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Tag: Goodluck Jonathan

  • ‘Why North dumped Jonathan in 2015’

    Mouthpiece of Northern Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and one time chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna state, Alhaji Yaro Makama Rigachikun have reacted to the former president Goodluck Jonathan’s claim that the north betrayed him during the 2015 presidential election.

    ACF and the former PDP chairman in their separate reactions to the former President’s book ‘My transition hours’, said Jonathan himself did not honour his words by jettisoning the PDP zoning arrangement which favoured north in 2015.

    The ACF National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu who reacted on behalf of forum said, “even though I have not read the book, however it is on record that Jonathan contested the 2011 and 2015 against the zoning arrangement of his party that zoned the presidential slot to the North.

    “Therefore, his assertions that Northern leaders and socio-political groups in the North worked against his presidency is rather odd, considering the circumstances at that time. Yet he won the Presidency in 2011 and the ruling party also secured 25% in some states of the North in the 2015 presidential elections.

    “It may interest you to know that his party has since admitted the oversight in the party’s 2015 winning game plan. This clearly means that leaders should always honor their words with deeds if they want to earn the respect of their followers.” He said.

    In the same vein, former Kaduna state PDP chairman and Northern Elder member, Alhaji Yaro Makama Rigachikun said two factors were responsible for Northern elites dumping former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 elections.

    Read Also: Why I didn’t visit Chibok – Jonathan

    Rigachikun who had defected to APC prior to the 2015 general elections disclosed that the first reason the North rose against Jonathan in 2015 was the fact that the former President had taken oath of office twice.

    According to him, “He was sworn in when late Umaru Yardua died. He was again sworn -in, in 2011 when he won that year presidential election. To the Northern establishment he was sworn in twice which was in tandem with the constitution.

    “So, to allow the former leader to be sworn in for the third time was against the spirit of the constitution and the Northern establishment would not take that.”
    According to the Northern Elder, the second reason was the issue of suspicious and distrust because the Northern establishment believed that the former leader had a hand in Boko Haram.

    However, he contended that event later proved that the former leader was not behind the insurgency, saying, as a former member of APC we came to realise that Jonathan hands was never in Boko Haram.

    Instead the PDP chieftain remarked that  the issue of Boko Haram is still very much around us, saying,  even the  President Buhari is still grappling with the issue of insurgency.

  • Beware of fake ‘My Transition Hours’ – Jonathan’s aide

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s aide on Thursday raised alarm over fake online versions of his book, ‘My Transition Hours’.

    This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze.

    It reads “We have just been informed that a fake document contrived by mischief makers, and being passed on as the e-version of the just launched ‘My Transition Hours’, a book by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, is now circulating online.”

    Read Also: Jonathan: I wasn’t pressed to reject 2015 election result

    The general public was advised to ignore such publication as the chapters and contents are not the same as the book publicly presented two days ago in Abuja by the former President.

    “We note that the e-copy of ‘My Transition Hours’ is not being marketed, as such, the fake online version could only have been created by those out to deceive the unsuspecting public.” it stated.

  • Alleged graft: I never sent Kukah to beg Buhari, says Jonathan

    In his memoirs, “My Transition Hours”, former President Goodluck Jonathan debunked reports that he sent emissaries to President Muhammadu Buhari not to probe his administration. He also suggested ways corruption can be tackled, writes Vincent Ikuomola.

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that he has no reason to send people to beg President Muhammadu Buhari on his behalf over allegation of corruption.

    Jonathan said if there was any need to speak with the President, he would do so himself.

    Jonathan, who stated this in his book, “My Transition Hours,” in response to the report that he sent the Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah’s National Peace Committee to plead on his behalf. “The dust of handing over to my successor had barely settled when the political smear campaigns began against members of my family, former appointees and aides. The goal was to destroy everything we did and consign our legacy to the bin. The attacks were so intense that Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah asked the government and the ruling party to spare some thoughts for my graciousness in conceding defeat without taking the country through bloodshed as we had witnessed before in many African countries.

    “I remember that after Bishop Kukah and members of the Peace Committee met with President Buhari, propagandists had gone to town with the fable that I had sent the National Peace Committee to the President to plead on my behalf. Let me categorically state that such stories are false. Why would I need anyone to plead on my behalf? What wrong have I committed that I cannot speak to President Buhari myself? I have a conscience that is devoid of bitterness towards any man.

    “Specifically, to those who accused me of sending Bishop Kukah to plead on my behalf in respect of corruption, I have the following response. The premier global agency universally recognised to gauge corruption perception index stated that the last time Nigeria made progress was in 2014 while I was President. The country had moved eight places forward from 144 to 136. “

    He said corruption is as old as independent Nigeria. According to him, that is why all military takeovers of government since January 15 1966 coup had always been justified on the basis of ridding the country of corruption, insisting that every successive administration has fought corruption one way or the other but the surge still remains.

