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Tag: Goodluck Jonathan

  • Festival of fabulous figures

    The ritual of budget reading is in season and Nigerians are again being entertained with figures that hardly yield results. It may be an indication of the Federal Government’s unserious intentions that the central individual traditionally expected to make the presentation to the National Assembly was missing, that is, President Goodluck Jonathan. Whatever interfered with his faithfulness to the responsibility deserves to be probed, for his absence sent an unsettling signal about his order of priorities.

    Intriguingly, Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who also goes by the grandiose title, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, was the face and voice of the administration at the event, a fact that perhaps betrayed the identity of who is actually in control in a government that has often been accused of ceding power to a small circle of dominant, if not domineering, women.

    The immediate puzzle arising from the show is the projected spending of N4.6 trillion for 2014 inadequately backed by anticipated revenue of N3.73 trillion. Next is the mystery that N1.1 trillion, about 27 per cent of the budget, is for capital expenditure, while N3.5 trillion, which represents about 72 per cent of the financial plan, is for recurrent expenditure. It is deplorable that, as the breakdown shows, a disproportionately greater slice of the funds is not meant for development purposes, but to oil the system, so to speak. With such uncreative approach to planning, is it any wonder, therefore, that the country continues to move at snail speed, to put it charitably?

    It is interesting that the budget also mirrored backwardness in a highly symbolic way. Or, what is to be made of the fact that the 2014 budget is lower than this year’s? Okonjo-Iweala’s explanation was food for thought. She said: “You can understand that we have some revenue challenges, which we had been very clear on all along because of the losses we suffered in terms of oil revenue. And also the losses from non-oil revenue due to the lower customs duties.”

    Tragically, illegal bunkering, vandalism and production shut-ins, which have been long identified as drawbacks to the country’s development, given the centrality of oil to its economy, are finally taking an intolerably destabilising toll on its budget estimates. Specifically, when Okonjo-Iweala in July appeared before the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Appropriation/Finance, she lamented that the country was losing 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to theft, which represents 20 per cent of the daily production capacity of two million barrels. Against this revealing background, it is time to recall the government’s politically motivated and counter-productive award of unjustifiably costly oil-pipeline surveillance contracts to some prominent ex-Niger Delta militia leaders. It looks like money down the drain, after all. Common sense suggests that it would have been more sensible, institutionally correct and perhaps more effective if the administration had instead reinforced the navy’s capabilities to arrest maritime crime, especially offences related to oil-theft. But it would appear that the administration is cerebrally challenged.

    Not surprisingly, against the background of widespread criticisms of alleged over-travelling by Jonathan, it is reflective of the self-focus of government to the detriment of the very people it is supposed to serve that a fascinating sum of N2.3 billion will be available for his junketing in 2014, according to the estimates. More importantly, to go by the figures, the presidency would spend over N8 billion as total expenditure next year. Significantly, in the outgoing year over N400 million was earmarked for the purchase of foodstuffs at the State House, which translates into over N1 million daily.

    It is difficult to resist the feeling that this episode is another mere celebration of figures, which is exactly what the people do not need. What truly counts are people-consciousness and reasonableness in the planning of government spending, which are clearly not guiding principles for this administration.

     

  • A season of open letters

    A season of open letters

    The General is at it again! When he is not openly criticising the man he facilitated his ascendancy to Aso Rock with his utterances, he is hobnobbing with state governors eyeing President Goodluck Jonathan’s seat and opposed to his second term aspiration.

    But his latest offering in the form of a narcissistic missive is a desperate attempt from his moral grandeur to salvage whatever is left of the wreckage of a crashed landed flight piloted by his stooge.

    The purpose of the mixed grill of a letter must be to rubbish the present administration and Obasanjo has succeeded, in turning himself to a hero, once again. Unfortunately, Nigerians have fallen cheaply for his uncanny ability to draw negative messianic attention to himself with his manipulatively tendencies.

    Little wonder, the reactions that have trailed his controversial letter are legion and everyone, wittingly or unwittingly, has been drawn to join in what is now widely regarded as the ‘shegedance’.

    The former president’s epistle actually overshadowed the attention another leaked complaint letter would have gotten. Dated 25 September to President Goodluck Jonathan from Mallam Sanusi Lamido, his revelation that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) – Nigeria’s cesspit of corruption – has failed to remit $49.8 billion, being proceeds from crude oil sales between January 2012 and July 2013 to the Federation Account elicited widespread outrage.

    But appearing before the Senate committee on finance, Mr. Sanusi, said an ongoing review of relevant accounts between the CBN, the NNPC and the ministry of finance showed that only $12 billion (N1.9 trillion) was missing as of yet.

    Without the patience to pen many pages of letter which will likely go unreplied and trashed at the State House, the number three citizen of the country, Speaker AminuTambuwal, on Monday, 9 December, at an event organised by the Nigerian Bar Association to mark the 2013 International Anti-Corruption Day, came down hard on President Goodluck Jonathan whom he accused of encouraging corruption with his body language.

    He cited examples with the recent Oduahgate that the presidency swept under the carpet while lamenting that anti-corruption agencies have gone to sleep.

     

    The media was still awash with Obasanjo’s letter ‘bomb’ to President Jonathan, as a response was still awaited when the eldest daughter of the Mr Obasanjo, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, joined the fray with an open epistle of her own to her father, not a response or “support to President Jonathan or APC or any other group or person,” she remarked.

    In the purported letter, she ruled out further communication with her father till death, describing him as a liar, manipulator, two-faced hypocrite determined to foist on President Goodluck Jonathan what no one would contemplate with him as president.

    Iyabo exposed how Obasanjo got away with many of his atrocities because “Nigerians were his enablers and people ultimately get leaders that reflect them.”

