Between Dino Melaye’s Unclean Hands and His Anti-Corruption Crusade

Since the inauguration of the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari, one undeniable fact is that there has been a renewed effort to fight corruption courtesy of the immense will President Buhari has brought to bear on the anti-graft agencies. Investigations against high-profile who are or were in government have been opened by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) with a number of these cases in court.

Taking its cue from this political will, the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory led by Senator Dino Melaye (APC – Kogi West) has announced its intentions to probe all past ministers of the FCT over allegations of improper land allocations. At a press conference, Senator Melaye presented pictures of what he claimed are a distorted masterplan due to land-grabbing by high-profile members of past governments, specifically mentioning members of the last administration such as President Goodluck Jonathan; former FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed; former Attorney-General, Mohammed Bello Adoke; former Bauchi State governor, Isah Yuguda amongst others.

While the intentions of the senate committee are commendable, I believe it is important to cast a light on its chairman, Senator Melaye who shot to infamy when, like a street thug rather than a honorable member of the House of Representatives, fought on the floor of the House in 2010 while challenging then Speaker, Dimeji Bankole over the purchase of cars for the members. Once again, he seemed like he was championing a laudable cause, but his true motivation was bitterness on having been removed as the Chairman of the House Committee on Information and National Orientation, which is considered a juicy committee due to the number of parastatals under the ministry it has oversight on – an avenue for corruption through the collection of kickbacks and contracts.

Senator Melaye, during the four years he spent in the political wilderness before returning to the National Assembly, this time as a senator in 2015, became a self-styled activist, when he ran an organization called Anti-Corruption Network. This network which is devoid of any organizational structure and has gone underground since his election as a senator, was in the forefront of calling for the sack and prosecution of former Aviation Minister (and briefly his colleague in the Senate) Stella Oduah over the purchase of 2 BMW cars for N255m.

However, during this period, Senator Melaye, with no discernible source of income, has been living a life that is obviously far above what he ought to have earned legally from being in the House of Representatives for four years. With a rather immature penchant for showing off the things he owns on social media, he has over 15 luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce Wraith (worth N89 million and owned only  by the super-rich and celebrities),a Range Rover, a Porsche Panamera (worth $80, 000), a Lamborghini Murcielago (worth $400, 000), a Mercedes Benz G Wagon ($100,000) and many others. He also bought a house in the exclusive Maitama District worth N1.3 billion.

 

Not stopping there, in clear violation of the law that prohibits elected and public officials from operating foreign bank accounts, Senator Melaye owns an account with the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. The CampusEdge account, opened in the name of a Daniel D. Melaye claiming to be a student, was used to pay for the removal of a tattoo which read, ‘Alero’, the name of Senator Melaye’s former wife and a victim of his domestic violence (as was with his first wife).

 

It took the eagle-eyed vigilance of citizen journalism site, Sahara Reporters to break this news, complete with evidence. Little wonder then that Senator Melaye was in the forefront of the passing of the Frivolous Public Petitions Bill with the controversial clause that prescribed harsh punishment of 2 years for those who make ‘false postings’ online, a clear attempt at muzzling social media, mentioningSahara Reporters on the Senate floor and accusing them of spreading falsehood. Ironically, Sahara Reporters used to be a darling of Senator Melaye, even posting pictures of himself in their New York office and lavishing praises on them.

This is not the first time that a vigilant blog or news site has exposed the criminal activities or lies of Senator Melaye – in 2013, Senator Melaye claimed that there was an assassination attempt on his life courtesy of his persistent insistence that Mrs. Oduah be tried for corruption in the BMW scandal. It took the vigilance of a blog, The Scoop which exposed the fact that the said assassination attempt was nothing more than a figment of Senator Melaye’s imagination or the product of chemical-influenced hallucinations. Again, no wonder now that he is in the power to make laws, he had his eyes set on robbing citizens of their freedom of expression and ending citizen journalism which seems to be his albatross as they have consistently exposed his lies and activities.

It is about time that the EFCC and the Code of Conduct Bureau commenced investigations of Senator Melaye for money laundering and illegal operation of foreign bank accounts. The Buhari administration has promised that nobody is above the law – the onus is on it to walk that talk by giving the anti-graft agencies the political backing to investigate persons in government, even members of the ruling party such as Senator Melaye.

This is not just my opinion, but also that of about 1500 people, according to this online poll.

