The Nation Newspaper

Tag: interest

  • De-listing of LGs: Whose interest?

    SIR: Nigeria runs a convoluted federal system of government. Obviously, one of the impediments of this current convoluted governance structure is the over concentration of powers, enormous responsibilities and resources of the state at the centre. The sharing formula for revenues accruing to the nation bears eloquent testimony to this by allocating 56% to the centre, 24% for states and 20% to Local Government Councils. For a long while this lopsided arrangement has given impetus to the demand for devolution of powers.

    The ongoing National Conference came at the right time to objectively tackle the issue and remedy the situation. However, to the consternation of all, the Political Restructuring Committee of the conference penultimate week veered off the track by inconceivably suggesting the de-listing of Local Government Administration entirely from the constitution of Nigeria. Ultimately the suggestion if implemented will annihilate the only reason why Nigerians thought government exists in the rural areas in the first place. This wrongly mooted idea should not be allowed to find its way into the recommendations of the National Conference, pronto!

    Surely, the impact of Local government administration has not been felt in majority of the states in Nigeria since 2003 when the aberration called joint states and local government account was created. This contraption gave state governments the unfettered, undeserved leverage to blatantly divert allocations meant for local government councils to other non-appropriated interests.

    Over the years states and local government councils have become paupers or mere appendages of the almighty federal government only to fail woefully in meeting the aspirations of their people. In the same vein, states have wittingly reduced the local government administration to a mere government house department which can only function at the whims of the executive governor. In some states, local government elections are yet to be held in more than seven years. Governors now determine which projects to execute or not in local governments they neither know well nor even visit in their four-year tenure.

    Section 7 (1) of the 1999 constitution as amended granted the states this undeserved cover. The section affirms that “the system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the Government of every State shall, subject to section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.

    Local government administration under the 1999 constitution is very confusing as that of 1979. Both constitution guarantees the existence of a democratically elected local government system; they however gave states the responsibility to handle issues of organisation and structure. The constitutional confusion and complexity led to a prolonged disagreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Lagos State Government over the creation of local governments between1999-2007. The issues in contention are yet to be fully resolved and these are negatively affecting the development of local government administration. What is the way out?

    Local governments can do better if they are well funded. The role of the third tier of government should be well defined and all the legal and constitutional obstacles hampering its performance should be removed. An urgent legal interpretation of the Joint State and Local government account is paramount. The local government will never perform if its duties are usurped by men in the city and proxies who know little or nothing about the winding roads leading to the rural areas.

    De-listing of local government administration from the constitution will further exacerbate the suffering of majority of Nigerian in the rural areas and deny them the little dividends of democracy they presently enjoy.

    • Sunday Onyemaechi Eze

    Samaru, Zaria

  • In students’ interest

    In students’ interest

    Gingered by the high prices of some goods at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), the Students’ Union Government (SUG) organised a weekly trade fair from which students are now benefiting. GILBERT ALASA (400-Level Foreign Languages) and VALOR IDUH write.

     

     

    As the last academic session at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) was about ending, students faced what they called the “excesses” of traders on the Ugbowo Campus. The prices of some goods shot up.

    Worried by the development, Osariemen Okuonghae, then aspiring to become Director of Welfare of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), pledged to bring down the prices, if elected. To students, it was an empty boast.

    After Osariemen was elected, he liaised with his colleagues to hold a trade fair on students’ welfare.

    On December 1, last year, some traders gathered at the June 12 Secretariat, the union’s building, to sell various products and food items at cheaper prices.

    A week after, the news spread like wild fire. A swarm of buyers and sellers besieged the open Tetragon at the popular June 12 Shopping Complex. As expected, students took advantage of the discounted prices to shop to their hearts’ content.

    Osariemen said the SUG market was part of the “Eat well, pass well” initiative of the Osifo-led Students’ Union administration, which he said was aimed at making students to feel the impact of the union.

    He said: “We set the record today as the first SUG to hold a students’ fair in the history of this institution. As socialists, we are concerned about the welfare of our students. Naturally, students can stay for a semester without buying new clothes. But they can’t stay without food. We discovered that students comprehend better when they eat well. That is what informed this programme.”

    When CAMPUSLIFE visited the market, the students were happy as they bought the highly discounted items. A bowl of garri, which used to sell for N700 went for N400. The same for rice, which was sold for N540 instead of N650. Prices of other commodities, such as kerosene, canned and dietary foods were equally discounted.

