Emeka Ibemere
The vehicle for campaign for government officials to remain free from corruption
and purse intrinsic worth of life in the discharge of their duties screeched to
a halt on April 23, 2014 at the premises of the National Directorate of
Employment (NDE), in Abuja, the federal capita.
The management and staff of the directorate were already seated when the
promoters of the campaign steeped in to interact with NDE family.
The campaign was one of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC)’s agenda to take the war against corruption to every Nigerian.
Chairman of the EFCC Ibrahim
Lamorde, while addressing the management and staff of the NDE, asked them to
remain steadfast in the battle against corruption. Lamorde also charged
management and staff of National Directorate of Employment, to take up the
gauntlet in the fight against economic and financial crimes in the country as
the Commission cannot do it alone.
Speaking through the deputy director of Public Affairs of the
commission, Osita Nwajah, Lamorde stated that the anti-corruption sensitization
programme organized by the Commission for staff of NDE in Abuja, was to
encourage workers to key-into the fight rather than seeing the battle against
economic crimes as the responsibilities of the EFCC, alone.
“The essence of this programme is to take the anti-graft campaign to the
workplace, and encourage workers to have a buy-in, as the EFCC alone cannot
fight and win the war against corruption in Nigeria,” he said.
According to him, the cankerworm of corruption feeds on poverty,
ignorance, unemployment and fear of the unknown.
“These are subordinate monsters that the NDE is uniquely placed and
empowered to deal with; that is why EFCC considers NDE a key partner in the war
against corruption,” he said. The Chairman further stated that the enlightenment
and sensitization programme, “gives us a chance to advance our strategic
partnership, from the point of the preventive mandate of the EFCC, which blends
with the goal of the NDE to build a society of virile, self employed and
uniquely empowered citizens”.
On her own, the Head, Enlightenment and Reorientation Unit of the
Commission, Aisha Larai Musa advised staff of the NDE to be proactive and
report anybody suspected to be involved in acts of corruption.
Responding to the submissions of both Lamorde and Larai Musa, the
Director General of the NDE, Mallam Abubakar Mohammed, who was represented by
the Director in charge of Rural Employment and Promotion, Kunle Abayomi,
commended the Commission for the initiative. He stated that the exercise would
serve as a catalyst towards the promotion of transparency and accountability in
the work place. Meanwhile EFCC was on April 23, 2014 arraigned one Tajo Sani
Yunusu and his company, Sani Brothers Oil and Gas Limited, before Justice Dije
Abdu Aboki of Kano State High Court on a two-count charge bordering on issuance
of dud cheque.
The accused allegedly
collected 125, 000 litres of diesel valued at N20, 000, 000 (Twenty Million
Naira from the complainant, one Amanallahi Ahmad Mohammed, and gave him three
Zenith Bank Plc cheques for the sum. However two of the cheques were
dishonoured on presentation at the bank due to lack of fund standing to the
credit of the drawer.
One of the charge reads, “that you Tajo Sani Yunusa and Sani brothers Oil and Gas Limited sometime in February 2013 at Kano within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Kano State did issue a Zenith Bank cheque with serial number 70562337 of Sani Brothers Oil And Gas Limited dated the 30th day February 2013 for the sum of N9,600, 000 (Nine Million, Six Hundred Thousand Naira ) to Amanallahi Ahmad which was presented and returned unpaid on the ground that no sufficient fund were standing to the credit of the drawer as at 17th April 2013 the date it was presented and you thereby committed an offense contrary to section 1(1) (a) and punishable under section 1(1)(b) of the Dishonoured Cheques (Offences) Act, laws of the Federation, 2004”.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of N5, 000, 000 (Five Million Naira) and two sureties in like sum. The sureties should be public servants of not below the rank of Director with a landed property in Kano. Last week, the commission recovered N4.3 billion from suspects involved in the petroleum subsidy scam.
Revealing the figure, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde disclosed that the Commission recovered N4.3billion from suspects involved in the petroleum subsidy scam. He made the disclosure on Tuesday April 15 when the management of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency led by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Farouk Ahmed paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
The EFCC boss said the collaboration between the two agencies was pivotal to the Commission instituting court cases against 13 oil marketers indicted in the investigations in to the fraud in the subsidy regime. He called for a sustained partnership between the agencies in order to sanitize the petroleum industry, adding that such collaboration was imperative as the Commission will regularly seek for information and documents from the PPPRA.
According to him, pressure may also come from the EFCC on staff of PPPRA as they will be required to testify in court or provide evidence for the prosecution of those involved in subsidy scam. “I know pressure will be put on your staff. Please bear with us. It is because of the need to sanitize the country,” he said.
Earlier, the PPPRA chief executive, Farouk Ahmed thanked the EFCC chairman for receiving his team. He said the visit was to further consolidate the relationship between the EFCC and PPPRA. Ahmed who commended the EFCC for its effort to rid the country of economic and financial crimes said he was looking forward to a more effective collaboration between the two agencies.
Ahmed requested the Commission to detail a staff to the organization to ensure seamless collaboration.
Among those who accompanied the executive secretary on the visit were Moses Mbaba, assistant general manager, Administration; Victor Shidoil, assistant general manager, Operations; Alison Tekena, Assistant general manager, Corporate Planning and a host of other top management staff.
One of the charge reads, “that you Tajo Sani Yunusa and Sani brothers Oil and Gas Limited sometime in February 2013 at Kano within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Kano State did issue a Zenith Bank cheque with serial number 70562337 of Sani Brothers Oil And Gas Limited dated the 30th day February 2013 for the sum of N9,600, 000 (Nine Million, Six Hundred Thousand Naira ) to Amanallahi Ahmad which was presented and returned unpaid on the ground that no sufficient fund were standing to the credit of the drawer as at 17th April 2013 the date it was presented and you thereby committed an offense contrary to section 1(1) (a) and punishable under section 1(1)(b) of the Dishonoured Cheques (Offences) Act, laws of the Federation, 2004”.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of N5, 000, 000 (Five Million Naira) and two sureties in like sum. The sureties should be public servants of not below the rank of Director with a landed property in Kano. Last week, the commission recovered N4.3 billion from suspects involved in the petroleum subsidy scam.
Revealing the figure, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde disclosed that the Commission recovered N4.3billion from suspects involved in the petroleum subsidy scam. He made the disclosure on Tuesday April 15 when the management of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency led by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Farouk Ahmed paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
The EFCC boss said the collaboration between the two agencies was pivotal to the Commission instituting court cases against 13 oil marketers indicted in the investigations in to the fraud in the subsidy regime. He called for a sustained partnership between the agencies in order to sanitize the petroleum industry, adding that such collaboration was imperative as the Commission will regularly seek for information and documents from the PPPRA.
According to him, pressure may also come from the EFCC on staff of PPPRA as they will be required to testify in court or provide evidence for the prosecution of those involved in subsidy scam. “I know pressure will be put on your staff. Please bear with us. It is because of the need to sanitize the country,” he said.
Earlier, the PPPRA chief executive, Farouk Ahmed thanked the EFCC chairman for receiving his team. He said the visit was to further consolidate the relationship between the EFCC and PPPRA. Ahmed who commended the EFCC for its effort to rid the country of economic and financial crimes said he was looking forward to a more effective collaboration between the two agencies.
Ahmed requested the Commission to detail a staff to the organization to ensure seamless collaboration.
Among those who accompanied the executive secretary on the visit were Moses Mbaba, assistant general manager, Administration; Victor Shidoil, assistant general manager, Operations; Alison Tekena, Assistant general manager, Corporate Planning and a host of other top management staff.
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