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Tag: Mallam Nasir el-Rufai

  • Equality for geopolitical zones, impossible – El-Rufai

    Equality for geopolitical zones, impossible – El-Rufai

    Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Committee of True Federalism and Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai said on Wednesday that demanding equal states for all the geopolitical zones in the country is a form of injustice to others as it will amount to trying to make “the unequal equal”.

    The governor also said that it will be difficult for states agitating for resource control to achieve 100 percent control resources in their states since states in the country without oil are more in the National Assembly than those with oil and therefore are likely to vote against such agitation.

    Speaking at an interactive session with Nigerian Youth in Abuja, EL-Rufai said he was prepared to open the books for those willing to audit his security votes, pointing out that he has never touched his security votes as the money was being controlled by the Secretary to the state government, while everyone who benefits from the votes signs for what they collect.

    Gov El-Rufai, who was responding to questions and suggestions raised by some of the youths present at the event, said rather that than make suggestions that will not stand the test of time, the youths should find a way of engaging the process after learning from history.

    He said: “there is absolutely no way in the Nigeria of today that a state that has oil will have 100 percent of the revenue. That is not possible because to get that document through, you have to pass it through the National Assembly and in the National Assembly, there are more states that have no oil than those that have oil and so, they will vote it down.

    “So, you better start proposing something that works for the entire country and not just you. Otherwise, it will not help. The greatest injustice you can do is to try to make the unequal equal or the equal unequal.

    “You cannot come here and say we should create nine states in each zone. Nigeria is not equal in terms of land mass, population, resources etc. so, you can’t do that. It is injustice trying to make the unequal equal because there is nowhere in the world.”

    He said further that those agitating for the scrapping of the Senate should be realized that no member of the Senate will vote to scrap the chamber, saying”Whatever you learn with some knowledge of history is incomplete.

    “Unfortunately, in this country, history is no a subject in our schools. We started with a parliamentary system of government with the Queen as our leader, then we became Republic in 1963. You should not trace history without learning from the mistakes of the past or make recommendations without some sense of history.

    “When you make a recommendation that you want to abolish the Senate, you should know that the Senate cannot be abolished unless the Senate vote to abolish the Senate. Who is going to vote to make himself unemployed?

    “We have a political process and so, we are not overthrowing the government and starting afresh. So, we have to work with what we have in a sensible and pragmatic manner and reform what needs to be reformed.

    “When you say create states on the one hand and on the other hand you say the cost of governance is too high, are you jot contradicting yourself? For every state you create, you are adding the budget of the country. So, you cannot be saying that the cost of governance is too high and yet ask for more states.

    “Let us put some political reality in what we do. What we are doing now may end up being amendments to the constitution. You amend the constitution by getting a bill passed by two-thirds of the National Assembly. After they have passed it, you must get 24 states houses of assembly to say they agree. So, when you make a recommendation, think of how to get it pass through the National Assembly and 24 states.

    “The President, the Senate, the House of Representatives exist and there are 36 state governors and you cannot wish them away. We may be too old to run, but we are here and you must learn to deal with us. Some of us are good and some are bad.

    “One thing about this debate on restructuring is that everyone tends to think in isolation from the rest of us. Every interest group, every ethnic group, every state is thinking about themselves. I have oil and so, I must have resource control or I don’t have oil and I must get Some of it.

    “We must think for once what will be of interest to the country. We must think of what will be of interest to Nigeria because what will work in one part of the country may not work in another. If we don’t think first of what is of interest to all of us before the individuals, we will only have series of conflicting argument without consensus.

    “The Not too young to run bill has been passed by the National Assembly and is not before the state Assemblies. It is likely to face bigger opposition in the state assemblies because that is where the age is lowered and so, they are likely to see you as competitors.

    “The independent candidate bill has also been passed and probably it will sail through. Many of us in the system know that one of the biggest problems is not the constitution or legislature, but the way candidates emerge. The process leading to the emergence of a candidate for election is the biggest problem we have in Nigeria.”

    Speaking on security vote and its legality, the governor said there was a lot of misconception about security votes, saying security votes was not unconstitutional.

    Gov El-Rufai said “Go and read your constitution. The state House of Assembly has the power to appropriate anything and security vote is a line charge in the budget and so. It is not illegal. But it is how it is used that has issues.

    “I know of a former governor who used to collect N1.5 billion in cash as security votes and come to Abuja. It has been a subject of abuse and that is not how it should be. The idea of security vote is for the governor to have discretionary funds to deal with emergency situations because you don’t know when you will have security challenges and you need money to able to respond to these challenges.

    “Sometimes, you need money to pay for information and sometimes, you can’t imagine the type of people you pay as an informant because armed robbers patronize a lot of places and you need to know what they are planning next. Another use of security vote is to support security agents in the states.

    “The Federal government has the police and pay their salaries. But apart from the salaries that the federal government pY to the police. They do nothing else. If you see policemen with vehicles and other equipment today, they are probably bought by the state government.

    “In Kaduna state, we have bought 107 vehicles for the police within my first year in office because we realized that if they move around, they cannot get the job done. Every month, we pay the police and other security agents certain amount of money for fuel, otherwise, you won’t be able to drive on the Abuja/Kaduna road.

    “That is what security votes is used for and not money meant for the governor’s pocket. I have never taken one kobo from the security votes of Kaduna state, I have never seen it because the Secretary to the State Government controls that money and signs for it.

    “we insist that whoever is a beneficiary of security vote in Kaduna state signs for it. So, today if you want to audit my security votes, I will open my books for you because everyone that collects from it signs for it.

