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Phantom Auditor General’s Report and ‘N123billion Fraud’: In Defence of My Name.

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By Stephen Oronsaye.

My attention has been drawn to yet another attempt at character assassination against my person by means of false allegations in a report first published online in the Premium Times on September 15, 2014 and subsequently in some other Nigerian newspapers.

As on a previous occasion when I refused to join issues with the authors and publishers of similar false allegations and reports, I would ordinarily have chosen not to dignify the targeted hateful innuendoes in the misleading report entitled: “Auditor General’s Report Indicts Ex-Head of Service, Oronsaye, For N123 billion fraud” with any response, especially since the so-called audit report has been dismissed as a work of fiction. However, since my silence is capable of being misconstrued by the reading public, it has become necessary for me to set the records straight.

While it is not in my character to enumerate the successes I recorded in the different positions I have been privileged to hold, the records clearly attest to the fact that I did my best possible to reform the pension administration of the Service while I was Head of the Civil Service of the Federation between June 2009 and November 2010.

Therefore, it is quite curious that although “the audit report” was said to cover the period 2005 to 2010, the sponsors of the report only found it convenient to focus on the period in which I was in office and even in doing so, deliberately overlooked the period during which I and my team made efforts to address the problems associated with pension administration at the time.

The online report alleged that the “audit report” which the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation has since disclaimed, found that the pension payroll was never subject to internal audit between June 2009 and December 2010; and that over N52 billion paid out as monthly pension was not presented for internal and federal audits for prepayment audit as required by Nigerian financial regulation (sic).

In actual fact, I worked closely with the Internal Auditor in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation at the time. It was this Internal Auditor’s report that actually prompted the setting up of the Pension Reform Task Team at the time. This can be verified from the official records. As a Chartered Accountant and having served as Permanent Secretary prior to my appointment as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, I am fully conversant with the imperatives of accountability and the implications of not applying the rules.

For the records, the major gap identified in the administration of civil service pensions when I came on board in 2009 was the lack of proper records. My team and I made far reaching efforts to address this shortcoming through the physical verification and biometric capture of civilian pensioners across the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who retired from the Service before July 1, 2007.

Through that exercise, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation identified and eliminated no fewer than 70,000 (seventy thousand) fake/ghost pensioners from the pension payroll. To my credit and that of my team, and the relief of pensioners, 34,432 (thirty four thousand, four hundred and thirty two) pensioners who had hitherto never been paid their pension at the time, were enrolled and paid their pension as well as the arrears of their harmonized pension. In addition, under my watch, the Federal Government made a monthly saving of about N1 Billion.

Perhaps if the sponsors of the report were not so lazy, they would have dug out the letters I did to the then National Security Adviser (NSA) on December 10, 2009 (Ref: HCSF/061/S.1/III/250) and November 8, 2010 (Ref: HCSF/061/S.1/VI/53) drawing the attention of the NSA on both occasions and requesting for investigations into unclaimed pension benefits that were hitherto fraudulently paid into certain bank accounts.

In like manner, I wrote to the then EFCC Chairman in November 2010 vide letter reference HCSF/061/S.1/VI/54, forwarding four spiral-bound documents containing the names of different categories of supposed pensioners and the banks to which the funds were hitherto paid. The document was put together by the then Director, Pension Department in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

In that letter, I drew the attention of the EFCC Chairman to the fact that “prior to the introduction of the integrated e-payment, pension benefits were paid to banks and all the payments were supposedly claimed by the bona fide beneficiaries. However, with the introduction of the integrated e-payment system, no one had come forward to claim the pensions that were hitherto paid to the banks for onward payment to the pensioners.” I therefore requested the EFCC to cause an investigation to be made into the matter with a view to resolving all the issues and prosecuting all those found culpable.

In another related matter, I had cause to write to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in August 2010 (Ref: HCSF/061/S.1/V/81), forwarding a 561-page record containing names and account numbers of 11,732 persons alleged to be fake pensioners but who were paid pension in their names for the month of May 2010, through banks stated. Again, I requested for an examination of the banks to ascertain how the funds were applied.

 

Contrary to claims that over N52 billion paid as monthly pension during my tenure remained largely unaccounted for, I actually ensured transparency in the administration of pension through the biometric measure mentioned above among others. The full report of the Pension Task Team, which was released after I had left office in 2010 would clarify this position.

It is also uncharitable for anyone to concoct a report suggesting that as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, I oversaw an era of corruption in pension administration to the low level of receiving kick-backs totaling N1.03 billion from the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP). It is on record that I repeatedly faulted the NUP for deducting check-off dues from its members, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and in fact wrote to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to reverse the unconstitutional trend at the time.

