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WHOSE
DEVELOPMENT?
Article 1 of the United Nations Declaration on the
Right to Development (General Assembly Res. 41/128,
1986) is very instructive: “The right to development
is an inalienable human right by virtue of which
every human person and all peoples are entitled to
participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic,
social, cultural and political development in which
all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be
fully realized… The human right to development also
implies the full realization of the right of peoples
to self-determination, which also includes, subject
to the relevant provisions of both International
Covenants on Human Rights, the exercise of their
inalienable right to full sovereignty over all their
natural wealth and resources.”
Article 2 of the same Declaration is also very clear
upon the involvement of the human person and his
communities in development activities: “The human
person is the central subject of development and
should be the active participant and beneficiary of
the right to development. All human beings have a
responsibility for development, individually and
collectively, taking into account the need for full
respect for their human rights and fundamental
freedoms as well as their duties to the community,
which alone can ensure the free and complete
fultilment of the human being, and they should
therefore promote and protect an appropriate
political, social and economic order for
development.
No less therefore can be expected of the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC) in line with its
developmental mandate. Development in this sense
cannot be limited to mere economic growth. In order
to be authentic, it must be complete: integral, that
is, it has to promote the good of every man and
woman. The economic cannot be separated from the
human, nor development from the civilizations in
which it exists. What we should hold important is
the human person.
The human suffering that has bedeviled the Niger
Delta region and its peoples is neither natural nor
inevitable. It is the result of deliberate human
decisions and policies. Human rights in all of its
ramifications provide a framework to scrutinize
those decisions and to insist on accountability from
the decision-makers. Just like our governments in
our new democracy, are responsible for the suffering
caused by arbitrary detensions, they are equally
responsible for the far more pervasive suffering
caused by arbitrary discriminatory or negligent
policies depriving Niger Deltans access to basic
goods in the midst of plenty.
By demanding explanations and responsibility for
violations, human rights expose the hidden policies
and structures that create and tolerate poverty,
hunger and environmental degradation. Human Rights
also require active participation. The voices of the
people must be heard and taken into account at the
level of planning and execution of developmental
programmes. More than simply receiving goods, or
seeing a project in place, a right means in concrete
terms the capacity and opportunity to claim those
goods for oneself. Human rights are fundamental to a
working democracy because they both ensure and
require that people are able to take part in the
decisions that affect their lives.
For NDDC to succeed where others woefully failed the
unsuspecting peoples of the Niger Delta region, it
must in practical terms be willing to design the
future of the region together with the people.
Experience show quite clearly that projects designed
‘outside’ the community, without the participation
and continuous involvement of villagers toward whom
the project is directed, have all too often failed.
OMPADEC and its enforcers did it to the people.
Various governments in the past and the present
contraption at all levels continue to do same. One
of the main reasons for the lack of success was the
‘blindspot’ about expertise.
Overcoming the expertise blindspot will prove
positive. And we should expect that as soon as local
know-how is requested villagers will participate
eagerly. But we must not ignore development history
nor the legacy of poverty. Many of our communities
in the region suffer from a lack of confidence, low
community-esteem, and do not experience themselves
as empowered to make decisions, put forward
suggestions, or implement courses of action. We must
continue to work towards empowerment and away from a
dependency mentality.
One is pleased to note that empowerment is an
important component of the NNDC strategy. With a two
year partnership support from the Open Society
Institute for West Africa (OSIWA), the IHRHL through
its Policy Accountability Project (PAP) is
monitoring the work of the NDDC. A major aspect of
this project is to mobilize Niger Delta community
action for participatory development. We have been
able to initiate honest and straightforward dialogue
with a cross section of the communities. We relied
on the knowledge and expertise of the villagers to
reveal and prioritize their own developmental
problems. In some of the villages, we were
astonished when village elders opened up; young
people, men and women gathered around the town hall
to discuss issues affecting them and their
communities. The voices of the powerless spoke so
eloquently for the first time about actions they
wanted to embark upon for the development of their
communities.
This indeed is not a one-off approach. Our project
has room for interaction between community members
and policy makers. It would be a repeat experience
building on previous insights and findings. Our hope
is to inculcate an enriched interaction and
relationships of change agents and communities where
future interventions are planned.