    “However, I can tell you whether that is how security votes are used by other states. I don’t want touch to go with the impression that security vote is a slush fund for government. That is not true, but it can be abused. That does not mean that is the original intention.”

  • Real reasons Kaduna APC leaders want Buhari and El Rufai re-elected in 2019

    Real reasons Kaduna APC leaders want Buhari and El Rufai re-elected in 2019

    For political leaders in Kaduna State, Saturday, September 16, 2017 was a day like no other in the State, at least in recent times. Setting aside all differences and burying all hatchets, leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from ward to national levels, in an unprecedented move, gathered at an expanded stakeholders’ meeting and unanimously endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari as the State’s candidate for the 2019 presidential election. Similarly, the delegates endorsed the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el Rufai as the candidate of the party in the 2019 gubernatorial election. In all, APC leaders from all the 255 electoral wards of Kaduna State attended this very successful meeting, which held at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Hall in Kaduna. At this epoch-making political gathering were the State Governor, Mallam Nasir el Rufai, virtually all the members representing the State in the National Assembly, all the APC members of the State House of Assembly, all the Local Government Chairmen in the State, party executives at ward, State and national levels as well as several other critical stakeholders across the three Senatorial Zones of Kaduna State.
    For leaders of the APC in Kaduna State, the stakeholders meeting provided a veritable platform for soul searching and self-assessment. The unequivocal verdict was that the APC government under the able, careful and mature guidance of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, has truly rescued Nigeria from the economic, social and political malaise foisted on our great nation by the crass misrule, ineptitude and unbridled corruption of the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party-led administration. Indeed, all the persons who spoke at the Kaduna Stakeholders’ meeting affirmed that in just two years of APC’s rule under President Buhari, Nigeria has begun regaining its rightful place as a peaceful, stable, cohesive, indivisible, economically viable and internationally respected nation. More so, party leaders were effusive in their commendation of President Buhari for guiding the nation’s economy out of the recession that was brought on us by the unprecedented corruption that characterized the last PDP administration in the country. The President and gallant officers and men of the nation’s Armed Forces were commended for defeating the Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast. Not surprisingly, the political leaders in Kaduna resolved, at this meeting, that never again would the State vote into any political office persons that are known to be corrupt, aloof, inept, clannish or unprepared for the rigors of the high office they are supposed to occupy. It was on that note that it was unanimously agreed (a voice vote was actually called) that Kaduna State will massively mobilize and vote for President Muhammadu Buhari and the equally profound Governor Nasir el Rufai to continue for a second term in their respective offices of President of our great country and the Governor of Kaduna State.
    As one of the key organizers of the phenomenal APC stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna, I must confess that since the outcome of the event was made public, I have received several calls, text messages and emails lauding the endorsements of President Buhari and Governor El Rufai for second terms in office. However a few persons have challenged me to openly disclose what the stakeholders were told that both President Buhari and Governor El Rufai have achieved thus far, that swayed them to pass the confidence vote on both men. I have, with all due respect, since accepted this challenge. However for want of space and given that the achievements of these great men in just over two years in office, are legion, I shall try to be brief.
    On President Mohammadu Buhari, leaders of the APC in Kaduna State, especially our dear Governor, Mallam Nasir el Rufai spent hours enumerating and offering proper details of the achievements of Mr. President in just two years in office.  Party members were told, among other things, that in the crucial area of the economy, the Buhari administration has returned the country to unprecedented growth in particularly Agriculture and Solid Minerals. Incontrovertible facts were made available at the meeting that showed all too clearly that these two priority sectors have in the last two years seen improved performance, in spite of the economic recession the nation contended with during the period under review. Facts that are available in the Federal Office of Statistics and elsewhere indicated that Agriculture grew by 4.11% in 2016, while Solid Minerals recorded a 7% increase. The contribution of the Ministry of Solid Minerals to the Federation Account tripled to about N2 billion in 2016, up from N700m in 2015. Party leaders were also happy to note that President Buhari has since restored the time-honoured culture of saving for the rainy day. Even at a time of low oil prices (and by implication low government revenues), Nigeria’s External Reserves grew by US$7 billion by October 2016; The Sovereign Wealth Fund witnessed inflows of US$500m in 2016 and 2017 (the first inflows since the original US$1bn with which the Fund kicked off in 2012), and the Excess Crude Account has seen an inflow of US$87m, in 2017.
    The Kaduna political leaders, many of whom are big time farmers, were besides themselves with joy when the facts were laid bare that the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (which involves a partnership with the Government of Morocco, for the supply of phosphate), has resulted in the revitalization of 11 blending plants across the country – the benefit of this include annual savings of US$200 million in foreign exchange, and ₦60 billion annually in budgetary provisions for Fertilizer subsidies. Of course, many of the party leaders at the meeting said they were well aware that the Scheme has also made it possible for farmers to purchase Fertilizer at prices up to 30 percent cheaper than previously available.
    Our party leaders applauded relentlessly when a number of persons spoke about the Buhari Administration’s support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). It was succinctly explained that the Buhari administration has launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives designed to support MSMEs across the country, these include: the new Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) which is at the verge of taking off, with initial funding of US$1.3bn (provided by the World Bank, German Development Bank, the African Development Bank and Agence Française de Development) to provide medium and long-term loans to MSMEs.
    In the all-important area of provision of critical infrastructure across the country, delegates at the meeting acknowledged the fact that road projects are ongoing across every State of the country; many of these projects had been abandoned in recent years because of mounting debts owed by the Federal Government to contractors. They also appreciated the fact that the Buhari Administration is also pushing ahead with the revitalization of Nigeria’s 3,500km network narrow-gauge railway. In addition, Abuja’s Light Rail system is slated to go into operation later this year and Kaduna political leaders at the meeting were also well aware that the Buhari Administration successfully completed the reconstruction of the Abuja Airport runway within the scheduled six-week period (March – April 2017).
    Political leaders in Kaduna State also took cognizance of the fact that the four components of the Buhari Administration’s Social Investment Programme (SIP) have fully taken off. President Buhari’s SIP is reputedly the largest and most ambitious social safety net programme in the history of Nigeria, with more than 1 million beneficiaries so far. These include  200,000 N-Power beneficiaries (160,000 of them have had their details validated and are now receiving the monthly N30,000 stipend, while the rest are undergoing verification.
    The Kaduna political leaders were also made aware that the Buhari Administration’s Strategic engagements with OPEC and in the Niger Delta have played important parts in raising the nation’s expected oil revenues. Already, Nigeria’s External Reserves have grown by around $7 billion in the last six months. In the same period the nation has added $87m to the Excess Crude Account, and $250m to the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
    Even more profound is the administration’s war against institutionalized corruption. The Kaduna political leaders applauded the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), which was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to strengthen controls over Government finances through a continuous internal audit process across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), particularly in respect of payroll. Through the activities of PICA, more than 50,000 erroneous payroll entries have been identified, with payroll savings of N198 billion achieved in 2016. Also, the Federal Ministry of Finance has set a target to ensure that the Federal Government’s Payroll Platform — the ‘Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System’ (IPPIS) — covers 100 percent of MDAs by the end of 2017. Currently 60% of MDAs are enrolled on the IPPIS platform.
