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Tag: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

  • And now, waiver-gate!

    And now, waiver-gate!

    Last week’s disclosure by the Nigerian Customs Service, (NCS) of the quantum of import duty waivers granted under the Jonathan presidency must have come as a ‘relief’ to the House Committee on Finance currently locked in a duel with Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Relief because, the service may have helped frame, in no small measure, the underlying issues so terribly muddled up in the 50-odd questions which the committee had sought answers in writing from the minister last December.

    More certainly, the customs expose has for good measure laid bare the duplicity and lies that has been the hallmark of this presidency.

    By way of preliminary comment, I don’t think that there can be any running away from the fact the House Comitteee on Finance did little credit to its image as a serious body with those awkward, unwieldy questions handed over to the minister. I honestly believe that a sizeable number of the 50 questions were at best sophomoric –clearly lacking in rigour of articulation as one would expect from a committee charged with oversight on public finance. The question of why the lawmakers would bundle the disparate questions which tended to betray astounding lack of knowledge in areas over which they had sought to take on the executive is best left to the members to answer. Suffice to state that the committee actually came off the entire episode as one on a mission to pick a fight with the irascible minister at all costs and for undisclosed reasons.

    Having said that, it is a different matter to suggest that the generous excoriation by the minister could be justified in the circumstance. I refer here to the minister’s characterisation of the lawmakers as being uninformed; her query on whether the House committee had “a coherent policy agenda for our nation’s development”, and her subsequent wonder “whether these questions are simply meant to stir confusion and detract us from the Transformation Agenda of the current administration.”

    Nigerians obviously know better than to dwell on the minister’s outsized ego. After all, what is a super-minister without the self-serving advisory to the lawmakers that “such protracted exchanges are a distraction to the executive and ultimately a disservice to Nigerians” and tutorial that “We would recommend more measured and civil exchanges in the future, which are informative for Nigerians and also enable the executive to focus on its goal of implementing programmes and projects across our nation?”

    The point is, Nigerians have far more to worry about the activities of officials who say one thing and do exactly the opposite; grandmasters of the dubious agenda of promoting private as public interest; arch-stewards of laissez faire governance.

    As I said in the opening statement, the issue today is last week’s confirmation by the NCS, of the existence of N1.4 trillion import duty waivers racket involving the finance ministry. Of course, when the news was first broken by an online medium few weeks ago, the ministry had dismissed the report as the handiwork of its detractors – the cult who do not see anything good in the activities of the Jonathan administration.

    Now, we know better. The NCS whose responsibility it is to administer the waivers has finally spoken: as against the minister’s claim of N170.7 billion, there is actually a racket, all of them executed in the last three years under this presidency. The breakdown comes to a princely N480 billion apiece in 2011 and 2012 and N474 billion in 2013. And as the NCS has further clarified, more than 65 percent of the beneficiaries actually received waiver grants for goods not approved under the applicable guidelines. You ask how? All that the ‘political importers’ needed to do was wave the so-called Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate, NDCC to the men of the customs at the point of payment for import and excise duties to qualify for the bazaar!

    And now this: a new memo signed by the Minister of State of Finance, Yerima Ngama dated December 11, 2013, has since expanded the scope of the NDCC to cover “other goods,”. “Other goods? You guesed right: Bullet-proof automobiles a la Oduahgate; rice, fish etc. Never mind that the customs think that the ‘other goods’ are those that can hardly contribute to the growth of the economy. It’s a lucractive the bazzar for all concerned – minus Nigerians, who are supposed to be the beneficiaries.

    Seriously, I don’t think anyone should be surprised at the revelation which first came to light last year when the leadership of the customs appeared before the Senate. By the way, it should not surprise if a hurriedly assembled reconciliation team is put together to ‘retire’ the difference between the figures. After all, the administration already has set a precedent in creative accounting over the missing $10.8 billion, now retired and passed off by the NNPC and the federal government, as “expenses”.

    Of greater interest to yours truly is that the minister and the customs cannot be right at the same time. It seems to me a case of Nigerians being misled by the minister rather than one of gross failure of arithmetic. Or, could the customs department – a parastatal of the finance ministry – have sexed up the figures to embarrass the minister? Could it be that majority of the waivers were recycled – again – a la Oduahgate when a waiver granted to the Lagos State government became an open-ended one?

