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Tag: Oshiomhole

  • Why Buhari is after Jonathan’s men – Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole at the weekend declared that it was not wrong for President Muhammadu Buhari to beam his anti-corruption searchlight on men and women in the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He stressed that the cries of selectiveness of the Buhari’s fight against corruption was uncalled for as Jonathan’s men were fully in charge of managing the Nigerian economy that have been claimed to witness many corrupt practices.

    The governor spoke during the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) event for celebrating two media icons, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Friday night.

    Oshiomhole, who represented the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the Chairman of the occasion, said: “They are serving a President who appreciates that these problems have to be confronted headon. The President who boldly told the world that the issue of corruption, if it is not killed, it will kill us. And since we don’t want to die, we have to kill corruption.”

    “But the forces behind corruption are powerful, some are feasible and some are not feasible. They are men and women of rich, of means. Many are even billionaires in dollars and euros.

    “Now where are the forces that will queue behind the president to confront the drivers of corruption. As you can see, people are already asking question about due process, people are asking questions about selective and so on.

    “And it will be the job of Shehu and Femi to remind people that if you managed a house for 16 years and members of the community believed that the house has not been properly managed and that the reason for the mismanagement is that some people willfully … including resorting to corrupt practices, you can only deal with those in that house, the people who had responsibility for managing the house.

    “So when you select those people and deal with them, of course it is selective. You can only select from among those who are involved with crime. Editors will help to take this to our people.” He said

    He wondered why those crying fowl play now decided to keep silent when many wrongdoings were carried out under Jonathan.

    He said: “When my helicopter was stopped when going to Ekiti State, as a governor with immunity, I was stopped by a low-level military officer from flying to Ekiti because my purpose was to campaign. I didn’t quite hear pastors protesting on my behalf.

    “When Rotimi Amaechi was detained by a Commissioner of Police in Rivers State and they moved tankers to Government House, heaven didn’t fall.” He stated

    Stressing that everything must be done now to guide the current democracy, he noted that it is not possible to fight war against corruption without having casualties.

    “It is only in Nigeria, that for 16 years a particular political party was in power, they were fighting corruption war but there were no casualties. It is like the Nigerian Police that sees criminal and shoot to the air.”

    He said that the good news is that Nigeria now has a President with enormous political will, who is determined to get the job done.

    “Whether in the course of doing it, he will make a mistake that he will become too careful as to leave the job undone. For all of us who agree, lamentations won’t be our portion forever. It is time to get organized and deal with these issues.” He added

    He urged the NGE to assist the two Presidential Media aides as they have a huge and challenging tasks ahead of them in their spokesman’s job for the President.

    The governor prayed for God to give them the desired wisdom to succeed in their assignments.

    The NGE Acting President, Garba Mohammed, said that the event was to express their happiness and back the two Presidential aides on their new jobs.

    According to him, they are round pegs in round holes and a perfect team for the jobs.

    “We will be with them through thin and thick.” He stated

    The two presidential aides were also presented with gifts during the event.

  • Oshiomhole, NLC urge Kukah, others not to obstruct loot recovery

    Oshiomhole, NLC urge Kukah, others not to obstruct loot recovery

    •‘NPA generated N162b, spent N160b’

    The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) earned N162 billion and spent N160 billion in one year, a governor alleged yesterday.

    Another revenue generating agency failed to remit a dime to the Federation Account from the taxes it collected, claiming that what it generated was not enough to fund its operations, Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole said.

    He spoke at the eighth quadrennial delegates conference of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Abuja.

    Also at the occasion, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba cautioned members of the National Peace Committee not to be an obstacle to the fight against corruption and recovery of stolen funds from former public officers.

    Oshiomhole, who is the Chairman of the committee set up by the National Economic Council (NEC) to investigate revenue generating agencies, also hit at members of the National Peace Committee and other Nigerians for asking President Muhammadu Buhari not to investigate former President Goodluck Jonathan because he conceded defeat and handed over power.

    He said: “Last week, somebody told us and this was an official report, that in one federal agency, the Nigeria Port Authority, admitted to collecting N162 billion in one year and spent N160 billion, remitting only N2 billion to the Federation Account.