    Besides, he posited that corruption fight cannot be effectively fought and won by the executive arm alone, as it requires the involvement of other arms of government. Throwing light into the phrase attributed to him that “stealing is not corruption”, Jonathan said it was not true. He noted that he never said stealing is good; rather he said since corruption encompasses many things, a thief should be called by his proper name and not the blanket word like corruption.

    On how he went about it, the former President said his administration deployed the use of technology, knowing that it was endemic. He also noted that his government supported the institutional development of secure systems and mechanisms to curb corruption in public places. He cited the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and the Bank Verification Number (BVN).

    Jonathan further posited that the effective implementation of the various policies in the fight against corruption brought positive results as the country made its best improvement ever in Transparency International (IT) corruption perception index. According to Jonathan, “Immediately after the 2011 elections, my administration was repeatedly accused of being corrupt. Despite the blackmail, I remained committed to combating corruption in a systemic way, knowing it was endemic. We vigorously devised and implemented a thorough and strategic plan to fight corruption, using technology, albeit within the context of the rule of law and due process.

    “Before I go deeper into this, let me address a false narrative my detractors have used to besmirch my name. They claim that I once said that ‘stealing is not corruption.’ This is not true. Following the constant stigmatisation of Nigerians as corrupt, I invited the leadership of the legislature and judiciary to a meeting.

    “In attendance were the Senate President and his Deputy, Speaker of the House of Representatives and his Deputy; the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and six States’ Chief Judges from each of the six geopolitical zones. Also invited were heads of the two anti-corruption agencies viz, the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other related Offences Commission (ICPC). I presided over the meeting with the Vice President.

    “My thinking was that the executive arm of government alone could not effectively eradicate the scourge of corruption, hence the need for that meeting. I personally appealed to them and argued that only an all-inclusive approach could bring about tangible successes in the anti-corruption fight. The judiciary, the legislative and the executive arms of government needed to join forces if we were to end the theft of public resources and stop corruption. I went on to methodically present my case and propose that we work together to curb corruption. When matters of corruption are presented to the courts, there would be no effective results if they were not treated in a painstaking and timely manner. The parliament needs to play a fundamental role in passing strong and effective laws. When laws are weak, the judiciary would not be able to do much.

    “The then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Dahiru Musdapher, in his contributions acknowledged that he was of the same opinion. He added that because of the perception of corruption in Nigeria, he had to isolate all the case files before the Supreme Court having to do with corruption charges. He said that after reading through those files, he discovered that more than 70% were not corruption cases, per se, but crimes of stealing. The individuals involved were however not charged to court for stealing but rather in preparing the case files, the prosecutors used the term ‘corruption.’

    “It was on the strength of his submission that I expounded to say that we should stop calling a spade an agricultural implement. Corruption does not fully capture the act of stealing. A person can indeed be corrupt without stealing a dime. Those who are incapable of comprehending this elevated thought and the mischievous crowd, go about claiming till date, that I said ‘stealing is not corruption.’ They never bothered to even check the context in which I spoke. If you ask many of those clinging to that falsehood and mouthing the malicious misrepresentation, to quote where I said it, they will tell you ‘they only heard.’

    “Let me categorically state that I have never said stealing is good and that people should steal; neither did the CJN. Stealing is stealing and instead of calling it corruption, let us call the thief by his proper name and not use a blanket word like corruption. Corruption encompasses many things. According to Transparency International, corruption is defined as the ‘abuse of entrusted power for private gain’. The Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines stealing as ‘to take without permission or legal right and without intending to return.’ If a government minister upon a cabinet dissolution takes a vehicle that he is not entitled to and converts it to personal use, then that is stealing.

    “We must not lump everything together and say stealing is corruption. We must isolate stealing and make it as plain as day because Nigerians hate thieves. I abhor jungle justice, but we have witnessed Nigerians show their hatred for suspected thieves by burning them alive. It is important also to note how we supported the institutional development of secure systems and mechanisms to curb corruption in public service and plug revenue leakages. My administration spearheaded the development of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and the Bank Verification Number (BVN).

    “No administration can either be entirely bad or perfect. Good governance is a process. Rather than media hype or arresting and parading suspected offenders on television, my strategy was to strengthen our public institutions and law enforcement agencies to prevent people from defrauding the system ab initio.

    “Let me explain how we went about doing this, using the corruption in the fertilizer sector as an example. My experience as Deputy Governor, and Governor of Bayelsa State, as well as Vice-President and President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria had exposed me to the challenges in the fertilizer sector. We did extensive research and finally were able to establish how the States and Federal Government were spending billions of naira on the fertilizer regime, but only about 11% or less of the fertilizer subsidy benefitted the end users, Nigerian farmers.’

    “It became more apparent that the remaining 90% were either being stolen or siphoned out of the country through clever schemes. It was not easy, but we came in, took action and cleaned it up. Coincidentally, my Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwurni Adesina, did his PhD research work on fertilizer distribution in West Africa. His knowledge of the field came in handy in our quest to curb the fraud. We developed what we called the Electronic Wallet. This was a policy that cut out the middle man and got millions of farmers to register for the e-wallet using their cell phones from which they received text alerts directly from the ministry, telling them where to pick up their fertilizer, and how much to pay.

