360,000 security operatives, US sniffer dogs for elections

Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba

NO fewer than 360, 000 security operatives as well as 25 sniffer dogs from the United States would be deployed in the states for the 2015 general elections, heads of security agencies have said.

While Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, said about 300, 000 of his officers and men had been trained in partnership with the Independent National Electoral Commission and development partners, the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr. Ade Abolurin, said that 60, 000 of his men would partake in securing lives and properties during the elections.

Abba and Abolurin, represented by the Deputy Commandant-General (Operations), Mr. Evan Ewurum, spoke on Friday in Abuja during the closing ceremony of a two-day conference on the role of the state and non-state actors in mitigating violence in elections, organised by the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development in collaboration with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The conference had as its theme, “Nigeria 2015 elections and Beyond.”

According to Abolurin, the NSCDC has also completed plans to import 25 sniffer dogs from the US to detect explosive components during the elections.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had setup an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security to provide security needs during elections.

The committee co-chaired by the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), drew members from all the security agencies, including the military.

But a representative of the Department of State Security, Mrs. Mary Otubu, who did not make public the number of officers the DSS will deploy at the event, assured voters and government officials of their safety.

Abba said, “Policing the society has always been a challenge, all the police officers will be deployed in the elections; over 300, 000 officers will be used. The Commonwealth has also offered to help us in that respect of training by 21st of this month. Some of the trainings are even train-the-trainers until it gets to the last person on their roles during the elections.”

The IGP stated that the role of security agencies before, during and after the elections was key to the enthronement of a viable democratic culture.

According to him, the Federal Government has provided non-lethal weapons and about 2,000 patrol vehicles to ensure that the police perform their duties during elections.

Speaking on when a police officer should use firearms during elections, Abba said the time to use lethal weapons would depend on the discretion of the officers “but in compliance with the Police Act.”

Ewurum said all officers in the intelligent unit of NSCDC would be deployed for the elections.

Participants at the event urged government agencies against partiality but to show high level of professionalism.

A former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Uwais, had, at the opening of the conference, regretted the non-implementation of the report of his Electoral Reform Committee, saying election crises being witnessed in the country would have been completely arrested long time ago if the report had been implemented.

He also expressed fears over the legal implication of the outcome of the February 14 presidential election if the exercise was not extended to the troubled states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states.

Jonathan is promoting corruption —Keyamo

 Festus Keyamo

A renowned lawyer, Festus Keyamo, on Sunday said President Goodluck Jonathan has surrounded himself with corrupt people, hence it had been ‘impossible’ for the President to launch an anti-graft war.

Keyamo, in a statement, said that Jonathan, rather than curb corruption, had been promoting corruption by his actions and inactions.

He, therefore, said that only the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), could curb corruption.

He said the Director of Media and Publicity for Jonathan’s campaign, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, was still in court for financial impropriety.

Keyamo, who is the prosecutor in the case against Fani-Kayode, said the fact that the ex-minister was the image maker for Jonathan showed what Jonathan stood for.

He said, “We have a President who has no single appetite to fight corruption – yes, none. Imagine a campaign that is dominated by the theme of corruption, yet the President has decided to appoint a person facing trial for money-laundering as his Director of Media and Publicity.

“If nobody would say it, I will say it because I am the one prosecuting the fellow in court and the case has been adjourned to February 23 and 24 for trial. Part of the lies told is that the fellow has been freed whereas some of the counts in the charge were just struck out and the court held that he has a case to answer on some other counts. Yet nobody is asking the President these hard questions.

“The President only mouths anti-corruption. The other day (December 23rd, 2014, I think) the President said he would like to erect a Hall of Shame for Nigerians who engage in corrupt and unwholesome activities that bring the country to disrepute.

“But he was the same person who brought a convicted criminal, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, out of the Hall of Shame to the Hall of Fame by misusing his power of Prerogative of Mercy when he granted pardon to this self-confessed ex-convict. Imagine the pain, the efforts and resources that go into securing a single conviction for corruption in this our clime.”

Keyamo said it was an irony that Jonathan had decided to tackle the corruption of stealing of the nation’s resources in the high seas by empowering “small-time crooks and criminals to police our waterways.”

