Category: Politics

Many think that the judiciary is slow is dispensing justice. What is your view ?

I think everybody that has lived in Nigeria for 12 or 13 years will agree that the judiciary has helped in shaping democracy. The judiciary has done a lot in calling politicians to order. The judiciary has insisted that politicians should obey constitutions, including party constitutions.  I give an instance, the case of Amaechi. The judiciary declared that, if a person has emerged in accordance with the primaries organised by the political party, that person cannot be substituted, unless it is done within the ambits of the law and that is how Amaechi became the governor of River State. Again, you remember the case of Atiku Abubakar. He was chased out of PDP and then, at a time, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said that, since he has moved to another party, he has lost the position of Vice President. Again, the judiciary stepped in and said no, the law doesn’t say that he has to leave because he has gone to another party, that both the President and Vice President contested the election together, one as substantive President, the other as Vice President and you both won the election together. So, it is joint and common tickets. The Supreme Court said the Vice President, Atiku, who was disqualified from contesting on the basis that he had been found guilty by a panel of inquiry and even INEC, cannot be disqualified like that. The coronary is that, sometimes, it takes time.  You are very familiar with a case like Edo state and I must tell you that that was the shortest among them. The judiciary in Edo State was the one that came first when Adams Oshiomhole was ordered by the court to return as the duly elected governor in 2007. Then, in Ondo State where Mimiko was said to be elected. We had Osun State and then, Ekiti State.

But do you consider it correct to blame the delay on the judiciary and the lawyers?

There are a number of factors. the electoral commission uses documents like EC8A ballot paper and other sensitive and non-sensitive materials they issue to their officers to conduct election. When you are disputing an election in the court of law, you require those documents to tender them and you look at the document carefully to see if there is any form of irregularity. When you are able to find substantial evidences, you knock off the election. So, documents are very important. Now, the documents are in the hands of INEC, they are public documents. INEC will need to sacrifice those documents. Secondly, most of the materials are in the headquarters of the local government area. If you are contesting the results of an election like Edo State, you have to go to Igueben, Egor, Esan Northeast. Sometimes, these documents are many like ballot boxes. At the governorship election, you find out that there are over two million ballot papers that were used. Then, you look at the register.  Each of the polling units has its own register and each runs into tens of pages. So, INEC has to sacrifice all these documents. These are sensitive document INEC want to limit the number of people certifying them so that there will be no fake document. In Edo State, where there are more than 2000 polling units, each polling unit has a register of voters that is up to 30 pages. The fault can come from INEC as a result of the structure and nature of the document they have. Look at the candidates themselves, you ask them to bring witnesses; they will say I will bring five; the next day they bring one or two. Then, the court is forced to adjourn.

What is the consequence of that delay?

Justice delayed is justice denied. But you cannot jump the process. You have to balance the two. I believe that six months are actually enough for the tribunal to determine the governorship petition, provided that that is the only matter the tribunal is hearing. If there are other matters, then, they will be competing for time as the six months run concurrently for all of them,

What is your reaction to the refusal of the Federal Government to reinstate Justice Ayo Salami as President of Appeal Court?

The issue of Salami is just that Nigeria is still yet to adopt full democracy. However, I am one of those who believe that Nigeria has progressed a lot along the democratic journey since 1999, but there is something that we need to get used to. The President needs to get used to the fact that he is an Executive President, but there is what is called Separation of Powers and the judiciary, legislature and executive have to know the limit of their powers. That is why you find the National Assembly always trying to act as if it is the executive and sometimes, the executive acts as if the resolutions of the law or even the budget passed by the National Assembly are not binding on them.

For the case of Justice Salami, the NJC that suspended him has said he should be reinstated. I really don’t see why he has not been reinstated.

As a stakeholder in the judiciary, don’t you think there is something the President saw that you may not see?

Well, I don’t know what the President has seen, but what I am saying is that, if I have the power to recommend that this person be suspended, and you have the power to actually suspend him, you must act on my recommendation. Assuming you also have the power to recall when the NJC said we have the power to recall, we don’t need the President to say go back.

What is your position on capital punishment, especially the death sentence?

Capital punishment is still in our law. On the case of homicide or murder punishable with death, if you are found guilty, when the judge condemns an accused person to death and it has to pass through the hierarchy of court up to the Supreme Court and the sentence is confirmed by the Supreme Court. Our law gives that person one last chance for the governor to exercise his right of prerogative of mercy by commuting to, either life imprisonment or lesser punishment. So, the issue is not whether there is capital punishment in our law; also the law gives the governor, looking at the circumstances of the offence to commute it. It depends on the circumstances of the case, but if you ask my personal view of capital punishment, I think I subscribe to it because, few days ago, a gentleman from Lagos State was shot dead in Shagamu, Ogun State. I think it was the height of wickedness to take somebody’s life.

We must have this capital punishment in our laws so that people who want to do that will think twice. There are many cases of assassinations and ritual killings in the society.

Courts’ orders have further complicated the already intricate leadership crisis in All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), leaving the fate of the party hanging, reports Sam Egburonu

Following the seemingly unending leadership crisis in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the party has been made an orphan of some sort. The crisis in the party dates back to December  15, 2004 when the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) met in Abuja and suspended the pioneer National Chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, over what was described then as “gross anti-party activities.”

The accusation then was that Okorie attempted to negotiate away APGA’s mandate to Dr. Chris Ngige, then of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) initially declared winner.

The crisis deepened and dragged as Okorie challenged his suspension and expulsion up to the Supreme Court and lost at the apex court on March 25, 2011. He eventually returned the party’s original certificate of registration in his custody to INEC on March 7, 2012.

