Government of fraudsters !! Buhari appoints suspected fraudster to recover looted assets

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a private consultant, Victor Uwajeh, being accused of fraud, to trace and recover undeclared assets and proceeds of fraud as part of the ongoing fight against corruption in the country.

The London based Nigerian private investigator is said to be facing a four-count charge the Federal Government preferred against him for attempting to obtain money through fraudulent means from Senator Andy Uba, who is representing Anambra South Senatorial District.

The office of the Attorney-general of Federation (AGF) instituted the suit against Uwajeh on behalf of the government.

Uwajeh was said to have been indicted by a crack team of the Nigerian Police Force which conducted investigations into a petition that was written to the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, by Senator Uba.

The embattled lawmaker had in his petition, accused Uwajeh of attempting to use bogus and illegally procured documents to extort money from him.

Nevertheless, the defendant insisted that Senator Uba engaged his services for an assignment in the United Kingdom Border Agency and in the United States of America.

Uwajeh said he previously dragged Uba to court over his alleged refusal to pay him the debt of £1.9million that was remaining from their agreed fee.

In the said suit, the defendant accused Uba of parading fake academic credentials.

He said he got details of Uba’s alleged dubious qualifications from documents he was exposed to while he worked as a private investigator for the lawmaker.

However, the appointment of Uwajeh was conveyed in a letter signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution matters, Okoi Obono-Obla.

The letter said Uwajeh’s application has been considered for engagement as special investigator to his panel.

Uwajeh’s letter of engagement reads: “Reference is being made to your letter dated 15th March 2018,

“I am pleased to inform you that you application has been considered for engagement as a special investigator to the panel.

“Consequent upon this appointment, you are to trace and where necessary recover undeclared assets and proceeds of fraud for the Federal Government of Nigeria in line with the mandate of the panel. This appointment is subject to terms and conditions as may be expressed in a duly executed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).”

Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja, on April 18th, issued order for substituted service of criminal summons on Uwajeh.

This development stands to question the potency of the anti-corruption mantra of the Buhari administration. - Daily Post

Falana: Senate, house of reps can sit without a mace

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says it is not mandatory for either of the two chambers in the national assembly to have a mace before sitting for plenary.

The mace is the symbol of authority of both the senate and the house of representatives.

Last week, that of the senate was stolen by some thugs who invaded the red chamber during plenary and a spare mace had to be provided before the lawmakers reconvened.

In a statement on Sunday, Falana said there is no part of the 1999 constitution that stipulates that the instrument is a must for legislative sitting in Nigeria.

“Since the restoration of democratic rule in Nigeria in May 1999, several houses of assembly have been shut down due to the disappearance of the mace which is believed to be the authority of every legislative house in the country,” he said.

“Last Wednesday, the senate was invaded by five disgruntled young men in a commando-like operation. During the commando raid the mace on the central table in the senate was snatched and taken away.

“The business of the day could not continue until a replacement was found by the senators. Even though the stolen mace has since been handed over to the senate leadership, there have been strident calls for the prosecution of the invaders.

“Some have even suggested that the suspects be tried for treason. It is curious to know that the national assembly has not deemed it fit to enact a law to protect the mace which is so regularly snatched or stolen by legislators.

“However, while the investigation into the embarrassing invasion of the senate police is in progress it is pertinent to point out that the Mace is not a prerequisite for parliamentary business in Nigeria. In other words, the proceedings of a legislative house cannot be invalidated because of the absence of a mace.”

The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said by virtue of section 54 of the constitution, either of two houses of the national assembly is “competent to sit and conduct proceedings” once the quorum of the members is formed.

The quorum is one-third of all the lawmakers in either of the chambers.

“No where in the constitution is it expressly or impliedly provided that a mace shall be provided before the senate or house of representatives or any other legislative house can sit and conduct legislative business,” Falana said. - Cable Nigeria

Bishop Oyedepo : Buhari government is a failure, God is angry with him

The founder and General Overseer of the Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, has slammed the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration over the unending killing of innocent Nigerians by suspected herdsmen.

The Bishop, who exploded during today’s Sunday service, said he was very angry with the government for having no feeling for human lives.

He also attacked the government following the epileptic power supply, dead refineries and high rate of dollar to naira.

He said, “Can I tell you my anger against this government? No feeling for human lives. You can’t be destroying the work of my father and I will be happy with you. You know what God said? I am angry with the wicked everyday.