    Don’t forget, we are talking here of a variance in excess of N1.2 trillion over a three year period –allegedly lost to the whims of some fat cats in the finance ministry. Did I hear someone scream waiver-gate!!

    Still wondering about what to make of the ill-tempered 100-page epistle put out by the minister who obviously couldn’t imagine the indignity of being questioned by a group of ‘unlearned’ lawmakers? The nation’s treasurer who only a short while ago played the gloater-in-chief over Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s so-called spurious claims of vanishing $49 billion, now on the verge of being docked for terrible crimes ranging from ignorance, bad faith, to figure fiddling? Truly, Nigeria’s wheel of malfeasance spins at the speed of light!

    If you ask me, I think the Lower House may be on to something big here. Big of course is an understatement. Scandal would be a better word. For now, the House should just forget the issue of revisiting the 50 questions. The job at hand seems as easy as plodding from the known to get at the unknown. With or without the theatricals, the exercise promises to be an exciting one. The customs have done a good job to tell us how much has been lost. The puzzle is – to who? The beneficiaries should not be hard to trace; just as their contribution to the economy should not be difficult to evaluate against what they claimed as rationale for obtaining the waivers. Over to you, Messrs Abdulmumin Jibrin and co, of the House Committee on Finance.

     

  • Jonathan and the sisters of good luck

    Beyond the flood of interpretations that greeted the eventual fall of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Bamanga Tukur, there is a possibly overlooked dimension to his forced resignation after a long-drawn-out battle with antagonistic forces within the party. It is instructive that President Goodluck Jonathan apparently finally sacrificed Tukur when it came to choosing between protecting him and retaining control of the party to reinforce a possible desire for re-election in 2015.

    Jonathan, ironically, identified the man Tukur as an obstacle, despite his unapologetic support of the presidential agenda; perhaps helping to put in clearer perspective just how dispensable the president regards masculine figures, especially those in the power loop.

    With women, however, the picture of the president is that of an accommodating gentleman; or a man who appears to be gentle. It is generally believed that Jonathan would probably do anything to satisfy his beloved wife, First Lady Dame Patience, particularly considering his demonstration of enmity towards the perceived enemies of his better half, represented in recent times by the embattled Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    Speaking of Jonathan’s tender treatment of females, three other prominent feminine figures, in particular, come to mind; specifically, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah. Perhaps never in the country’s political history have women been the custodians of so much power, and controversially too.

    While Okonjo-Iweala continues to attract loud criticism for alleged ineffectiveness, Alison-Madueke for alleged imperiousness and Oduah for alleged impropriety, Jonathan has interestingly carried on as if nothing is amiss. Notably, they have something in common: strident calls for their removal. Oduah’s case is especially reflective of Jonathan’s soft spot for the opposite sex, with the presidency treating her with kid’s gloves, in spite of weighty charges of misconduct relating to the scandalous purchase of two armoured cars for N255 million.

    Indeed, it is food for thought that Jonathan apparently does not consider the public outcry against these women, or outrage in the Oduah matter, sufficiently threatening to his administration, which contrasts with the treatment that Tukur received at his hands. This double standard approach, not to call it mentality, does not speak well of Jonathan’s sense of fairness, does it?

    While it may not be so obvious what charms the women possess that make it tough for Jonathan to treat them as expendable objects, there can be no doubt that there is more to their survival than meets the eye. Unlike the Tukur affair, Jonathan evidently does not feel any embarrassment in the company of the trio. The phrase “sacred cow” seems to find clear expression here.

    Jonathan’s gender politics, for that is what it looks like, has the appeal of ugliness; and it is possible to speculate about feelings in the corridors of power, where the circle must know that the overall boss would rather keep the strong women than the weak men, which may not necessarily be a matter of perception. These three sisters of good luck must be the envy of many.

  • Okonjo-Iweala, NNPC and $10.8bn

    Okonjo-Iweala, NNPC and $10.8bn

    SPEAKING at a reception held in her honour last week in Lagos, the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, argued that it might be necessary for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to show proof it spent the unremitted $10.8bn on key operational matters. The services of auditors could be required, the minister added. It will be recalled that the CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had alleged that the NNPC could not account for over $48bn it ought to have remitted to the Federation Account. It was after a controversial reconciliation of accounts that the amount was whittled down to $10.8bn.

