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Tag: Goodluck Jonathan

  • ‘Jonathan didn’t sack me; I resigned’

    ‘Jonathan didn’t sack me; I resigned’

    After serving as Minister of Special Duties and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs in the cabinets of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Godsday Orubebe was one of the ministers President Jonathan reportedly relieved of their positions last week. But the ex-minister told some reporters in Asaba, the Delta State capital, including our own VINCENT AKANMODE, that he was not sacked; he voluntarily resigned his appointment to pursue his governorship ambition. He also spoke on President Jonathan’s rumoured second-term ambition and his relationship with the Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark who once vowed that Orubebe would not become the governor of Delta State while he (Clark) remained alive.

    Why did you quit the cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan?

    First and foremost, people should help me to thank God who made it possible for me to serve the nation for more than six years. In the history of this country, only very few people have been there for more than six years. I also believe that the opportunity is not meant for only one person. I have done my best serving this country.

    I also believe that I should also come to my state to use what God has given to me to join the Governor and the people of Delta State to move the state forward. I had to appeal to Mr. President, and he allowed me to come and play a great role in Delta State, having spent over six years as a minister, working for this country.

    I remain grateful to God and the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. I also remain grateful to my leader, my mentor and elder brother, President Goodluck Jonathan. I remain grateful to the Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and the people of Delta State for the support they gave me to remain in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for more than six years.

    Are you saying that the reports to the effect that President Jonathan sacked you from his cabinet are not correct?

    How can? After every FEC meeting, the Minister of Information comes out to brief journalists. It was unfortunate that so many people decided not to listen to the Minister of Information. They decided to form their own opinion.

    I worked with President Jonathan very, very well. He is an elder brother. He is a friend. He is my leader. He is a great Nigerian leader and I worked with him over the years. I was not sacked. I resigned and he allowed me to go when I told him that I needed to come to Delta State to support the Governor and the people of the state to move it to a greater level, having contributed my little quota towards the advancement of this country.

    I do not want to end my political career without coming to my own state to deposit what God has given to me through President Goodluck Jonathan. That was why I resigned to contest the governorship election in Delta State in 2015.

    Are you saying that your relationship with the President is still very cordial?

    In fact, is 100 per cent cordial. At every given time, I am ever ready, I am at his beck and call to do what he wants me to do. My coming to Delta State cannot stop me from working for him. Anyday, anytime, I am at his beck and call to do whatever he wants me to do.

    Why do you want to govern Delta State?

    I believe that having been a councillor, a local government council chairman, an executive member of the primary education board in Delta State, a party chairman, an adviser to Governor James Ibori on Urban and Regional Planning, Minister of Special Duties, Supervising Minister of National Planning Commission, Minister of State for Niger Delta and thereafter the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs over these years, I have garnered some experience.

    God has been faithful to me. He has deposited enough knowledge in me and I want to dedicate the knowledge that has been given to me by God to the service of the people of Delta State. I also want to support the governor that has moved the state this far, to add my own quota to move the state forward. And I think God has helped me and endowed me to be able to take off from where Dr. Uduaghan will stop.

    You inaugurated a group known as the Delta Peoples Forum (DPF). Many people believe that it is the springboard for the realisation of your political aspiration in Delta State…

    It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which aims to bring all Deltans together, to uplift the state. That is why their slogan is “Deltans Working Together.’ It is a great NGO and it is there to support the government; support Dr. Uduaghan to move Delta State from one level to the other. I believe the NGO is a strong team that would support any government that would come to power in Delta State. It is going to be a focal point of political activities.

    What can you offer the state if you are elected governor?

    If Deltans work together to take the state to the next level, we must be able to push the state forward. We are going to add to what Governor Uduaghan has done to take Delta State to the next level; to glorify what God has destined for the state.

    What is your relationship with the Ijaw National Leader, Chief Edwin Clark now, given his earlier threat that you would not become the governor of Delta State in his lifetime?

    Chief Edwin Clark is my father, my leader, my master and my mentor. He has the right to correct me any time he feels that I should be corrected. I have no disagreement with him, and if for any reason he feels bad about whatever statement I must have made or I was misquoted to have made, he should in all graciousness consider it fit in his mind to forgive and forget.

    Chief Edwin Clark is a rare gem. That we are seeing him now in our generation is a rare privilege. He is not only the leader of the Ijaw in Nigeria and Diaspora, many ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta, which comprises nine states not only in the South/South but also parts of South/West and South/East, also accept him as their leader. No man can disregard such an elder statesman.

    What is your take on the alleged second term bid of President Goodluck Jonathan?

    One, I want to say that President Goodluck Jonathan is qualified and allowed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to run for a second term. Two, those people who are opposed to him also know what he can do. President Goodluck Jonathan has the capacity to provide for Nigerians what we need.

    In the almost three years that he has ruled this country, we have all seen what he has done. The rails that were not working before his time are now working. The roads that were not fixed are now being fixed. The East/West Road, which was not meant to be completed, is about 68 per cent complete and it is going to be completed by December 2014. Our airports are working and power is now put deliberately by government in the hands of the people who can make it work. It is the private sector that can do it. President Jonathan has initiated policies and programmes to ensure that Nigeria moves from where it is now to a higher level.

