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HOW GOVERNOR ROCHAS OKOROCHA LOOTED 16 BILLION NAIRA IMO 13 PERCENT OIL DERIVATION FUNDS IN 3 YEARS

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Some months ago, I made a telling revelation that the sum of 1 billion naira belonging to pensioners in the 27 LGA of Imo State was “squandered” by Sir Jude Ejiogu the current Chief of Staff to the Governor of Imo State. Ejiogu squandered this money when he was the Chairman of Imo State Local …Government Service Commission. I lamented the “squandering of the significant sum of 1 billion naira and another 3 billion naira looted by the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly Mr Benjamin Uwajumogu. I cried out because most Imolites but especially the poor, continue to suffer the effect of failing public health and education system as well as decrepit infrastructure and battered institutions. I highlighted what I see as the dawn of naked impunity in Imo State.

 

Uwajumogu, Ejiogu and their megaphones have called me all sorts of names. I have been threatened, i have been harassed and i have been closely monitored. They want to shut me up by all means. But as a citizen of Imo State, I am not intimidated. I will continue to speak out. One of the fundamental elements of democracy is the right to free speech without having others trample on your opinion. The capitalist thieving vampires currently in power in Imo state are looting our monies and yet they want us to shut up. They also want us to vote them again in 2015 for another round of impunity.

 

I am not accusing these men falsely as they are claiming. I speak the truth about their fraudulent activities with anger. You will recall that in May, 2011, Owelle Rochas Okorocha took power from Ikedi Ohakim as Governor of Imo State. There was high hope by the masses that Okorocha’s rule will bring an end to mass poverty, worsening living conditions, mass unemployment, suppression of democratic rights, massive corruption, and insecurity of lives and property. But more than 3 years after, the high expectations of Imolites for real positive change in their lives have been shattered. Not only has there been no substantial improvement in the lives of the Imo working masses, in some respect the situation has become worse. Thousands of Ndi-Imo still live without access to good food, housing, good roads, water, electricity and healthcare while Okorocha and his men are looting our monies.

 

The anti-poor policies of sales of Imo public assets, commercialization of health, housing and other social services, and sack of workers in Imo State have made more and more Imolites poorer and the rich minority richer. Corruption among the elite has not only remained, it has become more sophisticated.
Imo State has become one of the most unequal societies in the world, with the richest 20% of Imolites getting 55.7% of the state’s total income while the poorest 20% are left to struggle for just 4.4%. Currently Imo faces gargantuan problems in all areas of socio-economic and political endeavours. The State has further nosedived under the Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s government, lower than any other time since 1999. In every area you look at the only conclusion you will come to is that the Okorocha’s government has failed Imo people resoundingly.

 

Mind you, when i say Okorocha has failed Imo , it is not an isolated opinion. Indeed this is the opinion of the mass majority of Imolites. According to a FAMOUS NAIJA opinion poll conducted in August 2013 , 81% of Nigerians assessed Okorocha’s performance in Imo as very bad; but only 19% assessed his performance as very well and fairly well. In March 2014 another FAMOUS NAIJA opinion poll was conducted and 85% of Nigerians think the present Owelle Rocha’s government has performed very badly in improving the living standard of the poor while only 15% think he is doing very well in improving the living standard of the poor.

 

The most serious aspect of Imo’s problems is the poor and hopeless condition of the youths. Today unemployment has become a permanent feature of the life of Imo youth. Governor Okorocha has failed to offer Imo youths a real future. He sacked 10,000 Imolites from the civil service in year 2011.The 10,000 sacked youths are suffering today.

 

I cannot keep quite and watch Okorocha and his men loot Imo dry.Last week, I was in Bonny Island in Rivers State of Nigeria . I arrived the Island in the morning by boat and was amazed to see that the Island has electricity as the eyes could see . I turned to Mrs Hart who came to welcome me and I inquired about the reliability of electricity in the Island. “It’s steady,” She said. “How often do you see power outages?” I asked. She said “we have light here 247.If they take it,it comes back in 15 minutes time. In fact, I can’t remember the last time we witness power outage here in Bonny. It is pay as you go. You recharge your card and your light is on” I could hardly mask my bewilderment and sense of humiliation!I felt humiliated because I am from an oil producing kingdom like Bonny called Egbema in Imo State. By contrast, the people of Egbema’s narrative in terms of electricity is awful .

