The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Goodluck Jonathan

  • Rivers anarchy

    Rivers anarchy

    •Another round of bombings calls for the President to intervene now!

    The unfurling theatre of the absurd in Rivers State is avoidable but for the deplorable politics of bigotry that is regrettably gaining ground in that jurisdiction. Every passing day, the state is transgressing into turmoil, arising ostensibly from political distrust between the Presidency and Governor Rotimi Amaechi over President Goodluck Jonathan’s bid to secure the state in preparation for his strictly guarded re-election bid in 2015.

    The battle for the soul of Rivers State has, regrettably, been taken too far; it has now got to the hallowed Temple of Justice. The bombings of courts of law, the final arbiter in societal resolution and last hope of the common man, in the name of politics, is a dangerous dimension; it portends grave omen for democracy. The examples are, sadly, numerous.

    The Rivers State High Court in Okehi, headquarters of Etche Local Government Area, was razed on Monday with several documents burnt. Preceding this, in quick succession, was the bombing of the State High court on Omoku Road in Ahoada, headquarters of Ahoada East Local Government Area on Sunday night. Few hours after this weekend incident, an explosive device was equally discovered within the same court’s premises.

    This is the court of Justice Charles Wali, who in one of his most recent rulings gave an order stopping Evans Bipi, a legislator, from parading himself as Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly when a de jure speaker is still in place. The court was earlier bombed in the dying days of last year. Its first bombing, immediately followed the despicable bombing of the office of Tele Ikuru, the deputy governor, by yet-to-be identified persons. What could be responsible for these dastardly acts? Could they be a stern but repugnant way of nerve-racking judges in the state from valiantly dispensing justice?

    We could discern an evoking regime of palpable fear in Rivers State, where inhabitants now worry over when and where the next bomb will explode since their safety can no longer be guaranteed by the state. This is, due largely, to no fault of the governor as chief security officer but the activities of President Jonathan and his wife, through their devious agents in cahoots with the police leadership in the state. Sadly, the criminal elements that Amaechi’s administration had reportedly chased away from that jurisdiction are currently staging a shameful comeback in their bid to make the state ungovernable; with the police always looking the other way.

    We condemn what is happening in Rivers State.  The faceless, unscrupulous elements riling the state with turmoil, for selfish reasons, should be fished out. We can only interpret the Rivers’ court arson to mean a gradual relapse of the country into the better forgotten tyrannical military era, particularly the reign of Gen Sani Abacha when snipers mauled down lots of notable Nigerians, mostly in their prime, but also included the aged. While democracy ought to have put that distasteful era behind the nation, it is sad that President Jonathan is hopelessly watching as the state, one of the most economically important states in the country, is being put on fire for parochial political reasons.

    The only way the presidency can convince us that it is not stoking this ember of discord in the state is to ensure that those responsible for the court bombings are apprehended and prosecuted. This becomes absolutely necessary before such an inimical trend escalates to other parts of the country. We will hold the presidency responsible if sanity is not quickly restored in Rivers State, in the overall interest of democracy in the country.

  • Rivers High Court bombed

    Rivers High Court bombed

    Another set on fire

    PDP, APC in blame game

    The political crisis in Rivers State seems to be getting worse, with Sunday night’s bombing of the high court on Omoku Road in Ahoada, headquarters of Ahoada East Local Government Area.

    Besides, an explosive device was discovered yesterday within the court’s premises.

    Also yesterday, the Rivers High Court in Okehi, headquarters of Etche Local Government Area, was razed. Documents were burnt in the incident, which Council Chairman Reginald Okwuoma described as a deliberate act by the opposition to ensure the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.

    The Registrar of the Rivers High Court in Okehi, Ken Dappa, was shocked by the burning of the court by yet unknown arsonists. He described the incident as “condemnable”.

    The main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers chapter, accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being behind the violence in the state, but PDP Chairman Felix Obuah blamed those he called government agents for the bomb blasts.

    The representative of Omuma/Etche Constituency in the House of Representatives, Ogbonna Nwuke, who is a former Rivers Commissioner for Information, said attacks on courts’ premises were “senseless”, noting that enemies of democracy were at work.

    The Officer-in-Charge of the Bomb Squad of the Rivers Police Command, Taiwo Akingbeyin, and the command’s spokesman, Ahmad Muhammad, confirmed the “explosion” in the Ahoada court and the razing of the Etche court. They urged residents not to panic.

