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Tag: President Muhammadu Buhari

  • The business of business and the business of the nation

    [Remarks at the University of Ibadan School of Business, Friday, January 18, 2019]

    About a month ago, the ruling APC rather abruptly withdrew the name of the richest man in Nigeria and Africa, Aliko Dangote, from membership of the campaign organization for the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari. In making the retraction, the Buhari reelection committee took care to let the public know that Dangote had not been consulted before he was named a member of the committee. And indeed, most Nigerians had been astonished to hear that Dangote was going to be campaigning for Buhari – or indeed for any politician or political party. For, doesn’t everybody know that super-rich business moguls like Dangote are too big to be used by any government, any political party, any politician for their partisan political interests?

    In the same vein, consider the case of the American multi-billionaire, Bill Gates, one of the richest men on the planet. Slightly over a year ago, at an address that he delivered to the Nigerian Economic Council (NEC), Gates asserted that the Nigerian economy is so badly managed that needless poverty is rampant and pervasive in the country and ours is one of the worst places in the world in which to be born. Those gathered at the event where Gates made this shocking remark included some of the biggest names in the “Who’s Who” list of Nigerian politics and economy. In other words, all those present to listen to Bill Gates’ scathing rebuke of the management of affairs in Nigeria were men and women who are not used to being told, publicly, that their country, their homeland, is one of the worst places on the planet in which to be born and in which also to die.

    What is the common element in these two separate accounts about our own Aliko Dangote and the American, Bill Gates? It is this: they are both so rich, so independent of government patronage that they cannot be pressed into service in support of the partisan politics of politicians, including even the most powerful among them, like President Buhari. It is of course possible that Dangote is both a supporter and an admirer of Muhammadu Buhari, just as most people in America know that Bill Gates is ideologically and politically much closer to the Democrats than the Republicans. But this is absolutely without prejudice to the fact that both Dangote and Gates do not need the patronage of government, of politicians to sustain and expand the vastness of their personal wealth and their corporate financial power.

    Can we think of any other businessman in Nigeria apart from Aliko Dangote who is so wealthy, so successful in doing business in many countries in Africa and beyond that no presidents, governments and ruling parties of our continent can get him to campaign for them? The answer is no. Well, perhaps one or two others beside Dangote. I can think only of Michael Adenuga, but I am not as sure of him as I am of Dangote. Now, compare this to the situation in the advanced capitalist countries of the world in Europe and North America where typically, most, or indeed all of the business magnates are not only independent of the patronage of politicians but are actually the patrons, the “godfathers” of presidents, prime ministers and ministerial cabinet members. This in effect means that while Dangote is an exception in Nigeria, Bill Gates is the norm in America. In other words, while in America and the other advanced capitalist nations of the world, business has seemingly broken free of dependence on the government or the state, in Nigeria and many other countries of the developing world, business is (still) shackled to the state – with the lone exception of an Aliko Dangote. There is a slogan that goes to the heart of this historic phenomenon and it is this: business is not the business of the state; it is the business of business. This slogan, this truism about the relationship between business and politics in advanced postindustrial capitalism is what I wish to explore in my talk this afternoon.

    Permit me to repeat this idea that I am exploring with you this afternoon: business is not the business of governments; it is the business of business itself. As a widely and pervasively practiced phenomenon, this idea is valid only in the advanced capitalist nations and economies of the world; in a developing country like ours, it is not valid at all. This is because business, especially big business, is still in Nigeria heavily dependent on contracts, franchises, leaseholds and charters obtained from the government. Indeed, most of our big businesses would collapse if they lost touch or favor with their contacts within the governments of the country, especially at the federal and state levels. But all the same, the idea is now widely held and believed in our country that government should have very little or no say at all in the running of businesses. Perhaps the most radical, the most uncompromising expression of this idea is the contention that governments do or run business so badly and poorly that they should have no hand at all in doing or running business.

