FG to propose N45,000 wage, meets labour today

• Workers to reject downsizing of public work force

• Fuel scarcity persists despite price hike

• Naira may exchange for N283 to dollar

Three days to the threatened mass action against government’s increase in the price of petrol, indications emerged yesterday that the Federal Government would meet organised labour today in Abuja over the issue, dangling a carrot before labour leaders.

The Guardian learnt that at the meeting slated for 3:00 p.m. at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Federal Government will be coming to the parley with the proposal for a new minimum wage that is fixed at N45, 000.But the increase comes with some provisos including reduction in the number of civil servants and merging ministries and agencies.

Indeed, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba confirmed the scheduled meeting saying he got a text message inviting him and other labour leaders to the meeting.

A source in the Presidency told The Guardian that ministers had been told to lead the initiative on the downsizing.Also, the Efficiency Unit in the Federal Ministry of Finance, which is saddled with coming up with cost reduction strategies is working on the template for the reduction.

The Federal Government would also be relying on the report of the Steve Oronsaiye’s panel on the rationalisation of the civil service in the streamlining process.

It was also learnt that though government said it would not devalue the naira, it would indeed embark on what it termed ‘appropriate’ value of the national currency, which may be in the region of N283 to the dollar.

Meanwhile, fuel scarcity persisted in most of the major cities of the country yesterday despite hopes that petrol would be available since government at the last Federal Executive Council meeting raised the pump price of petrol to N145 per litre.Yet, some outlets are retailing for as high as between N150 and N175 per litre.

A visit to some areas in Lagos showed that most petrol stations were under lock and key, with only one or two selling the product for N145 per litre.

In a related development, the Arewa Defence League (ADL) has called on Nigerians to stand by the current administration over the recent increase in pump price of petrol, saying the increase is not meant to worsen the sufferings of the masses but aimed at ensuring availability and sustainability of the product.

But the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, berated the government that promised to create jobs but was now tinkering with the idea of embarking on one of the most massive job losses Nigeria has every witnessed.

He added: “We cannot be talking about creating jobs and at the same time be talking about mass sacking of workers. This is a government that promised jobs and now, it wants to embark on mass sacking of workers. It is difficult to reconcile the two extreme ends. We will not accept any proposal for job cuts if put across to us.”

Wabba pointed out that the challenge of retrenching workers has always been that government at all levels has failed to make provision for payment of entitlements.

He explained: “Well, every employment has terms of agreement. Nobody can force any worker on an employer and no employer can insist a worker works for him. But very importantly is the fact that exit strategies must be in place for painless exit. The problem over the years has been that government disengages people without preparing for the payment of their gratuities and pension. I believe there are many employees that will be happy to leave today if all their entitlements are ready.”

While hinting that while the labour centre and their civil society allies are ready to come to the negotiation table, he explained that the issue at stake is far more germane than price increase.

He said: “I must say that the issues are beyond the price increase and dollar exchange rate. The issues are about the totality of the corruption that has characterised the downstream sector for many decades. Simply pegging the exchange at some N285 or so will not address the problem. It is a simple matter that if the demand outstrips the supply end, the price of the dollar will increase and Nigerians will continually pay for petrol. So, there would be no to price increments if the fundamentals are not discussed.”

Wabba said while labour is open-minded about all the issues, it will push for solving the challenges with timelines that would be respected.

“Just increasing the price is taking the easy way out. This is because, as the President and Dr. Kachikwu have observed in the past, what has held the downstream sector down is corruption especially as it concerns the landing costs. What government is trying to do now is transferring the burden to the Nigerian people. What government needs to do is to find the right mix to put an end to the quagmire.”

Long queues have remained at filling stations, including at the popular NNPC mega stations which offered Nigerians some respite before the increase.Black marketers were also in active business, with some selling at N350 per litre.

Besides, with the upward review of the Price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol from N86.50 to maximum of N145 per litre (about $0.73), the cost of petrol in Nigeria is about the lowest in Africa and among some oil producing countries.

