Just before the anti-corruption summit in London, British Prime Minister David Cameron made his now infamous public gaffe in a rather a silly, schoolboyish way.
He boasted to the Queen:
We’ve got some leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain. Nigeria and Afghanistan, possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world.
The rudeness and stupidity of the remark apart, it was also inaccurate. Nigeria justifiably has a reputation for corruption and criminal networks. But it is by no means one of the two most corrupt countries in the world. Somalia and North Korea hold that distinction,according to Transparency International. Nigeria also ranks as less corrupt than Kenya which is ranked 139 out of 167 countries. Nigeria is ranked 136.
Nigeria has long had a reputation for corruption in politics, business and its military establishment. It also has reputation for being heavily involved in the infamous international 419 financial scams, in drug and sex worker trafficking.
Return assets stolen from Nigeria
The reaction of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria was one of shock – rather a faux shock for the media. After all, Buhari is involved in cranking up an anti-corruption drive that has seen the arrest of major politicians and army officers. An investigation is ongoing into the corrupt diversion of funds that were to have purchased weapons to fight Boko Haram but ended up in the pockets of political, military and business insiders connected with the previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan.
Buhari said he didn’t want an apology from Cameron over the remarks but instead the return of assets stolen from Nigeria and banked in or via Britain. The latter is in reference to off-shore banks in British territories like Guernsey, Jersey and the Cayman Islands. These are the very offshore banking network revealed, to Cameron’s embarrassment, in the Panama Papers. The leaked papers detailed the vast international network of tax avoidance, money laundering and investment of stolen or criminally-obtained assets.
London as a corrupt financial capital
And Buhari has a point. The British are in no position to preach, according to the world famous expert on the mafia and other forms of organised crime, Roberto Saviano. The journalist and author told his audience at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival that British financial institutions enabled what he called “criminal capitalism” to operate through the network of offshore banks, investment funds and other holdings in British territories.
Saviano said his research showed that the City of London operated in a way that made possible the working of financial systems that eluded investigation, let alone taxation, and effectively made Britain the most corrupt country. He was quoted by the Guardian and Telegraph as saying:
If I asked what the most corrupt place on Earth is, you might say it’s Afghanistan, maybe Greece, Nigeria, the south of Italy. I would say it is the UK. It’s not UK bureaucracy, police, or politics, but what is corrupt is the financial capital. Ninety per cent of the owners of capital in London have their headquarters offshore.
The gap between law and reality
It is no coincidence that the late journalist, academic and expert on crime and corruption in West Africa, Professor Stephen Ellis, devoted an important part of his posthumously published book, This Present Darkness, to the role of British, American and Swedish companies among others in bribery, avoidance of the payment of royalties, false accounting and illegal capital flight in Nigeria and in aiding and abetting domestic corruption.
His superbly researched and incisive study details how British bankers saw the end of empire as both a threat and an opportunity and developed existing offshore banking networks. They used the “archaic jurisdictions” of British dependencies in the Channel Islands and the Caribbean to exploit "the disconnection between the physical location of a transaction and the legal space where it is recorded”. This enabled the cunning or corrupt to “exploit the gap between law and reality”.
British and other foreign companies took advantage of this in their looting of resources. They also used this in trading relationships with countries like Nigeria by concealing the real earnings from exports or inflating the costs of imports. So too did wealthy Nigerians, often through deals with foreign companies, who got their corruptly obtained riches out to offshore banks.
A tradition of gift-giving
But corruption in Nigeria is not something that can be blamed solely on multinationals. As Ellis painstakingly explains, it is much, much more complex. One major factor is the tradition of gift-giving to holders of public office. And then also the expectation that holders of office would use their position to distribute largesse to their followers.
These traditional systems of mutual benefit and patronage were not swept away by colonial rule but often distorted and developed by it. New classes of politicians, public servants and businessmen retained the exchange of gifts or distribution of wealth through social and political networks. These include the ubiquitous secret societies in some parts of Nigeria.
Old networks persisted in new contexts, creating informal or hidden patronage-client systems that were still important to the exercise of political power and formal state institutions. The weakness of Nigerian legal and formal political institutions – as evidenced by the repeated coups – meant that these informal networks became more rather than less powerful. This situation was reinforced by the very diverse and fragmented nature of Nigeria and the importance of local power bases for politicians.