    At this point in my talk, it is perhaps useful to identify two distinct but closely linked ideas and beliefs in the contention that business is the business of business and not the business of governments. First, there is the idea that governments should not own or run businesses at all since, so it is argued, they tend to loot the businesses they run and/or operate them extremely incompetently. The second idea is the belief that government should keep the regulation of businesses as little as possible, some militant purveyors of this idea going as far as to argue and fight for complete deregulation of businesses by government. Please, note that these two ideas are separate and distinct: one pertains to the ownership and operation of businesses by government; the other pertains to governmental regulation of businesses and business practices. But usually, both ideas are joined together in the expression that I am exploring with you in this talk – business is not the business of government; it is the business of business itself!

    It should have been obvious that the fact that I am giving this talk to a Business School greatly influenced my choice of this topic for my talk. I mean, what sense would this topic have made if I was giving this talk to students of drama and theatre at this university? Yes, it would have been of some interest to them, but that would have been nothing close to the interest it ought to generate among you, the specific audience for and to whom the topic is targeted. As a matter of fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that most of you believe and accept the contention that business is not the business of government, it is the business of business. Indeed, I will put this hunch of mine to the test and now ask you directly to indicate by a show of hands whether or not you believe in this contention. Extending this playful test further, let me now ask which of the two ideas within the contention you accept more fully and unreservedly, the idea of government ownership and operation of businesses and corporations; regulation of businesses and business practices by government.

    It should interest you to learn that on these questions, the great business schools and newsmagazines of the world are divided. For instance, take the Harvard Business School (HBS) and the London School of Economics (LSE). HBS is solidly on the side of maximum to near complete privatization of publicly owned businesses, while historically, LSE has been a solid defender of the mixed economy model in which certain critical sectors of the economy are deemed so crucial to the social good, to the survival of the entire national community, that they must never be wholly privatized. This same division is apparent between two of the foremost newsmagazines on economics and business in the English-speaking world, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and The Economist. Like the HBS, the Wall Street Journal believes and argues strenuously for divestment of governments from business ownership and as little regulation as may be (regrettably) necessary. By contrast, while The Economist is for free trade, it is ideologically a powerful advocate of economic liberalism and is generally against massive deregulation and extensive to complete restriction of governments from owing and running businesses and corporations in the public interest and for social good.

    At the University of Ibadan Business School, what do your lecturers and professors teach you about these critical, historic issues? I may be wrong, but I suspect that they do not talk about these issues at all, or perhaps only fleetingly, when a course or a project pertains to their consequences at specific moments of economic history. Well, I hasten to tell you that we are at such a moment of national and global economic history, the time and the world of neoliberalism and the crises it has precipitated in virtually all the regions and nations of the planet. This is because neoliberalism has combined and subjected to withering attack the two distinct ideas in the subject of our talk – public or governmental ownership of businesses; and governmental regulation of businesses and business practices – in a manner that no previous period of economic history has ever managed to achieve. This observation leads me to the heart of my talk this afternoon: What should the University of Ibadan Business School, what should all the business schools and economic departments in our country be teaching it/their students about neoliberalism?

    Please, note that I said “should” and not “ought”. In other words, I am nor presuming to dictate to our business schools and economics departments what they ought to be teaching their students about neoliberalism. What I am saying, what I am strongly suggesting, is that they should talk extensively and openly about neoliberalism, with special emphasis on the Nigerian experience of this global phenomenon. This is partly because since it affects everybody, every soul on our planet, people all over the whole world are talking intelligently about neoliberalism. But more to the point, it is because Nigeria is one of the few places in the world where it is widely believed that neoliberalism has won a decisive victory against its liberal and leftist opponents. In concrete terms, there are few countries in the world where, like present-day Nigeria, most politicians, most public officeholders, most policy makers believe that government should stay out of business, should privatize and sell all public-owned enterprises and assets, and should keep governmental regulation of businesses to the absolute minimum necessary.