Data obtained from GlobalPetrolPrices, which was updated at the weekend, showed petrol in Chad costs $0.78 per litre; Togo, $0.80 per litre;  Kenya, $0.81 per litre; South Africa, $0.84 a litre; $0.85 a litre; Niger, $0,90; Ghana, $0.92; Sierra Leone, $0.94; Uganda, $0.97 and Angola, $1.00 per litre.

Also, in Rwanda, Mali, Malawi, Guinea, a litre of petrol sells for $1.15, $1.15; $1.17; $1.17 respectively, which are far higher than the price in Nigeria.

Long queues have remained at filling stations, particularly at the popular NNPC mega stations which offered Nigerians some respite before the increase.Black marketers were also in active business, with some selling at N350 per litre.

Attendants at one of the filling stations along Oshodi -Apapa Expressway, Lagos told The Guardian yesterday the retail station had already run out of the commodity before the announcement of the new price regime.

Experts believed that the recent hike in the price of fuel would lead to hardship and have therefore urged government to initiate measures to ameliorate the effects on the economy.

A Head of the Department of Petroleum Engineering and the Deputy Director, Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics & Law. Dr. Olugbenga Falode, told The Guardian that this is because whatever happens in the oil sector affects all other sectors of the economy and by implication, it affects the macro-economic policies of the country.

Also, a Professor of Technology Management, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Francis Eniterai Ogbimi, said that mere adoption of deregulation and privatisation cannot build refineries and increase refining crude petroleum. Increased production is the solution to low supply, not the adoption of ideologies like capitalism deregulation, privatisation, liberalisation, socialism or communism, he said.

According to him, only seven per cent of the nations in the world practise full deregulation of the sale of petrol, adding that the United States does not practise full deregulation as the American government controls the price of petrol.

Lagos officially oil producing state

With the commencement of crude oil production in Badagry Local Government by

 Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Co. Ltd and by the virtue of the provision of Section 162, Sub-Section 2 of Nigerian Constitution, Lagos State has become an oil producing State.


The declaration was made in Lagos on Monday by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode when the management of the company led by the Group Managing Director, Mr Tunde Folawiyo paid him a courtesy visit at the Lagos House.


“Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Co. Ltd (YFP) is pleased to announce that it has commenced production of crude oil from its Aje field located in block OML 113 offshore Lagos,” the company said on Monday, May 3, 2016.


The Aje oil field lies 25 km from the coast in western Nigeria, on the border with Benin. It is situated 64 km from Lagos and is 12 kilometres away from the West Africa Gas Pipeline (12 km away).


It is located in the Dahomey Embayment of southwestern Nigeria, which is the eastern end of the Cretaceous Benin Basin of West Africa. Water depth across the field ranges from 99 metres to over 1,500 metres. The field is estimated to be one of the largest oil fields in Nigeria outside the Niger Delta basin.


Production began after more than 25 years of exploratory, appraisal and developmental activities in the field, making Lagos an oil-producing state.


Ambode lauded the company for its doggedness to achieve the feat after 25 years of hard work


He declared, “I want to thank you very much for this and I say it with all conviction because I know that based on section 162 Sub-Section 2 of the Nigeria Constitution, Lagos becomes an oil-producing state and by virtue of this, the 13 percent derivation that is due to oil producing states, Lagos will start to partake from it by your very good gesture. So we officially declare Lagos State as an oil producing state, we also notify the Federal Government by this action that we would be sharing out of the 13 percent derivation. So all we need do is to apply and then we join.”


The governor also said that the feat has not only placed Lagos in the history books as the first state outside the Niger Delta to become an oil-producing State but has also opened up a new page for revenue generation in the State.


“It also means that by the additional revenue that is coming from this action, we would have more resources to provide infrastructure for Lagosians and this is what we want other investors and businessmen to emulate, so that beyond the issue of profit, you are actually creating impact on people without them necessarily knowing that it is actually coming from a venture like this that you have embarked on,” he said.

Nigeria Labor Congress Orders Buhari To Reverse Pump Price In 3 Days Or Face Indefinite Strike

The Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) has ordered the federal government to revert to the original price of petrol by Tuesday next week or face indefinite strike from workers. Addressing the press after it's National Working Committee meeting in Abuja today, NLC leaders also urged asks Nigerians to stockpile food ahead of the protest against fuel subsidy removal.