    Dr Okonjo-Iweala talked of the NNPC showing proof of how the money was spent. That clearly is not enough, no matter what she, the Minister of Petroleum Resources and the presidency think. What the Minister of Petroleum and the NNPC must show is why they spent that controversial $10.8bn at all. In answering why, they should let the public understand just how powerful they had become to capriciously spend money anyhow without appropriation. In a well-run country with bold and competent legislature, it is hard to see the NNPC and the Petroleum minister get away with that offensive and unacceptable behavior, even if they show how the money was spent.

  • Civil servants get 37% of recurrent budget, says govt

    Civil servants get 37% of recurrent budget, says govt

    Thirty seven per cent of the nation’s budget is spent on salaries, wages and allowances of about one million civil servants, the Federal Government said yesterday.

    Giving an insight into the 2014 budget estimate presented to the National Assembly for consideration, the Director General of the Budget Office, Dr Bright Okogu, said the persistent clamour for increased wages, allowances and salaries of civil servants led to the jerking up of recurrent expenditure.

    He urged labour unions to think beyond the immediate gains of a fat salary and look at the effect of their demands on the nation’s economy and themselves.

    According to Okogu, when a huge amount of money is spent on salaries and wages of Federal Government workers to the detriment of capital projects, jobs that could have been created would be lost and the civil servants who get these enlarged wages end up footing the bills of their relatives who ordinarily could have been employed by the system.

    Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala added: “There are additional pension arrears which will need to be incorporated in our recurrent budgets in the future, so the size of this spending will increase further, if we do not take any action. We will need to make some tough choices in the future about the structure of our budget.

    “We need to strike a balance between a growing wage bill for the public sector and investing more of our resources in infrastructure projects.”

    She said her ministry worked hard to reduce this ratio from 74.4 per cent in 2011 to 71.5 per cent in 2012 and further to 67.5 per cent in 2013, “but it has risen again to 74 per cent in 2014.” She said the executive was “looking to the National Assembly to assist us in reviewing and repealing these laws to enable us rationalise some of these duplicative agencies”.

    On the whereabouts of the $10.8 billion, which was not remitted to the Federation Account, the minister said:

    “After our initial reconciliation, we now have a revised amount of $10.8 billion which still needs to be accounted for. This revised $10.8 billion outstanding is the amount put forward by the Federal Ministry of Finance, following ongoing reconciliation exercises with the NNPC at FAAC meetings over the past two years.

    “The Federal Ministry of Finance has played its role in bringing all parties to the table to agree and discuss the outstanding funds that should be remitted to the government. The next stage of this discussion is to ensure that these funds are paid into the Federation Account.”

    She added that “what will actually bring in the money is the hard work of completing the reconciliation exercises to find out what NNPC has spent on its operation (with supporting invoices and documentation) and what has to be remitted to the Treasury. It has not been completed, so claims by any parties in this exercise are premature”.

    In 2014, the Federal Government, she said, will continue to focus on the completion of critical infrastructure, projects. “Government has advanced the implementation of the Power Road Map with the successful privatisation of four power generating companies and 10 power distribution companies.

    “In 2014, we shall focus on completing the privatisation of the NIPP projects, speed up work on our gas pipeline infrastructure and investment in hydro – electric power. In addition, we will also accelerate work on ongoing road and rail projects across the country – in particular, the Lagos-Ibadan Road and the Second Niger Bridge. We will also speed up upgrading of our aviation infrastructure especially the construction our five new airport terminals and 13 perishable air cargo terminals.”

    She said the government would continue with efforts to reduce the cost of governance. “Specific measures to be taken in line with Mr. President’s directive include holding the training of MDAs’ and parastatals’ personnel in Nigeria while overseas training programmes will only be approved in exceptional cases. Moreover, the number of overseas trips by government officials will be curtailed while the size of delegations accompanying key government officials on foreign trips will also be reduced.

    She said the President’s office had already begun trimming down the size of the delegations, which accompany him for foreign visits. The Head of Service and the Director-General of the Budget Office will develop new guidelines for foreign travel by government officials which will be circulated to all MDAs. We anticipate to save about N3 billion from the introduction of this new policy.