    Not forgetting the letter to Obasanjo (Daily Trust 15/12/2013) by a former chairman of the PDP,  Audu Ogbeh.

    In his narrative, he challenged Obasanjo over the role he played as then president, when he watched with glee from his seat of power in Aso Rock as rampaging thugs unleashed mayhem and made Anambra state ungovernable, kidnapping former Governor , Chris Ngige, and eventually swearing in his deputy, to cut a long story short.

    In the spirit of the season, a former Chief Justice of the Federation, Dahiru Musdapher, on December 20, weighed in with his own open letter to President Jonathan. He recalled how Jonathan brushed aside recommendations from the National Judicial Council and the Chief Justice of Nigeria to sack former Appeal Court president, Ayo Salami, ignoring firm arguments by the two authorities that Mr. Salami was innocent of allegations against him. Punishing Mr. Salami, they advised, would terribly dent an already integrity-deficient judiciary. But all these fell on deaf ears.

    Back to Obasanjo’s missive, the most weighty of all the letters since it is coming from a past civilian president to the incumbent. My brief here is not to dismiss the message with the wave of the hand because the messenger is guilty of more grievous offences. This will be akin to throwing out the baby with the bath water. There’s no way the message can be separated from the messenger, especially when the messenger is far worse than the recipient. However, it makes sense to review the substance of the message.

    Describe the former president’s letter with any negative adjective like these: hypocritical, satanic, demonic, messianic, self-serving, mischievous, deceitful and instantly, you paint a picture of a controversial epistle from a depraved man persistently tortured by the heinous crime he perpetuated in his eight years (mis) rule as a democratically elected president, culminating in a sham election that threw up a terminally ill Umaru Yar’dua and a docile Goodluck Jonathan.

    He knew the former could not survive one term let alone two. He was not oblivious that Jonathan was incompetent and nondescript, yet he craftily foisted him on us. Obasanjo advertised them both as the only pair capable of turning the country’s fortune around.

    The former president is the personification of everything wrong with Nigeria. He epitomizes corruption, irresponsible leadership, dishonesty, double standard. Our collective amnesia is the only reason anyone will heap praises on the Ota farmer for that letter.

    That said his message is apt for the season and should be taken seriously. The issues raised, though germane are common knowledge save for the part where he talked about 1000 people placed on political watch list and training of a presidential hit squad of snipers to take out perceived and real enemies of this administration

    Obasanjo’s 18 page diatribe will likely go the way of his four previous letters to Jonathan – The trash can. This letter is a reaction from the General’s bruised ego of his previous epistles that were ignored. Maybe Obasanjo should have paused to ponder why his previous letters were shredded considering it would have taken nothing to respond with Jonathan’s horde of frothing aides. Did he not think that Mr. President might have deemed it appropriate to convey in subtle manner the old aphorism: “silence is the best answer for a fool”?

    His missive dripped of charlatanism and unrepentant impunity that reminds us of a freed prisoner who falsely arrogates to himself the title of a ‘Statesman’. Here is a man who hunted his political foes with state instruments, he imposed his stooges in various political offices, undermined democracy with massive electoral fraud just as he flagrantly disobeyed court orders.

    There was fiscal unaccountability of astronomical proportions during his administration. He usurped the petroleum ministry, he is accused of human rights abuse by way of massacres in Odi and Zaki Biam. How can we forget Mr, Obasanjo’s futile attempt to change the Nigerian constitution with billions of naira to grant himself perpetual tenancy, or is it the $16 billion dollar he splashed out to his cronies in government to generate darkness?

    By accusing Jonathan of giving opposition parties support in gubernatorial elections was he trying to insinuate and admonish Jonathan to tamper with the electoral process and impose PDP candidates on the electorate against their wish?

    Obasanjo will easily beat anyone to be inducted in the country’s hall of shame for his recklessness and manipulative tendencies but that should not make us disregard his warnings particularly now that he realises that the man he installed as president is well on course to smash every infamous and dishonest record he set.

    Obasanjo should receive his torture in silence if he is now disenchanted with the ‘anointed one’ he installed as president. His moral grandeur is the height of his self-delusion. He should leave the rest of his life in silence and give opportunity to people with integrity to talk.

    Beyond the messenger, the propriety of the letter and the way it was thrown in the public, there are serious treasonable allegations that in the national interest. From the political watch list to the presidential secret hit squad in covert training; abuse of office; mismanagement of national resources; incompetence; deliberately strengthening the fault lines of clannishness religion and region; factionalisation and weakening of the PDP are just a highlight of the weighty allegations Nigerians are demanding for answers.

    President Jonathan’s electoral promise to fight corruption headlong has since been forgotten as recent allegations from Obasanjo, Sanusi and Speaker Tambuwal that the President is participating in, and facilitating the rapid growth of corruption has blurred any impression Jonathan has made in his effort to fight the scourge. .

    As we match towards 2015, we watch on as the drama of unending political battle of wits between a godfather and his godson unfold.

     

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

  • 2015: I’m on Jonathan’s watch list, says Amaechi

    2015: I’m on Jonathan’s watch list, says Amaechi

    Buhari, Akande, Tinubu, Masari, Jaja, others storm Port Harcourt

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi joined yesterday the raging controversy sparked by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter to President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The former President accused Dr. Jonathan of training snipers and putting 1,000 Nigerians on a watch list ahead of the 2015 elections. Jonathan denied it all, saying Obasanjo should prove the allegations.

    “I’m number one on the list. They want to kill me,” Amaechi told a huge crowd at the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    It was at an exciting rally organised by the Save Rivers Movement – a political group backing Amaechi’s stand on the state’s political future.

