By Stephen Ubanna

President Muhammadu Buhari is no longer finding it funny that the government  Agricultural policy aimed at promoting local rice  production is not making the desired impact  on the economy as the Asian countries  of Thailand  grown  parboiled rice  and  Indian rice still  dominate the Nigeria market.

From Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Calabar, Kano, Sokoto, Dutse, kebbi to Maiduguri, the story is the same: foreign parboiled rice dominate  the markets .  the situation is so bad in the south west and north west geo-political  regions where  there were  said to be established rice markets  and warehouses where  foreign smuggled parboiled are sold to retailers and distributors . The Alaba and Daleko rice  markets  in Lagos are evident of such markets in Lagos .

The existence of these rice markets in Lagos and other areas in the south west  may have given Muhammed Uba Garba, Comptroller, Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Federal Operation Unit, FOU, Zone A, and his officers  ammunition to intensify efforts to cut off the source of supply to these markets by the smuggler syndicates.

Between  June 2016 and now,  the Command, going by its records had made several trucks load of ”50” kg bags of rice  from the south west. Investigation by the Magazine shows that over 50 percent of the 252,666 ”50” kg bags of  rice  seized by Customs Formations across the country within 22 months which were supplied   the internally Displaced People’s, IDPs, Camps last January  were  said to have been made by FOU, Zone A alone.  The situation was the same  in last May  rice supplies to the IDP Camps , on the orders of Hameed Ali,  a retired Colonel and Comptroller General, NCS.

The rice seizures from smugglers by officers of the Command  may have increased in the recent time with the deployment of the Bauchi state born Riks Lura, a Chief Superintendent  of Customs  from Ijebu Ode Checkpoint to Head the Command Lagos Roving team, now batptised Operations and Lagos Roving team.

Mohammed, the FOU, Zone A, Customs boss, confirmed that  between May 16, 2018 and June 12,2018, the Command , alone made a seizure of 15 trucks load of rice  from the south west alone, awaiting  for orders from the Headquarters to be evacuated to the IDP Camps . He was said to have been  enthused by Lura and  his officers exploits   at a Creek at Oyingbo, Lagos, where smugglers were disposed of two barges loaded  with over 700 ”50” kgs bags of  foreign parboiled rice. The barges were said to entered Nigeria waters from Republic of Benin.

Last friday,  Riks and his team members were said to have impounded  482 ”50”kg bags of rice from the notorious Iseyin area in Oyo state. No body had   expected the Riks led team to dare the smugglers in the area  because they were armed with sophisticated  weapons. Eyewitness account said the team took  them by surprise  and dispossessed them of the items which were quickly transferred to the Command warehouse at Ikeja with little or no resistance. The foreign parboiled rice that was said to have been seized by the Command in t and other Customs formations across the country in the recent time may have emboldened Ali, the Customs boss  to inform Buhari  that  smuggling of rice into the country  is thriving because of the country inter-connectivity with the Republic of Benin and other neighbouring countries in the West African Sub-region.

According to him,   the situation had become more worrisome  as Nigeria kinsmen living  across borders in these neighbouring countries  speak the same language  with the nation which makes it difficult  to claim that a particular border  is well secured in the country. He insists that Nigeria borders are porous  because ”there is no line  where there is Nigeria in Republic of Benin, Cameroun, Niger or Chad Republic.

The  information  that 0ver 250,000 ”50”kg bags of foreign  parboiled and Agricultural  brands of rice were supplied  to the IDP Camps in the south eastern states of Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and Edo state , in the south south geopolitical region seized within 22 months  by the Ali led Customs   may have convinced him that something  urgent needed to done to protect Nigeria’s land border stations.

Audu Ogbe, minister of Agriculture and Rural Development may have spoken the mind of the President when he said  that  the” land border stations  will soon be ”totally shut  to prevent  smuggling  of foreign parboiled rice into the country”.