The oil industry and sudden influx of substantial royalties also created opportunities for corruption, the expansion of networks of corruption and misuse of state funds or natural resources. Oil fuelled the rise of a new class of local middlemen, who acted as agents for the oil companies. Contracts for state-funded projects connected with the oil industry became a new form of patronage. At first this was through the military – whose officers benefited hugely from the political power that flowed from the barrel of a gun as well as from barrels of oil.
Is Nigeria innately corrupt?
What Ellis’s book amply demonstrates is the extent of corruption in Nigeria. It uncovers the networks of wealth accumulation and patronage that dominate politics, business and the oil industry. It traces the inextricable link with international financial networks used to launder or invest corrupt money. Finally, it exposes the plundering activities of multinational companies that avoid tax, under-report export volumes and inflate contracts.
Nigeria is part of a fantastically corrupt international network. But is Nigeria innately corrupt or has corruption developed and burgeoned there for specific reasons related to its complex past? I concur with Ellis when he concludes: “Nigerian organised crime is not created by culture, but it does arise from a particular history.”
Keith Somerville
Monday, June 20, 2016
Nigerian Boko Haram victim deported from Iceland
As Eze sat in the pews at a church where he goes most mornings to pray, his phone buzzed with a new message. His Icelandic teacher was checking in on him, giving him support.
A calm and composed man, Eze began to cry, the emotion intensifying as he continued to read. His friends in Iceland were standing with him, the message said, they would fight for him.
Eze Okafor, 32, had been living in Iceland for the last four years, working as a cook in a local restaurant, learning the Icelandic language, building a community.
"Iceland is my home now. I have contributed to the society here. Many people know me. My friends have become my family," he told Al Jazeera.
Eze fled Nigera after being targeted by Boko Haram. In 2010, he and his younger brother, Okwy, were attacked in retaliation for not joining the armed group. "They tried to recruit me, but I refused."
Members of Boko Haram stormed their house in Maiduguri, Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria. Eze was stabbed in the head and face. Okwy was killed.
Soon after, Eze fled Nigeria and made a long and dangerous boat journey to Europe, where in 2011 he sought asylum in Sweden. He told his story and showed his still fresh and infected wounds, including the gash over his eye, which he feared would cost him his eyesight. He was denied asylum and made his way to Iceland.
He applied for asylum in Iceland in 2012 but was denied.
He has been working with a lawyer, Katrin Theodorsdottir, who then applied for permission for Eze to stay in Iceland on humanitarian grounds, as his case has slowly made its way through the system. Eze said in October he was given temporary residency and could work.
His case in Iceland has hinged on what time limit is relevant to his asylum request, as defined by Article 19 of the Dublin Regulation, which determines which EU member state is responsible for asylum seekers.
Article 19 lays out a timeframe of six months within which an asylum seeker must be sent back to the country where they were originally asking for asylum, otherwise the current country is responsible for processing their asylum case.
After many rejections, appeals and back and forths between various immigration authorities, Theodorsdottir said there was a "twist". A special immigration committee reviewing Eze's case said the time limit to send Eze back to Sweden might have expired, and advised him to go to the immigration office and have his application for asylum processed.
Eze went to the immigration office as instructed to pick up the paperwork, and was told to wait 45 minutes, which he did. According to Theodorsdottir, unbeknownst to him, the police officer was calling the immigration office. And then another twist.
"The police said I should come to sign and all of a sudden they took me into custody. They arrested me. I spent the night in jail," Eze recalled.
"They next morning they said they were deporting me. I said I should go and get my stuff from my house. They said no. They took me to the airport and manhandled me.
"In Iceland, I have been integrated into society, with so many friends. A lot of people know me. So when the police was beating me, when I was arrested, there was a lot of reaction."
Early on May 26, Eze was put handcuffed onto a plane for deportation. Two members of the rights group No Borders Iceland boarded the plane and stood up in protest, asking other passengers to stand up as well to protest Eze's deportation. After about 10 minutes, they were arrested by Iceland's police.
He was taken to Stockholm. At the airport, he thought the Icelandic authorities would give him back the only ID he had - his Nigerian driver's license. They took it back to Iceland. He was handed papers by the Swedish immigration authorities, which gave him until June 1 to leave Sweden or be deported back to Nigeria.