    A senior member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), who would not want to be named, was at the Ahoaha court for his clients’ cases. He said the bomb “seriously damaged” a section of the court housing the secretariat of the NBA, Ahoada Branch.

    The lawyer also said that yesterday morning, a wrapped object, suspected to be another bomb, was discovered within the court’s premises.

    Joint Task Force (JTF) officers cordoned off the area as workers, lawyers and litigants scampered to safety.

    The court, presided over by Justice Charles Wali, who is handling the suit on the speakership of the state’s Assembly between Otelemaba Dan Amachree (who represents Asari-Toru Constituency) and Evans Bipi (Ogu/Bolo, First Lady’s ex-domestic aide), could not sit.

    The judicial workers, litigants and lawyers, according to the lawyer, were asked to vacate the premises.

    On December 18, last year, Justice Wali’s office and car park were hit by explosion at 3 am. A guard on duty was missing, two days after the judge restrained the self-acclaimed speaker (Bipi) from parading himself as the Assembly’s helmsman.

    The motion on notice for interlocutory injunction was adjourned on December 16 till yesterday for hearing, but the court could not sit yesterday because of the explosion.

    The main opposition party, in an online statement by the Interim Publicity Secretary of the Rivers chapter, Chief Andy Nweye, titled: “APC condemns Extension of violence to the Judiciary by the PDP”, described as barbaric, the bombing of the Ahoada court.

    APC said: “We totally condemn the present resort to physical violence against the judiciary and officials of court in Rivers State by members of the PDP.

    “The extension of violence to the judiciary in Rivers State by the PDP and their agents started to assume a dangerous dimension, after Justice Wali of the Ahoada High Court granted an injunction on December 16, restraining the member representing Ogu/Bolo in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Evans Bipi, from parading himself as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

    “A few hours later, the court building was bombed by suspected PDP members/agents. In the night of Sunday, January 5, elements suspected to be members of the PDP bombed an Ahoada High Court building.

    ”Less than a week earlier, the PDP had widely circulated a press statement, signed by the PDP Chairman, Mr. Felix Obuah, claiming that the Governor of Rivers State was trying to use the same Ahoada High Court to protect the Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Chief Chidi Lloyd, a claim that is vexatious, malicious and patent falsehood.

    “The Ahoada High Court complex has been cordoned off by the police, because of two objects confirmed by the police to be bombs, planted on the premises. These bombs have been planted by the PDP and its agents, to prevent the sitting of the Ahoada High Court, for the hearing of arguments on interlocutory injunction barring Evans Bipi from perpetually parading himself as Speaker of the State Assembly.”

    The party said rather than file papers and argue their case in court, its opponents had resorted to preventing the court from sitting through planting of bombs at the court premises.

    The statement went on: “Just yesterday, six individuals reportedly linked to Hon. Evans Bipi and Senator George Sekibo (the representative of Rivers East Senatorial District, an ally of the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience, who wants to be Rivers Governor in 2015) were arrested on their way to Ogu/Bolo with seven AK-47 assault weapons, among others, by men of the JTF.”

    The party said the arrest of the six associates of Sekibo and Bipi had confirmed its worst fears that the PDP had resorted to using terrorism as official party policy.

    It insisted that it had every reason to strongly believe that the arrested, well-armed six men were part of the ruthless snipers PDP trained for use against political opponents.

    APC said: “Despite the PDP openly announcing the verdict that Justice Adama Iyayi-Laminkanra would give on the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council case, many weeks before the verdict was handed down, the APC did not resort to violence against the person of Justice Laminkanra, her court and any member or institution of the judiciary in Rivers State before, during and after the verdict was given.

    “We are deeply surprised that despite the obvious perpetration of these dastardly acts of violence against the judiciary by suspected members of the PDP and the GDI (Grassroots Development Initiative, which has as Grand Patron, the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike), the Rivers State Police Command and other security agencies in the state are yet to make arrest and it appears that they are not in any hurry to investigate this spate of bombings and attacks.”

    The opposition party also pleaded with the authorities to compel security agencies to wake up to their responsibilities of securing lives and properties of the state’s residents by promptly arresting, investigating and prosecuting all those involved in violence.

    APC stated that the quick action should be taken by the security agencies, to avert a situation whereby individuals and groups would resort to self-help.