    At this point in my talk, some concrete details are helpful to give flesh to the bare bones of these observations and claims of mine. Thus, just take a look at the list of the number of public enterprises and national assets that have been wholly privatized. The building of roads, highways, bridges and other public utilities have been massively privatized, so much so that only Nigerians older than fifty know of a time when all these aspects of our physical infrastructures were all built by a division of the government known as the PWD, the Public Works Department. Essential social services like waste disposal and public sanitation have been massively privatized where, once upon a time and back in the day, they were operated by designated arms of the civil services of the federal, state and local governments. Education, at all levels, has been massively privatized, with much greater negative impact at the tertiary level. Even the collection of taxes and tollgate fees has been privatized in many states and localities of the country. As I write and deliver this lecture, there is much talk and agitation to completely privatize the energy and oil sectors of our national economy. Indeed, the privatization vultures have their eyes and gullets particularly focused on acquisition of the national oil corporation, the NNPC. Your guess is as good as mine on how long the resistance to this ultimate dream of total privatization in our country will hold.

    Are public enterprises and social services owned and operated by the state uniformly inefficient and corrupt in all cases and around the whole world? That is not the case! And in Nigeria, what has been the experience of the privatization of state-run enterprises and public utilities? Have not the goods and services delivered by privatized state enterprises been as poor and sub-standard as when they were run by parastatals and public officeholders? If we have, at one time in this country, known and experienced public enterprises and utilities that worked efficiently, what went wrong in the political economy of the nation to make the very thought of having government-owned businesses and public utilities unwelcome and unwholesome to most Nigerians today? And, finally, are not the businesses run by business as bad and as inferior as businesses run by government, the state? Are corruption, mismanagement, looting and conspicuous consumption not equally and massively present in the business of business and the business of the nation?

    • Biodun Jeyifo

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

  • 2019 polls and the gaffe factor

    This was the week the humdrum 2019 election campaigns came alive.

    First, it was the opposition gloating over President Muhammadu Buhari’s performance during the NTA town hall programme ‘The Candidates,’ where he took questions in company of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    The consensus of the critics was that the president was clueless on most subjects he was asked to address – leaving Osinbajo to helpfully spring forward with illuminating answers. In fact, the Vice President’s interventions became too frequent that the anchor, Kadaria Ahmed, had to interject that Buhari ‘can speak for himself.’

    Supporters of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, were all over social media sharing memes supposedly of leading All Progressives Congress (APC) figures looking stricken at the responses of their principal.

    While the ‘Atikulators’ were still licking their chops in anticipation of what would happen at the forthcoming presidential debate, the ruling party’s campaign train berthed in Lokoja to a stunning welcome by another massive crowd. But what was news on social media was the image of the president tripping on the wing of his babanriga.

    This was quickly celebrated by his foes as a ‘collapse’ by reason of ill-health. The APC twitter account soon hit back with an image of Barack Obama tripping on a public stage while still in office as US president. The message? The young also fall!

    But even the most quick-witted of presidential defenders must have been stumped by what came next. Before a packed stadium in Warri, Delta State, Buhari while handing a flag to the APC’s governorship candidate, Great Ogboru, referred to him as ‘presidential candidate’! When a nearby official corrected him, he said ‘senatorial candidate’, before finally getting it right as gubernatorial or ‘governortorial’ candidate – depending on what you heard.

    I am sure that even APC diehards with a sense of humour would have found the incident amusing, after getting over their initial embarrassment.

    It was a gift from heaven to the opposition hordes starved of something to beat the president over the head with. The videos went viral with accompanying commentary that it was further evidence of the man’s unsuitability for the office he seeks.

    So how much will Buhari’s public speaking skills or his being prone to gaffes affect his chances? Will they became the game-changers at this election? Not likely, if you ask me.

    The jury is still out as to the impact of these debates. Around the world we have seen that they can tip things one way or the other in tight races. They can also help introduce upstart challengers to the electorate in dramatic fashion.

