Controversy As Allegations Of “Shady Deals” Rock Nigeria Election Debate Group

Controversy As Allegations Of “Shady

Deals” Rock Nigeria Election Debate Group

But there have been allegations that the group is actually a

one-man show run by Raymond Dokpesi, the Chairman of

DAAR Communications Limited (owners of Africa Independent

Television, AIT), who uses it as a bargaining tool for private

gains and political advantage.The Nigeria Election Debate Group, NEDG, has organised
presidential and vice presidential debates since 1999, but fresh
claims have emerged questioning the independence and
partisan nature of the group.
The debates, the final lap of the series of debates organised by
the NEDG, is holding on March 22, according to the organisers.
But there have been allegations that the group is actually a
one-man show run by Raymond Dokpesi, the Chairman of DAAR
Communications Limited (owners of Africa Independent
Television, AIT), who uses it as a bargaining tool for private
gains and political advantage.
When it was incorporated in 2011, the NEDG listed six
organisations as shareholders, each with a representative.
They include Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, BON,
represented by Abubakar Aji; DAAR Communications,
represented by Tony Akiotu; Nigeria Union of Journalists,
represented by Mohammed Garba; Alliance for Credible Election
represented by Emma Ezeazu; Nigeria Guild of Editors,
represented by Gbenga Adefaye; and Transition Monitoring
Group, TMG, represented by Moshood Erubami.
At a press conference on Friday in Lagos, a pressure group,
Value and Integrity Group, accused Mr. Dokpesi of having
turned the NEDG into a private estate put at the service of
President Goodluck Jonathan and his Peoples Democratic Party.
“Our investigation reveals as follows: First, a First Bank account
was opened for the NEDG and had Dr. Dokpesi as the sole
signatory, though he is not listed as one of the Directors,” the
group said in a statement signed by Sina Odugbemi and
Popoola Ajayi, Coordinator and Secretary respectively.
“He also used the DAAR communications office address, a
personal address as the address listed in the bank account
documentation. These two moves effectively turned the NEDG
into Dokpesi’s private company.”
According to the group, an initial N1 million was paid into the
said NEDG account, and on March 28th, 2011, another N20
million was paid into his (Mr. Dokpesi’s) personal account.
“The N20m was paid into his personal current account number
2017171535 because the NEDG account opening was in process
then hence he received the N20m in his personal current
account instead of NEDG,” the group said.
“A text message from Dokpesi to the banker confirms this. The
text message reads – ‘He sent about N20 million to the
account since last week and I utilised about N50 million for the
NEDG DEBATE. As soon as the sponsors pay, I will pay in.daar'”
The group, brandishing copies of Mr. Dokpesi’s bank account
opening documents and NEDG’s certificate of registration at the
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), also said that Mr. Dokpesi
tried to open another First Bank account in 2012.
“The First Bank account was opened by Dokpesi at the Maitama
branch of the First Bank in Abuja with account number
2021069251 with Chief Raymond Dokpesi as sole signatory to
the account with the help of his aide banker.
“The second account which Dokpesi equally instructed the
banker to open in the Bwari branch of the First bank is pending
to be opened because the banker left. However, before then,
Dokpesi in fact signed the application forms, attached his
passport photos entered his personal details in 2012. The
account was yet to be approved before one of the manager
handling it was eased out of the bank.”
‘Sole organiser’
The NEDG began organising election presidential debates in
1999 and describes itself as a coalition of broadcast
organisations, civil societies and professional groups
committed to entrenching enduring democratic cultures through
organised television debates.
“The Nigerian Elections Debate Group has since transformed
into a broad based non-partisan, non-profit making
organisation with the primary mandate of organising and
hosting live televised debates for all Presidential, Vice
Presidential and Gubernatorial candidates in Nigeria,” the NEDG
stated on its website.
But in their press briefing on Friday, the Value and Integrity
Group described the NEDG as the non-profit wing of DAAR
Communications, available to do the bidding of the ruling party
and which had kept other NEDG directors in the dark about
their financial transactions.
“An Organisation on the board of the Group, Transition