Chief Victor Umeh, who took over the leadership of the party from

Okorie in December 2004, have since then managed to run the affairs of the party while contending with mind-boggling intrigues and leadership contentions.

This notwithstanding, under his leadership, which enjoyed enormous support and encouragement from the former presidential candidate and National Leader, the Late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and his once political soul-mate, Mr. Peter Obi, the party was able to recover Obi’s mandate from PDP and to make serious impact in the polity, emerging as a major political party with elected officials at local governments, state assemblies, national assemblies and at the last count, two state governors.

Explaining further what the party achieved when peace reigned amongst the leaders, a member of the National Working Committee of the party, who do not want to be named, said, “The leadership of APGA under Umeh also successfully supported Obi in his effort to reverse his impeachment and to return to office to complete his tenure after Dr. Andy Uba’s 17 days interregnum as governor.

“Also, recall that because they were working as a team, Umeh successfully coordinated Obi’s re-election campaign that led to his victory in the February 6, 2010 Gubernatorial polls in Anambra State. Of course, Dim Ojukwu threw his weight in the campaign. Their efforts and support were helped by Obi’s spectacular performance in office. All these made Obi’s remarkable re-election possible, the first in the state,” the official said.

He posited that Ojukwu was so impressed by Umeh’s performance that he placed an advertisement in a national daily on March 17, 2010, describing him as “the hardest working party chairman in the federation.”

Regretting the current situation, where Umeh and Obi have also fallen apart so seemingly irredeemably, the official said, “They had a common vision and worked together to build up the party. For example, Umeh’s leadership dared all odds when it offered APGA ticket to Obi when the then INEC boss, Maurice Iwu, had already given the nomination forms to Chekwas Okorie’s faction and the former chairman had given it to Hon. George Ozodinobi.

“Also, it was not a child’s play for us, when Umeh led the rest of us to run the Peter Obi campaign and ensured victory in the face of PDP’s Charles Soludo and ACN’s Chris Ngige’s massive political onslaught,” he concluded.

Reminded that for the referred election, Obi had his self appointed campaign team, he argued that, “that team was subsumed into the APGA National Team  that won the epic battle.”

Giving further insight on how the party resolved internal disagreements over the party’s flag bearers and was therefore able to win critical elections in Anambra State, the official said, “Ojukwu at first endorsed Emeka Etiaba for the governorship ticket, a development that rattled Obi’s camp. But when the Umeh-led National Working Committee intervened on behalf of Obi, leading to Ojukwu’s change of heart, Ojukwu later told Anambra State voters that Obi’s re-election bid should be granted as his (Ojukwu’s) last wish. So, when Obi was eventually re-elected and satisfied that his ‘last wish’ had indeed been granted, Ojukwu paid glowing public tributes to Umeh.”

A family divided

Today, so much have changed within this political family. Instead of the cooperation that made the family politically strong, their public utterances confirmed that the relationship had gone sour. Umeh has had course to condemn some public utterances attributed to Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of the party’s late leader. While Bianca and Obi’s associates have tried to argue that all was well in spite of the verbal crossfire and that Bianca spoke as an individual, a member of Umeh-led executive insisted that Bianca deliberately castigated the party’s National Chairman for some well calculated political agenda and that she was speaking on behalf of Obi-led camp. “She is actually prodded by Dr. Tim Menakaya and Governor Peter Obi to tackle Umeh,” he said.

But if Umeh’s associates feel Bianca had come hard on their leader, Umeh, it seems Umeh is not the only top APGA chieftain she had allegedly tackled of recent, as she tries to play a leading role in her late husband’s political party, perhaps in a bid to revive or re-focus the party.

Not long ago, she also attracted the wrath of the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, when she reportedly narrated how MASSOB leader, Ralph Uwazurike, made Okorocha the governor of Imo State.

Reacting to that statement, Imo State Government described her claims as “baseless,” stating that the relationship between Ojukwu and Okorocha was symbolic as it could be better described as “one between Father and Son.”

The statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media (Prints) to the governor, Ebere Uzoukwa, advised Bianca to face her new responsibility as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, adding that: “Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has much respect for the late Ikemba Ojukwu and the entire family and Bianca should not pose a threat to that relationship with her unholy romance with some disgruntled  elements and enemies of Imo State people.”

A concerned top official of the party, who regrets that some top leaders are frustrating reconciliation moves, said, “given her background as a former beauty queen, daughter of a former governor of old Anambra State and wife of the late Ikemba, it is baffling how Bianca, will show public contempt to the APGA National Chairman, Umeh and Governor Okorocha.”

But a top official of Anambra State Government, who however said he was not given the mandate to speak on behalf of the governor or government on this matter, told The Nation off record that “Umeh and his associates are being too sentimental over the current reconciliation moves aimed at improving the fortunes of the party. We are of the view that APGA must open up and allow credible politicians to join us. This they seem to neglect. APGA is a national party and must be so run. What is more, they are making unfair and unsubstantiated allegations against the governor and the wife of the late presidential candidate of the party. This attitude will not help anybody,” he said.

Reconciliation:

Although several reconciliation meetings have been convened in Enugu, Awka Abuja and other cities, the leadership crisis has continued to deepen. This had led to allegations and counter allegations, giving impression that the crisis may have gone beyond redemption.

The most controversial was the November 6, 2012 APGA South-East stakeholders meeting in Awka, hosted by Obi. The governor said he invited party leaders in the zone but Umeh and Okorocha were conspicuously absent, alleging that they were never invited. Umeh, for example, described the report that he shunned the meeting as “mischievous,” alleging that “it was intended to tarnish his image as somebody who was averse to peace in the party.

