it has nothing to do with money matters. It does not even have
anything to do with stabilising the foreign exchange regime or
strengthening the naira, desirable as that task is.
The new role of Nigeria’s apex bank is to launder Nigeria’s image
abroad.
In what is the latest in a trend of frivolous and wasteful spending of tax
payers’ money, the apex bank in April engaged the services of APCO
Worldwide Inc., a public relations and political consultancy firm based in
Washington DC, to help launder the image of President Muhammadu
Buhari’s administration and the country in the United States.
In the last three years, the icirnigeria.org has tracked many of such
controversial contracts amounting to over $6 million dollars awarded by
different agencies of the Nigerian government to foreign firms to
launder the country’s image abroad.
From our investigations, such contracts, it appears, are mere conduits
for siphoning public funds.
Previous similar questionable contracts tracked by this news website
include a $3 million lobbying contract awarded by the National Security
Adviser’s office in September 2013 to Patton Boggs, an American law
firm that specialises in lobbying and a $1.5 million PR contract awarded
by the News Agency of Nigeria to Levick Strategic Communications, a
Washington-based PR firm.
There is also a $700,000 PR contract awarded by the Nigerian Embassy
in the US to Mercury Public Affairs.
The latest image laundering contract awarded by the CBN has an initial
fixed payment of $95,000, more than N33 million at the parallel market
exchange rate today, and is for a period of three months beginning from
April 18 to July 17, 2016. The contract agreement, however, gives
wide room for APCO to negotiate further fees when necessary during the
life of the contract.
According to a document obtained from the US Department of Justice
by icirnigeria.org , APCO is expected to provide media relations,
stakeholder engagement, and strategic communications services for
Nigeria within the United States.
“Registrant (APCO) has contracted with Davebrook Digital PR Services
Limited to provide services for the foreign principal (CBN) within the
United States to promote positive relations between the United States
and the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the document states.
The document states further: “A copy of the Registrant’s agreement
with Davebrook Digital PR Services Limited is attached. The Registrant
commenced services within the United States for the foreign principal
starting on June 1, 2016.”
The CBN contract raises too many questions with nobody purportedly
involved in it ready to provide answers. There are also many curious
things about the contract.
First, the CBN did not award the contract directly to APCO but
purportedly hired a Nigerian public relations firm, Davebrook Digital PR
Services , to engage the US PR consultants. Davebrook, according to the
document is located at No 1, Asabi Cole, Ikeja, Lagos.
“THIS MASTER ENGAGEMENT AGREEMENT (Agreement) made and
entered into as of April 18,2016 (Effective Date) with offices located at
90 Long Acre, London by and between APCO Worldwide Limited WC2E
9RA, United Kingdom (“APCO”) and Davebrook Digital PR Services
Limited…(“Client”)…” are the exact words of the agreement.
Another curious point in the contract is that although APCO is an
American firm, the contract is enforced by laws of the United Kingdom
and Wales, not US statutes. Thus, the person who signed the document
for APCO, which is headquartered in Washington, is James Acheson –
Gray, the managing director of the firm’s London office.
Of the questions the contract raises, perhaps the most obvious is why
the Buhari administration, which has enjoyed worldwide support and
goodwill since its emergence in May last year, would need to embark on
any image laundering exercise.
Besides, why would the CBN be the government agency to award a PR
contract when the ministry of information and the office of the media
adviser to the president exist?
Also, what will the Buhari administration benefit from a three-month
image laundering job in the US?
But, most importantly, was due process followed in the award of the
contract? For this kind of contract, the Public Procurement Act requires
that the contract be advertised in at least two international newspapers
and a bidding process conducted, among other due processes. From our
investigations, it is unlikely that any of these processes was followed.
What clearly proves the contract to be bogus, however, is that the
Nigerian firm which the CBN purportedly hired to award the contract to
APCO denied any knowledge of its existence.
When our reporter contacted the Managing Director of Davebrook,
Adesida Adelekan, who is shown to have signed the document for the
CBN, to speak on the PR job, he expressed shock that his company was
linked to a contract awarded by CBN. He said his company had never
handled or been involved in any public relations contract with or for the
apex bank.