    “Is that Justice? Can you have peace in the face of this kind of abuse?  We listened to some others and they have huge number as to what they earned, but how much of this did you remit?

    “In Europe and other places, government is run on taxes, but when the tax collector consumes what he collects, will there be peace? Some of those who want to maintain the peace must ensure that peace is a product of justice. The real victims when power is abused are the ordinary people.

    “This is the time for the NLC to initiate policies and suggestions to the Federal government on how to ensure that government policies are job-based and job-driven, that Nigeria’s economic growth is job-led growth and not jobless growth”.

    He told the delegates and guests including President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ) Waheed Odusile that: “Buhari is resolved that by whatever guise anybody will come,  he is going to fight on the popular mandate that Nigeria conferred on him. Organised labour must be clear.

    “We must not amplify the fact that the other man handed over and has saved the nation from crisis. Yes, he did, but are we actually saying that the power to vacate does not rest on the Nigeria voters and that if the man said he was not going to go, he had a choice to stay. That was not a choice.  The choice he had was between leaving the way he left or ending up like former Ivoirien President Laurent Gbabo in the Hague.

    “The world has changed that no dictator today can claim to be too powerful and hold his nation to ransom.  When you overpower your nation, you cannot over power the international community.

    “So, those who want Nigerians to go on their knees thanking President Jonathan for conceding defeat are over dramatising it because he is not the founder of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is a beneficiary.

    “He is not a traditional ruler and did not become a king by reason of his birth.  If those who were military government who took power by force of arms were forced to vacate, how can we talk of a man who was a product of our laws.

    “I want to appeal to those who are exaggerating this point, that we went through an election and the man who lost conceded defeat, We refuse to shut up. If they ask you to shut up, you should refuse to shut up.

    “When workers were sacked because they turned the searchlight on you, saying the problem isn’t the civil service, you now know that the dollars picketed by one person is far much more than the total wage bill of all the workers working for the Federal, government and the 36 states of the federation. So, labour cannot afford to be silent.

    “All of a sudden, I hear people talking about witch hunting. Where I come from, when a witch is alleged to have killed somebody, in a typical rural Nigeria, the villagers go after the witch.

    “So, what is wrong in going after the witch if it has actually caused a problem for the community? So, witches are meant to be hunted and not to be celebrated. So, people should stop trying to confuse the President and make it look as if he is the problem when he is just trying to lay a foundation.

    “We should advise members of the National Peace Committee to include justice because peace is a product of justice.  So, for us to have peace there must be justice otherwise, we are going to have grave yard peace and there can be no justice if one person can pocket $6billion.

    Some members of the committee are: Former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, John Cardinal Onaiyekan and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President Ayo Oritsejafor

    “The time to engage is now.  There is the talk of the delay in appointing minister.  If rushing to make decisions deliver nation states, Nigeria would have been like heaven. What matters is not the haste with which you make decisions, but the quality of the decision you eventually arrive at. It is the quality of your cook that determines the quality of your soup.

    “So, if you rush to hire your cook because you are hungry, don’t complain when he gives you erosion pot in the name of soup. Let it be clear especially in the trade union movement that ministers are not the heart of governance.

    “What is the heart of governance is the civil service. If the civil service is competent and productive, with initiative, the fact that there is no minister in the ministry does not mean the ministry is grounded.

    “As you can see under two months, without minister of energy, power has stabilised. The only thing Buhari has invested is the power of integrity. Is it minister we need or action?  The merchants of confusion who benefit from crisis appeared to have hijacked the debate.”

    The NLC president said the Congress will stand solidly behind the President in his quest to recover all stolen monies and prosecute all those found to have stolen such monies.

    “Those stolen monies must be retrieved and offenders prosecuted and punished for their crimes against the Nigerian people”

  • NPA generated N162b, spent N160b – Oshiomhole

    NPA generated N162b, spent N160b – Oshiomhole

    Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Tuesday said the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) spent N160 billion out of the N162 billion it generated in one year, while remitting only N2 billion to government coffers.

    Oshiomhole, who spoke at the 8th quadrennial delegates conference of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, also said another revenue generating agency of government failed to make remittance to the federations account from the taxes collected, claiming that money generated was not enough to fund its operations.