    The representative of Omuma/Etche Constituency in the House of Representatives (Ogbonna Nwuke) also said the razing of the Okehi court raised many questions, especially why any reasonable person would want to attack court premises.

    Nwuke said: “Enemies of democracy are at work. Those who do not want to respect the rights of others, those who do believe in the rule of law and those who have no regard for people’s lives are at work.

    “The law enforcement agencies should apprehend these faceless persons, who for political reasons, think the best thing to do is to turn Rivers State into an environment of terror. This is the worst thing that should happen in this country.

    “The judiciary should take note that there are people who do not believe in the rule of law there are people who do not believe in the justice system and there are people out to intimidate others by all means, all in the name of politics.”

    The former Rivers information commissioner also urged law enforcement agents to protect the interest of the common man, which the judicial process represents.

    Nwuke added that emphasis must be placed on the fact that people could find justice when they go to court, have access to the law courts, with the judicial officers adequately protected.

    Obuah said: “The case that temporarily restrained Hon. Evans Bipi from parading himself as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly was to come up today (yesterday) at the Ahoada high Court.

    “Our team of lawyers, made up of over 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) from Abuja and Lagos arrived at the Ahoada High Court this (yesterday) morning to argue for the vacation of the interim order and saw the senseless and barbaric destruction of the Court.

    “The PDP makes bold to suspect that the reported bombing was carried out by the agents of the Rivers State Government to prevent the court from sitting, so that the court would not be able to vacate the interim order made by the Ahoada High Court Judge, Hon Justice Charles Wali.

    “Their aim also of bombing the Ahoada High Court is to further create a state of insecurity in Rivers State, to justify their continuous call for the removal of the State Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu.

    “The PDP wishes to remind Rotimi Amaechi and his agents of darkness that the interim order issued by Justice Charles Wali of the Ahoada High Court lasted for only seven days, and it has since expired. Therefore, bombing the court to prevent it from sitting is a wasted, wicked, callous and shameful exercise by agents of Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    “The PDP condemns Rotimi Amaechi’s desperation for power and assures that Amaechi will be held responsible for any breakdown of law and order in Rivers State.”

    Justice Wali also ordered that the status quo ante bellum prior to the July 9 fracas on the floor of the Rivers House of Assembly be maintained.

    He ordered that Bipi must stop calling himself, acknowledging, allowing himself to be addressed as speaker or writing to any person/authority whatsoever in that capacity.

    The judge also restrained Bipi from presiding either at plenary or committee of the House as speaker and acting in any manner whatsoever as the speaker.

    Bipi must also not do anything to obstruct, hinder, prevent or disturb Amachree from performing his duties as the speaker. Security agencies to enforce the order.

    The suit was filed by the Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly (Amachree) and his deputy, Leyii Kwanee, with the Rivers House of Assembly, other lawmakers and the security agencies as defendants.

    Bipi, however, vowed never to obey a “kangaroo” order, insisting that he remained the speaker.

  • Setbacks cast doubt on Jonathan’s political survival

    Setbacks cast doubt on Jonathan’s political survival

    Can President Goodluck Jonathan wriggle out of the quagmire he has been boxed into by the opposition? The rope seems to have been tightly fixed on his neck with the series of unprecedented setbacks, reports AFP.

    President Goodluck Jonathan is facing an uphill battle if he seeks re-election next year, after a series of unprecedented setbacks that have raised doubts about his political survival.

    The perceived damage to the 56-year-old’s stock has led to questions about whether he can bounce back and whether his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could be heading for its first national electoral defeat.

    Last month, Nigeria’s former head of state Olusegun Obasanjo accused Mr Jonathan in a critical, 18-page open letter of failing to tackle widespread corruption and piracy as well as kidnapping and rampant oil theft.

    He even claimed that Mr Jonathan was training a private militia to silence critics on a political “hit list”.

    The dust had hardly settled on the resulting row when the PDP lost its parliamentary majority, as 37 lawmakers in the lower House of Representatives joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Some PDP members of the upper house Senate are now expected to follow suit, handing a further potential advantage to the main opposition, just as parties gear up to hit the campaign trail.

    “I think he (Mr Jonathan) is a very weakened president at the moment,” said political analyst Clement Nwankwo, director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, in the capital Abuja.

    “He’s been a failure and he really has to do a lot to win back popular support,” Mr Nwankwo told AFP.