    A student-trader, Enadem Eluseh, who brought items for sale, praised the initiative, noting that he had never experienced such a turnout of students since he started trading in the institution.

    He said: “It has been a wonderful experience for me. Certainly, the buyers are happier than the sellers. Despite that we don’t make much profit here, the turnover is quite high and that, to me, is essential.”

    But for Mama Osato, a food stuff trader, profit was not the motive for

    “As parents, we equally have our children as students spread across the nation. So, we see every student as our child. We are driven by that motherly love and not the financial gain.”

    Osarieme said the partnership with the traders was at no cost to the union. “At first, some of the sellers were doubtful. But when they saw the level of patronage by students, many of them started bringing their product to the campus. As you can see, we have many traders selling their items cheap to students. This fair will continue to hold every Saturday.”

    Yet, some traders jacked up their prices without reasons. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that there was a disagreement between the union officials and a woman-trader, who inflated her prices without informing the union. The disagreement was later settled.

    The SUG Vice President, Margaret Odia, said the union was on alert to ensure compliance with prices and quality. “We ensure we come here every Saturday to feel the pulse of the buyers and check fluctuations in prices. So far, the response has been wonderful,” she said.

    When CAMPUSLIFE sought to know how the fair affected traders on campus, Mama Timothy, who deals in food stuff, said she was forced to reduce prices to survive in the competition. She said: “We all know that everybody, especially students, loves buying cheap items. With this fair, I have decided to reduce prices to keep my customers.”

    Students, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, praised the union leaders for the initiative. Henry Chibueze, 100-Level Agriculture, said: “I am particularly thrilled by the affordability of items being sold at the fair as well as its closeness to the hostel. The prices are quite cheap compared to what is obtained outside. I think leaders of students’ unions across campuses need to take a cue from this idea.”

    A 400-Level Civil Engineering student said it was his first time of witnessing such initiative as a student. “When I heard about the SUG market in the hostel, I thought it was a joke. But I am surprised at how this whole idea was put together. I pray it continues,” he stated.

  • Liverpool step up interest in Ambrose

    Liverpool step up interest in Ambrose

    Liverpool are set to step up their interest in Celtic defender Efe Ambrose, according to reports.

    Metro claims Reds scouts were impressed with the player’s performances at the African Cup of Nations, and that the Nigerian international was the only name brought back to manager Brendan Rodgers after the tournament.

    And, the paper goes on to report that Liverpool representatives have been dispatched to watch the £6million-rated 24-year-old during the Hoops’ title procession in Scotland, as they ‘step up’ their interest in the player.

    Manager Neil Lennon is well aware of the interest in his player, but revealed that there is yet to be a concrete offer for the player, who is contracted at Parkhead until 2015.

    “I know a few Ambrose fans. There is nothing concrete, but I am aware of the interest,” he is quoted as saying by the paper.

    Liverpool aren’t full of options in defence, with veteran centre Jamie Carragher announcing earlier in the month that he’s to retire at the end of the season.

    That leaves Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel and Sebastian Coates as the manager’s options at Anfield in the summer, and Rodgers already appears to be looking at his options on Merseyside.

  • ‘12% interest rate will kill SMEs’

    THE pegging of Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 12 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would hamper the growth of the  Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and eventually kill them if care is not taken, the Executive Secretary, The Nigerian Association of  Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Mr Eke Ubiji, has warned.

    He said: “This is because banks will not like to give out the funds to borrowers at the same rate they procure it from the CBN.

    “It, therefore, means that any SME operator who wants to borrow money from the bank must be ready to pay a higher rate than the 12 per cent, in addition to other charges that the banks normally impose on loans,” he said.

    According to him, instead of the monetary authorities using only high interest rate to check inflation for the eighth consecutive time, it would have been better to use other monetary policy instruments. He said reducing interest would encourage business owners to have access to funds, or set up new ones, to create job opportunities, to employ people, and reduce unemployment in the country.

    “There are various methods the government can use to check inflation. One of such, depending on the risk profile on the borrower, is the issuance of treasury bills to mop up excess liquidity in the system. With the rate, no serious entrepreneur can dare to take loan to venture into production in an environment, where one has to provide one’s own electricity, water, security; and at times, construct roads to enable  vehicles to access the business premises to evacuate goods that have been produced to the market place,” he said.

