Re: Interview with Professor Sagay: Retraction and apology

The Sunday Tribune published an interview in its December 20, 2015 edition with the headline: "Buhari not sincere with corruption fight--Sagay." A lot of issues have since cropped up on that interview with the supposed interviewee disclaiming it through an online medium. We have done a preliminary in-house investigation into how the interview was conducted and on what could have gone wrong with it.

The fact of the matter is that the interview was conducted through telephone by one of our politics reporters on Thursday, 17th December, 2015 calling the interviewee on TELEPHONE NUMBER 08023137144. The normal introductory formalities, according to the reporter, were observed before the interview commenced. In the course of the interview, the person on the other side answered all questions even when he was addressed as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption.

Online reports quoting Professor Sagay as denying granting the interview were, therefore, received by us with a shock. We consequently listened to the audio recording of the interview and, regrettably, discovered the voice not to be that of Professor Sagay. While we are continuing our investigations on who the person on the other line actually was and what could have gone wrong along our own line of editorial control, a number of disciplinary actions has been taken against our key members of staff involved in the publication. Specifically, the reporter has been dismissed from the employ of the company and the Editor, Sunday Tribune, placed on indefinite suspension.

We have no reason whatsoever to put words in the mouth of the respected Professor Sagay. We apologise to him. We equally apologise to President Muhammadu Buhari and all other persons who were variously attacked in the publication. Our apologies also go to our esteemed readers. There was no deliberate action on our part to mislead our readers. We have an enviable pedigree and a long history of pioneering, in this country, a brand of journalism that upholds the truth as inviolable at all times. We have an institutional rigorous process in place that hitherto ensured this kind of unfortunate slip never took place. How this happened, escaping the control system, is part of issues we are addressing. We are taking a firm, corrective look at that mechanism again.

Once again, we promise our readers that this unfortunate incident will not happen again in our operations even as we retract the interview in its entirety.

Management.

Source: Nigeria Tribune

Nigerian Tribune Newspaper Fires Reporter, Editor Over Concocted Interview Berating Buhari

The Nigerian Tribune, a newspaper owned by the family of late Nigerian political sage, Obafemi Awolowo, has fired a senior reporter, Olakunle Timothy Taiwo, for concocting an interview with Itse Sagay, a constitutional lawyer and scholar.

Senior reporter at the Tribune, Olakunle Timothy Taiwo

The paper’s Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief, Edward Dickson, confirmed Mr. Taiwo’s sack in a response to a text from SaharaReporters. Our correspondent had sent a text asking the MD to confirm the authenticity of information that the paper was about to issue an apology to Mr. Sagay and to formally retract the report based on a non-existent interview with the legal scholar.

In a widely circulated report in the paper’s online edition, Mr. Taiwo claimed that Mr. Sagay had reportedly berated President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war. However, in an interview yesterday with SaharaReporters, Mr. Sagay, who chairs President Buhari’s advisory team on anti-corruption, denied that he granted any interview to the reporter or the Tribune. He also challenged the reporter and newspaper to provide proof that he spoke to them.

The Tribune’s MD said he was at the newspaper’s annual general meeting and therefore could not offer further comments on the forged report. However, another source at the paper told SaharaReporters that an editor had also been fired early today over the same scandal.

ALSO READ: I Never Granted Any Interview To Nigerian Tribune About Buhari’s Anti-Corruption War—Itse Sagay http://bit.ly/1RzteCf

The Nigerian Tribune is one of the newspapers named as beneficiaries of a payout from funds that were meant for the purchase of weapons to fight Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram. The revelation of a widespread dole-out of cash to media groups, including the Tribune, is part of a growing financial scandal involving former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (ret.). Mr. Dasuki is accused of diverting more than $2 billion budgeted for the purchase of weapons for the Nigerian military. Much of the looted defense funds were then shared among officials of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for campaign purposes. 

In addition, Mr. Dasuki funneled billions of naira to Raymond Dokpesi, proprietor of African Independent Television (AIT), and Nduka Obaigbena, owner of Thisday newspaper. Mr. Obaigbena also became the alleged conduit for distributing cash to at least 12 newspapers, according to findings by agents investigating the NSA’s illicit disbursements of defense funds. 

Source: Sahara Reporters

I Never Granted Any Interview To Nigerian Tribune About Buhari’s Anti-Corruption War—Itse Sagay

Itse Sagay, a legal scholar, has denied ever granting an interview to the Nigerian Tribune to deride President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption efforts.

Speaking with a correspondent of SaharaReporters by telephone from Lagos, Mr. Sagay, a professor of law, well known constitutional lawyer and head of President Buhari’s advisory committee on anti-corruption, said he was shocked to read a report concocted by the newspaper, crediting him with sharp criticism of the current administration’s anti-corruption strategy. According to him, the newspaper’s report on his purported interview represented a desperate attempt to discredit President Buhari’s anti-corruption war. 
 
