The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Goodluck Jonathan

  • President should act like a hero

    SIR: The excuse by President Goodluck Jonathan that his achievements are merely perceived from the prism of the current state of war is inconceivable. As much as I would agree that Nigeria is in a state of war, history is replete with wartime leaders who ended up as heroes of their various nations.

    Abraham Lincoln was president during the American civil war and yet he emerged a hero, after he conquered the forces of slavery and secession to unite America as one independent state.

    Wilson Churchill was the British Prime Minister during the Second World War. At some point in the Second World War, German air raiders blasted London for 77 nights, after the city fell into the aggressive hand of Hitler and his German troops. During those nights, London knew no peace. Part of the Buckingham Palace was touched; residents took to using the tunnels of the London underground as shelter. Yet Wilson Churchill held his head high when others were losing theirs’ to emerge as a never-to-be-forgotten British hero.

    Napoleon was a French revolutionary, a hero; his time was one of the most rancorous and genocidal in the history of France, yet he conquered all forces of regression.

    Franklin Roosevelt is an American hero of the Second World War after he had to be forced into the bitter reality of expending huge budget to prosecute the war, to restore the American pride.

    David the conqueror of Goliath is a divine hero.

    I want the President to be remembered as a Nigerian hero, after he’s gone past his regime. I want Jonathan to act like a hero.

    I want the president to seize the current opportunity to write his name in the history of Nigerian heroes by taking on the challenge posed by Boko Haram by ensuring its overdue death.

    I want the president to use every legal and human means to Bring Back Our Girls ALIVE; Hale and Hearty.  I want him to put a lasting solution to all lingering industrial strikes particularly ASUP’S AND COEASU’S.

     

    • Waliu Olaifa

    olaifawaliu@rocketmail.com

     

  • NLC to Jonathan: investigate security operations in Northeast

    NLC to Jonathan: investigate security operations in Northeast

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to investigate security operations in the Northeast.

    The congress urged the National Assembly to probe the utilisation of the financial allocations to the military.

    NLC President Abdalwahed Omar, who spoke in a statement yesterday, said the murder of the Emir of Gwoza, Idris Timta, has exposed the soft underbelly of the operations.

    According to him, NLC is worried that despite huge resource allocations, security remains a serious challenge in Nigeria.

    He said: “We call on President Goodluck Jonathan to institute a full scale, transparent, thorough and unbiased investigation on the activities and challenges of our security forces, especially in the Northeast.

    He said it was worrisome that these attacks were increasing even with the announcement that N130billion had been spent on security.

    NLC said the ease and precision with which these attacks were carried out was worrisome and unjustifiable.

    Omar wondered that if   traditional rulers could be attacked casually, what would be the fate of ordinary citizens?

    The statement reads:  “For us, we believe the authorities need to demonstrate a high level of  commitment to safety of lives and property in the country, especially in the North East.

    “The Federal Government should investigate the activities of security operatives, including military personnel.

    “We reiterate our consistent call for proper equipping and morale-boosting measures for military personnel.

    “It is a national embarrassment that the kidnap Chibok girls are yet to be rescued even as multinational interests in the rescue operations increase. “

    “That these children are yet to be rescued and delivered  to their parents questions the commitment and credibility of those saddled with the search and rescue operation and negatively impacts on our national image.

    “We are confident that our security agencies, including the military, can effectively route out the insurgents if well equipped and motivated.

    “After all, these same personnel not only rendered a good account of themselves in foreign operations, they played a decisive role in ending conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, etc.

    “Although this war is slightly different, we are concerned that these same forces are finding it difficult to confront insurgency back home.

    “We condole with the family of the Emir of Gwoza and thousands of other families iwho are bereaved as a result of this insurgency.”

     

  • Why Jonathan may not visit Ekiti, by sources

    Why Jonathan may not visit Ekiti, by sources

    AGAIN, apprehension heightened yesterday that President Goodluck Jonathan may not attend the official presentation of the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate in June 21 election, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, to the electorate in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

    This came to light as Jonathan’s scheduled visit to Ekiti State was allegedly postponed again for the third times, giving rise to fears that though he was expected in Ekiti on May 22 and 29, but neither the President nor the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, came.

    The PDP has again postponed the visit to Saturday, June 7.

    But sources in Abuja described the new date as “unrealistic,” saying that the Presidency is alarmed by alleged “very damaging petitions levelled against Fayose by respected PDP leaders in the state, including top indigenes in the Diaspora.”

    “There are indications that President Goodluck Jonathan may have shifted his support to another candidate in the election. This accounted for the refusal of the President to officially present the party’s flag to the party candidate on two occasions scheduled for that event, a situation which has forced the party to postpone the ceremony thrice last month,” a reliable source in Abuja said on Sunday.”