    Amaechi dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Listening to Amaechi were many APC leaders, interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande; former House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Bello Masari, who is the party’s interim Deputy National Chairman; interim National Vice Chairman (Southsouth) Chief Tom Ikimi and Dr. Sam Sam-Jaja.

    Edo State Governor Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was represented by his deputy, Dr. Pius Egberanmwen Odubu. Also there were the interim National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; two senators from Rivers State – Magnus Abe (Rivers Southeast) and Wilson Ake (Rivers West)- as well as a member of the House of Representatives from Rivers state, Dakuku Peterside (Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro constituency). There were many other eminent personalities.

    One of the leaders, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari described the Jonathan’s administration as “lawless” vowing that the main opposition party will deliver Nigeria democratically in 2015.

    Gen. Buhari, a former Head of State, also promised that he and other stakeholders, especially of the APC, would do everything constitutional, to ensure the 2015 elections were credible.

    Another national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said the party would sweep away evil, corruption and abuse of power from Rivers State and other parts of Nigeria.

    Amaechi, who is also the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) chairman, said: “Today (yesterday), I am not declaring. I said I would declare at the new stadium. The reason for gathering today is to remind Nigerians that the current Federal Government is carrying on with impunity. There is no rule of law in Nigeria. They are using police to molest us. Where police fail to molest us, they are using thugs to shoot dynamites and guns against innocent people.

    “I read the President’s (Jonathan’s) letter and he said ex-President Obasanjo should prove the 1,000 names on the watch list. I am number one on the list. They want to kill me, but they have no God. The God we worship will protect me. Before the end of the year, I will address the state.

    “They will shoot you. They have no fear for your blood. They want the position at all costs. Whether you all die, they do not mind governing just the land. You must know that if you read the story of revolution, you must sacrifice. Somebody said my son should come to the front. If you want my son tomorrow, I will produce him.

    “If I have surrendered myself and I am ready to be in front, let them shoot. Anytime you start a street march and you do not see me in the front, you must know something must be wrong and you must know that they have arrested me. I am not a big man governor. I am a governor that is on the streets with his people.

    “One other thing that is bothering me is that all those who are on the other side, saying they want Southsouth President, I agree with them, they want Southsouth President. In politics, you are not here today (yesterday) because you like Amaechi; you are here because of your own political interest. If a Southsouth President refused to give you water, you will push him out.

    “We gave the President (Jonathan in 2011) nearly two million votes, let him tell us one project he has done for us. I have challenged the President that I belong to the APC. If he wants Rivers people to vote for him, let him give Kalabari people back their oil wells and I will come back (to the PDP). He cannot. The President cannot. Instead, he will take more.”

    Amaechi also admonished the people, especially his teeming supporters, to be prepared for the struggle ahead, stating that on elections’ days, the “oppressors” would come with tanks and policemen, but urged them to stand and watch their votes.

    The Rivers governor said: “They said Buhari is not a Christian. Buhari is a Muslim. We are not preaching religious politics. Everybody in Nigeria has the right to worship where he wants to worship. I am a Catholic and I will worship Christ. I will die a Christian, but do not bring politics into good governance.

    “It is only when there is bad governance that they begin to look for who is an Ikwerre man, who is an Ijaw man, who is an Hausa man, who is a Yoruba man. If there is good governance, you will be talking about schools. Have I told you I am an Ikwerre man? I told you I have done schools, health centres and roads. I am facing power. They should tell us what they are doing. We are prepared for a debate with them.

    “In Etche, they have taken our 41 oil wells across (to Abia State). They are denying us our rights. We have suffered enough. I was a students’ leader. I learnt in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) that nobody should trample on your rights. If I did not fight for my rights, I would not have been governor. I suffered and my children suffered, but today we are in government.

    “If you listen to them closely, our brothers, who are on the other side, they are hungry. They have been out of power for nearly eight years. If you vote them into power, what will happen? They will steal all the money. They are broke. The ones that are not broke, that are in government, they are busy stealing and building mansions everywhere. They have no fear. I have never seen corruption like this in Nigeria before.

    “President Jonathan said in his letter that former President Obasanjo should apologise on the issue of $49.8 billion. Right on television, a debate between the Minister of Finance (Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) and the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) Governor (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi). The CBN Governor said they had reconciled, but they had not found $12 billion, but the Minister for Finance said it was $10.8 billion. Even if it is $1 billion, it is stealing. $1 billion is N170 billion. There are some states that their budget (annually) is N130 billion. Bring our money. I have never seen corruption like this.

    “They are busy pursuing us with the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), they have never pursed any federal agency with EFCC. I will quote the Governor of Edo State (Comrade Adams Oshiomhole); he said if you write examination and you score 26 per cent, have you passed? If you score 52 per cent, have you not passed? The Federal Government is holding 52 per cent of our money. EFCC should pursue the 52 per cent and leave 26 per cent. If EFCC succeeds in doing that, have we not succeeded?”

    Amaechi also stated that President Jonathan, in his reply of ex-President Obasanjo’s letter said the African Development Bank (AFDB) was carrying out the process of giving Rivers peoples water.

    The NGF chairman said: “Tell Mr. President that World Bank, not AFDB. Two banks are involved. One is AfDB’ the other is World Bank. We were told by the staff of the World Bank that they are ready. Tell the President (Jonathan) to give us our water.

    “If it is the President, I can understand, because the President has not served in any international organisation, but what about the woman (Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala), whose job it is to sign off, to give the water project.

    “The Minister of Finance has refused to sign off, despite the fact that she served in the World Bank. She wants you (Rivers people) to die of water-borne diseases, in the name of politics. Holy Ghost fire.