    The governor spoke just as the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayba Wabba, asked members of the National Peace Committee not be an obstacle to the fight against corruption and recovering of funds stolen by public officers.

    Oshiomhole, who is the Chairman of a committee set up by the National Economic Council to investigate revenue generating agencies, also blasted members of the National Peace Committee and other Nigerians for asking President Muhammadu Buhari not to investigate former President Goodluck Jonathan because he conceded defeat in the March 28 presidential election and handed over power to the President.

    He said: “Last week, somebody told us that the Nigeria Port Authority admitted that it collected N162 billion in one year and spent N160 billion out of that and remitted N2 billion naira to the Federal Government.

    “Is that Justice? Can you have peace in the face of this kind of abuse?”

     

  • We took $75m loan because PDP looted treasury – Oshiomhole

    We took $75m loan because PDP looted treasury – Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, said the state was forced to take a World Bank Development loan because the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government in 16 years looted the nation’s treasury and pauperized the states.

    He, however, said it was a good thing that President Muhammadu Buhari came at the right time to stop the liquidation of the country.

    The World Bank had approved a $225 million loan for Edo State Government in 2012, to be implemented in three tranches of $75 million per annum.

    The first tranche of the loan was approved by the National Assembly in the 2012-2014 Federal Government External Rolling Borrowing Plan, while the second tranche was approved by the National Assembly last week.

    Speaking with reporters at the Government House on Monday, Oshiomhole said, “If the PDP did not steal the money, we would not need to borrow. What we lost from the NLNG under the PDP led Federal Government was about $11.6 billion. Edo State’s share of that money was more than N30 billion. If you realise that from every one billion dollars, we get more than N2.7 billion. So if PDP did not steal and bleed the economy dry, our legitimate revenue stolen by the past PDP government and its men is more than that.

    “PDP is simply not in a position to blame the victims of their own looting which is unprecedented in the history of the country. My hope is that they would be brought to justice.

    “You heard President Buhari saying last week that after they finished looting the treasury, they even borrowed to loot. You heard the President say that they took a loan from China and they already had taken $600 million from the loan. By now if they were still there, there would have finished the rest.

    “In the South-South zone, look at the debt profile, Edo is the least borrowed. The only major loan we have taken since I assumed office was a N25 billion bond out of which we have paid over N20 billion because we are paying N530 million every month.

    “As we speak, we have only about N5 billion left of that loan which will be liquidated before the end of this tenure. You heard of bailout, find out what PDP states are borrowing under the bailout plan, not for development but to pay salaries. But Edo State Government is up-to-date with salaries without bail out. You need to interrogate facts and not report these people as if they are responsible people because when you do that, people don’t know the difference between mischief makers and responsible people.

    “PDP should simply shut up because they destroyed everything. Carry out your own investigations. You read in the papers how much our neighboring states are borrowing. You heard of N20billion, N30 billion under two months. To do what, to settle the invisibles? You hear them talking about N14.5 billion. We are not borrowing to pay salaries, we are able to do that in spite of the massive looting by the PDP. I appeal to the media because you are victims and you must interrogate these thieves when they break the highway rules and want to divert you. When you ask questions, they say you want to witch hunt. Why won’t you witch hunt when the witches are killing people in the village?”

     

     

  • Oshiomhole: deputy governor’s death shocking

    Oshiomhole: deputy governor’s death shocking

    •Jigawa governor sad 

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has described as shocking, the death of the Borno State Deputy Governor Zannah Umar Mustapha.

    He said the deceased was a vibrant man, who gave his all in service to his state and the nation.

    In a condolence message by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Peter Okhiria, Oshiomhole said: “The death of Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, the deputy governor of Borno State, came to us as a shock, as he was a vibrant man, who was committed to rendering selfless service to his state and the nation.

    “I met His Excellency on a number of occasions and he exhibited deep knowledge of the problems facing the people of his state. He was an ally of the governor, and together, they took positive steps to ensure the development of the state despite the challenges.

    “The late deputy governor made contributions at several forums where he represented the governor and the state. He gave the impression of a man who had a deep passion for his state and a great insight on how to move it forward.

