The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Goodluck Jonathan

  • Fatal attractions

    Fatal attractions

    Since his “original sin”, of opportunistic suspension against Justice Isa Ayo Salami, retired president of the Court of Appeal, President Goodluck Jonathan appears continuously drawn to the fatal attraction of essaying constitutional impunity; and see if it would stick.

    It stuck with Justice Salami, though since the jurist retired with his honour intact, the president should have known his victory was pyrrhic.

    This is because perpetrators of injustice almost always fall victims of their own machinations. Take the president’s collapsing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Time was, when PDP would actively lure sitting governors and legislators from other parties, and declare the illicit lure the height of patriotism and political nobility, since the “biggest party in Africa” was the law, and the law was the “biggest party in Africa”.

    But the same PDP is now whining like caned dogs, after being forced to swallow its own specially brewed impunity!

    Or take the president’s estranged godfather, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. At the height of his presidential impunity, PDP was Obasanjo and Obasanjo was PDP.

    After the collapse of the third term gambit; and after the imposition, willy-nilly, of the health-challenged Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the czar got his party to purposely amend its constitution to make the chair of the PDP Board of Trustees the exclusive preserve of former presidents from the party — a euphemism for Obasanjo himself!

    But see how the old lion has now turned prolific public letter writer, just to retain a toehold on the party! Verily, verily I say unto you, to parody that famous Biblical phrasing, impunity all too soon consumes its own children!

    Still, neither PDP’s plight nor Obasanjo’s would appear to have weighed much on the president’s mind, in his tango with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

    This Day reported President Jonathan phoning Mallam Sanusi; and literarily barked that he resigned his office forthwith, for allegedly leaking, to the former president, the letter alleging US$ 49.8 billion “missing” from the Federation Account.

    An apparently miffed Sanusi reportedly called the president’s bluff; adding that only a presidential request, backed by two-thirds majority of the Senate, could abridge his fixed five-year term.

    Again, the president had blundered into the myth that the Nigerian president was the globe’s most formidable Leviathan. He could well be. But anytime he strays outside the law, he becomes a Samson shorn of his divine locks!

    If the President-CBN Governor face-off is a short-and-sharp defeat of impunity, the recurring Rivers crisis is a chain of defeats, but with impunity, fired by “federal might”, always bouncing back.

    Is it then a case of the proverbial tortoise in the Yoruba folklore, that swore never to return from a journey until he was disgraced?

    Ironically, the Jonathan Presidency’s apparent fixation with the Rivers crises bears uncanny resemblance to Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa’s fatal attraction to the Western Region crisis in the First Republic.

    By precipitating anomie in Rivers, maybe to politically profit from the ensuing anarchy, might the Jonathan presidency be working towards imposing a state of emergency to get rid of Governor Chibuike Amaechi, just as the Balewa government contrived one out of nothing to politically liquidate Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the rump of his Action Group (AG)? And after emergency, what?

    Of course, President Jonathan denies everything. Even his spouse, Dame Patience Jonathan, denies all. But incontrovertible facts point to presidential complicity, by commission or by omission, in the sordid affair.

    For starters, how come Mbu Joseph Mbu, the commissioner of Police (CP) whose tenure the Rivers looming anarchy birthed with, appears untouchable? Neither the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) nor the president is willing or able to touch him, despite his politicising the police, and baiting anarchy in the state he is paid to secure.

    Then, Evans Bipi and his claim as “Speaker” — a claim so comical, if it were not so tragic! But then if in the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) election, the president of the Federal Republic could declare 16 greater than 19, what stops Bipi from declaring six greater than 26?

    And to think the so-called “Speaker” was product of a failed legislative coup which main victim, the battered Michael Okechukwu Chinda, is still probably abroad on medical tourism! Where is Bipi getting his Dutch courage from?

    And then, the Rivers chief presidential storm trooper, Nyesom Wike, Jonathan’s minister, with his Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), fighting for every inch of the political space, with a colluding police behind him. All three, Mbu, Bipi and Wike, are unfazed Jonathan sympathisers and votaries of his wife.

    Incidentally, Mbu just claimed his latest scalp in Senator Magnus Abe, a Save Rivers Movement (SRM) kingpin, sitting senator and Amaechi sympathiser, shot by Mbu’s police on January 12 and flown abroad for treatment. Hear Mbu crow on the senator’s felling: “If we used live bullets,” The Nation quoted him, “you know the implication. If a live bullet hits your hand, it will shatter the hand and if it hits the neck, the person is gone.”

    Abe and co should learn the grim lesson: while Wike’s GDI has an unfettered charter to prowl, SRM, in Mbu’s police state, would do so at fatal risk! And for starry-eyed Amaechi supporters, it could be worse next time round — when rubber bullets become real ones!

    That goes back to the Balewa-Jonathan parallel: how the one misused, and the other is misusing, state coercion for partisan ends.

    In Sir Abubakar’s case, the late prime minister had ethno-political motives to run Awo and his AG out of town, though the famed “golden voice” was himself regarded a gentleman. But all that nobility vanished with his Northern People’s Congress (NPC) agenda to crush Awo and his AG. But the principal federal players back then got buried under their own impunity.

    In Jonathan’s case, it would appear some strange spousal fealty, that seems to have dimmed presidential faculty on how far the impunity can go.

    Still, spousal folly has buried many. The fearsome Samson became a Philistine jelly because he ensnared himself with Delilah. The wise Solomon, in uxoriousness, ploughed the ultimate in folly. The Roman Mark Anthony, for Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, forfeited his life and share of the Roman Empire.

    And in 1936, British King Edward VIII abdicated his throne for the warm bosoms of American Wallis Simpson, a serial divorcee. He enjoyed that warmth for 35 years. But the stiff price was his and his descendants’ renunciation of the British throne.