    “They are quarrelling with Amaechi and they want you (Rivers people) to die the death of Amaechi. I will not die. I drink bottled water. You do not drink bottled water. So, the best I can do for you and the best that the President can do for you, because he is your President, is to ask the World Bank, we hereby sign this document, that in 40 years, Rivers State will pay you your money, but they have refused to sign, just because of politics.

    “If they tell us that it is AFDB, tell them I said it is both AFDB and the World Bank and we have completed everything we need to complete. All parties are ready, including the AFDB and the World Bank. They do not want to sign. They want you to die of water-borne diseases.”

    The Rivers governor spoke also of the metaphor of the broom – Amaechi studied Literature at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) – stressing that the broom would sweep out dirt, but while sweeping, the sweeper must bend down.

    He noted that the sweeper must suffer a bit and in suffering, the broom would be sweeping, but at the end, the house would be clean. He urged his teeming supporters to prepare to suffer under the current government, but assured them that come 2015, things would get better.

    Amaechi said: “One of our sons, a Kalabari son, said that the oil wells were taken under Rufus Ada-George (former Rivers governor, from Okrika). Tell him I said he is lying. He has never been in government.

    “I served in Rufus Ada-George’s government. There was no oil well taken from Rivers State. I served in Dr. Peter Odili’s government. The oil wells were taken in 2006. They put the money in an escrow account.

    “By 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, they took all the money from the escrow account and gave to our brothers (in Bayelsa State) and they converted Soku to Bayelsa. My friend and brother in Bayelsa (Governor) said we do not want Soku, we just want the oil wells.”

    The Rivers governor also stated that he was determined to continue to develop the state, adding that truth would prevail at the end.

    The Chief Felix Obuah-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, through the Special Adviser to the Chairman on Media, Jerry Needam, however, alleged that Amaechi was no longer relevant in the Niger Delta state’s political calculation.

    Gen. Buhari said: “I congratulate the people of Rivers State for moving to the APC. The fundamental thing is one Nigeria. In spite of our differences, we have found ourselves as one people. Nigeria is a country with tremendous resources and talented people, but we are unable to organise ourselves to raise this country.

    “The efforts we are making is for Nigeria. We have to put the party firmly on the ground. We will do everything constitutional to make sure that 2015 elections are credible.

    “We are in an extremely difficult position, where a government is lawless. Courageous Amaechi has done well. Let us support him. We are behind his government. We are going to deliver our country democratically come 2015. Nigeria will survive.”

    The interim National Chairman of the APC (Akande) also stated that the last time the leaders of the opposition party were at the Government House, Port Harcourt, they came to persuade Amaechi to join the APC, while describing Rivers as an APC state.

    Akande also presented the opposition party’s flag to the interim Rivers Chairman of the party, Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, a former Rivers Commissioner for Special Duties, while asking him to ensure that the PDP became totally dead in the state.

    While also speaking, Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos State, described the Rivers governor as a “wonderboy,” while disclosing that it was only on Sunday that Buhari was communicated about yesterday’s journey to Port Harcourt, while he (Buhari) was in Lagos, but rushed back to Kaduna to have a change of clothes and was in the Rivers State capital yesterday morning, ahead of most leaders of the party.

    Tinubu also stated that Akande planned to travel, but because of yesterday’s rally of the APC, he decided to postpone the journey, while lauding the leaders of the party, particularly the members of the House of Representatives, whom he said at the threat of the fraudulent declaration of their seats vacant, pulled the courage together and were strongly determined and got into the progressives camp, for the progress and good of Rivers State and Nigeria.

    The former Lagos governor assured the people that members of the House of Representatives who defected to the opposition party that they would “never” regret joining the APC.

    Tinubu said: “The great quality of leadership is the ability to convince his followers and admirers that courage and determination are omnipotent. Amaechi, thank you. Few weeks ago, we came and we said we wanted you in our party, because of your courage, achievements and strong determination to liberate humans from the shackles of oppression, mismanagement and misgovernance.

    “Thank you, for overcoming the primordial blackmail, all the plans and punishment available in the rank of the oppressors. We salute Rotimi Amaechi, because without your courage, determination, perseverance, degree of honesty and the prominent level you are, we will not witness today (yesterday) in Rivers State. You are no chicken; you are an eagle.

    “The great people of Rivers State, the Save Rivers Movement and many other movements, today is the launch of the broom revolution. We want to sweep the evil away from Rivers State. We are here to sweep corruption away from Rivers State. We are here to sweep the abuse of power away from Rivers State.

    “We are here to be with you, to help you clean the cobweb of lies, the cockroach of destruction, the termites of democracy, the enemies of progress and usurpation of power. Your courage is the answer.”

    The APC leader (Tinubu) also urged members of the opposition party in the state not to submit to intimidation, stressing that he had experienced it before, but he is a very proud man today.

    The ex-Lagos governor reiterated that the APC now has 16 governors. More will join the camp of the progressives and the challenge would be for the leaders to liberate the people, he said.

    Ikimi, who is also a patron of the Save Rivers Movement, in his remarks, noted that Amaechi was fully in charge of Rivers State and had taken a giant step forward, while embracing change.

    The national vice chairman, Southsouth, of the APC, stated that the NGF chairman had given Nigerians the opportunity of having an idea of what would happen in the country in the next few months, declaring that there would be fundamental change in Nigeria, describing the APC as a true national party.

    He assured the people that more states in the Southsouth would soon be taken over by the APC, to bring about the desired change in Nigeria, thereby putting an end to misgovernance in the country.

    Ikimi declared that persons parading themselves as leaders of the Southsouth were hangers-on and impostors, who were deceiving and taking money from President Jonathan, while asking him (the President) to chase them away.