    “Alhaji Mustapha was a very dutiful functionary, who enjoyed the full confidence of the governor. His humility and commitment to the reversal of the fortunes of the state were endearing.

    “I offer my personal commiseration as well as the condolence of the people and Government of Edo State over the sad loss.

    “Our supplication is for Almighty Allah to, in His infinite mercy, receive his soul with His love and forgiveness and bless him with Aljannah Firdausi.”

    Jigawa State Governor Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar has expressed shock on the death of Borno State Deputy Governor Zanna Mustapha.

    This was contained in a statement in Dutse by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Malam Muhammed Bello Zaki.

    The statement said the loss would not only affect Borno, but the entire country.

    It expressed condolence to the late deputy governor’s family and relatives and prayed that Almighty Allah would grant him Aljannah Firdausi.

  • You’re in safe hands, Oshiomhole assures IDPs

    You’re in safe hands, Oshiomhole assures IDPs

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has assured internally displaced persons (IDPs) at a camp in Uhogua, Benin, that the state is home to all.

    The governor said his administration would take care of them in the camp.

    Oshiomhole spoke yesterday during his on-the-spot assessment of facilities and condition of the IDPs at the camp.

    The governor was in company of his wife, Iara, senior government officials, Police Commissioner Damilola Adegbuyi and the State Director of State Security Service (SSS), Mr Alexander Okeiyi.

    He said: “Nigeria is one; it doesn’t matter whether you are from Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Kano, Jigawa, Edo, Lagos or Jigawa. We are one Nigeria. I lived in the North all my adult life; that is why I understand the Hausa language.

    “We will ensure you get all that you need. These are our children now. I can see that they come from different parts of the country and they are young children.

    “We will immediately bring 500 bags of rice and five cows and ensure that doctors and nurses are deployed to take care of them. We will help them to develop the school and give them qualified teachers. We have to do everything to ensure that they are comfortable.

    “We have discussed with security agencies. They will ensure that tight security is provided to protect these children and those with identifies parents. We will arrange, at the expense of Edo State Government, for the parents to come here …so that they can reunite with their children. They can still leave them in the camp, if they so wish. But at least, they will be assured that their children are in good hands.

    “If you have any challenges, let us know. I have assigned seven very senior officers – two Commissioners and five Directors – who will be around to ensure that the kids are safe…”

  • No relocation of Edo IDPs – Oshiomhole

    No relocation of Edo IDPs – Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has assured Internally Displaced Persons in the state that they would not be relocated.

    About 1,300 persons including 900 reportedly affected by the Boko Haram insurgency are in a camp operated by the International Christian Mission and located at Uhogua village in Ovia North East local government area of the state.

    Oshiomhole, who spoke when he visited the camp on Tuesdayevening, said the state government would provide the necessary facilities to make their stay comfortable.

    The governor denied being aware of any planned relocation of the IDPs, saying the action was caused by “communication gap.”

    He said the state government would build a standard primary and secondary school and hostel for the IDPs educational support.

    Oshiomhole noted that any Nigerian reserved the right to live and be treated well in any part of the country.

    “Everybody is concerned that the kids should be save. Nobody had any negative motive in moving the children. Having lived in the North all my life I believe any where any Nigeria find himself should be his home. That is why we abolish indigeneship in this state,” the governor stated.

     

     

  • Soyinka to Oshiomhole: You’ve not let us down

    Soyinka to Oshiomhole: You’ve not let us down

    Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka last weekend showered encomiums on  Edo State Governor Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for being ‘a worthy ambassador’ of the progressives community.

    Professor Soyinka’s plaudit was delivered at an exclusive dinner he  hosted to toast the Edo governor and his wife, Lara, at his Abeokuta, Ogun State capital home, assisted by his wife, Mrs.Folake Soyinka, on a night filled with jokes and reminiscences over sumptuous food and choice wine.

    The Oshiomholes, whose union was sealed at a brief but colourful  ceremony at Iyamho (Edo State) on May 15, 2015, were accompanied by Edo  Information Commissioner, Mr. Louis Odion, the Executive Director,  Governor Office, Ms. Esohe Adams and celebrated writer and Chairman Editorial board of The Nation newspaper, Mr. Sam Omatseye. Early callers at the event included the immediate past governors of Lagos and Rivers, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and Rotimi Amaechi respectively, and renowned  scholar, Dr. Asani Edo Omozuwa.

