The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BUHARI

  • Anti-graft war: Buhari on vengeance mission – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of going on a vengeance mission, describing the administration’s anti-corruption war as vendetta against members and others associated with the PDP.

    In a New Year message signed by the party’s Acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, the PDP said the anti-graft war is meant to harass and intimidate members of the opposition.

    Secondus charged Nigerians to remain focused in the New Year, even as he chided the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of feeding Nigerians with false propaganda.

    The statement said, “Nigerians have watched in bewilderment as the so-called change agenda of the APC has deepened the socio-economic problems in the country, instead of building on the successes bequeathed to them by the PDP

    “Today the APC has governed for seven months and PDP can confidently say without any fear of contradiction that the APC was not prepared for governance. The APC is just a gang-up of aggrieved people to take over the reins of power.

    “To date, APC does not have a clear agenda on how to bring about the change they promised. As a result, Nigerians have seen the APC for all it is worth -an ill prepared party with an ill prepared agenda for governance.

    “Nigerians have seen the chaotic situation at hand, orchestrated by the incoherent policy initiatives of the APC led government. Yes, this is the reality we face.

    “From the confusion in the subsidy question, to the insurgency conundrum, from the discredited anti-corruption fight, to the confusion in the government’s economic policy.

    “Yet the government has, by its own acts of omission and commission, presented itself as non-inclusive and sectional.

    “Consequently, we are now faced with worsening fuel crisis, free fall of the naira, job losses, worsening insurgency, the Shiites/military clash, renewed Biafran agitation and general insecurity.

    “In the middle of all this, it is clear that the APC government is pursuing a one -party state agenda considering its inordinate schemes to take over PDP controlled states.”

     

  • Buhari signs 2015 budget amendment

    Buhari signs 2015 budget amendment

    President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday signed an Act of the National Assembly which authorised the executive to extend the implementation of the Capital vote component in the 2015 budget beyond December 31, 2015.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, confirmed this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Thursday.

    Enang said his clarification became necessary because legislators, institutions and other concerned agencies had been contacting him to know the true status of the Act that was forwarded to Buhari last week.

    He said, “Further to several enquires and calls by legislators and institutions on the subject, we deem it appropriate to issue this release.

    “His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, has assented to the 2015 appropriation amendment Act passed by the National Assembly on December 22, 2015, (extending the 2015 financial year to March 31st  in respect of capital projects).”

  • Buhari: why Dasuki, Kanu won’t be freed from custody

    Buhari: why Dasuki, Kanu won’t be freed from custody

    President Muhammadu Buhari last night justified the continued detention of former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and leader of the Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu.

    He said those who committed serious crimes against the country cannot be granted temporary freedom because they could jump bail.

    Speaking during his maiden “Presidential Media Chat” on television, Buhari said the severity of the crimes allegedly committed does not permit granting them bail.

    “Technically, if you see the type of atrocities these people have committed against the republic, against the country, when you think about it, you can’t allow them to jump bail,” he said.

    Apparently referring to Dasuki, he said:  “Technically if you see the kinds of atrocities those people committed against the country. If they jump bail, see the former President wrote to the governor of central bank and said give N40bn to so so and so, and then he gives account and you release him to go and see his doctors in London, while about 2 million IDPs who don’t even know their parents; what kind of country is that?

    “And the one you are calling Kanu, do you know he had two passports, one Nigerian, one British, and he came into the country without any. Do you know he brought an equipment into this country and was broadcasting, Radio Biafra; which kind of government do you think should harbor that kind of person? There is a treasonable felony against him and and I hope the court will listen to the case.”

    On the insurgency and the abducted girls, the President said the Federal Government was open to negotiating with credible leaders of the Boko Haram sect.

    He said: “We want to be sure that the girls are complete, safe and sound before we attempt any form of negotiation on the girls. We are still keeping our options open. If a credible leadership of Boko Haram is ready for negotiation without any condition we are ready to listen to them.”

    The President spoke on other issues, such as:

    Federal lawmakers’ cars

    He urged Nigerians to take the issue of N50 billion proposed for federal lawmakers’ cars to court, adding that If he could reject N400 million personal cars as a president, he expected the lawmakers to toe the same line.

    “For all I know, the first time I turned down a N400million bill for cars for the Presidency. I said the vehicles I am using are good enough for the next 10 years.

    “But I understand there is a pool for the protocols when Heads of States and Governments visit they have to buy vehicles. As for the National Assembly, we are having problems with them on the Treasury Single Account (TSA), everybody has to subject himself to the TSA as long as federal money is involved.

    “But I turned down about N50 billion for vehicles, I think I have to hold a closed door meeting with them and I think they have not bought them yet.

    “N47.5billion for vehicles for National Assembly members? I think I will explore the possibility of that power. If I can turn down N400million for vehicles in the Presidency, I think we don’t need new cars; we can manage the old ones because of the economy. I can’t see the National Assembly spending more than N40 billion to buy cars on top of transport allowances they collected. I have to revisit this story. They get N100 billion for their allowances.”