    Already, the party is enmeshed in internal crisis as the state chairman, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, has allegedly refused to identify with Fayose in all his electioneering campaigns in the state.

    Besides, former aspirants who were forced to support Fayose have in the recent times been cold towards the candidate.

    Already, there are indications that some of them are thinking of dumping the party for another candidate in the election.

    “When the President did not come for the rally on May 22nd , as scheduled, some top party leaders from Abuja came for fence-mending and especially to beg aggrieved PDP leaders to support Fayose, but many of them deliberately travelled out of the state to avoid meeting the delegation.

    The refusal of the aspirants to openly identify with Fayose may not be unconnected with the way and manner the PDP standard-bearer has been handling his campaign, treating former aspirants as intruders,” a PDP source said.

    Another source said the new attitude in the Presidency may have been “a late discovery that the party leadership may have been misguided in the choice of Fayose.”

  • Kinsmen angry with Jonathan for shunning Boro’s reburial

    Kinsmen angry with Jonathan for shunning Boro’s reburial

    •Ijaw ministers, politicians also absent

    President Goodluck Jonathan’s kinsmen are angry that he was absent at the reburial of Ijaw martyr and icon Maj. Isaac  Adaka Boro in Bayelsa State.

    It was gathered that the President’s absence led to a protest in Kaiama, Boro’s ancestral home, which almost prevented the funeral from holding last Sunday.

    The remains of Boro, who was killed during the Civil War, were reburied at the Heroes Park in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    Boro was killed on May 16, 1968 in Okrika, Rivers State, while fighting on the side of the Federal Government.

    His remains were first interred at the Military Cemetery in Lagos but were exhumed by the Bayelsa State Government.

    Arrangements for the funeral suffered some hitches when the late Boro’s kinsmen were told that Jonathan was not “interested” in it.

    They were said to have concluded that it was an insult on the Ijaw hero, described as the emancipator of the Niger Delta, for the President not to honour him.

    Youths were said to have marched on the streets of Kaiama.

    They insisted that without the late Boro’s efforts, there would be no Bayelsa and Jonathan would not have been president.

    They were said to be angrier that Jonathan chose to attend funerals of people from other regions but refused to honour the late Boro.

    The President was at the funeral of former Lagos State Governor Sir Michael Otedola in Lagos, a day before  Boro’s funeral.

    Angered by the development, the late Boro’s kinsmen, it was gathered, seized the casket bearing his remains, refusing to release it to the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC).

    Our correspondent gathered that it took the intervention of notable Ijaw leaders, such as the Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku and Asari Dokubo, before they released the casket.

    A source said: “That was why the event started very late in Yenagoa.

    “The late Boro’s kinsmen are angry that Jonathan who benefited immensely from his struggle could not attend his reburial. He didn’t even send a representative.

    “They regarded it as an insult on their hero. They seized the casket but it took intervention from Ijaw leaders, who left Yenagoa for Kaiama, to get them to release it.

    “They were pacified with  money before they let go of the casket. They wanted to bury Boro at his ancestral home since the President treated him with such disdain.”

    The source said the kinsmen were also angry that Ijaw politicians also failed to honour the late Boro.

    The late Boro’s son, Phil, knocked politicians from the region for failing to attend the event, despite riding on Boroism to power.

    Confirming the protest at Kaiama, IYC spokesman Eric Omare said though the President had a busy schedule, he should have honoured the late Boro with his presence.

    “As the President, he has a very busy schedule and it is not easy for him to attend all functions.

    “But with regard to the roles Isaac Boro played in the lives of Ijaw and Niger Delta people, we expected that Jonathan should have honoured him by attending his funeral.

    “But our anger is with political appointees and elected officials from Ijawland, especially ministers, who did not attend the event.

    “Apart from Kingsley Kuku, no other appointee or elected officer was there.

    “And without Boro, they wouldn’t have been there. Without Boro, there wouldn’t have been Bayelsa State and without him there wouldn’t have been the Niger Delta struggle.”

  • Untenable alibi

    Untenable alibi

    •Oil minister’s position leaves much to be desired

    We have always admired the presidential system of government for many reasons, but more importantly for its clear-cut demarcations through the principle of separation of powers and the doctrine of checks and balances among the three arms of government. This is meant to discourage arbitrary deployment of powers. But these laudable provisions were made mincemeat of by Diezani Alison-Madueke, Minister of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), through a new case filed in court by them seeking for perpetual injunction to restrain the National Assembly from probing her/NNPC without first obtaining the consent of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The law firm of Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) is curiously handling this matter for the minister through Dominic Ezerioha, one of its reported counsel. Alison-Madueke’s judicial resistance is geared towards preventing the House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Accounts from probing her over the scandalous allegation that she spent N10billion on chartered aircraft in a country where poverty is on the high scale and the monthly minimum wage is a paltry N18, 000. The new suit is reportedly marked FHC/ABJ/CS/346/2014 at an Abuja Federal High Court.