“Talk is cheap! You see where change brought us today since 2015? The changest change!

“1 naira will be one dollar. Fuel will be sold at 45 naira. Any responsible government will bring power in 3 months.

“If you bring the scoresheet out, it’s 0%. Do you want change? Work it out ! You better wake up so you don’t suffer the Nigerian kind of change.
Theoretical change.

“3 refineries working! (They must be) located in space. Defending killers! God’s judgement will hit!
If you are happy with what God is angry with, you are ungodly.

“Those who have made others childless, wifeless, husbandless, so shall they become! Do you pray for Armed Robbers? Evil shall not prevail in Nigeria!” - Daily Post

Premier League : Man City break passing and possession records

City broke their own Premier League record for the most completed passes in a single match since 2003-04, as well as recording the highest possession of any side, in the 5-0 thumping of Swansea City on Saturday.

Having wrapped up the title last weekend after Manchester United's defeat to West Brom, it was suggested Pep Guardiola's men might be impacted by complacency.

But they provided an emphatic response to such thoughts, crushing Swansea thanks to goals from David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus.

On top of that, they completed 942 passes and had 83 per cent of the ball - both of which are the most by any team in one match since the 2003-04 campaign.

Their 942 completed passes came from 1,015 attempts, making City the first Premier League side to reach four figures.

It is the third time Guardiola's side have broken the record for successfully distributing the ball this season, with the previous benchmark being their 902 completed passes against Chelsea in March. - Goal

Tories in new race row over identity checks for elections

Government plans that will force people to prove their identities at polling stations in May’s local elections risk disenfranchising members of ethnic minority communities, according to a leaked letter to ministers from the equality and human rights watchdog.

In a move that will fuel controversy over the treatment of migrants in the UK following the Windrush scandal, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has written to the Cabinet Office minister David Lidington, raising its serious concern that the checks will deter immigrants and others from participating in the democratic process.

The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the plan for compulsory checks was more evidence of the kind of “hostile environment” that Theresa May’s government wanted to create for people who had come to settle in Britain. In a speech on Sunday, Corbyn will claim that Theresa May’s determination to cut immigration at all costs was responsible for the Windrush scandal. He will say: “British citizens who came to our country to rebuild it after the war have faced deportation because they couldn’t clear the deliberately unreachable bar set by Theresa May’s ‘hostile environment’ for migrants.”

Under the new government voting rules, being trialled in several local authorities at the 3 May local elections, people will be asked at polling stations to produce documents proving their identity – such as a passport or driving licence – before casting their vote. Currently, no such proof is required.

The Windrush scandal has highlighted how many who came to this country from the Caribbean, mainly in the late 1950s, have struggled to prove their British citizenship because the authorities failed to register them or destroyed their landing cards, or because they have never applied for documents such as passports.

Ministers say the pilot projects are being run – with a view to adopting them nationwide if they are successful – in response to concerns about electoral fraud.

But in a letter to Lidington, and leaked to the Observer, the EHRC says evidence of supposed fraud is minimal and warns that there is a real risk that legal residents who might not have a passport or driving licence – or might be reluctant to produce them at polling stations – could be disenfranchised as a result.

In the letter, the EHRC’s legal officer, Claire Collier, tells Lidington: “The Commission is concerned that the requirement to produce identification at the given local elections (Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking) will have a disproportionate impact on voters with protected characteristics, particularly older people, transgender people, people with disabilities and/or those from ethnic minority communities. In essence, there is a concern that some voters will be disenfranchised as a result of restrictive identification requirements.”

Reacting to the news, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “Forcing voters at election time to prove their identity at polling stations by producing official documents would have a disproportionate impact on people from black and ethnic minority communities.

“It is the same hostile environment all over again, shutting our fellow citizens out of public life, treating communities who made Britain their home as second-class citizens. It’s disgraceful and it must be brought to an end.”

Kunle Olulode, the director of Voice4Change England, a civil society charity that has worked with the government to improve the participation of BME communities in elections said: “We feel strongly that this type of policy will not only have minimal impact on the miniscule level of voting fraud but will create potentially new and unnecessary barriers to participation in the electoral process if people become uncertain of requirements when they turn up at polling stations, further impacting negatively on registrations. Asking for voters IDs as a policy certainly has echoes of the strategy aimed at making society an uncomfortable place for illegal migrants.”