He was also given a piece of paper saying he had no right to financial assistance. Without money or any identification, he was turned out onto the street where he spent the first night.
Boko Haram is an ongoing threat in Nigeria with members and supporters, Eze said, at all levels of government and the police. Several years ago, members of Boko Haram kidnapped his mother in what Eze said was a bid to force him to return to Nigeria. After brutalising her - including an attack to her face that compromised her eyesight - the kidnappers demanded a ransom.
"What I am facing in Nigeria is that this Islamic group is after my life. My life is in danger."
He said he believes that when he lands at the airport in Nigeria he fears he will be apprehended by the police. "Boko Haram has a network. They have been looking for me since then."
Today, Eze is uncertain about his future. His does know one thing for sure. If he were to return to Nigeria, he believes it would mean death for him.
With his friends, he is working hard to find a lawyer who could take his case in Sweden. His dream is to return to his home in Iceland.
Theodorsdottir said there is something the immigration office could do. She has requested that he be granted permission to live in Iceland on humanitarian grounds, a request that is still pending.
Eze said his mother, Celina, taught him how to cook at an early age and it is his passion. He loved working in the restaurant in Iceland and had a good relationship with his boss. He loves to cook Nigerian food. Maybe, he said, once he is back in Iceland, and his life has found balance again, he could pursue a dream. There is no Nigerian restaurant in Iceland.
"Maybe one day, when I am back in Iceland, I could open a restaurant", Eze said, smiling.
"When I was in handcuffs on my way to Sweden, I was pleading with them," Eze said. "I am not a criminal. I did not commit any crime. I am asking for refuge. They should treat me like a human."
A calm and composed man, Eze began to cry, the emotion intensifying as he continued to read. His friends in Iceland were standing with him, the message said, they would fight for him.
Eze Okafor, 32, had been living in Iceland for the last four years, working as a cook in a local restaurant, learning the Icelandic language, building a community.
"Iceland is my home now. I have contributed to the society here. Many people know me. My friends have become my family," he told Al Jazeera.
Eze fled Nigera after being targeted by Boko Haram. In 2010, he and his younger brother, Okwy, were attacked in retaliation for not joining the armed group. "They tried to recruit me, but I refused."
Members of Boko Haram stormed their house in Maiduguri, Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria. Eze was stabbed in the head and face. Okwy was killed.
Soon after, Eze fled Nigeria and made a long and dangerous boat journey to Europe, where in 2011 he sought asylum in Sweden. He told his story and showed his still fresh and infected wounds, including the gash over his eye, which he feared would cost him his eyesight. He was denied asylum and made his way to Iceland.
He applied for asylum in Iceland in 2012 but was denied.
He has been working with a lawyer, Katrin Theodorsdottir, who then applied for permission for Eze to stay in Iceland on humanitarian grounds, as his case has slowly made its way through the system. Eze said in October he was given temporary residency and could work.
His case in Iceland has hinged on what time limit is relevant to his asylum request, as defined by Article 19 of the Dublin Regulation, which determines which EU member state is responsible for asylum seekers.
Article 19 lays out a timeframe of six months within which an asylum seeker must be sent back to the country where they were originally asking for asylum, otherwise the current country is responsible for processing their asylum case.
After many rejections, appeals and back and forths between various immigration authorities, Theodorsdottir said there was a "twist". A special immigration committee reviewing Eze's case said the time limit to send Eze back to Sweden might have expired, and advised him to go to the immigration office and have his application for asylum processed.
Eze went to the immigration office as instructed to pick up the paperwork, and was told to wait 45 minutes, which he did. According to Theodorsdottir, unbeknownst to him, the police officer was calling the immigration office. And then another twist.
"The police said I should come to sign and all of a sudden they took me into custody. They arrested me. I spent the night in jail," Eze recalled.
"They next morning they said they were deporting me. I said I should go and get my stuff from my house. They said no. They took me to the airport and manhandled me.
"In Iceland, I have been integrated into society, with so many friends. A lot of people know me. So when the police was beating me, when I was arrested, there was a lot of reaction."
