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There was controversy on Wednesday over a contract deal totalling $1.4m awarded by the Ministry of Defence for a United Nations project.

While an online report alleged that the Minister of Defence, Brig. Gen. Munir Dan-Ali, and three senior officials of the ministry were involved in a messy scandal, the Defence ministry spokesman, Col. Tukur Gusau, said the contract in question followed due process.

He also said the project had been completed and ready for inspection by a team that would leave Nigeria for Mali.

Gusau’s statement was in response to a report published by TheCable, an online newspaper.

The Cable’s report captioned, ‘General detained as another scandal rocks Buhari’s government,’ had stated that Dan-Ali, the immediate past permanent secretary of the ministry, Danjuma Nanfo; and the coordinator of peacekeeping, Brig. Gen LYM Hassan, were being questioned in connection with disbursement of $1.4m meant for a UN project.

It had also reported that Hassan was in detention and facing court-martial.

But, in a press statement, the Defence Ministry’s spokesman said, “The fact of the matter is that the procedure of awarding contracts by the ministry is in line with the existing procurement act of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“The said contract has already been successfully executed and the contractor has requested a team from the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Headquarters to carry out a completion inspection of the project.

“The team is due in Mali soon. There is no fraud in the process. The case of the said army general currently standing trial at the army court-martial has no connection with the award of any contract by the ministry.”

Gusau’s statement was, however, silent on other allegations contained in TheCable report. The statement did not mention anything about the last minute change of contractors and the request for $500m variation.

It also did not address the request by the United Nations that Nigeria withdraw its troops serving in the peacekeeping mission, as well as the loss of the position to Rwanda.

TheCable had reported that Dan-Ali, Nanfor and Hassan told the court-martial, which began sitting on October 30, 2017, how money was disbursed from the $1.4m contract without the job being executed.

The contract was reportedly for the relocation and refurbishment of Level 2 Ministry Hospital under the United Nations Multi-dimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

A UN level 2 hospital is a second line or ‘brigade/sector’ level surgical facility for limited specialist ex­pertise and limited surgical ca­pabilities, including life, limb and organ-saving surgeries.

Un­der the UN system, 18 level 2 hospitals are being operated by troop-/police-contributing countries.

Countries get paid by the UN for the use of the facilities.

Ni­geria’s level 2 hospital was established to support the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) in 2008.

The hospital was later relocated to its temporary site in Timbuk­tu, Mali, in 2013 to support MI­NUSMA.

For failing to meet the August 2017 UN deadline for a new location, Nigeria was reportedly asked by the global body to withdraw its remaining contingent to the United Nations African Mission in Darfur (UNIMID) because of poor holding of the ‘Contingent-Owned Equipment (COE).’

The report said the problem started when the UN asked Nigeria to move its level 2 hospital from the temporary camp at the Timbuktu Airport, to the more secure new ‘UN Super Camp’ in Timbuktu.

With the completion of the permanent camp of MI­NUSMA in Timbuktu, it was gathered that the UN requested all its establishments to relocate to the new ‘Super Camp.’

TheCable had reported that in February 2017, the Ministry of Defence awarded a contract for the refurbishing and relocation of the hospital to a contractor who had zero experience in in­stallation of a level 2 hospital.

According to documents seen by TheCable, the controversial contract was awarded after the defence ministry had received a presidential approval in the name of another contractor.

The initial approval was said to have fol­lowed a memo from the minister of defence on July 21, 2016, to President Muhammadu Buhari requesting fund for the re­location of the Nigerian Med­ical Level 2 Hospital “deployed in African Union MINUSMA in Mali.”

The approval was contained in a memo, dated November 9, 2016, from the President’s chief of staff to the minister of defence.

Nothing was reportedly heard of the President’s approval until three months later when an award letter, dated February 2, 2017, emanated from the procurement department of the MOD to a new firm which was not involved in the initial contract process.

The new contract had a completion period of two months.

It was gathered that the contract till date had not been executed, as only part of the hospital un­der MINUSMA was disman­tled and left at the current lo­cation.

The initial cost of the con­tract for the refurbishing and relocation of the hos­pital as approved by Buhari was said to be $1,464,750.

The con­tract for execution of the same was awarded by the MOD procurement de­partment for $1 million, short by $464,750.

But the favoured contractor reportedly ran back to tell the ministry officials that the con­tract could not be executed unless there was a variation sum to the tune of over $500,000.

However, the refurbishment and relocation contract was awarded by the ministry with the specifi­cation that “the contract price is fixed and no request for var­iation will be entertained.’’

According to a source in the ministry, there was a second approval, which is suspect because “there is no way the president will give approval to the same contract twice.”

TheCable reported that the UN had asked Rwanda to get ready to deploy another Level 2 hospital at the Super Camp.

The UN, through the Unit­ed Nations Security Council, had at its meeting with troop/police contributing countries on January 28, 2017, in New York, expressed an urgent need to relocate the hospital to the Su­per Camp.