The human rights lawyer said Jonathan’s weakness as the commander-in-chief had started to rub off on the armed forces as soldiers could no longer contain insurgency.

He said, “Before Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Boko Haram was nothing but a rag-tag group of extremists living in enclaves like Sambisa, while our proud military boys patrolled the towns. Now, under Jonathan, the reverse is the case. Our military boys are now in enclaves while Boko Haram patrols our towns.

“One obvious flaw is that our President has lost control of the military and the top hierarchy of the military is merely feeding fat on this unfortunate situation and the President seems to be totally helpless in the face of this.”

Six Hezbollah fighters killed in Israeli attack

A Hezbollah statement said an Israeli helicopter fired missiles on Sunday at Jihad Mughniyeh’s car in Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing a total of six members of the group.

Mughniyeh, 20, was the son of Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in the Syrian capital Damascus in 2008, also in a suspected Israeli attack.
Imad Mughniyeh was on the most-wanted list of the US for attacks on Israeli and Western targets until his killing.

“Mohamad Issa, the chief of Hezbollah operations in Syria, who died in the air strike, is also a big name, making this a major strike on Hezbollah,” Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston, reporting from Beirut, said.
“The group says there will be retaliation for the attack.”

Iran’s semi-official Tabnak news site reported that the air assault also killed several Iranian troops, who along with Hezbollah – a Lebanese political group with a powerful military wing and close ally of Tehran – are backing Syrian forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels.

State-run Iranian television said that the identity of the “martyrs” could not be confirmed.

The Hezbollah-run al-Manar news channel said that the Israeli attack suggest “the enemy has gone crazy because of Hezbollah’s growing capabilities and it could lead to a costly adventure that will put the Middle East at stake”.

Israeli Channel 10 television quoted an official Israeli source as confirming the country’s role in the attack.
Israel’s Ynet news website also quoted a military source as saying that the operation targeted “terrorists who intended to attack Israel”.

“This is the seventh time Israel has attacked targets close to its borders since the war in Syria started,” Al Jazeera’s Nisreen El-Shamayleh, reporting from the Jordanian capital Amman, said.

A statement on al-Manar television said the fighters were killed during a field reconnaissance mission in Mazraat Amal, a village in Quneitra.

The incident happened three days after Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, said he considered frequent Israeli attacks in Syria as a major aggression, and that Syria and its allies had the right to respond.

Nabil Boumonsef, a columnist at the Lebanon newspaper an-Nahar, said he believed the strike was a direct response to Nasrallah’s speech and could lead to a backlash.

“Killing the son of Mughniyeh is dangerous. I do not think that the group can be quiet now, now that the father and the son are killed. I expect that it will do something,” he said.

Rivers, PDP at war over use of stadium

 Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi

THE Rivers State Government has condemned the threat by the Peoples Democratic Party in the state to forcefully enter the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium for its presidential rally.

The state government had refused to approve the state PDP’s application to be allowed to use the stadium for the event, maintaining that the facility was still under construction.

It will be recalled that the All Progressives Congress in the state and the PDP had been at daggers drawn over the opposition party’s insistence that it must use the stadium for its rally.

The PDP had argued that since the APC had used the stadium for its (APC) presidential campaign, nothing should stop the state government from approving its (PDP) application.

But a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, and issued in Port Harcourt on Sunday, indicated that the stadium was still under construction.

Semenitari explained that the contractor handling the project had moved out of site before the APC could hold their rally on December 6, 2014, adding that the contractor had since gone back to work.

Explaining that the stadium was currently unsafe for use, she warned that the state government would not joke with the responsibility to guarantee the safety of lives and property of the people irrespective of the person that was involved.

“The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to the statement credited to the Peoples’ Democratic Party that it will force its way into the Rivers State Government-owned Adokiye Amiesimaka Sports Complex to hold its Rivers State presidential rally.

“At a different time and under different circumstances, the Rivers State Government would have ignored the PDP’s ranting.