    To be sure, the Jonathan camp are no devils any more than the Amaechi camp are saints. But to unleash state organs as political vendetta, especially on a state government constituted by law in a federation, is tantamount to treason.

    Dr. Jonathan is a learned man; a logical adult who knows the consequences of his choice. Still, the easy attraction of impunity in Rivers is dangerous. It might yet turn fatal!

    On Rivers then, Jonathan has the First Republic Western Region misadventure to profit from. He can learn from history — or be consumed by it!

  • GEJ vs. SLS!

    GEJ vs. SLS!

    By now, Nigerians must be sufficiently alarmed at latest turn in events over the ‘missing’ $49 billion. By this, I do not mean the frenetic pace of book reconciliation said to have brought the figure to $10.8 billion, or even the more shocking attempt by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to pass off the $10.8 billion as routine “expenses”. Rather, I am talking of the reported altercation between President Goodluck Jonathan and the rambunctious Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

    The story is that the President ordered – on phone – the CBN governor to hand in his letter of resignation. The latter, who had all along indicated his intention to proceed on his terminal leave effective March, had, according to the reports yet to be denied by the authorities, pointedly told the President that he would not be stampeded out of office. As if to give flesh to the story, the CBN governor would later be reported as convoking a ‘family meeting’ where he told his staff that he would now be staying put until the very last day of his term – in June!

    Understandably, opinions would remain divided over the question of whether Sanusi’s continuing stay in the office was still tenable in the aftermath of the finding by the reconciliation team that the ‘missing’ money was nowhere the $49 billion claimed in Sanusi’s September letter. Now, I have also heard that the letter was actually leaked to embarrass the President. The argument of course continues to go forth and backwards on the propriety of the government banker ‘squealing’ on the same government.

    Let me state that these are unusual times. It requires extraordinary times for the government’s top banker to write to the President alleging a whopping discrepancy of nearly $50 billion in the nation’s finances without the benefit of a formal acknowledgement of the latter for nearly the whole of three months. And more extraordinarily – we have since found out that the top banker didn’t even get his sums right before putting pen to paper on a subject that should ordinarily be within his remit!

    More intriguingly, now that the letter marked – KIV by the President– has now become the hot potato in street corners, the President appears to have resolved to kick the butt of the inveterate squealer – as against those of the outrageously inept, figure-juggling gate-keepers in the NNPC!

    No doubt, there is a tribe out there who would swear that Sanusi was disrespectful to the person and the office of the President. To this tribe, I guess it’s no use seeking to persuade them – or anyone for that matter – to be sober in their appraisal of the situation; not now after what is perceived to be Sanusi’s latest insolence against the person of the President. I guess its part of the notion of the Nigerian Presidency as the most powerful one on the face of the earth – something I describe as the Kabiyesi syndrome. It sums up to the notion of an all-knowing, unchallengeable institution, an illusion that continues to be sold and bought by many Nigerians.

    In this, I was drawn to re-read the typically illuminating piece by my brother and colleague, Segun Ayobolu with the title Transformational Power of the Nigerian presidency published December 28 last year. Although the subject was on the potentially transformative power of the office when properly deployed; he drew clear examples from the nation’s recent experience to illustrate how it has often been deployed more like a force for evil – rather than good. Today, when Nigerians talk about the power of the number one office, they hardly ever do so in the sense of the intendments of the constitution but in the context of wilting institutions or what is now the penchant by the incumbent to press state institutions in the service of ignoble causes. Yet, it is to the credit of the framers of the nation’s constitution that they actually inserted enough safeguards to guard against arbitrary use of power and to ensure that actors play by the rules.

    Much as the President’s ego may have been ruffled by the Sanusi indiscretion, he and his advisers ought to know that he cannot remove the CBN governor by executive fiat. I don’t think there is any dispute as to where the ultimate power resides. The CBN Act is explicit enough. Section 11(2)9F): “A person shall not remain a Governor, Deputy Governor or Director of the Bank if he is removed by the President – provided that the removal of the Governor shall be supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be so removed”.

    Now, the danger of the misadventure of the past week is that the aura and authority of the office may have been damaged irreparably. More worrisome is that the two outsized egos would not give up until one side is thoroughly vanquished. And just when you begin to wonder what the whole fuss is about, you are reminded that it is not about getting people to account for the $10.8 billion which the creative fellows in the NNPC insist we pass to their imprest account, or the needed overhaul of the shambolic public finance system under which a corporation does as it pleases with the commonwealth.

    No; it’s as simple as GEJ vs. SLS!

    Where do we go from here? If you ask me, I’ll just say that the President blew the chance big time. Sanusi’s suspension – an extra-constitutional step by the way – may please the presidency’s hounds so ready to draw blood. May we also remind them there is something described as the rule of unanticipated behaviour in power relations? How about stoking a fire you can never accurately predict the extent of its conflagration?

    Have I canonised Saint Sanusi? Far from it. If you ask me, I think the whole thing smacks of disorderly conduct on his part. Why would the man not disappear after the extravagant goof if not for the mortal sin of impudence? So, he does not want to be disgraced from office? Since when did hubris become a badge of honour? And where is honour here: staying put when you are clearly unwanted? Since when did Sanusi begin to worry about his legacy of double standards? Is it now that his hypocritical posturing is being laid bare as his exit nears?

  • Jonathan vs Sanusi: Stakeholders urge caution

    Jonathan vs Sanusi: Stakeholders urge caution

    The letter from the Central Bank Governor (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi alleging that $49.8 billion was not remitted by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Federation Account raised dust last week. President Goodluck Jonathan’s advice that Sanusi should resign for allegedly leaking the document to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has met with varied reactions, with stakeholders calling for truce, reports COLLINS NWEZE.