    Further, the Buhari administration has since expanded the Treasury Single Account (TSA) coverage. This decision to fully operationalise the Treasury Single Account system — a public accounting system that enables the Government to manage its finances (revenues and payments) using a single/unified account, or series of linked accounts domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria  —  has resulted in the consolidation of more than 20,000 bank accounts previously spread across banks in the country, and in savings of an average of N4.7 billion monthly in banking charges associated with indiscriminate Government borrowing from the banks. As at February 10, 2017, a total sum of N5.244 Trillion had flowed into the TSA.
    It is also to President Buhari’s credit that safety, security and sanity have retuned to the once war-ravaged northeast of Nigeria. Barely weeks after assuming office, President Muhammadu Buhari and the gallant officers and men of our armed forces worked assiduously to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast. Though, the defeated insurgents continue to target soft spots occasionally, the fact remains that Boko Haram’s operational and spiritual headquarters, “Camp Zero”, in Sambisa Forest has since been captured by our armed forces. Following this, the Nigerian Army conducted its Small Arms Championship from 26th to 31st March 2017 in Sambisa Forest, a measure aimed at enabling the Armed forces to dominate the area, and avoid regrouping by the terrorists.
    After enumerating the huge achievements of President Muhammmadu Buhari in just two years, Governor Nasir el Rufai bluntly informed the gathered stakeholders that the political future of President Buhari is closely tied to his own personal political future. He reminded the Kaduna APC leaders that he (El Rufai) was among the few persons who begged and prevailed on President Muhammadu Buhari to run for the office of the President of Nigeria in 2015, after three unsuccessful previous attempts. It was the view of Mallam El Rufai that if President Buhari does not accept the plea to run for a second term in office, the nation stood the risk of returning to the dark era of ineptitude, corruption and insecurity. Mallam Nasir el Rufai was so emphatic about his insistence on the continuation of Buhari in office beyond 2019 that he even suggested that he (El Rufai) might not be keen on seeking reelection as Governor of Kaduna State if President Buhari decides not to seek reelection in 2019. In fact, the Governor reminded the Political Stakeholders in Kaduna that as far as he could remember, he was the only person President Buhari prevailed on to run for office. Indeed several of the stakeholders recalled all too vividly how President Buhari staunchly insisted that El Rufai must contest for the Governorship of Kaduna State in the 2015 elections under the APC. At this stakeholders meeting an emotional Governor El Rufai said he was happy he has not betrayed the trust reposed in him by President Buhari and the teeming electorates in Kaduna. The political stakeholders agreed with the Governor and cited the fact that the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Kaduna three weeks ago to commission the multi-billion Naira Olam farm, was the President’s first official visit outside Abuja since he returned from his medical vacation. This, many of the stakeholders agreed, can only be a measure of the unwavering love, trust and confidence the President has in the Kaduna State Governor. They were also quick to point out that the solidarity rally the Kaduna State Government organized for the President shortly after his arrival from medical vacation in London remains unprecedented. Over 200,000 persons were said to have attended the rally, just to show support for the President.
    More so, many of the political stakeholders at the meeting poured encomiums on Governor El Rufai for changing the face of Kaduna for good. Faced with the arduous task of speedily creating an economy for the State outside earnings from crude oil and also saddled with the task of revamping inherited decayed infrastructures in the State, Governor El Rufai, on assumption of office in May 2015, opted for, and continues to assiduously pursue series of homegrown options. In particular, the State Government began focusing on mining and agriculture to rev up the economy of the State. Effectively collaborating with key players in the private sector, the administration has practically made Kaduna State the agricultural hub of sub-Saharan Africa. Not too long ago, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai was joined by the Governor of
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to perform the ground breaking ceremony for the establishment of a
potato farm and processing facility worth $120 million in Manchok,
Kaura local government area of the state. The project, jointly initiated by the state government and Vicampros
Farms Limited, is the biggest potato plant in sub-Sahara
Africa, cultivating 10,000 hectares of land and is expected to
generate 30,000 job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths in the State and beyond.
    Similarly, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai has attracted to Kaduna State, the biggest poultry and hatchery farm in the whole of West Africa. The farm, which is worth about $150 million (about N30 billion), was constructed by the Olam group and was commissioned at a very colourful event three weeks ago by President Muhammadu Buhari himself. Olam Group had on Friday April 8, 2016, commissioned another mega farming project in Kaduna, the Olam Integrated Feed Mill and Poultry project in Chikpiri Gabas village.
    In the same regards, the agricultural revolution in Kaduna State under Mallam Nasir el Rufai has caught the attention of the highly successful Dangote Group. Dangote Group is currently investing  $10 million (about N2 billion) on a 7000-hectare tomato farm and
processing plant in Kaduna state. Apparently, borrowing a leaf from the Dangote Group, another reputable business giant, the Stallion Group has also committed about 100 million USD investment to rice farming and milling in Kaduna State. Of course, sensing business expediency, Indorama, one of Africa’s largest fertilizer companies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build an organic fertilizer plant in Kaduna to power the agricultural revolution going on in the State under Mallam El Rufai.
    Conscious of the fact that Kaduna State is the leading producer of ginger in Nigeria, Governor Nasir el Rufai has perfected plans to more than triple yields between this year and 2018. On this score, the State Government is collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria to enable ginger farmers in the state access a N5 Billion loan to boost ginger farming. It is the hope of the Governor that when the loan is properly harnessed and utilized as intended, ginger farmers in the state will be empowered economically as the crop is in great demand across the globe. Already many ginger farmers in Kaduna State are hitting gold as they are merrily exporting several tons of their produce to China, Chad, Sudan and Ghana while a considerable volume is being sold locally across the country.
    But for the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, it is in abundant deposits in raw Gold and Nickel that Kaduna State holds the aces. Indeed, mappings carried out by the Kaduna State Government has shown clearly that the raw gold deposits in one local government area of the state is larger than the entire Gold deposits in the Republic of South Africa. Mallam El Rufai disclosed recently that solid minerals alone would attract about N40 billion investments to the state, and urged investors to explore the opportunities in the state. No doubt, good times are in the offing for Kaduna State.
    It is also on record that Kaduna State is one of the first subnational governments in the world and the first in Nigeria, to conduct an in-depth analysis of local SDGs data and strategy development to implement all 17 Goals in the State. At the recently concluded United Nations General Assembly in New York, Kaduna State was the cynosure of all eyes as the State showcased to the world how it integrated the SDGs into its State Development Plan for 2016-20 as well as how the integrated system is improving livelihoods, investing in education and ensuring access to life-saving services, while boosting environmental sustainability, social cohesion and peace for its citizens. The overall goal of the El Rufai administration is to leave no one behind as every citizen counts in this development agenda. To achieve this, the State has taken drastic steps on the journey to sustainable development to generate sufficient data to understand where Kaduna State stands in relation to these SDG goals, and to help guide policy interventions to target the deepest and most persistent pockets of poverty.
    Clearly, the call for a second term in office for President Buhari and Mallam El Rufai has become so overwhelming that has practically transmuted to a Movement in Kaduna State that can hardly be halted or diluted by whatever means. It therefore did not come to many as a surprise when critical stakeholders and political leaders who attended the crucial expanded stakeholders’ meeting vehemently insisted on President Buhari and Mallam Nasir El Rufai as their respective candidates for the 2019 presidential and Governorship elections. This much they articulated in the communique issued at the end of the meeting and made available to the public. Kaduna State has become the first State to make its stand known: President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Nasir el Rufai have much more to offer the nation and Kaduna State respectively beyond 2019.
    Sani is the Special Adviser on Political and  Inter-governmental Affairs to the Governor of Kaduna State.
  • Mimiko advises FG to prioritize maternal healthcare