The

given the hint, the President may have sent a signal to Patrice Talon, his counterpart  in Republic  of Benin that  the land border stations  would be shut because smuggling of parboiled rice and other toxic materials into the country is becoming a problem.

The minister  had corroborated  the Customs Comptroller General claims   that the ”friendly  relationship  between Nigeria and the  other neighbouring West African countries , particular Republic of Benin, was adversely  affecting the country’s economy and hence the need  to shut the land border stations  to stop  foreign parboiled and other toxic  materials from being smuggled into the country any more.

He was said to have made it clear to those that care to listen that there was no basis for foreign parboiled rice  from Thailand or india Agricultural brand of rice to be found in the Nigeria market  because  the government in the last two years  had stopped giving letters of Credit, LC, to rice importers. . It would be recalled that rice, was among the 41 items banned by  the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, from acessing the official foreign exchange market, forex, to protect the Nigeria  local rice farmers in 2016.

The minister  had confirmed that  the Buhari government had succeeded  in reducing rice importation into the country, and therefore there was no need for foreign rice to still dominate the Nigeria market both not for the activities of smugglers across the country.

An elated  Ogbeh, who is the minister  of Agriculture  and Rural Development  reportedly said  that there ought to be enough locally produced rice in  the market   because  the number of  rice farmers in the country have increased from the initial figure of five  under former President Goodluck Jonathan Administration  to 30 million currently.

He is optimistic that the number would still  go up as the Bank of Industry, BOI, has stepped in to give  out loans at subdised  interest rates to young Entrepreneurs wishing to go into  Commercial farming for growing of rice and other agricultural items.

At present states like Anambra, , Eboyi, Kebbi, Kano and Jigawa, he said  had taken the lead among the comity of states  to take advantage of  the Achor  Borrower programme, ABP,, of the government , administered by the BOI,  to go into full scale rice production.

The aggressive drive by Anambra and these other states involved in rice production may have emboldened Ogbeh to say that such ”achievements ” would not be allowed to be destroyed by the activities of smugglers across the country.

The seriousness of the government to protect the local rice farmers may have encouraged  Ali , the Customs Comptroller General to read the riot act to the Comptrollers at the Lad border stations to sit up  by ensuring adequate blockage of the Creeks and bush paths used by smugglers in their areas of jurisdiction.

The Customs Comptroller General was said to have met  recently with Mohammed Aliyu , Agbara Ojobo, and other invited Comptrollers  holding forth at the land border Stations. The meeting , according to a source was not unconnected to the problem of rice smuggling into the country.  The  ource  disclosed that the Customs boss was not happy with the land border stations Comptrollers because  foreign rice was still been smuggled into the country, undetected. The seizures of trucks  load of foreign parboiled rice and other brands by Muhammed led FOU, Zone A, personnel and other FOUs across the country  give credence to what is happening at the land border stations, which had been blamed on Corruption of the officers by  VIP smugglers and their agents.

By Oji Odu

Six months into the country’s financial season, after the 2018 Appropriation bill was presented to the National Assembly in November 2017,  President Muhammadu Buhari is expected today, Wednesday, June 20, 2018, to sign the bill into law, leaving government with only six months to perform all the magic and abracadabra needed to make Nigeria a better place and better the lives of the sun stricken Nigerians.

Are Nigerians surprised? No. Are they expecting life impacting changes in the remaining six months? Definitely, many are not. This is because for about a decade, this has become norm. However, Nigerians are rather disappointed that the Buhari-led administration with its ‘Change’ mantra is yet unable to change this “Baba Go Slow” budget passage that has become a veritable avenue for corruption. After all, which Ministry Department and Agency remits unspent budget money at the end of the fiscal season?

The Magazine’s findings for a 10-year period from 2008-2018 show that budgets have always been delayed while the economy has continued to suffer and degenerate with attendant hardship on the Nigerian people who are said to have just come out of economic recession.

10,   2017                                             May 2017

Speaking on the budget, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed that President Buhari will sign the 2018 Appropriation Bill into law today. “I can confirm to you that the President will sign the budget into law at midday on Wednesday,” the presidential spokesman said.

