Sanusi Lamido In Trouble Over CBN Account

President Goodluck Jonathan has queried the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, over some items in the apex’s bank’s 2012 audit report. 

A confirmation of the query was made by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, when he was contacted by one of our correspondents for a reaction to a publication (not by The PUNCH) on Tuesday over the report.

Although Abati was not specific in his response, he said he was aware that “some issues” came up and the CBN governor was asked to offer further explanations on them.

Abati, who added that the CBN governor had since made clarifications, did not say whether the President was satisfied with them or not.

“What I know is that some issues came up and he (the CBN governor) was asked to explain and he has since done so,” he said on the telephone.

An online news medium, PointblankNews.com, had in the said publication claimed that Sanusi was queried by Jonathan over some alleged infractions discovered in the bank’s 2012 audited account.

According to the publication, the query covered 22 issues bordering on infractions in the bank.

It also alleged that the CBN governor made some financial donations under the special access item in the CBN account.

The report by the news portal said that the query was sent to the CBN governor on May 6, while a response was expected back on May 8.

The CBN governor was, however, reported by the portal to have submitted his reply to the President on May 21.

Other issues raised in the query, according to the online publication, include the write-off of about N3.5bn CBN staff housing loan.

It also touched other issues such as refusal of the apex bank to consolidate its accounts, the trillion naira debt owed by the Asset Management Company, and the non-disclosure of the total liabilities through the bond floated by the company.

Sanusi was also asked to explain the discrepancies noted in the 2012 account regarding the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, a subsidiary of the CBN.

The CBN reacted swiftly, saying the publication was the handiwork of mischief makers as it did not reflect the reality on the ground.

In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, the Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Mr Ugochukwu Okoroafor, said that contrary to the report, the bank’s account was not queried by the President.

He added that the CBN was the only institution among the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government that was recently given an award by the National Assembly Committee on Finance for presenting its account in a transparent manner.

For instance, he said the committee specifically singled out the bank for contributing over 75 per cent of MDA’s remittances to government coffers.

He said, “I have read that report and those things written there are not true. I am not aware that the President queried the CBN governor over that report. I am not aware of that.

“The 2012 report has been out for some time now and I can say that the CBN is the only institution that in its accounts has always come out without any problem.

“In fact, even the finance committee commended us. We are the only institution that has shown consistency in terms of bringing out our reports on time and in terms of remittances.

“We have never failed in the history of the CBN. The finance committee gave us an award and this was celebrated.

“They gave us with the Nigerian Television Authority and they said we made over 75 per cent of the contributions by MDAs to their surplus and this happened just a few months ago.

“So the people are just being mischievious and we won’t succumb to any blackmail.”

Sanusi had last week while responding to questions on the controversy surrounding the approval of the CBN’s financial statement by the Financial Reporting Council, said the board of the bank, and not the FRC, approved the report .

He had said, “On our accounts, the FRC does not approve our accounts. The board of the Central Bank had approved our accounts.

“The FRC is there to set accounting standards and to make sure they are improved on to meet international best practices.

“We published accounts and the FRC has comments on those accounts; they will take those comments and we will take on board whatever because they are the regulator as far as preparing financial statements is concerned and just like banks respect our own regulatory arena, we respect the FRC in its own regulatory arena.

“So there is no question at all about the non-approval, and I am not even aware of any issues that have been raised and I will like to put an end to all of that speculation.

“There is nothing like the FRC not approving our account. There is nothing like a query on our account."

Policeman Impregnates Kidnapped Victim

Emmanuel Okujo, police corporal, who reportedly shot his estranged lover and kidnapped the victim’s sister in the Gbagada area of Lagos, has been arrested, three months after the incident.

Emmanuel Okujo, according to police sources, showed up Monday evening at the Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, Lagos, with the kidnapped-victim, Patience Isanbor,  who was discovered to be pregnant for him.

It will  be recalled that the corporal reportedly shot one Blessing Isanbor in the mouth, in her parents’ apartment at Ifako, Lagos, during an argument and locked her inside, apparently to bleed to death.

He absconded with the victim’s younger sister to an unknown destination, a development that resulted in his being declared wanted by the command. During investigation, the trigger-happy policeman, attached to Ifako division,  told detectives at the State Investigation Bureau, that  he dropped his AK 47 riffle at  a location, where he informed a colleague to get it from.