    “According to Velocity Capital, a Dutch private equity firm, in its independent assessment, showed that the electronic wallet initiative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development under the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS), had saved the Federal Government of Nigeria over $192 million by 2012, the first year in which it was introduced.

    “My administration developed and implemented the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which was initiated by the Obasanjo Administration towards the end of his tenure. Through this technology, we arranged for federal, civil and public servants to register their biometrics as a condition for receiving their salaries and as a result we weeded out over fifty thousand ghost workers and saved N15 billion every month which was then equivalent to $100 million.

    “In December 2014, attempts were made to divert monies meant for salaries and emoluments to some other government expenditure. When that happened, the software which had its own defence mechanism shut the system down. Consequently, thousands of workers in some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) could not get their December salaries paid early. They were eventually paid as soon as the anomaly was rectified. I apologised to those families who suffered but I believed that to fight corruption we had to take necessary measures to establish and strengthen our institutions by adopting the best available technology. This is the only way to systematically and successfully fight corruption.

    “The effective implementation of these policies in 2014 brought positive results as Nigeria made its best improvement ever in Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perception Index. Nigeria was ranked the 136th out of 175 nations surveyed; an improvement from the nation’s previous position of 144th in 2013, 139th in 2012 and 143rd in 2011. It is important to note that despite the many sensational stories, dramatic arrests, seizures and accusations, many of them false, since I left office, the fact remains that Nigeria has not made any improvement on TI Corruption Perception Index since 2014.

    “In fact, the 2017 corruption perception index released in 2018 by TI placed Nigeria as number 148, a retrogression in which the nation went 12 places backward. In other words, Nigeria is more corrupt in 2017 than it was when I handed over to the Buhari administration in 2015. Some people may be misled with smoke and mirrors but the TI Corruption Perception Index relies on unsentimental facts and figures.

    “Interestingly, just as I was about to end my work on this book, the Tribune, a newspaper founded by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one of the founding fathers of independent Nigeria, of blessed memory, on the third year Democracy Day Anniversary of my successor, wrote a very interesting editorial. The newspaper, while coming down hard on all past leaders of Nigeria under the democratic dispensation, including me, said this about its Perception of the anti-corruption fight and gave a verdict that corruption has worsened; ….Nineteen years on, not only is the polity still afflicted by worsening cases of poverty and corruption, the country’s democratic credentials are virtually in tatters. Indeed, it is doubtful that democracy is being practiced in the country let alone being entrenched…”

    “One of the affirmations that my administration fought corruption also came from an unlikely source, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate (SAN) and one of my unrelenting critics. While speaking on TV, he affirmed that I fought corruption in my own way: ‘Even President Goodluck Jonathan fought corruption in his own way. You will be surprised how he got results. For instance, last year, when the government had to withdraw the charges against Mr. Mohammed Abacha after 14 years, between year 2000 and 2014 that the case travelled between the FCT High Court to the Supreme Court. And when the government was now going to withdraw the charges at the High Court, because the Supreme Court said go back and have your trial, the Office of the Attorney General issued a statement to the effect that the withdrawal was occasioned by  the fact that $970M from the Abacha loot has been recovered by the Jonathan’s government. Under that Government, $458M was also forfeited by the United States Government which has not been repatriated yet; the United States government, the Obama regime simply decided not to. This was from the Abacha loot alone. And from the Halliburton, from Siemen’s scandal and some of them, through some Plea bargain, the government made about $120M. That was the Jonathan government!  So, every government in Nigeria investigates the past, usually the previous regime but for the past 16 years, the PDP government and the Abdulsalami Abubakar junta recovered about $3.2B from the Abacha loot.

    “It is the most successful loot recovery in the world. And it has not ended yet; the government’s not done yet with the Abacha loot alone. Again, to be fair to President Jonathan, he sacked three Ministers one of them on them on the ground of conflict of interest for corruption…”

    “The accusation was made that my body language did not suggest I was willing to fight corruption. What some people wanted me to do was to go around the world announcing that Nigerians are corrupt. I believe that is not what a President should do. A President should fight corruption without stigmatising its citizens. Yes, there are corrupt Nigerians but there are also many credible Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora. This is the case all over the world, albeit in varying degrees.

    “There are two options before us as a nation. We can continue to strengthen our institutions and plug the loopholes like my administration did and come up with reforms as I had earlier enumerated, or we keep parading a few individuals in handcuffs to feed the appetites of those who have entertained negative expectations while leaving intact the architecture of corruption.”

  • Jonathan’s book: elementary book of tales, says Borno Governor

    Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima says President Goodluck Jonathan’s new book, My Transition hours’ lunched on Wednesday is an “elementary book of tales that fell short of courage” that will bring out facts to the public.

