By Our Correspondent

The Secretary of Elders Council of Okun Development Association (ODA), the apex socio-cultural organisation representing the Okun-Yorubas, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, felicitates Barrister Funsho Fayomi, retired former President of Ijumu Development Movement (IDM), on his birthday anniversary.

Barrister Fayomi, a highly admirable personality, is a great Okun Compatriot who did Okun nation proud by performing exceptionally well during his civil service days.

In the course of his civil service career, he occupied highly exalted positions and had impeccable tours of duty all through, anchored on the cherished characteristic Omuluabi ethos, which Okun people are renowned.

Barrister Funsho Fayomi, an illustrious Son of Ijumu, and pride of the Okun nation, is a very warm and gracious community leader who has, over the years, been consistently impactful in the community organizing milleu of his homeland.

Barrister Funsho Fayomi is one Okun public figure who has a relatable socio-economic development impact. He is a provider of jobs and economic empowerment for many; a connecting bridge between the young and old; a model of inspiration to the younger Okun generation, and a symbol of the unity of the Okun people.

He is an exceptionally knowledgeable lawyer with uncommon intellectual fecundity; a human capital development enabler; community organizer; an advocate of social justice; promoter of the common good; a mentor, and inspirational figure to many; a builder and giver, who is always present where needed to make a difference in the lives of people. He has a characteristic quality of radiating love and joy everywhere he goes.

Big Brother Funsho Fayomi is celebrated not only for his remarkably endearing personae but also for being an ambassador of the rich Okun community spiritedness and a generous mobilzer towards the good of our homeland.

I am proud to be associated with this great Okun compatriot, as one of my admired and esteemed Okun leaders of this era, and I wish him many more decades of good life, health, vitality, peace, joy, and all-round fulfilment.

By George Mgbeleke

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its recovery efforts that have resulted in the retrieval of more than N115 billion and $84 million in outstanding statutory levies owed the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by oil companies.

HURIWA described the recovery as a significant development in the ongoing struggle to ensure that public revenues meant for the development of the Niger Delta are not lost through corporate non-compliance, administrative negligence or deliberate evasion of statutory obligations.

The rights group said the disclosure by the EFCC before the Senate Public Accounts Committee represents an important step towards strengthening accountability in the management of revenues accruing to the NDDC and the broader Nigerian extractive sector.

The association particularly commended the Senate Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, for sustaining its investigation into the 2021–2023 Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports and for demanding explanations from companies whose financial obligations remain unresolved.

HURIWA said the revelation that the EFCC investigated 43 oil companies and established outstanding liabilities against 24 companies demonstrates the importance of translating audit findings into concrete enforcement and recovery actions.

According to the disclosure before the Senate, 24 companies operating in the Niger Delta were initially found to have outstanding liabilities of N76.88 billion and $81.08 million, while 19 others were cleared following investigation.

The EFCC further disclosed that some companies subsequently paid N6.71 billion and $16.99 million directly to the NDDC, while the commission released N73.37 billion and $67.07 million of recovered funds to the development commission.

HURIWA said these figures should not merely be celebrated as financial recoveries but must trigger a deeper examination of why such enormous statutory obligations were allowed to remain outstanding in the first place.

NDDC MONEY MUST FOLLOW THE PEOPLE

HURIWA said every naira and dollar recovered for the NDDC carries a direct responsibility to the people of the Niger Delta.

The organisation stressed that the NDDC was established to address the developmental challenges of an oil-producing region that has endured decades of environmental degradation, inadequate infrastructure, unemployment, poverty and social dislocation arising from oil and gas exploration.

The association therefore warned that recovered funds must not disappear into another cycle of inflated contracts, abandoned projects, politically motivated procurement and questionable expenditure.

“Recovering NDDC money from oil companies is only half of the job. The bigger responsibility is ensuring that the recovered funds are deployed transparently for the benefit of the people for whom the NDDC was established.

“The Niger Delta people have heard promises for decades. They have seen budgets, contracts and project announcements. What they are demanding now are functioning roads, hospitals, schools, water projects, employment opportunities and sustainable development.

“Every naira recovered by the EFCC must therefore be treated as money belonging to the people, not as a fresh opportunity for political contractors and bureaucrats to enrich themselves.”

ARREST AND PROSECUTE FAILED NDDC CONTRACTORS

HURIWA consequently challenged the EFCC to extend its enforcement activities beyond oil companies that failed to remit statutory levies and turn its investigative spotlight on failed, fraudulent and abandoned NDDC projects and contractors.

