The Nation Newspaper

Tag: moneybags

  • Moneybags poised to buy Anambra election, stakeholders cry out

    Stakeholders yesterday warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that wealthy people are determined to procure the November 18, Anambra State governorship election.

    Speaking in Abuja on “Anambra Governorship Election: Critical Issues and What INEC should do to ensure successful polls, the Lead Speaker who is also the Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka,  Prof. Stella Okunna, warned the commission that “some members of the wealthy class believe they can buy anything including election results.”

    But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has spoken on why the election is important to the agency.

    According to INEC National Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, the electorate lost confidence in the commission when a court upturned its election after two years.

    The chairman, who was represented by the Board of Electoral Institute at the policy dialogue for the election, however noted that it would no longer be business as usual in the state.

    But Okunna lamented although citizens of the state have distinguished themselves in different fields of human endeavour, they have been notorious in politics because of their excessive money.

    She said too much wealth has always marred election in the state, noting that too much money is already exchanging hands.

    According to her, there is an allegation that some of the candidates were already buying vehicles for INEC now that the election is fast approaching.

  • Absentee moneybags

    Millionaires who usually thronged the corridors of power have now virtually disappeared.

    They were regular features at the Presidential Villa while Dr Goodluck Jonathan held the reins of power.

    As the President Muhammadu Buhari administration approaches its one year anniversary, many of them have distanced themselves from the administration since its inception.

    Many political watchers in May 2015 had thought that they would  only stay away for a few weeks to give the Buhari administration time to settle down.

    While many of them have stayed away completely in the past 11 months, only very few have been spotted about once or twice during the period, though there is still the possibility of some of them visiting the seat of power under the cover of darkness and away from the prying eyes of journalists.

    But whether they visited in the night under Jonathan, their presence during daytime was still felt in the Villa.

    These developments have been generating some questions among Nigerians.

    For instance, are the moneybags avoiding the Villa to stay away from the government’s  anti-corruption searchlight on them and their businesses?

    Or do they not feel free to give their support to the Buhari administration like they did to the past administrations?

    The following are some of the influential Nigerians who normally frequented the Presidential Villa under Jonathan but have completely stayed away under Buhari or whose number of visits are less than five times in almost a year.

    Hardly did a month go by under Jonathan without one of the richest men in the world, Aliko Dangote, visiting the Presidential Villa.

    But Dangote, who owns the Dangote Group operating in Nigeria and other African countries, including Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Togo, Tanzania, and Zambia, has only been sighted attending very few meetings at the Presidential Villa in the past 11 months.

    An entrepreneur, philanthropist and Chairman of Forte Oil Plc, Femi Otedola, who also normally visited the Villa under Jonathan, has become very scarce at the seat of power.

    Another influential billionaire who has become scarce at the Villa since end of Jonathan’s tenure is Tony Elumelu.

    Elumelu is an economist, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

    Founder of Stanbic IBTC Holding Co., Atedo Peterside, always attended one power sector meeting or the other in the last dispensation, especially with former Vice President Namadi Sambo. This appears to have become history.

    An influential businessman, Tunde Ayeni, who often visited the Villa under Jonathan has also become scarce.

    Although, he has been spotted few times at the Presidential Villa under the current dispensation.

    Another billionaire who never joked with his frequent visits to the Villa under Jonathan is Ifeanyi Ubah.

    He formed the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), which played a great role towards Jonathan’s re-election bid in 2015.

    Ubah became very scarce in the Villa in the last eleven months.

    But he was recently spotted in the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa at the end of Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari’s ‘The Essential of Beauty Therapy’ book launch.

    Another close ally of Jonathan, who normally frequent the Villa then, is Arthur Eze.

    Eze, who is a businessman with interest in oil and gas, has led many foreign businessmen to meetings with former Vice President, Namadi Sambo.

    He has become very scarce in the Villa under Buhari.

    It is not clear why many of these billionaires have disappeared from the Villa with their money and business ideas.

    It is, however, cheery news to hear recently that Dangote has decided to help the Buhari administration to revamp the economy.

    He made the promise in Lagos on April 22 when he was honoured as “Man of the Year 2015” by The Guardian newspapers.

    Promising to assist Nigeria to reach the next level, Dangote was certain that Nigerial will excel in the next two and half years.

    That is the spirit expected of these billionaires.

    If they don’t have any skeleton in their cupboards, they should feel free to come forward to assist the present administration in rebuilding the Nigerian economy.

    Everything should not be left for the government to do. The private sector has a great role to play.

     

  • Between the masses and the moneybags

    What’s the fuss about President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection campaign war chest of at least N21bn, to go by the figures of the December 20 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Fund Raising Dinner held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Vila, Abuja? Indeed, the outcome of the money spinner may be considered anticlimactic, given the known capitalistic orientation of the Jonathan administration and its major supporters. It is instructive that the Chief Fund Raiser and Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, who is listed among the world’s wealthiest persons, was reportedly out of the country; and  his representative, Mr. Joseph Makanju, was said to have assured the organisers of the event that Dangote would live up to their expectations when he returned.

    Jonathan was quoted as saying, “I thank everyone who made donation tonight.” He probably had a good reason to be grateful, considering the dimensions of the donors and the significance of their donations, which included: N5bn from players in the Oil and Gas sector; Real Estate and Building, N4bn; Transport and Aviation, N1bn; Roads and Construction, N560m; Power, N500m; Food and Agriculture, N500m; Automotive Association, N450m; PDP Governors N1.05bn; Jerry Gana and others, N5bn; and Tunde Ayeni and others, N2bn.

