The convocation ceremony held today [October 22, 2011] at the Federal Polytechnic in Oko, Orumba North Local Government Area [LGA] of the south senatorial district of Anambra State saw the outing of the many famous personalities of the community.
The ceremony also saw the award of Fellows of the Federal Polytechic [FFPO] to some select individuals within the country.Among the individuals awarded was the Senator for the Anambra South Senatorial District, Senator Andy Uba.
Senator Andy Uba in receiving the award expressed his gratitude to the managers of the institution and to the students of the school. He added that Federal Polytechic Oko has satisfactorily played its role in readying Nigerian youths for a fruitful future in the job market. He added however that some improvement will be sought for the institution to enable it become a frontline Polytechic that can compete favorably in the international arena. He capped his address by promising to work with the administrators of the institution behind the scene to access resources that maybe available through the federal government.
Greeted with applause, Senator Andy Uba rose again to tell the audience that the Nnewi based businessman and cement importer, Ibeto, had asked him to relay to them that he is donating the sum of N2.5million to the institution. Senator Andy Uba added also that he is personally donating N5million.
Enugu State governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime, has at last broken his silence on the rumour that he had an affair with his wife’s younger sister and got her pregnant. He said that nothing like that ever happened.
According to the governor, “no girl is nursing a baby for me.”
Chime spoke on this as well as the contentious minimum wage issue, among other things, in a chat with newsmen in Enugu.
There’s a rumour that you impregnated your wife’s sister. What do you have to say?
Well, you can see I am here; you did not even finish the story; that was not the only thing they wrote. They wrote about the non-existing female Permanent Secretary living behind the Government House. I have tried to find out if there is anybody that fits into that description; no such human being exists. But they have written about it. They wrote how I was beaten up mercilessly. When you hear such stories, you don’t even come here to ask me questions; you go and verify.
The young lady they talked about, if you are interested to know, I am sure you will be seeing her around. I can tell you sitting down here that she is one of the most decent human beings I have ever seen. Why they chose to rubbish her, I do not know; if they had written about, maybe, some other people, it will make sense, but not that particular girl. I am not talking about myself; they can write anything about me; after all, you were there when I came to seek your support to be the governor. So, everything is not siren; they can say all sorts of things about me. But the truth is that no such thing happened; nothing resembling it happened; nobody had any baby boy for me. As a matter of fact, the young girl being talked about is getting married this December; she is getting married to an Onitsha man and was actually staying with the young man when they alleged she was in my home in the village nursing a baby boy for me. So, it is all nonsense.
I also learnt that I bought Piccanto cars for all the girls in Enugu; I don’t see Piccanto in Enugu; the car is not popular in Enugu; and they have not been able to point at least one such beneficiary; I will like to know them. You stay in Enugu and hear such stories; the first thing you should do is to look around; you look for the Piccantos, know if they exist. Some even said it is Piccanto Jeep. I don’t know of any car like that. They are just writing all sorts of nonsense; taking advantage of the Internet to publish nonsense.
It’s unfortunately and regrettably that some local magazines have published those articles. My lawyers are at work on those ones we can reach. You can write anything on the Internet. You are on your own. That is the price we pay for occupying such offices; so whenever you see me, try and make me happy because so many things make us unhappy.
Workers in your state are saying that they were not paid last month. What’s the true position?
First, on the observation that some workers have not been fully paid for September, I don’t know if you also investigated to see if the workers worked fully for September. No responsible government will pay you for work not done; no responsible government, nowhere in the world will do that. In Enugu State, the labour leaders and their workers called for strike for no reason; they were alleging non-payment of minimum wage and we paid minimum wage, not minding that they were even on strike at the time. We used the skeletal services we had at the time and made sure we paid on the 25th of the month, as usual. It’s on record that throughout the South East, and I make bold to say, apart from a few who had been paying that before, maybe throughout the country, Enugu State was the only state that paid minimum wage, as agreed in August; we are not talking for August; we paid for August in August. We did not just stop there; we also agreed with labour that we will have up to October to pay the arrears; but because of what you may call windfall, we felt we had enough to pay the arrears and we felt there was no need waiting for October to pay the arrears. We paid all the arrears in August. What we got in return was for the national leadership of NLC, TUC and whatever names they answer, to come here and take our workers for a ride. Meanwhile, these people come from states that have not paid the minimum wage and they all came here and the workers were hailing them.