The association called on the anti-graft agency to investigate contractors who collected substantial mobilisation payments for NDDC projects but failed to execute them, abandoned them after receiving public funds or delivered projects that did not correspond with the amounts paid.

HURIWA said the Niger Delta is littered with projects that have existed for years on government documents and budget papers without corresponding evidence of completion on the ground.

The organisation demanded that contractors and officials found culpable should be arrested, investigated and prosecuted, regardless of their political connections or status.

“EFCC should not stop at recovering money from oil companies. The agency must follow the money into the NDDC project chain.

“Who collected billions for roads that were never completed? Who was paid for schools that exist only on paper? Who received mobilisation for water projects that never delivered water to the communities? Who certified abandoned projects as completed?

“These are questions that Nigerians in the Niger Delta have been asking for years.

“Where evidence establishes criminal wrongdoing, the appropriate response should not be another committee or another report. It should be arrest, prosecution and recovery of the proceeds of crime.”

HURIWA said the prosecution of failed contractors would send a powerful message that public contracts are not private wealth-creation schemes.

The association also called for closer scrutiny of procurement processes, contract variations, mobilisation payments, completion certificates and payments made for projects subsequently abandoned.

SENATE PROBE MUST NOT END WITH HEARINGS

HURIWA commended the Senate Public Accounts Committee for insisting that chief executives of oil companies personally appear before it where necessary to respond to queries arising from the NEITI audit reports.

The group said the National Assembly’s oversight responsibility would have little impact if investigations ended with public hearings, media headlines and voluminous reports without enforcement and recovery.

HURIWA therefore urged the committee to pursue every unresolved financial query to its logical conclusion and recommend appropriate sanctions where violations are established.

The association equally urged the Senate to ensure that government agencies responsible for collecting statutory revenues develop stronger systems for tracking remittances and identifying defaulters before debts accumulate into billions of naira and millions of dollars.

HURIWA ENDORSES EFCC BOSS’ MESSAGE TO NIGERIAN YOUTHS

HURIWA also endorsed the admonition by the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, to Nigerian youths against internet fraud, get-rich-quick schemes, peer pressure and the destructive pursuit of wealth without legitimate effort.

The association said the message could not have come at a more appropriate time, given the growing social pressure on young Nigerians to acquire expensive cars, live extravagant lifestyles and display sudden wealth regardless of the source of such wealth.

HURIWA said Olukoyede’s warning that fraudulent wealth can ultimately result in arrest, prosecution, imprisonment and forfeiture of assets should be taken seriously by Nigerian youths.

The rights group particularly endorsed the EFCC chairman’s argument that success without process rarely lasts, stressing that Nigeria’s future depends on a generation of young people prepared to build wealth through knowledge, innovation, discipline, enterprise and legitimate work.

The association said Nigerian youths should not be deceived by social media displays of ostentatious lifestyles into believing that overnight wealth is the definition of success.

“Olukoyede’s admonition is a timely intervention in a society where material success is sometimes celebrated without questions about its source.

“We endorse his call on Nigerian youths to reject internet fraud and deploy technology for innovation, entrepreneurship, skills acquisition and legitimate wealth creation.

“A society that teaches its young people that wealth is valuable regardless of how it is acquired is preparing the ground for its own destruction.

“Our young people must understand that the fastest route to a flashy lifestyle may also be the fastest route to prison, asset forfeiture and a ruined future.”

BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE FOR NIGERIA

HURIWA said the EFCC’s recovery of NDDC funds and its simultaneous campaign against cybercrime among youths represent two sides of the same national struggle: protecting public resources today while protecting the future generation from destructive choices tomorrow.

The association said Nigeria cannot build a prosperous society while public funds are stolen on one hand and young people are encouraged by social pressure to embrace criminality on the other.

According to HURIWA, the country requires a culture in which public officials protect public resources, corporations honour their statutory obligations, contractors execute projects for which they are paid and young people pursue legitimate opportunities to create wealth.

The organisation therefore called for stronger collaboration among the EFCC, NDDC, NEITI, National Assembly and other relevant institutions to ensure that recovered funds are properly accounted for and deployed to measurable development projects.

HURIWA also urged the NDDC to publish details of recovered funds received from the EFCC and provide Nigerians with clear information on how such resources are subsequently utilised.

NO SACRED COWS IN THE WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION

The rights group said the recovery of billions of naira and millions of dollars from oil companies should encourage the EFCC to intensify its work rather than become an isolated success story.

HURIWA called for a comprehensive investigation into all major revenue leakages affecting the NDDC and demanded that no individual, company, contractor or public official found culpable should be shielded.

