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OHANAEZE NDIGBO TACKLES EFCC OVER HUMILIATION OF NIGERIANS

Published

4 years ago

November 16, 2022

By Abdulateef Taiwo

Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has again taken a dig at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, under Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa.

The group, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja said the EFCC under Bawa was at an all time low.

It, therefore, urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to take urgent steps aimed at saving the anti-corruption commission.

This was contained in a statement signed by Mazi Okwu Nnabuike and Comrade Obinna Achionye, the National President and the National Secretary, respectively, of the group.

While recalling that they called “the gestapo style with which the EFCC operatives invaded the residence of Senator Rochas Okorocha in Abuja, the Federal Character Territory, the Ohanaeze youths said Bawa had destroyed the reputation of the federal agency.

“The Zamfara State Government under the administration of Governor Bello Matawalle is also been harassed unnecessarily by agents of the EFCC. Governor Matawalle, who has restored some level of normalcy in Zamfara State does not in any way deserve such a reckless distraction. We have no doubt that the move, like many others, is politically induced. Enough of the media trial and withunt, the governor must be allowed to concentrate.

“The EFCC has never been this ridiculed in such a manner as we are seeing under Bawa. The agency has become an agent of witch-hunt and one that is merely doing the bidding of some powers that be.

“It has not been forgotten how the EFCC under Bawa invaded the residence of Senator Rochas Okorocha, a serving Senator and treated him as a common criminal. Such a manner of invasion is unprecedented in the history of the country.

“Just the other day, the EFCC sneaked into a court and got an interim forfeiture order against Senator Ike Ekweremadu, a man who is already undergoing the most excruciating trying moment.”

“Several residents of the Southern part of the country have also fallen victims of EFCC brutality as innocent residents are invaded in the dead time of night, with their windows, burglary and roofs removed, only for the EFCC to apologise later that it acted in error.

“It is our considered view that the country cannot continue in such a crude form of operation. Media trials, illegal invasion and arrests can never be the hallmark of a serious anti-corruption agency. Nigerians have suffered enough unjustified humiliation and this is why we are demanding that it is time for Bawa to go,” the group further stated.

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

2 days ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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