    The APC’s national vice chairman, Southsouth, later inaugurated the 37-member interim executive of the opposition party in Rivers State, with Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya as the chairman, while urging them to ensure that the opposition party was firmly rooted in the state.

    Ikanya, earlier in his welcome address, stated that Amaechi’s entrance into the APC had brought the entire Rivers State into the opposition party, while declaring that the PDP no longer existed in the state.

    The chairmen of the 23 local government areas of Rivers State, led by the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Rivers chapter, Chimbiko Iche Akarolo, came with thousands of their supporters to the stadium, and were singing, drumming and dancing.

    Akarolo, who is also the Chairman of Port Harcourt Local Government Council, described Amaechi as the symbol and pillar of democracy in Nigeria, assuring them that the people would continue to support him.

    The Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Save Rivers Movement, Igo Aguma, stressed that the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) was to secure the future of Rivers people, while insisting that Soku is in Rivers State.

    Aguma noted that he and other leaders of the PDP decided to move to the APC to get the Soku oil wells back to Rivers State, while lamenting that the Amaechi’s administration had so far spent N130 billion on Federal Government’s roads in Rivers State, without refund, while similar funds were being refunded to other state governments, describing it as double standard and injustice.

    The Save Rivers Movement boss also lamented the refusal of the Federal Government to release the $1 billion for Ogoniland’s development, recommended by the United Nations’ Environment Programme (UNEP), in view of the four LGAs’ (Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme’s) years of pollution and marginalisation.

    Aguma described the list of injustice done to Rivers State and its people as very long, while assuring that they would continue to support Amaechi and fight with him.

     

     

     

     

    The Rivers PDP, yesterday in an online statement, titled: “Port Harcourt APC Rally: An Eye Opener To Amaechi – PDP,” alleged that the near empty stadium that greeted the Rivers governor’s guests, whom it said were mobilised to witness his official declaration for the APC, was enough counsel that Amaechi was no longer relevant in the Rivers political calculation.

    The PDP said: “The poor turnout of supporters that marked the APC’s rally, which left the only 14,000 capacity stadium yawning for occupation, should be a source of worry to Governor Amaechi, who had earlier boasted of over 40 million crowds.

    “Even with the scanty turn-out, those that attended the rally were mainly a rented crowd, who were pad N30,000 each by Amaechi’s council chairmen under duress.

    “The surprise package has forced a bewildered Amaechi to claim that today’s event is no longer a declaration rally, but to announce that the Federal Government is ruling with impunity.

    “Is mere observation or announcement of one’s assumption enough reason to bring the national executive of the APC, including a former Head of State, to Rivers State, for a rally at this busy period of Christmas?”

    The Rivers PDP also described as a contradiction, in 2011, while Amaechi was addressing a political rally in Port Harcourt and openly declared that those who were carrying brooms were night soil-men and juju priests, stating that a juju priest should have no place in a Christian state like Rivers.

    The Obuah-led PDP also advised persons allegedly rented to fill the empty stadium as APC’s supporters, with the promise of monthly salaries through the SURE-P, to beware of a man, who would allegedly change his statements every minute.

  • No comment on Jonathan’s letter, says Obasanjo

    No comment on Jonathan’s letter, says Obasanjo

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has foreclosed any reaction to President Goodluck Jonathan’s reply to his highly controversial open letter.

    Dr. Jonathan replied Obasanjo’s letter on Sunday, denying the claims made by the ex-President in his December 2 letter.

    Among the allegations by Obasanjo is that 1,000 Nigerians are on a political watch list and that snipers are being trained ahead of the 2015 elections.

    Apart from denying the allegations, Dr. Jonathan said he had referred the matter to security agencies for probe.

    Yesterday, Obasanjo said though he had been inundated with enquiries, “he does not wish to make further comments beyond the contents of his last letter”.

    He spoke through the deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2011 governorship polls in Ogun State, Mr. Tunde Oladunjoye.

    Obasanjo said: “Since the publication of the letter written by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, which was in response to the letter earlier written by revered former President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, we have received several requests from local and international media, asking to know Chief Obasanjo’s reaction to Mr. President’s response.

    One, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, acknowledges Mr. President’s letter/response.

    “However, Baba, as he already indicated in his letter of December 2, 2013, does not wish to make further comments beyond the contents of his last letter to Mr. President or react to the said letter/response from Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

    “Let me quote from page 14, paragraph two of Chief Obasanjo’s letter to Mr. President dated December 2, 2013 and titled Before It Is Too Late: ‘I will maintain my serenity, because by this letter I have done my duty to you as I have always done, to your government, to the party, PDP, and to our country, Nigeria.’

    “Two, let me reiterate here, that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has tremendous respect for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “Finally, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo sincerely appreciates all of you, my cherished colleagues; gentlemen of the media profession, who have been very upright, ethical and robust on the subject matter.”

  • President didn’t address key issues, says Falana

    President didn’t address key issues, says Falana

    Rights activist-lawyer Mr Femi Falana (SAN) has praised President Jonathan for responding to the allegations raised in Obsanjo’s 18-page letter.

    The former Chair of the West African Bar Association (WABA), who spoke yesterday in Warri, Delta State, however said the president’s riposte failed to address key issues raised by his predecessor in office.

    Falana urged Jonathan to review the letter and tidy up loose ends, on issues bordering on corruption, abuse of power and extra-judicial killings.

    He said: “There are areas of the reply that are rather woolly. I think it is not enough to attempt to engage in blackmail; the President must now go further to cause an investigation and prosecution in some of the cases he mentioned rather tangentially (in his reply).