    Mimiko advises FG to prioritize maternal healthcare

    Mimiko gave the advise while speaking with newsmen, on Friday, at the Chatham House in London after delivering a paper on “Improving Access to Health Services for All” using his Ondo achievement in maternal and child health as a case study.

    The former Ondo governor said funding will never be adequate in any human setting but with the right kind of leadership, the country can drastically reduce maternal mortality, which is about 19 percent of global maternal deaths according to the World Bank. “We must call a major stakeholders’ meeting where there will be an agreement on a universal health package that every state in the country can afford, and create an eligibility criteria for those who build on it so that they can be rewarded accordingly and eventually we will get there.

    As we do this, we prioritize safe motherhood and child health” he said. Mimiko also took time to demonstrate how his administration as Governor of Ondo state midwived a functional and effective healthcare delivery system, which attracted local and international recognitions as a proven method of reducing maternal mortality particularly with the introduction of his homegrown initiatives such as Abiye (Safe motherhood) program, Agbebiye and Orirewa that crashed the maternal mortality indices in the state.

    The former governor charged Nigerian leaders at every level not to see only physical structures as achievement saying that quality healthcare for women is a great empowerment tool “Safe motherhood is a gender parity tool, every woman wants good life.

    They will be empowered if they can have access to quality health without catastrophic spending. What will eventually drive universal health coverage in Africa is the political will and that is what will generate passion and it the passion that will attract donors from around the world,” Mimiko stated.

    Also present at the event were Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, stakeholders in the health sector from Nigeria and Africa who came to discuss how to optimize global opportunities in achieving Universal Health Coverage and Health Security in Nigeria.

  • El-Rufai denies awarding contracts to wife, cronies

    El-Rufai denies awarding contracts to wife, cronies

    …Says, N3bn wasn’t spent on drainage works

     

    Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has denied awarding contracts to members of his family, friends and close government officials, describing Sahara Reporters allegations as false.