He accused Obi of frustrating efforts by eminent people “including the Catholic Bishop of Awka diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Paulinus Eze-Okafor, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, Obi’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), and Anaocha Traditional Ruler’s Council, among others, to amicably resolve the party crisis.”

The way out

Many concerned individuals and organisations, worried by the prolonged crisis have resolved to help find the solution. One of the latest volunteers is the South-East Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The Chairman of CAN in the zone, who is also the Bishop of Enugu Anglican Diocese, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, has vowed to step in. “I am going to call a peace convention of APGA to see how to reconcile them so that it does not affect other areas of Igbo interest,” he said.

The need for immediate resolution of the dispute became even more pressing since an allegation of forgery was preferred against the party’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Alhaji Sadeeq Masalla. An Abuja High Court had granted the Police leave to arraign him on 21st November 2012. He was charged with forgery of signatures of some members of the National Working Committee of the party.

Justice Peter Kekemeke granted the Order in Charge number RC/36/12 between the Inspector General of Police versus Alhaji Sadeeq Ibrahim Masalla after hearing an application brought by Police prosecutor, Francis Irabor.

Given this development, APGA’s fate has become more uncertain. This is because the party may have become an orphan as Enugu and Abuja High courts have separately restrained Umeh and Masalla respectively, from parading as Chairman of the party,  pending the determination of the party leadership suits they are handling.

 

The face-off between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan over sundry differences degenerated to open verbal confrontation recently before Jonathan suddenly flagged off an official ceasefire. But it seems the battle has just started, report Sam Egburonu and Remi Adelowo

There are strong indications that the political battle between President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, which came to the public knowledge recently, following last weeks’s media war, has not ended, notwithstanding the ceasefire declared by Jonathan early this week.

Like or hate him, Obasanjo never shies away from a fight. In fact, his critics say the retired army general enjoys it and will hardly leave a battle half way, whether political or sundry.

According to one of his associates: “though Jonathan, by issuing a stern public warning to his aides not to continue their insults against the former president, has flagged off an official ceasefire, you will agree with me that words are like bullets. Once they are fired against the opponent, they can’t be reclaimed. The battle, the way I see it, has just begun.”

In recent weeks, statements emanating from the two leaders and their close aides confirmed clearly the long speculated simmering war, which sources disclosed started much earlier in the life of the Jonathan administration, but had been carefully hidden from the public space due to its implications on the cohesiveness of their party, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The media war:

It could be said that it was Obasanjo that fired the first salvos at the administrative style of Jonathan, most especially in the president’s handling of the security challenges facing the country and the running of the economy.

In Warri, the oil-rich town in Delta State, at an event hosted by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on November 10, 2012, Obasanjo gave Jonathan a thumb down over the deteriorating security situation as a result of the activities of the Boko Haram sect.

In his words: “They (Boko Haram) stated their grievances and I promised to relay them to the authorities in power, because that was the best I could do. I did report. But my fear at that time is still my fear till today. When you have sore and fail to attend to it quickly, it festers and grows to become something else. Whichever way, you just have to attend to it. Don’t leave it unattended to.”

Comparing his style to Jonathan’s, the former president in a follow up comments that were interpreted as describing the president as lacking the will to tackle the Boko Haram menace added, “On two occasions, I had to attend to the problem I faced at that time. I sent soldiers to a place (Odi) and 19 of them were killed. If I had allowed that to continue, I would not have the authority to send security agents, whether police, soldier or any force anywhere again.

‘So, I had to nip it in the bud and that was the end of that particular problem.” The former president also sneered at claims that the Jonathan administration is tackling corruption, adding that only a deranged person will claim that corruption has not assumed a frightening dimension in the country.

Expectedly, the presidency was rattled. And the opportunity to hit back at the former president came via the Presidential Media Chat on 18 November. Asked pointedly why he has not applied the ‘Odi treatment,’ to solving the Boko Haram insurgence, President Jonathan, who was the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State when the Odi incident occured, in a barely concealed anger, said, “The peak of the activities of the militancy in Niger Delta was when 12 police officers were killed in a cold-blooded murder. That made the federal government to invade Odi.

“And after the invasion, the governor and I visited Odi…And we saw some dead people, mainly old men and women and also children. None of those militants was killed. None was killed! So, bombarding Odi was to solve the problem but it never solved it.

“If the attack on Odi had solved the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta, the Yar’Adua government, in which I had the privilege of being the Vice-President, wouldn’t have come up with the amnesty programme. So that should tell you that the attack on Odi never solved the militancy problems.”

A counter-reaction quickly followed, this time from Obasanjo’s camp. A former Minister of Aviation under the former president, Femi Fani-Kayode, defended his former boss’ action. He posited, “When President was in power, he handled such (security) matters decisively, with vigour and with the utmost urgency. He brought justice to the perpetrators quickly and promptly…

“The truth is that the strategy that he adopted to fight terrorism and mass murder worked very well and it was very effective. For President Goodluck Jonathan to suggest otherwise is regrettable.”

Days before Jonathan’s response to the Odi incidence during the Presidential Media Chat, Obasanjo had at a forum organised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the African Development Bank in Dakar, Senegal, carpeted the current administration’s policy on employment generation.

He said, “When I became president, youth employment stood at 72 per cent, which I reduced to about 52 per cent. Now, the situation has gone worse. I am afraid. And when a general says he is afraid, that means the danger ahead is real and potent. Despite the imminent threat to Nigeria’s nationhood, there is no serious, realistic short or long term solution to youth employment.”