Early on May 26, Eze was put handcuffed onto a plane for deportation. Two members of the rights group No Borders Iceland boarded the plane and stood up in protest, asking other passengers to stand up as well to protest Eze's deportation. After about 10 minutes, they were arrested by Iceland's police.
He was taken to Stockholm. At the airport, he thought the Icelandic authorities would give him back the only ID he had - his Nigerian driver's license. They took it back to Iceland. He was handed papers by the Swedish immigration authorities, which gave him until June 1 to leave Sweden or be deported back to Nigeria.
He was also given a piece of paper saying he had no right to financial assistance. Without money or any identification, he was turned out onto the street where he spent the first night.
Boko Haram is an ongoing threat in Nigeria with members and supporters, Eze said, at all levels of government and the police. Several years ago, members of Boko Haram kidnapped his mother in what Eze said was a bid to force him to return to Nigeria. After brutalising her - including an attack to her face that compromised her eyesight - the kidnappers demanded a ransom.
"What I am facing in Nigeria is that this Islamic group is after my life. My life is in danger."
He said he believes that when he lands at the airport in Nigeria he fears he will be apprehended by the police. "Boko Haram has a network. They have been looking for me since then."
Today, Eze is uncertain about his future. His does know one thing for sure. If he were to return to Nigeria, he believes it would mean death for him.
With his friends, he is working hard to find a lawyer who could take his case in Sweden. His dream is to return to his home in Iceland.
Theodorsdottir said there is something the immigration office could do. She has requested that he be granted permission to live in Iceland on humanitarian grounds, a request that is still pending.
Eze said his mother, Celina, taught him how to cook at an early age and it is his passion. He loved working in the restaurant in Iceland and had a good relationship with his boss. He loves to cook Nigerian food. Maybe, he said, once he is back in Iceland, and his life has found balance again, he could pursue a dream. There is no Nigerian restaurant in Iceland.
"Maybe one day, when I am back in Iceland, I could open a restaurant", Eze said, smiling.
"When I was in handcuffs on my way to Sweden, I was pleading with them," Eze said. "I am not a criminal. I did not commit any crime. I am asking for refuge. They should treat me like a human."
5 ways floatation of the Naira will affect Nigeria
Nigeria is allowing its struggling currency, the naira, to trade freely in a move to tackle the financial crisis in Africa's most populous nation. Financial blogger Feyi Fawehinmi looks at how it will affect people's lives.
1. Petrol prices will remain stable
Refined petrol is Nigeria's single biggest import. The story of how an oil exporting nation has to import almost all of its refined products is well told.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, refined petrol imports in the first three months of 2016 amounted to 226bn naira ($1.1bn, £791m) or 15.6% of the total imports.
Last month, petrol subsidies were removed and a new price band of 130 naira to 145 naira per litre was recommended by the government.
This new price assumed an exchange rate of 285 naira to $1, compared to the official rate of 199 naira to $1.
Remarkably, Nigerians took this price rise with no more than a shrug and the attempt by labour unions to force a price reversal with strikes flopped spectacularly.
In the short term, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is likely to continue to be the main supplier of dollars to the market until foreign investors return.
With one eye on the petrol price, it is likely to kick start the market at a rate that keeps petrol prices stable i.e. somewhere below 285 naira to $1.
Refined petrol is Nigeria's single biggest import. The story of how an oil exporting nation has to import almost all of its refined products is well told.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, refined petrol imports in the first three months of 2016 amounted to 226bn naira ($1.1bn, £791m) or 15.6% of the total imports.
Last month, petrol subsidies were removed and a new price band of 130 naira to 145 naira per litre was recommended by the government.
This new price assumed an exchange rate of 285 naira to $1, compared to the official rate of 199 naira to $1.
Remarkably, Nigerians took this price rise with no more than a shrug and the attempt by labour unions to force a price reversal with strikes flopped spectacularly.
In the short term, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is likely to continue to be the main supplier of dollars to the market until foreign investors return.
With one eye on the petrol price, it is likely to kick start the market at a rate that keeps petrol prices stable i.e. somewhere below 285 naira to $1.
2. Still no imported tomatoes, rice - or tooth picks
In June last year, the CBN came up with a now infamous list of 41 items that would no longer be eligible for foreign exchange from official sources.