    Recently, the Monetary Policy Committee retained the benchmark lending rate at 12 per cent for the eighth time in a row.

  • Atuche: Witness got N3m interest on loan

    A Lagos High Court, Ikeja heard yesterday that a prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Elizabeth Ebi, received N3 million as interest in a loan transaction for which the former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), Mr. Francis Atuche, is undergoing trial.

    An operative of the EFCC, Hamada Bello, confirmed to the court presided over by Justice Lateefa Okunnu that Mrs. Elizabeth Ebi, who is also a Director in Futureview Securities, received N3 million as interest in the loan transaction.

    Futureview Securities, Trajet Limited and Extra Oil Limited are the companies alleged to be involved in the N18.2 billion loans transaction during Atuche’s tenure as the Managing Director of Bank PHB.

    Atuche, his wife, Elizabeth and the former Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu, told an Ikeja High Court that Mrs. Ebi made interest from the transaction in her call account.

    Bello, a prosecution witness, in his testimony before the court when being cross- examined by Sylva Ogwemoh, counsel to Anyanwu, told the court that the commission was not interested in the interest made by the woman but the capital.

    He also said although there were other officials of the bank who knew about the loans, Anyanwu (the third defendant) gave instructions for the loan to Ebi’s company.

    When asked if he had followed the audit trial of the bank during his investigation to ascertain whether or not the loans were normal, he said that was not necessary as he was more interested in following the money.

    Asked why Ebi was not on trial for her roles in the loan, which she initially denied knowledge of, Bello said it was not necessary because his investigation showed she did not apply for the loans in question.

    He said: “Our enquiry from the compliance department on the account opening packages of Trajet Limited, Futureviews Securities and Extra Oil Limited, companies that were alleged to be involved in the loan transactions, showed that the accounts exist only in the system.”

    The EFCC operative also said he did not extend his investigations to other officials of the bank because he already had a lead on the movement of the money, which was later returned to the bank as offers.

    Justice Okunnu adjourned further hearing in the matter till February 11, when the defence is expected to re-examine two prosecution witnesses who were ordered to be recalled on the order of the court, Elizabeth Ebi and Diamond Uju, on some fresh issues.

    The witnesses, who are directors of some of the companies alleged to be involved in the transaction, had in their testimonies denied knowledge of the loans, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission described as ‘hoax loans’.

  • Miners seek single digit interest rate

    Miners seek single digit interest rate

    The President of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Sani, yesterday called the Federal Government to lower the interest rate for mining loan to a single digit as it is applicable to the agricultural sector.

    His words: “We are also advocating that a single digit interest charges should be applicable to mining loans as it is the case with agriculture.”

    While urging President Goodluck Jonathan to fast-track the process for the establishment of Solid Minerals Development Fund, he said : “We want to see the actualisation of this Solid Minerals Development Fund because it is enshrined in the Mineral and Mining Act 2007. We are calling for quicker actualisation of that fund.”

    He said the provision of Special Intervention Fund, that as presently enjoyed by the textile industry could boost the mining industry.

    Sani, who spoke with The Nation at Abuja, recalled that President Jonathan had during his presentation of the 2013 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, removed import duty on mining machinery. He urged the agencies involved in the collection of the duties to abide by the pronouncement.

    The miners helmsman, urged mining companies to take advantage of the pronouncement to import the relevant equipment for their operation.

    He said Nigerians should be apprehensive that the foreign consumers of the country’s oil are planning to exit oil importation, stressing that the US, EU and Australia have concluded plans to stop oil importation by 2025.

    “It is therefore strategically important for the Federal Government to start developing critical sectors, like the solid minerals to gradually take over from oil. They should invest the present oil revenue in mining to save the future . “

    The miners boss, said investment in mining would create more money and jobs than what is obtainable in the present oil dependent economy.

    Sani revealed that the association is presently made up of over 500 Cooperative Societies, adding that plans are underway to register additional 5000 Cooperative Societies this year.

    He explained that the registration would result in the reduction of illegal mining activities in the country, adding that the association has already invited large scale miners in Nigeria the Dangote Group of Company and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc to join the association.

     

  • BoT chair: North’s interest tears PDP apart

    BoT chair: North’s interest tears PDP apart

    THE jostle for the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has split the organ with most members insisting on the zoning tradition of the party by allowing the North to produce the new leader.