    Political commentator Dapo Thomas suggested that with the PDP riven with in-fighting, it was now make or break time for Mr Jonathan.

    “He has to choose between the service of the party and the realisation of the damage of his own political ambition,” said Mr Thomas, from Lagos State University.

    “He has to drop one and allow the party mechanism to operate freely.” Mr Jonathan, a Christian from southern Bayelsa state, stepped up from vice-president to become acting head of state in February 2010 when Umaru Yar’Adua fell ill.

    He took over the top job after Yar’Adua’s death, going on to secure a popular mandate in the 2011 presidential elections.

    Mr Jonathan has yet to announce whether he will run for re-election in 2015.

    But he has been accused of ignoring an unwritten PDP rule that presidential candidates rotate between Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north and the Christian majority south.

    That issue is seen as a contributory factor to the defection of five high-profile state governors to the APC in November, which in turn prompted lawmakers to cross the floor.

    He is also widely seen as having failed to address major concerns about graft, inadequate development and poor infrastructure, and to end the bloody Islamist insurgency in northern Nigeria.

    The president vaunted his government’s achievements of sustained economic growth and job creation in his New Year’s message while the PDP denied it was irretrievably damaged.

    The recent defections were an example of democracy in action, said national publicity secretary Olisah Metuh, even as the APC hailed the apparent shift in the balance of power as a new dawn for Africa’s most populous nation.

    “We have seen movement on one side maybe in the last quarter of last year,” he added.

    “Let’s wait until April. Maybe the PDP will be larger that it was before.

    “In 2014, we are predicting that the PDP will be larger than it was before. Don’t forget that the PDP got the people elected. It’s a party that Nigerians love.” Mr Nwankwo acknowledged the opposition’s hand had been strengthened but said the defections were still no guarantee of electoral success and presidential power could yet help swing support back to the PDP.

    Nevertheless, he suggested the problems may have reached such a point that recovery was impossible, forcing Mr Jonathan to make way for another candidate.

    Mr Thomas said the longer the president failed to tackle the issue, the more damage it would do to the PDP.

    Mr Jonathan needed to rule out standing again as soon as possible and remove the party chairman Bamanga Tukur, who is seen as having been parachuted in as the president’s man, he added.

    “It’s better that he does it now so he can save the party,” said Mr Thomas, who lectures in international relations and history.

    “I don’t see the party’s fortunes improving. I see continuous decline of the party because the defections are going to continue to be on the increase for as long as this disenchantment persists.”

     

  • Clark berates Obasanjo over open letter to Jonathan

    Clark berates Obasanjo over open letter to Jonathan

    Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark yesterday berated former President Olusegun Obasanjo for writing an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Obasanjo, in a December 3, 2013 letter to Jonathan, raised several issues, including allegation that 1,000 Nigerians were under political watch.

    Snipers, the former President also alleged, might have been undergoing training to pounce on Jonathan’s political enemies.

    Obasanjo raised several national and personal issues in the open letter.

    Dr Jonathan had replied to the various issues the former President raised in the missive.

    But Clark, in a letter dated January 3 and obtained last night in Abuja by our correspondent, denied Obasanjo’s allegations.

    He described Obasanjo’s allegations as “mere diabolical concoction and a figment of his imagination”.

    The Ijaw chief also denied the allegation that Jonathan was surrounded by his kinsmen, saying they were among the plans to discredit Jonathan ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    Clerk said of Nigeria’s 64 ambassadors, only three were Ijaw, while no Ijaw man was a vice chancellor of any of the 36 federal universities.

    He said only Oronto Douglas is the Ijaw among the 18 advisers the Senate approved for Jonathan.

    According to him, Ijaw has three federal permanent secretaries out of 70, while there are two Ijaw ministers out of 42.

    Clark said corruption was worse under Obasanjo than it was under the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha.

  • ‘I‘ll turn Ekiti around in 18 months’

    ‘I‘ll turn Ekiti around in 18 months’

    Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant Mr Bisi Omoyeni has said that he will turn around the for tune of the state within his first 18 months in office, if elected as the governor.

    The former deputy governor spoke with reporters at the end of the PDP stakeholders’ meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in Aso Villa, Abuja. He promised to tackle youth unemployment, hunger and poverty in the state.

    He said: “Ekiti people are suffering in the midst of plenty. Our youths are in despair; their future is in danger because of our indolence, insensitivity and lack of adequate planning. God has blessed us with enormous material resources. The only thing that is needed is the managerial and leadership capabilities with which we can turn around the fortune of the Ekiti people”.