“But with the party’s penchant for violence and its recent bombings of people and property all over the state, it is pertinent that the Rivers State Government raises this alert and sounds a note of warning to the PDP that the Rivers State Government will not trifle with its responsibility to guarantee the safety of lives and property, irrespective of who is affected.

“The matter of the Adokiye Amiesimaka Sports Complex is a simple one. The complex is still under construction. As a work site, it is an unsafe environment for use at this time.

“The PDP makes reference to the fact that the APC had held its rally at the same venue. What they failed to mention is that the contractor was moved out of site during the time the APC rally held and remobilised to site right after that rally,” the commissioner said.

She pointed out that the Rotimi Amaechi administration was working towards ensuring the completion of its projects within the next five months and added that the state government would not be able to move the contractors out of site.

According to her, the state government has been magnanimous enough to approve for the PDP in the state the use of the Liberation Stadium for their presidential rally.

I’m fit, PDP is desperate, says Buhari

 Maj. General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)

The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has denied media reports that he is terminally ill.

But shortly after he made the denial   in   Abuja on Sunday, the Peoples Democratic Party challenged him to take a brisk walk or jog round a stadium if, indeed, he was hale and hearty.

Some newspapers and on-line publications (The Punch not inclusive) had in their Sunday editions, published that the former military ruler was to be flown out of the country for medical attention.

Buhari told journalists   that the report on   his state of health was orchestrated by some individuals not only to gain undue political advantage but to divert public attention from corruption which had assumed the front burner of national discourse.

He said, “There were reports that I was to jet out for medical check-up yesterday (Saturday) but here I am. 

 I was in Nasarawa and Benue states yesterday (Saturday) and   tomorrow (today), I will be in two states.

“The day after tomorrow (Tuesday), I will be in two more states. I sincerely don’t know how they got the impression that I was sick.     I had a cold but it did   not stop me from going through my schedule.”

Buhari added that a medical document purportedly confirming his alleged poor state of health was fake.

The APC presidential candidate said, “The     Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital said the documents are forged.

“This desperation is beyond my comprehension. The issue we are letting Nigerians know is that there has been   much corruption in this country in the   last 16 years. The Peoples Democratic Party   has literally destroyed this country.”

When asked to make a categorical statement on his health, Buhari jokingly asked the reporter, “How old are you, 50 years?   I can tell you that   if we go to the field, you will not stay as long as I would.”

The APC candidate also used the occasion to debunk allegations that his tenure at the defunct Petroleum 

Trust Fund was riddled with corruption.

He said that the PTF was   investigated and the report presented to the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, who recently confirmed it.

Buhari said, “That one has been cleared. There was no fraud in the PTF.   Gen. Obasanjo recently answered that question; he confirmed that there was an investigation and the report was brought to him and there was nothing on the ground as far as my management and chairmanship of the PTF were concerned.

“The person who did the investigation as President cleared me.”

The former military ruler also spoke on the controversy surrounding   his educational qualification, saying he was surprised that it was coming up now.

He said, “I have contested three times under the same rules set by INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) where there is a basic educational qualification you must have.

“I was allowed to contest all these elections because my certificate was in order and there were individuals that wrote to the United States War College and the college answered them and they were published in the newspapers.

“So, I really don’t understand this desperation or misinformation that is being passed around. They will do nobody any good because our minds are being taken away from the serious issues of corruption and incompetence by the PDP.”

Commenting on the state of the   economy, the APC candidate said despite repeated denials by the Federal Government, “the truth remains that   Nigeria is   broke.”

Buhari said, “How many states could   pay their workers’ salaries? In December, many families went hungry during Christmas because states did not pay the salaries of their workers. So why should they   be   talking about an individual’s health instead of paying salaries.”

Also, the APC in a statement by the Directorate of Media and Publicity of its Presidential Campaign Organisation accused the PDP of   circulating a fake medical report on   Buhari’s health.

It said it was ludicrous for the PDP to throw caution to the wind in its “shameless” effort to the pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians who are yearning for a change of guard at the federal level.

The directorate called on   Nigerians to the   errors on the letterhead conveying the medical report, which wrongly identifies the institution as Ahmadu Bello Teaching Hospital instead of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital.