    Minister for Power Prof. Chinedu Nebo assured that there will be improved power supply In the East, Nebo said gas pipeline and electricity installations were being vandalised by thieves whereas the vandalisation of gas pipelines in the West was the activities of saboteurs who deliberately vandalise the pipes at various locations to frustrate government’s efforts.

    Minister for Works Mike Onolemenmen said the Abuja-Lokoja road would be completed in April same as the Benin-Ore axis of the Benin-Ore-Sagamu Expressway, with the completion of the Sagamu end scheduled for the end of 2014.

    The ground breaking ceremony of the Second Niger Bridge, he said, will be carried out this year to effectively herald the commencement of work on the Second Niger Bridge.

    Prof. Akpan Ekpo of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) warned against delay in the passage of the budget as this may impact negatively on its full implementation.

    Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said: “Challenging budget process often leads to slippages in our budget timetables, and that means we have a reduced time period for implementing the budget.

    “She urged the National Assembly “to review the 2014 budget promptly so the Executive can implement it expeditiously for the benefit of Nigerians”.

  • Businessmen back politicians to get contract, says Okonjo-Iweala

    As the 2015 elections draws near, and politicians strategize to win public offices, the Minister of finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has disclosed that businessmen support politicians in return for contracts and resources.

    She identified financing election campaigns as one of the root causes of corruption in Nigeria and Africa.

    Coordinating Minister for the Economy and minister of finance Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealal made this observation at a TEDx Euston event in London recently. TEDx Euston is part of TED,  a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “ideas worth spreading”.
    TED was founded in 1984. There are many TED events around the world and traditionally distinguished and high achieving speakers are invited to speak on something they are passionate about that is important and impactful. Previous speakers have included Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, Bono, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and many Nobel Prize winners.

    According to her, “one of the root causes of corruption in the continent is the way we finance or do not finance elections properly. We have adopted systems that demand that politicians’ campaign. Campaigns cost money. But where does that money come from?”

    She noted that “if we don’t find a legitimate means of supporting campaigns, then all sorts of ways are found to do this. It could be, by engaging business people who support an individual, a system or a party and then later on, they have to be rewarded through contracts or other means that may actually not help but undermine the economy and development.”
    It is also corruption for a business man to support a politician in return for inordinate access to contracts or resources.
    However, she said Nigeria and Africa in particular has not “found an answer to this problem. It means we haven’t begun to have the kind of conversation we should have. If we don’t solve this problem, people will continue to find unorthodox means of financing their elections, of financing the implantation of democracy. And this very means may be the root of some of the corruption we do not want, which may totally affect the way we do business.”
    In the case of Nigeria specifically, she said “Yes, we have problems”. Corruption undermines development in Nigeria and the continent at large. It deprives us of resources with which we can fight poverty and create wealth for people.”
    According to Okonjo-Iweala, “when a public servant diverts resources from the state budget or national budget and siphons them abroad, removes them from doing the work and any good for the people. This is corruption on the part of the person embezzling public fund at home and also those receiving it abroad.”
    “When people steal our mineral wealth, be it crude oil or other natural resources in any of our countries on the continent and they divert and send it abroad; that is corruption on the part of those stealing and receiving” she said.
    All of these she said undermines development and the very fabric of our society, and if we want to deal with some of the root causes of corruption, “we have to think of how we can finance that very good that we want. I want us to start a conversation about it.”
    To start a conversation, she pointed at a possible source of election campaign financing by suggesting that “a certain percentage of each of our countries’ revenue to be dedicated to this purpose and that people need not run around to look for means and stress themselves to finance political parties or election campaigns, but that it is a legitimate public good that we have said we want in each country we want democracy. Therefore we must find a legitimate way to support this.”
    Se noted that “if we can use technology to solve our problems; if we can think and put together knowledge that puts us ahead, why can’t Africa be a leader in thinking and innovating legitimate ways on how to finance election? We have to take responsibility.”
  • Ezekwezili asks Okonjo-Iweala, NNPC Account for ‘missing $10b’

    Ezekwezili asks Okonjo-Iweala, NNPC Account for ‘missing $10b’

    •Demands ‘breakdown’ of expenditure

    Former Minister of Solid Mineral Resources in the Obasanjo Administration, Mrs. Oby Ezekwezili has become an unlikely participant in the raging controversy over the alleged missing $10 billion in the account of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Ezekwezili took to the popular social media, Twitter, asking the Minister of Finance /Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC to detail, for the benefit of all Nigerians, what happened to the money.