 

Power supply is non-existent in the 13 Egbema towns. Since Governor Rochas Okorocha came into power in 2011, the people of Egbema have not seen electricity. Yet on monthly basis 13 percent oil derivation fund is paid to Imo State for the development of the oil producing areas in Imo. Out of this 13 percent oil derivation found 40 percent is meant for ISOPADEC, the commission set up to develop Imo oil areas. Where are the monies? From may 2011 to December 2013 Imo state received N16,613,768,782.98 (sixteen billion, six hundred and thirteen million seven hundred and sixty eight thousand seven hundred and eighty naira ninety eight kobo) as 13 percent oil derivation funds for development of the oil communities in Imo State. Find below the monthly breakdown.

 

May 2011 N278,919,682.00
June 2011
N491,415,545.00
July 2011
N607,508,024.40
August 2011
N691479700.1
September 2011
N650318411.4
October 2011
N742,626,299.53
November 2011
N506556992.7
December 2011
N513122495.7
January 2012
N624755732.8
February 2012
N430283610
March 2012
N495,802,869
April 2012
N530,948,180.82
May 2012
N414,451,615.90
June 2012
N557,851,267.36
July 2012
N441286601.6
August 2012
N563593288.1
September 2012
N436,366,936.76
October 2012
N507,915,584.96
November 2012
N453147887.2
December 2012
N433,746,138.22
January 2013
N548,284,488.83
Febuary 2013
N433,812,735.87
March 2013
N548908424.6
April 2013
N702685396.7
May 2013
N536243879.4
June 2013
N533,171,999.86
July 2013
N465,435,601.16
August 2013
N464,118,297.86
September 2013
N596,526,274.32
October 2013
N702681346.1
November 2013
N439,814,732.12
December 2013
N548,908,424.70

Where are the monies? The monies have developed wings. It is so sad to note that leaders from Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta where Imo oil money comes from are not speaking about the comatose ISOPADEC. Schools, water, road and hospital rehabilitation in Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta which form part of the duties of ISOPADEC remain in their same dilapiladated state and the political class from the oil area are not speaking about the development. Next week I will give you figures of LGA funds looted in Imo state.
Do we allow just one person in the capacity of governor Rochas Okorocha to continue to make our mothers and grandparents suffer helplessly in the villages? Do we continue to allow the governor of Imo State to deprive local governments of the funds needed to build schools, roads, motor parks, markets etc.? Do we continue to herald him with the title “His Excellency” when he has made us beggars and impoverished us in a perpetual state of squalor?

 

Do we continue to clap for Owelle Rochas Okorocha at the commissioning of petty projects, which is far below the commensurate allocation given to him? Let’s ask questions now ,otherwise we shall continue to cry aloof with no one to beckon on us. We shall bear the pains of our parents been rejected in the hospitals for our inability to pay their medical bills, our siblings shall continue to be denied admission because of free education on paper while schools are denied developmental funds. We shall be tempted to become kidnappers and arm robbers at our own peril. Let us stop placing ourselves in subservient position, thereby helping an uncaring governor to achieve his deadly political ambitions at the expense of the state. Wisdom is profitable, how long shall we continue to be fooled?

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One Year Anniversary: How Herbert Wigwe’s sibling disrespects memories of late philanthropist.

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One year after the painful death of Dr Herbert Wigwe, the Former Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Holding Plc, the Late banker’s family has been enmeshed in an acrimonious battle over his will and assets.

 

Newsmen report that some members of the late banker’s family have masked their self-seeking agenda by working through proxies.

 

Emeka Wigwe, one of the banker’s brothers, seems unbothered by the propriety or otherwise of his action.

 

According to reports, Emeka could not disguise his greed and hatred for the late banker’s children.

 

He has been acting incredulously since the demise of his later brother, who had written out his will and listed the beneficiaries of his assets.

 

Reports say Emeka had been detained by his father, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, for his noxious behaviour. He also attacked men of the Department State Services (DSS), when the late banker’s children, cousin, in-laws and friends were exiting his grave side after a quiet moment and prayer earlier on Saturday ahead of the remembrance of his death on Sunday Feb. 9.

Fortunately, the visitors, which included children and teenagers, had finished their prayers and were exiting the burial ground when Emeka Wigwe barricaded the exit point, with the intention of preventing their vehicles from leaving.

 

It took the DSS personnel, who went with the visitors for security purposes, to persuade him to allow the vehicles to depart, but Emeka Wigwe decided to assault them as recorded in the viral video.

