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Charges Dropped Against Ribadu
The Nigerian government has withdrawaned criminal charges against Nuhu Ribadu (above) the former chairman of Nigeria’s anti corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Mr Ribadu faces charges of not declaring his assets while in office.
The request is regarded by observers and public policy analysts as paving the way for the appointment of Mr Ribadu as a special adviser on fighting corruption to the acting President, Goodluck Jonathan.
As head of EFCC, Mr Ribadu brought more than 1,000 cases to court, although allegations of “selective prosecutions” have often been brought against him by anti corruption campaigners.
Before his appointment by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, no company in Nigeria had ever been charged for bribery. But in 2007 he was removed in controversial circumstances and later charged with not declaring his assets while in office, a contravention of the 1999 constitution.
Anti-corruption campaigners say Mr Ribadu had upset powerful former state governors by trying to bring them to justice for alleged embezzlement.
He is currently in the United States but says he wants to return to Nigeria one day. Mr Jonathan was named acting president last February due to the on-going illness of President Umaru Yar'Adua, who has not been seen in public since November 2009. Mr Ribadu was sacked shortly after Mr Yar'Adua won elections.
I will tackle Corruption in INEC-Jega
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has said that his nomination for the INEC job is the greatest challenge of his life. “I regard my nomination for the INEC job as the greatest challenge of my life, and I will do everything to ensure that I excel,” he said. He said his mission at INEC is to give competent and effective leadership that will bring about a free and fair election.
The former university don said his mission is not to make money but to go to INEC and make a difference. “I want to be remembered as a person who led the INEC that conducted the freest and fairest election in the country,” he said.
Jega, until recently the Vice-Chancellor of Ado Bayero University, Kano, pledged to put in place proper policy framework to guarantee an election whose results would be generally acceptable to Nigerians.
As a prelude to this, he said his priority areas on assumption of office will be: prompt review of the voters register; internal reorganization of INEC and a comprehensive voters’ education.
“The credibility of the 2011 election will be predicated on the credibility of the voters’ register”, he said, stressing that his main challenge is to ensure that the voters’ register is done well and is acceptable to the majority of the people for it to serve as a good framework for a credible election.
He admitted that corruption is a very serious issue at the commission, pledging, however, that he would run a corrupt-free body as a prelude to conducting a credible, free and fair election next year.
Jega was nominated by President Goodluck Jonathan and endorsed by the National Council of States. His nomination has elicited commendation across the country with few Nigerians calling for caution, saying the fact of Jega’s appointment alone cannot guarantee free and fair election.
Jega also pledged to effect “a fundamental reorganisation of INEC within the law to put the right people in the right places to ensure competence and efficiency,” adding that ad-hoc staff that constitute more than 60 per cent of the commission’s staff strength at election periods would be carefully selected, well trained and well motivated to insulate them from corruptive tendencies.
On voters’ education, he explained that one of the key functions of INEC is to seek to change voters’ attitude to elections in the country, saying “we will try to change mindsets and tackle the attitudinal issues that affect the conduct of elections, because no matter the laws in place if attitudes don’t change laws will have little impact”.
The Professor of Political Science pledged to tackle electoral violence through creative dialogue with community leaders and all persons, including security agencies involved in keeping the peace. To a question on how he intends to shun any undue pressure from the President who appointed him and his party for any electoral favour, Jega said he did not expect the President or his party to put him under pressure for any favour.
In any case, he said, the constitution has clearly spelt out his functions and duties which are quite different from that of the presidency. Pointing out that he is satisfied with assurances from the President on his commitment to free and fair election, he said, however, that his relationship with the President “is already defined by the law and we will let it be like that....we will be very neutral, impartial and we will create a level-playing field for every political party and contestant. “Our relationship with every participant will be defined by the law and we will use the law to deal with any problem associated with the issue of godfatherism.”
Corruption, A Major Problem in Nigeria- US Report
Democratic and economic progress in Nigeria is hindered by poor governance, entrenched corruption, internal conflict, ineffective service delivery, and pervasive poverty, says a report of the United States government.