    “At the international level, this country has been exposed to ridicule, with the handling of the cases of Halliburton, Wilbros, Siemens and the rest of them. To the best of my knowledge, with the information at my disposal, the US government has made not less than $2bn in terms of fines imposed on those companies for bribing Nigerians.

    “It is not enough (for President) to say Halliburton, Siemens and all that did not happen under his regime. Since there is no statute of limitation and these cases exposed Nigerians to ridicule, President Jonathan must now go the whole hog, no matter whose ox is gored.”

    Besides, Falana slammed Jonathan over his handling of the Stella Oduah bullet proof car scandal and the alarm of missing $49 billion NNPC fund, raised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor.

    He also scoffed at Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonzo-Iweala’s explanation that there was a misunderstanding and that the only a fraction of that money ($16bn) was yet unaccounted for.

    Falana maintained that President Jonathan must adequately clear the mist over similar cases to assure Nigerians that his administration was not cuddling corruption as he was accused of in the letter.

    He said: “I also find that area in the letter disturbing where the president said the Governor of the Central Bank didn’t mention his name. He (CBN Governor) came out publicly to say $49bn is missing and now he has apologised.

    “It is not enough to apologise; if the Governor of CBN could go all out and tell the whole world that $49bn is missing, it is not enough for Minister of Finance to call a meeting and after the meeting and say ‘we are reconciling, only $12bn has not been traced’.

    “No; the Minister of Finance is not the Auditor General of the Federation; it is not her business to audit the accounts of the federation or any account belonging to the Federal Government.

    “So President Jonathan must direct the Auditor General of the Federation to audit the account of NNPC, CBN and Ministry of Finance and ensure that we get to the root of criminality in our country or the grand looting of the treasury of our country.

    “A minister has been indicted by a panel set up by the President, by the House of Representatives and by the EFCC. What rule of law, what due process are you (President) waiting for? You must fire her; you must also fire other corrupt ministers and government officials that are giving the impression that the regime is comfortable with corruption,” he said.

    The lawyer is not pleased with Jonathan’s response to extra-judicial killings, noting the president’s position that the killings occured before he came to power, was not tangible.

    “He must now set up proper investigation – because they were covered up in the past – to ensure that we get to the root of these killings, including the killing of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice under President Obasanjo, the late Chief Bola Ige (SAN).”

    Former Abia State Governor Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, urged President Goodluck Jonathan and ex – President Obasanjo to seek solution to Nigeria’s problems rather than writing letters that expose the highest office in the land to ridicule.

    Kalu spoke to reporters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. He was on his way to Dubai .

    He said they should not exchange correspondence that could further heat up the polity.

    Said Kalu: “Both former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan must face the realities of today; they should realise the suffering of the citizens.

    “Both leaders do not have to be exchanging letters that will only make newspapers headlines especially during this festive period.

    “I expected them to be able to think about the Nigerian people, proffer solutions to their problems.

    “I think if I were former President Olusegun Obasanjo, there should be no reason for me to write an open letter to the president.

    “There is a line of communication that is open to Nigerian leaders to reach the incumbent. At least, once a president of the country, always a president,” Kalu said.

  • Youths march for Jonathan

    Youths march for Jonathan

    Niger Delta Youth Council (UNDYC) yesterday staged a one million man march with a call on President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his intention to contest for a second term.

    The march began after the inauguration of the National Executive Committee of UNDYC at Ibom Hall in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

    Members of the group marched through the major streets in Uyo and ended the procession about 7pm at the Akwa Ibom State Government House.

    The Chairman, Board of Trustees of the body, John N. Israel, who spoke with reporters, said the geopolitical zone would prevail on President Jonathan to seek second term.

    He said: “We cannot afford to let this zone down by closing our eyes to the development at the national level.

    “We wish to inform the President that if he refuses to declare for second term, he should not return to the Niger Delta.”

    The National President of the council, Joseph Nsimbehe, said the gathering of the youths was relevant to the present affairs in the country.

    “By setting today’s (yesterday’s) agenda, the union has demonstrated that it is always committed to supporting the Federal Government in achieving its drive to reposition and turn around the nation’s economy.”

  • Guilty or not guilty?

    Guilty or not guilty?

    • President Jonathan’s silence on Oduah’s bullet-proof cars scandal implies presidential complicity

    Just as Nigerians were beginning to think that the Stella Oduah bullet-proof car scandal had, like some other scandals before it, died a natural death, the House of Representatives has resurrected the matter. The House, last Thursday, endorsed the seven recommendations of its committee on aviation, chaired by Mrs. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, a Peoples Democratic Party legislator from Abia State, which investigated the scandal. The House had asked the committee to look into the matter about two months ago. It is gratifying that it has come this far and has finally asked President Goodluck Jonathan to review the minister’s appointment.

    We agree largely with the House recommendations. As it noted, the minister overreached herself by approving an expenditure of over N643million for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for the purchase of 54 vehicles, including two bullet-proof cars at a whopping N255million. Her approval limit is N100million. In line with the House position, the Ministry of Aviation should terminate all the transactions relating to the bullet-proof cars, first because they were not appropriated by the National Assembly, and also because due process was not followed in the procurement.

    The House further recommended administrative sanctions against the former acting Director-General of the NCAA, Nkemakolam Joyce, and the Director of Finance, Mr. S. Ozigi, “in accordance with the Civil Service Rules for deliberately breaching the Appropriation Act, 2013, and other extant laws of the federation.” It asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to move in and ascertain the involvement of people and corporate organisations in possible commission of crime and take appropriate measures to recover whatever the taxpayer might have lost to the unauthorised procurements.