 

The professionalism of the men of the DSS came into play and restrained them throughout the period of Emeka Wigwe’s molestation of the security personnel.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19opNX9G8U/?mibextid=wwXIfr

According to a report, he had put up a similar behaviour about three months ago at the matriculation ceremony of the Wigwe University, where he did not only assault his nice – late Herbert Wigwe’s daughter, but also disrespected the leadership of the Port Harcourt City One Love Club.

 

The Club, which he belonged to until his expulsion because of his unruly behaviour, thuggery and disruptive conduct.

 

The matter was duly reported to the law enforcement agencies, but the individuals concerned decided not to press charges because of entreaties by several well-meaning individuals.

 

Accordingly, late Dr. Herbert Wigwe’s memorial service and related activities will be held on Sunday, February 9, and water-tight arrangements have been made to ensure security of lives and property.

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Plenty motion and serious movement at the CBN – Toni Kan

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The Igbo people have a proverb; the way the morning dawns tell us how the rest of the day will go and if we look at how Yemi Cardoso’s 2025 dawned, we can safely surmise that 2025 is going to be a busy, productive, impactful year at the apex bank.

It is also an important one, leading up as it does to the conclusion of the banking capitalization exercise announced on March 28, 2024 and due to conclude on March 31, 2026. In the last week of January, Zenith Bank announced that it had raised a total of N350.4 billion through its recently concluded hybrid Rights Issue and Public Offer.

With other banks concluding their capitalization plans, 2025 is already shaping up as an exciting year for the financial health of Nigerian banks with interesting outcomes expected.

As 2025 dawned, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signaled that it will no longer be business as usual. For years, Nigerian business entities and their regulators across sectors have enjoyed, what can almost be described, as a cosy and incestuous relationship. For the banking and finance industry that hand-in-glove dalliance seem to have assumed frightening dimensions in the recent past.

With Cardoso, there has been a clear line drawn in the sand. The apex bank will carry out its function as banker to the banks without caring who is impacted.

That message resonated early this year when nine deposit money banks were fined by the CBN for failing to meet cash availability thresholds during the Christmas period.

The CBN had via a circular dated November 29, 2024: “Cash Availability Over the Counter in Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs)”  directed DMBs to ensure efficient cash disbursement to customers Over the Counter (OTC) with the CBN insisting that it will enforce the directive and ensure compliance.

A statement from the apex bank read: “In a clear message of zero tolerance for cash flow disruptions, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sanctioned Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) for failing to make Naira notes available through automated teller machines (ATMs), during the yuletide season. Each bank was fined N150 million for non-compliance, in line with the CBN’s cash distribution guidelines, following spot checks on their branches.”

The sanctioned banks are Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Providus Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Keystone Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Globus Bank Plc, and Sterling Bank Plc. Totaling N1.35 billion, the fines will be debited from the DMBs’ accounts with the apex bank.

To underline its commitment to transparency and accountability, the CBN reiterated its vision of remaining “a trusted and respected Central Bank promoting confidence in the Nigerian economy, contributing to a stable, inclusive, and competitive nation.”

According to the CBN governor, “As we shift from unorthodox to orthodox monetary policy, the CBN remains committed to restoring confidence, strengthening policy credibility, and staying focused on its core mandate of price stability.”

To achieve these aims especially with regard to the FX market, the CBN has taken some bold and innovative decisions.

Mid-January, the apex bank “launched the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Code #FXCode – marking a decisive step forward for integrity, fairness, transparency and efficiency in our FX market. The FX Code is built on six core principles: ethics, governance, execution, information sharing, and risk.

The CBN has also cleared the verified FX commitments, which amounted to $7 billion, “discontinuing the Central Bank’s quasi-fiscal interventions and unifying the multiple exchange rate windows.”

The immediate effect has been a Nigerian currency that has maintained stability since the festive period with an over N40 appreciation over the green back. This has led the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, to commend the CBN for its “efforts in ensuring stability in the foreign exchange market, enhancing liquidity and reducing market distortions.”

The CBN’s focus on diaspora remittances received further boost with the launch of the diaspora account. The launch is significant as it signposts Cardoso’s penchant for following through with promises made. He had hinted at the coming of the diaspora account in a series of disclosures and announcements on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank meetings in October.

The launch was conveyed via a January 10, 2025 circular. Introduction of Non-resident Nigerian Ordinary Account and Non-resident Nigerian Investment Account. The accounts aim to not just encourage and increase diaspora remittances they are also designed to help Nigerians in the diaspora take advantage of investment opportunities in-country. Analysts believe that this will be a game changer which will impact not just remittances but the foreign reserves as well as the overall economy.