Items on the list ranged from Indian incense to private jets. Importing those items were not actually banned so since the list came into effect, anyone who wanted to import them had to source foreign exchange from the black market.
The CBN said last week that those 41 items remain ineligible to access forex at the new interbank market.
You can still import toothpicks but you will have to source dollars from the black market to do so.
Based on this, prices of those items are unlikely to be affected. This is a shame because Nigeria could do with some tomato imports right now after the tuta absoluta pest devastated harvests in northern Nigeria.
Allowing rice imports wouldn't be a bad idea either given how rice prices have spiked in recent times.
Rice importation has always worked on a quota system - those with political connections usually getting the right to import it. The current policy restricting the imports is tied to goals of national pride in achieving self-sufficiency. Given this, it is unlikely to be lifted.
Not everyone is unhappy about this list, though.
The Nigerian palm oil producing company, Okomu Oil, posted a 98% increase in profits for 2015. Palm is of course on the list of 41 ineligible items.
In June last year, the CBN came up with a now infamous list of 41 items that would no longer be eligible for foreign exchange from official sources.
Items on the list ranged from Indian incense to private jets. Importing those items were not actually banned so since the list came into effect, anyone who wanted to import them had to source foreign exchange from the black market.
The CBN said last week that those 41 items remain ineligible to access forex at the new interbank market.
You can still import toothpicks but you will have to source dollars from the black market to do so.
Based on this, prices of those items are unlikely to be affected. This is a shame because Nigeria could do with some tomato imports right now after the tuta absoluta pest devastated harvests in northern Nigeria.
Allowing rice imports wouldn't be a bad idea either given how rice prices have spiked in recent times.
Rice importation has always worked on a quota system - those with political connections usually getting the right to import it. The current policy restricting the imports is tied to goals of national pride in achieving self-sufficiency. Given this, it is unlikely to be lifted.
Not everyone is unhappy about this list, though.
The Nigerian palm oil producing company, Okomu Oil, posted a 98% increase in profits for 2015. Palm is of course on the list of 41 ineligible items.
3. Inflation should eventually fall
Latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that inflation is rising steadily in Nigeria. Given how Nigeria is dependent on imports for a lot of basic items, a floating currency is likely to further increase prices, at least in the short-term.
In reality, however, the policy of rationing foreign exchange in the last one year meant that those who needed it the most hardly ever got it.
As such, even as the official rate remained stable at 199 naira to $1, prices of imported everyday goods have been reflecting black market exchange rates for a while now.
Nigerians have already endured the equivalent of a gut punch from soaring prices and are unlikely to be in the mood for any more.
Further price increases might just force consumers to eliminate demand for some products altogether. A more stable and open foreign exchange regime should also eliminate a lot of the uncertainty that has been pushing up prices.
Given what has already happened in the last year, a floating naira, somewhat counter-intuitively, can be expected to start bringing down inflation.
Latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that inflation is rising steadily in Nigeria. Given how Nigeria is dependent on imports for a lot of basic items, a floating currency is likely to further increase prices, at least in the short-term.
In reality, however, the policy of rationing foreign exchange in the last one year meant that those who needed it the most hardly ever got it.
As such, even as the official rate remained stable at 199 naira to $1, prices of imported everyday goods have been reflecting black market exchange rates for a while now.
Nigerians have already endured the equivalent of a gut punch from soaring prices and are unlikely to be in the mood for any more.
Further price increases might just force consumers to eliminate demand for some products altogether. A more stable and open foreign exchange regime should also eliminate a lot of the uncertainty that has been pushing up prices.
Given what has already happened in the last year, a floating naira, somewhat counter-intuitively, can be expected to start bringing down inflation.
4. Bad news for banks and businesses with forex loans
The CBN says that 10.1% of all the loans in Nigeria's banking system have gone bad. A lot of these loans are foreign currency loans extended to local oil and gas companies when crude oil prices were $100 per barrel.
Between 2012 and 2014, an estimated $10bn was lent to local oil companies to purchase assets from foreign oil majors.
Once the naira starts to float, banks will have to adjust the value of these loans on their books. In turn, the increased burden on the borrowers is likely to push more of them into bad loan territory.
A couple of weeks ago, the Nigerian government bizarrely asked banks to stop sacking workers. More bad loans will almost certainly trigger more sackings.