So, the workers went on strike for no reason. Thank God they have seen reason to go back. They wasted September; the earnings we ought to have made in September, we did not make; so we had no money to pay them. You work and you get paid; so no sentiments about it and we made it clear before they embarked on the strike; so it did not come to them as a shock. We had precedence. We begged them not to go on strike; we warned them of the likely consequences, but they chose to go on strike. So, if tomorrow the labour leaders ask workers to go on strike, I expect the workers to ask a question, like, why are we going on strike? They have wasted one month; nothing has come out of it. Now, they have gone back to work; if they like, let them continue with their strike. It is the press that encourage them; when they do something you hail them; when they came here we try to prevent them from holding a rally because, one, it’s illegal; secondly, as the chief security officer, I think I have the right and the powers to stop rallies or even any gathering that will cause any kind of breach of the peace. So, we tried to do that; unfortunately they saw themselves as heroes; some television stations were showing how they were being held hostage; so they had their way, they went to address whoever they wanted to address and they went on strike.
When they sneaked out of town, we did not know, until after causing the trouble. So, it is quite unfortunate; you and I must come together to make this country what we desire it should be. Labour, unfortunately, most regrettably went on strike in Enugu for no reason and thank God they have found reason to go back. I hope they continue to work and see Enugu as their state.
You were said not to be interested in paying the minimum wage, but you just said you paid…
The minimum wage Act is straightforward; you don’t need to be a lawyer to understand it. It’s a very short law, you go and read it, and we have implemented what the law says. You ask us to increase using the same percentage for every other person’s salary; the least paid worker in the state before earned about N8, 500; now he or she earns N18, 500; that’s over 100% increase; and you want us to increase every other person’s wage, maybe including mine; we cannot afford it and no state can, not even the Federal Government. So, the minimum wage Act has fully been complied with; I am a lawyer. I can’t do anything that is illegal, I assure you.
Federal roads in the South East are in deplorable condition. What are you doing about it?
We have always complained openly, not just myself as a governor but also my colleagues in the South East. We’ve complained; we’ve complained; we’ve complained. The ones we can do, we are doing with our state funds, with hope that we will get a refund. We’ve done a lot of federal roads, to make sure that our people at least move. We made attempts to see if they can give us concessions to build those big roads and then we will be paid later, but it didn’t work; so what do you do? We have limited resources and we can’t take over those roads, unless you want to waste your money there. So, it’s unfortunate but we are not relenting; we are still talking to the authorities and we hope they will improve on it. The Enugu/Onitsha road is very sad because as they are working, it’s failing and they want to repair it; they just built on the nonsense already built, instead of scrapping the whole thing; so it’s quite sad.
What have you done in the area of housing?
I want to start by reminding us that immediately I took over for the second term and in forming my cabinet, we established a full-fledged ministry of housing, to show how seriously we are taking the issue of housing. It’s no longer housed by the ministry of land; so we are taking housing very seriously; we are currently in the process of acquiring lands for the purposes of building new estates. The Maryland Estate, I don’t know if you have been there; we have been working round the clock to make sure that place is fully developed. From one uncompleted building we met in 2007, about five have been completed and each has about 36 flats; so we are building; I think there are nine of them and in no time we should be able to complete the remaining four; so we are working.
The housing corporation is also acquiring land, while the ministry of land is making land available to the ministry of housing; so we are taking it seriously. We certainly envisaged the influx of people, not because of Boko Haram, but we knew, from the outset, that making Enugu habitable would attract our brothers and sisters; they will want to comeback and stay here.
What of security?
We are taking the issue of security very seriously. This is the ember period and people want to make more money to enjoy Christmas, but I can assure you that no stone is being left unturned; we are doing everything possible and God willing and in no time, we shall be able to restore that peace that Enugu is known for. So, I am assuring you that we will have a very peaceful Christmas.
You have been accused of handpicking chairmanship candidates for the local government election. Why should it be so?
The process that produced our chairmanship candidates was transparent; it was so transparent, to the extent that we didn’t shut out anybody; it was openly done. I personally went to vote for my own candidate. It happened in all the local government areas. There had to be a repeat in the few local government areas we received complaints from. So, these things were done openly. I don’t see what can be more transparent than that. It is not me sitting here in the Government House and telling you that I did not handpick anybody or whatever, but the process was so transparent; we held consultations; we met ourselves; some people, on their own, withdrew from the race; others fought till the end, until they lost. I mean this is democracy; it happens everywhere in the world; it’s democracy; no single candidate was handpicked and if handpicked, I will like to know who handpicked them and these things are very verifiable. It is a bit sad that people you stay with hear story about you and they believe what they hear from outside, rather than what they observe. So, no candidate, chairmanship or councillorship, was handpicked by anyone.
What do you have to say about the rape controversy?
This is very strange, in the sense that if you look at the age bracket of the victims, it’s quite strange. The culprits, to me, should be examined. I don’t think they are well; they should be sick upstairs. It’s not normal; why should teenagers go after 60 to 80-year-old women, except of course we are told that all the young girls have fled the community? If not, you can’t explain this. But we can assure you that government is not taking the issue of rape kindly. Of course, you know the punishment for rape; anybody caught will seriously be dealt with. It’s a life jail offence; so if an 18-year-old boy wants to go to jail for life, for playing with an 80-year-old woman, so be it. It’s unfortunate.