The Non-resident Nigerian Ordinary Account (NRNOA) will allow Non-Resident Nigerians (NRNs) to remit their foreign earnings to Nigeria and manage their finances in both foreign and local currencies while the Non-resident Nigerian Investment Account will facilitate investments in Nigerian assets using either foreign currency or naira.

The announcement is getting positive feedback and to ensure adequate awareness and facilitate uptake in the target audience, the CBN hierarchy has held consultations with Abike Dabiri Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) who has applauded the move as a “a strategic initiative to enhance diaspora engagement and bolster Nigeria’s economic growth.”

Before the announcement of the new diaspora targeted accounts the CBN had laid the groundwork for seamless implementation by working with the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to launch a non-resident Bank Verification Number (BVN) platform to enable Nigerians in diaspora operate their local bank accounts.

 

In mid-2024, the CBN reported an all-time high diaspora remittance inflow of $553m and the CBN had on the back of that set a $1bn monthly diaspora remittance target. How is that target being met? Speaking at the Monetary Policy Forum with the theme, “Managing the Disinflation Process” in Abuja, Cardoso noted that “remittances through IMTOs rose 79.4% to US$4.18 billion in the first three quarters of 2024, demonstrating the positive impact of FX reforms. Additionally, the CBN lifted the 2015 restriction barring 41 items from accessing FX at the official market to enhance trade and investment.”

As February dawns and economic activities resume fully what is the outlook? With inflation at 34.80% and the MPR at 27.55, the IMF, according to thecable.ng, has projected that Nigeria will record GDP growth of 3.2 percent in its economic growth forecast for 2025. But the CBN is more optimistic with a projection of 4.17 percent according to a presentation by the bank at the ‘National Economic Outlook: Implications for Businesses in 2025.”

The apex bank’s optimistic forecast is anchored on a cocktail: ongoing fiscal and monetary reforms, sustained implementation of government reforms, steady crude oil prices, and improvements in domestic oil production as well as hopes of a stable exchange rate.

Cardoso and his team are singing clearly from the same hymn book. In his speech on Thursday, January 30, 2025 when he hosted the Monetary Policy Forum 2025, the CBN governor was upbeat as he spoke to the theme: “Managing the Disinflation Process”

The CBN governor emphasised that the goal of the CBN is to ensure that monetary policy remains forward-looking, adaptive, and resilient. “Our focus must remain on price stability, the planned transition to an inflation-targeting framework, and strategies to restore purchasing power and ease economic hardship. The CBN is continuing its disciplined approach to monetary policy, aimed at curbing inflation and stabilizing the economy. These actions have yielded measurable progress: relative stability in the FX market, narrowing exchange rate disparities, and a rise in external reserves to over $40 billion as of December 2024.”

Collaboration, Cardoso noted, remains key to success. “In addressing our economic challenges, collaboration is key: “Managing disinflation amidst persistent shocks requires not only robust policies but also coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities to anchor expectations and maintain investor confidence.”

The subtext from that interaction as well as the ongoing innovations and initiatives is simple; achieving success is a marathon and not a sprint and reaching the finish line requires resilience.

 

***Toni Kan is a PR expert and financial analyst.

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NAFDAC boss seeks death penalty for fake drug dealers

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has proposed the death penalty for drug peddlers.

The Director-General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this call on Friday while speaking during Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

She argued that only strict penalties would deter drug peddlers, especially when their actions result in the deaths of children.

“Somebody bought children’s medicine for about N13,000, while another person was selling it for around N3,000 in the same mall.

“That raised an alarm. Guess what? When we tested the medicine in our Kaduna lab, there was nothing inside. So, I want the death penalty.

“You don’t need to put a gun to a child’s head to kill them. Just give them bad medicine,” Adeyeye said.

The NAFDAC boss also called for the cooperation of the judiciary and the National Assembly to make the proposal a reality.

According to her, the agency is open to working with lawmakers and other stakeholders on the matter.

She said, “You cannot fight substandard and falsified medicines in isolation. The agency can only do so much, but if there is no deterrent, there will be a problem.

“Someone brought in 225mg of Tramadol, which can kill a person or fry their brain, and the punishment is just five years in prison or a fine of N250,000. Who doesn’t know that a person can simply withdraw N250,000 from an ATM?

“That is part of our problem — there are no strict measures to stop offenders from repeating the same crime. We can only do so much, but if our laws are not strong enough or the judiciary is not firm in its stance, we will continue to face this challenge.

“So, our judicial system must be strong enough. We are working with the National Assembly to make our penalties much stiffer. But if you kill a child with bad medicine, you deserve to die.”

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