    The Governor stated categorically that, there was nothing like N3bn drainage contract bazaar, nor was he and his family and senior officials of the government involved in sharing contracts or using fronts.

    In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, Governor El-Rufai said his government has rather stepped in to stop one of its agencies going rogue on the drainage works, stopped the project, reviewed it and took disciplinary action.

    According to the statement issued in reaction to Shara Reporters’ allegations that the Governor awarded contracts to his wife, children and top government officials without due process, “Upon review of the state of the projects, KDSG has not paid anything beyond the N119.2m KAPWA expended prior to the drainage project being suspended. Investigations have verified further outstanding payments of N626m.

    “It is regrettable that the actions that were taken to prime our local economy through massive public works executed in small lots, and drawing in many of our citizens is now being used to scandalize the government and prominent citizens.

    “Kaduna State is thorough about advertising its contracts. Its tenders are regularly published in national newspapers. In 2016, KDSG published 72 adverts for tenders and employment opportunities. Thus far, in 2017, we have advertised 19 tenders and vacancies. The default mode for the government is a rigorous insistence on open, competitive tendering. But not every contract meets the threshold for this. The Public Procurement Law of the state requires that only contracts above N5m be advertised.

    “The government of Kaduna State and its leadership do not use fronts or engage in violations of its public procurement regulations. Sahara Reporters is being unduly sensational. In alleging the use of fronts, it obviously escaped the blog to interrogate if anybody that intends to use fronts would actually put down their names or offices next to the contracts. Even for a blog that claims that it is not bound by the journalistic obligation to verify its assertions, this is unfortunate.

    “KDSG investigations revealed that many of the names on the list have no connection to the drainage works. Many of the names are of non-existent people with surnames attached to them to justify the use of fronts by the same officials of KAPWA whose services have been dispensed with. Others that exist have denied knowledge of the contracts and the names of those they were supposed to have sponsored. The dismissed AGM who was the architect of the madness was unable to produce evidence linking the so-called contracts to most of the names of existing and living persons

    “KDSG supports investigative journalism because it can throw so much light on what is opaque and help to improve the quality of our public life. That obligation is best exercised with diligent attention to details, verification and not rushing to sweeping conclusions.

    “The story of the drainage works is as follows: Kaduna State has not spent N3bn on drainage works. Rather it took timely action to stop irregularity in one of its agencies in January 2017, dismissed the acting AGM of KAPWA and reviewed the entire project.

    “Secondly, drainage works were undertaken in the major metropolitan areas of Kaduna State to protect roads and assuage flooding. The public works agency, KAPWA, is a direct labour agency, and is prohibited by law from awarding contracts. Therefore, the issue of advertising contracts does not arise for KAPWA.

    “The nature of the works were such that influential persons introduced members of the public to secure the works. And the identities of these sponsors were recorded as an additional guarantee that the contracts would be delivered by the beneficiaries. This is not the use of fronts. It is simply the energizing of the local economy through public works that were allotted to local companies. Is it reasonable behaviour for someone intending to use fronts to also unmask themselves?

    “It was most unfortunate that the safeguard above was abused by the dismissed AGM who proceeded to add fictitious and non-existent names, or put down names of known persons without their knowledge and consent to ‘award’ contracts to persons of his choice. This action and failure to substantiate many of the records led to his dismissal. The government would not have acted as such if its officials or relations were truly complicit in the madness.

    “The drainage works began in December 2016. They proved popular, creating jobs and new markets for traders in construction goods. But by the end of January 2017, the massive scale of the works and appeals to the Governor by many senior politicians to promote and confirm the acting AGM to the position of GM of KAPWA, indicated that something was amiss. The Governor therefore directed that some investigation of the state of affairs be undertaken immediately.

    “If there was self-interest on the part of government officials, would they have acted to stop a project in which they are supposedly beneficiaries? How can a project suspended since January 2017 be cast as a bazaar?

    “A government investigation revealed that the then management of KAPWA went out of its lawful bounds, and had potentially committed the state to a bigger than intended liability. The project was accordingly reviewed.

    “Disciplinary action followed the investigation. In February 2017, the government fired Hayatudeen Lawal Makarfi, the acting AGM of KAPWA, for this and ordered a wholistic review of the drainage works. During the investigation, the sacked AGM was unable to provide any documentary evidence of valid contracts, the technical justification and links to the persons he named as having introduced the individuals and companies purportedly engaged.

    “The investigation also revealed that the dismissed AGM did not comply with the 16-step process he was given to guide the road maintenance and drainage projects.

    “Since then, KDSG has sent a bill to the House of Assembly to abolish KAPWA for these and other reasons, and establish a new agency with a totally different modus operandi.

    “Sahara Reporters took a list of contracts, entertained no skepticism, invented the cost and went on to concoct a bazaar and needlessly taint the names of innocent persons, in and out of the government.

    “The Kaduna State Government acted in January 2017 to stop a potential crisis of cost overruns and suspended the drainage works, at great political cost. The works will resume, based on a verified list, when the rainy season is over this year. However, intervention works are going on to safeguard buildings, fences and culverts, and allow for free flow of water.

    “Tenacious efforts taken by KDSG to remedy and correct deficits in an agency six months ago should not be twisted to eke a scandal out of nothing. The dismissed AGM was a political appointee who came from the campaign structure. But that did not stop the government from applying sanctions against one of its own”, the statement said.

     

  • Sani to El-Rufai: Forget your presidential ambition

    Sani to El-Rufai: Forget your presidential ambition

    The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani, Wednesday asked Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to forget his touted presidential ambition in his own interest.