He denied abducting Patience, claiming that she was his girl- friend. He also, blamed his action on the handiwork of the devil, adding that it was an accidental discharge. Collaborating his claim, Patience said she followed the policeman willingly to his hideout, which none of them disclosed, saying, they only came out of hiding in order to clear her lover’s name in the kidnap saga. Investigation according to Police sources was still on-going.

Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Joseph Jaiyeoba, who confirmed the arrest, described the incident as unfortunate. He said that Patience would not be left out as she would also be charged for conspiracy. Meanwhile, the victim, is still at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, where sources said she is responding to treatment.

27-year-old Driver In Court For Uploading Unclad Video Of 23-year-old Student On The Internet

An Apapa Magistrate’s court in Lagos has granted bail to a 27-year old driver who was arraigned before it for allegedly posting unclad video of his girlfriend, a 23-year old student of Lagos State Polytechnic, Thelma Lawrence, on the internet after sleeping with her at his house at Ajegunle, Lagos State. Henry Aiyenero who works at Ifelodun Local Council Development Area, LCDA, as driver, was charged before Apapa Magistrate’s court on a five-count charge bordering on criminal intent under the criminal code.

According to the police, the defendant deliberately and unlawfully, with criminal intent, intimidated, annoyed and violently threatened the victim with a knife and had s*x with her and thereafter, he displayed her unclad photo on the internet.

In her account of the incident, the victim said she knew Aiyenero in Ajegunle, and admitted they were friends and not lovers and whenever they met, they usually exchanged pleasantries, but were not close to the extent of having s*x.

She said whenever he talked about s*x, she refused and changed the subject.

But on that fateful day, she said he collected her memory card and when she needed it, he asked her to come to his house to collect it.

She said she went to collect it not suspecting he had ulterior motives, and entered his room. He immediately locked the door, and threatened her with a knife.

“He ordered me to pull off all my clothes while still holding the knife and I obeyed him and he brought out his phone and started video-taping me while I was unclad and threatened that if I refused to have s*x with him, he would post it on the internet,” she narrated.

According to her, he still went ahead to post the video on the internet despite letting him have his way, and sent it to their neighbours who watched it and told her.

She also said Aiyenero told her he released the video even after she slept with him as punishment for turning him down in the past.

Aiyenero who admitted to recording the video however said he was not the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Delta State born Aiyenero pleaded not guilty.

Presiding Magistrate, Mr P. E. Komonanya granted him bail in the sum of N20,000 with one surety in like sum, and adjourned the matter till September 4, 2013, while the defendant is to be remanded in prison custody pending when he will meet his bail conditions.

Prophet Arraigned For Allegedly Having Gay S*x With Church Worker

A 40-year-old Prophet, Benjamin Ndubuisi, has been arrested by men of the Aba Police Area Command for having unlawful carnal knowledge of a 23-year-old man. The prophet whose church is located at 89 Ukaegbu Road, Ogbor Hill was said to have been involved in the unwholesome act with the victim since he engaged him as a worker in his church.

No one would know about it until two weeks ago when his victim who gave his name as Ndukwe took ill. Worried by his continued deteriorating health condition, confessed to his family about the secret love affair between him and the gay prophet.

Residents of the area hinted that Ndubuisi, who is a prophet in one of the white garment churches in Ogbor Hill, engaged his victim as a worker in the church as a ploy to always have him around to satisfy his evil desires.

The gay prophet allegedly made Ndukwe swear to an oath to stop him from divulging the details of the affair between them to anyone.

Ndukwe’s parents however alerted policemen, following their son’s confession, leading to the arrest of the prophet.

The Prosecutor, Cpl. Galadima Rubies, told the court that the accused committed the offence at Ogbor Hill in Aba on July 28.

According to him, Benjamin had a carnal knowledge of a man’s son through the anus.

Rubies said the offence contravened Section 214 (1) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Abia 2005.

When the suspect was arraigned in court, he pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail in the sum of N200,000 with a surety in like sum.

Magistrate K. I. Udo said the surety should be resident within the court’s jurisdiction as part of the bail conditions, and adjourned the case to September 9 for further hearing.

If found guilty, the accused may be sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.

Okada Man Commits Suicide In Kano

The recent ban on operation of commercial motorcycles, popularly known as okada in Kano has led to an okada rider’s death after he claimed the ban threw him into poverty and misery.

The man identified as Mallam Ali Harazumi Hamisu hanged himself last Saturday in Jaen Layin Makera, a tiny community in the suburb of Kano.

Kano State Government had banned the operation of commercial motorcyclists in the northern city as part of efforts to curb terrorism which has hit the city hard in recent times, making Hamisu lose his only means of livelihood.