He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. Right now, Senator Melaye’s hands are far from being clean. Like the popular saying goes he who has glass house should not throw stones.

At this point we are calling on the EFCC to Probe Senator Melaye and let Nigerians know the source of his wealth, we believe in the EFCC but with the way things are going it show that they are investigating selected politicians and leaving the rest to steal more money hiding behind the umbrella of fighting corruption. Nigerians will not be fooled or manipulated till Dino Melaye and other APC agents are probed by the EFCC we consider their rules and law void. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW

Bright Noah Abraham

RED#TAG MEDIA

Senator Bala Mohammed’s responses to Senate Committee on FCT misinformed directives on Abuja plots.

Our attention has been drawn to various media reports  in which the  Senate  Committee   on  FCT  accused  the  previous administration   of illegally converting  the green areas of Maitama District  into  developable   lands and  allocating  same to  named individuals.

While   we   had  not   wanted   to  join   issues  with   the   Senate Committee,    however,   the   exuberance   of   the Committee’s Chairman  that  borders  on  ignorance  of  the  limitations   of  the doctrine   of  separation   of  powers  under  the  constitution    has necessitated  us to set the records straight:

1. Throughout the  tenure   of  the  previous  administration,    all allocations  of land in the FCT were based on professional  advice, availability  of layouts and the provisions  of the  Land Use Act. In reference  to  the  Ministerial   Hill, which  the  Senate Committee    . gave the  Department  of Development  Control  directive  to  stop work, we state as follows:

2. That sometimes   in  2010,  the  FCTA under  Senator  Adamu Aliero  commissioned   Fola Consult Limited to advise the FCT   Administration     on  the   extent   of  the   area  in  Maitama Ministerial  Hill that  could be converted  for  residential  use;

3. That  Messrs.  Fala  Consult   Limited   submitted    its  report highlighting    the   history   of   the   area   and   rationale   for   its development   as follows:

1. a) The redesign of Plot 2278 was carried out during the regime of Air  Vice   Marshall    Hamza   Abdullahi    in   1998   to accommodate  the   Federal   Ministers   who   moved   from Lagos into the FCT;
2. b) That the change in land use was captured by the Land use plan  produced  in June 1989 by Dynasys Resource Company in association  with Alpha Consult Rome;
3. c) That the redesign  of  Messrs.   Dynasys Company  was  not comprehensive   since the sole aim of the design was just to create  plots to accommodate  some few  Ministers’  houses;
4. d) That the area was not designated  as recreational   area or park but was designated  as undevelopable   area based on its difficult   terrain  and that  the  level  of technology  at the time  was the  major  consideration   for  its classification   as undevelopable;

4. That Fala Consult Limited  advised the  Aliero  Administration that   additional    plots   should   be  created   to   justify    existing underutilized      infrastructure      m    line    with     its    land    use categorization  as a low-density  residential  area;

5. That sometimes in 2014, the Department of Urban & Regional Panning   also  made   recommendations    that   additional    plots should  be created  on plot  2180 to justify  existing  underutilized infrastructure   around the Mississippi street  of Maitama;

6. That  the   immediate    past   FCT   administration     was  fully convinced  that  the  master  plan is a dynamic  road  map for  the city’s  land  use and infrastructure   development,   guided  by the demands of change and time.  Hence, on the basis of the above recommendations,    and  in  recognition   of  its  responsibility   to ensure full utilization  of resources, the administration   approved the  redesigns and subsequently,   allocations  were  made  in line with  the  Land Use Act;

7. That the FCT Administration  allowed  for  commencement   of work  on  the  plots  after  the  allottees   got  due  building   plan approvals  from  the  Department   of Development  Control  which approval,  needless to add, can only be reversed by the authority of the Hon. Minister;

8. Apart from insisting that such new developments  were  based on the green city concept,  the approval  process was predicated on a  robust  environmental   impact  assessment conducted   by a team of professionals  within  the FCT Administration.

9. That the Senate Committee is advised to seek adequate information  from    the    FCT  Administration      before    issuing wrongful  directives.

With the above said, we consider  it imperative,  at this juncture, to  make some clarifications   on the  concept  of the  master  plan, green areas and the dynamism  of city development.

The Master Plan Concept

I  am not a Town Planner, but a Master  plan has been defined  by professionals  as that  broad policy document  meant to guide the growth  and development   of a town  or city.