The potential of rural communities as partners in
development has always been neglected by our policy
makers. The impact of policies geared towards
community development has fallen short of expected
outcomes. Sectoral policies should attract and win
the support of rural communities with a bottom-up
approach. Interventions should be designed in
consultation with rural local experts who would then
be in the forefront of making these interventions
operational. Our Policy Accountability Project is
aimed at creating the atmosphere for the peoples’
voice to be heard in development.
WHERE VULTURES
FEAST-A QUESTION ON TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
IN RIVERS STATE GOVERNMENT.
The day was Thursday, October 3, 2002, the occasion
was the commissioning of the Trans Amadi gas turbine
project embarked upon by the Governor Odili led
administration of Rivers State, a project that span
over 3 years.
President Olusegun Obasanjo, irrespective of the
impeachment hammer hanging around his neck like the
sword of Damocles, courtesy of both chambers of the
National assembly, shelved more pressing state
activities that day to perform the ritual of the
commissioning ceremony, a ceremony which was a
fanfare and a show of pomp and pageantry. It also
advertised the level of poverty and ignorance
pervading the state as hungry sycophants brought in
to sing Odili’s praises was seen scrambling for food
at the occasion.
To Gov. Odili and his loyalists, October 3, 2002
must have been a very happy and memorable day.
Encomium were poured on the egotistic governor and
his team by professional sycophants, even as the
media were replete with advertorials congratulating
and extolling the outgoing governor for successfully
commissioning the 3x12MW Trans – Amadi gas Turbines,
which before its commissioning have gulped over
N15b, going by available records, although
government estimates put the cost at N4.2b.
Among those who utilized the opportunity provided by
the fanfare to sing the praises of Gov. Odili, and
are likely to remain eternally grateful to the
government, were Sir & Mrs. Johnson Arumemi – Ikhide,
the owners of Rockson Eng. Nig. Ltd, the firm that
played a prominent role in the gas turbine project.
As the governor and his team of loyalties, including
the Arumemi-Ikhides were clicking glasses filled
with champagne, basking in the euphoria of self
satisfaction, mind-bogging facts emerged on how Gov.
Odili used Rockson Eng. Ltd and Negris Nig. Ltd as
fronts to loot the state treasury in the name of his
over-ambitious gas turbine project.
Negris Nig. Ltd. was the major contractor that
handled the project, while Rockson Nig. Ltd. was
brought in as project’s engineering consultants.
Both companies openly accepted that they were the
major beneficiaries of the windfall from the gas
turbine project. In a paid advertorial in some news
media Rockson Eng. Ltd wrote in part: “we are happy
to be associated with the project as project and
engineering consultants”. Negris Nig. Ltd. in her
own advertorial noted that “as the main contractors
of the project, we are indeed happy to be associated
with you (Gov. Odili)”. It is instructive to note
that the Ikhides are joint owners of Negris Nig Ltd
and Rockson Eng. Ltd. Both companies operate from
the same office at Trans – Amadi Industrial Layout,
Port Harcourt.
Apart from acting as a drainpipe milking the state
dry, the exact role of Rockson Nig Ltd. in the gas
turbine project was not precisely known, as the
company was involved in many, if not all, aspects of
the project, including the transportation of
materials for the project from one point to another.
The company claimed that it handled the movement of
turbine from Port Harcourt to Omoku for which a
whooping sum of about N1.5b was approved by the
government in August 14, 2002.
Available information showed that in addition to the
N1.5b approved for the transportation of turbines
from Port Harcourt to Omoku, Rockson Eng. Ltd within
this period received over N11.046b on account of the
gas turbines as consultation charges.
In addition to the unfettered involvement of the
Ikhides in the money guzzling gas turbine project,
they also had their fingers in virtually every plum
business deal in the state, through different
business ventures hastily floated for that purpose.
Thus, they had more than a lion’s share of the milk
and honey from the treasure base of the Nation
flowing into the mouths of non-indigenes only, while
majority of River people wallow in excruciating
poverty.
They are also deeply involved as trustees and
decision makers in “The Adolescent Project” (TAP) of
Governor Odili’s wife. Ikhide’s wife and justice
Mary Odili’s namesake is a member of the board of
trustees of the TAP, another drainpipe conceived and
put together by the Odilis. It is widely believed
that TAP, though said to be a non-governmental
organization, is run from government funds. So far,
many millions of tax payers money has been diverted
from the state treasury into TAP, while many more
millions were expended by the government for
producing vehicles and other equipment for the
organization as well as financing its projects.