    Omoyeni added: “Turning around Ekiti is not a rocked science. What we need is the will, focus, experience and a workable plan to bring the best SME’s model to Ekiti, a model that will create small and medium business holdings, cottage industries and farm groups, utilising the economy of scale, which will encourage the utilization of intermediate technology for the rapid economic development of our dear state.

    “With the potentials in agriculture, we can scale up the production of our numerous cash crops to improve household income earnings, and this will trigger a production-based economy, which we have always desired.”

    The banker-turned politician urged the people to elect leaders with the right attitude, experience and character in the next election.

    Also, the leadership of the PDP has commended Omoyeni for his humility and maturity, stressing that he has been pursuing his ambition in a peaceful manner.

    Speaking in Ode, the Chairman of the party in Gbonyi Council, Hon. Israel Ajayi, urged other governorship aspirants to borrow a leaf from Ohe said: “This is the kind of leader that Ekiti deserves for now; a man with impeccable character, a humble and respectful leader, a paragon of peace and progress and a good listener. Ekiti people will be happy to have Omoyeni as governor on October 16, this year”.

    The aspirant called for unity and cooperation among the contenders, saying thait is the only panacea to a peaceful election.

    Omoyemi said: “We must reason together, we must work together and chose a candidate that can defeat the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the next election. We all know this time, it is the turn of the South. In the South, we are aware of where the votes are. We cannot afford to gamble. We must make the right choice in the interest of all”.

  • Can Nigeria still meet the MDGs targets?

    Can Nigeria still meet the MDGs targets?

    SIR: In September 2000, about 189 heads of states and governments gathered to reaffirm their faith in the United Nations and to adopt the UN Millennium Declaration. The eight key Goals and 21 Targets that were set and agreed to be attained on or before 2015 are: eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women, reduction in child mortality rates, improvement in maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria other diseases, environmental sustainability as well as developing a global partnership for development.

    Almost 14 years after, Nigeria’s attainment of the set goals have been rated differently from good to bad and to worse, depending on who saying what. One thing that is glaring however is that life has not been a bed of roses under the harsh economic climate prevailing in the nation.

    At a Water Summit held recently, President Goodluck Jonathan stated that Nigeria needs over N350 billion annually to meet its water and sanitation targets. Vice President, Mohammed Sambo,was also quoted as saying at a Stakeholders’ Meeting in Abuja that “Although Nigeria has made significant strides in reducing maternal mortality from figures that were above 1000/100,000 live births in 1990 to 545/100,000 live births in 2008, attainment of the health MDGs still remain a challenge in Nigeria, as the current annual reduction in under-five mortality of 4% is far below the 13% annual reduction needed to bend the curve to attain Goal 4 by 2015”.

    For the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Nigeria is among the 38 countries that have already met the internationally-set hunger eradication targets ahead of 2015!

    The status of MDGs in Nigeria indicates that the country is unlikely to meet most of the targets because the incidence of poverty is reported to have increased from 54.4 percent in 2004 to 65.1 percent in 2010 while about 10 million children of school going age are out of school.

    Even though successive governments have worked assiduously in ensuring that compulsory Universal Basic Primary Education becomes the right of every Nigerian child, achievements so far recorded in the sector leave much to be desired. The National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education has stated that 35 per cent of Nigeria’s estimated 160 million population, about 56 million is considered to be illiterate. Other contending educational issues include inadequate funding, examination malpractice, poor performances recorded in public examinations and industrial unrest.

    With about a year to 2015, African countries should rather begin to think beyond the magic year. The post 2015 development agenda should recognize the changed context of the world, the changing geography of poverty and the need not only to improve the content but also put in place an accountability framework.

    • Adewale Kupoluyi

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

  • Tension of civility 

    Tension of civility 

    •The president erred in describing the political unease today as normal

    The first Sunday of a New Year usually presents a platform for spiritual homily in churches. The one for 2014 was not different except that President Goodluck Jonathan at the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), Area 1, Abuja, where he went for the first Sunday service of the year gave an extempore speech that attempted to distort the reasons behind political tensions in the land. He declared at the COCIN service: “….the political environment is always noisy all over the world. There is nowhere you won’t hear so much noise. Even the United States of America, not long ago… was almost shut down. For so many months, people were worried that the country that had practised democracy for so many years could get to that situation. But that is politics for you.’’