    According to Gov. Kashim Shettima, President Jonathan cleverly omitted to publish in Chapter four of his book  the report of the presidential  fact-finding committee he constituted in May 2014 which would have unveiled the incontrovertible facts about the April 2014 abduction of the Chibok Girls.

    Gov Shettima who was reacting particularly to Chapter Four of the book titled “The Chibok school girls affair” in the book, “My Transition hours”  explained that  the former President had asserted  that the schoolgirls abduction was a product of conspiracy by the then opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, in connivance with Borno State Government.

    The Chapter  also accused the Borno Government and then President Barack Obama’s administration in the United States of undermining efforts to rescue the Chibok girls in 2014.

    Governor Shettima through a statement released by his Special Adviser on Communications and Strategy, Malam Isa Gusau on Wednesday, added  that Jonathan never believed there was ever an abduction until rescue efforts were late, the “the former President’s elementary book of tales fell short of the courage required of him to publish findings by his own panel in chapter four of his book.

    “The whole of Tuesday night, I took the pains of reading His Excellency, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s book, My transition hours, from the first to the 177th page. I took particular interest in chapter four (the Chibok school girls affair) which has 42 paragraphs written on pages 27 to 36.

    Read Also: Why I annoited Zulum as my successor- Shettima

    “I was amused that despite ‎admitting in paragraph 15, that he had (in May 2014) constituted a Presidential Fact-Finding Committee under Brigadier General Ibrahim Sabo and many others “to investigate” the Chibok abduction, former President Jonathan refused to mention any part or whole of the findings by that panel which had submitted a highly investigative report submitted to him on Friday, June 20, 2014 after the panel held investigative meetings with the then Chiefs of Defense Staff, Army Staff, Air Staff, the DG, DSS and IGP, met all security heads in Borno, visited Chibok, met with parents of abducted schoolgirls, met surviving students, interrogated officials of the school and the supervising ministry of education, interrogated officials of WAEC and analyzed all correspondences.

    “What has become very clear is that the former President decided to sit on facts in his custody while he published, in an elementary standard, a book of fiction designed to pass gulty verdicts to anyone but himself, with respect to the open failures of his administration to rescue our daughters and in tackling the Boko Haram challenges ” Shettima was quoted by his spokesman.

    Governor Shettima  declared that “by refusing to publish any part of his own panel’s findings on the Chibok abduction, Jonathan’s book was nothing short of a presidential tale by midday”.

    According to the statement, it is on record that; , “on Tuesday, the 6th of May, 2014, President Jonathan had inaugurated multi-agency/stakeholder fact-finding panel under the chairmanship of Brig. General Ibrahim Sabo (rtd), a one-time Director of Military Intelligence and also appointed a secretary from the Niger Delta.

    “President Jonathan single handedly selected all members of that committee which included  his trustees amongst serving and retired security officers from the Army, DSS and Police; representatives of the UN and ECOWAS, representatives of the Chibok community, local and international civil rights organisations, representatives of the National Council on Women Societies, the Nigeria Union of Journalists amongst other persons he trusted.

    “For almost  two months, the probe panel undertook forensic assessment of all documents on the entire issues, held investigative meetings with parents of the schoolgirls during a visit to Chibok. The panel held separate one-on-one investigative meetings with myself, the then Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chiefs of Air and Naval Staff, met the then Director General of the DSS and the Inspector General of Police, all of whom were appointees of President Jonathan.

    “The panel interrogated officials of Borno Government including the Commissioner  of Education and the school principal. The panel also held investigative meetings with heads of all security agencies in Borno State including security formations in charge of Chibok. At the end, the panel submitted it’s report directly to President Jonathan on Friday, the 20th of June, 2014 in Abuja. President Jonathan has refused to make public the findings submitted to him.

    “I was expecting the findings in his book but he has deliberately swept that report under the carpet. However, I remember that on June 24, 2014, the ThisDay Newspaper claimed to have obtained a copy of the panel’s report and published as its lead, that painstaking findings by the Presidential panel had indicted the military under Jonathan’s watch and completely absolved the Federal,   Borno State Government of any blame regarding the Chibok abduction. The newspaper went further to say that panel actually commended efforts of the Borno State Government in its commitment to the fight against Boko Haram as testified by heads of security establishments” the statement said.

    Governor Shettima  also observed that President Jonathan’s book has further made him believe that the  former president  still lives with poor understanding of issues under his presidency especially  his  claim on page 31 that Boko Haram wanted a Muslim President rather than him as Christian was laughable since the insurgents actually began their deadliest attacks in Borno under the regime of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, a Muslim  from northern Nigeria.

    “We know for a fact that as vicious cycle of evil, Boko Haram fighters do not care about the religion of their targeted victims. ‎They attack Mosques and churches. They are lunatics who regard anyone who doesn’t share their ideology as an infidel. So, I wonder how the former President didn’t take time to understand the biggest challenge under his presidency” Shettima said.

    Governor Shettima challenged  former President Jonathan to come up with another book that would contain more graphic truth of his presidency  not excluding the Chibok Girls rather than “the fiction he made public on Tuesday”.