    For a leader to move a country forward, he is bound to step on toes. I believe that the opposition is coming from the people who are used to the old order. But there is a new concept of governance in Nigeria now and President Jonathan is determined to take Nigeria to the next level. He is a great leader who loves Nigeria and thinks about Nigeria. I implore all Nigerians who worked for him in 2011 to come together to do it again, because he will not disappoint Nigerians.

    Having worked with President Jonathan for this long, do you share the sentiment in some quarters that he is a weak leader?

    I think having been governed by the military over the years has also affected our psyche and our perception of people who are leaders of this country. President Goodluck Jonathan is a democrat per excellence. He has allowed the rule of law to work in this country. So, what are they talking about? President Goodluck Jonathan is a firm leader. If he believes in anything, he will take it to a logical conclusion. President Goodluck Jonathan does not believe in waking up and sacking people because of rumour.

    He is very thorough. He must know why something has happened. He must investigate, he must ask questions to know why these things should happen, and you know Nigerians are not used to that. And I think a new way of governance, which is the democratic process, must go into the reasoning of Nigerians. That is the only way we can develop our democracy.

    He is not a weak leader. He is a great leader who rules the country by the rule of law and the provisions of the constitution of this country.

    What do you think are his chances in the 2015 presidential election?

    Very, very bright. I can tell you that I have not seen any candidate from anywhere that can rival President Goodluck Jonathan. Who has the credentials that he has? I believe that the challenges we have now that people are talking about are not as serious as the one we had in 2011. If you listen to the programme during the power and economic summits, the private sector openly testified that the revolution we are having in Nigeria now, we have never had it before. I believe that Nigerians know what to do. I am convinced that he is going to make it again.

    But there are claims in certain quarters that President Jonathan agreed to serve for a single term of four years…

    People have peddled this rumour over and over, but none has been able to come up with that agreement that they signed. The President has told Nigerians that he never signed any agreement. Who do you want to believe? Is it the people who are saying he signed an agreement because of their personal interest or our President, who has said that he never signed any agreement?

    I worked very closely with President Jonathan. I was the Deputy Director-General of President Jonathan Campaign Organisation. There is nothing like the one-term agreement that they are talking about. It is a mystery to me, and I believe Mr. President wholeheartedly, that there was no agreement of that nature. He could not have signed such an agreement when he knows that he is entitled to two terms. He is free to run, the constitution permits him to run and we will encourage him to run.

    How would you rate the performance of Governor Uduaghan?

    I think my friend and brother, His Excellency Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan started very well and he is finishing very strong. I will continue to support and pray for him to take this state to greater heights. He has tackled the problems of this state from so many dimensions. He has been able to work hard to ensure that security is maintained in the state. He has introduced a new concept of moving Delta State beyond oil. He has tried his best and I think that he is finishing very strong to the glory of God.

    Do you have any regret as a minister?

    I think I should thank God, first, for the opportunity He gave to me, and, secondly, for what I have learnt and for the knowledge I now have about Nigeria. I have no single regret. I remain grateful to God. I remain grateful to my elder brother, mentor and leader, President Goodluck Jonathan. I can’t help but to thank God.

    How do you react to the emergence of the new National Chairman of PDP, Adamu Mu’azu? Do you think he can return the party on the path of sustainable peace?

    You can even see from the few weeks he has spent as chairman that things are turning around. He is great Nigerian. He has the reach, the capacity, the contacts and the courage. PDP is fortunate to have a dynamic chairman, and he is building the house very fast. He is leading PDP to victory again. He is already leading the party to the promised land. The signs are very, very promising and glaring and we are very confident that he is moving the PDP to victory again.

    I want every member of PDP to pray for the leadership of the party and to support the leadership of PDP so that we can make it again. By the grace of God, PDP will win more states. Our credentials can speak for us and we are confident that PDP will make it again.

     

  • Bureau urges sacked ministers to declare assets

    Bureau urges sacked ministers to declare assets

    The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) yesterday urged the ministers, who were sacked last Wednesday from President Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet, to declare their assets.

    A statement by Mrs Iyabo Akinwale, the Head of Press and Protocol Unit of CCB in Abuja, said the directive was in accordance with “Paragraph 11 of the 5th Schedule, Part One of the 1999 Constitution”.

    The statement said the schedule provides that every public officer shall, within three months after coming into force of this bureau or immediately after taking office and at the end of every four years, submit to it a written declaration of all properties, assets and liabilities.

     

  • Amaechi’s K-leg has been straightened, says Obasanjo

    Amaechi’s K-leg has been straightened, says Obasanjo

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that the K-leg of the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has been straightened, declaring that he has no apology over the declaration he made in December 2006 at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt.

    The former President also admonished incumbents never to run down their predecessors, but to build on their achievements.

    He was apparently referring to President Goodluck Jonathan, who is now at loggerheads with the ex-President, who has temporarily withdrawn his membership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Amaechi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and now one of the leaders of the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), declared that the K-leg pronouncement was made based on wrong assumptions and information.

    Ex-President Obasanjo and the former Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly (Amaechi) spoke yesterday at the inauguration of Ambassador Nne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School, Ebubu-Eleme-Ogoni in Eleme Local Government Area of the state.

    The first phase of the projects’ inauguration would showcase Rivers government’s completed projects in over 300 communities in 300 days.

