his keen interest in the matter of stamp duty collection.”
For those believing that President Bola Tinubu’s exclusion of Humphrey Nwosu, the late Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), was an error that would be corrected subsequently, their expectation came to naught on Friday, with his non-recognition once again.
In a surprise outing, the President failed once again to name the late Professor of Political Science as one of the Nigerians honoured, on the day Nigerians would be celebrating this year’s anniversary of June 12, designed to mark the historic 1993 presidential election, which has now been designated as Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
It was a day Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO), the candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), was elected President in a transition programme undertaken by the military government of then President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB).
Expectations are that because the Option A4 model used in achieving the outcome of the election, acknowledged as the freest and fairest election in Nigerian history, the late electoral commission’s boss, would feature prominently in the list of those to be honoured by the government.
But another list contained in the national broadcast by the President, suggested that the position of the treatment meted to the former NEC Chairman, reflected the thinking in the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu’s predecessor, under whom June 12 was given national recognition.
The list, populated mainly by names from the South West, which included both civilians and military personnel, did not capture the category of national honours to be bestowed on the recipients, as the government said further information would be released in due course.
Prominent among those recognized, was Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, a General and former Chief of Army Staff, Supreme Headquarters between 1976 and 1979, under the military regime of Olusegun Obasanjo, who died in Abakaliki Prison in 1997, where he was detained for allegedly participation in carrying out a coup against Sani Abacha, then Head of State.
Tinubu, said the completed Institute of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna, would now be known as General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua University of Geological Sciences and Engineering Technology, to honour the General, who later became a prominent figure in Nigerian politics, “for his vision of national partnership.”
Listing the other names, Tinubu said: “I am also pleased to announce national awards to the following Nigerians, who suffered persecution, endured indignities, exile, incarceration, and, at times, solitary confinement, so that we have democracy today.”
The recipients included: Ayoka Lawani, Tunde Fagbenle, Oladele Alake, Olatunji Bello, Louis Odion, Segun Babatope, Sam Omatseye, Ademola Osinubi, Bola Bolawole and the duo of Lade Bonuola, former Managing Director of The Guardian and Femi Kusa, former Editor of the Nigerian foremost newspaper.
Others, were: Debo Adeniran, Ayo Opadokun, Chief Ralph Obiora, Ose Osayande, Osa Director, Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, Arthur Nwankwo (Posthumous) and Osagie Obayuwana, all pro-democracy activists.
The list also included Joe Okei-Odumakin , Titus Mann, Joe Igbokwe, Richard Akinnola, Ben Charles-Obi (Posthumous), George Mbah Niran Malaolu, Ishola Williams, a retired Major-General, Femi Aborisade, Jenkins Alumona, Gbemiga Ogunleye, Muyiwa Adekeye, Babajide Kolade-Otitoju and Ike Okonta.
“We also recognise the soldier-democrats of the June 12 struggle: Major General MA Garba, Brigadier General Lawal Jaafaru Isa, Col Umar Farouk Ahmed; Col Sambo Dasuki;
Col Lawan Gwadabe; Brigadier Jonathan Ndam Temlong, Col Musa Shehu; Major General Chris Eze; Major General Harris Dzarma; Col Isa Jibrin; Maj. General Joseph Oshanupin; Col Olusegun Oloruntoba, Olugbede of Gbede Kingdom), Lieutenant Colonel Happy Kefas Bulus, Col J Okai;
Col Emmanuel Ndubueze; Lt Col Yakubu Muazu and Brigadier Yahaya Abubakar, the Current Etsu Nupe, who is already the holder of the CFR title.”
From Godswill Obot Akpabio, Senate President, came a definitive message to Nigerians on Friday – the future is bright, the road is clear and destination is assured under a strong, visionary and purposeful democratic leadership of President Bola Tinubu.
But he also raised a proviso – since democracy is participatory all citizens of the country, must get involved in providing the planks, which when nailed together, would enable the leaders fortify the platform for its growth, to enhance a robust, viable future.
These formed the fulcrum of his admonishment, as he joined other national leaders to celebrate Nigeria’s 27th anniversary of uninterrupted democracy, in which it not only broke the vice grip of military rule, but witnessed seven election circles to choose leaders at both national and other levels of government.
Akpabio, Chairman of the National Assembly, Nigeria’s lawmaking institution, was particular about the participation of the Nigerian youths in making his admonition come true, reminding them that they actually owned the future being fashioned today.
Conveying his message through Eseme Eyiboh, his spokesman the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and former Minister of Niger Delta, also called on Nigerians to embrace unity, vigilance, and active participation in nation-building, commending them for showcasing resilience and support for democracy despite some low moments.
Noting that democratic experiment remained a testimony of endurance despite years of agitations, he said: “On behalf of the 10th National Assembly, I congratulate every Nigerian for the sustenance of democracy for close to three decades. Mistakes have been made in the course of this journey but we will surely get to the desired destination with your support.”
“Democracy should extend beyond the conduct of elections and be anchored on accountability, justice, compassion and service to the common good.”
Particularly for the Nigerian youths, he was emphatic about their active participation in the nation’s political process stressing that the younger generation forms the fulcrum of leadership succession.
Hear him: “As we commemorate June 12, I wish to encourage the youth not to sit on the fence but be active participants in the nation’s political activities. The youths constitute the fulcrum of those who will succeed us tomorrow.
“Let us therefore rededicate ourselves to the ideals of freedom, transparency and accountable government, social justice, and active citizen participation, especially the youths.”
The Senate President, also spoke the current parlous state of carnage in the country, appealing to Nigerians to unite with one another and cooperate with the government to tame “the monster that has befallen the nation.”
Assuring that Tinubu’s administration remained committed to ending the menace and securing the release of all persons in captivity, he said: “I urge every Nigerian to support the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in her efforts in fighting terrorism. We understand the pains you are going through but the government is not resting on its oars and hopefully we shall overcome this current challenge and all will be well with Nigeria.”
Seriake Dickson, National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Wednesday showcased Peter Obi, its presidential candidate in the 2027 election, but gave a proviso – his importance would not be at the expense of the party.
A guest on Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Television, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, now Senator representing West at the National Assembly, maintained that the belief in some quarters that Obi’s entrance into the party was a favour was completely misplaced.
Instead, he argued that the opposite was the case, as it was the party that was doing its candidates a favour by giving them the opportunity to contest elective positions on its platform in the 2027 elections, a gesture that ought to be returned.
Hear him: “Don’t make it look like anyone is doing NDC a favour. No one is. Rather, the NDC and I and my colleagues are doing people a favour by granting our platform. If you are genuinely supporting Peter Obi and you are disparaging me, the leader, or the platform itself. That is nonsensical.”
Stressing that NDC had demonstrated confidence in Obi by adopting Obi as its sole presidential candidate and selecting a vice-presidential candidate without internal disputes, he said it was enough to earn its leadership the gratitude it deserved.
He added: “Nobody paid shishi. So, if a presidential candidate didn’t pay shishi to be made the sole presidential candidate and sole vice-presidential candidate, that same party cannot be the one saying that small people are underprivileged.
“I could have run. There’s no one more qualified than me. There’s no one more qualified than me to run for presidential candidate. None. There is no crisis within the NDC. Peter Obi is a cherished member of our party. On our own, we have made him a presidential candidate. Sole presidential candidate. And that counts for something. We are working well together. There’s no crisis.”
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