“Corruption has no political party, ethnic group or geographical address. The law must follow the evidence.

“We therefore urge the EFCC to remain focused, professional and fearless. Recover the money. Identify those responsible. Arrest where the evidence supports arrest. Prosecute where the evidence supports prosecution. Recover stolen assets and ensure that public resources return to the people.”

HURIWA said the Niger Delta deserves more than another cycle of investigations and promises.

“The people of the Niger Delta have paid an enormous price for Nigeria’s oil wealth. They deserve to see the benefits of the resources extracted from their communities.

“Recovered NDDC funds must become visible development. Failed contractors must face justice. Oil companies must meet their statutory obligations. Public officials entrusted with NDDC resources must be held accountable.

“And Nigerian youths must be encouraged to understand that their future is far more valuable than the temporary excitement of fraudulent wealth.”

HURIWA therefore commended the EFCC for the recoveries, endorsed the EFCC Chairman’s warning to youths against cybercrime and urged all relevant agencies to sustain the momentum until every recoverable public fund is recovered and every person found culpable is made to face the law.

HURIWA Reiterates Warning on Vote Buying, Says Osun Poll Elevates Menace to New Level

By George Mgbeleke

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has reiterated its earlier warning over the escalating menace of vote buying in Nigeria, saying the disturbing trend witnessed during the Osun State governorship election has further exposed the dangerous extent to which money is being deployed to compromise the democratic will of the electorate.

HURIWA is worried by the widespread allegations that APC and Accord Party in Osun state began since on Monday to pay potential voters with N20,000 and N10 000 for their votes this Saturday. This statewide purchasing of votes is despicable and reprehensible just as the inability of the law enforcement agencies to prevent these scandals from happening, is absolutely unacceptable.

HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, said the organisation had repeatedly warned that vote buying was gradually evolving from an electoral malpractice into a sophisticated political enterprise capable of undermining constitutional democracy.
According to him, developments surrounding the Osun election have only reinforced HURIWA’s fears that the practice is becoming increasingly entrenched in Nigeria’s electoral culture.
“We warned before now that vote buying was becoming a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy. What we have witnessed in Osun has elevated that menace to another level and should serve as a wake-up call to every institution responsible for protecting the sanctity of the ballot.”
HURIWA said vote buying must no longer be treated as an isolated electoral offence committed by individuals at polling units, but as a broader form of electoral corruption and an assault on the constitutional sovereignty of the Nigerian people.
The association described the buying and selling of votes as “electoral terrorism against constitutional democracy,” arguing that the practice terrorises the conscience of voters, distorts electoral competition and enables politicians with greater financial resources to purchase political power.
HURIWA warned that the danger goes beyond the immediate election because a politician who buys votes with public or private funds is unlikely to regard public office as a platform for service.
“When a mandate is purchased, governance becomes an investment recovery project. The politician who spends billions buying votes will naturally seek ways of recovering that money from the public treasury,” Onwubiko warned.
The association expressed particular concern that widespread poverty and economic hardship are being exploited by political actors to turn vulnerable citizens into unwilling participants in an electoral marketplace.
HURIWA, however, stressed that the primary responsibility must rest on political actors and their financial sponsors who introduce money into the electoral process, rather than treating economically desperate voters as the principal villains.
The rights group therefore challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and security agencies to demonstrate that their commitment to electoral integrity extends beyond public declarations.
HURIWA demands the investigation and prosecution of the financiers, organisers and political beneficiaries of vote-buying networks, rather than merely arresting individual voters who accept inducements.
The association also urged INEC to strengthen mechanisms for detecting and documenting vote buying before, during and after elections, while ensuring that election officials remain independent and impartial.
HURIWA said the lessons from Osun must be urgently applied to preparations for the 2027 general elections.
It warned that if the country fails to decisively confront vote buying now, the practice could become so sophisticated and deeply entrenched that elections would effectively be determined by financial capacity rather than the freely expressed will of citizens.
“Nigeria cannot continue to hold elections where votes are negotiated, sold and purchased while pretending that constitutional democracy is functioning normally.”
HURIWA therefore calls on political parties, civil society organisations, the media and Nigerians to reject the normalisation of vote buying and expose every attempt to commercialise the ballot.
The association reiterates its earlier position that vote buying is not merely an electoral offence—it is an assault on the sovereignty of the people and a form of electoral terrorism capable of destroying constitutional democracy from within.
The 2027 elections must not become an auction in which the highest bidder purchases the future of millions of Nigerians.