    The former President’s white aircraft (jet), marked G-SENT, landed at the Port Harcourt International Airport at 11:07 am, Obasanjo alighting at 11:09 am. He was received by Amaechi and wife, Dame Judith.

    Monarchs, led by the Chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, King Godwin Gininwa; the representative of the Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Magnus Ngei Abe and some members of the National Assembly, commissioners, other top government officials and eminent personalities were part of the welcoming party.

    The tumultuous crowd at the airport and projects’ sites kept shouting “Baba, Baba, Baba (daddy/father), we love you.” Many of the enthusiastic people carried placards with these inscriptions:, such as “OBJ, you are God sent to Nigeria” and “Amaechi, the people’s Governor.”

    Other inaugurated projects inaugurated on the first day of the two-day visit include the reconstructed and dualised 18.3 km G. U. Ake Road; the dualised Okporo Road, off the East-West Road; the dualised Elekahia-Rumuomasi and Ken Saro-Wiwa (Liberation Stadium) Roads, as well as the Model Primary Health Centre at Akpajo-Eleme.

    The Songhai Farm at Bunu-Tai, off Bunu-Afam Road in Tai Local Government Area; the Banana Plantation in Ogoni; Afam Power Station in Afam, Oyigbo Local Government Area; the 2×60 MV/132/33 KVA Elelenwo Sub-injection Station in Port Harcourt were also inaugurated.

    At the free Model Secondary School built on 21 hectares of land and being managed by an Indian firm), named after Nne Furo Kurubo, the state’s first permanent secretary and a former Nigerian Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, who was at the ceremony, the ex-President stated that the NGF chairman had done well.

    PDP’s flags were given to the governorship candidates of the party in the Southsouth zone, excluding Amaechi, at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt in December 2006, with the ex-President Obasanjo declaring that the ex-speaker’s candidature had K-leg, in spite of winning the governorship primaries.

    The flag for the Rivers governorship candidate of the PDP was later given to Amaechi’s cousin, Sir Celestine Omehia, from Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area

    Ameachi went to court. His property was thrown out of his Port Harcourt residence, while Dr. Peter Odili was governor. He relocated to Ghana with his family.

    Omehia won the election and was inaugurated as governor on May 29, 2007, but he was sacked by the Supreme Court in the landmark judgment of October 25, 2007, with Amaechi inaugurated as governor the following day at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

    Former President Obasanjo, who did acrobatic, by jumping to the high stage/podium, unlike Amaechi and Kurubo, who used the steps, said: “I am not here (in Rivers State) for politics. I am here to see development and to acknowledge development. So far, I have seen a bit. We still have other places to go.

    “The Governor (Amaechi) talked about K-leg. I believe that as a leader, when I have something that requires action, that action must be taken. Otherwise, I am not a worthy leader. A report came about him (Amaechi) which indicated K-leg and I said yes, there was a K-leg. But then, he did what was required in democratic dispensation. He went to court to straighten the K-leg.

    “I am one of those who when he got the judgment/verdict, I found it awkward. I did not voice it out publicly. Awkward in the sense that how can a man, who has not contested an election, a man who has not been voted for, will be declared the governor?

  • Inside Jonathan’s confab

    Inside Jonathan’s confab

    Want a peep into President Goodluck Jonathan’s impending National Conference (NC)? Just look back at the president’s pre-2011 election Attahiru Jega joker.

    But that doesn’t mean Jonathan would hold a monopoly of stunts at the NC. Good Lord, no! About every bloc coming there would stage manoeuvres; manoeuvres to outsmart the other bloc, and secure some short-term advantage. That would be perfectly Nigerian!

    Still, what is at stake is a future productive, truly federal Nigeria; as opposed to the present parasitic, pseudo-federal Nigeria, on auto-pilot to self-destroy.

    As things stand, and without being unnecessarily alarmist, it might just be the last opportunity for peaceful change; to reconfigure the country for sustainable development. Whoever wins in 2015, but with the present self-destruct structure unaltered, Nigeria would still be tethered to its old ruinous template.

    So, the confab should work towards a long-term solution to the perennial Nigerian crisis, and not short-term selfish manoeuvres. But it doesn’t appear the leading actors are thinking that way. They would rather game and push their luck.

    Besides, the build-up to the confab, its template of nominations and its general perception, have not betrayed any novel approach, judged against President Olusegun Obasanjo’s National Political Reforms Conference (2005) and Gen. Sani Abacha’s National Constitutional Conference (1994/1995).

    Yet, since these two confabs, rather than improve matters, the Nigerian polity has raced to the cliff at geometrical speed, to parody Thomas Malthus (1766-1834), that doomsday English cleric of the Industrial Revolution era (1770-1850).

    That brings the discourse back to the probable Jonathan motive by the confab, and the pre-2011 the Attahiru Jega joker.

    After the disastrous 2007 election, Maurice Iwu had come to the end of his tether. So, accidental President Jonathan allied himself with the popular clamour to remove Prof. Iwu and reform the electoral system; with the opposition making a feast of the Muhammed Lawal Uwais Electoral Reforms Panel’s recommendations.

    The president hit on the joker of Prof. Jega’s famed integrity — a sure winner, after Iwu’s Iwuruwuru years.