    But that is not the case in this election. Buhari and Atiku are figures whom Nigerians are fairly familiar with. Both the president’s supporters and opponents also know he is no debater. In 2011, when he showed up for one such event he was outshone by the dazzling performance of Ibrahim Shekarau who was the candidate of the then All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

    In spite of Shekarau’s oratory, he was a mere footnote at those polls dominated by Goodluck Jonathan and Buhari – two men not noted for their oratorical skills.

    In environments such as ours, these debates are mere elite entertainment with little influence on electoral outcomes. The market woman who is going to vote Buhari or Atiku would not be doing so because of the candidates’ gift of gab, but based on more mundane factors.

    So, we come to the gaffes. Up till date there’s a standing joke that PDP supporters entertain themselves with. They claim that at a press conference called late in 2014 to introduce his running mate, Buhari referred to Osinbanjo as ‘Osinbade’!

    I am sure there were other gaffes made by the man during that electoral cycle, which people no longer remember. Depend on it that he would mangle a few more names before this campaign season is done. What is important is that, just as it had little or no impact in 2015, it’s won’t change much this time.

    You only need to look at examples elsewhere to understand the limit to the damage gaffes can do. Ronald Reagan was one of America’s most popular presidents in the last four decades, but he was also a gaffe machine.

    George W. Bush often stumbled from error to error – mangling syntax in the process. As for the incumbent US president Donald Trump, the less said the better. I am sure if you typed ‘gaffe’ in Google search, the image of the president would pop up! But in spite of the outrageous things he spews out of his mouth, his base of support remains rock solid.

    British Prime Minister Theresa May goofed at her party’s last conference and one of her predecessors, Gordon Brown, sometimes had to have his foot extracted from his mouth.

    I understand that the opposition has to do what it must do – which is hurl at Buhari whatever they think can damage him. Unfortunately for them, in the president they are confronted with one of those political foes that are difficult to handle.

    They are polarising figures who are loved with as much passion as they are hated. Those who love them do so warts and all; those who despise them would remain that way even if they are transformed into angels.

    Reagan, in his day, was nicknamed in the media “the Teflon President,” because of public perceptions that he was never tarnished by the controversies that arose during his administration.

    According to the Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, who coined the phrase, and the Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz, the epithet referred to Reagan’s ability to “do almost anything wrong and not get blamed for it.”

    He was never respected for his intellect – indeed many in the chattering classes viewed him as very shallow. He was notorious for dozing off during cabinet meetings. But despite his well-advertised shortcomings he had some of the highest popularity ratings of any US president ever.

    Just like Buhari, Reagan was an old man – almost 70 when he took office and was 78 when he left – and this was blamed for his struggles. In the last few days as the president went from poor town hall outing to campaign ground stumble, his critics started raising old questions about his age.

    These were the same questions he was confronted with in 2015. Back then he was running against a man in his 50s – so the contrast was stark. This time, one of two old men – Buhari, 76, or Atiku 72 – would be elected president come February 16. Based on existing parameters they are the only ones that stand a chance. Their parties are also not about to substitute them. So, our choices are set in stone for now.

    You would expect that it would cause us to leave age and move on to other things. However, this is a campaign where serious issues have become non-issues, so age has been thrust to the fore again.

    Any fair discussion about age should address the fact that Atiku is also in his 70s. He may look like he’s in better health than Buhari, but the long term fitness of a septuagenarian is not something you can bet a bank on.

    Recently, an attempt by a BBC reporter, Mayeni Jones, to raise the age question with the PDP flagbearer had him protesting about people discriminating against him because of his age. He said he had not stopped younger people from running. So, I suspect that this will not be comfortable territory even for Atiku.

    Which safely leads me to conclude that this election will not be decided by factors like debates, gaffes and age. You can also discount any serious discussion of issues like security, corruption or the economy.

    It would boil down, as often as is the case, to the personalities of the leading candidates. Over the years Buhari’s selling point has been the public belief that he’s honest and straightforward. The crowds baying ‘Sai Baba’ won’t be too bothered if tomorrow he mistakenly hands the APC flag to the President of Ghana!