Monitoring Group (TMG), had last year dissociated itself from
the planned Presidential debate. TMG accused the organisers of
the debate of fraudulently using its name in the promotion of
the event and warned NEDG to desist from such shenanigan
forthwith.
“Chief Dokpesi’s name does not reflect in the NEDG registration
documents from the CAC only that of DAAR representative, Tony
Akiotu. But Chief Dokpesi has opened the account in his name
and went ahead to single handedly organise the 2011 election
debate with AIT staff – Imoni Amarere and Nancy Ilo as
moderators.
“Again, he is accused to be the sole organiser of the 2015
presidential election debate for the NEDG which has generated
unpleasant credibility crisis for the NEDG.
“It is alleged that for the 2015 debate, well over 250 million has
been paid to the organisers by the Presidency.
“Unfortunately, the refusal of the leading opposition to attend
the integrity deficit presidential debate, AIT has chosen to
unprofessionally attack and even defame both the candidate
and the party.”
In January, the All Progressives Congress said it would not
participate in the presidential debate organised by the NEDG,
accusing the organisers of bias and “wearing the toga of
government control, especially being composed mainly of
agencies and allies of the incumbent PDP administration”.
The parties involved
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr. Erubami, who was the
Chairman of TMG when NEDG was incorporated, he said issues
like that did not arise during his time at the helm of the civil
society organisation.
“I only know to the extent of the time I was chairman of
Transition Monitoring Group, but I have completed my time and
I’m now at Ibadan, I don’t know anything about the group
again,” Mr. Erubami said.
“If you want to confirm the veracity of what has happened you
can contact the current chairman in Abuja.”
Ibrahim Zikirullahi, the current Chairman of TMG, was more
forceful in his response, accusing the NEDG of lacking integrity
and being involved in ‘shady deals.'”
“While I cannot authoritatively say whether Dokpesi is the only
sole signatory, I will also say that the claims (of the Value and
Integrity Group) are not far from the fact,” Mr. Zikirullahi said.
“I became chairman of Transition Monitoring Group in July
2012, till date, nobody informed me that TMG is a member of the
Nigeria Election Debate Group, neither my predecessor nor
those that are holding fort at the Nigeria Election Debate Group.
“Between 2012 and now, there was no meeting that was called
upon which to deliberate on any issue regarding Nigeria
Election Debate Group until now when I saw our name being
floated in the media that we are one of the organisers of the
presidential debate.”
Mr. Zikirullahi accused the NEDG of using TMG’s name to send
out proposals to foreign donors seeking support for the
presidential debate.
“So as far as I’m concerned, I don’t know anything about the
debate. No phone call has been made to me or to any of my
officers, no written invitation, and there is no meeting between
us in which we agree on the mode and scope of the debate,” he
said.
“So for me I cannot allow them to be using our corporate
identity. It was on that strength that I wrote to them asking
them to stop forthwith using our corporate identity.”
Mr. Zikirullahi said that he had it “in good record” that the
NEDG had already collected billions of naira from a political
party.
He declined to name the party.
“Yet, to make it credible they are just sending out proposals to
donor agencies, and those donor agencies we have a very good
relationship with them. And before they do anything that they
see our name they need to verify from us.
“And it was on that stretch we got to know the extent to which
they have gone to. If not they should mention the source of
their funding,” said Mr. Zikirullahi.
“A lot of shady things they are doing that is not known to the
public, and I said under my regime we cannot be part of that
hidden agenda. It’s better they come out open let us know the
direction they are going, let us know the source of their
funding?
“Who is running the secretariat? How is the board being
appointed? From 2011 till now there is no meeting that has
been called. So it’s just a one man show, I can agree
especially, it is a product of AIT and Dokpesi and so for us you
have to count us out at any time we are not part of it.”
‘It’s not true’
Eddie Emessiri, NEDG’s Executive Secretary, dismissed all the
claims, accusing Mr. Zikirullahi of dabbling into partisan
politics.
“High Chief Raymond Dokpesi has no hand (in NEDG), or let me
put it better, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi was even the founder