    Unprecedented. That was the simple interpretation a senior banker gave to President Goodluck Jonathan’s advice to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to resign.

    Jonathan had accused Sanusi of leaking a letter on the supposed non-remittance of $49.8 billion by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Federation Account to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. This formed part of the kernel of a scathing letter Obasanjo wrote to Jonathan.

    While denying the allegation, Sanusi was quoted to have rejected the President’s advice, arguing, quite rightly, that it would take the Senate’s two-thirds to sack him. Expectedly, the development has elicited varied reactions from across the divide.

    Many who spoke on the issue have called for caution on the part of the President in the interest of the economy. They said it was left for Sanusi to either take the advice or leave it, adding that the President lacks the power to kick him out.

    They referred to Section 11 Sub-section (2) (f) of the CBN Act of 2007, which stipulates that the CBN Governor cannot be removed by mere pronouncement of a president. The section gave the conditions under which the Governor can be removed, such as the Governor being convicted by a court; where he is declared bankrupt, or by the President after securing the backing of two-thirds majority of the Senate. “A person shall not remain a Governor, Deputy Governor or Director of the Bank if he is removed by the President: Provided that the removal of the Governor shall be supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be so removed.”

    Chukwuemeka Eze, Lead Counsel, Eze & Associates, said President Jonathan is aware that Sanusi cannot be removed by mere advice. “The President cannot remove him and he knows. That is why he advised him to resign, and mind you, resignation is a voluntary act. The Governor can take the advice or decline. If the Governor says he is not leaving, there is no law that can remove him. Legally speaking, Sanusi’s tenure is sealed till June 2.”

    Eze said the best bet is to allow him serve out his tenure because the heat that will be generated by a continued debate on the matter would be more injurious to the economy than forcing him to go.

    However, Eze said based on the sensitive nature of his position in the economy, Sanusi should have, firstly, written the NNPC to reconcile the figures. If the NNPC failed to give him the needed response, then, he could notify the President.

    Ekene Odum, Senior Lecturer, Labour Law at the Lagos State University (LASU), said the CBN Governor was appointed by the President, and this takes effect after the Senate confirmation. “The President cannot just wake up and say Sanusi should go. The President can suspend him. He can be disciplined, but can’t be removed without the concur of the Senate,” he said.

    He admitted that as the Chief Economist of the Federation, the leaked letter was a major embarrassment, adding that the Governor was too hasty to write the President. “Such writing has the capacity to cause confusion in both the local and international markets. Still, it would have made Sanusi a hero were the figures gotten totally right. But he made a statement only the brave could make,” he said.

    He continued: “If it is confirmed that the President asked him to go, it will be an unfortunate scenario that could heat up the polity and economy. Remember that $49.8 billion is different from $10 billion. Still, $10 billion is a huge amount of money.”

    He said despite the stalemate, the President should allow him to do his job and not push him out of office, having performed creditably at the CBN.

    “It is human to err, but that should not take away his glory. Until he leaves, he still has the right to advise the President on economic matters, but whether such advice will be taken or not remains a different matter entirely. The President has technocrats that can advise him on economic matters, but to stampede or disgrace him out of office is not right,” he explained.

    Odum insisted that it was only during the military era that a sitting CBN Governor could be forced out of office, adding that there has never been any such precedence in constitutional democracy. “During the military era, yes, he could be forced out. But in the era of constitutional democracy, it has never happened,” he said.

    However, Dr. Austin Nweze, Senior Lecturer, Lagos Business School, said even though some people are lauding Sanusi for a job well done, he has caused a lot of problems for the economy, saying the President’s order that he quits is in order and should be respected.

    He said Sanusi should have confirmed the right figures on NNPC remittances before writing the President, adding that such attribute is unbecoming of the Central Bank Governor, the fallout of which will be a minus for the economy. “It is definitely going to affect the economy negatively,” he said.

    He said the Governor discouraged banks from taking business risks, which has affected the lenders’ drive for businesses. “He is long-overdue. The President should have sacked him three years ago. There is urgent need to rectify the damages he has done to the economy. If he leaves now, he will be the first CBN Governor to be sacked. What the President has told him is that he does not have confidence in him,” he said.

    Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, said the President may not have told Sanusi to resign. According to him, Sanusi’s position remains strategic to the economy and if the President wanted to advise him to resign, it won’t be on the pages of a newspaper. “I don’t think that the government can say so. Until I am convinced, I won’t comment on the matter. I doubt the authenticity of the letter. I need to observe before commenting,” he said.

    Ademola Areago, a Constitutional lawyer based in Lagos, said if Sanusi must go, such act will lead to all kinds of signals. Firstly, such act will create feelings of political and economic instability in the country. “The CBN is banker to the Federal Government and the CBN Governor is also the Economic Adviser to the President. Now, if he bothers to give advice at all, what type will he be giving?,” he asked.

    Sanusi has the key to the strong room and vault of the country and the way he leaves is important. “The whole world is watching because it has not happened in any country before. The way the information was handled was wrong. It raises the issue of confidence and investors both local and international are watching,” he said.

    He argued that the fact that the President made his intention to remove him public is enough damage to the economy. That, he said, means that he is working against the President’s will.

    “This type of situation is unprecedented. He is not asking him to go because of inefficiency. For now, Sanusi is hanging on to the law. It will not be easy at all because the statement will be sending all sorts of signals,” he said.

     

    Chairman, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Monday Ubani, said the face-off portends great danger for the economy.

    He said Sanusi is in charge of the CBN’s vault and any altercation between him and the president is not healthy for the economy.