    As for Atiku, the best the opposition can say is that he’s the anti-Buhari: energetic, a democrat and advocate of restructuring. But the other side of being the anti-Buhari is to be branded the poster boy for sleaze.

    For years he’s been struggling to separate himself from the tag of corruption hung on his neck by his foes. He would require the skills of a political Houdini to successfully deodorise himself before the electorate in just four weeks.

    Atiku goes to America

    Atiku Abubakar’s surprise trip to the United States is a public relations coup for him personally and for his party. His inability to enter the US over the past 12 years has been a cloud over his head and a reference point for those who accuse him of wrongdoing. He has been able to strike off one negative and deny the ruling APC a major weapon of attack.

    What I find especially impressive is the fact that details of the trip were so closely guarded and were not made public until the team was landing at Dulles Airport. It was stunning because there was no certainty that he even had a visa and thoughts that the visit would actually happen had receded in the public space.

    While the trip lasts, the feel-good factor would help to energise his base. But I don’t see many defecting to his side because he finally entered Washington D.C. Crucially, I doubt whether this close to the elections there are still many undecided voters who would be sufficiently impressed by the fact that he finally got an American visa.

    Unlike the 2015 polls when so much was made about the influence of Obama and the Americans on the polls, any suggestion that there could be external influence that may significantly affect the February 16 outcome, would be gross exaggeration.

    To all intents this was at best a meet-and-greet trip – nothing for the PDP to get too rapturous about and nothing for the APC to mourn over.

  • I see no hope for female politicians in 2019 – House Committee chair on Foreign Affairs Ukeje

    Hon. Nnenna Elendu Ukeje, the member of the House of Representatives representing Bende Federal Constituency, is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. She speaks with BOLAJI OGUNDELE on various national issues, especially those that border on executive/legislative relations, electioneering and women participation in politics.

    Only recently, President Muhammadu Buhari declined assent to the amendment of the Electoral Bill. Does the National Assembly have the capacity to override him and what do you see as the consequences of that refusal?

    It was in the course of our oversight functions. For instance, in the court case between (Governor Nyesom) Wike vs Dakuku Peterside, it was very clear. They said that even though the card reader was a policy of government, it was not a law, and because it was not a law, a policy could not override a law. To that end, it was found that it was inadmissible in court. What we chose to do was to clear the air on the ambiguity surrounding that.

    As for what is the consequence, for us, the amendment of the Electoral Act would throw up all the concerns that we have in the electoral laws. Let us not forget that the job of the National Assembly is to collate and aggregate the opinions of a critical mass of the Nigerian people. What are the yearnings of the Nigerian people? That we have freer, fairer and more transparent elections.

    Now, if we can sit in conversations with Nigerians in our various constituencies, look at how they transmit real time in other countries and we are always admiring those elections. Now, the only way to have done it is to give clarity. But for it to be more technological so that it can transmit in real time to cut back on ballot snatching or manipulation and mutilation of results, that was what NASS was trying to do.

    To come back to the question on whether NASS would be able to override the veto, politics is a question of number. Is there a political will to try to override the veto? Absolutely. Can it be done? We just have to wait and see.

    Do you think vote buying is an issue Nigeria can tackle very soon?

    It would have been addressed in the Electoral Act. But what do I think should be done? Now, we have seen that there is now vote buying before, during and after the act. So, I am very concerned. Do I think that it is something that can be tackled right now? I always say to people that this is a referendum of the Nigerian people. The politicians are the beneficiaries of the act, but the people are the drivers of the process. And so the inducements would come. But as I said, the referendum is the Nigerian people’s, and if the Nigerian people give up their franchise at any stage and become an accomplice in vote buying, then you cannot hold the politicians responsible.

    I believe that it is absolutely important that the Nigerian people decide who to vote for. It is not about the politicians, it is the people that must drive the process. Therein lies the true definition of politics: government of the people, by the people, for the people, benefitted from by the politicians.