The statement partly read, “The attention of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation has been brought to the circulation of a fake medical record of Gen, Buhari.

“We are able to track the circulation of the post on a social media platform and we know that the information emanated from the Facebook handle of one of Governor Ayo Fayose’s aides.

“It is noteworthy that the authorities at ABUTH have given a clean bill on Gen. Buhari’s health status.

“It is also noteworthy for Nigerians to understand that the PDP will stop at nothing to cast aspersion on the person of Gen. Buhari.

“We knew that the PDP would become unbridled at a point in its desperation to avert the defeat coming its way in the countdown to the February 14 presidential election, but to anticipate that the PDP would go as dirty as spreading falsehood on an individual’s state of health could not have been imaginable.

“What is important is that Nigerians know today that our country is not healthy. They know that the PDP has driven the country to a near state of comatose.”

But the PDP said instead of denying the report, Buhari should   jog round a stadium to prove to Nigerians that he was healthy enough to rule the country.

The   party, at a news conference in Abuja by the Director of Media and Publicity of its   Presidential Campaign Organisation Femi Fani-Kayode, said the rumour that the former Head of State was suffering from prostrate cancer was worrisome.

The PCO   said that it was incumbent on everyone to pray for Buhari if the rumour was indeed true.

It   added, “The rumour that he is suffering from prostrate cancer is exceptionally worrying and it is incumbent upon each and everyone of us to pray for him if this rumour is true.

“We are constrained to urge him to prove to the Nigerian people that he really is as fit as a fiddle, as the spokesman of his PCO has said, by taking a brisk walk or even jogging around the perimeter of the stadium before any of his rallies.

“If he can do that, it will go a long way to allay the fears of many.”

Asked if the PDP was in possession of any medical report indicating that Buhari was suffering from any terminal ailment, Fani-Kayode said no.

He said that the days of hiding things like a presidential candidate’s health status from the public were long over.

Lagosians now enjoy air-conditioned trains —Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan says his administration has transformed the railway system, adding that the people of Lagos now enjoy train rides in air-conditioned coaches.

The President said this in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Jonathan, who described the feat as a ‘silent revolution’ promised that his administration would do more in the coming years.

He said, “A silent revolution is taking place in Lagos. Every day, thousands of Lagosians are escaping the hustle and bustle of Lagos traffic by traversing the mainland in the new air condition Diesel Multiple Unit trains.

“These trains were introduced by my administration as a fore taste of our plan to develop an inter-city and intra-city high speed train network for Lagos. The Federal Government has already signed a $1.5bn contract for the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan Express Train.

“This project, when completed, will make it possible to live in Ibadan and work in Lagos. This is progressing simultaneously with the $12bn Lagos-Calabar coastal rail project. This project is 1,402km long and will link Lagos to Calabar with stops at cities along the route. We have good plans for Lagos, plans that will ensure that Lagos continues to be the centre of excellence and a pride to Nigeria.”

Petrol now N87 per litre – FG

The Federal Government on Sunday announced a reduction in the pump price of petrol by N10 from N97 to N87 per litre.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, announced the reduction while briefing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Alison-Madueke said the reduction, which took immediate effect, was because of the recent drastic fall in the prices of crude oil in the international market.

The minister further directed the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency and the Directorate of Petroleum Resources to immediately effect the change.

Alison-Madueke said, “As you may be aware, there has been a lot of volatility in the price of petroleum products, particularly crude oil, over the last few months. Invariably, this has meant that the price of the product in Nigeria has also been greatly impacted.

“It is as a result of this, under the approval and directive of Mr. President and in line with Section 6 Clause 1 of the Petroleum Act, that it is my responsibility as the minister of Petroleum to announce that there will be a reduction in the pump price of petrol (Premium Motor Spirit) by N10.

“Therefore, the reduction will be from N97 per litre to N87 per litre effective as from midnight, Sunday January 18, 2015.

“In line with this, I have directed the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency and the Directorate of Petroleum Resources to ensure that there is strict adherence to this new pricing regime as soon as it takes effect from midnight Sunday, January 18, 2015.