    Ubani said there is a breakdown of communication between President Jonathan and Sanusi, an indication that the apex bank’s helmsman may be frustrated about certain economic issues. “Sanusi does not want to be held accountable when something sinister happens to the economy. But President Jonathan must handle it with superior wisdom,” he said.

    The NBA boss agreed with Eze that Sanusi has the right not to resign because his position is tenured and must be allowed to run out. “Even if it is $1 billion that was found to be missing, there should be a ceasefire. President Jonathan should swallow his pride and allow the man to exhaust his tenure,” he said.

     

    The genesis of the problem

    The crisis started when Sanusi wrote the president alleging that $49.8 billion oil remittance that was supposed to have been paid by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Federation Account was missing.

    This letter, it was alleged, drew the ire of the President Jonathan who directed Sanusi to resign for allegedly leaking his letter on the “missing $49.8billion” to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo based on which the former president wrote a damning letter to him.

    The CBN governor allegedly denied any wrong doing, insisting that he would not be stampeded out of office. He insisted that it is only the Senate that could remove him and not a presidential fiat.

    It is believed that a statement by the CBN spokesman that the governor had told the workers that he would no longer proceed on a pre-retirement leave is a direct confirmation of Sanusi’s preparedness to stand on the point he made when he allegedly spoke with the president on phone. Presidency officials could not be reached for comments at the time of going to press.

     

    CBN reacts

    CBN spokesman Mr. Ugo Okoroafor has confirmed that Sanusi said he would no longer proceed on terminal leave at a “family meeting” with the bank’s staff. He spoke to reporters in Abuja on Sanusi’s tenure after a news conference on the execution of the bank’s Payment System Vision 2020 (PSV 2020) strategy.

     

     

    Implications for economy

    The implication of Sanusi’s forced resignation, analysts say, would be quite negative. First, a lot of foreign management partners will lose confidence in the management of the economy while the independence of the institutions that are part of the Central Bank and participating in economic management will equally be negatively affected.

    According to the Managing Director, SP&S Consulting, Debo Adebayo, reducing the power and independence of the CBN would send a signal of retrogression at a time others central banks are moving towards greater autonomy to enable them handle intricate financial crises.

    He said a strong economy anywhere is tied to the effectiveness of the conduct of its monetary policy. “You see, the monetary policy is a serious business; it could be very, very terrible to have a country where the monetary policy direction is doubtful. When a government subjects the conduct of monetary policy to political influence, you are not going to have a strong economy,” he explained.

    According to him, such development could hamper the effectiveness of monetary policy and the management of the macro-economic framework of the country. “The survival of the CBN is at the heart of the survival of the economy,”he warned.

     

    Swimming in controversial waters

    Appointed in the midst of 2009 debt crisis, Sanusi, 51, fired the chief executives of eight lenders within four months of taking office after an audit found evidence of mismanagement and reckless lending.

    His push for stability in the currency has helped bring inflation down to below eight per cent.

    But Sanusi’s actions have never strayed from controversy. He never stopped antagonising lawmakers by criticising their spending and courting controversy for his outspoken views, most recently on China’s role in Africa.

    In December 2010, lawmakers demanded his apology for saying a quarter of the government’s spending on overheads went to parliament and that was damaging for the economy. He refused, saying his estimates were correct.

    Again, two years ago, lawmakers attempted to whittle down the bank’s powers by proposing an amendment to CBN Act, hoping to strip him of his position as chairman of the bank’s board. They also pushed to include more external members on the board and have the National Assembly approve the bank’s budget.

    More recently, he criticised China’s role in Africa, saying it contributed to the “deindustrialisation and underdevelopment” in the world’s poorest continent. Africa must shake off its “romantic view of China” and see it as a competitor that’s “capable of the same forms of exploitation as the west,” Sanusi warned.

     

    CBN’s constitutional roles

    The CBN is empowered to maintain price stability and ensure a non-inflationary growth. It also has the responsibility to ensure a sound and stable financial system in addition to other developmental functions. These mandates and functions are peculiar to central banks across the world and no other institution plays such roles.

    These special responsibilities are enormous and have continued to pose increasing challenges to central banks largely because developments in the domestic and international economies create challenges in the financial systems and the art of central banking.

    Globalisation exemplified by economic and monetary unions has equally increased the challenges to central banking.

    Analysts insist that the effective discharge of these responsibilities requires that central banks be totally independent and shielded from political interferences.

     

    Sanusi’s successor

    According to Sanusi, whoever will be picked by President Jonathan to take over at the apex bank must be able to develop the market. “Central banking has changed. I think the market has developed. To be honest, if any Central Bank Governor misbehaves, the market punishes the economy immediately. So, the market is a major factor. Even as a governor, by the time your capital market crashes, and your currency goes down, you will know that it is either you restore stability, or you are out of the job. That’s important,” he said at a media conference held last month in Lagos.

    Analysts have tipped some of the CBN deputy governors among Sanusi’s likely successor. Deputy Governor, Operations, Tunde Lemo; Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Sarah Alade; and Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Kingsley Moghalu have been mentioned. Also linked with the job are: Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mustafa Chike-Obi; Managing Director, FirstBank of Nigeria, Bisi Onasanya and Managing Director, Access Bank, Aigboje Aig-Imoukuede and recently, Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga.

    Analysts insist the next governor will probably have a different outlook or perspective, but one thing that is sure, remains that the fallout of the altercations between the President Jonathan and Sanusi may have just begun.

  • Jonathan cautions elderly politicians over utterances

    *Says those decamping should decamp well
    *My ambition doesn’t worth bloodshed of any Nigerian, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan has urged elderly politicians in the country to promote peace and unity through their utterances.