    With the low participation of women in politics, what hope do you see for women in 2019?

    It is very tragic. I actually don’t see any hope. And like I said earlier, that environment is fraught with so much violence now. If we don’t do anything about the violence, from Delta, Benue, to most of the constituencies where they had primary elections, you all saw the amount of guns. It was a free for all, with people shooting like it was the norm. In an era of violence, women don’t thrive.

    Unfortunately, when you see the number of women that came out in the process, you find that this is the lowest in the history of Nigerian political space. Now, the question becomes that after 18 years and four rounds of election, the assumption was that our political space will be strengthened, deepened and the institutions and systems that guide politics and the conduct of elections will be stronger. Unfortunately, what we find is that those structures and institutions are getting weaker.

    Again, that takes us back to the Electoral Act. And for me, it is very important because the job of the National Assembly is that through its oversight, we will look at laws, appropriations and policies and the things that happen are the things that would normally drive and determine the amendments brought into any law. Now for us, after the 2015 elections, there were so many lacunas. There were certain things that had miligated against the smooth running of those elections, and as politicians, we decided that our only instrument was the amendment of the electoral act. By that amendment, certain things were brought up.

    We found that a lot of people actually proposed solutions to violence in elections. Lots of people proposed all kinds of amendments. We found that because we have a largely illiterate population, the people know what they want but they are probably not literate and so when you lump candidates together, they are not able to differentiate them.

    So you find out that the people were not voting for politicians. Because they were lumped together, they didn’t have a choice. The women in my constituency, for instance, would ask, ‘Who should we vote for in the presidency?’ And she would say, for instance, that she wants to vote for Nnenna, and you say to her, ‘If you vote for all these other people, it means Nnenna has won.’ So we found that, that was what was happening.

    Now we found that we were running proxy elections. That is to say if we wanted to elect the president and we were voting for the House of Representatives member, it meant that it was a carry through. With the consequence that the most important office in the country was not made to stand alone in such a way that gave Nigerians the opportunity to actually choose the president of their choice. Now, if there is a saying that you get the leadership you deserve, it means that at least, the people should be given the opportunity to choose that leadership without being hoodwinked into doing that.

    You said you are not interested in building roads, yet it is in the open that lawmakers are given constituency projects. What are you deploying the money into?

    We are not given any money, and I think this is a fantastic time to make the clarifications. We are given the opportunity to attract into the budget certain projects, and we have come to realise that our constituencies are very rural. Now a lot of our people see government in terms of roads, schools, hospitals, and that was the reason why in the wisdom of the NASS, they decided that we are going to have quick wins to engage the people at the grassroots level.

    Now when the budget comes in, it does not understand that in Bende, for instance, where I come from, that Amokwelu needs a health centre. They don’t realise that Okokoitem has not had water in 50 years and so government is more interested in the larger issues. But because we need to connect with our people, part of our job is representation, part of our job is to attract projects to our constituencies; what we do is quick wins. Things that affect the lives of our people in the immediate –refurbishing schools, sinking boreholes, building healthcare centres–these affect the lives of the people.

    For instance, in Abia where I come from, there is a package that you are allowed to attract. I am allowed to attract projects worth N150 million to my entire constituency every year, and it is not given to me in cash. I am asked to nominate projects into the budget and that entire budgetary process is taken up by the MDAs where they are domiciled. For instance, if I want boreholes, I will put them in the Ministry of Water Resources; if I want schools, it is Ministry of Education, and so on, up to the tune of N150 million. Not a penny is given to members of NASS.

    Now when you hear that the Federal Government gives roads at N150 million per kilometre, it is impossible for me with my N150 million ceiling and my 13 wards to put one kilometer road in one village. First of all, no road is one kilometer. Second of all, it sucks up everything when I could have put a medical center here, refurbish 20 schools, sink a borehole and so it reaches more people.