“I do hope the entire country will benefit immensely from this reduction in the pump price of petrol.”

The minister said the Federal Government had been watching events carefully in the last two weeks to ensure that volatility did not destabilise the reduction in price.

She said the government had found it safe to implement the reduction at this time.

Following prolonged street demonstrations against the decision of the government to remove subsidy on the product per litre as announced on January 1, 2012, it was forced to cut the pump price from N141 to N97.

The Federal Government, through the PPPRA, had before now maintained the N97 fixed in 2012 after wide protests against the decision of the government to withdraw subsidy on the product.

A banker and energy analyst who handles transactions for fuel importers in Nigeria calculated that the product ought not to sell for more than N84 at filling stations across the country, thereby automatically wiping off the government’s subsidy on petrol.

His position was complimented by a website, globalpetrolprices.com, which claims to be providing the most wide-ranging and reliable data on retail fuel prices around the world, which put the price at which fuel ought to be sold in Nigeria at N87.39 per litre.

The website says its data are collected on a weekly basis using information from government institutions, regulatory agencies, major media sources and oil companies.

Using the spot price of gasoline in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining hub in Northwest Europe, where most of the country’s fuel import comes from, the Nigerian banker said on Friday that the product cost and freight component of petrol pricing was $511 per metric tonne or N63.10 per litre, using the PPPRA exchange rate of N171.36 to a dollar. The spot price for ARA gasoline 10ppm was $461 per metric tonne and the freight rate was $50 per metric tonne.

The PPPRA said on its website, “Product cost is the monthly moving average cost of products cost as quoted on Platts Oil gram. The reference spot market is North West Europe. Freight is the average clean tanker freight rate as quoted on Platts. It is the cost of transporting 30,000mt (30kt) of product from NWE to West Africa.”

The cost and freight of PMS as of December 29, 2014 was $566.57 per metric tonne or N72.40 per litre, according to data obtained from the PPPRA website. On that day, the price of global benchmark Brent crude closed at $57.94 per barrel.

Other items in the PPPRA pricing template include trader’s margin (N1.28 per litre), lightering expenses (N3.91 per litre), Nigerian Ports Authority fee (N0.67), financing cost (N0.35), jetty depot throughput charge (N0.80), and storage charge (N3.00). The distribution margins comprised retailers (N4.60), transporters (N2.99), dealers (N1.75), bridging fund (N5.85), marine transport average (N0.15) and administrative charge (N0.15), which added up to N25.50.

As of December 29, when the PPPRA last updated the pricing template, the Expected Open Market Price (retail price) of petrol was N97.90 per litre (addition of the cost of petrol and freight at N72.40 and the extra N25.50), with subsidy on the product dropping to N0.90 per litre, compared to N44.94 on November 3, 2014,.

The banker, however, said, “Crude oil was $57.98 on December 29. Today (Tuesday), crude is $46.26; that’s a 25 per cent fall in crude oil feedstock price. The naira has stabilised, hence we should have no exchange rate impact. Although freight rates are higher due to high demand for vessels to move products 

 (especially diesel), they are likely to have very little to modest impact on the eventual import cost.

“We should see at least a 15 to 20 per cent reduction in fuel price. Thus the price could likely be around N80 to N84 per litre if they are eventually adjusted this week.”

Data obtained from globalpetrolprices.com on Sunday put the market price of petrol in Nigeria at $0.51 per litre as of January 12; that is, N87.39, using PPPRA’s exchange rate of N171.36 to a dollar. On the day the price was calculated, Brent crude, equivalent of Nigeria’s Bonny Light, sold for around $48 per barrel in the international market.

However, the price of crude has since fallen further. It was $46.03 on Sunday.

The site explained, “All countries have access to the same petroleum prices of international markets but then decide to impose different taxes. As a result, the retail price of gasoline is different.”

It put the prices of petrol for other oil-producing countries such as Libya, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, Qatar and Oman at $0.12, $0.16, $0.26, $0.35, $0.27 and $0.31, respectively.