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “We already ask that people prove who they are in order to collect a parcel from the post office, rent a car, or travel abroad.

“We believe it is right to take the same approach to protect voting rights. Local authorities are implementing equality impact assessments and are working with partners to ensure that voter ID does not risk preventing any eligible voter from voting. It is in nobody’s interest that any elector is disenfranchised.”

Last night John Sentamu, the archbishop of York, called for an inquiry into immigration policy and the Windrush scandal in which up to 50,000 mostly Commonwealth migrants are facing problems securing their citizenship, access to healthcare and other services because of Home Office demands to see proof of their rights to be here.

“The truth is now out. Hard-working, tax-paying immigrants who were invited to this country to help with postwar reconstruction have been treated appallingly,” he told the Observer. “It is never too late to repent, but it is unwise for penitents to boast about their achievements. Instead, the government needs to set up an inquiry urgently to discover where other aspects of our immigration policy are treating people as less than human.”

It has also emerged that the “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants was implemented despite warnings from a Tory cabinet minister that it would lead to exploitation and endanger health.

Investigations show that the plan to force landlords to check the immigration status of tenants, known as the “right to rent”, was fiercely opposed before its implementation by Eric Pickles, the former communities secretary. In an internal memo written in February 2013, he warned: “It would be disproportionately burdensome, ineffective and intrusive to oblige all private landlords to satisfy themselves as to the immigration status of prospective tenants. It’s hard to assess how many illegal immigrants this policy would deter in practice as it would be easy to circumvent/evade detection.

“Those landlords/agents who are already rogues will not obey the law – and will make more money by exploiting a niche market in illegal tenants by increasing rents/compromising on health and safety for tenants who cannot complain ... The costs and risks considerably outweigh the benefits.”

Amber Rudd, the home secretary, appeared to blame her department for the Windrush scandal last week, saying: “The Home Office has become too concerned with policy and strategy and sometimes loses sight of the individual”.

Amber Rudd appeared to blame her officials for being ‘too concerned with policy and strategy and losing sight of the individual’.Photograph: Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images

However, Brodie Clark, the former head of the UK Borders Agency who resigned after being criticised by May in 2011 for relaxing passport checks to reduce immigration queues, condemned the decision to blame officials and pointed to a “political desperation” to reduce immigration.

“In my time with UKBA, I had the greatest regard for frontline staff and their ability to do their jobs effectively,” he said. “They saw their job as defending the country, but doing it in a fair and decent fashion.”

“To hear any political leader now saying, ‘The trouble is, they were too obsessed in delivering policy and not enough about caring for people’, just beggars belief. Civil servants are employed to deliver government policy and deviation is certainly not rewarded. It is a shameful shot, given the dedication, commitment and skill of those staff.”

The National Landlords Association, the Residential Landlords Association and the lettings agents’ body ARLA Propertymark are all pushing for the “right to rent” policy to be dropped amid warnings that it is causing landlords to discriminate against people with foreign names or non-UK passports. The policy was piloted from December 2014 and rolled out across England in February 2016.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “It was a Labour government which, in 2008, introduced the labour market test so that people had to evidence their status. And it is fair that only those who have a right to be here can work legally, rent property and access public services.” - The Guardian 

Ogun community calls for help over alleged invasion by oil thieves

Some persons suspected to be militants and pipelines vandals driven away from Isawo in Ikorodu area of Lagos State have moved into Ilara-Ogijo community creeks to carry out their  activities, sources say.

The sources told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the suspects were vandalising pipelines and stealing  petroleum products from NNPC pipes in the creeks.

NAN learnt that the suspects were using fuel tankers and other items, such as  jerricans, to lift products out of the creeks at night and early in the morning.

The sources said the activities were going on unhindered in spite of the fact that security personnel  patrolled the area daily.

A resident of the community who identified himself as Omotayo,  said the town was turning into Isawo as the suspected criminals engaged in shooting regularly.

Omotayo noted that some security personnel,  particularly the police and military taskforce, often came around the area without making any arrests.

“Our community is under militants and pipeline vandals’ siege. We live in fear everyday due to their activities.

“We share boundary with Lagos State; the militants and pipeline vandals moved into our creeks after they were driven away from Isawo.

“Our main fear now is fire outbreak. If there is fire from these vandals, most of us having our buildings close to the creeks will be greatly affected.

