By Celestine Okafor (Editor-in-Chief)
Anti-corruption activist, Comrade Samuel Asimi, has said that unless Nigeria put a thorough searchlight on how corruption is affecting the nation's politics and growth of democracy; national security and law enforcement, the war against corruption in the country would remain a mirage.
Asimi stated that there is a nexus between corruption and politics in Nigeria, which has a strong backlash effect on security of the country, effective law enforcement and war against corruption itself.
He made this disclosures at the Day-One of the just-concluded 3-day training workshop in Abuja on "Reporting Corruption in Nigeria", which was organized for selected Journalists. The workshop was facilitated by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a European anti-corruption body, in collaboration with a foremost anti-corruption NGO in Nigeria, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International, Nigeria, headed by CISLAC's Executive Director, Comrade Auwal Ibrahim Rafsanjani.
In a 12-page paper presented to media participants at the workshop held at Fraser Hotels & Suites, Abuja on Monday November 22, 2021, Comrade Sam Asimi who is currently the Programme Officer (Anti-Corruption) for CISLAC, assures that there is strong hope for the success of the on-going war against corruption in Nigeria, if among other measures, there is pressure from the 'bottom' on the political leadership of the country to implement reforms. He also stated that there must be a presence of frameworks and systems to checkmate corruption in all spheres, stating further that the state itself must lead the anti-corruption initiatives for it to succeed. Asimi also canvassed for a Proceed of Crime Act to be put in place, as well as another legislative instrument on Whistleblowing. He added that there is a strong need for an international cooperation and an improved oversight of anti-corruption institutions.
Asimi also posits that there is need for coordination amongst the anti-corruption agencies (ACAs). The ACAs, he said, should conduct thorough investigations and prosecutions and also be independent in their operations. The beneficiary owners registers, he suggested, should be set up by these jurisdictions. Security votes of executive office holders, according to him, should be reformed and made more accountable, while citizens and the media should put intense pressure on the government for requisite reforms.
Asimi however lamented the high incidence of corruption in politics and elections in Nigeria. Quoting the UNODC report of 2019, he said that 21 % adult population of Nigeria reported that they were personally offered money or favour in exchange for their votes, especially in the last national and state elections. Using the CISLAC's Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Comrade Asimi said that in the Afro-barometer 2020 Survey sourced from CPI 2020, 70% of Nigerians felt that the government is handling the fight against corruption fairly badly or very badly compared to 40% in 2017. This, he said, is against the 28% which says the government is doing fairly well or very well in 2020 compared to the 59% in 2017.
Asimi further stated that in the Afro-barometer 2020 report, Nigeria scored 25 out of 100 points in the 2020 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) which was released globally by Transparency International (TI), as against 26 points in 2019, while it ranked 149th position in 2020 as against 146th in 2019 results.
But using the notorious Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) saga, Comrade Asimi said that contract was signed in 2020 between the P&ID Incorporated in British Virgin Island and the Nigeria's Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Three years after that contract, P&ID claimed that Nigeria did not perform its obligation and then sought damages for lost profits under the rules of Investor-State Arbitration (ISAs). The UK-based tribunal now awarded P&ID a whopping US$6.6billion in damages plus 7% p.a. However, in 2018, and in response, the P&ID commenced proceedings in English courts to enforce the monetary award.
Nigeria raises belated allegations of corruption in the attempt to avoid enforcement of the award in the English courts. In 2018 also, Priti Patel, UK's Secretary of State for Home Department stated that Nigeria "must honor its obligations to companies like P&ID" and pay the firm. Then in September 2020, the English High Court granted to Nigeria an extension of time to initiate a set-aside proceedings of the arbitral award. Adding up the interest accrued, this sum is almost US$10billion which is about 28% of Nigeria's 2021 budget. For context, this sum is almost three times of the RFI of US$3.4billion that Nigeria received from the IMF last year to cushion the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.
In the corruption allegations in the P&ID case, Nigeria, Asimi stated in his presentation, alleges that the arbitration has always been a 'Sham'. Individuals in the federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources allegedly corruptly facilitated the plan including failing to contest the arbitration. Nigeria, he said, claims that there was bribery from the P&ID to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in the composition of the contract. Nigeria also claims that there was Money Laundering vis-a-vis P&ID as both P&ID and the Ministry of Petroleum aimed at using the arbitration for Money Laundering purposes. Besides, allegations of corruption in the arbitration itself were not raised or considered before the conclusion of the arbitration.
Comrade Sam Asimi however contended that the foundational problems in the P&ID case, among others, is that there was no tender process prior to the conclusion of the contract. Besides, he said there was P&ID's apparent lack of experience in the gas sector. He also identified Nigeria's apparent failure to begin carrying out any of its obligations under the contract once the contract deal had been concluded. And to compound the problems, P&ID had offshore corporate structure.
Asimi blamed the root causes of corruption in Nigeria on the inability of the anti-corruption agencies to diagnose and enforce existing Money Laundering legal provisions and policies; the inability of INEC to enforce existing political party and campaign financing laws; lack of operational independence of the supreme audit institutions and the absence of citizen's demand for accountability in the funding of political processes. The effect of the corruption therefore, is that large funds are laundered illicitly into the Nigerian political processes at both national and state levels, with high rate of vote -trading which undermines the integrity of the political process. This scenario invariably erodes citizen trust in elected officials and generates apathy towards the political process.
On the effects of corruption in the Nigeria's law enforcement organizations, Comrade Asimi posits that there is already a one hundred percent increase in Kidnapping activities. Giving a breakdown however, he said that in year 2020 alone, a report from the Council on Foreign Relations, reveals that 2,860 Kidnapping incidences occurred in Nigeria as against 1,386 of such cases in 2019. And in 2020 also, 4,556 persons died from violence related killings in the country, while 3,188 persons died in the same process in 2019, according to Global Rights Mass Atrocities Report. This, however, represents 43% increase in the killing exercise.
Then, in the Nigeria's Security Sector Corruption, Asimi argues that with the sector being a key player in the nation's economy and also with corruption existent in the sector, there is no likelihood of a sustainable development for the country. He stated that Nigeria expends an estimated US$670million on slush funds christened Security Votes each year, according to findings by his organization, CISLAC. These funds, he claims, are usually unaccounted for and neither are they audited. Asimi submits that despite this and other withdrawals by the present and past administrations from the Reserve Account known as Excess Crude Account, the security situation in the country has seemingly failed to improve.
Comrade Asimi however revealed in his paper presentation at the workshop, that banks, particularly such financial organizations in Europe, North America and the Middle East countries are neck deep in Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) otherwise known as Money Laundering in Nigeria and Africa in general. This is clearly evident in the P&ID case. He stated that behind illegitimate IFFs transactions in Nigeria or anywhere on the African continent, lies a "legitimate" business, bank or notary in Europe or North America and the Middle East. He further said that the operation of Shell and Shelf Companies have facilitated corruption in many developing countries.
Asimi views the factors of corruption in Nigeria from the prism of lack of transparency in the management of the country's natural endowments and low rate of prosecution and conviction of corruption related cases. Other causes, he opines, are lack of effective systems to check corruption; the absence of key legal frameworks and absence of political integrity and lack of transparency and accountability in the country's procurement processes. He also blamed lack of effective monitoring and supervision; the top-down model of electricity governance in Nigeria; institutional decay and the current attitudinal disposition of sector officials and other players in the power sector; institutional improprieties; State monopoly; State-controlled electricity governance model and the current structural arrangement. NNL.