    Thirteen candidates have applied for the seat, including a former Chairman of the BOT, Chief Tony Anenih; a former National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Ahmadu Ali; ex-President of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani; Chief Harry Akande and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.

    It was however learnt that some influential members of the PDP are mounting pressure on a former Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme to lead the BOT.

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo vacated the seat in April.

    National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh confirmed the number of interested candidates to our correspondent on telephone yesterday.

    Metuh, however, could not give the names of all the candidates off hand, saying he was speaking from his village in Anambra and as such could not lay his hands on the file at the time.

    “So far we have about 13 candidates on the list. I don’t have the file with me so I cannot recall all the names off hand. As a matter of fact I am speaking with you from my village in Anambra”, Metuh said.

    A high-ranking member of the party yesterday said Ekwueme has not formally applied for the office.

    But there were strong indications that more candidates might emerge following what a top member of the BOT as the “continuous search for an ideal candidate.”

    Also, contrary to speculations, President Goodluck Jonathan has decided not to back any candidate.

    Jonathan wants to leave the post open to BOT members to decide.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that there is a split among members of the BOT with most of them insisting on the zoning tradition of the party.

    A reliable top BOT member, who spoke in strict confidence yesterday, said: “Some of our leaders might have applied but it appears that we may need more leaders to signify their interest.

    “I can say that the BOT is still searching for the ideal candidate because there are some variables which we still have to put into consideration.

    “The position of most members is that the party must take its zoning tradition into consideration in choosing a new BOT chairman or else we may slip into a deeper crisis in the party.

    “We have a tradition that anytime the North produces the President, the BOT chairman will come from the South.

    “This is the zoning tradition we have adhered to since 1999. The last holder of the BOT chairmanship, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo came from the South-West, what will be the rationale for choosing or electing a new one from the South again.

    “So, you can see that we have a major zoning hurdle to cross in electing the new chairman of the BOT. The appropriate thing is for the North to produce the next BOT chairman.

    “If Jonathan allows the party to abandon this tradition, we will assume that zoning is dead and this may affect the primaries for 2015 poll.”

    Asked why the North will push for BOT chairman when the secretary of the board, Alhaji Wali Jibrin is from the North-Central, the source added: “Wali came in as an interim secretary. When we meet, the North will have the option to either serve as chairman or secretary.

    “If the North opts for the chairman of BOT, Wali has to automatically step down.”

    On the alleged intent of Ekwueme, the source said: “Some leaders of our party are pressurizing Ekwueme to lead this vital organ of the party.

    “With age not on his side again, Ekwueme is actually not keen on the job. But our leaders won’t allow him to rest because of what he did to reconcile aggrieved members of the party some years ago.

    Concerning the alleged anointing of one of the candidates by the President, the source said: “I am in a position to know, Jonathan has confided in some leaders of the party that he would allow democratic process to run its full course on BOT.

    “The President is not backing any candidate but it is convenient for some people to drop names.”

    But another source said: “You should also take note of the fact that the National Chairman of PDP is from the North-East. Do you want the North to produce the chairman of the BOT again?

    “The situation is dicey. We have a tradition but this is a party that believes in equity too. I know at the right time, BOT members will iron out issues and move forward.

    “I am aware that we also have a group within the BOT calling for a younger element to lead this organ of the party. I am talking of a leader who is between 60 and 65 years.”

    Article 12.77 of the PDP reads in part: “The BOT shall elect a chairman and secretary from members of the Board. The chairman and secretary shall also be members of the National Executive Committee.

    “Without prejudice to the provision of this Constitution, ensure that the person to be elected chairman and secretary respectively are of proven integrity and have contributed immensely to the growth of the party.

  • Kogi Assembly: In whose interest is Reps’ intervention?

    Kogi Assembly: In whose interest is Reps’ intervention?

    The decision of the House of Representatives to intervene in the Kogi State House of Assembly crisis has been variously interpreted by many people- lawyers, lawmakers and academics.

    Some think it is a timely intervention and an effort to save democracy from alleged executive gangsterism; others see it as meddlesomeness by the lawmakers. They argue that the House has no power to stop the Kogi Assembly from sitting.