It is news to me that N700 million was paid to 223 contractors for store items. Throughout the 16 months during which I served as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, I largely avoided involvement in procurement issues. The Tenders’ Board handled all issues of procurement and it was chaired by the Permanent Secretary. The only instance I got involved in a procurement was as a result of a direct intervention for the purpose of ensuring a smooth pension process and that particular procurement was less than N80 million.

In its effort to taint my image, the online report further alleged that the sum of N15 billion released by the Federal Government for the settlement of the death benefits of deceased civil servants in July 2010 could not be accounted for, adding that the money was moved to an illegal account in Union Bank and personally operated by our client. The report went on to claim that 58 Bank accounts were opened at my instance between 2009 and 2010 without the knowledge and approval of the Accountant-General of the Federation. To crown it all, it further alleged that “over N54 Billion was transferred to these illegal accounts and eventually withdrawn for undisclosed purposes”.

Again, for the records, the said N15 billion released by the Federal Government was NEVER touched during my tenure as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation because as at the time of my retirement in November 2010, the pension harmonization process had not been concluded.

In fact, the then CBN Deputy Governor (Operations), in response to the enquiry cited in paragraph 13 above, furnished the Office of the Head of the Civil Service with lists of pension accounts maintained with 15 Banks vide letters Ref: GOV/DGO/CON/CBN/01 dated August 25, 26 and 30, 2010 and September 1, 2010. The returns made by the Deposit Money Banks to the CBN at the time indicate that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation did not operate up to 58 accounts all of which were opened prior to my assumption of office as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

For the records, contrary to the claims contained in the sinister report, the OHCSF during my tenure only operated 17 accounts out of the existing accounts in 12 different banks. These accounts were later consolidated into not more than seven. The assertion in the online report is therefore not tenable.

Furthermore, the OHCSF during my tenure established the electronic Pension Management Platform (EPMS) to check and facilitate transparent pension management. In addition, the office at the time carried out a nation-wide biometric enrolment of pensioners, which involved officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Department of State Services and other relevant security agencies. It was this exercise that uncovered the thousands of fake pensioners on the payroll at the time.

Indeed it was during that period that cases of fraud in the administration of pension were uncovered and they were still being investigated as at the time I retired in November 2010. I therefore find it an epic distortion of facts to allege that my tenure was characterised by fraud when what I did was to address the challenge I met on ground.

It is rather telling that in obvious disregard of the facts, the online report was silent on what transpired during the Senate’s Public hearing on alleged fraud in the administration of civil service and police pensions in 2011, during which all those who gave evidence absolved me of any act of complicity.

While I bear no grudge against anyone seeking to probe my tenure as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation or indeed any other position I have held, I find it preposterous for any individual or group of persons to be so hell-bent on maliciously and falsely discrediting my genuine contributions to the development of the country.

It is not far-fetched in the circumstances to observe that the grouse of the sponsors of these false reports against me arose from their resentment to my sincere efforts at reforms that will bring about lasting change to a system that was bedeviled by the flaws I exposed. The Principal actors in the administration of civil service pensions between 2005 and 2010, the period covered by the alleged “audit report” are still alive! It would therefore have made for more balanced reporting if the Premium Times and other newspapers had made efforts to investigate the truth instead of being led blindly to attempt to tarnish a hard-earned reputation.

 

 

For the records, I am a Chartered Accountant with decades of audit experience, a former Permanent Secretary, State House and the Federal Ministry of Finance as well as the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and now the Chairman, Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Through my years of practice, I have been guided by my firm belief in due process and accountability.

By normal Federal auditing procedure, where an audit has been carried out, audit observations made are forwarded to the auditee/entity for a comment/response. Ideally, those in office are expected to comment on audit observations regarding an entity. However, if they are unable to comment/respond then the proper procedure is for the observations to be passed on to those that were in the office covered by the audit, provided the persons are alive. I can confirm that no one has reached out to me in that regard.

In the desperate bid to ridicule me, the author of the Premium Times report made a rather uninformed attempt at suggesting that my Chairmanship of the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force (FATF) attracts pecuniary benefits. The records are clear and they confirm that no member receives stipends or sitting allowance. The membership of the Presidential Committee on FATF, which comprises relevant Government agencies, has remained the same since 2004, except in cases where the officers have changed desks.

