Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), “to account for and explain the whereabouts of the over N100 billion ‘dirty and bad notes’ and ‘other large sum of cash awaiting examination’ which are kept in various branches of the CBN.”

SERAP, which made the call through a statement issued by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the allegations are documented in the latest annual report recently published by the Auditor-General of the Federation.

SERAP also urged him to “explain the whereabouts of the N7.2 billion budgeted for the construction of the CBN Dutse branch in 2010 and the N4.8 billion budgeted for the renovation of the CBN Abeokuta branch in 2009, and to publish the names of the contractors who collected the money but failed to complete the projects.”

SERAP urged him “to explain the whereabouts of the allegedly missing outstanding loan of N1.2 billion granted to the Enugu state government in 2015 and the outstanding loan of N1.9 billion granted to the Anambra state government between 2015 and 2016 and to fully recover and remit the public funds to the treasury.”

SERAP also urged him “to refer these grave violations of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the CBN Act and the country’s national and international anticorruption obligations to appropriate anticorruption agencies for investigation and prosecution, as appropriate, and the recovery of the public funds.”

In the letter dated 29 June 2024 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “These grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest grave violations of the public trust, the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the CBN Act, and national and international anticorruption obligations.”

SERAP said, “These grave violations also reflect a failure of CBN accountability more generally and are directly linked to the institution’s persistent failure to comply with its Act and to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability.”

According to SERAP, “These grave violations have seriously undermined the ability of the CBN to effectively discharge its statutory functions and the public trust and confidence in the bank. The CBN ought to be committed to transparency and accountability in its operations.”

The letter, read in part: “We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and the CBN to comply with our request in the public interest.”

“Explaining the whereabouts of the missing public funds, publishing the names of those suspected to be responsible and ensuring that they are brought to justice and the full recovery of any missing public funds would serve the public interest and end the impunity of perpetrators.”

“According to the recently published 2020 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has since 2017 been keeping over N100 billion [N100,672,999,000.00] ‘dirty and bad notes’, and other large sum of cash awaiting examination in various branches of the CBN.”

The Auditor-General fears that the ‘dirty and bad notes’ initially planned to be destroyed may have been ‘be diverted and re-injected into the economy.’”

“The CBN in August 2010 also reportedly budgeted N7.2 billion [N7,286,500,476.76] for the construction of Dutse branch building. The Dutse branch was due to be completed in November 2012 but the contractors have failed to complete the project.”

“The Auditor-General is concerned that the project may have been ‘awarded to incompetent contractor,’ and wants the ‘job completed without further delay.’”

“The CBN in 2009 reportedly budgeted N4.8 billion [N4,812,608,028.10] for the renovation of the CBN Abeokuta branch. The Abeokuta branch was due to be completed in 2012 but the contractors have failed to complete the project.”

“There is no significant renovation work on the site, several years after the proposed completion date. The Auditor-General is concerned that the project may have been ‘awarded to incompetent contractor,’ and wants the ‘job completed without further delay.’”

“The CBN also reportedly failed to account for the missing outstanding loan of N1.2 billion [N1,294,453,887.83] granted to the Enugu state government in 2015 and the outstanding loan of N1.9 billion [N1,994,383,561.64] granted to the Anambra state government between 2015 and 2016.”

“The Auditor-General fears the public funds may have been diverted. He wants the money fully recovered and remitted to the treasury.”

“Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations 2009 provides that, ‘on no account should payment be made for services not yet performed or for goods not yet supplied.’”

“Section 35(2) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 provides that, ‘once a mobilization fee has been paid to any supplier or contractor, no further payment shall be made to the supplier or contractor without an interim performance certificate.”

“Section 16(6) of the Public Procurement Act states that ‘all bidders shall possess the necessary professional and technical qualifications to carry out particular procurements; the financial capacity and adequate personnel to perform the obligations of the procurement contracts.’”

“SERAP notes that Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.” Section 13 of the Constitution imposes clear responsibility on the CBN to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution.”

“Paragraph 3112(ii) of the Financial Regulations 2009 provides that, “Where a public officer fails to account for government revenue, such officer shall be surcharged for the full amount involved and such officer shall be handled over to either the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).”

“Nigeria has made legally binding commitments under the UN Convention against Corruption to ensure accountability in the management of public resources. Articles 5 and 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption also impose legal obligations on the CBN to ensure proper management of public affairs and public funds.”

“Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the public funds. Taking the recommended measures would advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation and guarantee of non-repetition.”