    The House on October 17, constituted a panel to investigate the crisis in the Kogi State Legislature that led to the removal of Speaker Abdullahi Bello and 10 other principal officers. According to the House of Representatives, the state is currently battling ecological problems caused by the recent flood and cannot afford another crisis in the form of a political crisis.

    Relying on powers purportedly confered on the House of Representatives by Section 11(4), members were unanimous in their decision on the need to urgently address the crisis before it spiraled out of control.

    Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha noted that it would be unjust to debate the issue without hearing from all the parties concerned in the impeachment saga. For him, setting up a committee that would listen to all sides of the matter through an interaction with the Kogi Assembly was the right thing to do.

    He said the committee would have to, among other things, unravel what led to the removal of the Speaker and other principal officers. This, he said, would enable the House make an informed decision.

    Those named by Ihedioha, at plenary that day as part of the Kogi intervention team were: Deputy Chief Whip Ahmed  Mukhtar Mohammed (Kaduna PDP) who was the leader of the panel. Other members of the committee are: Hassan Ibrahim El-Sudi, Sokonte Davis, Pally Iriase, Nkem Abonte, Ali Ahmad and Adams Jagaba.

    The thinking of the House was that the unfolding scenario in the state was inimical to the growth of democracy. A member of the committee, Iriase, who spoke with The Nation, defended the decision of the House.

    According to him, the era of military tendencies in politics was over. Besides, he noted that the panel was a fact finding committee and it was not meant to go to Kogi State to apportion blames but to find out the different sides to the crisis and forge a way out of it.

    He said the way the Kogi Speaker and the other principal officers were removed was sending a wrong signal to the other State Houses of Assembly and that it may, if not nipped in the bud, lead to a corruption of Nigeria’s young democracy.

    “The era of impunity is gone, we have a constitution that guides our ways and we, as legislators that have sworn to defend the constitution must be seen to do the right thing. This is a constitutional matter, we have done what we are supposed to do.

    “The question over whether we would need concurrence with the Senate or whether we had not completed our assignment before suspending the House, it does not matter at this time. We have to do what we do first and if it is illegal, we have to be proved wrong.

    “All we are doing at this time is to arrest the situation before it degenerates, which we think is about deepening democracy. If at all we have overreacted, then it must be seen in the light of us working in the interest of the our democracy”.

    The lawmaker, who brought the issue of the impeachment of the Kogi State Speaker before the House, Honourable Osai Osai (Delta PPDP), has said members should condemn the action.

    The embattled Speaker,  Abdullahi Bello, had already declared that his removal was unconstitutional. According to him, the number of members that impeached him was not up to the number required constitutionally.

    The Minority Leader of the Kogi Assembly, Yori Afolabi, had also alleged that the executive arm was enticing members with a sum of N15 m to oust the leadership of the assembly.

    Bello, some weeks before his impeachment had raised the alarm that there was conspiracy against him by some members who were angling for his removal.

    When the House committee got to Kogi State, it immediately set to work, on meeting with the feuding parties, suspended legislative activities of the House until further notice.

    The chairman of the committee, Hon. Mukhtar Mohammed said the move became inevitable after discussions with  contending groups in the matter.

    Thirteen members from the embattled Speaker’s camp and three members from the opposing side that carried out the impeachment attended the meeting with the National Assembly adhoc committee.

    According to Mohammed, the plenary had to be suspended for now until after the submission of the committee’s report to the National Assembly, assuring that they were poised to do a thorough job. While he emphasized that the State assembly have to fully cooperate with the federal legislators, Mohammed reminded the state legislators that the constitution mandated them to take over the affairs of the House if the matter remained unresolved.

    “Our concern in the matter was purely the process of the impeachment and not what led to the removal of the speaker, the document specifying how the nation should be governed must be protected,” he added..

    Of course this would not be the first time the House of Representatives would be intervening in the crisis of a State House of Assembly. It did the same thing during the crisis that engulfed the Ogun State House of Assembly which was shutdown by the the Governor Gbenga Daniels.

    On October 14, 2010, a motion was sponsored by Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business,  Ita Enang and 16 others, entitled: Inability of the Ogun State House of Assembly to perform its Constitutional duties.

    It resolved that if the Inspector-General defaulted in reopening the Assembly, “the National Assembly should take over, assume and exercise all the legislative powers of Ogun House of Assembly to make laws as the legislature thereof in accordance with Section 11(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 until the House of Assembly is able to resume its functions”.