It is not in the tradition of a sitting aristocrat to revolt, more so if he is an Emir in an era when the institution is stripped of all its major functions but saddled with the enormous task of ensuring security of life and property. So when some royal fathers decided to breakaway from the tradition of waiting for the Sultan to announce the sighting of the crescent during the last Ramadan and do it themselves, little did they know that we the masses were watching with keen interest.
The revolt, if we may call it so, is more surprising when it came from emirates that are the closest to the Sultan in history, geography and government, given their long standing mutual associations under the Sokoto Caliphate, the defunct Northern Nigeria, Northwestern State and Sokoto State. In all these, the Sultan served as their Chairman. More importantly, the Sultan is their leader under the national Muslim umbrellas of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. If there would be a revolt, we the masses would expect it to come from quarters more distant to the monarch than from these direct cousins of his.
To be fair to the dissenting Emirs, however, the practice of a Sultan announcing the commencement or ending of Ramadan is a recent one. It was not possible, administratively and logistically, for him to carry out that role in the pre-colonial era. The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of states. The centre at Sokoto did not have direct administrative influence over the periphery. Its authority was largely moral, as an acknowledgement of the founding role played by Usman Danfodio. Hardly did any Sultan dictated who would become an Emir or what expedition would he carry out. Annually, the Emirs would pay him a tribute, represented by a delegation carrying a number of gifts to Sokoto.
It was the loose link between Sokoto and the Emirates or, say, the lack of a strong federation that made it easier for a handful of soldiers under the command of few British officers to bring the caliphate to its knees in the last quarter of the 19th Century before they capped it with the subordination of Sokoto in 1903. If there were a strong federation, possibly – possibly – the contemporary history of Northern Nigeria would have been different today.
But what could not be done during the pre-colonial era became possible after the British conquest. Roads were opened and communication became enhanced. The entire North came under the authority of the British as a Protectorate. The British, for the purpose of indirect rule, decided to reinforce the authority of the Sultan not only by bringing the Fulani Emirs from Kebbi to Adamawa under his ceremonial leadership but also those in the old Kanem-Borno Caliphate and some hitherto independent Emirates like Yauri and chiefdoms that are not even Muslim. The Sultan thus became the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs in the defunct Northern region.
Regarding religious matters, the Sultan’s authority was further armored through Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the organ that Sardauna created to oversee the interests of Islam separate from the official administrative machinery of the regional government. The Sultan became its President. When the Supreme Council of Islamic affairs was later created as a sort of an expanded Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the domain of Sultan’s influence on religious matters now went beyond the North to include Muslims throughout the federation.
It is from these roots that the Sultan derived his present moral authority on matters of Islam in Nigeria. In all these functions and positions, the Sultan is deputized by the Shehu of Borno, then followed by the Emir of Gwandu, then of Kano and so on.
So the decision of some Emirs to announce the moon sighting independent of the Sultan can be seen as a reincarnation of their jurisdiction during the pre-colonial era, which is supported by the fact that the authority of the Sultan over Nigerian Muslims today is simply moral, not political. When authority is spoken of in terms of rights, one cannot help but conclude that they have the right to do so.
However, a judicious mind will not fail to discern that sometimes exercising a right may not be in the best interest of it’s owner. He lends it to someone, if he is wise, in order to reclaim it with profit in the long run. In my view, this is just one of those times.
It is in the best interest of Islam and the Emirs themselves to be seen to speak with one authority, in this case to follow the ruling of the Sultan. Unity is a fundamental principle of Islam. It does not make any sense, no matter the level of disagreement, for different emirates in the same country to observe Ramadan and the Eid on different days in the 21st Cemtury. It was possible under the Sokoto Caliphate only because of the absence of effective means of communication. In fact the entire idea of the Caliphate being a loose federation was a child of necessity. If Danfodio had cars, planes, tarred roads, emails, and telephones in addition to the military hardware that we have these days, he would have adopted a system that accords the centre of the Caliphate greater power. It was just impossible for the ordinary Fulani man he was to effectively administer a territory so vast as the Sokoto Caliphate directly from the centre. He understood his limitations and abided by them. May God bless him!
Today we live in an environment where not only Nigeria but also the whole world is on the verge of becoming a small village. Muslims all over the country, nay, throughout the world, are increasingly becoming aware of happenings around the globe with great ease that was never contemplated by their ancestors. The communication gaps, geographical challenges and military handicaps that allowed the Emirs their independence in the days of the Caliphate have ceased to exist. In their place, a fused community of Muslims stretching from Sokoto to the Atlantic has emerged with a moral leadership that is no longer flat but hierarchical with the Sultan at the top. Nigerians have become used to that notion. Reverting to the olden pre-colonial order brings some discomfort amongst us – the followers.