“The Nigerian Constitution, Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their public institutions’ activities.”

President Bola Tinubu has vowed that Nigeria under his watch shall not slither into an era of blood, sorrow, tears, and fears.

The President also declared that those who carry out wanton violence in the country will face the wrath of the law as his government will not allow them to evade justice.

Reacting to the recent terrorist bomb attacks, which resulted in the loss of lives and the maiming of other citizens in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, President Tinubu, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, said that the cowardly attacks by terrorists and criminal elements are isolated incidents.

The statement read: “President Bola Tinubu strongly condemns the bomb attacks, which resulted in the loss of precious lives and the maiming of other citizens in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.

“President Tinubu describes the attacks as desperate acts of terror and a clear manifestation of the pressure mounted against terrorists and the success achieved in degrading their capacity to launch offensives.

“The President declares that the purveyors of wanton violence shall have a certain encounter with justice, and that these cowardly attacks are only but isolated episodes as his government will not allow the nation to slither into an era of fear, tears, sorrow, and blood.

“The President states that his administration is taking necessary measures to secure citizens, emphasizing that efforts will be redoubled to ensure that those who trouble the nation, dispatching precious lives, and disrupting law and order are completely removed.”

President Tinubu condoled with the victims of the attacks, the families of the deceased, as well as the government and people of Borno State.

The former Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Okoi Obono-Obla revealed that the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government shielded a former governor from prosecution over $200 million in offshore assets.

Obono-Obla made this revelation in an interview on Mic On Podcast.

He referenced several cases of high-profile corruption, expressing frustration over the lack of decisive action on the part of the government.

Noting the magnitude of corruption he encountered, Obono-Obla highlighted a specific case involving the recovery of extravagant assets.

He said, “For instance, there was this case where somebody had 80 brand new armored S-Class Mercedes Benz cars, along with houses, farms, motorcycles, and more, all discovered in a single location in Jabi.

“We intervened, questioned whether customs duties were paid on these vehicles. It turned out, they hadn’t,” he added.

Speaking on tax evasion, Obono-Obla said, “I wrote to the Federal Inland Revenue Service about these assets, questioning if taxes were paid. They confirmed no records of tax payments.”

He noted the panel’s proactive stance in securing a court order to take custody of the assets pending further legal proceedings.

The former chairman revealed efforts to investigate offshore assets linked to a former senator and governor.

He said, “Through the Panama Papers, we discovered offshore properties worth over £200 million belonging to a prominent former governor and senator.”

Recall that the former chairman submitted detailed reports to President Buhari and the Attorney General (Abubakar Malami, SAN) after the investigation.

But, Obono-Obla was reportedly sacked on August 15, 2019 during the President Buhari administration.

His sack letter said Obono-Obla would face “criminal prosecution on matters related to his alleged financial dealings, as uncovered by the ICPC upon investigation.”

“The government may ask the University of Jos to withdraw his law degree and the Nigerian Law School to debar him from practice,” the letter added.

Betty Irabor, a friend of Joke Silver, the husband to Olu Jacob, has said Olu Jacob is well, and alive, asking everyone to ignore the flying news of the actor’s death. 

Betty Irabor took to her X account on Sunday evening on 30th June 2024, to debut the rumor of the passing away of the veteran actor Olu Jacob 

In her tweet, she wrote, “Olu Jacob is well and alive.. pls ignore all rumors of his passing.”

An unidentified lady has allegedly jumped from the Ekpan flyover in Uvwie local government area, Delta state to her death.

The sad incident which occurred Saturday afternoon in the oil-rich city became the first alleged case of suicide recorded on the flyover.

The state Police public relations officer, SP Bright Edafe confirmed the sad incident to the Vanguard, saying before the police got there the corpse of the lady had been removed.

“We heard of the incident but before our men got there, they took the corpse of the woman away.”, the police said.

Some eyewitnesses who spoke to the Vanguard said the middle-aged lady apparently in her 30s screamed that she was tired of hardship before jumping from the flyover to her death.

In another development, one person allegedly lost his life in a kidnap incident that took place on the ever-busy Warri -Sapele road on Friday night at about 8 pm.

Vanguard gathered that the kidnappers opened fire on some vehicles around the Elume bridge area of the road.

One person who allegedly sustained a gunshot injury died in Sapele while being rushed to a hospital.

It could not be confirmed if anybody was kidnapped by the kidnappers but an unconfirmed report alleged that some passengers were whisked away into the bush by the kidnappers.