In the light of the foregoing, I would advise Premium Times and the media houses that published their jaundiced report to desist from reckless and malicious distortion of facts and the making of unfounded allegations designed to tarnish my reputation. I am not unmindful of the consequences of these acts and will take whatever steps may be required in defence of my name.

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House Of Reps committee indicts oil firms for tax evasion….

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….As FIRS rejects allegations by the House Committee that he is not doing enough to recover outstanding taxes and bring evaders to book..

 

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the Structure and Accountability of Joint Venture (JV) Business and Production Sharing Contract (PSC) of NNPC has indicted several oil companies for alleged tax evasion to the tune of trillions of naira.

The committee also blamed and seek the prosecution of the Chairperson of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mamman Nami, for allegedly not doing enough to recover the outstanding taxes from the oil companies, a charge the FIRS boss rejected, saying his agency is working hard to bring all tax evaders to book.

Responding to the allegations levelled against his boss by the committee, the spokesperson for the FIRS chairperson, Johannes Oluwatobi Wojuola, described the claim as untrue, telling PREMIUM TIMES the tax agency is investigating and prosecuting several tax offenders.

According to the report obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), investigation by the committee span 1991 till date with alleged tax evasion running into trillions of naira.

The report is expected to be laid before the lawmakers this week.

The ad hoc committee investigation, chaired by Abubakar Fulata, revealed that the JVs and PSCs of NNPC sold Nigerian oil at lowest cost to their own subsidiaries in a ”tax haven”.

The committee alleged that the company subsequently sold the same oil to other buyers at full price, while inflating the cost of their Nigerian production operations and under-reporting the volume of oil they produced.

This, apart from outright circumvention of the Nigerian tax laws, the committee said is abusive and contrived tax avoidance scheme to minimise their tax liability.

The ad hoc committee is praying the house to adopt the recommendations with a view to bringing sanity in the oil and gas operation in Nigeria.

This according to the report of the committee would be a greater benefit to the citizens.

The committee report also showed that all international and national oil companies who enjoyed capital allowance in Nigeria had no Certificate of Acceptance of Fixed Asset (CAFA) as prescribed by the Industrial Inspectorate Act.

The report, however, said all oil companies that benefited from capital allowance without obtaining CAFA as prescribed by the Industrial Inspectorate Act be made to refund all the monies to the government treasury.

NAN reports that on 1 November, 2022 the House ad hoc committee investigating the structure and accountability of the Joint Venture (JV) Businesses and Production Sharing Contracts (PSCS) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Limited began probing oil companies accused of tax evasion.

The probe was at the backdrop of alleged tax evasion by some oil companies operating in Nigeria, which led to the constitution of the committee by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.

Mr Fulata, at a meeting with stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, cited relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“This committee is relying on Section 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and we are asking heads of agencies who failed to forward their submissions to do so.

“This committee cannot fail in its mandate and we might resort to the use of Police and other security agencies to compel heads of agencies to do so.”

Mr Fulata decried that tax evasion by oil companies, particularly the International Oil Companies (IOCs) has negatively affected the revenue for the country.

Mr Fulata has expressed disappointment that several letters of invitation sent out to some organisations were not responded to, revealing that those who responded did so shabbily.

NAN reports that on 16 November, 2022, the house committee summoned the chairman of the FIRS.

The representatives of the FIRS, a director and special assistant, were not permitted by members of the committee to make presentations as they insisted that only the chairman is expected to speak on behalf of the agency.

The FIRS representatives had earlier told the committee that the service does not have access to the Stock Certificate of crude oil being lifted.

The representatives said the tax agency only relied on the invoice produced and presented to it by the oil companies. The committee then described the arrangement as ridiculous.

(NAN)

 

 

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Dapo Abiodun, Amosun Trade Words Over Dangote Refinery Siting In Lagos

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Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun and his predecessor, Ibikunle Amosun have traded blames over the siting of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Plant at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos State.

The refinery with capacity to produce 650,000 barrels per day which is owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote was inaugurated on Monday by President Muhammadu Buhari and four other African Presidents.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi reportedly blamed the Ogun State Government for losing the siting of the behemoth Dangote Refinery to neighbouring Lagos State.

Interestingly, both Amosun, who was the Ogun State governor from 2011 to 2019; and Abiodun who has been the governor since 2019, attended the inauguration of the refinery.

The two politicians are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but operate from opposing camps in the state with Amosun preferring another candidate over Abiodun who won his re-election in the March 2023 poll.

‘Amosun Frustrated Dangote’s Efforts To Locate Refinery In Ogun’
In a statement, Abiodun’s Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin said it is painful that the huge investment that should have accrued to the state was lost, especially when the mega project had been initially planned to be located at the Olokola Free Trade Zone, in the Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of the state.