Investigations revealed that on July 25, 2002,
N1.473b was paid to Rockson Eng. Ltd for the
purchase of Iveco buses. They also received
unspecified amounts of money for the purchase of
ferryboats. What is difficult to understand is why
the government did not purchase the vehicles
directly instead of contracting it out to a
consultancy firm. Indeed, many angry indigenes,
troubled by the governor’s policy of stuffing the
state economy into the pockets of his non-
indigenous business fronts at the expense of Rivers
people, the real owners of the milk and honey, ask
if there are no competent indigenes of this state
who could purchase the vehicles.
But the use of the Ikhides to assault the state’s
economy is a glaring example of Odili’s penchant for
empowering non-indigenous contractors. The Ikhides,
through Negris Nig. Ltd. have also received
multi-billion naira contracts from the Odili led
administration for the importation of generators,
transformers, feeder pillars, cables and other
electrical materials, including those being
manufactured here in the state by the state owned
Nigeria Engineering Works (NEW).
One disturbing fact about these contracts was the
secrecy shrouding them. The code of transparency and
accountability openly mouthed by the Obasanjo
administration are totally lacking in the naira
contracts to the Ikhides as the contracts were not
advertised as required by the rules regulating the
award of contracts of such magnitudes “Due process”.
Also, there were no open tenders for the contrasts
through the tender’s board, nor was there any proof
of the competence of the companies to handle such
jobs.
“Gov. Odili dished out other plum and milking
contracts to the Ikhides without observing any rule
and regulation guiding the award of contracts by
governments”, observed a source who pleaded
anonymity. Another anonymous source also submitted
that Rockson Eng. Ltd is the least qualified to be
engaged as engineering and project consultants in
the turbine project since it had no proven track
record or technical expertise required for such a
project.
The Ikhides themselves will be hard put to disprove
this fact as the company was a novice not only in
the turbine business, but more importantly, in the
business world as at the time of its initial
involvement in the turbine deals. Mr. Johnson, an
electrical engineer, at one time only had worked as
a management staff of Caterpillar Masters (W.A.)
Ltd. On the other hand, his company, Rockson Eng.
Nig. Ltd, was incorporated on May 16, 2002 with Reg.
No. RC 380929 and a share capital of N100m, which at
the time of this report has not fully, being paid
up. The registered directors of the company include
Mr. Johnson I. Arumemi Ikhide and his wife, Mrs.
Mary F. Arumemi – Ikhide. Their addresses were given
as Benin City as at the time of the incorporation of
the company.
Yet in a feeble attempt to reply to criticisms about
his controversial gas turbine project, Governor
Odili made some unimpressive statements. One of
which was that those Rivers people opposing him were
doing so because he refused to give them the
contract for the gas turbine jobs. Two, that no
Rivers man has any qualification or experience in
gas turbine technology to be able to execute the gas
turbine project. But none of the above is correct,
because Odili himself knows some prominent Rivers
indigenes who are gas turbine experts with proven
track records and experience in turbine
installations. One of such indigenes who was
actively involved in the successful installation of
the Imiringi Gas turbine station now in Bayelsa
state is now wasting away in the state civil
service. Though the government is fully aware of
this, he was never given any role to play in Gov.
Odili’s Independent Power Project (IPP).
It was gathered that even before its incorporation
Rockson Ltd had already started executing
multi-million naira contracts for the Odili led
administration on the gas turbine projects. The
company had also received payments from the
government even before its incorporation as follows:
December 8, 1999 – N80m
December 10, 1999 – N15m
April 6, 2000 – N3b
It received a total of N3.095b on gas turbine and
another N492.38m for purchase of vehicles before its
incorporation May 16, 2000. “It is from these
payment that they may have raised the money to float
the company”, argued a shocked and horrified Rivers
man.
Another equally disenchanted, elderly patriot,
shocked by the irregular payment remarked: “This is
fraudulent, as it amounts to doing business with a
phantom, with a corporate ghost. And all along our
saintly governor, this Knight of St. Christopher,
has had the temerity to abuse knowledgeable critics
who have been trying hard to take the wool off out
eyes and to point out to us that all the excited
noise about the gas turbine is mere hocus pocus
aimed at deceiving tax payers”.
