Unbanned! 43 items banned in June 2015 by CBN - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

43 items banned in June 2015 by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) but unbanned in October 12, 2023.

Broadband corruption: How Atiku was barred from US

ITREALMS:

The reasons on why the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar was allegedly barred from entering the United States, has been revealed, ITRealms reports.

Investigations has revealed that his inability to visit the United States in recent years, especially since leaving office 10 years ago, was not unconnected to a purported bribe associated with award of a broadband contract to a US-based enterprise, iGate Incorporated with an indictment of a Louisiana representative William J. Jefferson, who has family ties to the business in 2005.

ITRealms also gathered that Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) had raided Jefferson’s Congressional offices in May 2006, but he was re-elected later that year, but on June 4, 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Jefferson on sixteen charges related to corruption.

In 2009 he was tried in Virginia on corruption charges. On August 5, 2009, he was found guilty of 11 of the 16 corruption counts. Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years on November 13, 2009, the longest sentence ever handed down to a congressman for bribery.

The investigation began in mid-2005, after an investor alleged $400,000 in bribes were paid through a company maintained in the name of Jefferson's spouse and children. The money was traced to a tech company named iGate Incorporated, of Louisville, Kentucky, and in return, it is alleged, Jefferson would help iGate's business. Jefferson was to persuade the U.S. Army to test iGate's broadband two-way technology and other iGate products; use his efforts to influence high-ranking officials in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon; and meet with personnel of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, in order to facilitate potential financing for iGate business deals in those countries.

On 30 July 2005, Jefferson was videotaped by the FBI receiving $100,000 worth of $100 bills in a leather briefcase at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Jefferson told an investor, Lori Mody, who was wearing a wire, that he would need to give Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar $500,000 "as a motivating factor" to make sure they obtained contracts for iGate and Mody's company in Nigeria.

ITRealms reports that a few days later, on 3 August 2005, FBI agents raided Jefferson's home in Northeast Washington and, as noted in an 83-page affidavit filed to support a subsequent raid on his Congressional office, "found $90,000 of the cash in the freezer, in $10,000 increments wrapped in aluminum foil and stuffed inside frozen-food containers". Serial numbers found on the currency in the freezer matched serial numbers of funds given by the FBI to their informant.

Further investigations by ITRealms, revealed late on the night of May 20, 2006, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Jefferson's office in the Rayburn House Office Building. The raid led to an irony that one of Democrat Jefferson's staunchest defenders in the turf battles between the FBI and Congress became Dennis Hastert, who was Speaker of the House and a Republican.

As contained in the affidavit used to support these raids, FBI alleged:

• The FBI videotaped Jefferson receiving a stock certificate from Mody for a company set up in Nigeria to promote iGate's technology. Jefferson predicted the deal would generate $200 million annually after five years.
• Jefferson told Mody that he wanted a similar financial stake in the business in Ghana.
• Jefferson sought $10 million in financing from Mody to take over iGate and install "confidants" on the new board. In two payments, Mody wired $89,225 to the ANJ Group LLC, a company controlled by Jefferson's family.
• Jefferson lent $4,800 of the money Mody gave him to an unnamed congressional aide. Another $4,900 was given back to the FBI by one of Jefferson's attorneys.
• The FBI claims it has uncovered "at least seven other schemes in which Jefferson sought things of value in return for his official acts."

ITRealms recalls that Atiku Abubakar, at the weekend, declared his return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with anticipated by industry observers that he is likely to run for president in 2019, had insisted that U.S. authorities have nothing against him, noting he had visited Europe regularly without being arrested for onward extradition to the U.S.

Abukakar in a recent chat with TheBoss Newspapers, expressed optimistic that if Nigerians elect him president in 2019, he would be allowed into the United States just like Mr. Buhari and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both of whom are now being accorded red carpet treatments in the U.S. after becoming leaders of their respective countries, despite every odd of suspicion or linkage to an American congressman Williams Jefferson, who was jailed in 2009 after conviction by the FBI in relation to that case.

Although as at press time, ITRealms reports there is no formal statement from United States or its embassy in Nigeria on the Atiku Abukakar involvement and eventual ban.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Pix; Atiku Abubakar and William Jefferson

Telephone Recharge Cards, Vouchers remain banned - FG

ITRealms:

As part of measures to retrace recession currently in the country, the Federal Government (FG) has insisted that ban on imported telephone recharge cards and vouchers has not been lifted, reports ITRealms.

Confirming this to ITRealms, the spokesperson to the Finance Minister, Festus Akanbi said the ban on telephone recharge cards and vouchers as well as some electronics items like the second-hand refrigerators remained on the banned list as contained in the 2016 list.

FG also listed telephone recharge cards and vouchers as item No. 18 on the import prohibition list for the current year.

He said, the ban on the items was put in place by the government in 2016, as part of yearly efforts to control import, but is still in place as no new one has been provided for 2017.

According to reports by Independent, there are at list 25 items that were banned from being imported into Nigeria since 2016, stressing these include includes soaps, spaghetti and used fridges.