    The ‘missing’ money has in the last few weeks led to serious arguments and exchange of words among public officials since it blew open. The Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan alluded to the money. Last week, the NNPC had in a statement said no money was missing and explained how it was spent.

    However, Ezekwezili on the social media said, “Hello, NNPC! Here is ONE Citizen that DEMANDS ACCURATE ACCOUNTING for the “missing” $10 billion. What happened to it? What?” And followed it with: “If as a Citizen, U are as VEXED as I am at the way the issue of “missing $10Billion has been handled tweet @ me.”

    The tweets were quick in coming and she responded appropriately. In one instance she said: “Madam Minister @NOIweala can we please v your signed off BREAK DOWN of D “missing $10Billion” that NNPC must ACCOUNT FOR?

    She also said: “It would help raise confidence in d Administration if you! @NOIweala took up the ACCOUNTING 4 the “missing $$10 Billion”.

    It would help raise confidence in d Administration if you! @NOIweala took up the ACCOUNTING 4 the “missing $$10 Billion”.

    Since you @NOIweala will be presenting #Budget2014 BREAK DOWN on the 22nd. Also provide BREAK DOWN OF “missing $10Billion

    NNPC &Min of Petroleum have no FISCAL MANAGEMENT mandate. They MUST end OFF-TREASURY spending of PUBLIC FUNDS. We Insist!

    She also challenged the National Assembly to give a breakdown of the ‘hefty’ N150billion public funds it receives yearly, saying: “A NASS that has REFUSED to give Citizens a BREAK DOWN of its HEFTY 150 Billion Naira yearly allocation sets a BAD EXAMPLE!”

    She did not spare the generality of Nigerians and the media for not raising enough hell over the ‘missing’ money.

    “When Citizens & Media act UNPERTURBED by the “murky” accounting for the “missing $10Billion, the rest of the world hiss!” she said.

    Mrs. Ezekwezili wondered whether the NNPC knows “that some African countries SWEAT to raise $5Million to stay afloat? And here, $10Billion is waved off?”

     

  • ‘Comply with fiscal autonomy judgment’

    ‘Comply with fiscal autonomy judgment’

    •Lawyer seeks implementation of verdict

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Sebastine Hon, yesterday urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), and the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to comply with Monday’s judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which upheld fiscal autonomy for the Judiciary.

    Justice Ademola Adeniyi, in a judgment on a suit by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), on Monday, ordered that funds for the Judiciary in the Federation Account and Revenue Fund be paid to heads of courts.

    In a statement yesterday, Hon hailed the Judiciary for asserting its independence.

    He said the need for financial independence for the Judiciary was long overdue.

    The lawyer urged government agencies connected with the judgment to implement the verdict without delay.

    Hon also hailed Justice Adeniyi for interpreting the law without fear or favour.

    He said: “For the avoidance of any doubt, the Constitution has, in sections 4, 5 and 6 thereof adopt the doctrine of separation of powers, an antiquated but hallowed principle of democratic governance propounded by French scholar, Montesquieu.

    “Thus, in Attorney-General of the Federation vs The Guardian Newspapers Limited (1999) 5 SCNJ 324 at 368-369, Karibi-Whyte, J.S.C., held thus: ‘A notable feature of the amended Constitution …is the distribution of the exercise of government functions among the three principal and separate departments of the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary….’ “Accordingly, implicit in the power so vested, the one was not to interfere in the exercise of power of the other except to the extent to which the Constitution confers such powers of interference. “This is the hallowed principle of separation of powers first formulated by Montesquieu.

    “This dictum on the doctrine of separation of powers, which his Lordship gave under the banner: ‘The Nigerian Constitutional Structure’, is important when discussing the powers created under sections 4, 5, and 6 of the 1999 Constitution; for the dictum has set up a general guideline for the interpretation and understanding of Part II of Chapter 1 of the Constitution, which deals with ‘Powers of the Federation.’