of this whole thing because he started election debate in 1999,”
Mr. Emessiri said.
“By the time NEDG was formed, a group of organisations now
decided to get this thing over, and he handed the management
over to Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, BON.”
Mr. Emessiri explained that the chairman of BON at any
particular time was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
NEDG.
According to him, the headship of BON is rotated between the
three federal government-owned media of Nigeria Television
Authority, NTA; Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN; and
Voice of Nigeria, VON.
The current head of NEDG, Sola Omale, is the Director-General
of NTA.
Before him were Taiwo Alimi of VON and Abubakar Jijiwa of
FRCN.
“The only thing Raymond Dokpesi does, or used to do, or even
now is simply we contact him and tell him please we need
airtime, we want to do this, and he’ll just give his final
approval, ask his Group General Manager, Tony Akiotu, to give
us every support that we require,” said Mr. Emessiri.
“And that is why they have given us airtime to carry everything,
all their stations anywhere they are we want to advertise
anything. And they are the hub of the production.
“Raymond Dokpesi does not even attend our meetings. How
then can they say Raymond Dokpesi is the person who directs
NEDG.”
Mr. Emessiri denied claims that Mr. Dokpesi was a signatory to
NEDG’s bank account.
“I am the Executive Secretary of the organisation, I manage the
bank account and the bank account is Zenith bank. Come to
Zenith Bank, Area 7, Abuja, and find out. That is the only
account that we have,” he said.
“The First Bank account was the account that they ran many
many years ago and we don’t use that anymore. It was at the
very beginning when Raymond Dokpesi founded the
organisation, even before 2003. We never used that in 2007, we
never used that in 2011, not to talk of now.
“We moved over to Zenith Bank when the chairmanship of the
organisation went to VON. And VON also has account in Zenith
bank, that particular branch.”
Mr. Emessiri insisted that the NEDG had been having meetings,
adding that TMG was part of the group but he doesn’t know
“what got into the head” of Mr. Zikirullahi, its current chairman.
“He didn’t look through the books he had to know that the
former chairmen of TMG were full time members of NEDG and
present in every of our meetings. This man has taken over,
because he has a bent on politics he started criticising.”
PREMIUM TIMES also contacted Mr. Dokpesi, who vehemently
denied all the claims, particularly the allegation that he
collected billions from a political party on behalf of NEDG.
“Which politician ever gave me money? Which politician ever
gave me money?” he asked.
When told that some newspapers had already run the story on
how he was using the NEDG as a private estate, Mr. Dokpesi
said he had not seen the publication yet.
“I’m in Edo North at this point in time. Election is next week,
I’m busy in my senatorial district so I do not know what you are
talking about,” Mr. Dokpesi said.
“But you say there is a publication, they can publish anything
they want. Before they invited you to a press conference I’m
sure they already had what their considerations are.
“NEDG is a group that started the debate in 1999. DAAR
Communications and I have always wanted a debate in Nigeria
since 1999. Almost single-handedly, it is part of our budget.
“In 1999 when we held the debate in Lagos all the media people
(that) are existing how did they contribute? When we held in
2003 was it not the same DAAR Communications that funded it?
When they held in 2007 was it not DAAR Communications that
supported It? When they did in 2007, did they not see It?
“Why is this one the particular one that is now an issue?”
Asked if he carried other board members along in NEDG’s
activities, Mr. Dokpesi responded, “What do you mean whether I
carry? Who do I have to carry? Mr. Gentleman, understand that
there is a chairman, NEDG, in the person of Aremu Taiwo Alimi.
There is a chairman Board of Trustees of the NEDG, that was
Jijiwa but it’s now DG of NTA. They have their Board of
Trustees, what is my role in It?
“I have no problem. I know that…. Who are these Integrity
Group? Who are they made up?
Mr. Dokpesi also denied the claims that he single-handedly ran
the account of the NEDG.
“So why don’t you find out, they have an Executive Secretary of
NEDG, whether I know anything about the account?
“I have no apologies. I can understand. I’ve told you I’m in Edo
north at this present time.
“Whatever is the issue it is good, if the fear of Raymond
Dokpesi is the beginning of wisdom now, may God Almighty
help Nigeria.”

Source : saharareporters