More damning verdict by Obasanjo on Jonathan’s management of the economy was delivered shortly after the former president returned from Dakar. Speaking at his investiture as the first Grand Patron of the Nigeria-China Business Council in Lagos on 20 November, Obasanjo said, “We left what we call excess crude up to $35 billion.

“Within three years, the $35 billion disappeared. Whether the money disappeared or, it was shared, the fact remains that $35 billion disappeared from the foreign reserve I left behind in office.”

Many Nigerians believe these comments were aimed at the Jonathan administration, under which both the foreign reserve and the Excess Crude Account experienced depletion after last year’s election.

Jonathan’s ‘sins’

The first disagreement of the duo happened shortly after Jonathan was inaugurated as president. The bone of contention was the composition of the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) headed by former Army chief and ex-Minister of Defense, Gen. Theophillus Danjuma.

The former president, according to sources, allegedly took exception to Danjuma’s headship of the council. He was reportedly angered that he was not consulted by the president, even as presidency sources told The Nation that the president consulted widely with stakeholders before settling for Danjuma.

Another sore issue that has remained intractable revolves around the new power bloc surrounding the president. Obasanjo is allegedly peeved that Jonathan now depends largely on the advice and counsel of individuals, who include prominent Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Kaigbodo Clark and former Minister of Works, Chief Anthony Anenih. The former president, it was alleged, feels he deserves a better treatment, not with the major role he played in the emergence of Jonathan as president in 2010.

The appointment of former Senate President, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, as the Secretary to the Federal Government by Jonathan also allegedly took the former president by surprise. Sources revealed that Obasanjo had allegedly nominated another candidate for the position, a request which the president allegedly turned down.

On the heels of that is the victory secured by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the Court of Appeal in the Osun and Ekiti governorship tussles in late 2010, which nullified the elections of Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Olusegun Oni as governors and declared Rauf Aregbesola and Kayode Fayemi respectively as winners.

The former president, according to sources, had allegedly prevailed on the current president to use the leverage of his exalted office to sway victory for the PDP. His refusal to take this line of action, The Nation gathered, did not go down well with Obasanjo.

Yet another cause of disagreement, a source told The Nation, was the case of the Halliburton bribery saga. The president’s handling of this matter, according to some PDP insiders, was another source of open animosity among different stakeholders within the party. A source claimed that Obasanjo and Jonathan’s interests in this matter differ significantly.

Already, fall-outs of the feud have begun to emerge. First, was the termination of the concession agreement on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway between the federal government and Dr. Wale Babalakin’s Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited. It is believed that Babalakin is a close ally of Obasanjo.

As if that was not enough headache for Babalakin to contend with, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged him to court over an alleged laundering of N2 billion for the jailed former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori.

The heat has also been turned on another ally of the former president, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, who is facing an alleged N240 million corruption charge at a Federal High Court in Abuja. For the fourth time, the judges handling the case of the former Aviation Minister have been changed. The new judge for the case, which began four years ago, is Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia.

Given the scenerio, observers said the battle may have been halted at the public domain, but it has further intensified behind the scene as the various stakeholders prepare for major political battles ahead. Some of the political battles where Obasanjo and Jonathan’s face- off will play a major role include the election of the party’s Board of Trustees chairman and election of PDP’s presidential candidate for the 2015 elections.

There is fear today that if Jonathan decides to seek re-election as it is being strongly suggested in several quarters, Obasanjo, on the strength of the current disagreement opt not to support him. This, according to a source will nt be in the interest of the party. This explains the worry expressed during the week, by the National Working Committee of PDP.

“Apart from the political implication of such, we also believe that it could heat up the polity and cause tension in both the party and the polity. Moreover, the party has seen that the opposition is already trying to make gains from the fight and that will not be a good thing either for the two leaders or our party.

“The President respects Obasanjo. He will not do anything that will widen the gap between them. I am sure that the disagreement will be settled. “Besides, there are no plans by the President to witch-hunt Obasanjo with any probe,” a member of the National Working Committee of the party, was quoted as saying recently.

PDP’s BOT battle:

Since Obasanjo resigned his position as BoT chairman of PDP, there has been fierce intrigues over who or which caucus of the party would produce his successor. Before the media war between Obasanjo and Jonathan, PDP top leaders denied any worry over the matter. But with the current situation, it became obvious that Obasanjo’s associates will rise to the occasion to take possession of the vital position. Since the presidency also understand the importance of that position to the future, everyone expected a tough battle.

To avert an ugly development, the National Working Committee of PD P moved quickly to douse tension. It quickly postponed the election, giving varied reasons

Olisa Metuh, the party’s spokesman, for example, said the party postponed the Board of Trustees chairmanship election to enable those interested in the position to make formal declaration. Sources, however, told The Nation that the directive came from Aso Rock to “sort out some crucial issues before the election.”

It is a common knowledge that while Jonathan now seems to back Tony Anenih for the top job, Obasanjo is still bent on the return of his long standing confidant, Ahmadu Ali.

2015 presidential ticket

Although control of PDP, national power and relevance may constitute some major reasons for the face- off between Jonathan and Obasanjo, the most crucial is the 2015 presidential ticket. Sources said with the current development, taking into cognizance Obasanjo’s influence the president is no longer comfortable with existing plans for 2015 and has allegedly issued new directives aimed at tightening all loose ends.

We also gathered that some northern PDP caucuses had already opened new channels of negotiation with Obasanjo aimed at securing his support to realise their ambition of producing Nigerian president in 2015.

The battle line is still unfolding.

Ibrahim Abdullahi, was Senate President of Children Parliament, Federal Republic of Nigeria, from 2005 to 2008. During his tenure, he represented Nigerian and African children on different platforms even at the UN. Abdullahi spoke  to ADETUTU AUDU about his aspiration to be President of National Council of Youths. Excerpts 

What have you been up to since your tenure as the President of Children Parliament ended in 2007?