All the establishments had a deadline of second week of Au­gust 2017 to complete the relo­cation.

But with the platforms ready by the first week of August, Nigeria’s hospital was nowhere near the Super Camp.

It was gathered that rather than relocate the hospital, the actors allegedly chose to share the money and excluded the contractor.

It was gathered that Dan-Ali later sent servicing officers to execute the contract.

The relocation was to be supervised by Hassan and one B.A. Isandu, also a brigadier-general.

Ministry officials were said to have called for a probe, adding that those indicted should be prosecuted.

TheCable said it could not reach Dan-Ali for comments as his telephone line was unavailable, and he also did not respond to SMS.

It reported that Tukur Gusau, a colonel and his spokesman, refused to respond to its questions.

However, when contacted on the telephone, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said he had not been briefed on the matter.

“Honestly, I have not been briefed on this matter,” the presidential spokesman said.

Reacting to the unfolding drama, the Director of Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, said, “There have been several scandals in the Ministry of Defence.

“Those officers involved in this scandal must be court-martialled and thereafter dismissed from the army. They should be handed over to the relevant prosecution agencies to face the full wrath of the law.’’

The President, Campaign for Democracy, Usman Abdul, said, “The rules of engagement in the award of contracts are clear. This does not exclude contracts from the Ministry of Defence. We want to know if due process was followed. If not, why? Nigeria has signed the Open Government Partnership that has to do with open contracting. If the government signed that treaty, the government must investigate this scandal.’’

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We’ll Reintroduce Bill Seeking 6-Year Single Term For President, Governors Despite Rejection — Rep

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Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, a member of the House of Representatives, says the push for a six-year single term for president and governors will continue despite the bill’s rejection.

The bill, which was slated for a second reading during Thursday’s plenary session, was rejected by lawmakers in the Green Chamber.

Sponsored by Ikeagwuonu from Imo State and 33 other lawmakers, the bill also sought to amend Section 3 of the Constitution to recognize the division of Nigeria into six geopolitical zones.

Briefing journalists on Thursday evening, the lawmaker described the rejection of the bill as a “temporary setback.”

“The struggle to reform our constitutional democracy to be all-inclusive and provide an avenue for justice, equity, and fairness has not been lost,” he said.

The lawmaker added that voting against the bill by the parliament “does not put an end to agitation and hope that we will realise this objective.”

“This is a temporary setback which does not affect the campaign for an inclusive democratic process,” he said.

The Imo lawmaker stated that the sponsors of the bill will review the decision of the House and “find possible ways of reintroducing it after following due legislative procedures.”

“All I can tell Nigerians is that we will continue the advocacy and convince our colleagues to see reason with us. If elections are held in one day, it will reduce cost and rigging,” he said.

“If power rotates, it will help deescalate political tensions, and a six-year single term will go a long way in helping elective leaders focus on delivering their democratic mandate.”

“All hope is not lost, we will continue the advocacy, and we hope that when reintroduced, our colleagues will support it.”

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65% Of Nigerian Households Can’t Afford Healthy Meals — NBS

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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that food scarcity, insecurity, and high prices have led Nigerian households to reduce consumption, with 65 percent unable to afford healthy meals due to financial constraints.

These findings were released in the NBS’s latest General Household Survey Panel (Wave 5) report, conducted in partnership with the World Bank.

The report reveals that 71 percent of households were affected by rising prices of major food items, while food shortages impacted more than a third of households over the past year. These shortages were particularly severe in June, July, and August, worsening the food insecurity crisis.

As a result, 48.8 percent of households reported cutting back on food consumption, according to the NBS data.

“In the past 12 months, more than one-third of households faced food shortages, which occurred more frequently in the months of June, July, and August,” the report states.

“Price increases on major food items were the most prevalent shock reported by households, affecting 71.0 percent of surveyed households.”

“Households’ main reported mechanism for coping with shocks was reducing food consumption (48.8 percent).”

  • ‘62.4% Nigerian Households Secured Less Food’

The report also notes a significant increase in the number of households concerned about not having enough food to eat, with the figure rising from 36.9 percent in Wave 4 (conducted in 2019) to 62.4 percent in Wave 5.

According to the NBS, this surge reflects a rise in food insecurity, with more than half of Nigerian families struggling to meet their dietary needs.

“Approximately two out of three households (65.8 percent) reported being unable to eat healthy, nutritious, or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days. 63.8 percent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 percent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 percent ate less than they thought they should,” the report adds.

“Furthermore, 12.3 percent reported that at least one person in the household went without eating for a whole day, and 20.8 percent of households had to borrow food or rely on help from friends or relatives.”

“In general, households in the southern zones report more incidents related to food security than those in northern zones.”

“For example, in the southern zones, the proportion of households reporting that they had to skip a meal ranged from 50.1 percent in South West to 62.4 percent in South East, while in the northern zones this share varied from 34.0 percent in North Central to 48.3 percent in North East.”