The emergency meeting debated extensively the implications of government's unilateral increase in prices of petroleum products, noting government's disinclination for consultation on issues of public interest and its obsession with protecting product marketers at the expense of the Nigerian public. The meeting expressed concern about government's neo-liberal policies which it considered a betrayal of its electioneering promises and observed  as follows:

During the electioneering campaign last year, the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress ( APC ),  Muhammadu  Buhari, had promised  that, if elected president, he would not remove fuel subsidy if there was any at all;

After his election, President Muhammadu Buhari had maintained that there was no subsidy in the petroleum product price regime and that  even if there was, he did not see how its removal would be beneficial to  the ordinary Nigerian, noting that the slightest product price adjustment often leads to inflationary spiral and unimaginable suffering for the people;

On January 18, 2016, the government further allayed the fears of the Nigerian people by  reducing the pump price of PMS to N86:50, explaining that the reduction was in furtherance of the implementation of the revised component of the Petroleum Products Pricing for PMS and kerosene;

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu had been speaking from both sides of his mouth. Whereas last year, he had strongly canvassed for the removal of "subsidy" in defiance of President Buhari, about a month ago, he claimed the subsidy had been removed through his ingenuity and that Nigeria was saving  $1billion from this process;

Organized Labour wondered what has informed government's sudden and dangerous policy summersault and its desperate attempt to convince the public that Labour was part of the decision that led to this price increase;

In view of the fact that the  board of the Petroleum Products Pricing  Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), which is statutorily vested with powers  to recommend prices,  has not been reconstituted, the price variation  announced by any officer of the agency  or outside the agency is  not only ultra vires and illegal, it is a criminal imposition on the citizenry;

The price hike from N86:50 to N145,  representing 67.63% increase, is the height of  insensitivity and impunity as there  was no previous consultation with stake holders, especially the organized labour,  or any justification for this reckless decision other than the fact that government believes it is accountable to no one;

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources declared that marketers will have to source their dollars from the secondary market. The attendant pressure on the dollar will lead to an unimaginable rise in prices of commodities and other services thus creating further hardship for the people. Due to the volatility of the black market, organized labour doubts that government would be able to maintain PMS pump price at N145 per litre were the hike acceptable or justifiable. At the time the PMS pump price was fixed at N145, the exchange rate at the black market was N320 to the Naira. Between Wednesday and today when the new pump price was announced,  the Naira has further crashed against the dollar, first to N340 on Thursday,  then N365 on Friday morning and N385 by close of business on Friday, all in 48 hours! At this rate, we believe it will not take long before the Naira becomes entirely useless against the dollar. It is thus morally and economically suicidal to have tied the importation of products to the secondary market exchange rate;

Given the fact that in the past five years, there has been no increase in salaries or wages or pensions  in the face of devaluations, spiralling inflation and other vagaries of the economy, this product price increase is unrealistic, unaffordable, unacceptable and is thus rejected;

Government is unable to justify this price increase other than the puerile explanation that marketers need to recover their costs, without a thought for the aggregate or  larger national interest including the need for local refining and creation of jobs;

The government has remained incalcitrant  in spite of a subsisting court injunction on the issue of the criminal increase in  electricity tariff even in the face of ever-worsening power supply situation;

From the foregoing, it is evident that the neo-liberal forces in the government have taken over the government, and we should expect more inhumane policies which will further degrade the living standard of the average Nigerian. The punitive electricity tariff and PMS product prices may just be teasers;

The implications are costly and far-reaching, with the first and most significant being that we have become dependent on the massive importation of refined products to meet our domestic needs in contra-distinction to other OPEC members. Whereas most OPEC members significantly meet their domestic needs through domestic refining by an average of 80 per cent, Nigeria on the contrary, at the pace it is going, will continue to rely on about 90 percent of imported refined products in the foreseeable future;

And because we are dependent on importation, the end-user price  will always be influenced or determined by external factors such as the cost of refining abroad, transportation and others denominated in the dollar. As the Naira continues to depreciate against the dollar, so will the woes of consumers in Nigeria continue to increase, a situation the Marketers in classic greed will exploit to their advantage;

Taking into account the utilitarian value of petroleum products in Nigeria, all sectors are going to be negatively affected by this mindless price increase as virtually all the stakeholders are agreed that the most significant contributor to the astronomical cost of doing business in Nigeria is the cost of energy.