“We appeal to Ogun and federal governments for intervention.

“Our community is Ilara, Ogijo Ogun. The community is at the boundary of the creek that extends to Pankisha, Igbo-Olomu, Isawo, Arepo.
“Sometime ago, the combined government forces dislodged the  petrol pipeline vandals who had turned themselves to a terror group out of the place. \

“For some months, we heaved a sigh of relief.

“In the last two months, the remaining hoodlums have  regrouped and have commenced their operation; this is a major government concern not our own.

“Our problem is their usage of our community as the getaway.

“Some detachment of mobile police are stationed on our roads but they just collect bribe and let them pass.
“From time to time Operation Messa Patrol Vehicles go to inspect these hoodlums but all they seem to do is just to collect their dues.

“We complained to the police but we were told it is federal mandate not theirs.

“The worst part now is that it has become an everyday affair.

“So we continue to live in the increasing fear that our area may be turned to another Isawo or Arepo, or worse still, in the event of these hoodlums’ truck catching fire the whole community might not survive it.

“Our request is for any assistance to get a highly placed security chief notified of the development in confidence.

“A landlord was lucky to escape an attack when he was identified as the one who lodged a complaint about these hoodlums.

“Sometimes, they use fuel tankers; this is mostly in the night.

“In daytime, they simply use trucks and other heavy vehicles with kegs.

“The area precisely is Ilara. It is off Ikorodu-Shagamu Road by Ogijo. It is about 3.8km from the Ikorodu-Shagamu Road.

“When we first cried out around 2014, some landlords were attacked. Not until 2016 again when we, through the Police Community Relations Committee, raised the alarm, the authorities concerned sent a detachment of mobile police who they changed from time to time.

“The first two sets worked but other detachments since then have resorted to joining them and extorting money from okada (motorcycle) riders.

“After the bombing of the Isawo, and then Arepo concentration camps, we heard nothing again. But just about six weeks to two months, we started seeing signs of their coming back.
“ We have it on authority that they now have informants within the community that are informing them of whatever steps we, at the landlords or CDA (Community Development Association) level, are trying to do.

“From the chairman of the neighbouring CDA, I learnt that the hoodlums still came yesterday, Friday and Thursday.

“They shot sporadically for several hours to ensure that all the peasants nearby were scared away.
“They operated for several hours. It was after they had finished and left that Operation Messa came. To announce their coming the Operation Messa were blowing their siren from more than two kilometres away to ensure that the hoodlums had sufficient time to move away,” Omotayo said.

When contacted, the Spokesman of the Police Command in Ogun, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said he was not aware of the activities of the hoodlums.

He, however, promised to contact the Divisional Police Officer in-charge of the area to confirm the report but  many calls and text messages to him were not answered.

All efforts to get the Zonal spokesperson of Police, CSP Dolapo Badmos, were not successful as she did not respond to text messages sent to her.
The Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Ogun, Mr Ayodele Phillips,  however said six suspects had been arrested in connection with the alleged crime.

Phillips said the suspects and others now at large, allegedly vandalised NNPC pipelines, adding that a pumping machine, hose and equipment for breaking pipes were recovered from them.. - The Nation 

Is Kigali the cleanest city in Africa ?

 In the rainy season, water used to pour into Dativa Nyiramajyambere’s house on a cheap plot of land in the Kigali suburb of Rugenge. Outside her home, a half-metre-wide hole in the pavement gathered rubbish.

But in 2009, Kigali’s leaders decided to start demolishing slums in the capital’s poor suburbs – those with little access to piped water or electricity – and replace them with new roads and homes.

Nyiramajyambere, who had owned a small milk shop, was given a modest new home on the outskirts of the city. Families like hers also got compensation of $1,500-2,000 to help them settle in.

The move was a first step in what has turned into an ambitious master plan to clean up Kigali – one that has led to the city being hailed as one of the greenest and cleanest in Africa.

Earlier this year, at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, U.N. Environment Programme head Eric Solheim referred to Kigali as the “cleanest city on the planet”, both in terms of lack of rubbish on the streets and green initiatives.

The accolade recognised a combination of government schemes that have made the Rwandan capital much tidier than before, but that also have spurred resistance from many displaced slumdwellers.

The clean-up effort is in part a response to rapid growth in the capital, which has seen its population double since 1996, to about 1.3 million residents, many of them living in informal settlements, according to the municipal government.