    But he did that without ceding, to the National Judicial Council (NJC), his sole power to appoint, subject to Senate confirmation, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chair and national commissioners, as the Uwais Panel had proposed.

    But even as President Jonathan rode the popular crest as electoral reforms (ER) president, he held close to his chest his decision to run or not to run. The not-so-hidden ploy was to shore up his credibility; and the not-so-unwritten script was to emerge the chief beneficiary from the ensuing reforms.

    Now, therefore, is a distinct sense of déjà vu. Then, it was ER. Now, it is NC. Then, mum was the word, on Jonathan running or not. Now, mum is the word on Jonathan’s re-run. Then, ER was a popular foil to build a callow president’s prospect. Now, NC is the platform to rebuild re-run credibility, after a president’s near-disastrous full term. As it was with ER, Jonathan’s mission is to emerge chief beneficiary of NC!

    The snag is, the deception is not so veiled this time round, if it was ever so veiled back then. Much as the president has tried, his lobbies continue to give the game away.

    Old man, Edwin Clark, keeps on alienating — as, by the way, he did with the North pre-2011 — with his vulgar abuse, other sections of the country he had decreed would vote his presidential godson. Young man, Asari Dokubo, keeps on his trashy threat of war, should Jonathan, his Ijaw kin, lose.

    Yet, the minority South-South lacks the number for Jonathan to prevail in a free and fair election. So, where will the tally come from — the marines?

    In the building scenario, the NC is as good a grandstand platform as any, for electoral harvest. That, of course, has fuelled leading opposition politicians’ wholesale dismissal of the exercise — another extreme, if you ask.

    President Jonathan apparently has tasted the sweet poison of Nigeria’s central coffers; and would appear in no hurry to surrender the honey pot — as the majority Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba, before him.

    Indeed, President Obasanjo so enjoyed the lollies he, without much ado, craved an unconstitutional third term, which he however continues to deny! The North, on the other hand, appears sold on the hubris that that honey pot is its divine right to keep — in perpetuity, if possible!

    Still, the Niger Delta continues to bear the ecological brunt of Nigeria’s oil wealth. So, it is in the South-South’s best interest that Nigeria be restructured so that region can, at least, marshal the cash to fix its oil-devastated ecology. So, should Jonathan go through the motions of another NC without radical re-tinkering of Nigeria, he would incur the boos of even generations unborn in the Niger Delta.

    Still, Jonathan and his lobby are not the only ones that would attempt to play games. The North, for one, with its siddon-look temper (apologies to the late Chief Bola Ige) may not have the clout to scuttle Jonathan confab.

    But it picks no bones about its preference for the status-quo, if sentiments from the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) are to be believed. That is apparently why the ACF has dismissed the Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG’s restructuring model, after its February 12 one-day Yoruba Constitutional Conference in Ibadan, Oyo State, as confederation bordering on disintegration.

    The South East is an interesting study in contrasts. While the extant partisan establishment over there seems resolved to put the future survival of their region at the service of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential encore, Igbo Leaders of Thought, led by Prof. Ben Nwabueze, are insistent on cutting a fair deal for the Igbo nation in a truly federal and restructured Nigeria. It would be interesting how these two strands play out at the confab.

    But perhaps the most interesting manoeuvres would come from the South West. The traditional South West stand is radical restructuring ala Sovereign National Conference (SNC). That was basically the idea the ARG one-day Yoruba conference sold, even if the Jonathan confab is not sovereign.

    But immediate political exigencies have, somewhat, diluted this consensus. The current South West partisan lords of the manor would not touch the Jonathan confab. But the body language of followers, in that same ruling party, is much more nuanced and ambivalent.

    On the other hand, the Afenifere old guard, with a few young elements, are clambering on the Olusegun Mimiko Labour Party (LP) platform which, for sheer political survival, makes no secret of its Jonathan dalliance. As Mimiko courts Jonathan to survive, Afenifere courts Mimiko to fend off the looming hegemony of the Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) group.

    The question is how much of its SNC ideals Afenifere would trade off, for the Mimiko-Jonathan support, in mortal fear of an APC hegemony? So, when ARG roared against anyone betraying the “Yoruba cause”, at its Ibadan one-day meeting, it was clear the message was for the Mimiko-Afenifere camp.

    Again, it would be interesting how all these play out inside Jonathan’s confab.

  • Stella Oduah; so much for native intelligence

    Stella Oduah; so much for native intelligence

    Those who are saying I should be removed are wasting their time, it is just beer parlour talk; this minister is here today, tomorrow and day after—Stella Oduah, Sunday 26 January, 2014.

    That was a boastful former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah at a recent “Aviation Masterplan Workers’ Buy in” programme held at the Grand Ballroom of Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lekki.

    The 3-day event had in attendance top management staff of the main parastatals in the ministry as well as a few others drawn mainly from her committee of friends carried over from the infamous “Neighbour-to-Neighbour” campaign group. Remember; the faceless group at the fore front of the campaign for Jonathan presidency the first time?

    Some of those in attendance even quoted her to have added; “yes, I may not have gone to school, but I have native intelligence.” Hmmmm!