NLC, TUC, and other civil society allies are not unaware of the positions taken by the Unions in the Oil and Gas Industry. A process of engagement will be put in place to ensure the success of the struggle to protect the overall interest of the Nigerian people.

In consideration of all of the above, we urge government to:

Revert to the old price regime to reduce the suffering of the people and to consider this singular act of mindless pump price increase as a betrayal of trust;

Revert to the pre-45 percent electricity tariff increase, make meters available to consumers and stop estimated billing; 

Reconstitute  the boards of PPPRA and NNPC without further delay and give them their statutory right to function alongside DPR in order to deepen the process of consultation, checks and balances in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry;

Intensify the prosecution of all those involved in subsidy scams with a view to recovery and sanctioning of the culpable;

Put in place enhanced local refining capacity within a specified period  in place of endless importation as an enduring solution to the perennial problem of scarcity;

Reverse the entire deregulation and privatization process which foists on the nation, private individuals as drivers of the economy in contravention of the constitutional provision that says government shall be the driver of the  economy and engage the organised labour in the process of negotiation on key policy issues;

Wean itself from the overbearing influence of the neo-liberal elements in its fold who have not  only staged a coup but are determined to make this government collapse even before  the end of its four-year tenure;

Uphold its electioneering promises to Nigerians   instead of subjecting them to the vagaries of slavish policies such as full devaluation of the naira and total removal of  subsidy as enunciated by the IMF and its agents in the system;

In the event government fails to accede to these demands on or before 12 midnight on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and their civil society allies resolve to commence the following actions with effect from Wednesday, May 18, 2016;

·         Mobilize to the streets across the country, ordinary and helpless Nigerians to whom they owe the duty of protection;

·         Shut down all Banks, Sea and Airports, Government and private offices as well as Markets.

·         Commence indefinite nationwide strike action.

·         Fight/resist the machinations and cruelties of the neo-liberal forces in the government as part of the process of saving the government from itself and the generality of Nigerians from slavery.

Nigerian are therefore advised to stock sufficient food items that will last for a while for the prosecution of the current struggle against neo-liberal agenda in Nigeria.

For and on behalf of Nigeria Workers, Civil society allies, and the Masses;

Fayose Causing Confusion In Our Party, PDP Says

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State of causing confusion in the party.

It said the governor was behind the plan to hold the South-West zonal congress in Akure on Saturday despite the court order which asked the party to suspend the exercise.

National Secretary of the party, Prof. Wale Oladipo, stated this while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Saturday.

Oladipo said that the party had decided to obey the order of Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court in Lagos, which restrained the party from going ahead with its zonal congress.

Apart from Akure, another faction of the party had planned to hold a separate zonal congress in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State on the same day before the court order was served on the party’s national leadership.

The judge had ruled on an ex parte application brought before him on Thursday by the incumbent PDP South-West Zonal Secretary, Chief ‘Pegba Otemolu, and  restrained the party from going ahead with the scheduled congress.

The judge said the order would subsist until the final determination of Otemolu’s main suit.

But a day later, Fayose had stormed the national secretariat in Abuja, where he boasted that the congress would go ahead.

Oladipo said on Saturday that the National Legal Adviser of the party, Mr. Victory Kwon, had advised the party to obey the order of the court, which he said was served on him(Oladipo) and the party on Friday afternoon.

He also said that the National Chairman, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff who he said was not at the party secretariat on Friday when the order was served, had been notified.

Oladipo, who is the head of the party’s national secretariat said, “Governor Fayose is not a member of the National Working Committee of the PDP, but he’s causing confusion with his utterances.