    He gave the advice on Sunday while speaking at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day Service at the National Christian Centre, Abuja.

    Although he did not mention the name of the elderly politicians,he said that senior citizens in the age bracket of 70 or 80yrs who have seen it all and ought to know that the unity of Nigeria is more important than any individual interest have encouraged youth to hate and carry arms to kill others.

    Stressing that his ambition doesn’t worth bloodshed of any Nigerian, the President also advised those decamping to decamp well or those camping to camp well.

    He said: “We are also to emulate them. Those who have paid supreme sacrifice to keep out nation together, those of us who are alive especially leaders today should think of what we can do to honour them is to know that whatever we say, whatever song we sing, it should be a song that will bring honour to them and peace to this country.”

    “Sometimes I get worried when I listen to provocative statements that come from very senior citizens. People that ordinarily you perceive are very senior citizens. People who are probably 70 or 80 years who have seen it all who ordinarily should know the unity of this country is more important than the interest any individual.
    Sometimes they preach hate and even encourage young people to carry arms and kill themselves.”

    Speaking on his ambition, he said: “I have always said it that any ambition I have at any time is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. I will never ever expect a Nigerian to spill a drop of his blood because Goodluck Jonathan must fulfil his ambition.”

    “I pray that all politicians should know that there will be no nation if we kill ourselves, just like the Archbishop said if you want people to come out and vote why do you threaten them. If you threaten them people will stay in their houses and how do you intend to win election? Is it by manipulating the figures and declare yourself a winner?” He queried

    Jonathan continued: “So in an occasion when we are remembering those people that have kept this country one for us to be celebrating our centenary we should admonish ourselves the key actors today, we should preach peace, we should preach unity.”

    “If all of us collectively talk about the unity and peace of this country then of course all our economic, security problems will be resolved and the country will move in the direction we want it to.”

    “For the guest speaker we thank God for your message, the admonition when he was talking about those who want to camp should camp well and those who want to decamp should decamp well.”

    “Pray for us to always remember our fathers because we are in a political environment and politicians always have ambitions, we really appreciate your prayers.” He said

    He thanked the churches for their prayers noting that the challenges facing the country within the global trend could have been worse than what it is today.

    “Nigeria would have been two or more nations by now. But they worked for it, some died in the process, some died serving the world outside . These are the people we are remembering today.” He stated

    The President had earlier read the second Bible reading from Ephesians Chapter 6, verses 10 to 19a.

    Delivering his sermon before the President spoke, the Archbishop of Methodist Church of Nigeria, Abuja, Archbishop Job Oche advised politicians ahead of the 2015 elections to stop threatening Nigerians with their utterances as they will not come out to vote if they feel threatened.

    He said: “May I advise all politicians here to give us peace of mind. People have started to fear how 2015 will look like. If you need our votes, don’t threaten us. Begin to preach peace that will make us to come out and vote.”

    “Leave 2015 alone, God knows what to do with 2015. Leave the problems of tomorrow for tomorrow. Stop destroying one another because of ambition.

    According to him, the church has little to say on the camping and decamping by politicians stressing that ministers are also involved in decamping as some of them leave their churches after few months to set up their churches.

    He said: “On camping and decamping, the church has no answer to that because the church is also involved in camping and decamping. If after three or six months, a minister builds his own church, is that not decamping?”

    Noting that all rebellion can not stand the test of time, he said: “whether you camp or decamp, the Most High God will speak. Ambition knows no father.”

    Taking the congregation through Hebrews chapter 11 from verse 13, 2nd Timothy 4: 7, he urged Nigerians to do everything possible to keep Nigeria one so that the labour of past heroes will not be in vain.

    To keep Nigeria one, he urged them to contribute their quota instead of criticising the leaders.

    Calling on Nigerians to see the ongoing developments in the power sector, transportation, reducing unemployment rate and fight against corruption, he urged politicians to stop recruiting thugs and hired assassins in order to create a special place for themselves in politics.

    Also urging Nigerians to rebuke those who are power drunk, he pleaded with politicians to stop utterances that are capable of weakening the leaders, just as he advised Nigerians to perpetually love one another instead of hatred for other tribes or religion.

    He prayed that the peace of God will continue to prevail in Nigeria as the 2015 elections approaches.

    Some men of God at the service were also given opportunity to pray for wisdom and protection of the President and his family and the nation.

    One minute silence was observed in honour of the departed souls.

    Among those who attended the service included the Senate President, David Mark, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, Jonathan’s mother, Eunice, Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tony Anenih.

    Also at the service are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim, Pius Anyim, many ministers and other top government officials. Many widows, widowers and children and relatives of the departed souls also attended the service.

  • Tukur runs to Jonathan, Patience to save job

    Tukur runs to Jonathan, Patience to save job

    • May be ousted on Thursday

    • NWC members push for Acting Chairman till March

    • Don’t dump PDP, Tukur begs Obasanjo

    The embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is rallying President Goodluck Jonathan and the First Lady, Dame Patience, for their support to save his job.

    He is also banking on key members of the party’s Board of Trustees and some governors to triumph over the National Working Committee (NWC) members who want him out at all cost.

    His fate is expected to be determined at this week’s meeting of the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja.

    But after gauging the mood of all but one of the NWC members at a session with President Jonathan in Abuja on Thursday night, Tukur and his aides quickly launched a counter plot against those bent on his sack.

    Participants at the Thursday session shocked the president when they openly demanded Tukur’s exit, insisting that his retention as national chairman would spell doom for the PDP in next year’s elections.

    Bewildered by the development, President Jonathan postponed further deliberation at the meeting and made his exit.