    Corruption war

    “I think we are doing quite well, considering the circumstances, first, this will be best illustrated by my personal experience. In  fact, 30 years ago when I was in uniform as Head of State, we arrested people who were perceived to be corrupt and put them in protective custody and we told them they are guilty until they can prove themselves innocent. Now I am here in a different form, in a multi party democratic system and the nation we are looking forward to cooperation, under the circumstances we found ourselves in – security wise and economic wise, even morally.

    “The only acceptable decision to them is those suspected to be corrupt are innocent until they are proven guilty. Having said that we have been lucky to find some documents, where public funds were diverted to personal pockets.

    Illegally lifted crude

    “We have some documents where Nigerian crude oil was lifted illegally and the proceeds were put into personal accounts instead of the Federal government account and of course we have started going to court. We got evidence and we are taking the people to court and whatever is in the court, we will not comment until we see what they do with the documents we presented and how the attorney general and minister of Justice, …

    “There are terrible cases of corruption and we can only appeal to Nigerians to be patient.” He added

    Recovered cash

    “Our main constraints, eventually, the persons have to find themselves in court and under any circumstances we cannot pre-judge what the court will do but the document we are going to submit and how the government will add to it through the Minister of Justice, is what we have to develop the patience to do because once we go to court, we shall keep our mouths shut. We cannot determine issues when they are still in court.

    “Money has been recovered but the fact that whatever we recovered we have to end up in court because Nigerians are entitled to know the truth and the truth will be what the court has discovered by submissions made to them in terms of documentation , including the bank statements where it was lodged ,how it was lodged whether it is petrol, money from NNPC or money from customs, or money directly from central bank, when we do that,Nigeria will be better.” He said

    His assets

    On when he will make full declaration of his assets based on his promise, he said: “I have declared my assets four times. I started during Murtala administration. I declared when I was military administrator or northeastern states, I declared when I was a member of supreme military council and minister of petroleum and when I was leaving for the war college in 1979 and when I became head of state in 1983, I declared my assets. But when I was removed I did not declare because I was in detention. And when I came back as civilian president, I declared, making four times.

    “If you want my declarations, you have the constitutional right to go to the code of conduct bureau. All my declarations were documented in the Ministry of Justice. So if the ministry of justice cannot produce my declarations, they too should answer some questions on where they keep declarations of public officers. I don’t have to ask them to provide my declarations.

    Chibok girls

    On moves to bring back the Chibok girls, he said: “This is about the third time I will answer on Chibok girls. I could recall that so many leadership of Boko Haram existed. But we insisted on establishing the bonafide leadership of the so-called Boko Haram leadership before we can agree to negotiate with them on what terms will be of interest to us before we can take them to their schools.

    “Secondly, we want to ensure that they are complete, 209 and they are safe and sound. But what we also found talking to a lot of sources is that no Chibok girl has been recovered, they must have dispersed them all over the place, and wanted as far as humanly possible, although some of their parents are desperate they would rather see their graves or the conditions some of them should be in.

    “We are still keeping our options open, that if a credible leadership of Boko Haram can be established and they tell us where those girls are we are prepared to negotiate with them without any pre-condition. This we have made it absolutely clear, but where they are keeping the Chibok girls, they must not get away with the idea that we will not attempt to secure the rest of Nigeria.

    On whether he has intelligence reports on the girls whereabout, he said: “That is what I’m looking for. We are looking for a credible Boko Haram leadership that will convince us that the girls are there and alive. If any of Boko Haram can come out to say it is the leader and that he knows where Chibok girls are we cannot automatically believe him.

    “That kind of information, I’m working with Niger, Chad and the Cameroon and I assure you that the question of Chibok girls is only on our minds for even humanitarian reasons, but there is no such intelligence reports of where those girls are physically are and in what condition they are in, but what we believe in from our intelligence, is theta they keep shifting them around so that they are not taken by surprise until the girls are freed, and they are not kept in one place.

    On if he has any cogent reliable intelligence reports to say Chibok girls are still alive, he said: “…And are in one place, that is right, that is the honest truth.”

    “Marginalisation” of the Igbo

    “When I have Boko Haram, I have the militants, and now Biafra, they say they are marginalised, but they didn’t define the extent of their marginalisation. Who is marginalizing them? Do you know? Marginalised how? Who is Minister of State for Petroleum, is he not Igbo? Who is the CBN governor, is he not Igbo? Who is the Minister of Labour, Is he not Igbo? Who is the Minister of Science and Technology, is he not Igbo? Who is the state minister of education, is he not Igbo. So what do they want?”

     Army/Shi’ite clash

    “I was in touch with the governor of Kaduna State and the president of Iran talked to me about it. We have a system of investigation as a government and as the head of the Federal Government, I have to wait for official report before I comment.

    “The Police and the SSS are doing their own role of finding out what happened. In any incident where lives and property are lost, there is a standard way of doing things and people would be asked to come and give evidence. How can any group create a state within a state? I saw a clip in which some dissidents were virtually hitting the chest of Generals.

    “I expect the Kaduna State government will bring the report on the inquiry because the crisis happened in its domain. There are all sorts of allegations. So, we just have to wait for the report.

    “The President of Iran spoke to me about the situation. But, I told him that as a government we have a system we must follow. As the head of the Federal Government, I told him I will have to wait for the official report from the Kaduna State government from their investigations. To be fair to the both sides, we have to wait for the report of the inquiry.”

    IDPs

    “The Benin IDP camp is a good intention that went sour. Despite the problem, the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, was kind enough to have found school for the children. The Federal Government is aware of the situation and ready to take them to where they came from.

    “We have about two million IDPs; over 70 per cent are women and children. Over 65 per cent of the children are orphans. Some Nigerians contributed money, about N25 billion Naira, a committee was set up to utilise the funds. Within the week I was sworn in, I went to Chad and Niger. I was impressed with the goodwill they gave Nigeria on this issue.

    “The G7 has sent training teams, and have given us some military hardware. We are more concerned with the orphans, a chance for them not to lose the opportunity for education. Some progress is being made on the ground.”

    Railway project “`By second quarter of 2016, we will take the Chinese contractors back to continue with the railway project,’’ the president said.

    Fuel subsidy,

    “We will not be talking about subsidy by the end of first quarter next year.

    “I hope that our refineries will be working. We cannot do it overnight, but that is our priority now to get them working.

    Jobs

    “All these things will take time. We said during our campaign that we will diversify the economy to agriculture and solid minerals.

    “ We are hoping that these sectors will generate jobs and our budget has shown that we will focus on those sectors.

    “Also, we have focused on education and other key sectors of the economy.

    “Some investors are ready to come and invest in those sectors but our problem is to secure this country first,’’ the president said.

     Employment

     “We said agriculture and solid minerals are the easiest way to get people employed and our budget would show that. We have virtually all forms of solid minerals across Nigeria.

    “We would employ youth, give them crash programme on Education and send them to teach at Primary schools.”

     Refineries/subsidy

     “Our priority now is to get our refineries working. By the time we finish what we are doing, 60 per cent of the allocation of crude oil for local refining and 40 per cent would be used for crude oil swap. Previous government failed to maintain four refineries, pump stations and pipelines, at a time oil was sold at over $100 per barrel. By the end of next quarter, you will not be talking of subsidy. The price is so low that there is no need to subsidise anything.”

     Devaluation of naira

     “I will not support devaluation of the Naira. I need to be convinced that there is need for the country to devalue the Naira. Is it against the dollar or pound? We have our priorities. To provide money to fund the projects we have already outlined, and not for those who want hard currency to import textile and toothpick.”

  • Buhari presidency: Where we stand

    It’s the end of one year and the beginning of another. In the past seven months, we have had the Buhari presidency. Predictably, his is probably one of the most important presidencies in the history of our country. So where do we stand today?  Buhari started his bid for the presidency with a big promise of change. His credentials for change were good and impressive. Moreover, the circumstances made him supremely believable. Most of us Nigerians were simply embarrassed to be ruled by a presidency that had become a byword for lack of thinking, planning, doing and achieving. So when Buhari with his history of opposition to corruption stepped on the scene, most of us were ready to believe.

    Today we can say that we are not disappointed. Buhari does sincerely hate and despise corruption. He consistently demonstrates that through his rhetoric and his actions. So what do we expect from his war against corruption? He waged war against it before as a military dictator but the barons of corruption raised up another military dictator to boot him out. Today he is fighting corruption as an elected leader of a democratic government. Can we expect better results than before? Of course we hope so, but the facts in front of us tarnish that hope somewhat. The barons of corruption are still very much at work and are achieving a measure of success against Buhari from various directions. Manifestly, they have recruited the National Assembly as their allies. They are also using the legal system to resist the Buhari anti-corruption agenda. They are evidently determined to maintain their position and the benefits accruing therefrom. So it is beginning to look to observers, that the role of Buhari in the war against corruption in our country may be only that of a forerunner. He may be the man who will re-awaken the awareness of the importance of anti-corruption as well as invigorate our hope that corruption can be beaten. Meanwhile, what the future may hold in store is that a young passionate patriot may somehow step into the presidency and proceed to do for Nigeria what Jerry Rawlings did for Ghana. That is gather the richest, the most recalcitrant and the most influential barons of corruption and line them up before a firing squad. It would appear, unfortunately, that nothing less will rid this nation of the scourge of such deep rotted corruption in the high places of our land. If that is what our future brings, we must not forget, then, that there had been a man called Buhari who inspired us never to give up the fight against corruption. That seems likely to be the heritage of Buhari in the history of our country.

    On the economic front, Buhari has stepped into the presidency at a most difficult moment. Since about 1970, Nigeria’s rulers have built Nigeria’s whole economic life on the assumption that crude oil will forever pump floods of revenue into our national coffers. Building on that assumption, they progressively neglected other resources of our country. They also systematically distorted our federation, accumulated all power and resource control in the hands of federal government and took away from our states all capabilities to champion and promote development in their domains. Ultimately they have turned our states into beggars, ever waiting for doles from federal government. They have turned governance in our states into merely taking financial allocation from Abuja and dispensing it. The result is that poverty has been enthroned in our lives. Education has collapsed in our state schools. Our youth is mostly alarmingly unemployed and un-provided for, our infrastructure has largely collapsed and our communities have deteriorated abominably. It is good to have a man of Buhari’s sincerity at the helm of affairs, but what can he achieve since the foundations have been so fearfully destroyed?

    We can all see that he faces serious challenges to needed action. One major challenge is the steep fall in the price of crude oil and the resulting revenues therefrom. From about $115 per barrel in mid 2014, oil is now selling for about $35 per barrel. Under the pressure, the naira is now declining precipitously – from about N180 per dollar just a few months ago to over N280 now. Inevitably, Nigeria’s borrowing capacity in the world is eroding out of hand, and so we must ask, what is the possible road ahead?

    Another challenge facing Buhari is one stubborn feature of our country’s political tradition. One section of our country insists on controlling everything in line with the system created by the British for us at independence. As we can all observe today, no matter how Nigerian-minded Buhari may be, he is still somewhat subject to the demands and expectations of the Arewa North. We saw this in his appointments into the non-ministerial positions in his presidency. After appointing northerners to almost all positions, he made the unfortunate statement that he had appointed only the persons known to him. Of course we know that Buhari is aware that his duty as president is to seek the best from all over the nation to fill such important posts. The feeling in other parts of the country is that he did so to satisfy the powerful Arewa North voices. Most Nigerians also believe that the way his party, the APC is being treated is also because he is trying to please the Arewa North. It looks as if certain forces are seeking to sideline the APC in the making and management of this presidency. And that is certainly not good for our country. Our system provides that a political party will put itself, its agenda and its candidates before us to vote for. After we have so voted, we are supposed to expect that the party will be fully part of the whole package of governance. The duty of our president is not merely to govern by the day, it is also to ensure orderly progression and growth to our future as a country. Operating the system as it is provided for in our constitution is critical to our future as a nation.

    Moreover it also appears that it is because President Buhari must yield to a section of our country that he is not responding at all to repeated demands for the restructuring of our federation. The demands come in daily from all areas and he has studiously abstained from touching the subject. Yet, restructuring is the key to a lot of the problems that we face now as a nation. To revamp our economy, we must now have a federation in which the states and their governments are dynamic centres and agencies of development. That means that we must show respect to our nationalities in the making of our states. It also means that we must redistribute power and resource control to give considerable power and capability to our states. This will also greatly advance the fight against corruption. Unfortunately our Arewa North leaders have consistently opposed these measures. Some of them have threatened to start a war rather than allow a disruption of the status quo. Most sections of Nigeria are saying that the status quo is untenable and President Buhari must respond to that. Some are even going as far as to threaten trouble for our country if these measures are not taken. Our President cannot continue to ignore these voices.

    President Buhari has earned himself many sincere friends across Nigeria. A decent man like him who so sincerely despises corruption deserves our respect and support. Therefore those of us who respect and support him must urge him to muster the courage to do the best by our country. That will make us very proud indeed.

  • President Buhari’s courageous budget

    President Buhari’s courageous budget

    Last week, on Tuesday, December 22, President Muhammadu Buhari presented his government’s budget estimates and proposals for FY 2016 to the National Assembly. In view of the falling revenues from oil and non-oil sources this year, it is a bold budget. The Federal Government intends to spend N6.08tr in the fiscal year, of which N1.84tr (more than 30 per cent of the budget) will need to be borrowed from internal and external sources. The FG is optimistic it can cover the deficit. As the president observed in his budget speech at the National Assembly, the budget deficit, though huge, is equivalent to less than three per cent of Nigeria’s GDP. But it will take our overall debt profile to 14 per cent of the GDP. This is well within the acceptable threshold of debt to GDP ratio.

    As it was his first after his election as president the budget was eagerly awaited by the public to see how the promised changes in the country would be reflected in it. Fiscal year 2015 had been quite bad for the domestic economy. It is estimated that the growth rate which had averaged seven per cent before 2014 dropped to less than five per cent this year. Revenue from oil exports fell sharply by nearly 70 per cent. In the course of the year, the FG resorted to huge deficit financing to the tune of about N1.5tr to keep the economy going. Twice, the outgoing PDP and the new APC federal government had to borrow from the CBN to pay salaries and pensions. Only a month ago the new APC federal government secured the approval of the National Assembly for a supplementary budget of N500bn. And last week the Finance Minister announced that funds available for sharing by the three tiers of government in November fell by N132bn from the previous month. The ECA has been virtually depleted. The SWF and the limited foreign reserves are facing pressures.

    Revenue/Expenditure Profile

    Revenue projection of the FG in 2016 is N3.86tr, a little over half of the proposed budget of N6.08tr. The FG intends to finance the deficit by a combination of domestic borrowing of N984bn and foreign borrowing of N900bn totalling N1.8tr. In both cases, it is going to be tough financing such a huge deficit. The crude oil benchmark is $38 per barrel but the price of oil in the global market has dropped to $32 per barrel. There is some expectation in official quarters that the oil price will rebound next year, but this is by no means certain. On account of this, the projected revenue from oil in 2016 is only N820bn. Non-oil revenues from Company Income Tax, VAT and Customs and Excise is expected to yield N1.45tr.

    On the expenditure side, the budget provides N1.8tr for capital projects, an increase of N557bn on the 2015 budget. The balance of N5tr will be accounted for by recurrent expenditure, still rising despite the government’s efforts to reduce the cost of governance. There is a special intervention fund of N200bn to take care of the government’s phased social welfare programme.

    A mildly reflationary budget

    The proposed FG budget did not elicit much surprise as it was, basically, a modestly reflationary budget, intended to give the spluttering domestic economy a short in the arm, Although many commentators thought it to be the biggest FG budget ever, it is not quite so. In 2014, the PDP federal government planned a bigger budget. It was forced to scale back the budget by prevailing economic realities. Its projected revenue was given as N7.33tr. In the current year it was N6.83tr. But there was a loss of some N1.5tr in revenue in the course of the year. The actual FG expenditure in the current year, including the deficit financing of some N1.5tr, is quite close to the budget proposals of N6.08tr for 2016. In spite of the fall in oil revenues the government recognised the need to increase public expenditure to stop the economy from going into outright recession. It was already stagnating. The approach of the new FG to the 2016 budget is neo-Keynesian. It is bold and it involves spending more to keep the economy afloat, even if it means a huge deficit financing, essentially more borrowing from domestic and foreign sources. The alternative to this mildly expansionist budget is slower growth, if any.

    However, some questions need to be asked regarding revenue projections. The obvious sources of additional revenues are company tax, customs duties and taxes, all of which are projected to rise in FY 2016. But I think that, in present circumstances, the optimism regarding revenue increases from those sources may prove illusory. In the case of customs duty, the prohibition placed on some imports will negatively affect total revenue from that source. This is one of the reasons that tariff increases are considered preferable to outright bans. In the case of taxes, revenue from company tax is unlikely to increase by much, if at all, as the manufacturing industry has slowed down in the last two years. With regard to VAT, an increase from five per cent to 10 per cent, will not lead to a significant addition to the national revenue as income from VAT represents an insignificant part of the total national revenue. An increase in VAT could also lead to a reduction in consumption and tax derived from it.

    Again, it was thought that savings from a reduction in the cost of governance would release additional funds for spending. Here, the savings will not be much as there are still 37 ministers. Though a commendable achievement, the reduction of federal ministries from 36 to 27 will not lead to much savings. The federal bureaucracy remains unduly large and President Buhari, understandably, does not want to stir up political and ethnic crises by applying a severe cut in the federal bureaucracy. A merger of some federal agencies is on the cards. While this has become necessary it may not lead to much savings. It was argued that privatisation of some public enterprises would reduce the cost of governance. It should have, but it has not as new FG agencies were started again.

    The Oil Subsidy

    Although President Buhari has carefully refrained from announcing the end of the so-called oil subsidy, it appears he has been finally persuaded that it is time for it to go. It is no longer financially sustainable. There is no explicit provision for it in budget 2016. Nearly 30 per cent of the total FG budget (some N1.5tr annually) was being spent on this subsidy. Even after the fall of global oil prices, the oil importers were still claiming subsidies on their oil imports. For instance, the price of diesel, long deregulated, at the gas stations has fallen by over 30 per cent. But not so oil. This shows clearly that the so-called oil subsidy was a massive fraud. Some of the fortunes made by the oil importers almost certainly found their way into the PDP electoral war chest.

    If a rigorous audit of the NNPC, a cesspool of corruption and theft, is done, it will be discovered that these oil importers were some of the biggest financial donors to the PDP in the recent presidential and general elections. If the subsidy is finally removed, there will be savings of some N1.5tr. This will substantially reduce the huge budget deficit of the federal government. It might not need to borrow more than N500bn in the next financial year. In fact, what the FG should do is to place oil imports on open licence. With competition among the importers the price of fuel in Nigeria will fall rapidly and significantly. It will then be seen clearly how, over the years, the nation has been massively defrauded by its oil importers.

    Sectoral Allocations of the Budget

    It is in the sectoral allocations of the budget that one can see a lot of bold initiatives by the Buhari APC federal government. Power, Works and Housing get a hefty N433.4bn, the highest ever. Considering Nigeria’s huge infrastructure deficit, this allocation is commendable. But though quite capable, many think that the Minister, former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, is being overloaded with responsibilities for three key economic sectors. It is better for him to handle power alone, the most critical of the three sectors, while an additional minister is appointed for Works and Housing.

    Both Education (N369.6bn) and Health (N221.7bn) have also received reasonable allocations, while Transport will get N202bn, not unreasonable in our present difficult financial situation. However, it is doubtful that the continuing rehabilitation of the railways, the completion of the southern coastal road, the Lagos-Ibadan highway and the second Niger Bridge, can be fully addressed within these limited financial provisions for public transportation, unless it is the intention of the FG to resort to external borrowings for these huge capital projects. Alternatively, these projects may be included in the medium term plan and executed over five or more years. It is unlikely that foreign investors will show any interest in these giant projects, or lend funds for them. China and India have both been forced by the global economic slow down to cut back on their investments in Africa.

    Defence will get only N294bn. This is strange in view of the ongoing insurgency and other internal threats to the security of our nation. However, interior/police will get N145bn. When added to the defence vote, this is as high as the vote for Power, Works and Housing. It is also possible that the new APC federal government has found ways of increasing defence spending in the current fiscal year, including the $1bn it had planned to raise abroad.

    The Proposed Welfare Package

    To redeem its electoral pledge, the APC federal government will introduce two new welfare packages next year. These are the feeding of school children once a day and a welfare payment of N5,000 per month to the poorest in our country. The cost of these has not been shown in the budget. But it is likely to be minimal. First, there are less than 100 federal secondary schools in the country. The programme will not extend to the states, some of which have similar programmes. Equally, the number of the poorest to benefit from the N5,000 per month largesse will be kept pretty low, far less than the 25 million originally planned. If not, the two commendable programmes will be unsustainable. The President also deserves commendation for his plan to recruit some 500,000 university graduates as teachers in federal institutions. This will have a positive impact on the situation of mass unemployment that is a source of concern in our country, as it has the potential of fuelling social conflict.

    Altogether, this is a courageous budget reflecting official concern for the poor in our country. It points the way to the development of a more compassionate society. As usual, the implementation of the budget will be difficult, as there will be some major constraints, one of which is that Nigeria does not yet have the executive capacity for such a huge budget. Some aspects of the budget, such as the removal of oil subsidy will be resisted by Labour, which is also asking for an increase in the minimum wage. The government has to find a way of mollifying Labour on these issues to avert damaging industrial disputes and strikes in the country.

  • PDP vice chairmen back Buhari’s anti- graft war

    PDP vice chairmen back Buhari’s anti- graft war

    The National Vice Chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have expressed support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti corruption war.

    The party chiefs have also dissociated themselves from some prominent members indicted in the $2.1 billion arms scandal perpetrated under the last administration.

    A number of PDP leading lights, including the immediate past National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, are standing trial for their alleged roles in the scandal.

    At a meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday, the vice chairmen agreed that the country’s economic growth could be stunted if corruption is not eradicated.

    In a communiqué signed by PDP Vice Chairman (South-south) zone, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, the party chiefs dissociated the party from any corrupt practices while it was in power.

    “The body notes with great concern the various allegations and charges against some PDP members that served in the previous government.

    “Even as these allegations and charges are yet to be proven, we call on the President to also investigate some of his serving ministers and associates that even more grievous allegations have been leveled against,” the communiqué said.

    The vice chairmen warned that disciplinary action would be taken against any of the party members who gets convicted for corruption and that they would be sanctioned accordingly.

    Stating the party’s position on the ideals of its founding fathers, the vice chairmen insisted on the adherence to the rule of law in the process leading to the trial of the suspects in the arms cash scandal.

    They enjoined party members to remain resolute and await the pending repositioning of the PDP, “where square pegs will be placed in square holes and justice and equity will prevail.”

    “Furthermore we reaffirm that mediocres will no longer be allowed to govern the affairs of the party. Power will now be returned to the people at the grassroots.

    “We make bold to say that those who are corrupt have left the party and those who left are indisputably mercenaries and soldiers of fortune.

     

    “That in spite of having lost the presidential election the PDP remains the largest party in Nigeria and Africa and we intend to keep it so.

    “That the vast majority of PDP members at the grassroots are innocent and not corrupt and accordingly we frown at and reject the notion and tagging of the PDP as a corrupt party.

    “That Nigerians will realize in the very near future that the PDP remains the only viable choice for the unity and progress of Nigeria.”

  • Buhari, Jonathan, Elumelu, Umunna among 100 most influential Africans

    Buhari, Jonathan, Elumelu, Umunna among 100 most influential Africans

    President Muhammadu Buhari and ex-President Goodlcuk Jonathan top the list of ‘100 most influential Africans of 2015’ by New African magazine.

    Also on the list is Chairman, Board of Directors, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu and African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwunmi Adesina.

    The list “presents Africa’s definitive power list and profiles the continent’s top game changers in eight different fields: Politics (22); Public Office (4); Arts and Culture (21); Business (21); Civil Society (11); Technology (9); Media (7); and Sports (5).

    President Buhari and former President Jonathan are listed for the significant roles they played in the 2015 elections.

    Other Nigerians recognised include the former UN Special Adviser on Post Development Planning, Amina J Mohammed, Nigerian United Kingdom MP and Chuka Umunna and World Bank Vice President and Treasurer Ms Arunmah Oteh

    Amina Mohammed is the Minister of Environment. Before her appointment, she was Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning at the United Nations where she contributed to the shaping of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development across three years of complex negotiations and the most inclusive consultation process in the history of the United Nations, her vision and voice helping to bring people together, enlist new partners to the cause and reach global consensus on the Sustainable Development Goals.

    Adesina is Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture. Umunna is recognised for the significant positive recognition he has brought Nigerians in the UK while Arumah Oteh is recognised for her elevation to one of the most significant positions at the World Bank.

    Omar Ben Yedder, Group Publisher, of the New African said the list of “100 Most Influential Africans” celebrates the “men, women and organisations that have shaped our beloved continent, the trail blazers, influencers and the rising stars who are redefining Africa’s future in the various spheres in which they operate.”

    Explaining the selection of Elumelu as one of the most influential Africans, he said “In this increasingly global and interconnected world, we need champions; those game changers who are making a difference, changing perceptions and shaping our definition of what is possible. This is why it is our honour to recognise you as one “New African’s 100 most influential Africans 2015. We are so proud of everything you have accomplished.”

    Elumelu is also the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, a privately held investment firm, with interests in the power, Oil and Gas, financial services and hospitality sectors across Africa. He is Chairman of Transcorp, Nigeria’s largest listed conglomerate; and Seadrill Nigeria Limited.

    In 2010, Mr. Elumelu created the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which champions African entrepreneurship. In January 2015 the foundation launched the $100 million Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme to seed and support 10,000 African entrepreneurs over the next decade. The programme represents Tony’s personal commitment to the economic philosophy of “Africapitalism”, a development model he propagated, that sees the African private sector as the catalyst in ensuring Africa’s sustainable social and economic development.?

    The 2015 cycle of Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) resulted in the selection of 1,000 entrepreneurs from 51 African countries and territories for business training, active mentoring, networking and seed capital funding for their start-up business ideas. The TEEP entrepreneurs represented a diversity of sectors, ranging from agriculture to education to energy, fashion and ICT, emphasising Africa’s potential. The TEEP initiative has been recognised as one of the most impactful developmental initiatives on the African continent.

  • Buhari is determined to diversify economy – Senator

    Buhari is determined to diversify economy – Senator

    Senator Abdullahi Adamu on Monday said President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to diversify the country’s economy.

    He spoke with News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, noting that the present administration had said it on many occasions that Nigeria could no longer depend on oil and gas based economy.

    “Oil and gas have tended, over time, to spoil us; people have got used to easy money but now the wells are drying, even if they are not, the market is becoming very hostile.

    “The price has gone down and the demand for our oil is very low, even though previous administrations sang the idea of diversifying the economy, they did not do it.

    “Buhari has said that he would make deliberate efforts to diversify the economy and bring on board new attitude toward agricultural production.

    “He believes as much as we do that agriculture holds the greatest potential for job creation if we enhance,’’ he said.

    Adamu said that with agriculture, the nation would have excess food crops as well as industrial crops that would be exported to boost foreign exchange.

    Apart from agriculture, he observed that the country had solid minerals that could turn its economy around.

    “Buhari has assured Nigerians that he would also address the issue of solid minerals and he is taking a look at the entire policy, operations and the investments in that sector.

    “We have information that every one of the 774 local governments in Nigeria has one or more mineral deposits.

    “If we can mine, process and add some value to them, you can only imagine the kind of multiplier effects we will enjoy.

    “Once you can give agricultural and solid mineral sector a boost, sharpen the processes for revenue generation and block the leakages that we know, our economy will take a leap,’’ he said.

    NAN reports that Buhari, while presenting the 2016 Budget to the National Assembly, reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to job creation and economic diversification.

    He specifically laid emphasis on developing the agriculture and solid mineral sectors with increased funding, investment in agriculture and solid minerals, among others.

    He said that his administration would ensure increased capital expenditure with significant resources to critical sectors of the economy.

     

  • Buhari’s free education; how free?

    SIR: During the presentation of what he termed ‘budget of change’, President Muhammadu Buhari declared free tertiary education in the field of education, technology and science. Basic education in public schools has been free in Nigeria since independence and the issue has either been quality or access. Many rural areas have no schools while where there are schools, parents are not motivated enough to send their wards to schools due to poverty, lack of awareness or both. Lack of adequate qualified teachers and facilities will be rated as the major reasons behind poor quality education. The N369.6 billion budgeted to Education if not stolen, will address to a large extent the issue of facilities, school feeding will boost enrolment while the 500,000 graduates the President promised to engage will also help in reducing the shortage of qualified teachers in the coming financial year.

    My main concern is the extent of the freeness of the ‘free tertiary education’ and its quality.Will it be completely free or partially free?

    During my undergraduate studies, the Kano State government inconsistently paid me N15,000 annually as scholarship. The paltry amount could not cover my school fees and hardly could cover more than a month’s living expenses. It was even less for some states (my friends from Kogi State were receiving N5,000!) and most students I know received only that from government for the whole year. I was a little bit luckier, I also enjoyed, based on merit, Federal Scholarship Board’s Award with annual stipends of N150,000. It helped considerably but the truth is it could not pay my school fees and catered for my modest financial needs throughout the year. My parents still had to pay the bills. I can also remember that out of the more than 40,000 students of Ahmadu Bello University at that time, only less than 40 were offered the gesture that year! So insignificant!

    Will Buhari’s free education cover only first degree, Master’s or PhD or all? If it is expected to cover only undergraduate studies, then it will have minimal contribution to scientific and technological advancement of Nigeria. But if is going to cover higher degrees, then we can loudly shout that Nigeria is a success in progress.

    It is a common knowledge that research funded by students cannot produce sustainable development. High world ranking universities have most of their PhD’s fully funded and one cannot even register for many courses without official sponsorship. Interestingly, large chunk of the funding comes from charities and other establishments.

    For impactful research, a postgraduate student should be fully engaged and insulated from basic financial pressures. I know students who sleep or spend most of their time in laboratories and could not possibly combine their research with another job. In United Kingdom, Research council set regulations for funded postgraduate research to include the minimum of £14,057 as annual tax-free stipend in addition to tuition and research expenses. Most universities in USA engage students as research assistants and pay them what will allow for a decent living. Many countries like Germany extend their tuition-free PhD policy to non-citizens.

    It is hoped that Nigerian government notes that serious free tertiary education has to include free tuition, research fees (which, in most cases is higher than the tuition) and living expenses. Students doing PhD that are not employed or sponsored by organisations should have a fixed decent salary that will make them concentrate on the research. It should also be ensured that only researches with positive impact and domestic touch are allowed and sponsored. The ‘pull-down-syndrome’ in our universities should be stopped and excesses of undisciplined lecturers and supervisors who make it their duty to delay and retard students be checkmated. Only then our universities will be genuine incubation centres for ideas and researches and papers coming from them will be worthier than akara wrapping sheets.

     

    • Dr Marzuq Abubakar Ungogo

     University of Glasgow,

    United Kingdom.

  • Ilorin Emirate backs Buhari’s anti-corruption war

    •Honours Saraki, Idiagbon, 19 others

    The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) yesterday backed President Muhammadu Buhari’s war against corruption and impunity.

    It said his victory at the March 28 election was because of his performance, doggedness, hard work, incorruptible track record and wish of God.

    The group decried the deplorable conditions of roads linking Kwara State to other states.

    IEDPU’s National President Alhaji Abdulhammed Adi, who spoke in Ilorin at its 50th anniversary and the launch of N500 million fund, said: “These roads have not only become a nightmare to motorists and commuters, they are death traps.

    “We appeal to the Federal Government to direct the resumption of work on the roads, particularly the Ilorin-Ibadan Road, which was started in 2000.”

    He urged the Federal Government to extend the dredging of River Niger from Lokoja to New Bussa in Niger State.

    IEDPU honoured the late icon of Kwara politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki, the late Gen. Tunde Idiagbon and the late Abdulkareem Adisa.

    It also honoured the ex-Kwara State Governor, the late Rear Admiral Mohammed Lawal.

    IEDPU inducted 16 dead and living heroes and heroines of Ilorin Emirate into its hall of fame.

    An indigene of Igbaja in Ifelodun Local Government and the proprietor of the first private university in Kwara State – AlHikmah University, Alhaji AbdulRahim Oladimeji, was inducted.

    The award climaxed the week-long activities.

    Others honoured posthumously included the ninth Emir of Ilorin, Zulukarnaini Mohammed Gambari, the first Mufti of Ilorin, Sheik Muhammad Kamamaldeen and the founder of Markaz School of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Agege, Lagos, Sheik Adam Abdullahi El-Ilori.

    Also inducted were two daughters of the emirate, the erstwhile Environment Minister, Halimat Tayo Alao and former Education Commissioner, Hajia Halimat Yusufa.

    Responding on behalf of the family of the late Saraki, the Senior Legislative Assistant to the Senate President, Alhaji Saka Onimago, said the award was the greatest honour to be bestowed on any indigene of the Ilorin Emirate.

    He said it would motivate the family to contribute to the emirate’s development.

    Alhaji Adi said the awardees were honoured, based on their contributions to the emirate’s progress and to encourage others.