    The sack last week of arguably one of the most powerful members of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government came as a huge surprise to not just a few Nigerians. The way and manner Madam Stella was conducting herself and the affairs of the Ministry of Aviation with near total impunity without even a mere rebuke from the presidency in spite of public outcry, gave little room to doubt that nothing, absolutely nothing, could touch her as long as Jonathan remains Nigeria’s president.

    Unlike that Ghanaian former female cabinet Minister that boasted that her mission in government was to make a few millions of dollars, a comment she was later to regret as she was promptly fired by the Ghanaian president, (for even harbouring the thought) Stella Oduah had reportedly said and done worse than that and nothing happened to her until last week.

    If truly she “may not have gone to school but have native intelligence”, little wonder then that she could not comprehend the enormity of the assignment given to her by the president, hence she ran the Ministry of Aviation based on how far her native intelligence could take her. Like a market woman put in charge of a hi-tech industry, Madam Stella did not know her right from left and presided over Nigeria’s aviation industry in the typical Oyingbo market woman style.

    Before I am crucified for saying this, let me make it clear that I am not a novice in aviation and count myself as one of those Nigerian journalists well informed about aviation matters worldwide, especially the Nigerian aviation industry, having spend over a decade actively covering aviation as a correspondent and still involved in the industry somehow.

    We’ve never had it so bad in the industry in Nigeria. Forget about the so called airport remodeling projects of Stella Oduah, those are just cosmetics, which only a market woman awash with cash and obsessed with ‘show off’, the ‘Sisi Eko’ mentality would readily indulge in. The tendency, when you have so much cash and not accountable to anybody, to build houses all over the place and acquire properties, without any thought of how to adequately equip and maintain them to make them continually functional. That in summary is the mentality behind the airport remodeling projects as far as I am concerned.

    Of what use is a ‘beautiful’ terminal building where the conveniences are not working or in constant good order; where uninterrupted power cannot be guaranteed; where pilfering goes on unabated? By the way an airport is not just the terminal building, it is more than that. What is the state of the navigational equipments at these remodeled airports? If the terminal building is the most beautiful and most modern in the world but the airfield is 19th century technology, you have done nothing but build a modern palace equipped with pit latrine.

    Well, the jury is still out on Stella’s airports.

    What is most disturbing is the financial management style of Madam Stella and the source or sources of the funds used for her airport projects in particular. It is alleged that not less than N150 million is taken by the Ministry of Aviation under Madam Stella’s watch, every month from the account of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), one of the agencies under the ministry. This is a serious allegation that requires urgent investigation by all the anti graft agencies of the Federal Government to confirm or disprove.

    Nothing is proven yet and Madam Stella is not guilty, cannot be guilty until proven guilty. It is a good thing that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says the matter of the N225 million bullet proof limousine scandal involving NCAA and linking the former Minister is still being investigated.

    You remember the BMW cars, two of them, allegedly bought by the NCAA for the exclusive use of Madam Oduah? Why the former Minister made spirited efforts to distance herself from the scandal insisting she directed the parastatal in question to do the needful, the House of Representatives found out that her hands were not clean in the matter while a presidential panel equally indicted her.

    That President Goodluck Jonathan found the courage to kick Madam Stella out, or forced her to resign is commendable, even though belated. But having gone this far, the president must take the next step and ensure that she is investigated by the relevant agencies of government and prosecuted for whatever offence she might have committed while in government, especially financial crimes as being alleged.

    It might not be a bad idea to conduct a forensic examination of the financial dealings and records of the Ministry of Aviation and its parastatals under Madam Stella Oduah, just to put the records straight. Apart from the NCAA, the accounts of the other parastatals were equally raided by the Ministry under her watch, such that most, if not all were left with nothing other than enough to pay salaries. Even training allowances for staff on mandatory local and/or international training programmes, especially at NCAA could not be met became money had been sent to Abuja.

    Trusting the EFCC to do a thorough job here is a bit risky. As the Senate has ordered in the case of the alleged missing money in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), forensic experts should be called in to look into Madam Stella’s book. A lot could be revealed. For instance there is this allegation that the former minister had squandered the funds realized under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) Nigeria has with so many foreign countries. Some have said part of the money for her airport projects came from the BASA fund which under the law she had no power to spend. But some have equally alleged that the former Minister used her closeness to the President to cunningly get Dr Jonathan to sign a blank cheque for to spend BASA money. These are just allegations.

    As Madam Stella is kicked out of office, she would be remembered not so much by her accomplishments/achievements, (if any, think there is a few) but by the politics of her action (the Rivers State aircraft issue), the arrogance of power she exhibited and the native intelligence that reflected in all her actions. But above all, she would be remembered as a round peg in a square hole. GOOD RIDDANCE Madam and over to you President Jonathan, let the needful be done in her case.

     

     

  • Why ministers were ‘allowed to go’, by Maku

    Why ministers were ‘allowed to go’, by Maku

    Yesterday’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) was solemn.

    President Goodluck Jonathan shocked the ministers when he announced the exit of four of them from the cabinet.

    A major casualty – the controversial Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah – was absent at the meeting. She had been told by the President of the decision to “let her go”.

    It was not clear whether the three other ministers dropped from the cabinet were told before yesterday.

    Police Affairs Minister Caleb Olubolade, Minister of Niger Delta Godsday Orubebe and Minister of State for Finance Yerima Ngama, attended the meeting.