  • 2019: Jonathan expresses concern over increased incidences of vote buying

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday in Abuja, expressed concern over increased incidences of vote buying in the country, ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Jonathan expressed his concern at the public presentation and formal launch of a book — “My Transition Hours” by Jonathan.

    He said that vote buying, which was gradually replacing other forms of electoral malpractices, had become scandalous and placed the country in bad light.

    He pointed out that voters inducement through engraving of pictures of candidates and political party logos on gift items during elections was another rampant strategy of vote buying.

    He advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to borrow a leaf from other African countries and create polling centres in public places such as schools where classrooms were used for voting to make it difficult for vote buying.

    He explained that the book he launched was essentially an account of happenings during the 2015 general elections and the events that made him to place a phone call to President Muhammadu Buhari, which doused tension and ensured peaceful transition from the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Party (APC).

    The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, saluted Jonathan for his statesmanship, sportsmanship and uncommon courage of conceding defeat to Buhari in 2015 when collation was still on.

    Saraki said that the act of accepting defeat by Jonathan helped to stabilise the already charged political atmosphere during the elections.

    He recalled how Jonathan used to vow that his ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian and called on political leaders to toe the same path and should not look at elections as declaration of war as the 2019 polls approached.

    On his part, former President Olusegun Obasanjo who was Chairman of the occasion, also hailed the statesmanship disposition of Jonathan and urged him to remain committed to his residual responsibility of continuous service to his immediate community, Nigeria, Africa and beyond.

    According to Obasanjo, there is no substitute to democracy as it unifies the people.

    He said that Nigeria had the responsibility to unify West Africa, Africa and the black race across the world.

    Former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, also thanked Jonathan for conceding defeat in 2015 to save Nigeria from impending war and consolidating democracy not only in the country but the entire African continent.

    He also applauded Jonathan for his role in fostering unity, peace, progress and strengthening democratic rule in Africa, saying “Goodluck Jonathan is a good man and when the history of democracy in Africa is written, his name will be etched in gold”.

    The book launch was graced by hundreds of prominent Nigerians, including
    The APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Sen. Dino Melaye, former Gov. Attahiru Bafara of Sokoto State, ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, ex-PDP governors, ministers and many members of the political class, traditional rulers and members of the diplomatic corps. (NAN)

  • Atiku, Gowon, Abdulsalam attend Jonathan’s book launch

    Former heads of States, Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalam Abubakar and former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party,  Atiku Abubakar, are currently attending the book launch of former President, Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.

    The book launch is taking place at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton hotel in Abuja.

    Read Also:Buhari to Jonathan at 61: You are an inspiration to youths

    Also present at the book launch are former President of Ghana, John Mahama, President of AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina and some governors elected under PDP.

    President Muhammadu Buhari is represented at the event by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

    Also present at the book launch are Federal and state legislatures elected under PDP.

    The book: “My transition Hours” gives an account of what happened in the build up to 2014 elections.

    Details shortly…

  • APC built Train stations in villages of PDP chieftains – Amaechi

    The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Sunday said that in the course of executing the Warri-Itakpe Rail line, stations were built in the villages of Peoples’ Democratic Party(PDP)’s chieftains.

    Amaechi disclosed this at the `Next Level Presentation’ at Presidential Villa Banquet Hall to signal the commencement of the campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2019 general elections.

    The minister who made a presentation titled `What We are Building ’  said that President Muhammadu Buhari, upon assumption of office, directed that old and abandoned projects be completed.

    “The truth is that the country is compelled to make a choice between good and bad. When I was appointed the Minister for Transportation, the president warned–do not start new contracts, go and complete old ones.

    “We met Itakpe –Warri Rail line which had been in existence for 34  years uncompleted; it would have been the first Standard Guage line in Africa if it was completed.

    “Based on the president’s instruction, I did a memo; I thought we will borrow money from China; but the president refused. He said we should use our internal funds to execute the project.

    “People saw me on social media on Train service from Warri to Itakpe. I got to Warri 8pm because I was going from one station to the other—almost all the villages and most  prominent members of PDP made sure that train stations were in their villages.

    “So, I am compelled to do those stations in villages of members of PDP; it is okay; it is the instruction of the president that you must go and finish the old work.’’

    He said that the tradition in the past was that once one was elected, one left the old things for the old people and awarded new contracts.

    According to Amaechi, the ministry will start commercial service from Itakpe to Warri.

    On PDP’s argument that it started the projects, Amaechi said that Buhari made it clear on commissioning the Abuja –Kaduna rail project that the project was started by the former government of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “We completed it but two things are remarkable—we borrowed 500 million dollars to start that project at the time oil was selling at 114 dollars per barrel.

    “ We should not have borrowed; you mean this country could not have afforded 500 million dollars?

    “I will show that we can; when I wrote a memo to the president and to the cabinet requesting that he should allow me borrow 500 million dollars from China to buy locomotives and coaches for Lagos-Ibadan, the cabinet under the directive of the president refused.