The revolt especially is coming at a time when the unity among the traditional rulers in the country is needed most. Security is fast deteriorating; discontent among us – the masses – is at record high; yet, belief that the traditional rulers can fix some of the problems, despite their financial and political limitations, is prevalent. A crack in their ranks at this time would certainly be ominous.
So far we have discussed the political aspect of the problem. The religious one is more contentious. While the Sultan is working hard to see that Nigerian Muslims – from both North and South – unite in matters of their religion, there is a tremendous pressure on him and the Emirs that is coming from some ulama who want the status quo to be maintained. On the other when it comes to moon sighting Such ulama do not give a hoot if Northern Nigerian Muslims always find themselves on one side and the rest of the world. This cannot just be correct. The moon is one, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. There cannot be one crescent for Northern Nigeria and another for the rest of the world. This defies common sense. Period.
The problem we have been having in this part of the world for decades now is that of false testimonies. Since Islam bases the moon sighting on the testimony of two people, Nigerians being what we are, there has never been a shortage of people that would come over claiming to have sighted the crescent even when it cannot there. The Sultan would thus announce the Ramadan moon always 29 for over 40 years, until some Emirs started to revolt a decade ago against what appears to be clearly irrational. When he was enthroned, the present Sultan started to introduce caution into the matter and some sanity started to prevail. It is an irony that another set of Emirs is now crucifying him for doing exactly what we earlier called for.
Some ulama use the secular nature of the country to undermine the moral authority of the Sultan. This started during the Sardauna era, given the cold war that existed then between him – a Sokoto prince – and the then Sultan. This year some of the ulama said the sultan should not be obeyed because he is violating the rules of God: “nobody should be obeyed in violation to God.” Such ulama and their groups exert pressure on their emirs who then became tempted to abandon the cause of unity and assert their independence from the Sultan.
I have followed the debate on moon sighting that took place this year on an Internet forum called the Nigerian Muslim Network which went on for some weeks after Sallah. There were testimonies from two reliable people that attempted to verify the reports of moon sightings in Zuru for example. One of them said the person he met was not steady in his testimony. The second, upon his failure to get to a specific person that will categorically affirm that he saw the new moon, passed what I regard as indicting statement about the behaviour of some Muslims in this country.
This is with the benefit of hindsight, though. The damage has already been done. People have sworn by Allah before the Emirs that they have seen the crescent and the Emirs announced that the moon is sighted, only for the rest of the universe to report the contrary. Rather than swim in such murky waters, if I were an Emir, I would prefer to enjoy the comfort of riding on the boat of the Sultan.
The issue of announcing the sighting of the crescent in Islamic tradition, like all collective obligations, is the jurisdiction of the authorities, not the ulama. Some scholars of the past insist that even the person who saw the moon must continue fasting until the authorities declare the moon sighted. This has been the practice throughout history and it is reiterated in recent literature – like the scholastic declarations in Fatawa al-Lajnatul Da’imah Lil Buhuthil ‘Ilmiyyah Wal Ifta made by reputable Saudi ulama.
Given the difficulties posed by our widespread dishonesty in the contemporary world, many countries have resorted to supporting human vision in moon sighting with astronomical aids in form of calculations and equipment – like telescopes. The calculations give an idea of the days the moon is most likely to be seen while the telescopes support vision directly.
Despite these attempts there are still controversies in those countries, proving that the issue of moon sighting even in the Information Age is far from simple. The dilemma is that, on the one hand, we lack the honesty to unreservedly implement the prophetic tradition of accepting the testimonies of any two “trustworthy” people. Where people are many, knowing who is reliable becomes difficult. On the other, scientific methods themselves cannot be totally – 100 per cent – faultless.
In Nigeria, the Sultan is trying to draw his conclusions from various sources, including common sense. His task can only be made more difficult when other royal fathers decide to go their own ways.
Lastly, we must not forget that Sallah is not only for the Muslims. It is one of our public holidays and the nation can declare it only once. The need for harmony is therefore more imperative. Supporting the Sultan, from the foregoing, will definitely take us closer to the solution, which we hope to arrive at one day. Dissent can only take us backwards, perhaps centuries ago, when we have the capacity to leave that to our ancestors.
The Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Sullivan Chime has called on media practitioners in the country to endeavour to carryout in-depth investigation to balance their news they dish out to the public.
Governor Chime who made the call during a media chat with media executives and correspondents in Enugu also appealed to them to always put the interest of the nation and her leaders first in the discharge of their duties.
The Governor described media practitioners as responsible group of people of noble profession but noted with dismay the prominence they gave to negative reports about their country on the page of their dailies.
The State Chief Executive therefore appealed to them to do more in highlighting those positive issues and values in the country and reduce the negative ones since the country has a good number of positive values and image that could make good headlines.
According to him, “I urge you to try to investigate stories you have. You are responsible people, let us read more about good and positive things about the country and not only negative ones.”