    “One major advantage of separation of powers was summed up by his Lordship, Musdapher, J.S.C.(as he then was) in Inakoju vs. Adeleke (2007) All FWLR (Pt. 353) 3 at 146 S.C. as follows: The principle of separation of powers under the Constitution is meant to guarantee good governance and development and to prevent abuse of power.

    “In a monetised and a capitalist-prone world of ours today, money and financial power guarantees independence; and without this all-important element of independence being exercised by the Judiciary, the hype about independence of the Judiciary has turned out to be a fluke.

    “This is not supposed to be, as the three arms of government are equal in the eyes of the Constitution and one is not inferior to the others; and as laudably stated by his Lordship, Musdapher, there cannot be good governance without strict observance of separation of powers.

    “I hereby call on the Federal Government and its agencies concerned with the implementation of this judgment, particularly the Finance Minister and all states’ Finance commissioners, the accountant-general of the federation and his state counterparts, to immediately comply with this judgment.

    “I pledge to defend the JUSUN pro bono (free of charge), should any appeal be filed by any person or authority against this well-delivered judgment. This underscores not only my faith in this judgment, but also in the independence of the Judiciary,” Hon said.

  • Reps insist Okonjo-Iweala must answer 50 questions

    Reps insist Okonjo-Iweala must answer 50 questions

    • Amended Constitution ready by June

    The House of Representatives yesterday said that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the economy, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala should answer the 50 questions given her by its committee on Finance on the 2014 budget.

    The Chairman of the Committee on Finance, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, had insisted that the 2014 budget would not be considered until the Minister of Finance answers the 50 questions that were handed to her at an interactive session on December 19 last year.

    The Committee had given Okonjo Iweala two weeks to submit a written response to the questions which bordered on the economy, but she has requested for more time to respond.

    Speaking at a pre- resumption press briefing yesterday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, said the Committee on Finance was acting under the mandate given to it by the House and as such, the Minister should answer the 50 questions as it would aid the House in the consideration of the budget.

    His words: “The Finance Committee was given a responsibility by the mandate of the House and the Committee must report back to the House what it was asked to do.

    “It is the House in its wisdom that will devise the next line of action. The Finance Committee has done the assignment given to it by the House and will have to go back to the House to take a decision.

    “Definitely on resumption, the Finance Committee would brief the House and therefrom, we will draw conclusions and inferences . We must consider the budget because its a money bill, but we will not be blackmailed or bamboozled to just assume it as a case of garbage in, garbage out. Anybody who thinks it is going to be like that is just joking because we are going to ensure a sense of fairness in its consideration to the benefit of Nigerians who are our employers.”

    While responding to questions, Mohammed said the amendment process to the 1999 budget would be concluded by June this year and a clean copy of the amended constitution would be ready by then.

    The lawmaker who said the amended constitution would be made up of only items things approved by Nigerians during the public sessions held across the 774 local government in the country said: “By June, all the templates must have been put in the right perspectives and a clean copy released. “

    The House also condemned the Sunday attacks on Senators, Magnus Abe and Mohammed Ali Ndume.

    While Senator Magnus Abe was shot in Rivers State on Sunday during a rally of Save Rivers Movement at Obio/Akpor Local Council of the State, Senator Ndume’s convoy was reportedly bombed same day in Maiduguri in Borno State.

  • House vs Okonjo-Iweala

    House vs Okonjo-Iweala

    THERE is unlikely to be any let up in the mutual animosity between the House of Representatives and the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She is too cocksure about everything to approach the legislature with the respect, humility and diplomacy required to secure the lawmakers’ co-operation. And the House is too jealous of its powers to cede it to anyone with a stiff upper lip. While making a presentation before the House Finance Committee on December 19, the minister had in an embarrassing outburst demanded respect for ministers from the lawmakers. To everyone who watched what transpired on television, it was hard not to conclude that her surliness was influenced by distorted and poisoned talk from the corridors of power.

  • Jonathan: From wasted expectation to heightened hope

    Jonathan: From wasted expectation to heightened hope

    A year ago, President Goodluck Jonathan unfolded his 2013 plan. Today, he has unfolded another plan for this year. But, what has happened between then and now? The challenge is marrying expectation with reality. Many agreed that it was increasingly difficult for the embattled Commander-In-Chief to live up to expectation. This year, will the transformation agenda bear good fruits?