“We are not dabbling into his government and he has no right to tell us how to run the party here. We have an order of the court stopping the congress. The governor cannot overrule the court.

“He should behave like other governors who do not dabble into the running of the party at the national level. He should learn from Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State who respect the party and the President of the country.

“The order of the court was even published in three national dailies and therefore, he can’t deny he was not aware.

“Our National Legal adviser who is the Chief Legal Adviser of the part, Mr. Victor Kwon, has advised that we comply with the order and we are complying with it. We are not above the law of the land.”

Oladipo said whatever result that come out of the convention would not be respected by the party as it would amount to waste of time and resources.

According to him, “Those who want to claim they want to organise any conference are doing that on their own, not on behalf of the party.

“Whatever come out of it would be null and void because we are not monitoring it just as the Independent National Electoral Commission has also been informed about the order of the court.

“So, the commission will also not be part of any illegality . We definitely won’t be part of it.”

Our correspondent gathered that INEC had been served with the court order and had directed its officers to stay away from fine congress.

But the governor said he was attending the congress as a loyal member of the party.

The governor, who spoke with through his Media Aide, Mr. Lere Olayinka, said he was only invited to attend the congress.

He said, “Fayose is not a member of the NWC, he isnot a member of the congress committee but he was invited as a member of the party.

“The congress committee is in Akure and that’s why we are attending. Oladipo is an interested party. The governor is interested in the smith-running of the party. The party is not run on the pages of the newspaper.

“If the national chairman said he was not aware of the court order as at Friday, why trying to stop the congress then? Fayose is not interested in any crisis.“

Fuel price hike: FG rolls out N500b palliatives to succour Nigerians

Fuel price hike: FG rolls out N500b palliatives to succour Nigerians

The Federal Government has unveiled measures which it said would  directly impact the lives of more than 8 million Nigerians in different social investment as provided in 2016 budget spending. This  it said ,will  provide succour and be a ready-made palliative to ordinary Nigerians.

It was designed to cushion the harsh  effectsof the last week fuel price hike.

This disclosure was made by the Senior Special Assistant for Media & Publicity to the President, Mr. Laolu Akande, in an interaction with the press in Abuja.

He gave new details and a breakdown of the interventions and palliatives, some of which he said would be starting in a matter of weeks thus,  the direct payment of N5000 monthly to one million extremely poor Nigerians for 12 months as provided for in the 2016 budget for which N$68.7billion has been appropriated.

There is also the direct provision of very soft loan -cash for market women, men and traders, including artisans and Agric workers.

This would be for a total of 1.76million Nigerians, without the requirement for conventional collateral. Some of the traders will likely get about N60, 000. A total sum of N140.3billion has already been appropriated for this in the budget

According to the statement , payment of between N23,000 to N30,000 per month to 500,000 unemployed graduates who would be trained, paid and deployed to work as volunteer teachers, public health officers and extension service workers among other responsibilities.

They would also be given electronic devices to empower them technologically both for their assignments and beyond just as 100,000 artisans would also be trained and paid N191.5billion has been set aside for this in the passed budget.

Also, at least 5.5 million Nigerian primary school children -ie starting first in 18 states-three per geopolitical zones-would be fed for 200 school days under the free Homegrown School Feeding Programme.

N93.1 billion has been appropriated for this in the 2016 budget.

One hundred thousand tertiary students in science technology engineering & maths (STEM), plus education will partake in the N5.8billion already provided for this education grant in the budget. This payment would also be paid directly to the students.

According to the Federal Government, when added together this year alone, more than 8 million Nigerians would be benefiting from the Social Investment budget.

Akande who works from the Office of the Vice President said the N500 billion social investment programmes of the Buhari administration is a ready made palliative to lift Nigerians from poverty and economic hardship.

“Long before now the Presidency has made adequate arrangements in the 2016 budget to ensure that Nigerians are lifted from poverty and hardship,” the spokesperson stated.

This will not only assuage the current pains arising from the new fuel pricing regime, but will provide ongoing social safety nets for over 8 million Nigerians this year alone, according to Akande.