The Governor used the occasion of the interactive session to explain his government policies and programmes on issues boarding on infrastructure, the minimum wage, education, security, agriculture, among others.
On agriculture, Governor Chime told the Press that Enugu State has been chosen as the centre of Songhai farm initiative in Nigeria, adding that already, the Songhai trained graduate farmers in the state have been deployed at the Adarice farm at Adani in Uzo-Uwani Council Area.
He stated that the Enugu Mother farm has been established at Heneke Lake and work on the establishment of three farms in each of the zones of the state and one in each of the seventeen council areas of the state are on-going. He declared that with the investments so far made in Agriuclture, Enugu will be self sufficient in food production by the year 2013
Also on road, the Governor explained that work is ongoing in most of the roads being rehabilitated or under reconstruction in parts of the state including the Akwata road, parts of Ogui New Layout as well as the inter local government roads.
He specifically mentioned the extension of Presidential road – Agric Bank, Umuawulu road to the Enugu/Port Harcourt road, the Ugwogo Nike – Ekwegbe – Opi Nsukka where stone base had been completed, the Nsukka – Ibagwa – Ogrute Aji – Ette road, the old Udi – Nnachi – Oji River road and internal roads at Ogui New Layout.
The State Chief Executive explained that most of the contracts awarded to some indigenous contractors at the inception of his administration for the reconstruction of urban roads within the state capital have been revoked for none-performance.
He however assured the people that now that the dry season is about to set in, a good number of the contract will be re-awarded to tidied up the remaining urban roads within the state capital and Nsukka urban.
The Governor also spoke on the issue of security and the Coal industry in the state and said that government is not relenting on the seriousness it attaches to security, especially during this ember months.
According to the Governor, “the issue of security cannot be toyed with, we are working very hard to ensure that our people have a very peaceful Christmas and that residents of the state go about their lawful business without molestation and also have their two eyes closed while sleeping.
On Coal Industry, Governor Chime noted that although the issue of coal mining is under the exclusive right of the Federal Government, his government is doing her best to encourage potential investors to come to mine the coal deposit in the state.
He also stated that with the proposed one thousand mega watts coal fired plant by the Federal Government to be cited in Enugu, the future of coal industry is still bright, “we have not given up”, he said.
The labor mass action in Enugu State against the pressure to implement the minimum wage act may have robed the Governor of the State in a manner that has got him unrepentently annoyed over the mass action strike instituted by the labor leaders. This is as 247ureports.com gathered that the Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime has vowed not to release the September salaries to the workers who participated in the said strike in September.
As gathered, the governor made the vow following a ruling by the Industrial labor court instructing both labor leaders and the state government to return to the negotiating table – and to reach a definitive resolution in 28days. The governor’s hard stance over the labor dispute has taken the labor leaders and the civil servants of Enugu aback – particularly since the parties have yet to begin negotiations.
Gov Chime’s refusal to pay striking workers their September salaries will affect the entire civil servants who did not sign-in to work during the strike. And as gathered, the entirety of Enugu civil servants were on strike during the said month.
NEWARK, NJ—The former president and CEO of New Jersey-based international engineering consulting company Louis Berger Group Inc. (LBG) surrendered to the FBI this morning to face a six-count indictment alleging he led a scheme to intentionally overbill the United States in connection with hundreds of millions of dollars in overseas reconstruction contracts over a nearly 20-year period, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Paul J. Fishman announced.
The indictment, which was returned yesterday and unsealed today, charges Derish Wolff, 76, of Miami and Bernardsville, N.J.—who was president and CEO of LBG from 1982 to 2002 and more recently served as the chairman of LBG’s parent company, Berger Group Holdings Inc.—with one count of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and five counts of making false claims in connection with those billings.
The indictment alleges that while at LBG, Wolff conspired to defraud USAID by billing the agency on so-called “cost plus” contracts—including hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts for reconstructive work in Iraq and Afghanistan—for LBG’s overhead and other indirect costs at falsely inflated rates.
Wolff is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark, N.J., federal court.
“The indictment alleges that during decades at the helm of a company entrusted with the rebuilding of battle-scarred nations Derish Wolff focused on profits over progress,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Wolff allegedly used his position to lead others in the scheme, setting targets that could be reached only through fraud. Especially when representing our business practices overseas, there is no excuse for playing fast and loose with the taxpayers’ tab.”
“Today’s arrest of Derish Wolff represents personal accountability for allegedly defrauding the U.S. government out of millions of dollars,” said Michael B. Ward, Special Agent in Charge of the Newark Division of the FBI. “According to the indictment, by instructing his company to pad costs involving foreign reconstruction efforts at falsely inflated rates, he attempted to enrich himself at taxpayer expense. At a time when the U.S. government was attempting to build relationships and trust within the Middle East, Wolff sought profits over patriotism, and commercial gain over corporate duty.”