    We are aware that previous attempts by the National Assembly to probe activities in the oil sector since 1999 have faced serious rebuff from both NNPC and the minister. But it is a thing of joy to know that the national legislature, through the latest summon, has shown  unwavering resolve to go ahead this time by asking especially the minister to appear before it to answer questions relating to the aircraft charter scandal on June 17, 2014.

    Sadly too, the quick but easy resort to the court by the applicants is nothing but a condemnable attempt at distracting and preventing the House from performing its constitutional duty; and the curious Nigerian people from knowing the truth and extent of rot in the oil sector. More disheartening is our observation that Chief Ozekhome (SAN), a constitutional lawyer/activist with renowned pedigree and known hitherto for clamouring for due process, is anchoring this aberration/circumvention of constitutional process, for whatever reason. This is out of character with such a distinguished constitutional lawyer.

    The National Assembly is not subservient to the presidency in the discharge of its lawful duty. So is the judiciary or even the executive arm, but any of them can only moderate one another in case of an overreach. As such, we view the current judicial attempt by the applicants as an abuse of court process. We are persuaded, in our position, by the 1999 Constitution where it provides in section 88 (1b) that each House of the National Assembly shall have power over ‘the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, ministry or government department charged, or intended to be charged, with the duty of or responsibility for’ –  (ii) ‘disbursing or administering moneys appropriated or to be appropriated by the National Assembly.’

    According to its subsequent provisions in section 88(2b), such powers are to enable it – ‘expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it.’  Above all, section 89 (1(a) (c) gives the Senate or the House of Representatives or a committee appointed in accordance with section 62 of the constitution powers to procure evidence, whether written or oral, as it may think necessary, and to summon any person in Nigeria. We ask: Despite these unambiguous constitutional provisions, why are Alison-Madueke and the NNPC still running away from their shadows? We believe that under no circumstances should the constitutional process be undermined since no executive privilege is applicable in this instance.

     

  • Jonathan hails Nissan on assembled vehicles

    Jonathan hails Nissan on assembled vehicles

    President Goodluck  Jonathan has applauded the initiative of Stallion Nissan Motors Nigeria (Stallion NMN) as he took delivery of the first five ‘Made in Nigeria’ Nissan vehicles produced at the company’s plant in Lagos.

    The vehicles,which include three Nissan Patrol SUVs, Nissan Almera (Sunny) saloon car and Nissan NP 300 pick-up, were handed over to the president in Abuja.

    President Jonathan said the first made in Nigeria vehicles are a demonstration of the proficiency of local investors’ aptitude to the potency of a genuine policy to revamp the automotive industry and leverage the status of the economy while enhancing job creation.

    “I am quite happy that Nissan has demonstrated the reality of exporting cars from Nigeria is possible which suggest we can soon as a nation export vehicles to other parts of the world,” says President Jonathan.

    He urged private sector investors to produce more products so the Federal Government can begin to delineate certain percentage of goods that can be produced locally.

    “We thank Nissan for making the best of the new automotive policy which is part of our agenda to strengthen the private sector and make it a hub for job creation. Government alone can’t create jobs,” President Jonathan affirmed.

    Stallion Group Chairman Stallion Group Mr Sunil Vaswani, who led a delegation of Nissan, thanked the president and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment for appropriating the automotive policy, describing it as a historic step towards industrial and economic rejuvenation.

    He said the vehicles are designed in line with global standards for product and technology.

    “The Stallion’s automobile facility located along Lagos – Badagry Highway in Lagos can produce 45,000 vehicles annually,” he said.

    He added: “We are on track to expand our investments and further stimulate the growth of a complete auto industry eco system as envisaged in the new policy.”

  • Confusion over amnesty offer to Boko Haram members

    Confusion over amnesty offer to Boko Haram members

    V•Presidential spokesman, Abati, disputes Minister’s statement

    Did President Goodluck Jonathan offer Boko Haram members amnesty on Democracy Day or not?

    This is the subject of a controversy now raging among top officials of the Federal Government.

    At the centre of the controversy are the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati and Youth Development Minister Boni Haruna.

    Abati said yesterday that there was no truth in Haruna’s statement that President Jonathan had offered amnesty to the insurgents.