    Also, what’s the commotion about the possible legal implications of the grand collection? The Jonathan administration is not particularly known for its adherence to the letter and spirit of the law, and may ultimately exceed the lawful N1bn spending limit for presidential campaigns without compunction.

    It is intriguing that the scale of financial support appeared to contradict any negative perception of the Jonathan presidency. If the intention was to make a statement about the backing Jonathan ostensibly enjoys, the message was strikingly delivered.  Also fascinating is the remarkable donor anonymity, which introduced an impersonal angle; paradoxically, it would suggest that the individuals who gave money wished to be faceless. In this connection, it is food for thought that Balarabe Musa, a former governor of Kaduna State, said: “It is money stolen from the government. The money could not have been donated by someone who earned it legitimately. They are monies stolen from the public fund. Can they say the money is from their pocket?” Beyond the question of whether the humongous resources came from questionable sources, it is thought-provoking that the donors in question went so far in providing a pillar for the administration, which suggests that the opposition has an intimidating power contest ahead in next year’s general elections.

    Against the background of Musa’s far-reaching conclusions, it is interesting to note that former President Olusegun Obasanjo who recently released   his explosively controversial three-volume autobiography, My Watch, wrote of the Jonathan presidency in the most unflattering terms.  Obasanjo said:  ”Under Jonathan we seem to have gone from frying pan to fire. If in the past corruption was in the corridors of power, it would seem now to be in the sitting room, dining room and bedroom of power. If what is called ‘corruption’ is stealing, under the watch of Goodluck Jonathan, then government has become legalised and protected robbery.”

    This vignette is particularly persuasive in the context of the news that Transparency International (TI), the respected watchdog, this month ranked Nigeria 136th on its 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) focused on 175 countries. The assessment was based on the presumed extent of public sector corruption in the countries. Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks, and was listed as the 39th most corrupt nation in the world. Particularly relevant to the country is the TI observation: “A poor score is likely a sign of widespread bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs.” TI Chairman, José Ugaz, said: “The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that economic growth is undermined and efforts to stop corruption fade when leaders and high level officials abuse power to appropriate public funds for personal gain.”

    Ironically, the projection of finance-driven strength might well be an indication of weakness in the critical area of people appeal. It is logical to observe that money by itself is unlikely to win the presidential election for Jonathan next year, especially given his provably poor performance in office.

    It is noteworthy that under Jonathan, for instance, the country’s poverty profile is tragically inexcusable for an oil-rich country. Of relevance is the observation by the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim at the April IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, where he restated that Nigeria was among the top five countries with the largest number of the poor. Scandalously, the country ranks third on this list of infamy behind India (with 33 percent of the world’s poor) and China (13 percent). With 7 percent of the “wretched of the earth”, the country is ahead of Bangladesh (6 percent) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (5 percent). Together these countries are home to nearly 760 million impoverished people.

    For a picture of poverty, the World Bank’s definition is clarifying. According to the institution, “Poverty is an income level below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the “poverty line”. What is necessary to satisfy basic needs varies across time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines vary in time and place, and each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of development, societal norms and values. But the content of the needs is more or less the same everywhere.” It further said: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.”

    There is no doubt that the majority of Nigerians can understand what the World Bank says about poverty, and even what it has not said. The poverty of leadership, which has so devastatingly levelled the country, requires urgent redemption.

    It is eye-opening to contrast the Crowd Funding Project of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, with Jonathan’s moneybags financing scheme. Buhari said: My strength mainly is the ordinary people. N100 is plenty of money for them and I know that they are going to make the sacrifice required for the change we are looking for, especially when I made them a promise to be transparent and personally responsible for the money.” He disclosed that the people had contributed N54.4 million, and declared, “So far so good.” In the end, it will be a battle between the masses and the moneybags.

  • APC won’t be hijacked by moneybags, says ex-governor Shekarau

    The All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) presidential candidate in the last election and former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau yesterday said the new opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), will resist any attempt by moneybags to hijack it.

    Shekarau, who is a key figure in the merger of opposition parties to form APC, said the founding members of the new party have designed it as the last hope of the masses.

    He said: “It is going to be a party that will be grassroots-oriented, where the masses can have a stake. We are duty-bound to discourage moneybags from taking control of the party.”

    The chairman of the ANPP merger committee told reporters in his Kano home that APC was determined to make justice and fair play its watchword.

    According to him, internal democracy remains the cornerstone of the party.

    He said the understanding among APC leaders, which resulted in the merger, will be pursued tirelessly to give the party a different ideological and programmes’ outlook.

    Shekarau said: “Anything that will encourage bickering will not be tolerated.

    “We want to be totally different from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by pursuing justice for all, building a party that will give everyone a chance to pursue his or her political ambition through the entrenchment of internal democracy to sustain peace and stability of the party. This way, the ultimate goal of unseating PDP in the next poll will be achieved.

    “No individual will be allowed to hijack the party for his own goal. Every decision taken must be collective and it will be in the interest of all members and the party.”

    The former governor, who also holds the title of Sardaunan Kano, dismissed allegation of sabotage levelled against former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff.

    He noted that Sheriff has cleared himself of those allegations.

    Shekarau said: “As far as I am concerned, I cannot say yes or no over whatever allegation that have been levelled against Modu Sheriff. This is because I don’t know the minds of members of the party.

    “I believe all the major players are solidly with us. But that does not mean we may not see some funny development. For now, there’s no reason to panic.”

    On his likely position in the APC executive, Shekarau explained that as a loyal party man, he would offer to serve in any capacity the party deems fit.

    The former governor dispelled the speculation that the APC leadership will emerge soon, going by the cumbersome process it is undergoing.