“This indictment alleges that Derish Wolff conspired to defraud USAID and the Department of Defense through a scheme of intentional overbilling and the filing of false claims,” said Edward T. Bradley, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Criminal Investigative Service. “Such schemes, perpetrated by dishonest contractors and individuals, erode public confidence and deny full support to the mission of our brave men and women serving in the military services. The American taxpayer expects the DoD and Defense Criminal Investigative Service to be champions of fiscal accountability and acquisition integrity and these charges demonstrate the commitment of DCIS and our law enforcement partners to vigorously investigate procurement fraud allegations.”
“Thanks to the diligent efforts of USAID special agents and auditors, as well as the perseverance of our interagency partners, fraud against the U.S. government will not be tolerated,” stated USAID Acting Inspector General Michael G. Carroll.
“This case highlights the importance of imposing accountability upon those who use wartime contracting for their own criminal purposes,” said Stuart W. Bowen Jr., Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. “I applaud the hard work of the investigative team, which included agents from my staff, for pursuing this case to its conclusion. Defrauding the U.S. taxpayer must be stopped by bringing to justice those who engage in it.”
According to the indictment and other documents filed and statements made in court in this and related cases:
USAID is an independent federal government agency that advances U.S. foreign policy by supporting economic growth, agriculture, trade, global health, democracy, and humanitarian assistance in developing countries, including countries destabilized by violent conflict. The agency awarded LBG, formerly based in East Orange, N.J., and now in Morristown, N.J., hundreds of millions of dollars in reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other nations. LBG calculated certain overhead rates and charged USAID and other federal agencies those rates on what are known as “cost plus contracts,” which enabled LBG to pass on their overhead costs to the agency in general proportion to how much labor LBG devoted to the government contracts.
From at least 1990 through about July 2009, LBG, through Wolff and other former executives, intentionally overbilled USAID in connection with the contracts in a scheme carried out by a number of LBG employees at Wolff’s direction.
Regardless of the actual numbers, Wolff targeted a particular overhead rate and ordered his subordinates to achieve that target rate through a variety of fraudulent means. From at least as early as 1990 through 2000, Wolff ordered LBG’s assistant controller to pad time sheets with hours ostensibly devoted to federal government projects when that employee had not actually worked on such projects. Wolff ordered this subordinate to instruct the accounting division to do the same.
At an LBG annual meeting in September 2001, Salvatore Pepe, 58, of Tuckahoe, N.Y.—who was then the controller and eventually became the chief financial officer—presented a USAID overhead rate that was significantly below Wolff’s target. In response, Wolff denounced Pepe, called him an “assassin” of the overhead rate, and ordered him to target a rate above 140 percent, meaning that for every dollar of labor devoted to a USAID contract, LBG would receive an additional $1.40 in overhead expenses supposedly incurred by LBG.
In response to this instruction to target an overhead rate, Pepe and former Controller Precy Pellettieri 55, of Rahway, N.J., with Wolff’s supervision, hatched a fraudulent scheme to systematically reclassify the work hours of LBG’s corporate employees, such as those in the general accounting division, to make it appear as if those employees worked on federal projects when they did not. Pepe and Pellettieri, at Wolff’s direction, reclassified these hours from approximately 2003 through 2007 without the employees’ knowledge and without investigating whether the employees had correctly accounted for their time, at times over an employee’s objection.
In addition to padding employees’ work hours with fake hours supposedly devoted to USAID work, Wolff instructed his subordinates to charge all commonly shared overhead expenses for LBG’s Washington office, such as rent, to an account created to capture USAID-related expenses, even though that office supported many projects unrelated to USAID or other federal government agencies.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison; each of the false claims counts carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison. Each of the six counts also carries a maximum $250,000 fine, or twice the loss from the offense.
On Nov. 5, 2010, Pepe and Pellettieri each pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz to separate informations charging them with conspiring to defraud the government with respect to claims. They await sentencing. Also on that date, LBG resolved criminal and civil fraud charges related to Wolff’s and others’ conduct. The components of the settlement included:
A deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), according to which the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey suspended prosecution of a criminal complaint charging LBG with a violation of the Major Fraud Statute; in exchange, LBG agreed, among other things, to pay $18.7 million in related criminal penalties; make full restitution to USAID; adopt effective standards of conduct, internal controls systems, and ethics training programs for employees; and employ an independent monitor who would evaluate and oversee the company’s compliance with the DPA for a two-year period;
A civil settlement that required the company to pay the government $50.6 million to resolve allegations that LBG violated the False Claims Act by charging inflated overhead rates that were used for invoicing on government contracts; and
An administrative agreement between LBG and USAID, which was the primary victim of the fraudulent scheme.