“In truth, everyone knows that Segun Sowunmi is referring to the immediate past governor, Ibikunle Amosun, as the man who frustrated the efforts to locate the refinery in Ogun State.

“We are all aware that the penultimate administration made appreciable and concerted efforts to ensure that the Olokola deep sea port and other ancillary projects in the OKFTZ, become a reality, by rallying major players in the oil and gas sector, including Dangote Group.

“The present governor, Dapo Abiodun, served as the Chairman of the Committee on the Olokola Free Trade Zone projects during the first term of the immediate past governor,” the statement partly read.

Dangote Took Business Decisions — Amosun
However, Amosun, in a counter-statement by his media office signed by Bola Adeyemi, said the Olokola Free Trade Zone project was not solely owned by the Ogun State Government.

He noted that Dangote took a business decision by siting the refinery in Lagos after initial consideration for the Olokola Free Trade Zone.

“From its conception in 2007, it was a Joint Venture. The Federal Government of Nigeria owned the majority 51%, Ondo State Goverment (14.5%), Ogun State Goverment (14.5%), and strategic core investors (20%). Alhaji Aliko Dangote, according to the information availed us when we took office, subsequently bought, and took over the 20% equity of the core investors,” the statement partly read.

“Ogun State was a minority equity stakeholder only, without proprietary strength and capacity to take sole decisions on the Joint Venture enterprise.

“As mere holder of 14.5% equity interest, it is most uncharitable for anyone to churn out lies that Ogun State was in a position to unilaterally frustrate the project or was responsible for the logjam.

“With respect to all sides, it accords more with logic to appreciate the fact that Alhaji Aliko Dangote took business decisions of his own in accordance with the goals of his business strategy and risk assessment.

“No amount of concocted lies, blackmail and orchestrated falsehood will blight these unparalleled facts.

“It is, therefore, interesting to read that the present Ogun State governor holds me responsible for allegedly scuttling the Olokola project.”

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FrieslandCampina WAMCO DDP Revolution Delivers Nigeria’s First Girolando Crossbreeds

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FrieslandCampina WAMCO DDP Revolution

Delivers Nigeria’s First Girolando Crossbreeds

 

FrieslandCampina WAMCO has announced the successful crossbreeding and birth of 25 Crossbreed Girolando calves achieved locally across various farms in Oyo, Ogun and Kwara states, thus spearheading a production revolution and transformation of Nigeria’s dairy sector.  

 

The announcement made by the dairy company’s Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, Ore Famurewa, explained that the Girolando breed is a composite of ‘Milking Gir’ from Brazil and Holstein Friesian from the Netherlands and has produced tremendous results for many decades in Brazil, leading to its transformation to a world power in dairy production. 

 

“In addition to having a high milk yield, the Girolando breed is heat-tolerant, tick-borne disease resistant and possesses other characteristics ideal for production in tropical countries like Nigeria. The Girolando calves are the first generation of a new high milk producing breed in Nigeria” Famurewa said.

 

FrieslandCampina WAMCO continues to contribute to the development of the dairy sector and national food security through its Dairy Development activities and partnerships such as the Value4Dairy Consortium.

 

Launched in April 2021, the Value4Dairy Consortium made up of four strategic partners namely FrieslandCampina WAMCO (Nigeria’s foremost dairy Company), URUS (the largest cow genetics company in the world), Barenbrug (a leading grass seed company) and Agrifirm (a leading feed and supplement company in the Netherlands).

 

The consortium is making progress in implementing sustainable strategies to fast-track growth and development of the Nigerian dairy sector, with proven track records in various agri-related value chains.

 

Two partners of the Consortium, FrieslandCampina WAMCO and URUS Group LP, the global leader in cattle breeding and dairy herd management programs, selected the Girolando breed for introduction to Nigeria and subsequently signed an agreement with a local breeding farm-SMAP Farms Limited. The strategic partnership will maximize success in crossbreeding and increased milk yields on local farms in a sustainable way.

 

In 2022, 1400 Girolando semen straws were produced and 610 artificial inseminations achieved, and 25 Crossbreed Girolando calves have been birthed till date. FrieslandCampina WAMCO sees this key milestone achievement as an important step to give smallholder farmers access to affordable good yield dairy cows in Nigeria.

 

FrieslandCampina WAMCO and other partners of the Value4Dairy Consortium remain committed to providing scalable solutions to agri-related challenges in the Nigerian dairy sector. 

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