There have been calls on the Federal Government to reduce the pump price of petrol because of the sharp decline in the price of crude oil, which constitutes a major component in the pricing template.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had in the overview of the 2015 budget proposal dated December 17, 2014, said preliminary estimates showed that “the break-even crude oil price at which the landed cost of PMS will equal our current price of N97 per litre so that there will no longer be subsidy is about $60 per barrel.

“It is only when the crude oil price (Bonny Light) falls below this level that the pump price of PMS (which includes N15.49 per litre distribution and Petroleum Equalisation Fund costs) can begin to come down. The breakeven price of crude oil would have been higher were it not for the N15.49 per litre distribution margin.

“Many Nigerians have rightly asked when the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit will be reduced, given the declining price of oil. As you know, the relevant agency of government responsible for petroleum product pricing matters is the PPPRA. The information we have is that they are now updating their template based on recent developments and we hope they can address this issue soon.”

Our correspondents gathered that the pump price of the product had not changed in filling stations before now because the Federal Government had made an arrangement with petroleum product marketers to use the difference between the regulated price of N97 per litre and the reduced retail price to settle the arrears of subsidy being owed the importers.

Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, relies on importation for most of its fuel needs as the country’s refineries are in a poor state. The fall in oil price has triggered the decline in the landing cost of petrol.

The landing cost of petrol dropped to N82.41 per litre as of December 29, from N127.57 on November 3, according to PPPRA data.

However, the spokesperson of the PPPRA, Mr. Lanre Oladele, told one of our correspondents on the telephone that the agency remained committed to the stand of the Finance minister as regards the pump price of petrol.

Banks stop ATM card usage in USA, China

Rising cases of electronic frauds, especially Automated Teller Machine-related scams, which have made Deposit Money Banks to lose billions of naira in recent times, have forced some of the lenders to prevent their payments cards from working in the United States of America, China and a few other countries.

It was gathered that the banks took the action following the huge amount they were spending in refunding customers who had lost money in payment cards related frauds.

“A number of banks decided to deactivate their payment cards from working in the USA, China and a few other countries that are still using magnetic stripe instead of the chip and PIN,” a top bank official familiar with the situation told our correspondent on Sunday.

“The decision was caused by the rising cases of fraudsters using cloned Nigerian ATM cards to make transactions at shopping in malls in the USA and China,” he added.

Apart from fraudsters using cloned payment cards issued by Nigerian banks to buy goods abroad, it was gathered that some of the payment cards had also been used to withdraw money from ATMs in foreign countries, especially in the US.

“This scam has been on for a very long time but it has reduced drastically since some banks decided to deactivate their payment cards from working overseas. However, what we have done as a bank is to tell our customers to inform us whenever they are travelling overseas so that we can activate their payment cards to work overseas. Once they tell us, we will activate it,” the banker explained.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria statistics, banks lost N40bn to electronic frauds in 2013 alone.

However, findings by our correspondent showed that prior to the recent deactivation of the payment cards from working overseas, refunds made by banks to customers who were victims of cards frauds were in excess of N1bn.

One of the ‘Systemically Important Banks’ made refunds in excess of N200m in 2014, a top official said.

The PUNCH had in August last year exclusively reported that electronic fraudsters had been duplicating payment cards belonging to Nigerian bank customers and using them to buy items worth millions of dollars from shopping malls in the US.

It was gathered that the development had made the Nigerian banks and their customers to be losing millions of naira to the e-fraud.

The development had forced top executives of the banks and senior officials of the CBN to meet with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission sometime last year.

Following the meeting, the EFCC was said to have commenced the process of collaborating with sister agencies in the US to effect the arrest of some of the fraudsters.

When contacted on Sunday about the deactivation of payment cards from working overseas, the Chairman, Committee of E-Banking Industry Heads, Mr. Tunde Kuponiyi, said banks had deployed a number of technologies to stem the tide of electronic frauds, including payment card related frauds.

He said millions of naira had been spent to deploy the electronic payment technologies, adding that the rate of e-frauds had gone down drastically in recent times following such moves.

He, however, was silent on whether some banks had deactivated their payments cards from working overseas unless informed by their customers travelling abroad.

