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NATIONAL CONGRESS OF DEMOCRATS
(An affiliate of CACOL)
The Secretariat: CRDP, Opposite the Residence of the late Wazirin Keffi,
Keffi Local Government Area,Nasarawa State,Nigeria
(Motto: Transparency for Democracy)
GSM: 0803-4164262, 0803-7929097
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His Excellency,
The President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces,
FederalRepublicofNigeria,
The Presidential Villa,Abuja.
Date: September 14,, 2012
Sir,
CALL FOR THE SACK OF FCT MINISTER/PROBE OF HIS STEWARDSHIP
Mr. President Sir, in your declaration speech to Nigerians, you promised to offer an effective service delivery to transform the country to a better place within a short period.
As partners in nation building and anti-corruption crusaders, we deem it imperative to draw your attention to the urgent need to reshuffle your cabinet and inject new unpolluted blood into the system for positive results and the realization of your dreamtNigeria.
2. Your Excellency, it may interest you to know that after several efforts to get an answer to our questions bordering on corrupt practices and epileptic service delivery you’re your Honorable FCT Minister, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed seeking failed to yield fruitful result, in pursuance of clauses 2 (1), 3 (3) (i) and 3 (4) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, we submit that having exhausted the normal procedure of obtaining response failed, it became glaring that the Honorable Minister must have either abused the trust reposed in him by you and Nigerians or has skeletons to hide that constitute threat to national development and the efforts of transformation.
Even though, we are at liberty to institute a case in the court to further press for response as contained in the Act, we have chosen to first intimate you before heading to the court.
ALLEGATIONS FOR FURTHER CLARIFICATION AND SUBSEQUENT ACTION:
a) Despite the huge budgetary allocation at the disposal of the Honorable Minister, the FCT is gradually retrogressing to a mere gloried village status that suffers from epileptic portable water supply, security to lives and property, qualitative medical care in public health institutions as well as collapsed infrastructure that were inherited in good working conditions as can visibly be seen and touched.
b) Apart from allocating of plots of land to selected applicants at choice areas, seizure of already certificated plots and re-allocation of same to the highest bidders and award of bogus contracts that have no direct bearing on the lives of the majority, the present FCT administration has outlived its usefulness to residents of the territory and Nigerians. It has over the years brought more hatred to your administration than what you expect.
c) We have carefully observed with concern that what is obtainable in the FCT is a family and friends system of administration loaded on the people with little concern to the welfare of the majority through effective service delivery that is not in existence.
d) As a representative of the North-East sub-region in the Federal Executive Council and member of the Ambassador Galtamari Presidential Committee on security challenges in the sub-region, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed, has over the years failed woefully to support the efforts of the Federal Government to achieving a lasting solution to the on-going terrorists activities in the sub-region at least in his personal capacity as a son of the soil and a patriot that he is expected to be.
e) The city of Abuja which was hitherto rated amongst the most secured, beautiful and cleanest in Africa, is today fast becoming a shadow of its former self due to poor service delivery and in-effective administrative policies tailored towards personal aggrandizement and institutionalization of corrupt practices and other related crimes. Today, the city has been overtaken by refuse heaps just as most of the created Green Areas meant for beautification are over grown with wild weeds and allowed to waste despite their costs implications on national resources.
f) The FCDA and its affiliate, AGIS, have been transformed to breeding ground for all sorts of corrupt practices including extortion from prospective land applicants with a working system that favors only touts and fronts. Requests and demands of touts and fronts are usually attended with lightening speed while genuine government business and other honest transactions and policy implementations perceived to have direct bearing on the lives of the majority are ignored and in most cases thrown to the garbage.
g) It was widely reported by across section of the media and later verified by several anti-corruption groups that in one of the personal bank accounts of a former Special Assistant (Land) to the FCT Minister, Manu Muhammed who is a blood brother to the Minister, a whooping sum of over N4billion was discovered just as one Abdul Azeez Muhammed a staff of the Civil Defence Corp attached to the minister was reported to have extorted over N300million from prospective land applicants.
h) It was alleged in many quarters that the Chief of Staff to the FCT Minister, Alhaji Musa Umar Yashi, in less than one year in office, became a proud owner of several landed properties and a mansion situated atNo.36 Medeira Street, Maitama,Abujasaid to have been purchased at over N800million.
i) A junior brother to the minister, Muntaka Muhammed, who is unemployed without a legitimate source of livelihood, owns several mansions in Bauchi that were acquired in less than one year suspected to have been through fraudulent means and in connivance with the office of the minister.
j) A senior brother to the minister and a staff of the Central Bank ofNigeriain Bauchi, Bappah Muhammed, owns several estates inAbujaand Bauchi suspected to have been acquired through dubious means with the connivance of his minister brother. Investigation has shown that the properties were neither acquired with a Bank loan nor an overdraft from any of the Banks including the CBN.
k) A junior brother to one of the wives to the FCT minister, Umaru Shayi who is presently serving as Special Assistant (Domestic) to the Minister, owns multi-million naira filing stations situated along Bauchi – Jos road and the same person in less than one year acquired the property suspected to be sourced from illegal allocation of land in the FCT.
l) The FCT Minister apart from renovating and constructing several Mosques in various places, is presently renovating a single mosque in Bauchi metropolis at well over N300million that was contracted to one of his fronts, Abdullahi Yari. It is not the renovation work that is the problem but the source of the funding remains suspicious as his legitimate monthly take-home and allowances are not sufficient to support such projects.
m) There are several lapses in the FCT land administration system that include;
1 Lack of proper accounting manual
2 Lack of procedural manual for uploading data into the Geographic Information System (AGIS).
3 Very weak and corruption prone financial management system
4 Scientific forgery and recycling of bank drafts for payments
5 Lack of customized corruption prevention mechanism
6 Weak internal control function
7 Very low physical security of sensitive equipment and records
8 Absence of clear line of authority and coordination of land related establishments
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OUR PRAYER:
Having stated some of our reasons for the call, we appeal for a thorough probe of the FCT administration under Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed in view of certain corrupt practices and abuse of office that are on-going while he is holding sway.
The Director of Treasury, Ibrahim Bomoi and the Chief of Staff and the General Manager, AGIS should be directed to proceed on compulsory leave pending the outcome of investigations.
We shall continue to expose corrupt practices in Government business to support your efforts in makingNigeriaa better place for all.
Obediently,
BB Dogonyaro ……………………………………….
(National President)
Yakubu Alhaji Jibrin ……………………………………….
(National Secretary)
Cc: The FCT Minister
Cc: Media Organizations
Cc: The chairman EFCC