The report titled: Background Notes: Nigeria released on 13 May by the US government also lists Nigeria's publicly owned transportation infrastructure as a major constraint to economic development. “Docking fees for freighters are among the highest in the world. Of the 80,500 kilometers (50,000 miles) of roads, more than 15,000 kilometers (10,000 miles) are officially paved, but many remain in poor shape.”
Background Notes are periodic profiles of countries by the US government which are published by the Department of State. Such profiling focuses on political condition, economy and foreign relations, among other issues.
The report says Nigeria's proven oil reserves are estimated to be 36 billion barrels, while natural gas reserves are well over 100 trillion cubic feet, but poor corporate relations with indigenous communities, vandalism of oil infrastructure, severe ecological damage, and personal security problems throughout the Niger Delta continue to plague the nation's oil sector.
“Nigeria inspects all imports on arrival, rather than at ports of origin; as a result, about 95% of containers are physically examined. This procedure, along with Nigeria's uneven application of import and labeling regulations and poor infrastructure, complicates the movement of goods through Nigeria's notoriously congested ports and increases the cost of doing business.”
It also notes that the government's implementation of 100 % destination inspection of all goods entering Nigeria has resulted in long delays in clearing goods for importers and “created new sources of corruption, since the ports lack adequate facilities to carry out the inspection.”
It says although government has promoted foreign investment and encouraged reforms in these and other areas, the nation’s “investment climate remains daunting to all but the most determined.” The report says cheap consumer imports and excessively high domestic production costs as a result of erratic electricity and fuel supply has pushed down industrial capacity utilisation to less than 30 %, while many Nigerian factories would have closed except for relatively low labor costs, which its put at between 10 and 15 %.
It says domestic manufacturers, especially pharmaceuticals and textiles, had lost their ability to compete in traditional regional markets but added that there are signs that some manufacturers have started addressing their competitiveness, noting that the country's high propensity to import means roughly 80% of government expenditures is recycled into foreign exchange.
While stating that Nigeria's biggest macroeconomic achievement is the sharp reduction in its external debt, which declined from 36 per cent of GDP in 2004 to less than 4 per cent of GDP in 2007, it notes that Nigeria faces intense pressure to accept multibillion dollar loans for railroads, power plants, roads, and other infrastructure and that expanded government spending had also led to upward pressure on consumer prices.
Background Notes says while in 2009, Nigeria took significant steps to strengthen the banking sector with the financial audits of its 24 national banks by the Central Bank, as a follow up to the major banking overhaul in 2006 that reduced the number of banks from 89 to 24, increased a bank's minimal capital requirement to $190 million (N25 billion) and required banks to hold 40% of their deposits in liquid assets, about 65% of the economically active population is serviced by the informal financial sector such as microfinance institutions, money lenders, friends, relatives, and credit unions.
“Since 1999, the Nigerian Stock Exchange has enjoyed strong performance, although equity as a means to foster corporate growth remains underutilised by Nigeria's private sector.” On the aviation sector, it says while air service among Nigeria's cities is generally dependable, the maintenance culture of Nigeria's domestic airlines is below international standards.
While noting that the Federal Government is implementing legislation on public procurement and fiscal transparency, it says it must ensure that Nigeria's 36 states pass and implement similar bills because “it is perceived that government contracting remains rife with corruption and kickbacks, and that many state and local officials continue to steal public monies outright.”
On the positive side, it said: “Nigeria's economic team had enjoyed an excellent reputation in the international community. It produced an encouraging body of work, notably budgets described as "prudent and responsible" by the IMF and a detailed economic reform blueprint, the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS).” The report says other positive developments include: “Government efforts to deregulate fuel price, Nigeria's participation in the EITI and commitment to the G8, the creation of what had been an effective Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which until 2008 had earned 150 convictions and recovered over $5 billion in mishandled funds; and the development of several governmental offices to better monitor official revenues and expenditures.
Independent Advocacy Project