    The Nation gathered that Tukur has been trying to convince President Jonathan that the plot to get rid of him by the NWC members is being sponsored by some governors who are bent on hijacking the party with a view to frustrating the second term bid of the president.

    He is said to have pinpointed a South-South governor as the arrowhead of the plot.

    Tukur’s supporters claim that some of the NWC members were bribed in the tune of N30million to N40million each to lead the campaign for his removal.

    The NWC members were adamant yesterday in their demand for Tukur’s sack.

    They said the recourse to bribery blackmail was an afterthought and a desperate bid by Tukur to cling to a straw to retain his post.

    They denied receiving any bribe from any governor to ask for the chairman’s removal.

    The NWC is rooting for the appointment of an acting National Chairman by the NEC on Thursday.

    The Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Uche Secondus, is being proposed for the position pending the election of a new National Chairman in March by the National Convention of the party.

    Investigation by The Nation revealed that Tukur has vowed not to step down as demanded by the NWC members.

    Sources said he has been with First Lady Patience Jonathan, some members of the Board of Trustees, and PDP governors on the call for his exit.

    A top source said: “Tukur is also pulling the strings in all relevant organs of the party to stay put in office. He believes those pushing for his removal are against the reforms being carried out in the PDP.

    “He said those against free and fair primaries are uncomfortable with him following plans to change the old order in the party when different rules applied at any given time.

    “He is also alleging that his exit might lead to the hijack of PDP structure by some governors which would make it difficult for Jonathan to get a second term ticket.”

    A source rubbished Tukur’s allegation that a South-South governor is responsible for his woes.

    The source said Tukur seems to have forgotten that the same governor has been a major financier of the party in the last two years.

    Another source said Tukur met with the president and the first lady during which he put them into confidence on the crisis in the party.

    The source said: “Tukur is banking on the president, the first lady and some governors for survival.

    “As we speak, he has been reaching out to NEC members to correct the wrong impression about him by NWC members. He is trying to secure the support of at least two- thirds of NEC members who are about 94.

    “He has a 50-50 per cent chance because the NEC is the highest decision-making organ of the party. Once the NEC passes a vote of no confidence in him on Thursday, he has to step aside.”

    A key factor in the degeneration of relations between Tukur and the NWC members, it was gathered, is the alleged resort to propaganda by the chairman’s camp that some NWC members had collected between N30million and N40million each to revolt against him.

    But they did not provide any proof as at the time of filing this report.

    A source in Abuja also said that the president may have been persuaded to let Tukur be.

    Several presidential aides are understood to have been making a case for Tukur with their principal on the ground that the party chairman has been loyal and committed to the second term project of the president.

    A member of the NWC said: “The degeneration of the crisis in the party is obvious.One does not need bribe to say the truth. Are they saying the G-7 governors who raised concerns about the party were also bribed?

    “No one has collected any bribe in the NWC. We are all men of integrity. Some people are just desperate to keep Tukur in charge for their selfish end. The reality is that PDP cannot win election with Tukur in charge.

    “PDP is getting divided on daily basis. It is more worrisome because there is no leadership structure in place. Tukur is running a one-man show, he does not carry NWC along.”

    Asked about Thursday meeting, the NWC member said there was no going back on Tukur’s sack.

    He said the NWC put Tukur to task at a session with the president on Thursday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and he could not respond to the allegations cogently.

    The issues raised were:

    •Holding party /NWC meetings at Tukur’s residence instead of the PDP Secretariat;

    •Running a parallel NWC, leaving Tukur to take decisions on critical party matters with only his aides;

    •Mass defection from the PDP due to lack of confidence in Tukur;

    •Governors, National Assembly members, BOT, NEC unhappy with Tukur;

    •No concrete achievements since Tukur took over in the last two years. He could not even complete the ongoing National Secretariat of the party;

    •Globe-trotting without any result to enhance the electoral fortunes of the party;

    •Lack of access to Tukur sometimes for two weeks.

    The source said: “The meeting was amazing and the president was shocked when he asked each NWC member to talk.

    The NWC source added: “We are standing by our agitation that Tukur must go. We have told the president, it is left to him to decide as our National Leader.

    “I can also tell you that the battle has shifted to NEC meeting on Thursday if Tukur does not resign before then. If he is sticking to his mandate, we will go to NEC to test our popularity.”

    NEC members had raised six posers for Tukur ahead of Thursday meeting.

    Some of the posers, which are contained in a document, are as follows:

    •What accounted for the breach of the PDP’s constitution on convening of NEC meeting?

    •What informed arbitrary and illegal suspension of top PDP members, including governors,and high-handedness by Tukur?

    •The rationale for unilateral dissolution of state Executive Councils by Tukur and NWC.

    •Why did Tukur’s NWC usurp NEC’s powers on the appointment of the Disciplinary Committee for the PDP at the national level?

    •Tukur’s position on the grievances of the governors and ways to prevent more defections, and

    •The party’s perspective on court rulings on the office of the National Secretary of the party.

  • Presidency, govs row over NEC, Council of State meetings

    Presidency, govs row over NEC, Council of State meetings

    •Abati: Jonathan has not violated any law

    A fresh disagreement is brewing between the Presidency and the 36 State governors on the state of the nation.

    The point of disagreement is the refusal of the central authorities to convene a meeting of the Council of State to address some pressing national issues and the irregularity of the meetings of the National Economic Council (NEC).

    The last NEC meeting took place last September 2013 instead of the adopted monthly system.

    The governors believe that President Goodluck Jonathan has relegated them and statutory bodies as recognized by the 1999 Constitution to the background, relying more on his Economic Management Team (EMT).

    But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati said his principal has not committed any constitutional breach.