    It’s tokenism, but in a way, that brings down government to the grassroots, and that was the wisdom behind constituency projects. Unfortunately, the NASS is the most vilified arm of government. There is nothing more people want to hear than bogus salaries and all that, but the truth of the matter is exactly as it is. I keep asking my friends who are contractors, who are part of this narrative of being given money and say, ‘You did constituency projects in this constituency, did the honourable member pay you? You went and raised the voucher in the ministry and you got paid, so why do you constantly say we are given the money for constituency projects?’

  • Senator Durojaiye rooting for president

    Senator Biyi Durojaiye has called on the Nigerian electorate to massively vote for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February presidential election to enable him complete the laudable programmes he has embarked upon since his assumption of office.

    Speaking with some senior journalists in Lagos, Durojaiye said: “President Buhari’s government has disbursed billions of naira on beneficient government enterprise and empowerment programmes. Welfarist programmes that directly touch the lives of the citizens such as power, trade moni, home grown school feeding for millions of our school children and so on are highly commendable”

    According to the respected elder stateman, Buhari’s administration’s prompt payment of outstanding pension, apart from releasing 54billion naira to settle outstanding pension arrears from 2014-2016 etc, should be commended, he said.

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    Durojaiye said: “All these amount to welfarism – greater comfort and happiness to the masses. This is what we, the Yoruba, call Afenifere. That is why the Afenifere strongly supports and recommends that all Nigerians should vote massively for Buhari and all APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.

    “Buhari’s anti-corruption and transparency stand. His efforts on agriculture, electricity, education and efforts in combating security challenges and the introduction of BVN which limits ease of Illegitimate transfer of funds and the TSA have drastically reduced corruption in the country”.

    Durojaiye said Nigeria should count herself lucky to have a transparent, honest and selfless person like Buhari as president, insisting, “look at his bold steps in reactivating and extension of railway links across the country, massive construction and reconstruction of roads and bridges nationwide. This is the first time we are seeing a president genuinely embarking on all these”.

  • Shehu Yar ‘Adua’s PDM backs Buhari for second term

    The People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), the political group founded by the late Major General Shehu Yar’Adua, is rooting for President Muhammadu Buhari to do a second term in office.

    The leadership of the group led by its National Chairman, Senator Abubakar Maadi, yesterday met with President Buhari in Abuja and endorsed him for next month’s election.

    Governor  Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State  facilitated the meeting.

    Maadi said  the decision was taken by the leaders of the group  across the country at a meeting held on January 4.

    He said the move was based on Buhari’s giant strides in the development of the country, especially in the fight against corruption, successes against Boko Haram and improved power supply, among other achievements.

    At the meeting, the former National Chairman of PDM, Faruk Abdullaziz, presented to Buhari, the signatures of all the 36 states’ executives of the party endorsing the President for a second term.

    The President commended members of the group for remaining committed to the organization over the years.

     

    According to him, the bottomline of everything is patriotism.

    Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Governor Abubakar described the PDM as a group of “very rare breed of Nigerians. Nigerians that are basing their activities on principles.”

    He added: “This is the People’s Democratic Movement, set up by the late General Shehu Musa Yar’adua. From the time of his demise till date, they have remained together, they have remained attached to the principles of their founding fathers and even though quite a number of them have gone to other political platforms, they have never as a group succeeded in moving as a whole into a political party.

    “This is the first time that this is happening. So, for the fact that they are a rare breed of Nigerians and also the fact that for the first time they resolved on their own to join the movement of Mr. President, I think it is a very fantastic opportunity.”

    Asked whether the PDM endorsed the President for the election, he said: “They are endorsing him for the election, they are working for him to succeed in the election and this organization permeates from the national level down to the polling units level.”

    On how the President felt,  he said: “He felt very happy and emotional because the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua was his classmate, friend and  colleague in the military.”

    Elaborating on the group’s action, Mahadi said “What informed it is his (Buhari’s)  integrity and his sincerity towards public service.

    “This group was formed in  1987 by his late friend and brother, Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.