    But Olubolade and Orubebe left before the end without talking to reporters.

    Ngama spoke briefly in Hausa to a few reporters on his way out of the Villa.

    Yesterday’s action by the President followed Monday’s forced exit of Chief of Staff to the President Mike Oghiadomhe.

    Minister of Information Labaran Maku told reporters at the end of the FEC meeting that the ministers were “allowed to go” to pursue personal and political goals.

    According to him, the President thanked them for their contributions and wished them well in their future endeavour.

    Until substantive ministers are sworn in, he said the President directed the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom to take charge of the Aviation Ministry, the Minister of State for Niger Delta, Isiaku Darius is to take charge of the Ministry, Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will oversee her portfolio in addition to that of the Minister of the State. Minister of State FCT, Olajumoke Akinjide will take charge of the Police Affairs Ministry.

    He said: “The President announced further changes in the federal executive council. He said a number of ministers have been asked to step out of the federal executive council to pursue or further their own interests, some in politics others private-focused. But mainly what the president did today was to allow ministers who have indicated interest in pursuing further goals in the polity and in the economy and in the life of the country, to be allowed to go.

    “In announcing the acceptance of their decision to participate further in the polity, the President thanked them very sincerely for the great job they have done in helping the government realise a number of the goals that have been achieved under the transformation agenda. The President believes that they have done so well for the country, they have done so well for this administration. He was generally happy with what they have done, particularly in their various sectors to help the administration realise the goals that we see today and the results that we have arrived at under the transformation programme of the government.”

    Maku said the President explained that the former Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadomhe was not sacked because of corruption or malpractices.

    Maku said: “The President explained that contrary to this insinuation which came from the social media and were also replicated in some regular media, Oghiadomhe left to pursue further interest in politics.

    “The office of the chief of staff does not supervise the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), it has no direct correlation with the work of the NNPC and he said if Oghiadomhe had left because of NNPC, then it will suggest that there must have been people in the NNPC that would have been involved with him and those people too would have gone. So contrary to these speculations, the President asked him to go when he offered to resign to participate to pursue interest in politics. The president made it very clear that the resignation of the former chief of staff has nothing to do with the alleged misdemeanors in NNPC, but rather it was purely a decision of the former chief of staff to withdraw his services to participate in pursuing further interest in politics,” he added.

    On whether Mrs Oduah was asked to go based on the report on the N255 million car scam by the committee set up to investigate the allegation, Maku said: “I have just reported exactly what the President said. Also don’t forget allegations don’t necessarily mean guilt and I think the press should always take sometimes to be patient. But the truth of the matter is that they left because they indicated interest in playing deeper roles in the politics of the country and the President has decided to let them go”.

    On why the government is keeping silent on the allegation of missing funds by Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, he said: “I will caution that we be patient for the institution of government to respond. You will recall that the CBN governor claimed $49 billion or there about was missing and inquiry shows that that was not so. Now he has been making further claims and NNPC has been responding and I believe that I do not have the facts now to answer your questions.”

    Maku added that the council considered the report of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group and referred it to the Minister of Agriculture to look into the recommendations and present a memo.

     

  • Jonathan’s game of musical chairs

    Jonathan’s game of musical chairs

    It is becoming obvious to a growing number of Nigerians who bought into the idea of the proposed national dialogue that the conference may not succeed in dousing the current tension in the country, Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI writes.

    Then President Goodluck Jonathan set up the Femi Okurounmu-led committee late last year to work out the modalities for a national conference to restructure the country’s political system, the idea was greeted with enthusiasm by many Nigerians, who have been yearning for a return to true federalism, to harness the country’s abundant human and natural resources. But since the federal government released the modalities for the nomination of delegates for the conference on January 30, criticisms against the idea has continued to mount.

    Going by the modalities, the consensus of Nigerians from various walks of life is that the federal government is not sincere and that the outcome of the conference would not satisfy the aspirations of Nigerians. For instance, Monday Ubani, a legal practitioner and chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Chapter, said based on the modalities announced by the Presidency, the conference is likely to be dominated by politicians. “When politicians gather, you know the kind of mischief they cause; they would not address the fundamental issues bedeviling this country,” he said in an interview with The Nation last Wednesday. Ubani said the irony is that those people who have been very vocal on the matter and have articulated their positions would not have the opportunity to participate in the conference. “It is those who never believed in national conference that would take part in it,” he added.

    He noted that the country is not making progress because the Nigerian state requires restructuring for efficiency. “We are not running a proper federalism; we are running a unitary system of government. The issue of allocation is absurd; every state goes to Abuja with a cap in hand, begging for money,” he added.

    Even those who ordinarily support President Jonathan are not in agreement with him on this matter. Norman Osakuni, a Lagos-based chartered accountant and lead partner, Egba Osakuni & Company, is a great fan of the President, but he believes the number one citizen is wrong-footed as far as the modalities for the conference is concerned. His words: “I totally disagree with the idea of making discussion on the option of pulling out of the federation a no-go area. Gone are the days when our fathers used to impose wives or husbands on their children. Marriages nowadays require the consent of the two parties involved. In the same vein, the continued coexistence of the ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria should be negotiated.”

