Politics

New twist in corruption probe as Nigerian Presidency confirms approval of N3bn for social register verification

Published

3 months ago

January 16, 2024

In light of the ongoing investigation over the alleged misappropriation of N585 million by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, the Nigerian Presidency on Monday called for restraint and patience from Nigerians, warning against a media trial.

Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Advisor to the President on Information and Strategy, revealed that President Bola Tinubu had authorised the release of N3 billion to validate the National Social Register during the previous administration of Muhammadu Buhari for cash transfers and other social investment initiatives.

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation under Betta Edu paid New Planet Project Limited (NPPL), a business owned by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, a total of N438.1 million for consulting services from the contract, stirring conflict of interest controversy.

A memo titled, “Conveyance of approval; Re: appeal to use N3,000,000,000.00 (three billion naira) from the Covid-19 palliative fund for verification of the national social register,” dated December 18, 2023, was sent by the Office of Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

It read:

“The above subject refers. Please be informed that Mr. President has approved the expenditure of N3,000,000,000.00 (three billion naira) only from the COVID-19 Palliative Fund for verification of the National Social Register. Please accept the assurance of my highest regards.”

Onanuga, while speaking to journalists on Monday, said, “The President has directed the EFCC to investigate the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and all these matters are under investigation already.

“I am sure that the EFCC saw that memo from the Office of the Chief of Staff, and they are doing something about these findings.

“Let us allow them to do their work. Let us not do a double investigation on the same issue or a media trial on an issue that is under investigation. Nigerians should exercise patience.

“When the EFCC is done with their findings, they will tender their report to the President, who will then act on the result of the investigation.”

Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

22 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.

Politics

S’Africa lengthens troop deployment in Mozambique, Congo DR

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a speech that South Africa’s military would keep sending troops to Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are both in the middle of wars.

The extension will leave 1,198 members of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) in eastern Congo for an unknown amount of time. They are there as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups.

The statement also said that 1,495 members of the SANDF would keep working in Mozambique, where they have been since 2021 helping the government fight dangerous extremism in the north.

After two SANDF troops were killed and three were hurt by a mortar bomb in Congo in February, South Africa’s military operations abroad have been looked at more closely at home this year.

Meanwhile, the major opposition party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance, said that Ramaphosa sent troops into a war zone without being ready.
Under the supervision of the UN, the SANDF has taken on many dangerous and difficult peacekeeping tasks over the years to help war-torn African countries stay stable and peaceful.

In 2003, South Africa was one of the first countries to send troops to Burundi to help the peace process. During the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) peacekeeping mission in 2000, the SANDF led attempts to stabilize the country’s politics, rebuild and improve infrastructure, and train DRC troops.