    The president missed the point through his incongruous comparison on the shutdown in the United States with what is happening in our country. We recollect that the President Barrack Obama administration from October 1 to October 16, 2013, suffered a shutdown and curtailed most routine operations after Congress failed to enact legislation appropriating funds for the 2014 fiscal year. And it is on record that regular government operations did not resume until October 17 after an interim appropriations bill was signed into law by the Republican Party dominated Congress. The United States matter arose out of disagreement over policy issues and not petty personal ambition/other detrimental considerations that remain the root cause of political tensions generated in the country by the Jonathan presidency.

    We know that the intent of Mr. President was to downplay the festering of odious bitter rancour that his presidency has foisted on the nation. In vain can anyone decipher what the president sees as normal in the tension of impunity his reign has created in the country. For a start, could it be that the illegal use of Police institution to circumvent democratically elected Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state by Mrs. Patience Jonathan, with obvious support of her husband, something normal in a democracy? The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) chairmanship election witnessed democratic murder when 16 governors taking sides with the president claimed to have won the NGF election over 19 other governors? Shamefully, the president hosted the defiant 16 after the election to a meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. Is the kind of tension generated by this disdainful electoral abracadabra what the president sees as normal? We ask again: What about the illegal short payments and later outright non-payment of states’ monthly allocation by the current administration? The president and his wife have generated more tension, albeit for the wrong reasons. Sometime last year, Mrs. Jonathan received an honorary doctorate degree from a foreign university at a time when the nation’s universities were under lock and key. Could tensions from all these be normal?

    We recollect that disarray in the ruling party has become serious distractions to governance. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, an acknowledged benefactor of President Jonathan, wrote a damning letter in which he accused him of, among others, corruption, bad governance, putting 1000 personalities on a watch list and regrettably, of training snipers in preparation for the 2015 elections. Could avoidable apprehension arising from these weighty allegations deemed to be normal in a democracy? More alarming is that members of the mega opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) are justifiably scared of their lives because of the wanton impunity with which Jonathan rules over the country.

    President Jonathan should learn to put issues in correct perspectives. His deficiency in this regard might be responsible for the wrong approach to most state policies embarked upon by his administration. We want tension of civility and decorum, not Jonathan’s officially created ones through crass presidential impunity.

    NGF)

  • Governorship aspirant unfolds plans

    Governorship aspirant unfolds plans

    Former High Commissioner to Canada and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State Ambassador Dare Bejide has said that his administration will focus on youth development, if elected as the governor.

    He called for a vibrant youth policy, urging the government to meet the needs of the vital segment of the population because of its volatility and vulnerability.

    Bejide said: “We, as a nation, need a robust and meaningful youth policy that should be a strategic anchor of sustainable agenda for transformation.”

    The PDP chieftain spoke in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, where the PDP National Youth Vanguard performed his investiture as its patron.

    Noting that the youths constitute about 65 per cent of the population, he said that “this calls for constant re-thinking, re-assessment of priorities, adequate financial resources and effective implementation of policies.”

    Bejide lamented that youths have resorted to crime and other social vices, owing to unemployment.

    He lauded the intervention programmes of President Goodluck Jonathan for the youths, including the Youth Empowerment Programme, Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria and SURE-P, adding that they have reduced unemployment.

    The politician charged the youths to “act as agents of change, instead of waiting for the government to do everything for them”. He also urged the PDP National Youth Vanguard to rise to the task of “sensitising the youth to their roles and responsibilities in society.”

    The National President of the group, Hon. Beke Apere, said that Bejide was honoured because of his credentials and antecedents as a prominent and dedicated leader of the PDP.

    The Southwest Coordinator, Hon Dele Dumiye, and Ekiti State Coordinator, Ambassador Gbenga Olofin, described the aspirant as a mobiliser and rallying point for the PDP in Ekiti State.

  • President Jonathan’s 11th private jet!

    President Jonathan’s 11th private jet!

    The presidency has made a proposal for an upfront deposit of N1.5billion for a brand new private jet, what will become the Presidential Air Fleet’s (PAF) 11th aircraft. This figure is contained in the details of the 2014 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan through the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

    The Federal Government has budgeted another N1.52b for the maintenance of the 10 aircrafts currently in the PAF in 2014 and it is now set to spend just about that amount on a new one. This prodigious squandering of tax payers’ money is reckless and irresponsible.

