Heavy Shooting Between Nigeria Soldiers and ex Militants Reported in Rivers State

         There was commotion on Monday night as Nigerian soldiers raided the house of Solomon Ndigbara, a former militant in Yeghe community, Gokana LGA in Rivers state.  The event was characterized by heavy shootings between the soldiers and men of the former warlord with members of the community abandoning their homes and fleeing for their dear lives.
According to sources, the army operations extended to Khana Local Government Area even as some people were said to have been injured while scampering to safety.

          It's believed that some youths working for the former militant leader in retaliation have set ablaze the campaign office of the Rivers South-East senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Magnus Abe, in Bori, Khana LGA. The Public Relations Officer, 2 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Captain Eli Lazarus, said there was an ongoing military operation by the Army in Gokana, promising that the media would soon be briefed on the matter.

Why We Can't Recover Funds Looted by Ex-Minister, Alison-Madueke, Others - Presidency

         As the fight against corruption by the President Buhari-led federal government intensifies, a new development has emerged as the presidency has revealed some difficulties in recovering some loots from former government officials. Lack of funds is stalling Nigeria’s effort to trace and recover its stolen monies, and prosecute former government officials responsible for the heist, the presidency has said. A letter by the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption (PACC) to a United Kingdom-based anti-corruption organisation, Global Witness, soliciting assistance in raising funds, revealed that due to the fall in crude oil prices and the general economic downturn, the government lacked the needed funds to pursue recovery of loots.

          The letter, dated February 15, 2016, was signed by the Executive Secretary of PACC, Bolaji Owasanoye, and directed to the Director of Global Witness, Simon Taylor.It stated that the commitment of the government to tackle Boko Haram insurgency, fight corruption and improve the livelihood of Nigerians through job creation, was being hampered by dwindling oil revenue and mounting debts.

          Mr. Owasanoye, a professor, argued that the economy could not be revived simply by improving revenue generation, without wiping out corruption and recovering money stolen by former officials. He said ongoing investigations into the diversion of arms funds by the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, and ex-military chiefs, show that significant amount of the money needed by the government to alleviate poverty were still in “the pockets and bank accounts of looters of public funds”. He said intelligence reports and court rulings elsewhere have shown that there were more funds to be recovered from the immediate past Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, the fraudulent sale of OPL 245 by Malabu Oil and Gas, a company owned by “a well-known money launderer”, Dan Etete, assets traced to former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, and former military ruler, Sani Abacha.

          He however explained that due to the multi-jurisdiction of the cases, and the exorbitant charges of professionals such as lawyers, forensic financial investigators, and the ability of the suspected officials to use part of the alleged stolen fund to challenge the recovery of the fund, the government needed huge flow of resources.“However, this poses a major problem. An empty treasury means that the money is not currently available for the government to engage these professionals due to the high fee that they charge.“Even in cases where service will be given on contingency basis the initial seed fund required to start the process is not affordable. As a result, the action the government urgently seeks to take is being stymied,” Mr. Owasanoye wrote.

         He argued that the government’s capacity to pursue all potential cases would be greatly boosted by the creation of an Assets Tracing, Recovery and Litigation Fund from which lawyers, investigators and forensic auditors will be paid. He added that the government was also working on an arrangement where professionals engaged would be paid only on successes recorded.“Once engaged, government can negotiate with the professionals to earn only success fees. Each professional engaged will secure its own litigation funders to support their briefs,” he stated. Mr. Owasanoye further revealed that government would not have got as much traction as it does in its drive to prosecute ex-officials, and in the recovery of funds, if it had not received a combined financial lifeline of $5 million from international organisations such as the Ford foundation, MacArthur Foundation and the Foundation to Promote Open Society “In light of the very dire economic situation of the moment this support and the proposed Assets Tracing, Recovery and Litigation Fund, is crucial to government ability to get recovery assets to support social welfare projects for the impoverished majority of Nigerians.“Furthermore, funding support will enable government to use money that would have otherwise gone to professionals for assets recovery for other social protection projects,” he wrote.

I won’t devalue Naira, Buhari insists

          Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated that his position not to approve further devaluation of the Naira  President stands. Buhari said that Nigeria, which is not an exporting nation, would be worst hit if the Naira was devalued. He noted that only the Western countries, with lots of items to export, could benefit from the economic measure.
        

         Contributing to a Presidential Panel Roundtable on Investment and Growth Opportunities at the opening session of the Africa 2016: Business for Africa, Egypt and the World at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the President asked Nigerians, who have developed taste for foreign luxury goods, to continue to pay for them rather pressure government to devalue the Naira.“Developed countries are competing among themselves and when they devalue they compete better and manufacture and export more. But we are not competing and exporting but importing everything including toothpicks. So, why should we devalue our currency?”, the President said.“We want to be more productive and self-sufficient in food and other basic things such as clothing. For our government, we like to encourage local production and efficiency”.
         Buhari stressed that Nigeria, being a mono-economy dependent on oil, and with a teeming unemployed youth population, the way out of the current slump in the global oil market, is for the administration to focus on agriculture and solid minerals development.“The land is there and we need machinery inputs, fertilizer and insecticides,” he said. Responding to a question on his performance since he assumed office, the President said that his administration had been quite focused on three fundamental issues of securing the country, reviving the economy and stamping out corruption.