Among the minimum requirements for entering into a
business contract of that magnitude with government
are the provision of a certificate of incorporation
and a 3- year tax clearance certificate. None of
these minimum requirements were met by Rockson Eng.
Ltd. before it started receiving multi-billion naira
contracts from the Odili government.
Yet a major complaint by the opposition has been
Odili’s failure to economically empower the River
people. No Rivers indigene is known to have won a
contract worth N500m from the Odili administration.
Why were constitutional rules bent with impunity and
caution thrown to the wind by Gov. Odili in order to
enter into business relationship with these
companies on behalf of the state? Who are the
Arumemi – Ikhides and what link do they have with
Gov. Odili?
Prior to the emergence of Gov. Odili as the governor
of Rivers state in 1999, neither Mr. Johnson Arumemi
Ikhide nor his wife, Mary, was a known variable in
the business and economic circles of the state. Not
much was known about them other than that they were
staunch catholic faithfuls like the Odilis. And like
Dr. Odili, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide is a Papal
Knight. Observers are of the strong view that the
catholic connection is the major link through which
the Ikhides got the gas turbine job.
But the Ikhides are not the only outside
beneficiaries. It was alleged that during the
wedding ceremony of Chief Anenih’s son, Gov. Odili
doled out over N100m to bankroll the wedding. In
addition, he also reportedly donated 2 custom- made
jeeps to the new couple. The jeeps were brand new,
not like the rickety tokunbo buses allocated to the
free transportation scheme for school children.
As if to reciprocate the gesture, Anenih came to
Port Harcourt during Odili’s wedding anniversary to
strongly drum support for the Governor’s second term
bid. It is believed that, apart from the catholic
connection, the Ikhides must have warmed their way
into the state treasury through the power – broking
Anenih.
Today he has become Odili’s man friend and
inglorious partner in fiscal brigandage. It was once
alleged that during the burial of Sir Johnson
Ikhide’s mother, Odili moved his entire cabinet down
to the man’s village for the burial. He also pumped
in an unquantifiable sum of money into the lavish
burial, and further insulted the intelligence and
sensibility of the Rivers people by running the
burial Ceremony on the state TV station.
Through the gas turbine project alone, into which
over N32b has been sunk, many billions of naira of
state funds may have been diverted from the
government treasury through large scale over –
invoicing and other fraudulent practices that
characterized the project.
What this means is that the state may have been
greatly defrauded with the Ikhides wittingly or
unwittingly being used as tools. So far, they have
handled contracts, including the gas turbine
contract, totaling over 50% of the three years
budget of the Odili government.
Odili and Sir, Ikhide also claim that they spent
about N800m and another US $2m to refurbish the
Eleme turbine, which were installed and commissioned
by the defunct OMPADEC. Their explanation is that
the turbines inherited from OMPADEC were second hand
and dysfunctional.
But reacting to this claim, the contractors who
handled the project for OMPADEC, Marshland Projects
Nig. Ltd, the suppliers and the manufacturers of the
turbine, General Electric of USA debunked this
claim, pointing out that it is ridiculous that such
an amount was spent on the refurbishment of the
turbine. They confirmed that the turbines were brand
new and were tested for about 10 hours. Moreover,
they pointed out that there is an existing
maintenance agreement that makes it unthinkable for
such an amount of money to be spent on refurbishing
the turbine outside the terms of the original
agreement. There is no doubt that all the money they
claim to have spent on the refurbishment of the
Eleme turbines have been diverted into private
pockets.
Odili’s penchant for using non-indigenous agents to
squander the finances of the state also recently saw
the job of generating internal revenue being
contracted out to the another crony introduced to
him by Chief Kuye, whom he hopes will assist him in
his second term bid. Kuye is the Minister of state
for finance. The plum revenue collection job was
doled out to Olunuga in spite of the outcry of
Rivers people against the use of foreign consultants
for revenue collection. Under the terms of the
contract, Olunuga who operates under the business
name of Ideal Concepts is to earn over N1b annually
as commission. This amount is more than 500 times
higher that what the state spends on the Board of
Internal Revenue which has been known to generate
higher revenues than these non-indigenous revenue
contractors. It amounts to freely giving out N1b
annually to the contractor whose staff strength is
zero and whose only job and investment is to sit in
a cosy office furnished for him by Oyaghiri, Odili’s
Finance commissioner with tax payer’s funds. The
contractor just pockets such a colossal sum of money
for doing virtually nothing.
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