    Osakuni said ethnic nationalities in Nigeria never came together to agree to live together under one entity and that the proposed national dialogue would have provided a golden opportunity for them to do so. He believes that given the chance no ethnic nationality would opt to leave the union. “Rather, it would have provided an opportunity for us to reassess our relationship and chart a way forward based on current realities. What the Jonathan administration has succeeded in doing with the idea of a no-go area is pushing dooms day forward,” he told our correspondent.

    Against this background, Ubani insists that there is no difference between the so-called national conference witnessed during the Olusegun Obasanjo era and the one currently being embarked upon. “It is going to end up in the same way: in confusion,” he said, adding this one is going to be more annoying because of the enormous amount of money involved (N7 billion). Ubani said the money should have been used to tackle the country’s decrepit infrastructure.

    The NBA chairman said the country is sitting on a keg of gunpowder as it approaches the year 2015 because several geo-political zones are threatening fire and brimstone if things do not go their way politically. His words: “We are nearing 2015, remember the American prediction and remember the threats from several geo-political zones. The east is threatening, the north is threatening, the south-south is also threatening. It is not desirable for us to go into elections without resolving some of these issues. If you do that, you are creating a recipe for disaster.” He said if the country goes ahead with the forthcoming election without resolving some of the contending issues, the ticking time bomb would explode. “The disaster that may take place after 2015 may be more than what took place during the civil war, if care is not taken. This is because there is bottled up anger,” he added. He said if the federal government had been sincere; the conference would have helped to douse the tension in the country before the election.

    Prof. Ben Nwabueze, a constitutional lawyer and chairman of The Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians has been faulting the report of the Okurounmu committee, which worked out the modalities for the proposed conference, saying it falls far short of what the group had canvassed in a 30-page memorandum it submitted to Jonathan in August last year. For instance, according to the group, the conference it has in mind should have two fundamental attributes: One, adopting a suitable new constitution embodying re-negotiated terms and conditions on which the diverse ethnic groups comprised in Nigeria can live together in peace, security, progress, prosperity, general well-being and unity as one country. Two, the conference should be one of ethnic nationalities that make up the Nigerian state.

    But rather than fashioning a new constitution as the Patriots had suggested, the advisory committee recommended a conference whose deliberations would only be integrated into the existing 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly. At least, the committee did not state it anywhere in its report that the proposed national conference is for the purpose of framing a new constitution. Contrary to expectation, it also failed to state categorically that the new constitution to be adopted should be submitted to the people in a referendum for approval.

    Tony Uranta, a member of the National Conference Advisory Committee, said the committee did not suggest that the outcome of the conference be subjected to a referendum because such decision should be taken by the participants. “If we had gone for a referendum, it means the national conference may not hold as planned this year,” he added.

    Ubani disagrees, however, saying government has deliberately created a recipe for disaster by not properly spelling out the objectives of the national conference. His words: “My position has always been that the objectives of the national conference must be properly spelt out and that spelling out must be done through an act of the National Assembly. That was my recommendation even to the Femi Okurounmu-led committee; that we must enact a law spelling out the modalities, the issues to be talked about and what to do with the outcome of the talk, so that we would know what we are dealing with.” He added: “When you now constitute a national conference and say that it is the conferees that would determine the outcome, you have deliberately created a recipe for disaster.”

    Such obstacles, the lawyer said, were deliberately put in place to make sure that the conference fails to achieve the aspirations of Nigerians. The fact that 75 per cent of the delegates must agree on an issue before it can be ratified, he added, suggests that government does not want them to arrive at a consensus on critical matters. “They decided to set the consensus parameter at 75 per cent; that is, three quarters of the delegates must approve before they agree on any issue. This is very high; it is always two-third,” he said.

    For Osakuni, the fact that Jonathan and state governors would nominate a sizeable number of the delegates is not an issue. “After all, those that would be nominated are Nigerians and may not necessarily toe government line at the conference,” he argued. But he agrees that the objective should be to dismantle the bogus federalism the country is currently operating, by giving more powers to the federating units and leaving the central government to control areas like currency, defence and external affairs. “We would develop faster if a healthy competition is encouraged among the federating units, by allowing them to develop at their own pace,” the accountant enthused.

    Osakuni said the idea of proposing to ask the National Assembly to incorporate the outcome of the conference into the existing constitution is one of the biggest mistakes the Jonathan administration has made with regards to the proposed conference. He asked rhetorically: “How can you ask the National Assembly, which is one of the mistakes foisted on Nigerians by the military through the current constitution, to vet the will of the people? Where does the sovereignty lie? Is it with the National Assembly or with the people? What do you think members of the National Assembly would do? They would throw most of the recommendations overboard. Asking Nigerians to decide through a referendum would have been the best approach.

  • For Oghiadomhe who makes people jubilate

    Chief Mike Oghiadomhe is no mean a personage. Indeed, he could easily pass for a great man if you judged greatness by a man’s influence, positions held and his vast means. On these scores, CMO (we will have to stick to his initials here because as you can see Oghiadomhe creates irritating spatio-temporal challenges for a writer) is actually a great man. For the uninitiated, CMO is the recently sacked/resigned Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan. The Fugar, Edo State born gentleman was deputy governor of Edo State for eight years (1999 – 2007). Going by this rich track record in public service, we can safely extrapolate that CMO must be extremely rich if not affluent.