    The PAF already boasts of two Falcon 7X jets, two Falcon 900 jets, Gulfstream 550, one Boeing 737 BBJ (Nigerian Air Force 001 or Eagle One), and Gulfstream IVSP. Others are one Gulfstream V, Cessna Citation 2 aircraft and Hawker Siddley 125-800 jet. The combined estimated value of the PAF is about $390.5m (N60.53bn).

    According to industry experts, it costs a minimum of 20 percent of that figure to maintain them annually. So we’re looking at about $58.57m (N9.08bn) yearly for maintenance. Private jets are money guzzlers either in the air or land.

    The proclivity of this administration for frivolous spending is well documented and has been severely criticised in the past for the colossal amount of embezzlement, rip-off and wastage that has been the hallmark of this government. The rationale behind this new aircraft in the PAF must be condemned in hash tone.

    Apparently to hush the cacophony of voices that will rise in opposition to the proposed new jet, the presidency in their usual deceitful manner, have made part payment for what can best be described as a completely unnecessary toy of comfort to an already bloated Nigerian PAF. If he can’t travel in any of the ten jets in PAF’s possession then there’s absolutely no need for an eleventh except if he needs a new one every time he flies to match the strip of his outfit.

    At a time we would think the numerous editorials and Op-Eds have served their purpose on the insensitive frivolity that the spendthrift of the inept leadership of the Jonathan government now symbolises, then came this new proposal. We must continue to resist their recalcitrance. This lavish lifestyle must be curbed.

    The squandermania in government is extended to the large entourage that accompanies Mr. President on his foreign trips; one can only imagine the millions spent on hotel bills and estacodes that accrue for the government officials. According to reports, world leaders are stunned at the strangely large number of hangers on Mr. President’s entourage. The recent trip of President Jonathan in the first week of January this year to Kenya and the hullabaloo about his entourage is apt.

    It is shocking that the same people who have budgeted millions for this new flying toy are aware that the country has no national carrier as I write. It is shameful that the PAF is about the third largest fleet of aircraft in the country with a total of 10 aircrafts, coming closely behind Aerocontractors with 12 and Arik Air, the largest commercial airline in Nigeria with a fleet of 23 aircrafts. Nigeria happens to be one of the few countries in the world with such a large PAF. It is ridiculous that this is happening in an aviation sector that is dominated by foreign airlines. Nigerian carriers are going under due to cash constraints. Countries with visionary and focused leadership like Malaysia, Ghana, South Africa and a host of others across Europe maintain only one aircraft in their PAF.

    As the much publicised take-off of the proposed national carrier before the end of the year failed, it won’t be out of place to make a case for the government to seriously consider converting the PAF to a national carrier, retaining one or two for use by Mr. President and his co-travelers. The private jets can form the hub of the charter aircrafts.

    What better example can be set by a national leader like British Prime Minister, David Cameron, did in 2010 when he slummed it out to fly from London to Washington in business class of a commercial airline. He was caught on camera swanning around the world in hired jets. He flies around the world on British Airways! Had it been in Nigeria, security risks, flight delays are few of the sundry reasons government officials would give for not flying commercial airline. The U.S President, Barack Obama reportedly pays for his food, ours spend almost a billion naira to entertain himself and members of his government yearly.

    It amazes many Nigerians who watch in utter disbelief the gross absurdity and profligate nature the government of the day has gone about every business of governance. It leaves us in quandary how an administration headed by a former university don, one who had the humblest of beginnings – walking barefooted as a schoolboy – as well enunciated and trumpeted when he begged Nigerians for votes in the months leading up to the 2011 elections, turned the country’s ‘plunderer-in-chief’. To see him frivol the Nation’s resources in a manner that betrays his humble personae and upbringing is no betrayal of an innate part of him he cunningly hid from us.

    This government has embarked on some ridiculous white elephant projects like mere renovation of official residences with billions. We can recall the uproar that greeted the N2.2billion allocated to the construction of a plush banquet hall, last year, with the lame excuse that what the country had was way smaller than what other tiny African countries boast of.