    The prayers were adopted without amendment as Enang quoted Section 305 (1) of the Constitution, which gives the President the power to declare a state of emergency in any state.

    Section 305 (1) states “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the President may, by instrument published in the official gazette of the Government of the Federation, issue a proclamation of a state of emergency in the Federation of any part thereof”.

    According to the lawmaker,  the Assembly formally sat last on June 29 and received this year’s Supplementary Budget proposal and requested for approval of a N100 billion bond from the governor and adjourned plenary to embark on annual recess.

    In addition, he pointed out that when the Assembly reopened on August 3, it was invaded by protesters, which forced the Assembly to adjourn sine die since  peace has been disrupted.

    He also pointed out that he Speaker sent a notice to the Clerk to send to members, urging the Assembly to be reconvened by the Speaker, Tunji Egbetokun.

  • Pillars coach confirms Kwara interest

    Pillars coach confirms Kwara interest

    Kano Pillars coach Mohammed Babaganaru has confirmed to MTNFootball.com he has been approached by Kwara United.

    The NPL title-winning coach said he has been shortlisted by ‘The Afonja Warriors’ for interview for a possible employment, but said he is still a Kano Pillars Coach.

    “Kwara United want me. I have been shortlisted for interview by the club and they have contacted me to that effect. We are yet to talk, nothing is agreed, so I am still Kano Pillars Coach, where we have started training ahead of new season,” he told MTNFootball.com.

    “Even if I attend the interview, it does not mean I have joined Kwara United or I have left Kano Pillars, let us wait and see.”

  • Clash of interests?

    • The forced resignation of Barth Nnaji could be more of clash of interests than of conflict of interests

    Was

    NNAJI

    the former power minister, forced out of office because of a clash of interests with superior powers, and not the official reason of conflict of interests?

    This question has become imperative, given the claim by an editorial, in the latest issue of The Economist, the London magazine, that Mr. Nnaji lost his job as power minister because he stood against “companies”, in which Vice President Namadi Sambo allegedly had interests.

    The Economist’s claim, verbatim: “Mr. Nnaji also warred with the vice-president, Namadi Sambo, who owns companies with interests in the public power sector, oversees the government’s national privatisation council and heads a programme to build ten new state power stations that Mr. Nnajii hoped to privatise. This may have hastened his departure.”

    Now, these are very grievous charges, if true – and the reasons are self-evident.

    For starters, Vice-President Sambo drives the privatisation programme, as chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP); just as Mr. Nnaji drove the power programme, as power minister. Now, if the minister lacked integrity, at least in the context that he had conflict of interests, since firms in which he had interests were bidding for power plants for which the minister was chief auctioneer, and he had to forfeit his job for that, does the vice-president have more integrity, if his alleged firms were bidding in a process of which he is the overall boss?

    If these allegations are true – and they may well be false – but if they are true, what moral or legal reasons does the vice-president have to stay on in office, and continue supervising a process which, like the fallen minister on a lower scale, he has alleged conflict of interests? If the allegations are true, and the vice-president stays on as the privatisation czar, is the whole privatisation process, on which the Jonathan presidency’s much-vaunted economic reforms is hinged, not doomed to a permanent credibility slur?

    Then the issue of double standards, again if the allegations are true: If a minister was pressured to quit on allegations of conflict of interests, even if he openly declared his interest and pleaded blind trust as legal defence, what happens to the State No. 2, who neither declared his interest nor pleaded any trust, blind or sighted? More fundamentally, in the realm of equity and justice, could the minister – incidentally, the brightest sparkle in a team that is no means stellar – have been ousted not because of any conflict of interests (even if that is bad enough) but because of plain victimisation for allegedly standing in the way of powerful interests bent on corrupting the privatisation process (which is worse)?

    But for all you know, these allegations might be false. Nevertheless, it is shocking that the office of the Vice-President and the NCP which he chairs have not come out to refute these grievous allegations, capable of compromising the whole privatisation process, in the eyes of the neo-liberal crowd that Nigeria’s economic managers, since the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo, have always grandstanded to please.

    But whatever the reaction from the office of the Vice-President and the NCP, the anti-corruption agencies should move in and thoroughly investigate these allegations. They must lay the ghost to rest by establishing the vice-president’s innocence or otherwise. Better still, the vice-president can take the news weekly to court to clear his name.