May  I    add that  the  life span of a  master  plan which  is not  less than Ten years minimum,  is so wide that there is no way changes will    not    occur   for    a   document     based   on   assumptions, predications   and  projections.   As  soon  as gaps  are  observed between  these proposals and realities, as is the case of the Abuja master plan over time, a review or redesign becomes imperative.

Above  all, nowhere  in the  world  and on any town  or city  is  a master plan implementation    achieved at 100 percent  level even in developed  countries.

Concept   of   Green   Areas   and   the    Dynamism –    of    City Development

Green  area is a  land  use provision  within   the  master  plan for recreation,   flood  drains,  city  buffers,  urban  farming,   reserved lands   and   contextually    undevelopable    area.    However,   for reasons  of   population    growth,    expansion   in  infrastructural facilities,     security    concerns    and    logistical    demands,    city development all  over  the  world   has  never  remained   static. Rather,  it  has been a  dynamic  process.  Abuja  has not  been an exception.

Thus,  long  before  the  advent  of  the  last  FCT Administration, Ministers    had   reviewed    and   re-conceptualized    green   area provision’s  in the  Abuja  Master  plan.  For instance,  part  of the Presidential  Villa  was a green  area in the  master  plan.  So also were the office  of the  National  Security Adviser (NSA), the  High Court,  the  residence  of  the  Chief   Justice of  Nigeria  (CJN) and recently,  the residences of the presiding officers  of the National Assembly.  Military   formations   such  as Camp Wu  Bassey and Niger  barracks,  and  urban  fringes  including   Usuma,  Maitama Extension  and  Mpape  Districts  etc.  were  part  of  the  changes made to the master plan. Many other examples abound of green areas being converted  to other  uses by previous ministers  based on need of the time  to make the city more functional   and more so.cio-economically viable.

In fact, all of what  is termed  the “Urban .Fringe” including  Usuma and  Mpape  Districts,  was a  green  area  and  was supposed  to constitute               a  buffer  zone between  the city on the  one hand and the  regional  space, on the  other.  However,  it  was  utilized  by previous administrations   for the building  of the various barracks, Asokoro      District,  Guzape District,  Sunrise Hills   Estate and parts of  Apo.  These  urban   fringes   were   redesigned   by  previous ministers  in accordance  with  the  powers  conferred  on them  by the Land Use Act.

For emphasis,  it  is important  to  note  that  even  part  of  the present  Presidential  Villa  and the  Eagle Square were  changed from Transportation   Center to what they are today, while  under the Master  Plan, what  is now known  as Maitama  Extension was supposed to be a Sports Center but was redesigned by previous administrations.  Even in the  city center  occasions arose where the Boulevard  Project in the Central Business District area led to redesign of many plots in the original  master plan.

For the  enlightenment   of all stakeholders  and members  of the public  who  are  ignorant   of  the  historical   background   to  this matter,  it was Mallam  Nasir  El-Rufai as FCT minister  who, seeing the  lack of capacity  on the  part  of  the  FCT Administration,    to maintain  the green areas, started  allocating  them  to individuals in  the  hope  that  the  allottees   would   live  up to  expectation. Unfortunately,   they  did not.  Instead,  most of the park allottees converted  the green  areas to  commercial   uses thereby  placing them   on  a   collision   course   with   the   Development    Control Department.   Overnight,   restaurants,   hotels,  showrooms,   beer parlours,  pubs etc sprang up in these areas, in complete  negation of the master plan. In some casesthese  unapproved  conversions

constituted  not only a nuisance to the public but a grave security threat.  To tackle  the  deplorable   situation,  the  immediate   past leadership  of  the  FCT set  up  a  committee   headed  by former Director    General    of    the    Nigerian    Tourism    Development Commission,  Otunba  Segun Runsewe which,  in the course of its activities,  established  that  most  of the  beneficiaries  had made heavy investments  in the green areas. It was therefore   decided, that  in deserving  cases, the  allottees  should  retain  only  10% of the  green  areas while  the  remaining  should  be developed  for public use with  the firm  belief that  if the administration   needed to recover the whole  land, it could do so since it was not covered by deeds and titles.