    In this part of the world, only citizens are asked to cut costs, make sacrifices; the pains of today are incomparable to the joy of tomorrow are some of the ‘blues’ we get daily from government. In the same breath, political office holders to our chagrin take their spending to absurd heights. Sacrifice is a language that the over 60 percent impoverished population must understand while our leaders continue their obsession with living in opulence. They sacrifice nothing. In these circumstances, how do you convince the various Labour unions who are waiting on the flanks to embark on strike to press home their demands that there are no funds to meet their grievances? Downturn in government’s finances would be a hard sell in a situation where the presidency is competing with individuals for private jets.

    It is lamentable that at a time when we still haven’t seen the infrastructural dividends promised with funds freed up from the partial fuel subsidy removed, the president is more concerned in splashing billions on banquet hall, renovation of residential apartments and covert medical tourism trips abroad.

    President Goodluck Jonathan should take a break from his aimless globe-trotting in his PAF and use his multi-million naira bullet proof motorcade, to navigate round Nigeria all year round to feel the pangs and yearnings of ordinary Nigerians. This way the presidency can bring governance closer to the people.

    This squandermania in the face of limited resources extends to the federal bureaucracy that has brought about an increase in the number of ministries from 21 to close to 40 with the number of ministers jumping in equal quantum or even more.

    President Joyce Banda of Malawi will be of immense help in taking our freeloading political office holders through a crash course in government prudence. As a friend of Nigeria, she will oblige.

    Ilevbare is a public affairs commentator. Engage him on twitter, @tilevbare. He blogs at http://ilevbare.com.

  • Pension: Labour demands stiffer sanctions against non-compliance

    Pension: Labour demands stiffer sanctions against non-compliance

    The organised labour has called on the National Assembly to take advantage of the  on-going pension reform amendment Bill 2013, to tighten sanction for non-compliance and review the rate of contribution, among others.

    Speaking at the opening of National Pension Commission, PenCom zonal office in Kano, Vice President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),  Comrade Issa Aremu, urged the government not to politicise the appointment of the Chairman and Director-General, of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

    Aremu, who is also the General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), commended PenCom for changing the story of pensioners from that of agony to taht of joy with the contributory pool fund and sustainable fund for pension claims after retirement.

    His word: “PenCom’s remarkable growth and development in just less than 10 years of its establishment, shows that Nigeria is capable of institution building. With 20 PFAs (Pension Funds Administrators), seven closed Pension Fund Administrators, four Pension Fund Custodians with turnover of billions of naira, about N3.7 trillion worth of pension fund assets and 5.83 million registered workers, Pencom deserves commendation.

    “We acknowledge the fact that the Director-General of PenCom, Mrs. ChineloAnohu-Amazu, has within a short time consolidated the gains of the past by her predecessor, opening new frontiers as we are witnessing today.  North West Zonal office in Kano has added to the number of Zonal Offices that have been commendably commissioned by PenCom, namely Lagos, Ilorin, Calabar and Awka.

    “With the opening of PenCom’s Northwest Zonal office in Kano, we expect Kano State to soonest also join the new contributory pension scheme.

    “The old defined benefit scheme as good as it could be is not sustainable. With the new pension scheme, there is good corporate governance, strengthened Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, with guaranteed transparency and accountability.

    “All the revelations about the public sector pension scam show that we must urgently think outside the box of unfunded, crime-prone defined benefit (DB). The future lies in the mandatory individual defined contributions which the Pension reform Act represents.”

    “The bane of public sector pension lies in its non-contributory character as well as sheer corruption and diversion of funds even allegedly for partisan political purposes. NLC protest in the past over pension is legitimately directed against this much abused non contributory public pension scheme. The challenge lies in deepening the new contributory pension scheme.”

    Aremu commended President Goodluck Jonathan for trying to deepen and strengthen the pension scheme through the Pension Reform amendment Bill 2013.

    He said it is good that the Pension Reform Act is being amended to further widen the scope of coverage to include the informal sector.

    “We, therefore, call on President Goodluck Jonathan to avoid the temptation to politicise the positions of Chairmanship of the Board of PenCom as well as its Director General.  We should rely on those who have the experience and competence to manage the fund.”

     

    “They are not far-fetched if we look inwards.  The President should have an eye on institution building which requires statesmanship and not partisanship.  We cannot afford to play politics with the new pension scheme given the ugly experience of the recent past. From the point of view of labour, the pension scheme will be a determinant factor for 2015 general election.

    “Labour will make pension issue a campaign issue and will support only politicians who pay minimum wage and minimum pension for working men and women,” Aremu said.