    He said there is no fixed time or frequency in the Constitution for NCS and NEC to meet.

    It was gathered that the governors are unhappy with the Presidency for its refusal to convene a meeting of the Council of State to advise the President on the myriad of socio-political problems facing the country.

    These include the political tension in the country; growing intolerance among political parties; the ongoing mutual suspicion between the President and some governors; the proposed National Conference and the extension of the State of Emergency in three states in the North-East.

    The rest are: the crisis in Rivers State; fresh security challenges in Plateau, Borno, and Yobe with attacks on military formations; disagreement between the President and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on the state of the nation; proposed constitution amendment; the state of the economy, especially accruing revenue from oil and global challenges in the industry, and preparations for the 2015 poll which may dominate the third and fourth quarters of the year.

    Investigation revealed that although the President has been consulting with past leaders and governors individually as the need arises over the last one year, the governors believe a Council of State session would have been better.

    It was learnt that some members of the Council of State and governors have had to depend on their colleagues to seek clarifications on some policy matters.

    Sources said that the crisis in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and the attendant gain by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) are partly responsible for the non-convening of the statutory meetings.

    The Presidency fears that the polarization of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) may affect the deliberations of the Council of State and NEC along partisan interests hence the non-convening of the meetings.

    A governor, who spoke in confidence, said: “We are not comfortable that the President has been relying more on his Economic Management Team (EMT) than constitutional bodies.

    “For instance, I think there was only a Council of State meeting in March 2013. It means the President did not table some burning national issues before elders and governors for their input.

    “Yet, the EMT is unknown to the nation’s constitution. It is only a group designed to be a vehicle for policy direction for the Federal Government.

    “And in the last four months, there was no NEC meeting. By implications, we were kept in the dark on vital issues like the 2014 Budget.”

    Another governor said: “We have a lot of national issues begging for attention, we should not wait for the international community to talk to us before we convene the Council of State session.

    “You can see that the US has issued a statement on the killing of women and children in Plateau State. Do we need more reminders from outsiders before we sit as a team to address this challenge?”

    A third governor said he was worried about the situation in Rivers State.

    He said: “The Rivers crisis is a threat to the nation’s democracy; it is what the Council of State could wade in. We should not behave as if we are running elected dictatorship in the country.”

    However, when contacted Abati, said, “No part of the laws on the Council of State or NEC has been violated by the President and Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

    “The time and frequency of such meetings are not defined in the constitution. When the President deems it fit, he would invite them. If the government holds it twice or quarterly in a year, he will be in order. They should not jump the gun.

    “Section 5 of the Third Schedule (Part 1 ) to the 1999 Constitution deals with the Council of State. It makes it clear that it is an advisory council. So, members of the council can address the President when requested to do so. Even at that, I think the Council of State met twice in 2013.

    On the NEC meeting, Abati said: “The Council sat nine times in 2013. If you compare the number of NEC meetings with previous administrations, it is a record which no one has beaten.

    “Those four months you are talking about (when NEC was not held) coincided with public holidays and festive periods. Also, some governors had official schedule outside the country.”

  • The Stella Oduah conundrum

    The Stella Oduah conundrum

    ON his return from Jerusalem a few weeks ago, President Goodluck Jonathan was asked whether he had received the report of the panel he set up to look into the Stella Oduah scandal in the Aviation ministry, and what he intended to do with it. He struggled to hide his disdain for the question. He had received the report, he said curtly. He said nothing about what he intended to do with it. Like many reports on his table, so to speak, he has either not read them, or he intends to ignore them, or better still, let them mummify on his table.

    Recall that last September the president also received a letter from the Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, complaining about haphazard remittances from that most labyrinthine of Nigerian organisations, the NNPC. As he is wont, the president ignored the letter until it blew up in everybody’s face last December. Though Mallam Sanusi is the worse for wear over the letter, thus seeming to confirm President Jonathan’s tactic of ignoring a problem until it resolved itself or, better still, hurt his enemies, the Oduah report seems headed in that infamous direction.

    There is no other interpretation to give the president’s reluctance to tackle the Oduah scandal than to say he looks at ethics from a different prism from the one many world leaders are used to. He is probably angry that the scandal broke out in the first instance, and even more peeved that anyone is putting pressure on him to act. Why then did he bother to attend Mandela’s burial? To honour a man whose methods and principles his government stands in direct opposition to? Well, sooner or later, he will have to act, whether directly or through cabinet reshuffle, as some speculate. The controversy, no matter how angry he gets, will not go away until he buries that stubborn ghost.

  • PDP leaders not divided, says Metuh

    PDP leaders not divided, says Metuh

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said yesterday that the rank of its leadership remains one, contrary to media reports.

    It also said it was founded on the principles of social justice, national unity and the Nigerian project.

    National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said in Abuja that any suggestion that the PDP leadership was divided could only be a fiction.

    He said that the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) was not divided at its Thursday meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan and its members “not in any way influenced by any person whatsoever in presenting their positions at the meeting with the president.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, all members of the NWC took turns to make their presentations to the president in the meeting which dwelt on the domestic affairs of our party. No member was in anyway represented and none aired his or her view in represented capacity,” he added.

    Metuh also said that the foundation, ideological background, manifesto, constitution and sustained patriotic leadership of the PDP explain the reasons behind its national outlook and uncompromised commitment to social justice, unity of the country and the Nigerian project.

    He said:”We are imbued with internal mechanisms that guarantee enough space for all citizens to advance their views, interests and aspirations within the ambit of the wider national interest”, the party said, adding that in the next few months, it would be clear to all that the PDP indeed has no competition.