    Read Also: PDP kicks as APC wins by-election for House of Reps

    “He(the president) said 500 million dollars; we can get from here and we are funding it from here; so we did and completed Kaduna to Abuja quickly.

    “We spend N56million per month and we get N16 million; so we are augmenting for both rich and poor—N40 million per month under the directive of the president because he fears that the poor might not be able to afford it. So, everybody is using it.’’

    According to him, Lagos to Ibadan railway is almost complete—a distance of 156kms.

    The minister said that application had also been made to construct Kano to Kaduna railway as approval for funds is being awaited.

    “We are about to award the central line from Abuja to Niger to Baru from Baru to Itakpe to Warri; the president had approved a new seaport in Warri. We are negotiating with a Chinese company which will build it.

    “Do not forget that N2.7 billion dollars is N1 trillion. So, we are looking for money to commence already awarded work on the coastal rail.

    “The coastal rail starts from Lagos, from Lagos; it passes through Ogun State, Ondo, Benin, Asaba, and Onitsha. From Benin again, it passes through Warri, Sapele, Ughelli, to Bayelsa, in fact, it goes to Utuoke. From Otuoke, it goes to Port Harcourt.

    “ Then from Port Harcourt, it goes to Aba, Uyo, and ends up in Cross River State.

    “We are almost ready to award Port Harcourt to Maidugiri. The difference between us and the last award is that the last award was 1500km but under the directive of Mr President, it was extended to 2000 km.

    “ The last award was Port Harcourt straight to Maidugiri but in order to satisfy everybody at the directive of the President, we must get to every state capital,’’ he said.

    On his part, Mr Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, said that it would require a long journey into Nigeria’s history to recall when last it had massive investment in infrastructure.

    “It is no coincidence that we look to the 1970s and the 1980s when we built new airports, new seaports, new refineries, new highways and bridges.

    “The closest you will have to that era is the 1990s when petrol-money was also being applied to upgrade infrastructure under the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF)incidentally chaired by Buhari.

    “We lost an enormous opportunity when recently oil money rose to $114 dollar per barrel and stayed there for almost a decade and we have no new airport, refinery, bridges, petrochemical plants,   no new seaports to show accountability to how all the money went,’’ he said.

    The event also witnessed the unveiling of Buhari-Osinbajo 2019—A Basic Guide-The Campaign Manual in Brief.

    NAN

  • Ebola: ‘How Jonathan was stopped from recognizing late Stella’

    Former minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu has revealed how the plan by former President, Goodluck Jonathan to immortalized late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, the medical doctor who died in the efforts at containing the spread of Ebola in the country was bungled.

    Chukwu noted that the former president had planned a national broadcast to announce her and some people as national hero but was advised against the move by some people.

    He however promised to reveal those behind the plot in his book.

    The former minister spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the Public Lecture and Awards Organised by the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN).

    The event has as its theme “Politics and Health: Implications of the nexus to the Nigerian citizen.

    The former minister who was the chairman of the occasion said: “At a time, I know how many hours I spent on the phone and on laptop  in 2014 with Dr. Ruben Abati, who you know was the chief Spokesperson of Mr. President Jonathan.

    “the president gave us a task that the two of us should draft the speech he was going to make, very important speech just about the time that it was declared that there was no more Ebola in Nigeria and the president was to make an important address to the nation.

    “Indeed what the president (Jonathan) wanted was to make some people national heroes. Of course Dr. Adadevoh was one of those to be announced as national hero. But after we spent four hours on our laptops myself and Dr. Abati and hoping that this will finally get to be mentioned, it didn’t get out”.

    “And of course I picked it up with Mr. President on why he would allowed us to work for four hours to prepare his speech and it didn’t come out in his final work and he told me it is politics”.

    “There are people who told Mr. President that this woman cannot be a national hero. Yes but sometimes people just write. Let me tell you it is part of what the guest speaker is going to tell us today on how health mix with politics.”

    “So when someone becomes Mr. President, pity him because he does not take all the decisions but receives blames for what he did not say.”

    He however assured that he will expose those who were against announcing Adadevoh as a national hero in his book.

    Speaking on politics and health, he said even at the World Health Organisation politics goes on.

    “Let me just say that health will always be part of politics and politics part of Health. Ministers’ are politicians,” he added.

    In his earlier welcome address, Prof. Ngim Ngim MDCAN president said the honour to Adadevoh was deliberate as she was yet to get the recognition that she deserved.

    He said, “The honour on late Stella was a deliberate decision as we believe that not enough have been done to appreciate her sacrifice and to immortalised her.”

    Ngim therefore called on the government to take steps to immortalised Stella.

    He also urged medical practitioners to play active role in the politics, stressing that there is no way the practice will address the health challenges without playing politics.

    In his lecture, Prof. Akin Osibogun was of the opinion that the contribution of MDCAN may yet set the tone for the expected national debates ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    He also urged medical doctors to be active player in what is happening in the country and not allow themselves to be shut out if they intend to address the chronic health challenges in the country.