I joined the Nigerian Youth Parliament in 2008 when late President Umaru Yar’adua of blessed memory inaugurated the pioneer Youth Parliament of Nigeria. I was the youngest member of the Youth Parliament then and I had the opportunity of airing my views on national issues bothering young people- that is those from 18 to 30. Shortly after that, I left for the United Kingdom to pursue my LLB at the University of Reading. Even at the University of Reading, I didn’t just sit behind to watch, I got involved at the Afro-Caribbean Society. After my foundation year, I got elected as the President of the African Caribbean Society of the University which is one of the largest in the institution. I’m back to the country and I feel obliged to join the movement for new Nigeria project. I know it involves struggle, but then we have two options- it’s either we sit behind and watch or take the necessary step that will lead to the changes we want.

With people who are 60 years and above putting themselves out as youths, do you think young people like you have any chance to lead the youths in Nigeria?

I think if we continue watching them from the back seat to do whatever they are doing, they will continue to do it. So, as youths we must step up and demand for our position in the scheme of things. We must lead the re-orientation of our people and let them know that young people must be given chance because there is no society that can have sustainable development without putting the youths at the forefront.

Many people believe that the National Youth Council of Nigeria, which you are aspiring to lead is a platform for getting cozy with politicians and making cheap money. Are you not bothered by this perception?

Yes, it’s a big problem. The Nigeria Youth Council is a very powerful body. It is supposed to be a platform for young people participation in governance.  We are in democratic era now and we must ensure participation of everybody- young people, women, older folks.  Yes, it is true that the Youth Council has been enmeshed in a lot of controversies, but these are things that happen in organisations. But there is also the utmost responsibility of restoring the confidence of the youths in the Council and there is no better way of doing that than using the platform of the Youth Council itself. And that’s why credible young people should begin to get on board the Youth Council.

What will be your agenda if you become the President of the Youth Council?

First, we need to restore people’s confidence in the Youth Council. We need to turn the Youth Council into a platform that young people can use to demand from government of the day the true dividends of democracy.  Youth Council will also be a platform for ensuring more opportunities for Nigeria young people in the area of entrepreneurship, education and in leadership.  A lot of Nigerian youths are capable, they have the expertise and knowledge to aspire to leadership positions, they don’t have to wait until they are 40 or 50. Young people contribute to the workforce of the economy and the Youth Council must start to make these things happen. Real changes must happen. We want to be the new face of hope for the Nigerian youths and that is why I am aspiring to come on board of the National Youth Council on Nigeria.

How do you think the Youth Council can help in solving the problem of unemployment which is one of the major worries of young people in Nigeria nowadays?

I think the Youth Council need to embark on a very big campaign to ensure that jobs are gotten on merit because there are a lot of well qualified people that cannot even get the jobs. Aside that, in Nigeria, we do not have a system that empowered young people to be self employed. I know that governments at all levels are trying to introduce vocational trainings, but I think it has not been well prioritised.

Do you think the government is even doing enough for the young people now?

I will say government is not doing enough for young people in Nigeria.

What will be your advice to young people given the challenges the country is facing now?

I think this is one of the most defining moments in our country. We are faced with all sorts of challenges- economic challenges, security challenges, political challenges. And this is the time that young people must come together because we are usually the most vulnerable group during conflicts. So, young people must come together to demand that government must be accountable. This is not the time that young people should allow themselves to be used as thugs. We must ditch the various religious and ethnic sentiments that have divided us and come together for the sake of project Nigeria. We are the future. The challenges facing Nigeria today will be left for us to deal with tomorrow, so why don’t we start now?

Hon. Rabiu Idris Funtua is the Deputy Minority Leader, representing Funtua Constituency in Katsina State. In this interview with Isah Idris in Katsina, he bares his mind on the failure of the political class. Excerpts 

Nigerian has just celebrated 52nd of independence from British colonialists. What can you say are the dividends so far and will say Nigeria has fared well.

Getting independence mean, getting out of bondage and so it is a blessing in disguise. However, at 52, one is expected to be a fully grown adult that can compete favorably well with one’s peers outside there. So, when you talk of deliverance of dividends of democracy or whether Nigerians have fared well, I will say indicators on the ground have proved otherwise. So, I will say it has been a failure.

How will you appraise various policies and reforms of the federal government under President Goodluck Jonathan in the last two years? Are we on the right path towards economic recovery?

The economic policies of Jonathan administration are very weak and poor because they are too paradoxical. We as a nation are perpetual importers of virtually everything, even things we have in abundance. We are not exporting much of what we have.

How will you assess the 13 years of democracy in Nigeria as it relates to internal democracy, free and fair election?

The way democracy is being practiced in Nigeria in the last 13 years under the ruling party, PDP, is worrisome and disappointing. But it is not surprising because PDP does not understand what internal democracy means to us. What it understands and practices is imposition of candidates on the Nigerian people.

Local government administrations across the country are agonising under the Joint Account Revenue Allocations such that they are no longer paying salaries or making repairs and so, they are heading towards imminent collapse. Do you subscribe to scrapping of local councils. If not, what is your advise?

If you look at what is happening to local governments across the country today, they are in serious agony and I will use my state, Katsina, as a reference point. Here in Katsina State, for almost two years of this administration in power, there is no desire on the part of the executive to hold local government election in the state.

So,  I am calling on the National Assembly and State Assemblies, to remember that there is a binding responsibility on us to defend the interest of those that elected us, by using our legislative power to enforce autonomy of local governments and the scrapping of Joint Account of local governments and states.