    For a matter that broke about two months ago, it was expected that some progress must have been made on it if the government is truly serious about fighting corruption. Unfortunately, President Goodluck Jonathan threw a spanner in the works at a point it seemed we were making progress by setting up a parallel panel to look into the matter, after the House of Representatives had taken the initiative to set up one. Now that the House has concluded its assignment and made recommendations to the president, he has no excuse not to act on the matter. This is much more so that the committee he set up himself on the matter had since submitted its report.

    We do not know why President Jonathan should be having problems handling this matter. And if he is, he should take a cue from the Ghanaian government which sacked the country’s deputy communications minister, Victoria Hammah, for allegedly saying on audio tape that she would not quit politics until she has made $1million. The minister was sacked in the heat of the Oduah scandal. Hammah had not even committed the crime; but she was removed for merely contemplating it. The Ghanaian government did not go in circles; it did not engage in the rigmarole of setting up any committee. It just handed the minister a sack promptly.

    Like Oduah, Hammah is a pretty woman. Like Oduah, she also reportedly contributed immensely to the incumbent Ghanaian leader’s electoral success. Yet, this did not stop the government from firing her for contemplating a crime.

    President Jonathan must be compelled to say something on the Oduah scandal. Several other corruption-related scandals had been swept under the carpet by this government; this must not be allowed to go the same way. Nigerians must keep it perpetually on the front burner of national discourse, until the government makes its position known on it.

    The minister’s reaction that the House had a ‘hidden agenda’ on the scandal is bunkum. But we do not blame her; she would not have had the temerity to say that if the president had done his job in accordance with his oath of office.

  • Separate message from the messenger

    Separate message from the messenger

    SIR: The issues raised in the much-talked-about letter written by former president Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan were germane but cannot be said to be anything new. First, is it not appropriate according to Obasanjo that we must all do everything to guard, protect and defend our fledgling democracy, nourish it, and prevent bloodshed? Two, that we must move away from advertently or inadvertently dividing the country along weak seams of North-South and Christian-Moslem. Third, that nothing should be done to allow the country to degenerate into economic dormancy, stagnation or retrogression. Should we also claim that we do not rank first on the corruption index of the whole world? It is apparent that strategies exerted to improve the security situation in the country need to be redefined.

    The letter merely re-echoed the problems with Nigeria and the facts why she has remained a toddler after 53 years of independence. It became the latest political bombshell of the year because people whose opinions matter in situations like this lack the will power to speak up. We are in this state of hopelessness because of the inability of previous and successive governments to put in place policies and structures that will better the lives of Nigerians and make it difficult for corruption and other vices to thrive.

    Some trouble makers said the letter was mischievous and an affront which denigrates the office of the president while others aver that it was a necessary push that will propel the president to sit up or at least be on his toes. Most Nigerians stand by the latter. Issues like this should not be trivialised. Obasanjo should not be upbraided for doing the needful. If a former president did not talk, who will?

    It is a wake-up call to all of us and the nucleus was a reminder to those presently at the helm of affairs that Nigeria is on a life-support and possibly drifting to a precipice. This was not because these problems were not in existence before the second coming of Obasanjo until his exit in 2007 but because it came from someone who knew all of these but neglected to tackle them in his time only to bring them as charges against another. Should that suffice to throw away the baby with the bath water?

    The letter should be seen and interpreted in the context of the message and not the messenger. Did the letter touch the very essence of the lingering crisis and predicaments rocking Nigeria as a nation?

    It therefore behoves on President Jonathan to look objectively into the issues raised and act in the best interest of Nigeria and in accordance with the oath of office he took. President Jonathan should as a matter of urgent national importance act now before it is too late. If he does, posterity will remember him for adhering to wise counsel.

     

    • Sunday Onyemaechi Eze

    Samaru, Zaria

  • Sanusi’s ‘valedictory’ letter

    Sanusi’s ‘valedictory’ letter

    It seems unlikely that majority of number-numbed Nigerians cared a hoot about the weighty allegations contained in the September 25 letter to President Goodluck Jonathan by the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, let alone his embarrassing recant at the House of Representatives last week. If the letter was a bomb, the subsequent recant had all the elements of a shove-it-in-your-face Sanusi anti-climax!

    The sum total of the letter is an alleged under-remittance by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC of a whopping $49.804 billion into the federation account. The allegation, has naturally, spawned strident denial by the corporation.

    If you live in a clime where multiples of billions of public funds routinely take a walk from the public vaults, ordinary citizen ought to be forgiven for seemingly passing off yet another invitation to the join in the elaborate farce of a mock trial and – as it always ends – the spectacle of the post mortem that yields nothing.

    Now, in just under two weeks, the wheel has turned full circle for the CBN governor. If the initial intention was to put NNPC in the dock, it is in fact Sanusi that is in the dock! From his self-assigned role of prosecutor-in-chief, Sanusi now has the burden that he actually knows his onions to discharge – aside the scare-mongering for which he is now infamous. Nigeria may have been described as a country of anything goes, even at that, the astounding revelation of the nation’s chief of treasury, banker to the federal government, member of the economic management team, and statutory adviser to the President being caught flat-footed on a matter as straight-forward as the accounting of the accruals into the federation account obviously takes our officials’ fangled dalliance with mediocrity to record low levels.

    You guessed right: the duel between the NNPC and the CBN is only another window into the chaos that our public finance has become. But then, it also reveals a disturbing character trait in our public officers: their inability to admit when they go wrong – not to talk of offering apologies to fellow citizens they misled! Sanusi of course would wear a placid face – like a piece of stone statue while the charade lasted; his nemeses in the finance, petroleum ministries and the NNPC would in equal measure be content to gloat after the technical knock-out – leaving the rest of us to wonder whether the entire proceeding wasn’t indeed a circus!