     

  • PDP and the plea for forgiveness

    The top policy-makers of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) think, in self-delusion, that they can take for a fool’s ride the swarming number of Nigerian workers, tax-payers and voters whenever they so desire.

    That, truly, was the attitude that they betrayed when, in what was an after-thought or shallow show of remorse, for nearly two decades of maladministration, by the PDP, they unsealed their beaks and begged Nigerians to forgive them.

    Since Nigerian voters are no fools, it’s doubtful whether they will hearken to the plea of the PDP for a long time to come. Recall that the sixteen years of the PDP administration, which featured President Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, was the longest by any democratically-elected political party in the history of this country.

    Recall, also, that out of a misplaced sense of security and invincibility or an exaggerated sense of privilege, the same top-policy makers of the PDP, parroted, for a fairly long time – in a show of arrogance – that their party would “govern or rule Nigeria for sixty years”. The party succeeded in governing for only a quarter of its leader’s projection.

    By the PDP’s plea to Nigerians for forgiveness, the party’s chairman, Uche Secundus, who made the plea did so from the mistaken belief that Nigerians have no sense of history. And even if Nigerians were to give a nod to that plea, the PDP leaders should not delude themselves that they would be brought back to power in 2019. Is it that the PDP wants to come back to power to continue with crass leadership, especially gargantuan corruption for which it was – and still is – famous?

    The PDP does not deserve to be forgiven by Nigerian voters who it has hurt so badly. If it were, indeed, remorseful – that it had sloughed its ugly wasteful financial habit, it should not have dollarized its recent Port Harcourt convention.

    That dollar jamboree was an indication that the PDP leaders would rather the Naira sinks in exchange to the dollar. Besides, Nigerian voters are waiting anxiously for the PDP leaders to convince them that their presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is not being economical with the truth concerning his tax declaration.

    That’s the same Atiku who was, for eight years, Nigeria’s vice-president. He is a nomadic politician who has flirted with diverse political parties in his bid to become president. He should tell Nigerian voters his role in the poor performance of the PDP up to the period when the recent recession set in.

    Given the harrowing experience of bad leadership, under the PDP, Nigerians – especially voters – have come to the conclusion that there is a grave danger in forgiveness. They have resolved never again to trust the PDP, rather so naively as they did to have allowed it to misdirect the affairs of the country for nearly two decades.

    And if the leaders of the PDP were, indeed, contrite for their maladministration between 1999 and 2015, they should realize that Nigerians now have a renewed sense of history. Therefore, Nigerians would rather the Buhari administration be given a second chance so that he would remain in power until 2024.

    Hopefully, within the distance, Boko Haram would have been history, that it rightly deserves, and the economy back firmly on its feet based, primarily, on a robust contest between agriculture and crude oil.

    Nigerian tax-payers, whose tax money was squandered, and voters, whose invested trust and confidence in the party were shattered, have resolved that the PDP as a party and its leaders should be denied further role in the politics of the Fourth Republic; into the political Siberia should they all be sent. That was the ringing statement that they made in 2015, when the voted massively for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    And yet, as most Nigerians who cast their vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Muhammadu Buhari – its presidential candidate in the 2014 elections, would honesty attest, the unusually long years of the PDP dominance of the Nigerian political firmament was an agonizing period of the locusts. And the ugly effects are still being felt today: if, it’s not the recession that the PDP bequeathed the Buhari administration, it was the culture of mindless and flagitious looting of the country’s treasury by its members at all three tiers of government.

    If it was not Dasukigate – a corrupt and treacherous betrayal of public trust, in which more than two billion dollars meant for the motivation of the Nigerian military and purchase of top-class materiel for its operatives was shared amongst a handful of top PDP officials, it’s the ongoing insurgency by the Boko Haram terrorists group, the attendant destruction of life and property in mainly the North-East geo-political zone and the kidnap of Chibok and Dapchi school girls in the region.

    Time there was, during the sixteen years of the PDP administration, when Nigeria was so buoyant that crude oil – upon which her economy was heavily dependent – sold for nearly $150. Whatever happened to all that huge funds? The PDP leaders should explain in detail to the Nigerian tax payers and voters that they expect to vote for them in 2019 general elections.

    Sixteen years of PDP administration was, therefore, a grossly mismanaged opportunity for political advancement and sustainable economic opulence. With such an egregious record of criminal profligacy in the management of the economic fortunes of the country, why should the PDP, however deep its contrition, be ambitious to govern this country again? With the PDP’s poor performance, Nigerians were bitten by a venomous snake and they have always been suspicious, since then, each time they saw a rope.

    Whichever way you look at it, the PDP would go down in the history of political development in Nigeria – for as long as the Fourth Republic lasts, say – as the party to have proudly invented or invited terrorism of a monstrous proportion – a la the Boko Haram group – to the country.

    Left to the PDP, amidst Dasukigate, Boko Haram would have been a way of life: let there be countless camps of internally displaced persons; let villages be torched or flattened by impoverished explosive devices (IEDS) and let there be an open field of deserted villages and towns.