Congress for the Progressive Change (CPC) has been adjudged as a growing political party in Nigeria today, but it has failed to win the presidency and the governorship of Katsina State, the home of the party leader, Gen. Muhammodu Buhari. What went wrong?

First of all, the reason CPC has become one of the most rapidly growing party in history of Nigeria politics is because of the hardship that the 13 years administration of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has inflicted on the Nigerian people. Secondly, it was due to the popularity of our leader, Gen. Muhammodu Buhari . But the reason we didn’t make it to the presidency is that there was no election, no proper election.

It was also visible that the ruling party influenced the manipulation of every process through the computer. So, it was the federal government and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that failed woefully to organise a free and fair election as usual. They have failed Nigeria and Nigerians are paying the price.

As I told you earlier, INEC was never independent. It has been pocketed as one of the ministries of Goodluck Jonathan. It is one of the parastatals of the PDP ruling government in Nigeria. In fact, this is a pathetic thing for Prof. Attahiru Jega who has a hard won credibility before collecting INEC job and many Nigerians had high expectations that Jega would deliver but he has disappointed Nigerians.

Here in Katsina State, we discovered there are some elements who connived with PDP government to buy off CPC victory in the last election. They have cheated us. That is why the national body and stakeholders of the CPC party first suspended them and finally dismissed them from the party.

Now that the crisis in CPC is continuous and the party has split into two under Hon. Aminu Bello Masari and Sen. Garba Yakubu Lado, how do you think the party will organise itself to face 2015 elections and local government elections likely to come up soon?

Yakubu  Lado is no longer a CPC member. CPC now is under the caretaker leadership of Hon. Farouk Aliyu. He is the caretaker chairman of the Katsina State CPC. We are restructuring the party with the support of our members in the National and State Assemblies and we are sensitising the people, and by God’s grace, by the next six months, CPC will take its proper shape in Katsina.

There was this contentious resolution passed in Katsina House recently, prescribing two year tenure for chairmen of local governments in the state. What is your position on the issue?

I have vehemently condemned that resolution because of its defects. The resolution is irrelevant because the term of the council chairman should be four years but the House passed the resolution against my interest, against the wishes of my constituency and indeed the wishes and interests of the entire citizenry of the state.

Will the 2013 Budget proposal be passed into law this year or will it, again, suffer the jinx of delay? In this report, VICTOR OLUWASEGUN and DELE ANOFI  examine why the House of Representatives may not meet the December deadline to pass the budget.

From all indications, the hope of an early passage of the 2013 budget in the House of Representatives is fast fading. There had been hope that the usual jinx of delayed passage of appropriation bills might be broken this year. But this may not be, after all.

Many House Committees are yet to meet with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on which they exercise oversight functions for the purposes of defending their budget estimates as well as present the report of how the 2012 funds were utilized.

As an example, the House Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes as well as the Committee on Pension are among the many committees which have had their progress stalemated by alleged refusal of the the helmsmen at these MDAs to honour several invitations.

Chairmen and Directors-General of agencies and parastatals have registered constant absentism at budget defense sessions thereby setting the process back by weeks in some instances.

The simple implication of this is that theHouse may not meet its target of passing the budget before the end of December to ensure that the 2013 financial year commences from January next year. Besides, it all means that there is a strong possibility of extending the 2012 fiscal year till March, 2013.

To forestal reoccurrence and probably set a precedence of early passage just like President Jonathan did with early presentation of the proposal to the National Assembly, Committee Chairmen took a hard stand against errant CEOs by threatening zero allocation or issuance of warrant of arrest.

Not even the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) were spared the wrath of the lawmakers, when their CEOs failed to turn up for their budget presentation and defense without cogent reasons.

Another reason for the likely late passage of the budget is the position of the House that it would look for areas in the proposed budget where it would move funds from Recurrent sub-heads to the Capital in order to stimulate infrastructural development and growth in the country. The leadership of the House is said to have given the various committees directives to scrutinize areas in which the House may intervene in this regard.

More also, the yet to be resolved bickering on the crude oil benchmark between the National Assembly and the Executive is also another sore point that may impede the speedy passage of the bill as the members are still sticking to their position of $80 benchmark as opposed to the Executive’s $75 proposal.

Chairmen as well as members of various committees of the House are also questioning the envelop system adopted by various MDAs on the premise that a uniform template cannot be used for every MDA by the Finance Ministry and the Budget office.

The lawmakers are of the opinion that such a system is not indicative of the needs of the MDAs and that while it gives room for waste, manipulation and profligacy in some quarters, it stifles others of needed funds.

The lawmakers, however, have expressed their determination to address the issue with the 2013 budget, as summed up by Chairman, House Committee on Human Rights, Beni Lar during the budget defense of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) where she put the issue succinctly in her speech.

She said: “This envelope system is not doing this nation any good, it is setting us back. It is our opinion that we have to find new ways of helping this country.

“One can imagine that in a country that is short on infrastructural development, the Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office would not find it expedient to have the input of the MDAs that actually know what they needed before being given whatever they feel.

“It is disheartening to hear from one agency to the other that they have no input in the final budget proposal sent to the National Assembly by Mr. President.

“The Ministry of Finance should not just give a blanket amount to MDAs telling them to spend it anyhow they can. If they spend the money given to them anyhow they can, won’t they be violating the Appropriation Act if they really want to meet their needs with the inconsiderate envelope thrown at them by the Presidency?”

On his part, Chairman, Committee on Integration in Africa, Abubakar Momoh wanted to know what N60m security vote for 2013 for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was meant for.