    Haruna , during  a programme ‘A day with young leaders of Nigeria’  to mark  the Democracy Day  in Abuja on Thursday  had announced that the President had offered amnesty to the insurgents in his determination to bring their  violent attacks to an end.

    He said:”President Goodluck Jonathan has also declared amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect. Series of integration programmes have been lined up for the members of the sect who would surrender their arms and embrace peace.”

    He asked members of the sect to “embrace the government’s gesture and key into the amnesty programme.”

    President Jonathan, who spoke at the occasion after the minister,made no reference to the offer.

    Twenty four hours later, Boko Haram, as if rejecting the ‘amnesty’ offer opened fire on three emirs in Borno State, killing one instantly.

    And yesterday, Abati declared  that the President offered Boko Haram no amnesty. He referred to the President’s Democracy Day broadcast and insisted that nowhere in the speech was ‘amnesty’ used.

    He said: “If you read the speech line by line, you will see that it contains the very message that the President wanted to put across and in that speech if you look at it I don’t think the President used amnesty, instead he spoke about those who are willing to renounce terrorism, those who are willing to embrace, opportunities have been created for them through the fact-finding committee, through the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolutions of Conflict in the North Eastern part of Nigeria.

    “So I will refer you basically to the speech by the President.”

    On the murder of the Emir of Gwoza on Friday, he said: “The President got the news and he was sad about it because what it means is that  these terrorists who are threatening peace and stability in Nigeria, are desperate and they continue to show that desperation.

    “But as the President made it clear in his democracy day broadcast, that was his main message to Nigerians, that at the end of the day it is the people of Nigeria that will prevail, no matter how desperate terrorists may be and that his government is determined to rid the country of terrorism.

    “And the support solidarity the cooperation, the expression of partnership that we are receiving from our neighboring countries, the whole of the West African sub-region, Africa and the entire world shows that this is the battle that the whole world is prepared to fight. So the days of peace as the President said in his speech is assured because this battle will not end until it is won and sustainable development is fully guaranteed.”

    Speaking on the ECOWAS meeting that ended in Ghana at the weekend, he said that the summit condemned the of terror in Nigeria.

    “Particularly, on the issue of terror, the summit condemned the activities of terror in Nigeria, the summit concluded that any threat of terror in any part of Africa or any part of West Africa in any country at all is a threat to entire sub-region and it is a threat to the continent and it is a threat to the whole of humanity,” Abati said, adding:”So the key message that came out with regards to the situation in Nigeria, was one of solidarity, partnership, cooperation and the heads of governments of west Africa states resolved that they will share intelligence and cooperate in every way possible, because doing so is to ensure stability within the region is to ensure sustainable development within the region and they spoke with one voice in condemning the terrorists activities in Nigeria.”

  • 2015: North to insist on presidency, zoning

    2015: North to insist on presidency, zoning

    Northern political leaders and elite are not about to give up the claim of the North to the Presidency in 2015,The Nation can report today.

    They are insisting that the Presidency should return to the North next year after President Goodluck Jonathan would have completed his current term.

    Chieftains of  the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF); Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF); Arewa Reawakening Forum  (ARF); Arewa Research and Development Project, (ARDP); Northern Union (NU); Middle Belt Forum (MBF); and the Code Group,at a meeting in Kaduna on Friday  resolved that it  will  not be  in the interest of the region for Jonathan to be re-elected in 2015.

    A source at the meeting said:” We all insisted that the North must produce the President in 2015. The parley was called to discuss the state of the North at a time like this. Though the major issue we wanted to discuss was the security situation of our part of the country today, the various contributors spoke of the need for the North to be politically re-awakened if it is desirous of solving its security problems.

    “We observed that the North has never been this divided. We have never been this disorganised. And after examining the reasons for our division, it was discovered that the 2015 presidential ambition of the President is behind the crises in the North, hence, it was resolved that in the interest of the North and the country as a whole, the North should insist on fielding a candidate that will emerge as the next president of the country in 2015.”

    Asked what would be the reaction of the region should the ruling party refuse to field a Northerner, the  source said it was decided  that the North  should go all out and ensure that it deploys  its numerical strength to produce  the next president.

    “Our position is very clear on this renewed demand. There was an agreement on rotating the presidency and now, we want to warn that if the parties to the pact fail to adhere to it, the North would use its numerical strength to ensure that power returns to it in 2015. That is the position arrived at the meeting,” the source said.

    “The meeting is just the first of many more that will follow. This is not about ACF or NU or the Middle Belt. It is a new, more vibrant mass movement that was not planned but emerged to redirect the North. We are not making the idea public yet because we don’t want it to be hijacked or infiltrated. We will keep it closed until we achieve the level of mobilisation we desire.