    Now, what do we know? Only a little more than we knew before. The riddle of course continues; the riddle of how the nation continues to pump more and more crude and sell at record high prices, and yet has far little to share in the piggy bank. By the way, there is a new phrase in the industry’s lexicon – ‘industrial scale’ used to describe the menace of oil theft. Meanwhile, the books of the NNPC remain inaccessible; just as the state governments as joint beneficiaries from the distributable pool continue to shout themselves hoarse over charges that the corporation remits only what it deems fit into the federation account. The NNPC meanwhile carries on, completely impervious to entreaties from any quarters save the presidency.

    That is where informed interjections by individuals like Sanusi ought to have made the difference. The kind of difference expected obviously goes beyond the wild and generalised claims about the shady activities going on. Which explains the pain when he blew the chance!

    Shouldn’t Sanusi, for instance, have known that only 24 percent of the revenue in question goes through the NNPC to the federation account?

    Was it deliberate – or is it simply a case of ignorance – that Sanusi did not bother to fit the payment by the NNPC into the remittance by other agencies in the oil sector to see how they fit into the matrix of the oil industry accounting before forming his conclusion about the scale of theft?

    And then to imagine in another breadth that the same Sanusi would actually seek – through the letter – to prod the President to act on recommendations whose premises are patently flawed?

    Clearly, the mere suggestion that the nation’s number one banker is ignorant of this elementary dictate of the oil sector accounting – something that goes to the heart of how the accruals are determined – must be considered as deeply troubling. Or is there something in the structure of the industry that prevents the government banker from knowing what is going on?

    Considering that he has barely six months left of his tenure, it may well be Sanusi’s valedictory letter. No doubt, the letter has done some good. For one, it should rest the controversies surrounding the $49 billion un-remitted funds. Moreover, if it is any consolation, the nation is at least spared the wild goose chase that leads to nowhere. At least, we now know that the custodial agencies responsible for remitting the balance into the federation account are the DPR and the FIRS. There should be ample time to chase the $10 or is it the $12 billion yet to be reconciled. One other good is that is to make the demand for a thorough overhaul of the corporation, urgent.

    On a final note, the twist in the NNPC under-remittance tale should cause a reflection on the Sanusi odyssey at the apex bank even as the debate on the character of his successor ramps up. While I do not belong to the lynch mob that would describe Sanusi’s tenure as a disaster, a lot can be said about his temperament, his judgment calls, not least his frequent outspokenness on just about anything that calls into question the wisdom of those who drafted him into the top job five years ago. While I may agree that a case can be made for activists like Sanusi in public service, it is hardly in the conservative chamber of the apex bank where a minor slip can sent the financial markets reeling. It shouldn’t be too early to wish Dan-Majen Kano luck in his next assignment. Considering his relatively young age, he would need it in the years ahead.

     

    Merry Christmas to my readers

    To those of you my readers who have kept faith with this page without fail in the past years, here is my simple prayer for you at Christmas: You will witness many more Christmas in good health and prosperity. The year 2014 and beyond will be better for you and all that is yours. Once again, Merry Christmas!

  • APC to Jonathan: sack Oduah now

    APC to Jonathan: sack Oduah now

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has hailed the House of Representatives for taking a definitive stand on the N255 million armoured cars bought for Aviation Minister by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    The party praised the House for asking President Goodluck Jonathan to review the continued engagement of the Aviation Minister Ms Stella Oduah over her role in the scam.

    In a statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC noted that by its action, the House of Representatives had again shown its readiness to play its part in fighting the massive corruption which has enveloped the country.

    It said also by its unequivocal stand on the scandal, coming on the heels of the recent criticism of President Jonathan’s tepid fight against corruption by Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, the House had left no one in doubt that the legislature was taking its oversight role very seriously.

    “There is no doubt that the House of Representatives took its stand, which included asking the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate and prosecute all those involved in the scandal, after a painstaking work by its Committee on

    Aviation. This action is commendable and reflects the general opinion of Nigerians on the shameful scandal.

    “Therefore, Ms. Oduah has no basis for continued occupation of her post as Minister of Aviation and should step down immediately. If she fails to do so, she should be fired by the President,” it said.

    APC stressed that if the minister failed to resign and the President refused to fire her, it would confirm the general perception that “this President is not ready or willing to fight corruption; that he is comfortable in the company of corrupt officials and that he would rather cream off the proceeds of corruption by taking contributions to his war chest from corrupt folks”.

    The party said the President’s failure to heed the House of Representatives on the Oduahgate would also add to his earlier failure to act on the House’s decision on the massive oil subsidy scam, and the failure of his administration to bring to justice all those behind the series of corruption cases that have dogged the administration.

    APC said: “The list is long, and includes the pension scam, the Malabu (oil) scandal, the massive corruption in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Halliburton scandal, the unprecedented crude oil theft and the extensive corruption in the oil sector.

    “The President’s decision to hug corruption rather than fight it has also been reflected in his comments, saying, for example, that the perception people have about corruption in Nigeria is exaggerated; and that his administration is ‘winning’ the war against corruption.

    “But this overly simplistic take on corruption in Nigeria flies in the face of the available evidence that Nigeria has sunk deeper into the mud of corruption under President Jonathan, especially the latest ranking by Transparency International, which lists Nigeria as one of the most corrupt nations in the world, and the report of the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, which shows Nigerian government officials and agencies frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.

    “It is now up to President Jonathan to take the fight against corruption seriously and work with other arms of government in combating the canker worm, or go down in the history of the country as the most corrupt administration ever. He can start by acting decisively on the Aviation scandal, and stop using ad hoc panels to bury corruption cases.”