He queried the Special Assistant to the President on NEPAD Dr. Tunji Olagunju of what use was the security vote and another for teaching aid and laboratory.

“We are aware that NEPAD has no security issue to address on its own and one just wonder what use would teaching aids and laboratories be for the agency. It is the opinion of this Committee that the envelope system is retrogressive and it showed that they were not carried along in the preparation of the budget.

“The MDAs should be involved in the planning of the budget and that is the only way through which they can be effective”, he said.

Lawmakers have been alerted on the need to restructure the budget template and scrutinize various sub-headings in order to decipher double entries as well as unnecessary inputs. This is also slowing down the budget consideration.

The Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Victor Ogene, at a briefing last week, expressed optimism that the House would conclude work on the budget before the end of December.

Yet another likely impedement to an early passage of the bill is the on-going public hearing on all collectible earnings by revenue generating agencies as heads of some critical agencies have refused to honor initial invitation for the forum by Committee on Finance.

Chairman of the Committee, Abdulmumin Jubrin did not, however, mince words when he declared that the House should not be blamed for the delay. On the first day of the public hearing, the heads of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and nine others failed to turn up.

Jubrin did not declared that the input of the affected agencies would be included in the revenue framework for the next budget, he also threaten to arrest the CEO should they fail to turn up for their next appointments.

As a proof of the significance of the matter at hand, plenary was suspended by the House till December 11, so as to concentrate on the 2013 budget consideration.

However, the optimism of the lawmaker, if held to the candle, may not support the existing reality on the ground.

The House for the past two years had extended the fiscal year into the first quarter of the incoming year on the premise that it would allow for the completion of the Capital project not completed during the year.

But the usual excuse that the Executive had always brought in the budget late would no longer be tenable this year as President Goodluck Jonathan submitted the budget before the National Assembly in good time.

It was initially believed that the early submission of the 2013 budget proposals would eventually culminate in the early passage of the appropriation bill.

However, as December creeps in, it is increasingly becoming evident that unless the House wants to do a quick fix to the estimates or wave a magical legislative wand, the 2013 budget may not be ready this year.

On the other hand, National Assembly watchers are of the opinion that the seeming hard stance of the lawmakers was only a smokescreen, pointing out that the lawmakers have never make good their threat of arresting Chief Executive Officers (CEO).

A source in one of the MDAs, who craved not to be named, shared his thoughts with The Nation, saying, “Let us look at it from the perspective of consistency. These lawmakers have made countless threats of issuing bench warrant of arrest against many CEOs but how many have they actually arrested? But more worrisome is the issue of executive session with the MDAs by the Committees. That is where I think the problem is.

“The executive session is exclusive to the Committee members alone and what is discussed behind closed doors is never known to the media that were always there when they were making the threats and all the drama. At the end of the day, the budget would be jerked up and passed, end of story.

“I sincerely believe that the power of the National Assembly is such that it gives them the opportunity to make things right in this country. The combination of oversight function and budget defense is enough to make every aspect of governance accountable, but that is if the lawmakers are determined to be patriotic. When you look at the volume of discoveries of all kinds of fraud in the MDAs turned up by the lawmakers as they embark on these all-important responsibilities, one would have expected Nigeria to have moved away from the current rot in our national life.

“Unfortunately, it has always been business as usual and more unfortunate is the fact that not many of Tambuwal’s colleagues shared his zeal to move this country forward. If all of them are on the same page, who can stop their moving train? I can name quite a few that are as determined as the Speaker but what about the rest who were saddled with sensitive responsibilities of steering the ship with him?”.

Gombe State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Hadi Shehu Usman superintends multi-billion-naira road projects across the state. In this interview with Abuja Bureau Chief YOMI ODUNUGA, he speaks on the strategies being put in place by Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo to turn the state into an economic hub, with a roads network that will link the entire region and stimulate growth. 

What informed the decision of the Gombe State government to commit huge resources to the development of road infrastructure?

All over the world, roads are very critical to development. It is a global infrastructure. I was at a conference organised by the senate committee on works, and the Minister for Works was in attendance to present a paper. Incidentally, some of the revelations we received from the paper presented by the Minister addressed the issue of historical background of road development and road infrastructure.

We were told that the greater economies, the big nations of the world are talking about millions of kilometres of road networks in their environment.

The paper dwelled on some African nations with hundred of thousands and that in Nigeria we are still battling with just about 33,000 kilometres of roads nationwide. Don’t forget that of this number, we have major places like Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Ibadan that could take some chunk. In states like Gombe and its peer group, we are still below 1000 kilometres coverage. Roads are the United Nations requirement for indices of reaching out to development even if you want to provide health services to a community, the community needs to be accessed; if you want to provide education, erect a school or establish any school related infrastructure, that community must be accessed even if they have to use bicycles or motorcycles at least they need what you can call a track to reach the target area. If you are talking about agricultural operations, if you have your farm located way into the bushes you need to open up access for these farmers to take in inputs for the development of their farmlands and you need access roads for them to bring out their produce to the markets. If you want to convey services of any type you need corridors, and for maintenance purpose, even if you are tracking through the bush, NNPC pipelines that traversed all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, you need tracks for maintenance and so on. It is still another form of road. We are talking about providing corridors and opening access. It can be an earth road, it can be a bush track. We only develop the asphalt type of conventional roads to make them durable, accessible, maintainable and reliable. With specific reference to Gombe, I must tell you that we realise that Gombe needed to be interlinked with our various communities and settlements from where we take produce. Our people here are mostly agrarian in nature. Greater majority also are traders who need access to markets. Some of the roads the governor has ordered to be developed, based on the report of our 11 sector based committees, are mainly to open up our vast agricultural potential areas so that activities can be enhanced.

