Presidential Research & Communications Unit

The Federal Executive Council [FEC] on Wednesday April 9 approved the contracts for the procurement of fertilisers to farmers in the country at about N41.5bn to whom it will be made available at a 25 per cent subsidy.

Also FEC approved a bill stipulating the confiscation of assets acquired with questionable wealth by individuals or corporate bodies.

Information and Communications minister, Prof. Dora Akunyili, said the FEC also approved that 400,000 metric tonnes of inorganic fertilizer should be supplied to farmers at 25 per cent subsidy through the state governments as usual.

The FEC also approved that the Minister of Finance should deduct 75 per cent recoverable amounts from sales proceeds as usual from the states’ monthly statutory allocations on receipt of mandates from the states Fertilizer Delivery Confirmation Certificates.

The contract is to be implemented within 90 days.
Nine road construction and rehabilitation projects valued at over N20bn were also approved by the FEC.

These include the rehabilitation of the Hadejia-Nguru Road in Jigawa State, valued at N4.9bn; the Ifon-Uzebba-Iruekpen Road in Edo State at N1.9bn; the Nguru-Gushua-Bayamari Road in Yobe State, valued at N2.3bn and the rehabilitation of Akungba-Ikare-Omuo-Kabba Road in Ondo/Ekiti states at the cost of N1.5bn.

Also included in the road contracts are the realignment and construction of dangerous curves between Akwanga and Lafia in Nasarawa State, rehabilitation of Efon-Alaye-Erinmo-Iwaraja Road in Ekiti/Osun states at the cost of N3.5bn; strengthening of the existing River Niger Bridge at Onitsha in Anambra State for N740m; and the rehabilitation of the Enugu Bound Carriageway of the Onitsha-Enugu Road in Anambra State at the cost of N5.09bn.

Professor Akunyili explained that the “road projects were provided in the 2008 budget, but could not be awarded before the end of that year, but have been captured in the 2009 Appropriation with Due Process Certificate of “No Objection” issued by the Bureau of Public Procurement towards the end of 2008.”

A $150m International Development Association grant in support of the Commercial Agriculture Development Project was also approved by the FEC.

The project seeks to strengthen agricultural system and facilitate access to markets for targeted value chains among small and medium scale farmers in the five participating pilot states of Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Cross Rivers and Enugu.

The bill on asset forfeiture, targeting corrupt politicians and civil servants, fraudsters, money launderers, and other financial crimes perpetrators, known as the Non-Convicted-Based Forfeiture of Proceeds of Unlawful Activity Bill 2009, would soon be forwarded to the National Assembly.

The minister said the bill, submitted to the council by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa, would make convicts and suspects of financial crimes forfeit all the properties and assets linked to the proceeds of the criminal activities to the Federal Government.

A copy of the draft bill however states that the forfeiture of such properties would depend on the court granting the interim order given the requisite notice or publication.

According to her, “the bill which is in consonance with the provisions of United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) which the nation is a signatory to if passed is to compliment the conviction based assets forfeiture law. It is also to compliment the system of post conviction confiscation and completes a comprehensive approach to asset recovery and repatriation.”

Section 13 subsection 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the draft bill states “where any property has come to the notice of the Commission (Economic and Financial Crime Commission) to be in possession of any other person, body corporate or financial institution or any property in possession of any person, body corporate or financial institution which is reasonably suspected to be proceeds or instrumentalities of some unlawful activity, the Court shall, unless it would not be in the interests of justice, upon application made by the Commission, or any other person authorized by it and is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the proceeds or instrumentalities of unlawful activity are derived or likely to be used in the commission of unlawful activity, make an order for forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria.