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Tag: BUHARI

Drivers, residents urge Buhari to rebuild federal roads

Residents and commercial bus drivers in Aba, Abia State, have urged President Muhammadu Buahri to rebuild the collapsed federal roads not only in the state but also the entire region.

Not only are the roads broken up in several parts and riddled with potholes; they are nearly impassable when it rains. Those who brave it, have tales of woe.

Some residents and commercial bus drivers who spoke with our correspondent in Aba, the commercial nerve of the region on Tuesday, lamented that most federal roads in the city and other parts of southeast can only be described as death traps.

They said that if nothing was urgently done, the Southeast especially Aba may soon be cut off from other parts of the country.

Checks on Tuesday revealed that out of the three major roads, Aba-Ikot Ekpene Expressway, Port Harcourt Road and the Osisioma axis that connect the city centre to other parts of the region and the Southsouth, the best is the Osisioma axis, even though it is not in the best of shapes. It serves as the major entrance and exit route for private and commercial vehicles including articulated trucks.

The Nation can authoritatively report that the heavy influx of vehicles into the city centre through the Osisioma axis usually results to heavy gridlock on the road and one may spend more hours on the road at the slightest drop of rain.

Residents and business owners who regretted that their repeated appeals and SOS calls to the last administrations at state and federal on their plight failed on deaf ears feared that economic and business activities in the commercial city would crumble if President Buhari and Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration fails to reach an understanding on how to partner with each other to tackle and bring to an end the sufferings of commuters and other road users in the state to an end.

A commercial motorist plying from Aba to Akwa Ibom State who gave his name as Ifeanyi in a chat with The Nation said that they now use rural roads in Obingwa Local Government to and fro Aba and no thanks to some youths of the communities who always compel them to pay toll fess for using their village roads.

“I am sure that you might not have traveled to UYO, Akwa Ibom State recently. You need to go to Akwa Ibom through Aba-Ikot Ekpene expressway and see for yourself what drivers are passing through there on a daily basis. We keep patronizing mechanics every week repairing one thing or the other. The only route we now is to find a bit motorable is the village roads, but the youths are also feeding fat on the road. We pay as much as N100 and at some point, we pay N50 and this is to and fro Aba to Akwa Ibom.

“We are urging the federal and state government to collaborate and do something about the ugly nature of roads liking Aba with Akwa Ibom and other states, if not any other thing, to save us from these youths who are taken advantage of the bad road to exploit us. Aba is a commercial city that attracts traders from different parts of the country and Africa and so therefore, roads linking the city to other state should not be allowed to degenerate so badly as it is today”.

•A tricycle on Port Harcourt Road, Aba

Another commercial bus driver plying Aba-Port Harcourt, Chima Okorie narrating his experience asked the federal government to declare state of emergency on Aba roads.

Okorie who said he spent nearly 3hrs one of the days last week from Milverton by Asa road to Osisioma because it rained on that day stated that the need for the reconstruction and total repair of all exit routes in Aba cannot be overemphasized, stressing that if the incumbent Governor, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu would be able to fulfill his campaign promises of building more roads and overhead bridges, it was help to decongest the city of heavy trucks that ply on the intra-city roads on daily basis.

“All we want is for the federal and state government to partner and build more roads. Governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu promised to build more roads and tackle the problem of traffic congestion in Aba. Let them see ways to divert some of the big trucks that come into Aba before going to places like Calabar, Akwa Ibom, Rivers State and other parts of the country from coming into Aba. It will help to avoid the roads from spoiling easily and as such reduce the constant repair of roads.”

A journey from Milverton to Flyover which normally cost N70 now costs between N120 to N140 and could rise to N200 if rain falls.

A resident of Ude Nwanyi by Port Harcourt Road, Mr. Kingsley Offor said that the situation could sometimes get worse that they have to trek home from Milverton because some of the tricycle drivers would not want “to go beyond no. 1 Port Harcourt road because they either do not want to be held in traffic or get their tricycle trapped in the water.

“If there are people who will pray to God and God will answer their prayers, we living at Port Harcourt road will always pray for dry season throughout the year. That is the only time we can to an extent go home comfortably. Government should please look into our case. The past governor of the state and the past president could not do anything to ameliorate our situation and we hope that the story will not be the same now that Dr. Victor Okezie Ikpeazu and president Buhari are in power.

I also believe that despite their political party difference, that they should consider the plight of Aba residents as Nigerians who are in dire need of both the presence of government at the state and federal level. Aba is an economic city that has and is still attracting investors and buyers from all over the world and should not be allowed to degenerate badly, Offor cried out passionately.

It could be recalled that the administration of Governor Ikpeazu had flagged off the reconstruction of 7 roads in Aba with the promise that it would be completed and commissioned within its 100 days in office.

July 3, 2015
Retailers urge Buhari, Ambode, Amosun on infrastructure

Some market leaders in the Lagos metropolis have urged Governor Akinwumi Ambode and his Ogun State counterpart, Ibikunle Amosun, to address their challenges.

The Nation Shopping met with the leaders of Ibafo Market in Ogun State and Saw Mill market in Lagos, among other markets as well as retailers in shopping malls and super stores across the states.

Alhaja Fawusatu Ikumapami, the leader of Ibafo market in Ogun State, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to prioritise electricity supply, adding that when there is adequate generation into the national grid, Ogun State government will ensure power supply to the market. “We need steady power supply for our businesses. If electricity supply is steady here, the market will attract investors from far and near and will be more developed than what it is today,” she said, adding that the governor should help reconstruct the bad road leading to the market.

She said these would help traders spend less on transporting their produce to the market and would make their customers visit again and again.

“We want our governor to give Ibafo market in Ogun State a face-lift. The market is small, and we want it rebuilt to accommodate all of us. We are facing the challenge of free movement and some of us are left with no choice but to display our wares on the walkway and on the road and outside the market.

“We have a land that is wasting away; part of it has been turned to trailer park, we beg the new government to help us utilise it and build a bigger market for us. We also need a local government of our own and want close monitoring on those that will be working on this project, some contractors sometimes do not carry out their duties diligently,” she added.

Like Ikumapami, the leader of Saw-Mill market in Bariga-Lagos, Mrs. Abibatu Amusa also wants steady power supply, good road network and pipe-borne water in the market. Most importantly, she wants the electric pole in the market that has fallen erected to avoid any tragegy, saying the pole has been in that position for eight years.

Mrs Abimbola Adeyemi Sumola representing the Iyaloga of Oyingbo Market, said their hopes were high that soon, the face of the market would change. ‘’We expect that the new government ensures good welfare for us. We always want to be part of ultra modern markets when they are built. We no longer want to be erased from the picture and forgotten. We beg the government to build low priced shops and stalls that are affordable to the common man,’’ she said.

Alhaja Mufuliat Abimbola Adebumi the Iyaloja General of Mushin Ojuwoye Market, said much was expected from the new administration as they have promised change for the better. ‘’The issue of security should be looked into and adequate security in our market to be provided. Sometimes, when we leave our goods outside for those who do not have shops, we don’t find them the next day,’’ she said.

Mr Abdulrasheed Ariji, a representative of Office Everything store at the Silverbird Galleria said he expects that with the new government, exchange rate of the naira would be stabilised to favour traders who sell imported goods.

For Mr. George Nwokocha of Mega Plaza, his expectations are numerous. He said: “The main issue here is electricity. For many years, millions of dollars have been pumped into the power sector but, there is little or nothing to show for it. Most times, we pay electricity bills that we do not use. But, if power is stable businesses will thrive because that is the backbone of businesses in Nigeria.”

Oluwaseun Lasisi of Spar super store, said: “I think the government should address the issue of foreigners who are here to do business and use young Nigerians to build their brands and later lay them off without benefits. Most of us are suffering in silence.“

The management of Leisure mall in Surulere agrees no less with the others. To them, the starting point is fixing the power sector. ‘’Electricity should be made available for use because lack of it has led to the closure of some businesses that we know of. Also, there should be a tax review. It should be reduced or better amenities provided,” he added.

July 3, 2015
Osinbajo to IDPs: Buhari is concerned about you

President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to end terrorist insurgency in the North East, and restore the livelihood of Nigerians who have been badly affected by it was restated again Thursday in Yola by Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

Prof Osinbajo who has been traveling in the North East in the last two days on the instruction of the President told IDPs in the NYSC camp and terrorism patients at the Federal Medical Center, both in Yola “every day the president is thinking about you. That is why he sent me. To come and see, take notes, to understand what is going on, to hear from you, so that I can report to him for positive action. That is why I am here.”

He said the President wants the IDPs and all victims of terrorism to be hopeful, that there would be restoration.

“He asks me to say to you that there is hope, great hope. That the federal government under his leadership will ensure everything is done to provide for you and resettle you back to you homes, your work, your businesses and your places of worship.”

He added however that the people should be patient. “But you have to be patient. As you know, the government has very little money. We are running after all the money everywhere, so that we use it to serve you.”

Osinbajo also noted that the Federal Government will take seriously the need to sweep off land mines and other forms of explosives from farmlands in territories recently recovered from insurgents.

Speaking at the Bajabure NYSC Orientation camp in Damare area of Girei Local Government Council of Adamawa State, the Vice President observed that the task of de-mining affected farmlands in the recovered areas ravaged by insurgency would receive utmost priority of government, as it is a very important step in achieving the primary objective of rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced persons back to their homes.

Explaining the seriousness of the situation, the Vice President said terrorists “plant land mines and other forms of explosives , making it difficult for people to resettle and that is the reason why it is absolutely important for us that the farmlands are swept clean of mines and explosives. That is a matter we shall take seriously, that is de-mining of farm lands.”

While commenting on the problem of unemployment, and poverty in Adamawa State, the VP disclosed that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is specifically concerned with these major problems.

He said “naturally on the concern about the question of unemployment in this State and the question generally about poverty in this particular State, the Federal Government is specifically concerned about the issues of mass poverty and one of our cardinal campaign promises is that the poor in this country must not be left behind and must not be forgotten.”

He thus reiterated the commitment of President Buhari towards the alleviation of poverty among the masses, promising that Government has made it a high priority.

Meanwhile, during his interaction with about 2,100 internally displaced persons being accommodated in the camp, the Vice President informed them that because President Buhari was concerned about their welfare and the general condition in the camp, he had instructed him to visit them and to find out how they were coping.

He assured them of government’s readiness to rebuild their homes, places of worship, markets, schools and provide other necessary infrastructures which would enable them settle down to normal life in their communities when they return home.

Osinbajo assured the government of Adamawa State that the administration of President Buhari was committed to assisting them rebuild and reconstruct affected parts of the State.

During his visit to the State, Osinbajo visited some of the wounded soldiers and other victims being treated at the Federal Medical Center, Yola.

He was accompanied by the Governor of Adamawa State, Senator Bindow Jubrilla and other dignitaries.

Osinbajo had earlier paid a courtesy call on the Lamido of Adamawa, Alhaji Muhammadu Barkindo Mustapha, who expressed delight in the readiness of the Buhari presidency to confront the insurgency crisis in the state and other parts of the North East.

July 2, 2015
Buhari promises ‘enabling environment’ for companies

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday promised that his administration will take all necessary actions to significantly improve the operating environment for domestic and international companies in Nigeria in order to boost employment generation in the country.

He made the promise during an audience with the new Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Sadanobu Kusaoke, who presented his letter of credence at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari, through a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, saidthat the Federal Government, under his leadership, will welcome greater investment inflows from Japan and other developed nations in support of its plans to revitalize the Nigerian economy and create more jobs.

The President said administration will particularly welcome more trade and economic cooperation with Japan in the manufacturing, technology and agricultural sectors.

He said: “I was very impressed with the role your Prime Minister played during our talks with G-7 leaders in Germany. He had a deep understanding of the challenge in the Northeast of Nigeria and how it is affecting our economy.

“We look forward to a stronger partnership with your country in many areas, especially in technology, which is now the major driver of job creation across the world today.”

Buhari also received on Thursday letters of credence from the new Ambassador of Ukraine, Dr. Valerii Aleksandruk and the new High Commissioner of Pakistan, Lt.- Gen. Agha Muhammed Umer Farooq.

All the new envoys assured President Buhari that they will work very hard to maintain and strengthen existing relations between Nigeria and their respective countries during their tenure.

July 2, 2015
NASS crisis : Gbajabiamila’s group seeks Buhari’s intervention

The 174 All Progressives Congress (APC) members of the House of Representatives loyal to Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila on Wednesday night called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to abide by the party’s decision on four principal officers.

Gbajabiamila, who was the choice of the (APC) for the post of the Speaker of the House of Representatives had lost election for the seat to Dogara.

Following the loss, APC wants Gbajabiamila to be the House Majority Leader, Alhassan Doguwa as Deputy Leader, Mohammad Monguno as Chief Whip and Pally Iriase as Deputy Chief Whip.

But Dogara and his group, like what played out in the Senate, are not disposed to the position of the party.

A 30-man delegation of the 174 APC members led by Gbajabiamila made their position known to Buhari at a closed-door meeting at the Presidential Villa, which started around 9.45 p.m. on Wednesday and ended late into the night.

Urging Buhari to call to order the 39 APC members, who have teamed up with the Peoples Democratic Party members in the House to undermine APC, the group said that the issue of Federal Character principle being thrown up by Dogara and his loyalists cannot apply to National Assembly as it didn’t apply in the 6th and 7th National Assembly.

“If it must apply now in the 8th National Assembly, the group said that either the Senate President, Bukola Saraki or Dogara must step down as they are both from the North.”

A copy of the group’s presentation to Buhari at the meeting made available to journalists at the end of the meeting reads: “On the 9th of June, 2015, 174 APC members in the House faithfully and loyally followed the directives of the party to vote for Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and Hon Mongunu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker while 39 other APC members colluded with the opposition Party, the PDP, to elect the current Speaker and Deputy Speaker with only 8 votes superiority.

“Whereas the candidates of the majority (Gbajabiamila and Mongunu) openly congratulated the winners and continued to cooperate with the House, the opposition and the 39 APC members continued to hold the APC leadership in contempt.

“Whereas we the 174 Party faithfuls and loyalists had been obedient to the Party, what shall be the reward of our loyalty to the Party?

“The Party has chosen not to punish the 39 APC members including the elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker, but chose to direct, as it is customary and conventional, on how the other four (4) Principal Officers should be distributed. Alas! The opposition and the 39 members continue to hold the ruling Party in contempt by disobeying the Party

“Whereas, the beneficiaries of the disobedience are citing Federal Character Principle as the main reason for their disobedience, His Excellency should note that

“(a) During the 6th Assembly 2007 – 2011, the following Officers were Elected from the NORTH WEST (I) the president and Commander in Chief (ii) Hon. Ismaila Kawu (iii) Hon. Mutawalle. The two (ii) and (iii) occupied 2 out of the 4 principal officers positions of the Minority Party (iv) Hon Aminu Tambuwal was elected Deputy Chief Whip

“(b) Also during the 7th Assembly, the following officers in Government were elected from the NORTH WEST

“(I) The Vice President (II) The Speaker, R Hon Aminu Tambuwal (III) Hon. Ismaila Kawu, Deputy Minority Leader (IV) Hon. Garba Datti, Deputy Minority Whip. In these instances there was never an issue of Federal Character.

“It should be noted that the Federal Character principle as embedded in Chapter of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) IS NOT JUSTICIABLE AND OF NO LEGAL CONSEQUENCE. Its provision in S.14 of the Constitution is only applicable to appointments in Federal Ministries and Agencies. The House of Representatives is not an Agency of the Federal Government and the Principal officers Positions are elective and not by appointment. If the Federal Character is applicable to the National Assembly, then both the Senate President and the Speaker cannot come from the North, one of them should be advised to step down.”

The two- page presentation continued: “It is noteworthy that Mr. President and the Governors had strongly put their weight behind the Party and had severally admonished the House to abide by the Party position. The 39 APC members in the House continued to collude with the PDP to flagrantly disobey Mr. President, the Governors and the Party with a view to bringing the Party and Government to ridicule before Nigerians.

“The conduct of the 39 APC members colluding with the PDP is tantamount to affront, ultimately targeted at polarizing our Party so as to give room for many of them to decamp to the PDP.

“It is therefore imperative for Mr. President to take a stand and save the integrity of the Party, by calling to order, the 39 members, which include the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, to respect, honour and obey our Party Leaders and their directives.

“In conclusion, Mr. President, we as loyal Party members shall continue to abide by the Party and our Party Leaders and their directives. We strongly appeal to you to direct the Speaker to return to our fold and be truly elected Speaker on APC platform. He should be directed to announce the other four Party Principal officers positions as directed by the Party as it has always been the convention.

“We sincerely appreciate Mr. President for the audience trusting in his ability to successfully mediate so as to save our great Party, the APC, from further embarrassment.” It concluded

Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Gbajabiamila said that the meeting was a very successful one and that the caucus and the party will come out bigger and stronger.

According to him, Buhari, who is a party man, is committed to party supremacy.

On what Buhari’s response to the group was, he said: “We all know that the President is a party man. He believes in the party supremacy. He believes in the ideology of the party and he believes that the party will move forward. That is how much I can tell you. That is not new, we all know the President.”

Asked why the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, did not attend the meeting if it was a caucus meeting, he said: “The Speaker probably had other engagement and there were other caucus members that were not here. We are a representative of the caucus.

He said that the meeting was not about himself or any individual but for the party.

“It is not about me. We need to get that very straight. They voted with me, but the idea is about the party, they supported the party, the party position and the party line. It is not about any individual. Nobody came here as an independent candidate.” He stated

July 2, 2015
Buhari urged to cancel offshore processing deal with Aiteo, Sahara Group

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to cancel 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude oil processing deal between the Federal Government and Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. Ltd. and Sahara Group.

According to the party, the deal should be jettisoned within the first 100 days of the Buhari administration.

But the APC recommended that the government should sign simpler swap agreements with “highly competent” trading companies through a tender process as a means to replace the complex offshore crude processing agreements operated by Aiteo and Sahara Group.

These agreements became effective from January this year.

The APC also claimed that its findings showed that in the oil and gas upstream, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) indebtedness to its Joint Venture Partners was $3.5 billion.

It, however, asked the President to scrap the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and replace it with a new reform bill.

According to Bloomberg, the APC’s recommendations are contained in a report which the leadership of the party handed over to President Buhari at closed-door meetings in Abuja on May 20 and 21.

Bloomberg said: “The APC report recommends that all top oil executives, senior NNPC staff and government officials must declare their assets.

“It also calls for the state oil company’s board to meet more regularly and legislation governing the NNPC to be amended to ensure that the petroleum minister is no longer chairman of the company.

“The APC’s report also advised the government to cancel in its first 100 days in office, two ‘ill-suited and costly offshore processing agreements’ that were signed in the fourth quarter with Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. Ltd. and Sahara Group of 90,000 barrels per day each.

“The government should sign simpler swap agreements with “highly competent” trading companies through a tender process, according to the report.”

But, the Sahara Group said it was not aware of the APC’s recommendation and Aiteo did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

“The parties involved remain committed to the terms of the contract, which is being carried out in line with best practice and good governance,” Sahara Group said in a statement.

On the PIB, Bloomberg said: “Nigeria’s ruling party recommended the government discard a long-delayed oil-industry bill, review fuel subsidies and sell off some units of the state petroleum company.

“The Petroleum Industry Bill should be scrapped and replaced by a new reform bill that’s based on discussions with international oil companies to ‘ensure all perspectives are adequately considered,’ the APC said in a report obtained by Bloomberg on Monday.

Former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who was the former policy director of the APC campaign, confirmed the authenticity of the document.

The report “is not the final position of government,” Fayemi said by e-mail.

The bill has been delayed in parliament for more than eight years due to political wrangling and opposition by international energy companies against proposed tax and royalty terms, deterring investment into the oil and sector.

“After 18 months, the government should seek to commercialise the NNPC, possibly partially listing the entity and selling off its fuel-retailing and refining business,” the APC said.

President Buhari disbanded the NNPC’s board last week end in an attempt to fight graft in the industry.

Two calls to the mobile phone of Ohi Alegbe, the NNPC spokesman, did not connect on Monday and he did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment.

The APC report recommends that all top oil executives, senior NNPC staff and government officials must declare their assets. It also calls for the state oil company’s board to meet more regularly and legislation governing the NNPC to be amended to ensure that the petroleum minister is no longer chairman of the company.

The government should review fuel subsidies to reduce costs of about 600 billion naira ($3 billion) spent annually on the payments, according to the report.

The President said last week his government is facing severe financial strain from a treasury that’s “virtually empty” and billions of dollars in debt.

NNPC Debts

A lack of oil refining capacity has forced the country to subsidise gasoline imports and suffer frequent fuel shortages, despite producing about 1.9 million barrels a day.

Nigeria’s crude production is hindered by the NNPC’s inability to pay its share in joint ventures with companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA, according to the report.

On outstanding obligations, the APC said NNPC’s debts to its eight joint ventures, in which it owns majority stakes, have “ballooned over the years.”

In 2012, NNPC paid $6.9 billion out of the $10.4 billion it owed. The difference of $3.5 billion was covered by loans from international oil companies, according to the report.

“These debts are costly and opaque, and they erode the NNPC’s bargaining power with” the oil companies, the APC said in the report.

It added: “Nigeria’s inability to fund its joint-venture budgets is delaying projects, reducing production, and lowering revenue collection for the nation.”

July 2, 2015
Buhari seeks end to graft in Hajj operations

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to end corruption in Hajj operations.

He spoke yesterday during a closed door meeting with NAHCON Chairman Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Mukhtar, who spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, said Buhari granted all its requests made by the commission for this year’s pilgrimage.

He said 76,000 pilgrims would be airlifted during the 2015 Hajj, including 66,000 under the states and 10,000 under the private tour operations.

The president, he added, also directed that the commission should comply with all regulations put in place by the Saudi Arabian government.

He said: “I met Mr. President and I am pleased to tell Nigerians that he has granted all the requests from the NAHCON with regards to the preparations for 2015 Hajj.

“The President had also directed for inter-agency collaboration between the commission and all other relevant agencies to address the challenges and menace of corrupt-related practices that have to do with Hajj and Umrah. Thus, we will face the menace head on until we bring it to a standstill.

“He has also approved the 2015 air carriers that are going to fly pilgrims. The list will be sent down to the states accordingly for them to select the airlines of their choice.”

Asked to mention some of the corrupt activities the president talked about, he said the cases included people who pay for services that were not rendered.

Mukhtar said: “Well, there are many of the corrupt practices. For instance, people pay for services, which are in some cases not rendered. In some cases, even they do not have the chance to perform the Hajj or Umrah at all, their money is gone.

“Illegal operators that are not licensed to carry out the activities of either Umrah or Hajj still play around and carry out the activities with impunity; so all these will be addressed,” he said.

He said that the Federal Government takes responsibility for providing medicals, security services, and consular services of the Nigerian pilgrims.

The president, Mukhtar said, also directed that the commission should release the fare immediately.

July 2, 2015
Buhari’s possible place in history

President Buhari, while speaking with Nigerians resident in South Africa recently, said, “I wish I became Head of State when I was…a young man. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do”.

Quite a number of Nigerians have responded negatively to this statement, some of them claiming that it shows that Buhari is not fit, on account of his age, to be our president. I see it differently. A man who can make an admission like that is forthright and deserves to be trusted – and also deserves whatever help each of us Nigerians can give him. I have felt, since then, much more than I felt before, that I can trust Buhari as president of my country.

Being a slightly older man than he, I know what he is talking about. When you are in your seventies, if you are the kind of person that dreams great dreams, you see a million worthy things that should be done and that you should do in the interest of your people or country; but you know that though your spirit itches to go, your body is not really up to much of the task.

In that sort of situation, if you are in a position of power, and if you are the foolish kind, you try to hide the truth by posing as strong and conquering and invincible – and you end up wrecking yourself and wrecking a lot of things. If you are the wise kind, you own up your limitations to your friends – and you earn empathy, understanding, loyalty and help, and you end up achieving more than you would otherwise have achieved. Napoleon Bonaparte used to say, “I try always to rise above myself”. For a ruler or leader, part of the secret of rising above oneself is to let one’s team mates and helpers love and feel honoured to use themselves – their minds, expertise, wisdom, muscles and all – to serve one’s noble purposes for one’s country.

As a Nigerian who has seen, and been somewhat part of, the Nigerian political experience since the late 1950s, I therefore humbly offer the following as help to President Buhari. Principally, I counsel him to keep things simple. If the load is kept simple, even an older man than Buhari can carry it successfully. If he lets it get complicated and tortuous, it will bog down, and it will hurt him and hurt Nigeria.

One serious reality of the Nigerian situation today is that Nigerian politicians have built up an enormous amount of expertise in crookedness. As people say in Kenya, “Where there is a Nigerian there is a way”. Kenyans don’t say that admiringly; they say it spitefully and derogatorily. Witness a couple of recent prominent instances of this expert crookedness: Members of the Nigerian National Assembly vote for their wages and allowances absolutely unreasonable amounts of money; and then they make those facts a total secret from the people of Nigeria –the owners of the National Assembly.

Here is another: A senator who wants to be elected president of Senate, knowing that many in his party have someone else in mind, seizes advantage of the group absence of many senators of his own party from the Senate Chamber and, behind their back, sneaks in his election as Senate President, using the help of members of another party. And yet another: The Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives say that they had appointed the other officials of the two houses before the directive came from their party about the persons to appoint. In the presidential system worldwide, don’t Senate Presidents and House Speakers take the directives from their parties first?

Can you imagine anything more crooked than these things? Could things like these possibly happen in the Nigerian government when Buhari and I were boys? Friends of the new Senate President say he was “smart”! Were our politicians that “smart” in those days? In what other country are the politicians this “smart”?

That is the environment in which President Buhari has to work today. Obviously, he does not have the smartness of this crowd. Therefore, he should not try to compete with them in their muddy waters. He should not even go near their muddy waters. He must let it be seen by all who work with him that his actions are open and straight-forward, and that he values his integrity. Politicians and others will approach him with all sorts of crooked packages – packages containing plans for stealing and sharing public money, or clever plans to defraud, or criminal plots for electoral fraud, or plots for ethnic group advantage over other ethnic groups – or even over the rest of Nigeria. Buhari should let the whole of Nigeria know transparently that such packages have no chance at all with him. In short, he can, and he should, establish for our country the ethical backbone for a new Presidency. He promised change. We voted for change.

Keeping it simple also demands that the structure of the Nigerian federation should be aligned harmoniously with Nigeria’s ethnic national composition. It is simpler to walk with the truth than to keep trying to force the way forward with falsehood. If Buhari chooses to keep forcing the way forward with falsehood, he will only be complicating his load – and the load will bog down and he will hurt himself and hurt Nigeria.

The truth is that Nigeria is a country made up of many different ethnic nationalities, each living in its own homeland, having its own culture and history, its own desires, and its own self-image and pride. Pooling all power, resources and resource control together in Nigeria’s central government, as has been done since the 1960s, is living a destructive falsehood, and it will never work. That is why Nigeria teeters on the brink of failure. The love of Nigerians for their different nationalities is much stronger than Nigeria’s most influential politicians like to think. The countless millions of us who cherish the integrity of our nationalities will never give up the fight – and that means that we will never cease harassing whoever is president of Nigeria to lead us to restructure our federation. Restructuring our federation s is the most important change.

Finally, to keep his load simple, President Buhari must loyally keep his team intact and working. The ones who have worked with him in the past three years to put an alliance together, fought night and day by his side on the campaign trail, and mobilized the needed resources for the struggle, certainly deserve his loyalty. Trying to evade that loyalty, or letting others damage the team, will only whip up a truculent and unending war around him, with the possibility that massive numbers of citizens of whole regions could become involved – and that would make his load become impossibly complex. Naturally, his allies have their political enemies, while many who used to fight against him and his allies will now become his friends too. Of course, the president of Nigeria must be open to all Nigerians; but the world will adjudge Buhari as lacking character if he now denies his allies and compromises his team. It will also show that the promises of change made by him and his allies were fake all along. Buhari can carve for himself an honourable place in the history of Nigeria and of Africa.

July 2, 2015
PDP rejects Zakari as acting INEC chief

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as the acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday, approved Zakari’s appointment in acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive chairman for the commission.

Zakari replaced Prof. Attahiru Jega who retired as the INEC chairman at the expiration of his five-year tenure.

But at a news briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, alleged that the acting INEC chairman “is too close to the Presidency.”

Metuh challenged Mrs. Zakari to state her alleged closeness to the Presidency and one of the governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from one of the states in the Northwest.

Mrs. Zakari, who was one of the national commissioners in INEC until her new appointment, was appointed into that office by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Metuh said, “The PDP has declared the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as unacceptable and demand that President Buhari changes her immediately.

“The PDP is particularly disturbed by the development in INEC where President Buhari, who knew all along that the immediate-past INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega would be leaving office by June 30, had to wait for him to handover to one of the national commissioners only to reverse it immediately, thereby injecting bad blood in the commission.

“The situation in INEC since the PDP government reformed and granted it operational autonomy has been peaceful, but Tuesday’s untidy overruling of Prof. Jega and appointing of Mrs. Amina Zakari as acting chairman which, we gathered was influenced by personal relationship with the Presidency and one of the new governors of the North West, ostensibly to pave the way for the APC at the electoral tribunals, has completely eroded public trust in the commission.

“Whereas the PDP recognises the right and powers of the President to appoint the Chairman of INEC and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), we reject attempts as in the case of the AGF to paint the process as transparent and objective when such was not the case, but brought to question the sincerity and commitment of the present administration to due process.

“In INEC, the PDP states in unequivocal terms that we cannot, as critical stakeholders fold our hands and watch while the Presidency perpetuates actions that diminish the independence of the electoral commission.

“Our reasons include the fact that due process was not observed in the appointment and that Mrs. Zakari has shown in the last elections that she is manifestly bias in favour of the APC. Finally, her appointment is a clear case of nepotism.

“We ask, if they trusted Prof. Jega and commended him for conducting free and fair elections, why would they not trust him on who to hold forth in the commission until a substantive chairman is appointed, rather than appointing someone who is retiring from the commission in the next three weeks?”

The PDP spokesman said with the prevailing record of Mr. President on appointments, it is unlikely that a substantive INEC chairman will be appointed in the next one year.

July 1, 2015
Buhari, Dogara to meet in Aso Rock

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to meet the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday night.

The National Assembly had been embroiled in leadership crisis following the June 9 emergence of Bukola Saraki and Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.

The development had also stalled the appointment of other principal officers of the National Assembly.

Wednesday’s meeting will hold at the First Lady Conference Room by 10pm.

July 1, 2015