    He said that El-Rufai knew that he was grandstanding as he has nothing to offer Nigerians.

    Sani in a statement by his Adviser on Politics and Ideology, Suleiman Ahmed, accused Kaduna State governor of corruption and nepotism in the governance of the state.

    He said, “I call on El- Rufai to suspend his Presidential or ‘Vice Presidential’ ambitions and concentrate in proper governance of the state.

    “The Kaduna State governor who in his memo accused PMB of running a failed Government, has failed also woefully.

    “He thinks PMB failed but he never invited PMB to even commission a completed toilet in his state.

    “Under El-Rufai Kaduna has become a hub of Kidnappers and a sanctuary for herdsmen.

    “The very Governor who once condemned the National Assembly for lack of transparency has proven to be worse.

    “El-Rufai wants to be seen as an apostle of Buhari’s change but he is actually the Judas of change.

    “It’s hypocritical to promise Nigerians change and end up only ‘putting change in our pockets’.

    “There is nothing progressive about many people who claim to be Buharists; they are reactionaries and career opportunists who can fit into any Government in power.

    “Kaduna State is run like a personal family and friend’s estate without any meaningful physical achievement other than sponsored media propaganda.

    “El-Rufai has no money to pay traditional rulers he recently sacked but has money to dispense as contracts to family, friends and political cronies.

    “El-Rufai has enough money to pay herdsmen but no money to pay district heads. Kaduna is today littered with abandoned drainages to the point that the rainy season has turned Kaduna into a ‘coastal state with creeks.

    “He is auctioning over two thousand Government houses he inherited but he is yet to build a hut.”

    Senator Sani insisted that the allegation of “systemic nepotism, opacity and complete absence of transparency” in the governance of Kaduna State is factual and the reality of the situation in the state.

    He said that journalists in Kaduna State are under siege, blackmailed, arrested, pocketed or threatened with arrest.

    Governor El-Rufai, he said, “is a man with a mouth for criticism but without a stomach for criticism.”

     

  • How we’re addressing conflicts in Kaduna – El-Rufai

    How we’re addressing conflicts in Kaduna – El-Rufai

    Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai said that the state government is employing peaceful means to resolve conflicts in the state, and it will continue to do so.

    Governor El-Rufai said, his government’s approach to conflicts resolution has given room for steady progress and development in Kaduna State despite the pocket of conflicts.

    The Governor stated this on Kaduna at the opening ceremony of a summit on promoting peace, democracy and stability in Nigeria organized by Journalists for Democratic Rights.

    El-Rufai who was represented by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, however used the occasion to caution journalists to be guided by the ethics of journalism in their reportage.

    He urged journalists to see themselves as agents of peace and development, adding that, “promotion of peace is the responsibility of the media, traditional rulers, religious and community leaders.”

    Speaking, earlier, the Executive Director of the Journalists for Democratic Rights, Mr. Adewale Adeoye expressed worry that Nigeria was faced with unnecessary violence and bloodletting.

    He said it is worrisome that many Nigerians today have no access to food, stressing that, “many of our people go hungry from morning to night without any hope of what to eat.”

    “We are also facing challenges of bitter ethnic contest, our country remains deeply divided. There is lack of an inspiring national spirit.

    There are killings on-going in Southern Kaduna, youth have taken up arms against the state in North-East,” he added.

    He however said that, time has come for the people to wake up and champion the peace-building mechanism for the sake of the country children and its generations yet to come.

    Adeoye commended the prompt response of the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to the last week’s quit notice issued to the Igbos by Northern youths, by ordering the arrest of the youths.

    He said, Kaduna as the melting pot of the country must always be protected against any form crisis, as it can easily spread to every part of Nigeria.

     

  • It’s not compulsory for Buhari to preside over FEC meeting – APC governors

    It’s not compulsory for Buhari to preside over FEC meeting – APC governors

    Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the auspices of the Progressives Governors Forum rose from a meeting with members of the National Working Committee of the party Thursday night to say that it was not compulsory for President Muhammadu Buhari to preside over the Federal Executive Council meeting.

    The governors also resolved to conduct a fund raising exercise at a yet to be announced date to ensure that the activities of the national secretariat and other organs of the party that has suffered due to lack of funds function properly.

    Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai said the governors and the leadership of the party were not worried about the inability of the President to preside over the FEC meeting for the third time in a roll.

    The Kaduna governor said at 74, it was a normal thing for the President to have health challenge, pointing out that while the absence of the President from the meeting may not be unconnected with his health situation, they were “not worried about the development, it is not compulsory for the President to preside over every Federal Executive Council (FEC) that is why our constitution makes available the place of the Vice President.

    “Mr. President is 74 years old; at that age it is possible to have one ailment or the other, even I at 57 take medications for one ailment or the other. Our prayers is that the president gets better.

    “But the reason he has a Vice President is because of a time like this. It may not be as a reason of sickness that he didn’t attend FEC. He may have had other pressing issues to attend to. I have not had to chair every state Executive Council in Kaduna state because the deputy governor is there, if I have other issues of greater priority to attend to.

    “We are not worried yet or have any reason to be worried but I call on every Nigerian to join all of us to pray for the improve health of the President. It has improved in the last few weeks since he came back and we will continue to pray for his improve health.”

    On the decisions arrived at during the meeting, he said “The most important decision is that henceforth we will hold a meeting here at the National secretariat once every month.

    “This is with a view to increase the interaction, foster relations between the National and state branches of the party as well as work towards strengthening the party. We also took certain resolutions and the first is that the Progressives governors have committed to work acidulously at strengthening and rebuilding the party and ensuring reconciliation and unification of the party at all levels.