It remains to be seen how the government will react to more sackings if and when they happen. Or perhaps the banks will use it as a bargaining tool to extract another round of bailouts from the government.
The CBN says that 10.1% of all the loans in Nigeria's banking system have gone bad. A lot of these loans are foreign currency loans extended to local oil and gas companies when crude oil prices were $100 per barrel.
Between 2012 and 2014, an estimated $10bn was lent to local oil companies to purchase assets from foreign oil majors.
Once the naira starts to float, banks will have to adjust the value of these loans on their books. In turn, the increased burden on the borrowers is likely to push more of them into bad loan territory.
A couple of weeks ago, the Nigerian government bizarrely asked banks to stop sacking workers. More bad loans will almost certainly trigger more sackings.
It remains to be seen how the government will react to more sackings if and when they happen. Or perhaps the banks will use it as a bargaining tool to extract another round of bailouts from the government.
5. Foreign airlines will be back in business
Another effect of rationing foreign currency in the past year is that it has allowed a backlog of unmet demand for forex to steadily build up.
The CBN says this backlog is now at $4bn and will take four weeks to clear. Others say the backlog is at least double that amount.
Included in that backlog is the $600m owed to foreign airlines which has caused a number of them to either stop serving Nigeria entirely or put the route under review.
If nothing else, this has been embarrassing for Nigeria and has drawn unflattering comparisons with Venezuela. Once that backlog is cleared, foreign airlines should continue their business as normal.
Of course, trapped funds are not their only worry - the economic situation has done its bit to dampen demand for foreign travel by Nigerians. Still, solving one of two problems is not a bad deal.
The verdict?
Ultimately, Nigerians have reason to hope that the worst of the last year is now over.
With a floating exchange rate, foreign investors can have more confidence in the country and Nigeria should see an uptick in the foreign investments it so desperately needs.
Another effect of rationing foreign currency in the past year is that it has allowed a backlog of unmet demand for forex to steadily build up.
The CBN says this backlog is now at $4bn and will take four weeks to clear. Others say the backlog is at least double that amount.
Included in that backlog is the $600m owed to foreign airlines which has caused a number of them to either stop serving Nigeria entirely or put the route under review.
If nothing else, this has been embarrassing for Nigeria and has drawn unflattering comparisons with Venezuela. Once that backlog is cleared, foreign airlines should continue their business as normal.
Of course, trapped funds are not their only worry - the economic situation has done its bit to dampen demand for foreign travel by Nigerians. Still, solving one of two problems is not a bad deal.
The verdict?
Ultimately, Nigerians have reason to hope that the worst of the last year is now over.
With a floating exchange rate, foreign investors can have more confidence in the country and Nigeria should see an uptick in the foreign investments it so desperately needs.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Niger Delta Avengers set tough conditions for negotiation with Nigerian government
Niger Delta Avenger militants have set stringent conditions for tripartite negotiations to begin contrary to claims by government that talks are already underway. Nigeria's crude oil exports are nearing 30 years low, as militants attacked more oil installations in the Niger Delta.
President Buhari returns from medical trip today
President Muhammadu Buhari is expected back to Nigeria today from London.
Buhari had two weeks ago embarked on a 10-day trip for medical treatment.
The Presidency had, in a statement, said the President would during the visit to the United Kingdom, see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist for a persistent ear infection.
The 10-day holiday ended on Wednesday.
An insider hinted Punch that arrangements had been put in place to receive the President, who is due back in the country on Thursday.
“He is expected back on Thursday (today). We are in touch with him. As of today (Wednesday), we have not been told that there is any change in arrangement,” the source said.
Recall that the presidency had on Monday, released photographs of the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd, Justin Welby, to Buhari in London.
Buhari had two weeks ago embarked on a 10-day trip for medical treatment.
The Presidency had, in a statement, said the President would during the visit to the United Kingdom, see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist for a persistent ear infection.
The 10-day holiday ended on Wednesday.
An insider hinted Punch that arrangements had been put in place to receive the President, who is due back in the country on Thursday.
“He is expected back on Thursday (today). We are in touch with him. As of today (Wednesday), we have not been told that there is any change in arrangement,” the source said.
Recall that the presidency had on Monday, released photographs of the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd, Justin Welby, to Buhari in London.
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