“This is news to me. Please I want more details about this contract
because this is the first time I’m hearing about it. We don’t have any
contract with either the CBN or the federal government,” he declared,
adding that some people might be using his company’s name to feather
their nests.
But the biggest scandal of all is the denial by the CBN of any
knowledge of the contract. When our reporter contacted the spokesman
of the regulatory bank, Isaac Okorafor, to clarify issues surrounding the
contract, he said that it does not exist as there was nothing in the
records of the bank regarding it.
When he was first told of the contract, Mr. Okorafor denied any
knowledge and said he would not “respond to a rumour.” He asked
whether the reporter had evidence of the contract to which he got an
affirmative response.
Mr. Okorafor then asked the reporter to “do an email stating the details
of the contract.” On Tuesday morning, the CBN spokesman called our
reporter to say that he had searched everywhere and asked everyone,
but there was nothing about the contract in their books.
“I have searched through our system, I’ve asked around and looked out
for what you said at every corner of our office and I can’t find anything
like that. If you have any evidence or document to show me, you can
scan it and show it to me,” he stated.
Asked if he confirmed from Kingsley Obiora whose name is provided as
the liaison person for the bank, Mr. Okorafor said the CBN governor’s
aide also denied knowledge of the contract.
“I am telling you I haven’t seen anything. I’ve asked everybody. So if
you have any document to show me you can scan and send to me…” he
said.
He refused further discussion on the matter and added that the
newspaper could go ahead and publish falsehood.
“I have answered your question. If you want to go ahead and publish
falsehood, you can go ahead. You can’t expect me to comment on a
document I have not seen. I am a professional.”
Also curious is the refusal of APCO to respond to issues concerning the
contract. An email sent to Mr. Acheson last week Thursday was not
replied until press time. Margery Kraus, founder and executive chairman
of APCO, who is based in the US, also did not reply an email sent to her
email.
By U S law, specifically the Foreign Agents Registration Act OF 1938, as
amended, every firm providing services for a foreign principal is required
to provide detailed information about any contract signed.
The document in the possession of the icirnigeria.org was filed and
signed on June 9, 2016 by Terry Judd, a senior director at APCO on
behalf of the PR firm. He gives the registrant’s name as APCO
Worldwide Inc. and its address as 1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite
300 Washington, D.C. 20004.
In the filing, the foreign principal is given as “Central Bank of Nigeria
(through Davebrook Digital PR Services Limited)” with address at “Plot
33, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Way, Central Business District, Cadastral
Zone, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria.”
Also, in the document, the name and title of the official with whom
registrant deals with is given as “Kingsley Obiora, Special Adviser to the
Governor (Economic Matters) Central Bank of Nigeria.”
The detailed activity for which the PR firm will provide the CBN for three
months at the cost of $95,000 is “media relations, stakeholder
engagement, and strategic communications services within the United
States to promote positive relations between the United States and the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The contract document was signed on April 20, 2016 by Acheson- Gray
and Adesida.
However, the contract document itself was not filed as an annexture
with the US Department of Justice as required by law. When our
reporter checked www.fara.gov , the contract document was missing
and he had to physically go to the Washington office of the Department
of Justice to collect it. The official who provided the full contract
document could not explain why it was missing in the documents filed
with the Department of Justice.
The chief executive officer of the Public and Private Development Centre,
PPDC, which advocates transparency in budget and public procurement
processes, Seember Nyager, questions the entire contract and
condemned the trend whereby public funds are being frivolously
expended by several agencies of government to launder the country’s
image.
“All government contracts must be bound by the Public Procurement
law as long as state resources are involved. All contract will have to be
through competitive bidding unless there is a reason to use a restricted
method, and even then there has to be a justifiable reason,” she said.
“In any case why is CBN the one to award a PR contract for
government? Is it because they have the resources?” she queried.
“I don’t think it is a good use of our resources. The unfortunate thing is
that these things keep happening,” she said.
This report was first published by the International Centre for
Investigative Reporting. We have their permission to republish here.
Culled from: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/features-and-
interviews/207264-investigation-nigerias-central-bank-in-foreign-pr-
contract-scandal.html
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