    “We have committed to providing the NWC all the support that they need. We will also engage in fund raising from our donors and sympathizers of the APC  to ensure that the National headquarters of the party and indeed all organs of the party have the wherewithal to continue with the difficult work they have been doing within the party.

    “The joint meeting between the NWC and the governors also resolved to that at our next meeting, we are going to look at the arrangements for the midterm convention and put in place the resources needed to ensure that the convention hold as required by our party.

    “The governors reinstate their loyalty to Mr. President, the Vice President and all the leaders of our party. We enjoin Nigerians to continue to pray for the improved health of the President.

    “We are proud as a party and as governors that the state governments under the APC have recorded progress in the last few months and the increasing performance of the federal government at the National level. The governors will continue to advance the course of good governance, fighting corruption, improving security in our country.”

    Four governors of the party, namely Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, Godwin Obaseki of Edo state and Jibrilla Bindo of Adamawa were absent at the meeting.

     

  • El-Rufai’s comment on Tinubu is height of ingratitude – Shehu Sani

    El-Rufai’s comment on Tinubu is height of ingratitude – Shehu Sani

    Chairman of Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts and Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani Wednesday took another swipe at Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai over his comment on APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu saying the comment was the height of ingratitude.

    In a statement made available to The Nation, the Senator said the contribution of the former Lagos state governor and the South West to the victory of the APC in the 2015 election was unparalleled, pointing out that without Tinubu, the victory over the PDP would have remained a mere dream.

    Sani described Tinubu as the lungs of the APC while President Buhari is the heart, adding that it was unfortunate that while el-Rufai smiles with Tinubu during the daylight he stings him at night.

    The statement reads: “The Memo written by Kaduna Governor which tends to belittle the contribution of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and the South West is sad and unfortunate. It is perfidious and the height of ingratitude.

    “We must accept the stalk truth that without Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and the principled position of the south West, dislodging Goodluck Jonathan and the then rulling PDP could have still remain a pipe dream, a hollow hope or a political mirage. Elrufai defecate on a broom that is supposed to clean the littered floor of the nation.

    “President Buhari is the Heart of APC and Asiwaju is the lungs. Tinubu contribution to the success of the Party is unequal. Elrufai smiles with Tinubu on broad daylight and sting him at night.He hugs Tinubu with a chest of hooks and shakes him with toxic palms.

    “Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu is a Man who built a castle for others to live and asked to appreciate the gift of a room in the boys’ quarters. Those who rubbished  a hunter who borrowed them his arrow to disable an antelope, will someday come back for same arrow to disable a lion

    “Tinubu honoured many official invitations to Kaduna unknowingly, he was backstabbed with an acidic memo. Tinubu has a history of been betrayed and has a history of overcoming betrayal.

    “The future of the APC is with Buhari and the South West. Without Buhari and the South West, the change train will derail and end in smithereens like the fate of Yoguslavia or Soviet Union.

    “President Buhari should be watchful of those who prey behind him and pray before him. Tinubu is an indispensable major component of change. My knowledge of Tinubu dates back to the NADECO days when we were in the trenches during the struggle against military dictatorship.

    “El-Rufai should publicly apologise to Tinubu and the South West for degrading their contribution to the liberation of Nigeria. To insult a man publicly and apologise to him privately is eat your cake and have it. Those heavily drinking from the liquor of power should know that they will later or lately have to drive back home.”

     

  • ACLN react to Saraki’s proposed visit: Diaspora Nigerians can’t tolerate corrupt office holders

    ACLN react to Saraki’s proposed visit: Diaspora Nigerians can’t tolerate corrupt office holders

    The Association for Credible Leadership in Nigeria (ACLN) acknowledges the proposed visitation of the Senate President of Nigeria, Dr Bukola Saraki to the United States, unfortunately, he is not welcomed as planned in early May.

    We cannot hold back from revealing how disappointed we, like many Nigerians, are with the Senate President and his Senate, who have failed to address the several cases of corruption levelled against them.

    Sadly, Saraki in recent times said that a lot of stakeholders must respect the Senate institution; an institution that has only succeeded in further granting power and more wealth to elected few. No wonder the institution will demand respect that it could not earn.

    •Saraki

    Recall that Saraki, like many others in the senate, has ongoing cases that have practically been swept under the carpet. Among several corruption allegations which till date has not been answered but rather avoided are:

    1. Saraki’s operation of foreign accounts between 2009 and 2012 while serving as a public office holder.

    2. Saraki was the Kwara State Governor between 2003 and 2011. Till date, there are still unanswered allegations regarding his misappropriation of the public funds during his tenure.

    3. Similarly, he was involved in the Panama papers controversy of 2016 and yet to resolve allegations of corruption levelled against the senate by the Paris Club.

    4. According to the Head of Intelligence Unit at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Samuel Madojemu, Saraki was wrong to have earned monthly payments from the Kwara State government at the same time when he was already elected to the Senate.

    5. Also worthy of mention is the fact that, it is under Saraki’s leadership that a key member of the Nigerian Senate was suspended for standing for the truth. Former Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, was sent home for six months for filing a petition against Saraki and the lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Dino Melaye, who was involved in certificates forgery case. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria – Femi Falana in a recent interview declared this act of the senate as absolutely unconstitutional.

    Aside a 6-month suspension of a fellow senator being unconstitutional, Saraki’s (Senate) Committee on ethics failed to address the raised issues, instead, they attacked the person. What a shame of a body of lawmakers’ institution.

    6. For several years, the Nigerian Senate has operated a hidden budget despite the demand for transparency and accountability by taxpayers. A fight that the governor of Kaduna state Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has taken on himself by challenging the National Assembly to follow his example of releasing the Kaduna state audited budget.