Residents of Jaen Layin Makera said they had never witnessed such a tragic incident.

“We were surprised Hamisu could go to the extent of taking his own life. He was such a quiet and peace-loving man. Things went so bad for him when they banned commercial motorcycle operation in the city.

“He could not find alternative means of livelihood so he was doing menial job to sustain his family. He must have taken that option out of frustration,” his kinsman, Mallam Ibrahim Abdullahi said.

Alhaji Yakubu Hamisu, elder brother of the deceased, said the deceased depended solely on proceeds from his commercial motorcycle operation for survival before the sudden ban by the state government which ravaged him.

“The late Hamisu had separated from his wives and was unable to pay his house rent due to the loss of his job. His wives had to divorce him because he could no longer take care of their needs. I tried my best to help him but my earnings are so small to sustain my family and carter for his own needs.

“I feel so bad that my brother ended it all in this tragic manner. It is a big stain on the family name and Allah forbids it. However, I pray that Allah forgives him his sins and grants him eternal blessings,” Yakubu said.

NGO To Establish chest-milk Banks

Motherless babies in orphanages across the country will soon have access to regular chest milk as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) says it will establish day-care centres equipped with chest milk-banks.

The founder, African International Baby-care Initiative (Afribaby), Dr Oscar Odiboh, announced in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Port Harcourt.

Odiboh said that Afribaby realised the negative implications of inadequate chest-feeding of babies and decided to establish the banks to guarantee access to chest milk for orphaned babies.

“We want to ensure that no baby in Nigeria lacks access to chest milk; whether the mother is alive or not, and whether there is a family or not.

“So, we want to build baby care and mother care centres that will also have chest milk banks.

“The buildings will be equipped with about 20 chest milk tanks each; such that just as people donate blood, mothers can come and donate chest milk.”

Odiboh said the centre would be established in phases with a pilot centre in Lagos and later in all the states of the federation.

He said that the project that was estimated to cost N1 billion would be extended to five African countries in the future.

Noting that the project would be the first of its kind in the country, Odiboh solicited for assistance from the federal and state governments as well as public-spirited individuals.

He said children who were exclusively chest-fed were more likely to survive the first six months of life than non-chest-fed babies.

He stated that children who were not adequately chest-fed tended to be dull, unintelligent and un-sociable, adding that they were more likely to be ill than children who were exclusively chest-fed.

“So, if it happens that a baby loses the mother at birth; any nursing mother can go to the centre and donate her chest-milk.

“We have millions of mothers who will be donating every day, and so we are going to have a testing laboratory where chest-milk will be tested before passing on to the tanks,’’ he said.

Odiboh said that chest-milk contained nutrients that protect children from diseases that could threaten their lives, including pneumonia and diarrhea.

He called for a legislation for a compulsory six-month maternity leave for nursing mothers, saying it would guarantee exclusive chest-feeding of newly born babies.

According to him, a situation where employers approved only three months maternity leave for nursing mothers was partly responsible for the decline in chest-feeding of babies.

He also suggested a legislation to allow fathers have two weeks paternity leave to enable them assist their wives and ensure exclusive chest-feeding of new born babies. [NAN]

NNPC To Enforce N50/Litre Price For Kerosene

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and its downstream subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, yesterday, threatened to sanction marketers and other stakeholders engaged in the sale of kerosene above the approved price to Nigerians.

In a statement signed by the Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mrs. Green, the NNPC also allayed fears of alleged scarcity of kerosene in the country, saying that about 11 million litres of Dual Purpose Kerosene, DPK, were being supplied across the country daily, far above the national demand of eight million litres daily.

Green maintained that the NNPC and the PPMC will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure even distribution of kerosene to all nook and crannies of the country, and also advised members of the public against panic buying of the product.

“We, therefore, call on all stakeholders to ensure that petroleum products including kerosene get to the general public at government approved prices as severe sanctions await any defaulter,” she said.

“This clarification has become necessary due to reports of scarcity of the product in some parts of the country. For the avoidance of doubt, the NNPC, through its subsidiary, the PPMC supplies between 10 and 11 million litres of kerosene daily, which is distributed through allocations to licensed marketers such as Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN), Depot And Petroleum Products Marketers Association, (DAPPMA), Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and NNPC Retail Limited who sell to the general public through their retail outlets.

“It is, therefore, a surprise to receive reports of scarcity in spite of the fact that NNPC/PPMC supply above the eight million litres national daily consumption,” Mrs. Green said.