    In a veiled reference to Comrade Oshiomhole’s perceived activist streak  for accountability even while in public office, the literary giant, often described globally as the conscience of the nation, said: “Adams, I must use this occasion to thank you for your courage, for not forgetting your roots and for not letting us down,” sealing it up with a vigorous handshake with his guest.

    On a lighter note, Professor Soyinka added: “I’ve always believed that  people should try and remain themselves and not allow themselves to be  blinded by power. Which is why among the favourite photographs I keep  today is the one where you were shown really digging it down at a public  concert with your two fingers pointing to the ground like arrow,  without any inhibition. I think the picture was taken sometime in 2012.

    When I saw it splashed on the front page of the newspaper while driving  on a Lagos street, I grabbed a copy from the vendor and I told my wife

    ‘Yeah, this is the Oshiomhole that we’ve always known’.”

    The Edo governor has been most vocal in the clamour to make top  officials of the past administration account for the nation’s trillions  of naira stolen from the nation’s oil receipts.

    On her part, Mrs Folake Soyinka, an alumni of the Maria Gorreti Secondary  School in Benin City, praised Oshiomhole’s transformation of public  schools in Edo State since coming on board in 2008: “I’m sure the  governor does not know this; I attended Maria Goretti in the 70s and  graduated in 1979. In our days, it was a beautiful school. But many  years later, the school was completely run down. But when I checked  recently, I was quite impressed with what I saw. The school had been  completely transformed.”

    Her words were echoed by the next speaker, Dr. Omozuwa, incidentally an  Edo indigene based in Benin City: “It is the same story at Idia College  and hundreds of other public schools across the state. I say this as  someone who is based in Edo State myself. We can’t thank the Comrade  Governor enough for his good works in our state.”

    Responding, the Edo governor, in a voice suffused with emotion, thanked  the Soyinkas for honouring him and his wife with the lavish dinner,  adding that whatever modest achievements recorded under his stewardship  in Edo would not have been possible without the critical solidarity of  the anonymous counselors like the Nobel laureate.

    Said Oshiomhole: “Prof, I am eternally indebted for the support and  inspiration you have provided me over the years dating back to when I  was in the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). Some would limit themselves  to just been a critic or commentators on the pages of the newspapers.

    But you are different, sir. You are not just a man of words but also a  man of action. The other day, I happened to have seen a couple of photographs taken during our public protests against the policies and  programmes of President Olusegun Obasanjo more than ten years ago. One of the photographs that stuck out is the one in which you were in the  front-line, hand-in-hand with me, wearing the NLC apron. For me, it is a  mark of your statesmanship and a testament to your commitment to fight  and speak for the masses of Nigeria. Like it has been said time and  again, you are indeed a living legend and the conscience of not just the  nation but the continent of Africa at large.”

    An inexhaustible bag of humour, Professor Soyinka constantly set his guests laughing for the four hours the interaction lasted. To the Edo  First Lady, he said: “By now, I’m sure Adams must have tutored you on  the difference between ‘swallow’ and ‘swallow’ in Nigeria’s manner of  speaking, particularly whenever it is your duty to host guests at home.

    Here, to swallow does not just mean eating some thing, it also means  eating something concrete like Eba (cassava flour) or Iyan (pounded  yam).”

    When Dr. Omozuwa popped another bottle of wine and topped the glasses of  the guests, Kongi remarked with a chuckle: “That’s one of my good  students”, to which everyone burst into another round of laughter. While shaking hands with the Edo commissioner on arrival, he exclaimed:

    “Louis!, Louis!!”, then facing the governor asked matter-of-factly,

    “What have you been feeding Louis with; he has added so much weight.”

  • PDP opposes Oshiomhole’s $75m loan request

    The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has opposed the $75 million (about N15.375 billion) loan Governor Adams Oshiomhole is requesting to take for some projects.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had tabled the request before the Senate, seeking the legislature’s approval for the facility.

    But Edo State PDP Chairman Dan Orbih urged the Senate to reject the request.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Abuja, Orbih argued that the state government had obtained similar facilities from various sources.