Because of this, the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council that normally holds every Wednesday inside the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa , Abuja at 11am will not hold on that day. It was not clear as of the time of filing this report if the meeting was put off because of the signing of the budget.

Last week Wednesday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had  told State House correspondents that the budget would be signed into law this week, although he did not give details of the specific day and time the document would be signed this week. He had said the details would be made available later.

“The budget will be signed next week. We will give you the specific date when it is confirmed,” Adesina had stated.

The Presidency had stated that the President would only take a stand on the document based on the advice he was expecting from the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma.

It noted that all ministers were expected to scrutinise the budget passed against the proposals they submitted and report their findings to Udoma. The budget and national planning minister would thereafter form an opinion based on the feedback from his colleagues and proceed to advise the President accordingly.

The two chambers of the National Assembly had recently passed the budget and transmitted it to Buhari to sign. The lawmakers raised the total figure from N8.6tn to N9.1tn, six months after the estimates were presented to them.

The delay in the passage of the 2018 budget has been a cause of concern to many Nigerians, especially experts in various fields, who bare their minds on the development.

Reacting to the delay, Professor Sheriffdeen Tella of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun, said that it was shameful that long after the 2018 budget estimate was submitted to the National Assembly it was yet to be passed.

Tella regretted that the legislature had failed to perform its function of completing the consideration and authorising expenditure in the fifth month into the year.

“It seems they do not know that one of the main duties of the National Assembly is to pass the federal budget on time to facilitate economic growth and development.

“Non-passage of the bill has locked down rapid recovery from the recession and movement towards growth.

“This is because capital expenditure aspect of the budget, which has higher growth multiplier effects on the economy, cannot be executed without authorisation of the budget by the National Assembly,’’ he said.

He expressed fears that the economy will not witness meaningful growth unless the budget is passed on time to complement the monetary policy to be introduced by the newly inaugurated Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

“It takes time for implemented policies to have effect on the economy; therefore, we should not expect much improvement in output of the capital market and the economy at large,’’ Mr Tella said.

On his own, Peter Ozo-Eson, the General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), also said that the continuous delay was unfortunate.

“We are already into the second quarter of the year and the budget is still not passed and we cannot even say definitely when it will be passed.

“The budget is supposed to among other things show the direction of the economic policies for the year, which will then influence the economic planning by economic agents, both in the private and the public sector.

“People respond to the economy of the budget. So if by the second quarter, we still have not passed the budget, it means that we are having economic function without direction.

“This does not help the economic performance of the country and I think it is rather sad.

“`Whatsoever, whosoever that are responsible for the delay, I think they have to be called to order in the interest of the country and the budget needs to be passed,’’ he said.

The non-passage of the 2018 budget has made some financial experts attribute the retention of the Monetary Policy Ratio (MPR) at 14 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). They said that the absence of a fiscal policy direction in the economy was inevitable for the CBN to decide otherwise.

The MPC, in its first meeting in 2018, according to the Magazine’s findings, retained the benchmark interest rate at 14 per cent, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 22.5 per cent and the liquidity ratio at 30 per cent. The bank had retained the benchmark interest rate at 14 per cent alongside other monetary policy rates since July 2016, citing inflationary pressure and a fragile post recession economy.

Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, a Civil Society Organisation, regrets that the delay was impacting negatively on the economy. This he said is making it rather difficult for  public and private sector stakeholders to plan and manage their economic activities.

“The delay compounds the already parlous economic situation and shows a country that is afloat and without a focused leadership at both the executive and legislative levels,’’ he observed.

In his rection, Edwin Uche, President, Maize Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, said that the delay budget had affected maize cultivation in the country.

He said that timely implementation of federal government’s programme on maize cultivation was key to the success of the agriculture sector. He also said that decision makers and the budget handlers should be more proactive and less bureaucratic to make the process work.

According to Uche, cultivation of maize is time-bound and the time requirements for the crop growing must be strictly followed to achieve food sufficiency in the country.