    ” Unlike some political organisations which are established purely to advance the lust for power and greed of their leaders, the PDP was formed by credible and patriotic Nigerians, solely committed to selfless service and entrenchment of democracy; the unity of the nation as well as the welfare and prosperity of the people irrespective of ethnic and religious affiliations.

    “Our ideological background and visions of our founding fathers which are based on the principles of social justice, equity and internal democracy have continued to play out in the selection of our leaders and candidates for elections at all levels since inception.”

  • I’m not anti-north, says Jonathan

    *Says National Assembly to get list of new minister on resumption
    President Goodluck Jonathan has  declared that he is not against the people in the northern part of the country.
    He said those making the claim were only blackmailing him.
    He made the remark on Thursday when the former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Defence Minister, Dr Haliru Bello Mohammed led some leaders and members of the PDP from the North West geopolitical zones on a solidarity visit to him  at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
    The states represented by about two hundred members of the party, on the visit are Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa.
    But only three state governors from the zone including Seidu Dakingari (Kebbi), Ramalan Yero (Kaduna) and Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) were on the entourage with deputy governor of Sokoto State, Muktari Shagari.
    Vice President Namadi Sambo and PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur were at the meeting comprising some serving and past members of the National Assembly and ministers.
    Jonathan at the meeting also said challenged critics to cross check and they will find out that his administration in the past two years and eight months have performed better than past administrations in the country.
    Promising that he will not interfere with the national conference process, he disclosed that the National Assembly will get the list of new ministers for screening as soon as the resume plenary session.
    He said: “Thank you for this unique visit. I say so because this is the first PDP group coming for a solidarity visit. Ethnic nationalities and different groups are coming but PDP stakeholders from either a state or a zone, this is the first visit so we appreciate. The north west is the first, for you to have done this it means PDP in the zone have been meeting, discussing and have been strengthening the party. This is critical because unity is strength in terms of political party as long as the PDP in the zone continue to discuss on how to stay together and work together to protect the interest of the party, there is no way any other party can come and over take us.”
    “There is so much noise in the media whether is electronic and newspapers or even social media, sometimes it seems as if the world is coming to an end. At times when they come to me with some of these things I smile and say from 1959 down the story has changed. Some people call themselves progressives they have done that before, did they change the system? Today if you can abuse Jonathan you are a progressive, if you can attack the federal government you are progressive, even if nothing is happening in your state you are progressive. We have seen the progressives.
    “But just like the Vice President said, PDP is still the number one party and it will continue to be the number one party. Yes people may have access to the media and use it robustly to their own advantage or disadvantage. But as long as we are united which we will do everything possible to keep the party together, PDP continue to dey dam dam. No shaking! Nobody should come and deceive you to cross over to the other side that you don’t know what is there.
    “Some people are crossing to where they don’t know, well we will know as we progress but collectively all of us working together with other members across the country, we will still be the leading party.” “There is no ward, no voting unit that you don’t have PDP members, in fact if you go to some areas they don’t even know this new name yet, even where to thumb print on the ballot paper they don’t even know. So be rest assured our party will continue to work together to strengthen the party and it will continue to be the number party in this country.”
  • Keyamo faults Jonathan’ on Service chiefs

    Keyamo faults Jonathan’ on Service chiefs

    •Lawyer threatens legal action within 14 days

    Rights activist Festus Keyamo yesterday criticised President Goodluck Jonathan’s refusal to sack the nation’s Service chiefs – chief of Air Staff, chief of Army Staff and chief of Naval Staff – five months after their appointments were voided by a court.

    In a letter yesterday, the lawyer claimed that since no one appealed the judgment delivered on July 1, last year, by Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the court’s decision remained valid and subsisting.

    He said: “As it is today, all official actions taken by the Service chiefs since the July 1, 2013, judgment was delivered, are null, void and of no effect in law. It only needs someone who is affected by their official actions to challenge their authority in a court.”

    Justice Adamu held that the appointments of Service chiefs without the approval of the Senate and the House of Representatives is null and void, in line with Section 18(1) and (2) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

    The suit was initiated by Keyamo.

    The lawyer’s letter, written yesterday and titled: Refusal to obey and comply with judgment in respect of appointments of Service Chiefs, was addressed to President Jonathan; Senate president and the House of Representatives speaker.

    “Till now, no appeal has been filed against that judgment. It goes without saying that all the present Service chiefs; Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (chief of Army Staff); Air Vice Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh (chief of Air Staff) and Rear Admiral Dele Joseph Ezeoba (chief of Naval Staff), were appointed without the confirmation of the National Assembly. Their appointments are, therefore, null and void ab initio,” Keyamo said.

    He regretted that the National Assembly, whose power to confirm the appointment of Service chiefs was activated by the judgment, refused to demand that President Jonathan obey the judgment.

    The lawyer threatened further court actions should the President and others refuse to act within 14 days.

    He added: “In fact, that is why the real intent of Section 18 of the Armed Forces Act is to subject the Armed Forces to civil authority.

    It is also pertinent to observe that neither the President nor the Service chiefs are constitutionally superior to the National Assembly.

    “As a result, the appointment of Service chiefs, which is political, cannot be different from other political appointments that require the confirmation of the National Assembly, e.g. the chief justice of Nigeria, justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), ministers and ambassadors.

    “Please, do not give Nigerians the impression that the military is still above the law.

    “The most embarrassing of this scenario is that the c National Assembly has refused to do anything to comply with the judgment when a court of law has clearly given life to that power. It is sad for our democracy.

    “In the circumstance and in the spirit of compliance with court judgments, obedience to and respect for the rule of law, I require that you direct, advise and enforce compliance with the judgment given on July 1, 2013.

    “If within 14 days of the receipt of this letter you all fail to act, I will have no option but to head back to the court to compel compliance.”