A prominent human rights advocate and former lawmaker, Shehu Sani, has revealed an alleged political strategy by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and other northern elites to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential elections.

In a detailed interview with Sunday Sun in Abuja, Sani disclosed that the strategy hinges on exploiting regional disparities and security challenges.

According to him, Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate in 2019 and 2023, plans to capitalize on various issues, including the relocation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offices to Lagos, the perceived dominance of South-western appointees in Tinubu’s administration, and ongoing security concerns in Northern Nigeria.

Sani outlined that Atiku and his political allies intend to paint President Tinubu as favouring his regional base over the broader national interest.

“They are trying to present him [Tinubu] as an ethnicist, a regionalist, and someone who betrayed Northern Nigeria despite receiving significant electoral support from the region,” Sani stated.

He described the move as a calculated attempt to sway Northern voters against Tinubu, framing it as a necessity to reclaim power.

Despite revealing these strategies, Sani advised Atiku and his cohort to exercise patience and respect the informal rotational presidency arrangement between the North and the South.

He suggested that Tinubu, representing the South, should be allowed to complete an eight-year tenure, after which power would naturally shift back to the North in 2031.

Sani emphasized the importance of national unity and peace, urging Atiku to consider the broader implications of his actions on the country’s stability.

“Atiku has worked hard to promote peace and unity in Nigeria, and it would be prudent for him to allow the South to complete their tenure,” he added.

Speaking on Atiku’s visit to Daura, he said, “You see, it is a tradition that each time there is a Sallah celebration, people pay homage to former leaders. You pay homage to former leaders so that you get the necessary blessings from them, but in the case of what has happened recently, the fact of the matter is that Northern political leaders are regrouping, and their focal point is Buhari.

“They still want to use Buhari to whip up Northern regional sentiment as it was done in the CPC days and garner the votes they can in order to eject Tinubu from power.

“There is no Northern leader today that can serve as a rallying point. He was the one who was a former president and he used to have a fanatical following. So, what they are trying to do is to present Tinubu as a bad case, as an ethnicist, as a regionalist, as a person who betrayed Northern Nigeria, as a man who was voted by the North, but he is serving his own people and the need for Northerners to wake up and evict him out of power.

“It is their strategy. And they want to do that by making sure that that idea is sold to the Northern masses and then, from there, they seize power. But I have to draw attention to two facts – first of all, Buhari was a colossal failure.

“He has led this country for eight years and he left the North worse than he met it, and the treasury of the country was looted under him; the economy was pillaged under him and the nation was plundered and terrorism and banditry was at the highest peak under Buhari administration.”

A former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, Doyin Okupe has shared his thoughts on the proposed single-tenure rotational presidency.

According to Okupe, it is a great idea for a developing country like Nigeria.

He, however, asserted that it should not be approached hastily.

Okupe stated this while addressing newsmen in Lagos on Sunday.

Naija News reports that a bill seeking a single term of six years for the President and state governors was brought up recently by 35 members of the House of Representatives.

The bill also canvasses the rotation of the presidency among the six geo-political zones of the country.

Reacting, Okupe suggested a holistic approach to the constitution amendment.

According to him, “I don’t think we should do this kind of reform (constitutional amendment) in a haphazard manner. There is so much that is wrong with the constitution we are operating.

“There is so much confusion and contradiction in the 1999 Constitution as prescribed and handed over to us by the military.

“I would rather have us to have a holistic approach to this reform or amendment.

“The six-year single tenure for the President and governors is okay in a developing nation like this and I have no objection to it.

“Yes, it is good we can have a six-year single-tenure rotational presidency. However, the rotational part should be clearly stated in the constitution among the six zones.”

He said that the National Assembly should not just review the tenure alone, but must go ahead and do so many other reforms, especially in the electoral system.

The Presidency has dismissed the claims of a non-profit organisation, BudgiT, that the administration of President Bola Tinubu, plans to run four budgets within a fiscal year.

Recalls that the Senate resumed plenary on Thursday to extend the capital section of the 2023 supplementary budget.

In a statement on Friday, BudgIT’s Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo, said it was worrisome that the Federal Government could be drafting a 2024 supplementary budget to be implemented alongside the 2023 yearly budget, 2023 supplementary budget, and 2024 annual budget.

Okeowo condemned the development, stating it would amount to severe budget credibility issues.

In a statement via X on Saturday, Peter Obi described the move as a blatant disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability.

According to the former Governor of Anambra state, the action of Tinubu’s government will lead to frivolous items in the approved budgets competing with essential projects for limited resources, further exacerbating the suffering of the Nigerian people.