We   have  gone  to   this   extent   to   explain   dynamics   of  the transformation    of the  green  areas to  prove the  point  that  the immediate     past   FCT    administration     was   simply   following precedents   in  adopting   out-of-the-box    strategies   that  would guarantee   more  effective   land  use management.   The truth   is that  the previous administration   drew immensely  from  both the  · Accelerated  Development  Program of El-Rufai and the Sunshine Hills Estate of  Abba  Gana, in  prosecuting  its  highly   ambitious mass housing  programs.   It is on record that  the administration, under   Senator   Bala  Mohammed,    collaborated    with    estate developers  and institutions  like the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and  the  Trade  Union  Congress, TUC to  develop   districts   for workers  while  the  administration    itself  conceived  three  social and affordable   housing schemes in Wasa and Mamusa  Districts which were allocated  to co-operatives  to provide  housing to the lower cadre.

Conclusion

From the above, we want to conclude  as:

1. The Minister never acted outside the limits of his powers in the matter of land management in the-FCT.
2. The Abuja Master Plan has never been inviolable. At various times in the  past, Senator Bala  Mohammed’s   predecessors had        managed   the   plan   to   achieve   a   functional    and harmonious  development   in the  city.  For all his actions  in the area of land management,  there were precedents  by his predecessors some of whom  are still  serving the  nation  in various capacities.
3. What we  do  not  understand   is the  Senate  Committee Chairman’s   unusual   interest    in  the   Minister’s    Hill.  The committee     needs no reminding  that  all the beneficiaries  of plots at the redesigned Minister’s  Hill are Nigerians who are legitimately               and   eminently     qualified    to    receive   the allocations     that   were   made   within    the   constitutional powers of the minister  following laid down procedures  and precedence    set   by   his   predecessors.   Some   of   these predecessors are not just around they are still very much in the service of the nation

4. We recognize the prerogative of the Chairman of the Senate Committee   on  FCT to  carry  out  his oversight  functions   in any  manner   he  chooses  but  that   should   never  include making  unguarded  statements  that  tend  to  ridicule  those who  served  to  the  best  of  their   ability   or  derogate   the powers   of   the   executive   to   carry   out   their    normal constitutional   duties.

5. The committee will  need  to  be  reminded   that  a  similar effort  to  revoke the  last minute  allocations  by El-Rufai on the eve of his departure  could not stand. Ironically,  it fell on Senator Bala Mohammed  to resolve the matter  and restore the  status  quo, which  led to  massive development   in the FCT and alleviate  unnecessary litigation.

6. The former minister  is available  at  all times  to  clarify  hisactions  in the  area of land management  thereby  avoiding unnecessary  dramatization   of  ignorance  or grandstanding for media attention.

 Emma Agu

Media Consultant  to Senator Bala Mohammed,  CON Former Minister of the FCT

Use with the firm belief that if the administration needed to recover the whole land, it could do so since it was not covered by deeds and titles

We have gone to this extent to explain dynamics of the transformation of the green areas to prove the point that the immediate past FCT administration was simply following precedents in adopting out-of-the-box strategies that would guarantee more effective land use management. The truth is that the previous administration drew immensely from both the Accelerated Development Program of El-Rufai and the Sunshine Hills Estate of Abba Gana, in prosecuting its highly ambitious mass housing programs. It is on record that the administration, under Senator Bala Mohammed, collaborated with estate developers and institutions like the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC to develop districts for workers while the administration itself conceived three social and affordable housing schemes in Wasa and Mamusa Districts which were allocated to co-operatives to provide housing to the lower cadre.

Conclusion
From the above, we want to conclude as:
1. The Minister never acted outside the limits of his powers in the matter of land management in the FCT.
2. The Abuja Master Plan has never been inviolable. At various times in the past, Senator Bala Mohammed’s predecessors had managed the plan to achieve a functional and harmonious development in the city. For all his actions in the area of land management, there were precedents by his predecessors some of whom are still serving the nation in various capacities.
3. What we do not understand is the Senate Committee Chairman’s unusual interest in the Minister’s Hill. The committee needs no reminding that all the beneficiaries of plots at the redesigned Minister’s Hill are Nigerians who are legitimately and eminently qualified to receive the allocations that were made within the constitutional powers of the minister following laid down procedures and precedence set by his predecessors. Some of these predecessors are not just around they are still very much in the service of the nation
4. We recognize the prerogative of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT to carry out his oversight functions in any manner he chooses but that should never include making unguarded statements that tend to ridicule those who served to the best of their ability or derogate the powers of the executive to carry out their normal constitutional duties.
5. The committee will need to be reminded that a similar effort to revoke the last minute allocations by El-Rufai on the eve of his departure could not stand. Ironically, it fell on Senator Bala Mohammed to resolve the matter and restore the status quo, which led to massive development in the FCT and alleviate unnecessary litigation.
6. The former minister is available at all times to clarify his actions in the area of land management thereby avoiding unnecessary dramatization of ignorance or grandstanding for media attention.