He added that this is beside the jobs that would be created by the infrastructural projects that would be restored and the new ones that would soon be taking off.

Said he: “the Buhari presidency is keen to ensure that Nigerians are lifted and that if necessary on an ongoing basis palliatives measures would always been considered to address the conditions of the people.”

Return Nigeria’s stolen assets, Buhari tells UK

Nigeria does not need any apology from the United Kingdom, but a return of all its stolen assets stashed away in Britain and its Crown territories, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday in London.

Buhari spoke in  London at the Tackling Corruption Together Conference ahead of the International Anti-Corruption Summit to be hosted on Thursday by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"All I will demand is return of assets. What would I do with apology? I need something tangible," Buhari said less than 24 hours after the publication of a video which shows Cameron describing Nigeria and Afghanistan as the two most corrupt countries in the world.

"Unfortunately, repatriating stolen assets is tedious, time-consuming, costly. It entails more than just signing of bilateral agreements."

In an earlier response to the Cameron's comments, Nigeria's presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said the country was embarrassed by the comments and noted that it did not reflect present realities.

"This is embarrassing to us, to us say the least, given the good work that the President is doing. The eyes of the world are on what is happening here. The Prime Minister must be looking at an old snapshot of Nigeria. Things are changing with corruption and everything else," Shehu said in a message posted on social media.

However, Buhari insisted that Nigeria was ready to partner with the UK in order to combat corruption. He hoped the two countries would be able to agree on rules-based architecture to combat corruption at the end of the Summit on Thursday.

" I call for establishment of an anti-corruption infrastructure that will trace and return stolen assets to their countries of origin.

"Corruption does not differentiate between developed and developing countries. It is serious threat to good governance, peace and security."

He re-emphasised his government's zero tolerance for corruption and would fight the 'monster', "even if many feathers would be ruffled."

Saraki, witness disagree over asset forms

The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, was worth $22m, £12m, €2.6m and N4bn in cash, movable and landed assets before he became the Governor of Kwara State in 2003, his lawyer, Mr. Paul Erokoro (SAN), told the Code of Conduct Tribunal on Tuesday.

Erokoro said this while cross-examining the first prosecution witness, Mr. Michael Wetkas, in the ongoing trial of the Senate President before the CCT in Abuja.

Wetkas is an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, who led the team that investigated the allegations from which the charges preferred against Saraki emanated.

Saraki is being prosecuted before the Danladi Umar-led CCT on 16 counts, including false and anticipatory asset declarations, operation and maintenance of foreign accounts and other asset-related infractions which he allegedly committed when he was governor between 2003 and 2011.

Wetkas also faulted the argument of Saraki that his (Saraki) asset declaration forms had been tampered with.

Two asset declaration forms, which Saraki had submitted to the CCB since he became a Senator in 2011 along with the four others, which he had submitted as governor, had been tendered by the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), and admitted by the tribunal as exhibits.

Erokoro, on Tuesday, led Wetkas in reading from the asset declaration form which Saraki submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau on assumption of office as governor in 2003.

The lawyer said he needed to take Wetkas through the asset declaration form to debunk the impression created by the witness earlier in his evidence-in-chief that Saraki would not have been able to buy certain landed assets without obtaining a bank loan.

“The defendant was very rich before he became governor in 2003,” he said.

Jacobs said in response, “The fact that somebody is rich does not mean that he will not steal. That is not a defence. In fact, experience has shown that it is the richer ones that will desire to have more.

“It is when somebody is rich that he even has the capacity to steal more.”

During the cross-examination, Wetkas confirmed that there were 16 vehicles, which cumulatively worth N263,400,000, declared by Saraki in 2003 on assumption of office in his first term as governor.

The vehicles are Mercedes Benz S320 valued at N16m; Mercedes S500 valued at N20m; Mercedes G500 valued at N6m; Mercedes V220 valued at N2m; Ferrari 456GT valued at N25m; Navigator valued at N15m; Mercedes MN240 valued at N8.5m and Peugeot 405 valued at N2.9m.