The settlement took into consideration LBG’s cooperation with the investigation and the fact that those responsible for the wrongdoing are no longer associated with the company.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ward; the DoD Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bradley; USAID, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Inspector General Carroll; and the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, under the direction of Special Inspector General Bowen, with the investigation leading to today’s Indictment.
U.S. Attorney Fishman also reiterated his thanks to those whose work regarding the civil investigation was critical to the settlement with LBG. The civil investigation was conducted by special agents and auditors within the Office of Inspector General for USAID. Audit support was also provided by the Defense Contract Audit Agency. The settlement was negotiated by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott B. McBride of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit, and Joyce M. Malliet of the Office’s National Security Unit.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
247ureports.com has embarked on a pictorial overview of State administration’s performance in governance and implementation of budgeted promises – of select States in the Nigerian Federation.
First in the series is Anambra State. Performance in Education, Healthcare, Erosion and Environment were evaluated.
Education:
A visit to a sample secondary school in Anambra State was used to evaluate the State administration’s performance in the area of Education and Educational insfrastructure. Nanka Community Secondary School in Orumba North Local Government Area [LGA] was visited. As a caveat, a minimal average of N1.055billion is earmarked by the State administration annually for infrastructural development of secondary schools and Equipment – particularly N915million was earmarked in the 2008 Budget for infrastructural development of secondary schools while N140million was earmarked for equiping the secondary schools. [see subhead 7 & 8 below]
Contrasting the earmarked amount over 5years of the present Anambra State administration – equivalent to N5.8billion – against the state of the instrastructure in Nanka Community Secondary School depicts a discrepancy that may be symptomatic of a deeper administrative incapabilities. [see picture below]
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Healthcare
Anambra State government budgets an annual minimum average of N1.25billion to Health – out of which N400million is earmarked for the rehabilitation and re-equipment of General Hospitals. Over the 5 years of the present state administration,it amounts to N2billion for the rehabilitation and re-equipment of General Hospitals. [Seesuheading 2 below]
The General Hospital at Mbaukwu was used as a sample case. The picturial view of the facility shows what appears a discrepancy. [see pictures below]
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Erosion & Environment
The minimum annual average earmarked in the Anambra State budget for Environmental Development and Management is N3.185billion – out of which N2billion is earmarked for Erosion Control annually. For 5years, it is equivalent to N10billion for Erosion Control.
Umuchiana Ekwulobia Gully Erosion project was used as a sample case. The present administration had claimed to have sunk N700million into the rehabilitation project. But the road appears to be sinking. See pictures below.
SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi called the rebels who rose up against his 42-years of one-man rule “rats,” but in the end it was he who was captured cowering in a drainage pipe full of rubbish and filth.
“He called us rats, but look where we found him,” said Ahmed Al Sahati, a 27-year-old government fighter, standing next to two stinking drainage pipes under a six-lane highway.
Government fighters, video evidence and the scenes of sheer carnage nearby told the story of the dictator’s final hours.
Shortly before dawn prayers on Thursday, Gaddafi surrounded by a few dozen loyal bodyguards and accompanied by the head of his now non-existent army Abu Bakr Younis Jabr broke out of the two-month siege of Sirte and made a break for the west.
But they did not get far.
NATO said its aircraft struck military vehicles belonging to pro-Gaddafi forces near Sirte at about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on Thursday, but the alliance said it was unsure whether the strikes had killed Gaddafi.
Fifteen pick-up trucks mounted with heavy machine guns lay burned out, smashed and smoldering next to an electricity sub station some 20 meters from the main road, about two miles west of Sirte.
They had clearly been hit by a force far beyond anything the motley army the former rebels have assembled during eight months of revolt to overthrow the once feared leader.
But there was no bomb crater, indicating the strike may have been carried out by a helicopter gunship, or had been strafed by a fighter jet.
Inside the trucks still in their seats sat the charred skeletal remains of drivers and passengers killed instantly by the strike. Other bodies lay mutilated and contorted strewn in the grass. Some 50 bodies in all.
Gaddafi himself and a handful of his men escaped death and appeared to have ran through a stand of trees toward the main road and hid in the two drainage pipes.
But a group of government fighters were on their tail.
“At first we fired at them with anti-aircraft guns, but it was no use,” said Salem Bakeer, while being feted by his comrades near the road. “Then we went in on foot.
“One of Gaddafi’s men came out waving his rifle in the air and shouting surrender, but as soon as he saw my face he started shooting at me,” he told Reuters.
“Then I think Gaddafi must have told them to stop. ‘My master is here, my master is here’, he said, ‘Muammar Gaddafi is here and he is wounded’,” said Bakeer.
“We went in and brought Gaddafi out. He was saying ‘what’s wrong? What’s wrong? What’s going on?’. Then we took him and put him in the car,” Bakeer said.
At the time of capture, Gaddafi was already wounded with gunshots to his leg and to his back, Bakeer said.