    But why have the travails, the rise and fall of CMO and his material accumulations become an object of fascination to Hardball? Well, apart from the fact that Nigerians may never know whether CMO took a walk or was axed, numerous interesting side-bars have emerged from his exit from the gilded and much-coveted office. No, we are not talking about the many allegations of tales flying about in the wake of his exit. The allegations of inefficiency and other procedural finagling are of no interest to us. So what is so spectacular about CMO and how is his fall different from all other recently resigned/sacked ministers’?

    It is the small matter of people everywhere jubilating about CMO’s ouster as if they just won a raffle bonanza. According to the news which broke early last week, the staff at the Presidency where he was the chief were said to have broken into loud jubilation upon hearing that he had fallen. If you thought that may have been as a result of perhaps a strict disciplinary regime of his which often does not sit well with subordinates, wait until you read this.

    In far-away Fugar, CMO’s hometown, the news of his fall from grace was said to have sent residents into a wild jubilation. Let us take this quote from Vanguard newspaper in order to properly situate what may be described as CMO’s epitasis: “Youths and the elderly (of Fugar) were observed drinking and celebrating his alleged sack. One of the men who informed that he was a school mate of Chief Oghiadomhe, said: “I don’t take alcohol, but today I had to drink. This man rose to power through our son (Rear Admiral Mike) Akhigbe, but he got there and abandoned everybody, including the man that made him…””

    There is a lesson here for every man of power today to learn. It is better captured by the Yoruba saying to the effect that, “humanity is my clothing”. Made plain, it is an evocation that says it is always about the people; people, people and people. The people in your household, the people in your office, the people in your village, your neighbourhood, your church/mosque, your ward, your town, etc., always, a worthy life is that which is lived for the people, starting with the ones around you. CMO apparently never learnt that lesson, which explains why he lost in his ward in the last Edo gubernatorial election; which may explain why he will never win an election in Edo State; which explains why everyone around him is happy about his downfall.

    We all must learn that lesson here that power, influence and great wealth are nothing, if they are not deployed to the benefit of humanity.

     

     

  • Jonathan visits Oba of Badagry

    Jonathan visits Oba of Badagry

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday visited the Oba of Badagry, Lagos State, De-Wheno Aholu Menutoyi Babatunde Akran.

    Jonathan arrived the palace at 10.35 a.m. and was received by the monarch and the town’s chiefs-in-council.

    After a closed-door meeting with the monarch, the President thanked Oba Akran and the people for the peace in the land. He said this was the result of the monarch’s good leadership.

    Jonathan assured that the Federal Government would return and preserve the glorious days of Badagry.

    He said: “I want to thank you for the support you have given to the government and for the peace in Badagry. Within this period, we do not get disturbing stories. This is not brought about by chance but by his majesty, his cabinet and all senior people, including youths who have been working hard.

    “Also, for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members who have come to receive us; we thank you most sincerely. I want to thank you for this warm reception and assure you that the glorious days of Badagry will be returned.”

    The chiefs-in-council poured libation, using water, alligator pepper and wine.

    Prayers were offered for the President, his administration and the nation.

    Oba Akran said the visit was special to him and the people of Badagry.

    He told the President that Badagry was the first place in Nigeria where Christianity was preached.

    The monarch urged the federal and Lagos State governments to make the town a religious tourist centre.

    Oba Akran assured Jonathan of his support and that of the residents.

    Jonathan, at the weekend, visited the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero; Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi and Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu.

     

     

     

  • Body seeks pension increment in budget

    Body seeks pension increment in budget

    •Oyo urged to pay N24b gratuity arrears

    Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) National President Dr. Abel Afolayan has berated the Federal Government for excluding the 33 per cent pension increase in the 2014 budget.

    Afolayan, who was represented by the Vice-President, Southwest, Alhaji Lateef Adegoke, spoke yesterday at a meeting with Oyo State pensioners in Ibadan.

    He said the Federal Government’s action showed that it does not care about the welfare of pensioners.

    Afolayan regretted that four years after the government approved the 33 per cent increment, pensioners were yet to be paid.

    He said the NUP and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) wrote President Goodluck Jonathan; the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Jonah Otunla; and Senate President David Mark to express their displeasure.

    Afolayan said: “If the 33 per cent pension increment is not included in the 2014 budget before the end of March, Southwest pensioners will march on Abuja.”

    NUP Chairman, Oyo State branch, Ganiyu Azeez urged the state government to pay the N10 billion gratuity owed retired civil servants and the N14 billion gratuity owed retired primary school teachers.

    Azeez said: “It is disheartening that yesterday was February 17 and January pension has not being paid. In a few days, February pension would also be due. We were not promptly paid in December and there was a minor protest. We were assured then that such a delay would not happen again. In spite of several letters to the governor to pay pensioners 13th month, nothing has been heard. If there is anyone who needs the 13th month bonus, it is pensioners.”

    He urged the governor to pay January and February pension and order that pensioners be paid on the 25th of every month.

    Azeez said: “The rate at which workers retire monthly is higher, compared to the rate at which workers are employed. If care is not taken, in the next five years, pensioners will be more than workers. To stem this tide, our union recommends that the state government and workers dialogue and key into the contributory pension scheme.”

    He warned that pensioners’ would protest, if the state government fails to pay January and February pension before month end.