The report further highlights that residents in the south-south zone experienced the highest rates of food insecurity across five out of eight indicators. In contrast, the north-central zone had the lowest rates in six of the eight indicators.

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POLITICS: Rest 31-Year Presidential Ambition — Bode George Tells Atiku Abubakar

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A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has advised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to end his 31-year-long bid to be President.

Noting that Atiku’s bid to be President dated back to 1993, George said it was high time the former Vice President retired from such a contest, especially in the 2027 election.

Addressing a press conference at his Ikoyi, Lagos office, on Thursday, George urged Atiku to assume the position of an elder in the nation and leave his bid to posterity.

“To Atiku, my advice is this, you will be 81 years old in 2027, and you have been contesting for the presidency since 1993. This is the time for you to calm down and act like an elder. I appeal to you in the name of the Almighty Allah, that you serve, to take it easy and leave everything for posterity,” George said.

George decried that the PDP was on the verge of crumbling because people uplifted their personal interests and individual ambitions above national interest.

He criticised the “divisive, arrogant, haughty” members of the party romancing the ruling All Progressives Congress yet failing to defect from the PDP, describing them as cowards.

“We are where we are today because of a self-inflicted crisis; we should bury our individual ambitions now and not allow the PDP to crumble, please. Elders of the party should tell some of these funny characters to cool off and think of our national interest instead of their personal interest.

“Nigerians are angry and hungry. Instead of telling the APC the truth, some divisive, arrogant and haughty members are busy romancing the ruling party and they are quick to refer to themselves as elder statesmen. Instead of instigating a crisis in our party, why are they not bold enough to defect to the APC? Do they really fear God at all? No member is big enough to hold the party to ransom,” George added.

Particularly pointing to the crisis between Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, George urged Wike to immediately “cool off” from wanting to “bring down” Fubara.

George said it was worrisome that some party members, rather than bringing the two parties to mediation, further fuelled the Fubara/Wike crisis for their selfish interests.

“My advice to Wike is very simple. You are my political son. I am therefore appealing to him to cool off immediately. I know he was injured by friends during the last PDP presidential contest, but I am advising him as a father to please take it easy. Nobody is bigger than any party. Forget what happened in the past and let us work together in the interest of this party.

“I want to ask the elders at the helm of affairs of our party today, ‘What exactly is the offence of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State?’ What exactly is the offence of this gentleman that some elders of our party are trying to throw him under the bus because of political expediency? What exactly is going on that some party members don’t feel bothered about the happenings in Rivers State? Governor Fubara was helped by Governor Wike to become the number one citizen of the oil-bearing state. The governor himself acknowledged this on several occasions.

“Must the governor now behave like a slave to his predecessor and other characters because of this concept of godfatherism which is a misnomer in our politics? Why are some party members encouraging his predecessor to bring him down? He is in Abuja; he wants to control what goes on in Rivers State.

“Did the governors before him behave this way? Why are the party leaders not eager to mediate and bring both groups to normalcy? The PDP cannot continue like this. Why can’t we learn from our past mistakes? Is our party jinxed? Why can’t we tell all these troublemakers to go and sit down if they don’t want this party to move forward?”

The National Assembly has amended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, prescribing life imprisonment for drug offenders and traffickers.

This decision followed the adoption of the harmonised report by the Senate and House of Representatives on the NDLEA Act amendment.

Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Senate Conference Committee, Senator Tahir Monguno, explained that the amendment sought to impose stricter penalties to deter illegal drug activities.

The amendment specifically stated: “Any person who unlawfully engages in the storage, custody, movement, carriage, or concealment of dangerous drugs or controlled substances and, while doing so, is armed with an offensive weapon or disguised in any manner, commits an offence under this Act and is liable, upon conviction, to life imprisonment.”

The Senate approved the recommendation through a voice vote during Thursday’s plenary, presided over by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin.

In addition to the NDLEA amendment, the Senate also passed a bill to empower the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission.

The proposed legislation, known as the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission Bill of 2024, sought to replace the existing RMAFC Act of 2004.

The updated law revises the commission’s composition and operational framework to ensure federal, state, and local governments receive constitutionally mandated resources to address governance and developmental challenges.

Presenting the bill, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs, Yahaya Abdullahi, highlighted the urgency of reforming the commission in light of Nigeria’s dwindling revenues and growing population.

Abdullahi explained that the bill aims to strengthen RMAFC’s mandate as the constitutionally recognised body responsible for monitoring revenue generation and ensuring its equitable distribution among the three tiers of government.

“The Act, last revised over 20 years ago, no longer reflects Nigeria’s evolving economic realities. This bill proposes additional funding and a restructured operational framework for the commission to improve its efficiency,” he said.

He further emphasised that adequate funding from the Federation Account was critical for RMAFC to perform its constitutional responsibilities effectively, noting that funding challenges had previously hindered its performance.

The Senate endorsed the bill following deliberations and a majority vote.

It now awaits President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to become law.

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