Other government fighters who said they took part in Gaddafi’s capture, separately confirmed Bakeer’s version of events, though one said the man who ruled Libya for 42 years was shot and wounded at the last minute by one of his own men.
“One of Muammar Gaddafi’s guards shot him in the chest,” said Omran Jouma Shawan.
Army chief Jabr was also captured alive, Bakeer said. NTC officials later announced he was dead.
Fallen electricity cables partially covered the entrance to the pipes and the bodies of three men, apparently Gaddafi bodyguards lay at the entrance to one end, one in shorts probably due to a bandaged wound on his leg.
Four more bodies lay at the other end of the pipes. All black men, one had his brains blown out, another man had been decapitated, his dreadlocked head lying beside his torso.
Joyous government fighters fired their weapons in the air, shouted “Allahu Akbar” and posed for pictures. Others wrote graffiti on the concrete parapets of the highway.
“Gaddafi was captured here,” said one simply.
From there Gaddafi was taken to the nearby city of Sirte where he and his dwindling band of die-hard supporters had made a last stand under a rain of missile and artillery fire in a desperate two-month siege.
Video footage showed Gaddafi, dazed and wounded, but still clearly alive and gesturing with his hands as he was dragged from a pick-up truck by a crowd of angry jostling group of government soldiers who hit him and pulled his hair.
He then appeared to fall to the ground and was enveloped by the crowd. NTC officials later announced Gaddafi had died of his wounds after capture.
(Writing by Jon Hemming Editing by Maria Golovnina)
THE Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province , Most Rev Valerian Okeke yesterday celebrated his 58th birthday anniversary in a low key with the 850 inmates of the Onitsha Prisons, urging them not to be fainthearted, but to be hopeful that God knows and cares for them just like every other citizen.
The Archbishop, who had spent over N10 million to rehabilitate and furnish structures within the prison, pledged yesterday to facilitate the construction of skills acquisition center for the inmates to enable them acquire skills that would enable them resettle peacefully after serving their term.
He said he was motivated to share his birthday with them to give them sense of relevance, love and to let them have hope because they are all part of the human family and sons and daughters of God. He encouraged them to ensure they come out better than they entered.
In a sermon he delivered during a Mass in the prison, Archbishop Okeke said: “As prisoners, God has plans for you. You should bear in mind that this place is only a reformation center and not a place for people to lose hope in life. The reason I decided to celebrate my birthday here is for you to know that you are not forgotten.
“Though I quietly mark my birthday every year, I decided to celebrate it with you this year because we are all equal before God. I want people to know that the fact that people are in prison does not mean that they are the most guilty as everybody is a sinner before God”
“I can see that the age bracket of the inmates range between 20and 40 years and we should do everything humanly possible to give them a sense of belonging and help to reform them so that they can become better citizens when they are discharged.”
He requested for total cost of building a modern skills acquisition center, that would have different sections for shoemaking, soap making, computer studies, barbing/hairdressing , tailoring, bread making and among other sections. He said he would approach public spirited parishioners to help actualize the project soonest.
The cleric brought food, snacks for the inmates and the officials and also donated two live cows, bags of water, clothings, assorted fish and 20 bags of rice to them. He also donated detergents, toilet soaps, biscuits, drinks and cash for their upkeep.
A Niger Delta youth activist has described the proposed subsidy removal by the Federal Government of Nigeria as wicked and ill timed. He wondered why an oil producing Nation like ours will be importing fuel and thinking of removing subsidy on such import thereby making the masses to suffer untold hardship in spite of what they are already going through.
The youth leader who could not hide his displeasure over the matter, noted that the Government should be thinking of how to get the existing refineries working and new ones up and running within the shortest possible time, at which point it may become bearable to remove any phantom’ subsidy’ because then import related variables like freight charges, Forex differentials, Custom duties, multi layered bribes and corruption would have gone off the price template, this he stated makes more sense rather than the voodoo economic idea being fed to the masses.
Dagogo noted that the Government so loathe the so called cartel that it so hypocritically cannot name members of this so called cartel. He wondered why the biggest beneficiaries like the Tinubus, Otedolas of this so called gain from subsidy have become the crafters of our national economic policy.
The secretary of the youth economic contact group a non Governmental organization noted that Nigerians will be willing to buy petroleum products at market prices within a sensible definition of ‘market’ and not within a senseless definition of ‘market’ that includes the very high cost of freight, demurrage, corruption and institutional inefficiency for a country that should be exporting fuel.
He further opined that the removal of subsidy is not a big deal but noted that the Government should meet the following conditions; Name the members of the so called ‘cartel’ , make considerable improvements in infrastructural development, health care delivery, power supply, education, security of lives and properties, a drastic change in the manner Government business is handled, finally and very importantly the reduction of the jumbo pay packages and allowances of Government officials in tandem with the new national minimum wage.
Emmanuel Dagogo is a Social and Public Analyst based in Port Harcourt