    In his new year message last year, Dr. Jonathan raised the hope of Nigerians. He said that government will improve security and power supply, fight the infrastructure battle, upgrade the national rail network, create jobs and wealth and foster public confidence.

    Beaming a searchlight on the administration, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, described Dr. Jonathan as a kindergarten President. The remarks polarised the polity. Some agreed with the former Osun State governor, pointing out that the President lacked charm and carriage of a leader and the poor achievements of his dull government does not speak for him.

    But, government officials, including the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, painted a picture of a growing economy. She said the atmosphere is investment-driven. Her evidence is that inflation is kept at bay. Power supply has improved and roads are being rehabilitated.

    The “improved economic climate” projected by the minister has not heralded a high standard of living for citizens. They economic miracle is an achievement on paper without bearing on the life of the people. Two days ago, the Organised Private Sector (OPS) warned that political crises may create more economic hullabaloos. The President has not presided over a peaceful country. Despite the heavy investment, the security situation has not improved.

    The Boko Haram insurgency is insurmountable, although the state of emergency in the three Northeast states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno has been extended by another six months. There is panic. Terrorism has become a major threat to peaceful living and socio-economic activities. In regions where people are insulated from the menace of Boko Haram, kidnappers and armed robbers are on the prowl. In fact, kidnapping has become a lucrative business in the South. Peace also eluded the polity because of the activities of major actors. The crisis in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) engulfed the nation. Attention shifted from governance to crisis management.

    The anti-graft war suffered during the year. There was a shallow commitment on the part of the administration. . Alarmed at the trend, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal chided the President for encouraging graft. He lamented that the resolutions of the House on corruption were ignored by the Presidency. There was also a controversy over the handling of the SURE-P Programme. There were allegations that the money ended in the purse of party chieftains. The ordinary citizens were left in the cold.

    Job creation has been a mission impossible, although government claimed that it has facilitated the creation of employment through funding for some creative activities in the agricultural sector. But, experts have argued that the solution to unemployment lies in the activation of the power sector. The revitalisation of the critical sector would have aided the resuscitation of the moribund manufacturing sector. The sector is on its knees. The cost of production has made some of its operators to seek refuge in the neighbouring Ghana and Republic of Benin, where electricity is stable.

    Artisans, peasants and operators of small and medium scale enterprises suffer from power outage. They often resort to the noisy generating sets, spending huge sums on petrol and diesel. Many of them have been forced to close down. Thus, there may be a relationship with soaring unemployment and high crime rate, which the government may have ignored to national peril.

    How can government also create wealth without stable power supply and good roads. In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the improved rail network is being felt. Outside the choice city, transportation is still a nightmare. The East/West road may still take a long time to complete, despite reapeated assurances. The piecemeal rehabilitation of federal roads appears to be another cosmetic measure designed to make it appear that the Federal Ministry of Works cares . The Soutnhwest, which has complained of marginalisation with proofs, is unhappy that the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway is still an abandoned construction site, despite the renewal of the road concessioning.

    For over five months last year, the universities were under lock and key, no thanks to the lecturers’ strike. A semester was lost to the industrial dispute. The polytechnic teachers were also on strike. But, they called it off without any agreement with the Federal Government. Now, medical doctors are on warning strike nationwide.

    Will this year be a clean break from the sordid past? The rhetoric is being repeated. President Jonathan has wished Nigerians a happy amalgamation anniversary. The mistake of 1914, in his opinion, is a blessing. He has called for unity in a country divided by the bitter struggle for the Presidency between the North and South. He made allusions to the 2013 budget, avoiding the judgment of failure passed by many federal legislators. He said his administration is focused. But he did not point to any proof. He said that 1.6 million jobs were created last year and that more will be created this year.

    This year, the President promised more funding for education and health sectors. He also promised to cut the cost of governance by reducing frivolous spending on unwarranted foreign trips. He promised housing through mortgage, support for the electoral commission to uphold the sanctity of the ballot box and commitment to the proposed national dialogue to enhance national unity.

    The President has made a lot of promises at a time many doubting Nigerians are weary. His performance this year is critical to the chance of his party at the next year’s poll. Already, the APC has described itself as the government-in-waiting. Will the Presidency and ruling party wake up from their slumber this year? Time will tell.