“The timely implementation of every set programme of the federal government should be prioritised by the handlers of the budget.

“Most of the time, we have programme designs but we are often comfortable with a situation where the implementation process tends not to affect the time of cultivation.

“Once the cultivation timetable is punctured or we have a problem with implementing the programme based on the environmental or natural timetable, it affects the yields and outputs.

“When there is delay in implementing the programmes in the Federal Government’s budget, maize farmers might lose interests or become agitated,’’ he said.

But Johnson Ukoh, a Human Rights activist sees it differently. “ Let’s tell ourselves the truth. These politicians are toying with the lives of innocent and vulnerable Nigerians who they believe cannot challenge them.

“They want to release money to be shared for the 2019 elections. How much do you think they can achieve within this short period of time before the end of this years financial season? Who will monitor use of this money correctly to the stated projects? Who will make sure that all the money is used? Which officials will return unspent monies? It is a pity Nigerians are gullible and not yet ready to stand for the truth,” he lamented.

By Stephen Ubanna

In spite of the  fact  that Mahmood Yakubu, a Professor and Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and his electoral officials, have not officially lifted the ban on political Campaigns for the 2019, general elections, the political Elites appear to have jumped the jumped gun .

This is evident going by what is happening in the states as the political Elites are taking advantage of every social gathering to sell their party manifesto and Candidates. The last Father’s day celebration in the country speaks volume.

Orji Uzor Kalu, a former governor of Abia  state and  Chieftain of All Progressive Congress, APC, may have thrown caution to the wind to transverse  the nooks of the country to canvass for support  for president Muhammadu Buhari,of the ruling  the APC Presidential Candidate in the 2019 Presidential election, in what polical analysts described as payback time.

only  recently, the  business mongul, who has in Jiawa state  had met Sule Lamido, a former governor of the state  who was said to be nursing a Presidential ambition  on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. He was said to have  told the former Jigawa state born PDP political Chieftain that he was on tour of the country ”to sensitize  Nigerians on the dire need to allow Buhari to continue in office in 2019”.

The former Abia governor who is championing Buhari re-election bid reportedly said that  voting  for the PDP or any other party Candidate other than Buhari  in 2019 would amount to drawing the hand of the clock back as it would open the floodgate  of the country treasury for looters to return.

Many believe that Kalu  was merely acting out the script of Buhari who sees the  PDP and the former Olusegun Obasanjo sponsored African Democratic Coalition, ADC, plot to unseat him in 2019 as a ploy to loot the treasury. It is not surprising why the former Abia state governor said he would never support lamido if he decides to run against Buhari in 2019.

political Observers had said that he had joined  the vanguard of those campaigning  for the re-election of Buhari to protect his sagging political image in Abia  state and draw him closer to Buhari who n calls the shot .

He may be alone among the Ibgo political class who has come out openly to throw his weight behind Buhari re-election bid in 2019. This is because of the believe in Igbo circles that the Katsina state President of Nigeria hates them. His appointments into the key positions in the government where the south east was completely eexcluded bear eloquent testimony .

Indeed, his actions and pronouncements since he came  into office in May 29, 2019, gives a clear indication that he has no apology over his actions, mening that the Igbos should be happy for the Constitutional provision which allows for one minister to be selected from each state of the Federation, irrespective of how the state had voted in the election or the party controlling the state.

Not showing any remorse for his actions, he is still talking tough   that states who  fail to support his re-election bid in 2019 should not expect equal treatment with states that support him.  It is not surprising why most his current appointments were from the north west and north east geo-political regions to the disagreement of  the south, particular, south east.   there are indications that if he wins his re-election bid without the south east support, nothing would change in his neglect of the region in political appointments.

Kalu, the former Abia governor may have read the handwriting on the wall that he has decided to draw the igbos closer to the Buhari government by throwing his weight behind his re-election bid in 2019.