    “But as I said earlier, chieftains of all leading organisations in the region were part of the discussion in Kaduna and they all endorsed the new direction that will see us insisting on producing the President in 2015. Another reason why we are not out there talking about it yet is the current mood of the nation. We don’t want to be seen as talking politics while the nation burns. But we must talk politics.”

    Another source who claimed  he was invited but could not attend the meeting said there is nothing new in the outcome of the meeting as  the North has never, for once ,abandoned its plan to produce the next president.

    “We are just bidding our time. At the right time, those who want to, out of selfishness, drag Nigeria back would be told where the North stands. Not that the North is power- hungry. We are arguing based on the rational agreement that is on the ground today.

    “It is morally wrong for President Goodluck Jonathan to contemplate contesting in 2015 since he is aware that such a pact exists. The North is determined and is insistent that the leadership of this country will rotate to it in 2015 and I am making that very, very clear to you.

    “The North, on the basis of one man  one vote, can keep power indefinitely.Demography shows that the North can keep power as long as it wants because it will always win elections.”

  • States grumble as Jonathan fails to fill slots in cabinet

    States grumble as Jonathan fails to fill slots in cabinet

    •President considers Bafarawa, Tangwamen as Gulak’s successor

    Several states and at least one geopolitical zone are unhappy with President Goodluck Jonathan  for the continued delay in  filling  their ministerial slots .

    Kwara,Ekiti,Delta,Yobe and Anambra States are wondering why the President has not replaced their indegenes who were dropped from his cabinet.

    The Northwest’s quota too is yet to be filled.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the affected   states   are unhappy that they have no representations in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) contrary to Section 147 of the 1999 Constitution.

    However, it was gathered that the President is bidding his time to reduce pressure on him and avoid unnecessary bickering over available slots in some states.

    The President is said to prefer working at his own pace to being stampeded by office seekers.

    It was also learnt that the delay might have been due to likely changes   in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) soon because of the governorship aspirations of some ministers.

    Although some attributed the delay in fully constituting FEC to security challenges distracting the President, a Presidency source dismissed such insinuation.

    Ministers said to be interested in becoming governors include Chief  Nyesom Wike (Education) and Senator Bala Mohammed(FCT).

    A highly-placed source said: “Some states are unhappy with the President for not filling their slots in the FEC. This is a constitutional requirement which the President owes the said states.

    “Some of the states, especially those not being controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are feeling marginalised in the scheme of things.

    “A few others who defected to the PDP because of ministerial appointment are getting wearied that the promise made to them is not being fulfilled.

    “We are being told that the President is yet to make up his mind on some candidates he had short-listed.”

    Another source said: “Ministerial appointment is not a privilege at all, it is a constitutional duty which the President must fulfill as required by Section 147 of the 1999 Constitution.

    “Delay like this does not help the system to run well. We do not want the President to short change some states.

    “We also have instances where some ministers are overseeing two ministries. This is untidy.”

    Section 147 reads in part:  “There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.

    “Any appointment to the Office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.

    “Any appointment under subsection(2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of Section 14(3) of this constitution provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid, the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.”

    A source in the presidency said: “The President will soon fill the vacancies in the FEC, he is working on it.

    “But there is no evidence that the vacancies have affected the performance of the government. The President has no plan to short-change any state.”

    Meanwhile, there are also indications that the President is considering making either ex-Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa or Mr. Felix Tangwame as his next political adviser.

    It was gathered that some forces in the presidency prefer Bafarawa as successor to Ahmed Gulak, who was removed as Political Adviser by the President last month.

     

     

  • Jonathan condemns killing of Emir of Gwoza

    Jonathan condemns killing of Emir of Gwoza

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday condoled the government and people of Borno State and Northern Traditional Rulers on the murder of the Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Idrissa Shehu Timta.

    He also condemned the murder of the Emir.

    The President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media,Dr.Reuben Abati , said  that  “ the brazen attack and the wanton slaying of the respected traditional ruler reinforces the vital need”  for all patriotic Nigerians, “ irrespective of where they come from, their religions or political loyalties, to come together and work with urgency and complete unity of purpose to quickly end the murderous attacks by terrorists and insurgents that continue to threaten the security, cohesion and well-being of the nation.”

    He  pledged that  the Armed Forces and security agencies will continue to “receive all the empowerment and support they require from the Federal Government to speedily give maximum effect to his orders that they take all necessary action to stop the insurgency in the country. “

    The President prayed that Almighty Allah will receive the soul of the slain Emir and grant his family and subjects the equanimity to bear his loss.