Emma Agu

Media Consultant to Senator Bala Mohammed, CON
Former Minister of the FCT

courtesy http://expose.com.ng/index.php/2016/02/10/use-with-the-firm-belief-that-if-the-administration-needed-to-recover-the-whole-land-it-could-do-so-since-it-was-not-covered-by-deeds-and-titles/

MINISTER OF WOMEN AFFAIRS AISHA AL-HASSAN BOAST OF CONTROLLING THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

MINISTER OF WOMEN AFFAIRS AISHA AL-HASSAN BOAST OF CONTROLLING THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

In this video the present minister of women affairs and the APC governorship candidate of Taraba State affirms that she controls the decisions of the judiciary in the Taraba gubernatorial election case. in a conversation with her associates she boasted that she has the money and power to manipulate the judicial system. this is an insult to the Nigeria judicial System and should not be condoled..

 

Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan is a fulani. A lawyer by training, Aisha Jummai became the first female to be appointed Taraba State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice. . The first woman to be appointed as Secretary FCT judicial council and later appointed the Chief Registrar of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, it’s obvious that she has come a long way with the judicial system to the point she feels she can control  and manipulate the system after Court of Appeal In Abuja cancelled the purported victory handed Aisha Alhassan, by an election tribunal, as the governor of Taraba State. Mrs. Alhassan, the candidate of the All Peoples Congress, was declared winner on November 7. In doing so, the Taraba State Governorship Election Tribunal nullified the election of Darius Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party.

 

But in its ruling Thursday, the Court of Appeal which reviewed Mr. Ishaku’s appeal, described as “unattainable” a petition by the APC seeking to disqualify Mr. Ishaku as the PDP candidate in the gubernatorial election of April 11.

 

In a unanimous ruling, a five-man panel led by Justice Abdul Aboki said that the Election Tribunal was wrong in giving victory to Mrs. Alhassan, while nullifying the election of Mr. Ishaku.

 

Not satisfied with the judgment of the court of appeal Mrs Aisha did not leave the case to God like she advice the parents of the Chibok girls during the bring back our girls visit to the state house, she  decided to take the case to the supreme court to fight against the court of Appeal  ruling nullifying her election victory.

so much for being the first female governor, Nigerians are not against her dream of making history as the first female Governor what we are against is the way she’s going about it. even after been made the minister of women affairs, instead of serving Nigerians she’s doing all in her power to become the governor of Taraba state and according to this video she will do all it take even if she lost her life in the process. also in the video she bragged about APC being in power and having wealth to manipulate the judiciary, we know she has the backing and support of the president but we will not let our judicial system be controlled or manipulated. 

Nigeria judiciary system is the most honourable Nigerian institute and will not be manipulated or insulted. this video and other related cases indicates  how corrupt and arrogance Mrs Aisha Jummai Alhassan is and should not be placed in any seat of power.

 

Watch and download the complete clip of her boast below:

Customs deny arrest of minister's son

– Customs dismiss reports that it arrested Abdullahi Bala

– Challenges anyone to provide evidence of arrest
– Describes report of alleged arrest as handwork of mischief makers

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has dismissed reports that it arrested Abdullahi Bala, the son of the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FTC), Senator Bala Mohammed for alleged import duty underpayment on his exotic vehicle.

Reports circulated in the media on Friday, January 31 that customs officers attached to the federal operations unit, Zone A, Ikeja Lagos had arrested Abdullahi Bala over the underpayment of a custom’s duty on his McClaren 650s coupe.
The report of the arrest was accredited to the spokesperson for the custom’s anti-smuggling outfit in Lagos, Uche Ejesieme. The report added that Abdullahi Bala purchased the said vehicle for N850million and owed N123.7million on duty payment.
However spokesperson for the service has denied that the customs officers arrested the minister’s son.
According to expose.com.ng, the spokesperson challenged anyone with evidence of the arrest to come forward.
He said: Whoever says that we arrested Bala Mohammed son should provide us with the evidence that we arrested such a person.”
The spokesperson report of the alleged report as the handwork of mischief makers.
“We are only concerned with custom matters, at no time did we tell anyone that the son of a former minister was arrested by us,” he said.