    He said: “What is the governor going to use this loan for? How has he utilised previous loans obtained by his government? This is because you must look at what he has done with the previous facilities before considering offering him any new financial lifeline.

    “Don’t forget: not too long ago he went to the capital market to obtain N35 billion loan for the Benin water storm project. As we speak, all that is visible is the pool of stagnant water all over Benin.

    “Edo State has borrowed so much in the past that for over five years the people got into agreement that a particular sum should be deducted as funds anytime the state is receiving its allocation.

    “It is sad to state here that for over five years, N520 million is being withdrawn at source as part of the mandatory obligation to institutions the state government has borrowed money from.

    “We call on the leadership of the Senate to reject this request. It is time for all hands to be on deck to check the declining economic fortunes of this country.

    “This is no time for needless borrowing by government and government institutions. What Edo people expect from the Senate leadership is to reject this request.

    “It is a clear signal that Edo State is broke. I think that rather than resort to this financial palliative, the government should come out boldly to challenge some of these state governments on the position of their finances.”

  • Oshiomhole: primitive looting reigned under Jonathan

    Oshiomhole: primitive looting reigned under Jonathan

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said there was massive looting of the nation’s commonwealth under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The governor said although he was not in a position to determine whether the former President was guilty or if he acquiesced to the looting, he added that Dr Jonathan should take responsibility for what happened under his watch.

    In an interview with Sahara Reporters TV in Washington DC, the United States (U.S), Oshiomhole said although he had raised many questions on the tenure of the former Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, he had nothing personal against her.

    He said: “What is obvious is that so much money was diverted and unaccounted for from government treasury, not just from Excess Crude Account (ECA) but also from other agencies of government. The numbers are huge. For example, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) reports that it earned about N8 trillion within three to four years. But over the same period, it claimed to have spent N3.5 trillion and paid to the Federation Account about N4.1 trillion. So, the cost of running NNPC was as much as the cost of running the federation –  federal, state and local governments.

    “That tells you the amount of primitive stealing that went on. The numbers are mind-boggling. So, when we talk of excess crude, that is just one element.”

    He said his grouse about Dr okonjo-Iweala was that as the Coordinating minister of the economy, so much sleaze and acts of malfeasance went on under her watch without raising an alarm.

    Oshiomhole said: “She has to come clean. Having accepted the role of the coordinating minister, so many things went wrong with the Nigerian economy, even to the extent that for the first time in our history, even the Federal Government could not pay salaries; it had to borrow. The pension scheme has been drawn down, the social purpose of the pension scheme has now been defeated.

    “So, first of all we are asking her to accept responsibility that she failed to manage the economy properly. Two, she never gave in, even when we argued that the economy was in distress. She is on record as always saying no, the economy was fine; the economy was strong, that we were the largest economy on the continent. Of course, people are not fooled. It was just revaluing our assets and playing with the numbers.

    “What has changed in the quality of life of the people? You have rebased the economy, but have you rebased the quality of life? You haven’t!

    “If you claim to have the largest economy, you can’t also plead insolvency at the same time. What we are simply asking her to do is to open the whole book. “What the council has asked us to do is that the Committee of Four Governors is to look at this excess crude thing and show what went in, who took what, when and who authorised it. At least, we have a basis to start. But I think, going forward, we will need a forensic audit by competent auditors to look at the books so that the whole truth can be known, even if we can’t retrieve some of the money. But I believe a lot can be retrieved and it is good that we have a basis to identify who is responsible and who to be blamed.

    “I think people need to recognise that from my own background, I am never intimidated. As a labour leader, I questioned authorities, I interrogated power. The fact of being in government doesn’t give me much comfort as to be indifferent about gross abuse of power and criminal diversion of funds.

    “What should I hate her for? What for? I am not a federal official; I am as privileged as any other governor. But I am troubled by people saying one thing in the afternoon and doing another at night.

    “People should ask the question: How come each time the issue of corruption and abuse or diversion of funds was raised, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was the first to defend rather than show concern and have open mind?

    “You remember when the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor (now Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II), who you can’t dismiss, talked about billions of dollars diverted. But Mrs Okonjo-Iweala was quick to say it was not $20 billion but only $10.8 billion…”