But the Igbo APC  Chieftain said he had dumped his own party, People progressive Alliance, PPA,  to join the party because of Buhari’s” personality and integrity”. He disclosed that he was further encouraged to join the party to have a taste of relevance at the national level . He  was said to have told his political supporters in the state  that he no longer want to be in the opposition where he had  been in the last 10 years.

Bu many believe that he had joined the APC to save his neck from the trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over a N2.9 fraud  allegedly committed while in office as governor of Abia state between, 1998 and 2007.

But the former Abia state governor would not take it, stressing that  his support for Buhari re-election bid has nothing to do with the case  as the Commission is vigorously prosecuting the case, meaning that  that if he is found guilty , he would get the appropriate punishment for it.

But on Friday, May 11, 2018, the  Ibrahim Magu ledanti-graft agency  finally closed the case against Kalu in Court, thus ending  his troubles with the Commission.  Signs that the Commission , will eventually close the case that was standing against Kalu in Court over an alleged N2.9 billion fraud,  became clearer when Rotimi Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and the anti-graft agency Lawyer , lamented the non appearance of  M.A. Udoh, the major witness in the case. The legal luminary hadconfirmed that the star witness had been  ” evasive”, as the agency  officials were having difficulty tracking him to bring him to Court for cross-examination.

The   EFCC lawyer  reportedly said that for more than six months, they had noticed a trend that each time that  the matter  will come up for hearing in the Court, the star witness will travel to Umuhia, Calabar or Cameroun,.  forcing him to apply for a subpoena. The subpoena  was said to have  been signed by the presiding Judge making it possible for the Commission to arrest him.

Armed with the sined subpoena , Jacobs,  the anti-graft agency lawyer handling the case in Court said the  Commission took it to the Abia state government House but found out that he was  a Civil servant.

The discovery  may have given them a clue on how to arrest him and drag him to Court to answer  questions on the Kalu N2.9 billion case.  But the agency officials were not lucky in tracking him as they were told on getting to the Abia government House that he had left the service, fueling speculations that it was a ploy to frustrate the trial .

But the agency may have saved Kalu  from going to jail  following  a cross examination by the last  star witness in the case, Chidi Chukwuka, a forensic expert. The witness was said to have told the Court  that the Commission was not aware  that former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote a letter to George Bush ,a former President of the United States, US, over a $1.7 million  potomac house which Kalu was said  to have purchased in 2003. The $1.7 million was said to have been withdrawn from one of the Commercial banks in the country  for the transaction.

The forensic expert  may have provided ammunition for the EFCC to close the case against Kalu when he confirmed  that the former governor as at the time he was being investigated had foreign accounts , noting that funds were moved from his Nigeria accounts to these, his offshore account in the US. The particular $1.7 million was said to have been withdrawn from  Chase Manhatttan Bank, now JP Morgan to fund the potomac house project.

The striking out of the case against Kalu by the Commission may have encourage Rashidi Ladoja. a former governor of Oyo state who  case to settle with the EFCC, that he was no worried  by the case instituted against him in Court by the Commission over alleged  misappropriation of state funds while in office between 2003 and 2007 .

The former Oyo state governor was said to have been dragged to Court by the Commission on the allegation that  he instructed that about 1,6 billion worth of shares belonging to the state be sold at discounted rates without the approval of the state House of Assembly as the proceeds were said to entered into  private pockets.

Ladoja  would not want people believe that he would refund any money  to the  anti-graft agency, stressing that he did steal  while in government.  But the Commission confirmed  that it had recovered part of the loot from other  peopple in the state. It is not surprising why the aggrieved  former Oyo state governor  said ”there is no case there”.

Many believe  that i Ladoja could stand his ground without double speaking , he may be allowed to go a free man by the Commission like Kalu, the former Abia governor.

While Ladoja is optimistic that the case would be closed for good like that of Kalu, Joshua Dariye, a former governor of Plateau state and Jolly Nyame, a Clergyman and  also a former governor of Taraba state are already cooling their head in prisons  for alleged fraud committed while in government.