TRAFFIC TO WASTE

In 2013, municipal authorities drew up a master plan to improve the city’s environment while also trying to promote social inclusion, sustainable economic development and access to civic facilities.

One focus was traffic congestion. To try to alleviate it, the Rwandan government spent $76 million to pave narrow streets, widen all main roads to dual carriageways, and improve signs.

It also upgraded bus services between the suburbs and the city centre to encourage people to use public transport, said Bruno Rangira, a Kigali city spokesman, in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

As well, the government committed nearly $40 million to relocate several dozen factories in a former wetlands industrial area to a newly established Special Economic Zone.

It has also begun to remove nearly 2,100 smaller businesses – from motor repair shops to restaurants – that encroach on the city’s wetlands, with the goal of restoring the land to its natural state by 2020.

Parfait Busabizwa, Kigali’s vice-mayor for economic development, told reporters in December that the city wants to create an artificial lake on reclaimed wetlands, for recreation and to protect against flooding, a worsening problem in the city as climate change brings more intense rainfall.

Owners of businesses constructed illegally on wetlands are not being offered compensation, according to the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority and the ministry in charge of industries.

But they will be given the chance to buy new land in a suburban area, where they will be given construction permits, Busabizwa said.

Other legal businesses displaced by the cleanup effort are expected to receive compensation and help relocating by the end of 2019, using a nearly $30 million government fund, he said.

Not all business owners are happy about the shift.

Emile Murekezi, who saw his garage in Kinamba, a marshland suburb, closed and demolished in 2015, said he is now doing part-time jobs while waiting to find an appropriate place to relocate his shop.

Shifting businesses could lead to “many people losing their jobs”, he said, as old clients disappear and finding new ones proves a struggle.

Slum residents and landlords with property in central parts of the city also have objected to being relocated, usually to more distant areas.

BETTER SERVICES

One goal of the changes in the city is to reach more people with services, but greener ones – such as biogas from sewage, Rangira said.

Key contributors to Kigali’s green push are residents themselves who, like all Rwandan citizens, are required to perform a day of community work, called “umuganda”, once a month.

In the capital, the long-established workdays focus on things like clearing land for community gardens, picking up rubbish, or helping to build new roads, classrooms or residential toilets for families that lack them.

The city also is trying to set up trash collection sites in all suburban areas and is working with local businesses to install public toilets, Rangira said.

In the meantime, Busabizwa said that Kigali, rather than relying primarily on fines to ensure cleanliness, is building awareness campaigns to promote a culture of hygiene.

According to national government statistics, more than 90 percent of households in Kigali now have access to toilets and to clean water.

The city also plans to create a new more than $300 million wastewater treatment plant by 2022 in Giti Cy'Inyoni, a suburb of Kigali, according to Giselle Umuhumuza, deputy managing director of the government’s Water and Sanitation Corporation.

Teddy Kaberuka, a Kigali-based independent researcher on economic and development issues, said that clean-up efforts – from banning plastic bags to budgeting for city cleaning – have crucially been accompanied by efforts to persuade people of the benefits of the changes.

Even more progress in winning backing for the green push could be made by creating more jobs for cleaners, rubbish collectors, and gardeners, he said.

So far, the Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority has granted nearly 200 licenses to cleaning services companies, which mostly hire women relocated from shanty towns, according to a 2017 report by the authority.

Nyiramajyambere is one of them, having traded her job as an informal shop owner for one as a street cleaner – something she says has increased her income.

“Thanks to the new job, I can now feed my family and my children are now going to schools,” she said. - Reuters

Sick nation ! Sick leaders !! Fulani herdsmen kill 15 farmers in fresh Benue massacre

Suspected Fulani herdsmen yesterday struck again in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. About 15 Tiv farmers in Saghev district were killed.

They also set houses and shops on fire.

Attacked were Tse-Abi, Tse-Ginde, Tse-Peviv, Tse-Ikyo, Agenke and Gbenke, all in Saghev district.

The attack took place early yesterday.

Spokesman for the community, Paul Unande, said the   invaders wore military uniform and launched their attack at about 2am..

Ten bodies have so far been recovered with many others injured.

Mr. Terver Akase, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Samuel Ortom, confirmed the killing and burning of houses by herdsmen and said it was a continuation of the agenda to take over Benue by extremists and their sponsors.