The Chairman, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch, Mr. Abolade Agbola, had emphasised the need for the CBN to fast-track the biometric registration of bank customers as a way of checking electronic fraud.

He said, “There is no justification for it (deactivation of ATM cards); and what that will do is that people will limit the amount of money or specify the kind of account they expose to online transactions.

“I think the CBN is also insisting that when this issue has happened, it must be resolved speedily so that confidence will not be lost. And that is one of the reasons why banks will keep on changing their software to make it safer; and, of course, that is also one of the reasons the issue of national identity card needs to be fast-tracked, which is at the government level.”

The President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Mr. Chidi Ajaegbu, said the CBN had achieved a lot in the cashless drive but there was a need to continue to build public confidence in the electronic means of payments.

“If we are striving to become a 24-hour economy, then we must have the necessary controls in place to build people’s confidence in the cashless policy we are driving. And part of this is making sure that people believe that their liquid assets and details are secure. It is the key to the 24-hour economy we are driving towards,” he said.

The General Manager, Visa West Africa, Mr. Ade Ashaye, noted that the type of card used in the US might be prone to fraud.

He, however, said the development could be mitigated by new technologies.

Jonathan’s supporter, Clark, attacks Mu’azu

PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu

A former Federal Commissioner of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has accused the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, of misinforming President Goodluck Jonathan on issues relating to the party.

Clark was particularly unhappy with Mu’azu, who he alleged of imposing a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, as the PDP governorship candidate in Adamawa State.

He said Mu’azu misinformed the President on the alleged popularity of the former chairman of the anti-graft commission.

Speaking while hosting members of the Northern Youth Vanguard at his residence in Abuja on Saturday, the Ijaw leader said that he was also surprised when Ribadu visited him with a owner of a television and radio stations from the South-South (names withheld), asking for his (Clark’s) support.

He said, “Mu’azu and some people are misleading the President in the PDP. He imposed Ribadu on the people of Adamawa, saying he’s popular.

“Two weeks ago, Ribadu came here with some people (names withheld) asking for my support. This is the same Ribadu that was arresting people indiscriminately when he was the chairman of the EFCC without following the due process. He was given a list with which to work with.

“There is no justice. Those who parade themselves on newspapers are anti-PDP. Majority of them are working against the party and the President.”

Clark called on youths in the country to deny old men the opportunity to rule the country by voting for young and educated candidates in next month’s general elections.

He particularly urged them not to vote for 73-year-old presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who he said was “close to his departure lounge.”

He said, “My sons and my daughters, I have gone to this very length to show you that the man called Buhari, you do not know him. You are knowing him at the age of 73. Why should they be supporting him when he wants to sleep?

“Can the man stand firmly? I will be surprised that those who are catapulting him will not say, ‘ah, is this another game?

“Anyone of us can go any time but Nigeria requires young men, young governors whose hands are not soiled.

“This is your country, we are building it for you. If you want to spoil it, spoil it. But for people like us who are waiting for boarding pass to rule the country for you, you will be in trouble.”

Clark recalled that as a member of the recently-concluded National Conference, he had observed that those of them from 70 years and above, “were at the departure lounge waiting for boarding pass. But when I got there, they couldn’t give me my boarding pass.

“God said, ‘you have not finished your job, you are one of those who added to the damage in this country. Go and repair it.’ So, they refused me boarding pass.”

He advised the youths to “Guard jealously your age. This is your time. Don’t allow a 73-year-old man who should be getting his boarding pass to leave, to rule you.”

The former Federal Commissioner for Information also knocked some persons who he described as “fish out of the water if they are not ruling.”

On insecurity, Clark observed that people deliberately engineered the Boko Haram crisis to discredit President Goodluck Jonathan and later use it to campaign against him.

Speaking earlier, the leader of Northern Youth Vanguard, Mr. Hameed Olanipekun, had told Clark that they supported the continuity of President Jonathan in office, saying that they would not allow themselves to be deceived.

While noting several programmes initiated by the administration such as YouWIN that were youth-friendly, the group said it had mapped out a strategy for each member of the vanguard to convince 50 persons to vote for Jonathan at next month’s presidential election.