Mr. Sagay told our correspondent that he had stopped granting interviews to the Tribune after the paper’s editors had twisted an interview he granted them in August. According to him, the paper’s account of his August interview was tailored to suit the devious agenda of its editors hence his rejection of all efforts by the newspaper to speak with him on record for an interview.

The Nigerian Tribune is one of the newspapers named as beneficiaries of a payout from funds that were meant for the purchase of weapons to fight Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram. The revelation of a widespread dole-out of cash to media groups, including the Tribune, has emerged as part of a scandal involving former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (ret.), who is accused of diverting more than $2 billion budgeted for weaponry. 

Investigators have revealed that several Nigerian newspapers received N10 million each from the slush fund overseen by Mr. Dasuki. At least 12 newspapers were paid from the fund through Nduka Obaigbena, chair of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), according to investigators. Even though the Tribune denied receiving the funds, subsequent disclosures indicated that the newspaper’s editors took part in a meeting where it was agreed that the booty should be accepted. 

In dismissing the opinion attributed to him by the Tribune, Mr. Sagay said he had never met or spoken to the journalist who wrote the report, insisting that the interview was made up. He challenged the reporter and paper’s editors to provide the public with a tape recording of the so-called interview.
 
The late Obafemi Awolowo founded the Tribune, and his family still owns the paper, which is one of Nigeria’s longest surviving daily newspapers. 

Source: Sahara Reporters

Mikel, Kanu, Okocha make Africa’s top 10 richest footballers of all time.

Nigeria’s Mikel Obi alongside retired players Jay Jay Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo are among the top 10 highest earning African players of all time according to a study conducted & published by French publication, Footendirect. With a cumulative take-home of $50 million, John Mikel Obi is now the best paid among the current generation of Nigerian players.

According to Footendirect, Mikel who earns about £75,000 per week at Chelsea has a total earnings estimate of $50m while Kanu Nwankwo and Jay Jay Okocha who have since retired made $100m and $150m respectively from their career.

See the full list below:

1. Samuel Eto’o/Antalyaspor : 202 millions de dollars 

2. Yaya Touré/Manchester City : 170 millions de dollars 

3. Didier Drogba/Montreal : 155 millions de dollars 

4. Jay-Jay Okocha : 150 millions de dollars 

5. Nwankwo Kanu : 100 millions de dollars 

6. Michaël Essien/Panathinaïkos : 70 millions de dollars 

7. Emmanuel Adebayor/Libre : 57 millions de dollars 

8. Obi Mikel/Chelsea : 50 millions de dollars 

9. Kolo Touré/Liverpool : 43 millions de dollars 

10. Sulley Muntari/Al-Ittihad : 40 millions de dollars

Source: Vanguard.

Benue Rerun (Senatorial): Commercial Activities Crippled As Onjeh (David Mark challenger) Storms Otukpo

There was jubilation in Otukpo town of Otukpo local government area of Benue State, just as commercial activities were halted when the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Daniel Onjeh visited Benue south senatorial district to commence political campaigns.

Commercial centers including markets and shops, as well as churches were halted as scores thronged the area to solidarise with Onjeh in his determination to unseat senator David Mark.

Mark was elected intohas been in the senate since 1999 before Onjeh vied for the seat in the last April National Assembly elections. He challenged the victory of Mark at the Court of Appeal where the appellate court ordered for a fresh election to be conducted by INEC, within 90 days.

In the Benue south senatorial district yesterday, Onjeh stormed Otukpo, the headquarters of the Idoma nation and he was received by a mammoth crowd of top politicians and APC ardent supporters.

Onjeh visited the Ochi Idoma Elias Ikoyi Obekpa and paid homage to the royal father who described Onjeh as a beacon of hope for the youth in the state and country.

The procession which began at the Otukpo burnt bricks toll gate involved political stakeholders, women and youths who marched round the busy Otukpo town in jubilation over the defeat of Mark by Onjeh.

It was gathered that the people abandoned their commercial activities to join the procession march which, according to them, was to mark their liberation.



Source: Leadership Newspaper

Dasukigate: The Sun Newspaper Returns N9million It Got From Ex-NSA, Dasuki

e management of The Sun newspaper issued the statement below, Sunday, to announce its return of the N9million it received from the office of the National Security Adviser “as compensation for the seizure of its newspapers and stop­page of circulation during the Goodluck Jonathan administration in June 2014.”

Publisher of Sun Newspaper, Orji Uzor Kalu

It said the the N9million cheque had since been returned to the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, for onward passage to the office of the National Security Adviser.

NPAN and N120 million compensation: Our position 
In deference to public outcry and the need to protect its corporate integrity, the Management of The Sun Publishing Limited has returned the N9 million received from the Presidency through the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) as compensation for the seizure of its newspapers and stop­page of circulation during the Goodluck Jonathan administration in June 2014.