The full list comprised “Live or Dead Birds including Frozen Poultry H.S. Code 0105.1100 – 0105.9900, 0106.31.00.00 – 0106.39.00.00, 0207.11.00.00 – 0207.26.00.00 and 0210.99.00.00

Pork, Beef, H.S. Codes 0201.10.00.00 – 0204.50.00.00, 0206.10.00.00 – 0206.90.00.00, 0210.10.00.00 – 0210.20.00.00

Bird Eggs H.S. Code 0407.11.00.00 – 0407.90.00.00; excluding hatching eggs

Refined vegetable oil 1507.10.00.00-1516.20.90.00.but excluding refined linseed, castor and olive oil. Crude vegetable oil are however NOT banned from importation.

Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form containing added flavouring or colouring matter H. S. Code 1701.91.10.00 – 1701.99.90.00 in retail packs

Cocoa butter, Powder and cakes H.S. Codes 1802.00.00.00 – 1803.20.00.00, 1805.00.10.00 – 1805.00.90.00, 1806.10.00.00 – 1806.20.00.00 and 1804.00.10.00 – 1804.00.90.00

Spaghetti/Noodles H.S. Code 1902.11.00.00 – 1902.30.00.00

Fruit Juice in retail Packs H.S. Code 2009.11.10.00 – 2009.11.90.00 – 2009.90.90.00

Waters, including mineral waters and aerated Waters, containing added sugar or sweetening matter or flavoured, ice snow H.S. Codes 2201.10.10.00 – 2201.90.00.00, other non-alcoholic beverages H.S. Codes 2202.10.00.00 – 2202.90.90.00.(but excluding energy or health drinks – liquid dietary supplements e.g. Power Horse, Red Ginseng, etc)

H.S. Code 2202.90.10.00 and Beer and stout (Bottled, Canned or otherwise packed) H.S. Code 2203.00.10.00 – 2203.00.90.00.

Bagged Cement H.S. Code 2523.29.00.00

Medicament falling under Headings 3003 & 3004 such as:

Paracetamol tablets Syrups

Cotrimozazole tablets and Syrups

Metronidazole tablets and Syrups

Chloroquine tablets and Syrups

Haematinic formulations:

(i) Ferrous sulphate and ferrous gluconate tablets

(ii) Folic acid tablets

(iii) Vitamin B Complex tablets (except modified release formulations).

Multivitamin tablets, capsules and syrups (except special formulations)

Aspirin tablets (except modified release formulations and soluble aspirin)

Magnesium trisilicate tablets and suspensions

Piperazine tablets and syrups

Levamisole tablets and syrups

Ointments penicillin/gentamycin

Pyrantel pamoate tablets and syrups

Intravenous Fluids (Dextrose, Normal Saline etc)

12. Waste pharmaceuticals H.S. Code 3006.92.00.00

13. Soaps and Detergents H.S. Code 3401.11.10.00 – 3402.90.00.00 in retail packs

14. Mosquito repellant Coils H.S. Code 3808.91.17.00 (mosquito coils)

15. Sanitary Wares of Plastics H.S. Code 3922.10.00.00 – 3922.90.00.00 and Domestic Articles and Wares of Plastic H.S. Code 3924.10.00.00 – 3924.90.90.00 (but excluding Baby Feeding Bottles 3924.90.20.00) and (flushing cistern and waterless toos toilets).

16. Rethreaded and used Pneumatics tyres but excluding used trucks tyres for rethreading of size 11.00 x 20 and above 4012.20.10.00

17. Corrugated paper and Paper boards H.S. Code 4808.10.00.00 and Cartons, boxes and cases made from Corrugated paper and Paper boards H.S. Code 4819.10.00.00,

Toilet paper, Cleansing or facial tissue H.S. Code 4818.10.00.00 – 4818.90.00.00 excluding baby diapers and incotinent pads for adult use 9619.00.22.00 and Exercise Books H.S. 4820.20.00.00

18. Telephone Recharge Cards and Vouchers 4911.99.91.00

19. Carpets and other textile floor coverings falling under H.S. Code 5701.10.00.00 – 5705.00.00.00

20. All types of footwears, bags and suitcases, H.S. Code 6401.10.90.00 – 6405.90.90.00 and 4202.11.90.00-4202.99.90.00 but excluding safety shoes used in oil industries, sports shoes, canvass shoes and all Completely Knocked Down (CKD), blanks and parts.

21. Hollow glass bottles of a capacity exceeding 150 mls (0.15 litres) of all kinds used for packaging beverages by Breweries and other beverages and drinks company H.S. Code 7010.90.49.00 and 7010.90.31.00.

22. Used compressors H.S. Code 8414.30.90.00, Used Air Conditioners H.S. Codes 8415.10.10.00 – 8415.90.90.00 and used Fridges/Freezers H.S. Code 8418.10.10.00 – 8418.69.00.00

23. Used motor vehicles above 15 years from the Year of manufacture H.S. Code 8703.10.00.00 – 8703.90.00.00

24. Furniture H.S. Code 9401.1000.00 – 9401.9000.99 and 9403.1000 – 9404.9000, but excluding Baby walkers, laboratory cabinets such as microscope table, fume cupboards, laboratory benches (9403), stadium chairs, height adjustment device, base sledge, seat frames and control mechanism, arm guide and head guides. Also excluded are; skeletal parts of furniture such as blanks, upholstered or unfinished part of metal, plastics, veneer, chair shell etc.”

25. Ball point pen and parts including refills (excluding tip)

Chuks Egbune with additional report from Independent

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!