Gombe needs to explore ways of improving on its internally generated revenue base.

For example, the road we are developing in Deba-Jagali-Jaurogotel is one of the expensive venture for a state government to embark upon, but the investment is worth the while because we are opening up the Balanga Dam site with all its vast agricultural potentials, we are opening up Maikaho International cattle market, we are opening up Kuri International produce Market, we are opening them up to access markets from which we get people coming from neighbouring states and as far as from neighbouring countries who come to trade in our several international markets . Our Governor believes strongly that if we can improve on this, we will have saved Gombe not less than 40 to 50 per cent of its revenue base.

In the areas of the Dadinkowa water body, we have some villages or communities that are adjourning these water front but for sometime they have not been opened up to explore what activities we can open up for our foreign direct investors to come and see what potentials they can access around there. In this regard, we have developed Garindogo-Kufto road off Gombe/Potiskum highway, you can access the Dadinkowa dam from there, Bajoga-Ashaka gari you can access the Dadinkowa dam from there, because the leg right from Dadinkowa stretches up towards Ashaka. At Malleri we have opened up from the junction of the Gombe/Potiskum road also, we are just about awarding the development of the road from Daban-Fulani to Kinafa to Gwani. This is the last community settlement bordering the water front. The intention of our governor is that we want to invite our foreign direct investors in the agricultural and hospitality industries. In the other areas, there is this Maiganga coal deposit that has been discovered in Gombe here. Presently between Gombe State government and Ashaka we are considering an effort to open up and develop the vast majority of communities around there so that they can access the Maiganga coal exploration and many more things. So, roads are very vital to enhancing development and promoting growth and the investment in this that we are doing all over Gombe is meant to drive the state towards sustainable development.

What is the situation of road infrastructure in the state now given the fact that a number of roads had been constructed in Gombe metropolis and in some local government areas?

Incidentally, you are asking this question at a time when Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo had already called for bids and council was engaged in the last few days, taking performance and evaluation reports and various activities of all the ministries. The Ministry of Works and Infrastructure had been fully engaged because we had some list of projects that needed to be presented, and evidently we have done a lot in response to the mandate given to us by the governor. We have already presented our score card and the cabinet was highly impressed and the governor, especially, commended most of the ministries for keeping the flag of total commitment flying. Gombe is at the threshold of a kind of renewal of efforts and commitment.

The state is celebrating its 16th year anniversary at the same time 52nd year anniversary of Nigeria as a nation.

In Gombe, we took stock of where we were yesterday, where we are today and where we would like to be in the future. In the last couple of months, we have been very active as you can see as far as roads construction is concerned. We are still very busy and active notwithstanding that we were faced with the most difficult wet months; the rainy season has not been friendly I think globally and Nigeria as a nation has gone through very difficult times due to flooding. In Gombe we had a bit of the difficulties but it did not deter us. In the few months we were at twenty or thirty per cent completion stages but I can proudly tell you that we are almost nearing completion of some and we have remarkably improved in the construction of others.

How would you describe the spread of the contract awards?

When I had my last interaction with the media, we were still concentrating on our first 12 and 19 additional roads. Today, 20 to 21 others have been added. When I say added, because of the problem of flooding, those 12 and 19 were awarded last year August. At that time some of the areas which showed some vulnerability to flooding did not manifest then. Now that these areas became manifest, the governor personally undertook visits to such sites and ordered that we must package and consider these corridors for development and since these were surveyed, designed and presented for consideration, contract was awarded as additional work to the contractor on his existing contract. If you go around, especially, within the Buba/Shango area and Federal Low Cost you will notice that, in the past, these are areas which have high deposit of sand and therefore anytime there is heavy rainstorm, it log onto our roads and seal up with deposits of sand thereby making it look as if there is no road there. But we have completely taken care of this menace and the down stream within the Gombe Metropolis has not faced the serious challenges it had faced in the past like this problem of erosion of our streets.

Let us talk about the nature and location of these roads. Is the government only focusing on urban roads?

We have the regional roads network, these are the link roads connecting important towns and settlements and then we have the local government township roads in about five local governments. In the first instance, we have two communities in Balanga called Banbam and Cham benefiting from sub township road development. There is also Kaltungo with about five roads network being developed there. Billiri with about four township roads network, Funakaye, that is Bajoga with about two township roads, even though the Governor has graciously approved that we add two more roads in Bajoga which means we will be developing four roads. In Dukku, we are developing three township roads network and the Governor has also graciously approved that we add another one to make it four. The total kilometre coverage of the roads network within the local government township roads was about seventeen before he added the two and one in Bajoga and Dukku respectively. The two and one in Bajoga and Dukku are adding up to another 4.5 kilometres, so we are talking about 22 kilometres in the local government township that is already awarded. There are two other local governments, Kwami and Nafada. We are using the state and local government joint account to fund these projects; in Kwami for instance we took about five communities- Gadam, Bojude, Dukkul, Jurara and Daban-Fulani, they all have roads network running into several kilometres. These roads have been awarded and work is in progress. In Nafada, we did the Birin-Bolawa and Birin-Fulani and at the same time now there is work going within the Nafada axis. The three other local government the Governor has ordered for submissions and we are already packaging to present to Council for award. We have Akko with township roads in Kumo – about five road corridors totalling about 6.5 kilometres. In Deba, as well as two other communities in Yamaltu/Deba local government – Dadinkowa and Hina and Lubo we have already done the survey, done the design, prepared the cost. In fact, we are at Tender stage now. The other local government is Shongom, we have about three settlements in Kulishin, Gwandum and Lappan, we are doing some road projects there also.