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by its Managing Director/Editor-in- Chief, Mr. Eric Osagie, The Sun said it took the decision following the controversies, which the payment of the compensation had generated and the need to come clean on the matter.

The statement reads further: “The Man­agement of The Sun Publishing Limited has considered the public outcry and diverse controversies generated among media houses, the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and the public over the N120 million paid by the Goodluck Jonathan administration as compensation to newspaper companies for the unlawful seizure of their newspapers and stoppage of circulation by armed soldiers in several cities across the country in June 2014.

Having reviewed the situation, we wish to state as follows:

After the unlawful action of the military, to which The Sun lost millions of naira, we had signified the intention to commence litigation against the Federal Government along with other affected newspaper companies.

2. However, at the level of the NPAN, which The Sun is a member, a decision was collectively taken to accept the Presidency’s offer of peaceful settlement in place of litigation in the interest of peace and national security.
We were later informed of the payment of N120 million compensation out of which the sum of N9 million was paid to The Sun Management by the NPAN.

At the time the compensation was paid, we had no inkling whatsoever under which expen­diture sub-head in the Presidency the fund was sourced and that it was allegedly part of the funds meant for the purchase of arms.

As a very responsible newspaper organization, which places premium on ethics, individual and corporate integrity, we are certainly embarrassed by the turn of events and the unfortunate insinuation of involvement in the illegal sharing of the nation’s commonwealth and the feasting on the blood of soldiers fighting the war against insurgency.

We believe strongly in our corporate integrity and principles of fairness and social justice, which have driven our business considerations over the years.
In the light of the foregoing, we have returned the cheque of N9 million to the NPAN for onward transmission to the source through which it came.

We have seen that the good intention not to seek redress in court has seemingly backfired.
We have also given notice to our lawyers to immediately commence the process in court to redress the huge loss suffered through the actions of the military.

We assure our teeming readers of our commitment to serving them faithfully and conscientiously by upholding the time-tested principles of fair business ethics, equity and social justice.

Source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/12/20/dasukigate-sun-newspaper-returns-n9million-it-got-ex-nsa-dasuki

GAIN Poll Shows Buhari Government With 63% Approval Ratings-Buoyed By The Anti-corruption Drive And Positive Sentiments On Handling The Boko Haram Crisis

Key highlights: 63% overall approval rating for the Buhari government 

 

Senate has the lowest approval rating of all governmental institutions (13%)

Nigerian Army regains luster with 69% approval rating

61% of Nigerians have high expectations of the new ministers

Fashola and Kachikwu lead all ministers in expectations for top performance

75% believe the anti-corruption war is working

56% give the government high marks for the anticorruption campaign

81% of respondents give high ratings for handling of Boko Haram crisis

Majority rate government’s performance low in housing (61%), availability of petroleum products (55%), transportation (54%), economy and jobs (52%) and healthcare (52%)

Majority give poor ratings to government’s handling of Pro-Biafra agitations (52%) and Fulani Herdsmen clashes (66%)

58% of respondents do not support any political party

Rating the Overall Performance of the Government

Respondents were provided with a 5 point-scale response to this question. We elected not to use a simple forced two scale measure of approval (Yes or No) to enable a deeper understanding of the nuances that informed respondents’ choices. A positive approval rating in our terminology refers only to those respondents that reported either an “Excellent” or “Good” rating. A negative rating comprises of those individuals that reported a “Poor” or “Very Poor” rating.

63% gave the Buhari government a high approval rating, while 20.3% rated the government’s performance as poor.

Areas of Priority for Nigerians 

Respondents were provided with a number of key segments and focus areas for the government and were required to provide a forced three tier ranking (High, Medium, Low) of their perceptions of the importance of each of the areas.

Under the “High” ranking response, the anticorruption drive was rated as the most important area of concern and/or interest by 71% of Nigerians. The top 5 rated areas overall were anticorruption (71%), security (68%), power (63%), economy and jobs (56%), and education (52%).

It is noteworthy that education (52%) was ranked ahead of healthcare (46%), works (44%), transportation (30%) and housing (24%), indicating that while the educational sector might not feature prominently as one of the sectors that the government has declared as its key focus areas, Nigerians view it as a high priority sector.

Perceptions on the anticorruption war

Nigerians are overwhelmingly in support of the anticorruption war, with 75% of respondents indicating that the anti-corruption war is working. However, 18% of the respondents were of the view that the anti-corruption war targets mostly members of the PDP, while 17% were of the view that the anti-corruption war targets the President’s political enemies.  

