The Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, yesterday, described President Bola Tinubu, his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari, and other previous heads of state as leaders who found themselves in power by accident.

Kukah noted that it was evident none of them were fully prepared before assuming office, especially in a world where the demands of leadership are rapidly evolving.

The bishop made these remarks while delivering a keynote address at the official commissioning of Start-Rite School’s new building and the 4th Amaka Ndoma-Egba Memorial Lecture in Abuja.

Kukah lamented that the fundamental element missing in Nigerian leadership is knowledge.

While acknowledging the nation’s embrace of the democratic principle of ‘one man, one vote,’ the cleric expressed concern that democracy appears to be malfunctioning under successive administrations.

He stated, “If we are to start from the beginning, you will find that almost every leader who came to power in Nigeria did so as a result of one accident or another. President Tinubu, who said he was prepared for the role, is struggling. We are still trying to get off the ground. He took over from Buhari, who had already given up.

“Buhari succeeded Jonathan, who thought he would retire after being deputy governor, but circumstances thrust him into power. Jonathan succeeded Yar’Adua, who had planned to return to teaching at Ahmadu Bello University after his governorship.

“Yar’Adua, in turn, succeeded Obasanjo, who was unexpectedly released from prison to become president. Obasanjo took over after Abacha, who was being positioned by five political parties to rule indefinitely until nature intervened.

“Abacha succeeded Shonekan, who was a business executive at UAC before being called to serve as Head of State. We can go on and on, but the fundamental issue in governance is knowledge. Leaders need a deep understanding of their environment.”

Kukah stressed that while the world has changed, the expectations of leadership have not.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, stressed the importance of instilling leadership qualities at an early age.

Marwa attributed the country’s struggles with various societal vices to failures in leadership and accountability.

He also raised concerns about a growing syndicate of
visually impaired individuals involved in the illicit drug trade in Nigeria.

“As Chairman of the NDLEA, we have encountered many challenges from drug traffickers. Recently, we uncovered an intriguing cartel involving visually impaired individuals.

“We arrested a blind man transporting a large consignment of cannabis from Lagos to Kano. Upon interrogation, he claimed ignorance of the contents, saying he was simply delivering a package.

“When asked who gave him the consignment, he provided a name, which led us to another blind individual in Lagos. That individual revealed a partner, who was also blind. Eventually, we traced the ultimate handler, who turned out to be blind as well,” he explained.

Marwa declined to provide further details about the cartel’s leader, stating, “I won’t tell you the rest of the story.”

In his closing remarks, Marwa commended, Chairman of the Board of Advisory for Start-Rite School,  Senator Ndoma-Egba, for organising the memorial lecture in honour of his late wife, Amaka Ndoma-Egba.

He said, “Amaka Ndoma-Egba was a visionary who founded this school to equip students with the skills needed to thrive in an ever-changing world.”

The late Amaka’s 17-year-old initiative, Start-Rite School, began with a modest class of seven pupils in 2008 and has since grown into a leading institution with over 800 students across nursery, primary, and secondary levels in Abuja.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into the allegedly over N57 billion of public funds “missing, diverted or stolen” in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2021.

The organisation asked Tinubu “to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies” to probe the allegations.

This is according to a statement issued by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, in a letter dated November 23, 2024.

In its request, SERAP referenced the 2021 audited report released last week by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, saying, “The allegations amount to stealing from the poor. There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations.

“The allegations also suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s anti-corruption legislation, and international anti-corruption obligations.”

The organisation demanded that anyone found guilty should be punished by law, and “any missing public funds should be fully recovered and remitted to the treasury.”

“Hundreds of billions of naira are also reportedly missing in other Ministries, Departments and Agencies [MDAs],” it added.

The statement read in part, “Poor Nigerians have continued to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviations and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies [MDAs].

“According to the 2021 annual audited report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, [the ministry] in 2021 failed to account for over N54 billion [N54,630,000,000.00] meant to pay monthly stipends to Batch C1 N-Power volunteers and non-graduate trainees between August and December 2021.

“The money was ‘not directly paid to the beneficiaries.’ The Auditor-General is concerned that the money ‘may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants suspected perpetrators of the diversion to be sanctioned in line with the Financial Regulations.”

Among others, SERAP noted that the ministry “reportedly failed to account for over N2.6 billion [N2,617,090,786.00] of public funds meant for the ‘home-grown school feeding programme during Covid-19’, as ‘the programme was never executed.’ The money was allegedly paid to five contractors to ‘procure, package and distribute Covid-19 palliatives to Kano, Zamfara and Abia states,’” but without any trace.

“The ministry also reportedly spent over N78 million [N78,373,909.74] to ‘carry out a survey on the ministry’s Covid-19 response to states and vulnerable groups’ but without any approval or document.

“The ministry also reportedly failed to account for N400 million [N400,000,000.00] meant to pay ‘stipends to 4,450 independent monitors for October, November, and December 2021,’” it stated.

The organisation further advised the President to “use any recovered stolen funds to fund the deficit in the 2025 budget, and to issue an immediate moratorium on borrowing by the Federal Government to ease Nigeria’s crippling debt crisis.”

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

“SERAP urges you to immediately enforce the judgment by Hon. Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, ordering your government to release the spending details of N729 billion by Mrs Sadia Umar-Farouk, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development,” read the statement, among others.

In February 2024, there were reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered over N30bn from the N37,170, 855,753.44 allegedly laundered in the ministry under the former minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouk.

Sources in the anti-graft agency said the commission had also uncovered over N500m from the scam associated with Umar-Farouk’s successor, Betta Edu.

In July 2024, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos State directed Umar-Farouk to give details of how N729bn allegedly disbursed to 24.3 million poor Nigerians was carried out.

The court ruled that the ex-minister should provide a list of all the beneficiaries, including their bank details, that received the N5,000 disbursed for six months.

A total sum of N1.411 trillion, being October 2024 Federation Accounts Revenue, has been shared among the Federal Government, States and Local Government Councils.

A statement by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation last Wednesday, said the revenue was shared at the November 2024 meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) held in Bauchi State, and chaired by the Accountant General of the Federation. Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein.

The November 2024 FAAC meeting was held after the 2024 National Council on Finance and Economic Development (NACOFED) hosted by the Bauchi State Government. The N1.411 trillion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N206.319 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N622.312 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N17.111billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N566.000 billion.

A communiqué issued by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) indicated that a total gross revenue of N2.668 trillion was available in October 2024. Total deduction for the cost of collection was N97.517 billion while total transfers, interventions and refunds were N1.159 trillion.

According to the communiqué, gross statutory revenue of N1.336 trillion was received for October 2024. This was higher than the sum of N1.043 trillion received in September 2024 by N293.009 billion. Gross revenue of N668.291 billion was available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) in October 2024.  This was higher than the N583.675 billion available in the month of September 2024 by N84.616 billion.

The communiqué stated that from the N1.411 trillion total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received a total sum of N433.021 billion and the State Governments received a total sum of N490.696 billion. The Local Government Councils received a total sum of N355.621 billion, and a total sum of N132.404 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared among the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

On the N206.319 billion distributable statutory revenue, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N77.562 billion and the State Governments received N39.341 billion.