    But it’s on record that for his gallant fight against Boko Haram, Dasukigate and ocean-deep corruption, and that very well explains why at, Buhari was crowned as the continent’s foremost fighter of corruption a recent summit of the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The PDP should be thanked for its gargantuan corruption which not only made that unique crown possible, but also sharpened Buhari’s integrity profile!

    On account of the huge corruption perpetrated by the PDP, it’s been argued that Nigeria’s economic development has been set back by nearly 30 years. Indeed, the World Bank and some development economists figure that given the depth to which the PDP has drawn the Nigerian economy, it would require nearly $280 billion, in the next twenty years, to rebuild the devastated parts of the North-East geo-political zone, re-tool the country’s four refineries so that they could be efficient to purify crude oil for local consumption in place of wasteful importation of the product, improve upon security, roads, health centres, education and reactivate such ports of Warri, Onne, Koko, Port Harcourt, so as to ease the huge burden on the Lagos ports.

    It’s to the credit of the Buhari administration that it unearthed the Dasukigate. Otherwise, what the PDP meant by Dasukigate was that it could plunder the Nigerian treasury at will and go almost unscathed. And, so, let the country’s military be starved of sorely-need funds and the Nigerian economy should, naturally, collapse.

    If Nigeria was going to be a failed state – a country in which insecurity reigns supreme and teeming graduates of tertiary institutions roam the streets, in search of non-existent jobs, so be it.

    • Uzuakpundu, a former senior editorial staff with the Daily Times, writes from Lagos.

  • World Science Day: Scientists call for research, infrastructure development

    As the world celebrates World Science Day for Peace and Development on Saturday, November 10, as adopted by the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), scientists urged government at all levels to focus on Research and Development for the growth of the science and technology sector.

    The scientists made the call in separate interviews with our reporter in commemoration of the day in Abuja.

    World Science Day for Peace and Development, marked annually on Nov. 10 was adopted by the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2001.

    The day was set aside to highlight the important role that science has in the society and the need to engage wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues.

    The theme for this year’s celebration is “Science, a Human Right”.

    The day is marked to drum up support for increased research in science and technology, as well as educate the world on the importance of applying findings to achieve development around the globe.

    Dr Spencer Onu, the Director, Centre for Satellite Technology Development (CSTD) said that science and technology were the keys to developing any nation.

    He said that “Nigeria is not there yet in terms of developing Science and Technology because we need increased and serious funding to develop the sector”.

    Onu, however, recognized that with President Muhammadu Buhari, and the leadership of the science ministry, science budget had relatively increased, adding that it was a ray of hope.

    He added that “For the first time in the science sector, budget for the sector has increased, meaning that this administration understands the capability of the sector.

    “We can do more in terms of investing in science and technology infrastructure for better development.”

    The scientist identified that with the use of science and technology, especially space satellite technology, conflicts could been monitored and that had given the government credence to mitigate in such situations.

    “Through satellite images, crisis, movement of troops has been detected, thereby ensuring the safe relocation of people and the protection of properties,” Onu said.

    Dr Daniel Okoh, the Coordinator, Space Environment Lab, Centre for Atmospheric Research, said that with the dynamics of science and technology, major cities of the country should have been under surveillance to mitigate incidences of crime.

    Okoh said “the level of science and technology application is backward in Nigeria because by now, we should have had cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt under surveillance.

    “If criminals know that surveillance cameras are watching them, they will conduct themselves and when they are not aware of it, footage from the cameras can be used to detect crime.

    “The Ministry of Science and Technology should focus more on Research and Development (R&D) and as well adopt the application of products from researches,” he added.

    He explained that the application of science and technology with reference to communication technology over the years had been used to reduce tension.

    “In 2015 after the general elections and results were called, former President Goodluck Jonathan put a call through to President Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him.

    “With that singular act, he calmed a lot of tension that was already building up in the country and for the maintenance of peace,” Okoh said.

    According to him, deploying science and technology can increase crop yield, develop irrigation farming and ensuring food security.

    He said that if food production was not measuring up to the high population of the country, people would have to fight over having food to eat, but irrigation farming had mitigated that.

    Professor Falaiye Oluwasesan, the Head of Physics Department, University of Ilorin, said science and technology had played a great role in the advancement and maintenance of peace.

    Oluwasesan said that it had enhanced productivity and assisted in making security easier.

    He, however, reiterated that the science and technology sector could advance more if the government invested in research and development.

    “Government should invest in science research so that we can have results that can meet necessary challenges.

    “For me, the Nigerian government is not doing enough because we have scientists, researchers that don’t have adequate working tools, thinking of how to raise money to attend local and international conferences.

    “We are even more challenged that some go as far as collecting loans to sponsor their basic research and at the end, when it is presented to the government, it will be dismissed.

    He called on government to take a holistic approach in ensuring that the science and technology sector was developed to meet expected standard.

     

    NAN