Other vehicles include Mercedes CLK 320 valued at N9m; Mercedes E320 valued at N11m; Mercedes G500 bulletproof valued at N45m; Mercedes S500 valued at N30m; Lexus jeep bulletproof valued at N30m; Linclon Navigator bulletproof valued at N25m.

“By my calculation, the total worth is N263,400,000,” Wetkas said.

He added that Saraki’s landed property was worth between N2.5bn and N3.5bn cumulatively.

He confirmed that Saraki’s cash was worth about N50m.

He also confirmed that the total assets declared by Saraki, including that of his wife and his two children under 18 years in 2003, was worth $22m, £12m, €2.6m and N4bn.

Saraki obtained his M.B.B.S at London Hospital Medical College of the University of London in 1987 and had only worked as a medical officer at Rush Green Hospital, Essex, from1988 to 1989, before he became a director of Société Générale Bank (Nig) Ltd from 1990 to 2000.

He was appointed by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo as Special Assistant to the President on Budget in 2000 before he later became Governor of Kwara State in 2003.

Meanwhile, the Senate President on Tuesday revealed one of his lines of defence in his ongoing trial before the CCT by claiming that his asset declaration form submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau in 2003 had been doctored.

Erokoro made this claim while cross-examining Wetkas on the charge of anticipatory asset declaration of the property at No.15 Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi, Lagos.

He was cross-examining Wetkas with respect to the prosecution’s allegation that the Senate President had, on assumption of office as Governor of Kwara State in 2003, declared the property at 15 Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, as part of his assets, which he (Saraki) only acquired in 2006.

Wetkas maintained on Tuesday that Saraki bought the property from the Presidential Implementation Committee on the Sale of Federal Government Properties sometime in 2006, but had declared it as part of his assets on September 16, 2003.

He maintained that Saraki declared that he acquired the property named, 15A and B, Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, sometime in 2000 through his company, Carlisle Properties, “whereas our findings revealed that he acquired it through Tiny Tee Limited sometime in 2006”.

He added that the property only appeared on the records of the Presidential Committee on Sales of Federal Government Properties as No. 15 and Block 15, Flat 1 to 4, Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi, and not as 15A and B Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, as represented by Saraki in his asset declaration form in 2003.

But Erokoro said it was impossible for his client to have declared the property earlier in 2003, when it was only offered for sale and keenly contested by various parties in 2006.

He said, “Exhibit 1 (the 2003 form) has been tampered with. Who inserted the property? Was that why you never confronted him with Exhibit 1?

“Your team did not invite the defendant because you were afraid that he would challenge the document.”

In his response, Wetkas denied the allegation that the document was tampered with, pointing out that each page of the document bore the signature of Saraki and the date it was signed on September 16, 2003.

He said he could not doubt the genuineness of the document because it was backed by an affidavit sworn to before a judge.

Wetkas added, “I did not sign it; it was signed by the defendant. As far as I am concerned, from the document, it was signed by the defendant on September 16, 2003. No, I did not insert the property. There has never been any case of complaint of insertion. This Code of Conduct Bureau is a responsible agency of government; it could not have inserted it.

 “He swore to an affidavit before a judge. Whether I see him or not is immaterial. Since it was sworn to before a judge, I believe the content to be correct.”

He maintained that as of the time Saraki declared the property in 2003, it had not been sold by the Federal Government.

He said, “As of the time this document (the defendant’s asset declaration form made on assumption of office in 2003) was prepared, this property had not been sold.

“What I found out, which was what I said in my evidence-in-chief, was that in the course of our investigation, we came across 15A and B Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi.

“We wrote to the Presidential Implementation Committee. We also wrote to Lagos State Land Registry. The Lagos State Land Registry said they didn’t have record of 15 Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi.

“But the Presidential Implementation Committee stated that the record they had was 15 Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi, which was sold to the company, Tiny Tee Ltd, and Block 15, 1 to 4 Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi, which was sold to another company, Bitti Oil Company.

“In the case of the prosecution and the evidence I gave was that 15 Mcdonald was sold to Tiny Tee belonging to the defendant (Saraki) which we did not see in any of the asset declaration forms.”

The CCT adjourned further trial till Wednesday (today)