Sector based performance of government

Respondents were asked to rank the performance of the government in a number of key sectors on a three (3) point scale (High, Medium and Low). The highest ranked areas were anticorruption (56%) and security (46%). The performance of the government in the power sector was rated high by 16% of the respondents. Every other priority area received single digit high performance ratings.  The lowest rated sectors were housing (61%), availability of petroleum products (55%), transportation (54%), healthcare (52%), economy & jobs (52%) and education (49%). 

Given the wide range of sectors receiving low ratings from the respondents, it is  obvious that the high overall ratings that the Buhari government has, is largely buoyed by the successes in the anticorruption drive and the progress being made by the Nigerian army in the fight against Boko Haram. 

Views on Newly Appointed Ministers

The questions posed to respondents in this section, were intended to understand Nigerians’ views on the newly appointed ministers, but more importantly, to measure the performance expectations of the ministers. 46% of respondents thought the ministers had a track record of solid performance in their previous careers. A majority of respondents (61%) indicated that they had high expectations for some of the ministers. 8% indicated that they were not confident in the ability of the ministers, while 10% indicated that they did not have high expectations that the ministers would be able perform. 

Expectations of Ministers

In order to better understand Nigerians’ expectations for specific ministers, respondents were given a list of 14 key ministries as well as the names of the substantive ministers appointed to lead those ministries, and were asked to provide a ranking of their expectations for each minister. The ministries included the three (power, works and housing) that are now being handled by a single individual – Mr. Raji Fashola, the former governor of Lagos State.   

Because a number of the ministers are not familiar to Nigerians, a response category was provided that enabled those who did not have any clear views on their expectations for the ministers to indicate their inability to make a call on their expectations. This response category was labeled “I can’t say.” The top ratings on the “I can’t say” scale were for the ministers of communication (Adebayo Shittu), Education (Adamu Adamu), Industry, Trade and Investment (Okechukwu Enelema) and Health (Isaac Adewole). 

Expectations Ranking of Ministers

Mr. Fashola topped the expectations list, with his three ministries being ranked highest. 86% of respondents had expectations for Mr. Fashola’s ability to deliver in the power sector, while 84% and 76% expressed confidence in his ability to deliver in the works and housing sectors respectively. Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, was a close runner-up in the expectations race, with about 76% of Nigerians expressing confidence in his ability to deliver in the petroleum sector. 

Approval Ratings for Key National Institutions

Respondents were asked to rate 6 major governmental institutions, i.e., the Presidency, Senate, House of Representatives, Army, Police and Judiciary. The Presidency was the most highly rated governmental institution, with 63% of respondents rating it as high or very high. 

The Nigerian army received the second highest approval ratings of the governmental institutions included in the survey, with 69% of respondents giving it high or very high scores. The police and the judiciary received approval ratings of 22% and 25% respectively. 

The two arms of the National Assembly were the worst rated institutions. Only 13% of respondents rated the Senate highly, while 19% gave high approval ratings to the House of Representatives. 

Buhari Government’s Handling of Major Security Issues

Although the Buhari government received high scores for the handling of the Boko Haram crisis (80.5%), majority of respondents rated its handling of two other major national security crises poorly, namely the sweeping wave of pro Biafra agitations and the perennial challenges related to conflicts between Fulani Herdsmen and communities across large swathes of the middle belt and the south. 

These mixed ratings on the government’s handling of security issues indicate that Nigerians do not have a single all-encompassing and inclusive outlook towards security. Future surveys will include questions aimed at understanding Nigerians’ views of emerging crises such as the recent Shiite – Army clashes. 

Political Party Affiliation 

The APC continues to enjoy a significant level of support with 38% of respondents identifying themselves as supporters of the party. Only 4% of respondents indicated support for the PDP. A majority of respondents (58%) indicated that they did not support any political party. 

A subset of the question on the rating of national institutions, required respondents to provide a forced ranking on their views about the two major political parties – the PDP and the APC.  The APC was rated highly by 41% of respondents, while only 4% rated the PDP highly. The PDP had high negative ratings of 79%. 

Methodology & Disclosure

The survey was administered using electronic media and responses were received between December 11th and 18th, 2015. A total of 1045 complete responses were received. The survey results have a ±4% margin of error at a 95% confidence level. The Governance Accountability Initiative of Nigeria (GAIN) Poll is a public service survey intended to track the performance of government at all levels and provide feedback from the public to their elected officials. GAIN will also periodically publish policy statements to provide perspectives on key areas. GAIN surveys are coordinated by Dr Malcolm Fabiyi and Dr Adeleke Otunuga. 

Dr Fabiyi holds a BSc (First class) degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos, an MBA from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge. 

Dr Otunuga holds Bachelors (Philosophy) and Masters Degrees (IRPM) from the University of Lagos, and a Doctor of Management (Organizational Leadership) from the University of Phoenix. Any inquiries regarding the survey should be directed to claypolconsult@gmail.com.

Credit: Sahara Reporters

BY MALCOLM FABIYI AND ADELEKE OTUNUGA