Akase asked the federal government to declare the herdsmen terrorists.

He also pleaded with the security agencies to live up to their responsibility.

Police spokesman ASP Moses Yamu and Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni did not respond to phone calls and text messages to confirm the development.

This is coming as two buses conveying some persons with arms and ammunitions were yesterday intercepted by the Police in Ebonyi State.

The Toyota buses were intercepted close to  the  Onu-Ebonyi bridge  on the   Abakaliki-Ogoja Federal Highway, Izzi local government area of the state.

The occupants included seven ‘suspected Fulani herdsmen’ allegedly on their way to Taraba State, according to sources

Military uniforms were allegedly found in their luggage.

Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa and Kaduna states, are the worst hit by the wave of killings by herders.

The Ebonyi State Police Commissioner, Mr. Titus Lamorde, in a terse message to The Nation denied any arrest by his men.

“Please it is not true,” he said in an sms in response to an inquiry.

But, the spokesman for the police in the state said: “Yes, we intercepted buses carrying some persons with arms and ammunition going to Taraba but they are not herdsmen, they are Nollywood actors.

“They were wearing army uniforms and we are investigating the matter. I will give details of the matter as soon as we got every detail,” she added.

The Senior Adviser to Governor Dave Umahi  on Internal Security, Dr. Kenneth Ugballa also confirmed the incident, saying: “Yes, I heard the story  while I was away from the state  but right now I am entering the state and in a few minutes l will be at the command to find out the truth  about the incident.”

The arrested suspects reportedly told the operatives of safer highways patrol that they were going for a movie shoot in Taraba State.

They were driven to the Police Headquarters Abakaliki for further questioning.

An eyewitness told our reporter that seven Fulani herdsmen were in one of the intercepted buses.

“It was the policemen on Safer Highway Operations that stopped the buses. In their normal stop and search operation, they found firearms and army uniforms stocked in three big sacks.

“Also found were uncountable ammunitions, rifles which is above 16 in number including explosives and local charm,” the eyewitness stated. - The Nation

Lazy ministers !!! Sanusi blasts Nigerian ministers in Washington for shunning meeting with investors

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the emir of Kano, has expressed displeasure with the absence of government officials at a meeting with investors in Washington DC.

Speaking to journalists at an investment programme organised by the Nigerian embassy, Sanusi said Nigeria might lose investors because of tardiness and lackadaisical attitude.

The ministers who did not attend the event were Audu Ogbeh (agriculture), Ogbonnaya Onu (science and technology), Lai Mohammed (information) Babatunde Fashola (power), Ibe Kachikwu (state for petroleum resources), Kemi Adeosun (finance) and Kayode Fayemi (solid minerals).

They all had sessions at the IMF meeting.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yewande Sadiku, executive secretary of Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the expected governors were also absent.

“For the person sitting in London and who has a billion dollars to invest, he’s got Nigeria, he’s got Ghana, he’s got Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, you may be the biggest economy, but he may decide that rather than go through the hassle of investing $500 million in Nigeria, why not put $100 million in Ghana, $100 million in Rwanda, $100 million in Cote d’Ivore, just to have diversification benefit and the benefit of reaching out,” the monarch said.

“We had a meeting today with investors, we were supposed to start by 9am we started at 10. When I came in, they took me to the ambassador’s office to sit down, when investors were waiting down there. We had a list of people who were to be here, vice president, ministers, some of them are in town, but they haven’t come up.

“You invite top investors, your ministers are in Washington and they do not come to talk to the investors about Nigeria. That is not how you attract investors. If you have this forum in the Rwandan embassy, I assure you President Kagame himself would be there telling people to come to Rwanda.”

According to the emir, there was no reason for the absence of the officials and the challenges faced at the beginning of the event.

He said: “Sometimes it is about how we market ourselves, how we package ourselves. There is absolutely no reason for the Nigerian embassy to arrange a Nigeria is open for business forum with ministers in town, with governors in town and not have the coordination that they are actually here to meet with these investors.

“There is no reason why we should start one hour late, and there is no reason why the public address system should not work. Because at the end of the day, this is the first point of the country, he hasn’t even come to Nigeria so what will be his experience in Abuja and he is saying if I am having this experience in Washington, what will happen when I go to Abuja, when I go to Kano, how do I get to see the governor will it take me 10 hours?”

Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, was the only minister at the event. - Cable Nigeria