    ACLN commends governor El-Rufai for this action and hereby demand that Saraki and his team, as well

    •Governor El-Rufai

    as governors across the nation, release their audited budget otherwise they are not welcomed in the United States and are not fit to occupy the seats at the Nigerian National Assembly or Governor and at the ACLN, we will continue to hold them accountable. They are public office holders not private.

    Unfortunately, what Saraki is expected to speak on at the Town Hall event at Crown Plaza Suites Hotel, 9090 Southwest Freeway, Houston on May 4th, 2017, is Brain Drain and ACLN could not but marvel at the disillusion of Saraki and his team. Our question is, what has he done with the brains of Bachelor and Master degrees holders who have remained jobless in Nigeria? What is the Senate doing to the youths unemployment/underemployment which according to the country’s bureau of statistics stood at an alarming rate of 45.65% for Q3 of 2016. Is that not chasing shadows?

    To ACLN, it shows that Saraki and his team are disillusioned if they are concerned about Brain Drain but have not found a solution to the worrisome level of unemployment, poor infrastructure, shameful public institutions and rate of corruption in Nigeria.

    With the facts stated above and more not mentioned herein, the ACLN insists that the Senate President is not worthy of coming to the United States to address learned, skilled and hardworking Nigerians who, in their little capacity, contribute to the uplift of the country back home.

    Consequently, if Saraki eventually visits Houston, we hereby urge Nigerians in Houston and across the United States to rise up and show him our displeasure along with those of his colleagues in the National Assembly by protesting his presence. We cannot allow these rogues the pleasure of a peaceful visit to the U.S.A while they leave our fellow Nigerians languishing in misery back home.

     

  • Again, controversy trail salaries of lawmakers

    Again, controversy trail salaries of lawmakers

    The face-off between the House of Representatives and the Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El- Rufai has once again stimulated the debate on how much exactly a federal legislator earns.

    Similarly, the six months pay slip of the Speaker of the House of Representative, Hon. Yakubu Dogara published in the Media earlier in the week has thrown pundits into a frenzy with some claiming that what was shown to the public could not the true state of a legislator’s salary.

    The Speaker’s slip showed that he earns N346, 577. 87 monthly, with his basic salary as NN206, 425. 83. The constituency allowance also shows N 175, 461.96. Recess allowance is N20, 642.58, while a monthly PAYE deductions of N55,952 was evident.

    However, many Nigerians have expressed disbelieve on the payment. While reacting to the Speaker’s  published payslips, the suspended former Chairman of the House Committee of Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin said: “If what I saw is the authentic pay slip of Mr Speaker, it means I earn more than him from what I see in my salary statement of account.

    “I have requested for my pay slip from NASS, I will publish it and my monthly salary statement of account. Perhaps I have been overpaid.”

    “Besides salaries, allowances and running cost, no member has details of about 20 other expenditure heads captured in Namdas statement.

    “I am aware majority of members feel terribly embarrassed and are presently insisting on having access to the internal budget of the House.

    “Mr Speaker, you know that NILS HQ is not completely funded from NASS allocation but partly funded by FG under service wide vote,” Jibrin said.

    But how much exactly does a federal lawmaker (House of Representatives) earn? While a member of the House earns about N2million basic salaries records show that in addition to the annual basic salary of a lawmaker, they receive a 100 percent as constituency allowance annually; members also receive 200 percent of the annual salary for accommodation, 75 percent for domestic staff, entertainment and utilities is 30 percent, while clothing or are robe allowance is 25 percent and 15 percent for Newspapers. Responsibility allowance ranges for 5 to 10 percent.
    Others are vehicle maintenance gulps another 75 percent, for staff like personal Assistant is 25 percent; and 5 percent for House maintenance.

    While aides to the principal officers’ total monthly package is between N950,000 and N500,000, five aides that lawmakers are entitled to take home between N150,000 and N450,000 monthly causing many to believe there are two sets of salaries for lawmakers: administrative and political.

    The two presiding officers have about 30 aides between them. A twist to the appointment of aides is that only few lawmakers employ people other than their relatives as Senior Legislative aides.
    More importantly, only a handful engage the services of consultants to support their legislative duties.

    This aside, the salaries of NASS members has always been contentious with Nigerians believing that it is unwieldy if viewed against the N18,000 minimum wage of Nigeria workers. Many have called for a review saying that while the people they represent are wallowing in abject poverty, lawmaker are living in and displaying stupendous affluence.

    Many reports have claimed that NASS members are the highest paid in the world with an annual basic salary of $189,500 (N30.6 m) or above. Some even adduce their payment to the high recurrent expenditure of the country.

    There have been calls for transparency in the budget details of the NASS to allow a glimpse into the financial allocations of the parliament, the most recent being that of the Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir.

    He said: “Since the NASS began conceiving its budget as a single-line item, how many legislators, not to mention other citizens, have seen the details of the budget? Can anyone recall seeing the spending patterns and details in any published audited accounts of NASS recently?

    “How in the 21st Century can we have any national institution that is comfortable with not being subject to any oversight, audit or scrutiny. The constitutional principle of checks and balances was not introduced for purposes of idle luxury, but to ensure that every institution exercises its power in an accountable manner.”

    To the supposedly high salaries of its lawmakers, the National Assembly has always had a ready answer for such questions which is that its budget is only about two percent of the national budget and that it used to ensure that the remaining 98 percent is properly utilised.

    Earlier reports that touted the National Assembly members’ salaries as the highest in the world above the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and South Africa and Kenya and others.

    But the National Assembly has always said such reports were not reflective of the true state of the salaries situation.