Reacting to the development, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, in a statement via X, said the Federal Government is not planning to run four budgets within a fiscal year, as alleged.

Ajayi also slammed Peter Obi for jumping on the unverified report from BudgiT to spread misinformation.

The statement read, “Yesterday, @BudgITng raised a false alarm on the basis of rumours that FG is planning a 2024 supplementary budget. It is important to state that the FG is not planning to run 4 budgets within a fiscal year, as being alleged.

“The National Assembly only approved that implementation of the capital components of the 2023 budget and 2023 supplementary should be extended to December 2024 to achieve its objectives.

“Our country can’t achieve sustainable development when Federal, States and Local governments focus on only consumptive expenditures, which is essentially what recurrent expenditures represent.

“It is the capital expenditures that drive economic growth, strengthen private sector output and create employment opportunities for citizens.

“As a reputable civic organisation, Budgit can not afford to be flippant and be unduly sensational. Expectedly, @PeterObi has jumped on the false claims to push his new round of misinformation.”

India won the T20 World Cup title with Virat Kohli starring in a thrilling seven run victory over South Africa in a classic final at Kensington Oval on Saturday.

Kohli, who later announced his retirmenet from T20 internationals, steadied the India innings with his fine 76 taking them to a strong 176-7.

When Heinrich Klaasen blasted a superb 52 from 27 balls, it looked as though South Africa, appearing in first final, were closing in on victory but they were halted by some outstanding Indian bowling and catching at the end.

South Africa ended on 169-8 with Hardik Pandya taking 3-20 for India to the delight of the huge Indian following at the stadium.

The win is the second T20 World Cup title for India following their triumph in the first edition in 2007 and it also ends their 11-year wait for a major title going back to the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Veteran Kohli had struggled in the tournament, coming into the final with an average of just 10.7, but he delivered his best innings at the perfect moment with his balanced batting ensuring India won the title after an unbeaten tournament.

“I am so proud to get the runs for the team the day it mattered most,” said Kohli.

“The occasion prompted that change for me, I felt like it was now or never. We have wanted to lift a trophy for a long time.

“The occasion made me put my head down, respect the situation and play the innings that the team needed from me.

“I wasn’t feeling myself before today. I wasn’t confident. So I am very grateful and humble right now. It has been difficult, so there are a lot of emotions,” he added, confirming that the game was his last T20 for India.

“This was an open secret. It’s time for the next generation to take over.”

– Yadav catch –

Kohli’s asssured display was just what was needed for India who had slipped to 34 for three after their captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat.

In what has been a low scoring tournament, the total looked to be a daunting one for South Africa but then Quinton de Kock (39) and Tristan Stubbs (31) set the Proteas on their way before Klaasen turned the game in their direction in the 15th over, smashing Axar Patel for 24 including two fours and two sixes.

When Klaasen was finally removed, caught behind off Hardik Pandya, the Proteas needed just 26 off the last 23 balls.

Knowing they had to take the initiative, Rohit turned early for Jasprit Bumrah’s final over and he answered the skipper’s call perfectly, bowling Marco Jansen and conceding just two runs in the 18th over.

That meant South Africa needed 20 from the final two overs and Arshdeep Singh bowled a superb length to allow just four.

With 16 to win off the last over, Pandya bowled a full-toss at Miller who smashed it high straight down the ground but Suryakumar Yadav produced a breath-taking catch on the boundary, throwing the ball back into play before he crossed the ropes and then returning to complete the catch.

Kagiso Rabada edged a four and Pandya showed some nerves with a wide but the seamer kept his cool to ensure silverware for India after they lost in last year’s 50 Over World Cup on home soil.

For the 35-year-old Kohli it was the perfect way to bow out in the format.

“This was my last T20 World Cup and this is exactly what we wanted to achieve,” he said.

“It was an amazing game. One day you feel like you can’t get a run but one day, things just click. It hasn’t quite sunk in for me yet.”

It was a bitter end for South Africa who had reached their first World Cup final after ending a streak of seven defeats in semi-finals in both World Cup formats.

“Gutted for the time being, it’ll take some time to reflect on a really good campaign, hurts quite a bit but incredibly proud,” said captain Aiden Markram.

“We bowled well, not a lot to work with, it was a chaseable total, batted well, came down to the wire, gutted not to get over the line.

“Things happen quickly at the back end, but got into a great position to prove we were worthy finalists.

“South Africans are competitive, respectful and will go down with a fight. It’s still a proud moment for us.”