    “We have traversed the Nigerian political space for too long, we have never seen a president or a leader that is so focused and honest about developing the country and at same time making sure that development is key towards what should take us to the next level in this country”.

    Asked whether the PDM is fictionalized, he said: “This is a movement; it is not a political party; there is a difference between a political party and a movement. A movement is based on the principles of our founding father. It is our commitment to support the good work that this president is doing.”

    On why the group did not decide to support Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who is a member of the PDM, he said: “We don’t discuss individuals.”

    Government officials in attendance included the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; and Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed.

    Also in attendance were the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, Interior Minister  Abdulrahman  Danbazzau and Education Minister Adamu Adamu.

    The PDM was founded by the late Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua in 1987 to actualize his presidential ambition.

    He died on December  8,1997 in the Abakaliki prison while serving a jail term during the Abacha regime.

  • We have insulated recovered funds, assets from looters – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday assured Nigerians that his administration would not waiver in its fight against corruption and ensuring sanity in public affairs.

    Buhari gave the assurance while addressing a mammoth crowd of supporters at the flag off of his re-election campaign in Kaduna.

    “We have taken measures to ensure that recovered funds and assets are not handed back to those who looted the treasury as was done after my detention when my administration was toppled in the 80s.

    ” What we are doing is to ensure that all recovered assets are sold off and the proceeds lodged into the Single Treasury Account. That way, no one will have the opportunity to appropriate such assets.’

    The President assured that the government would not be cowed to abandon the corruption war.

    “The anti-corruption fight is difficult in the current democratic dispensation, but we will continue to work carefully and steadily until we insulate public funds from looters.”

    He said that the administration has recorded tremendous success in the war against insurgency, restiveness in the Niger Delta and other crimes and would not rest until peace is restored to all parts of the country.

    “I have nothing to say than to remind you of the situation we met this country and the promises we made to you.

    “So the best we can do for our country is to return the APC to power.

    Read also: 2019 Poll: Miyetti Allah endorses Buhari

    “The biggest gift we can give to our country is security and sufficiency and economic prosperity, ” he said.

    Buhari assured Nigerians that the nation’s economy “is recovering and is on track of development.

    “The larger population of the country are youth between the ages of 35 and below, Nigeria has lots of work to do to get you employment and sufficiency. We are determined to do that.”

    According to him, the government has also recorded massive success in the area of agriculture and commended the support of all governors, especially those of Lagos, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano and Jigawa states for the turnaround in rice production.

    “We have stopped spending our foreign reserve to import  rice, there is sufficiency in rice as we now produce it locally.”

    The President expressed confidence that his victory is assured in the state and North West region, and solicited for the support of all to ensure peace and economic development of the country.

    He also promised that his administration, if re-elected in the 2019 general elections, will continue to make life easier for all Nigerians.

    The President then called on the people of Kaduna state to ensure that they vote for all APC candidates to enable the party complete all ongoing developmental projects and programmes across the country.

    He assured the electorate that the APC administration would not betray Nigerians or allow anyone to betray them.

    Earlier, National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, said that the fundamental issues of the campaign were the pronouncements by the PDP presidential candidate to sell the NNPC just as they sold NITEL, NEPA, Nigerian Airways and other government agencies, saying that the people should resist the move by not voting for them.

    He called on the electorate to reject the PDP because it was responsible for the collapse of the biggest textile industries in Kaduna State, sending thousands of people out of job.

    Oshiomole said Kaduna is home to the President and himself, adding  “with what I have seen here today, the APC has already won the general elections.

    “I am therefore calling on you to ensure that you vote for all of the candidates of the APC from top to bottom during the general elections.”

    Earlier, the Director General, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Rotimi Amaechi, urged party supporters to vote the party all through to ensure smooth running of the APC administration.

    “APC will see votes, but I must advise you, PDP has a rigging machinery. You have to do APC SAK without mistake.

    “PDP will be happy if you make mistakes during the polls. President Buhari has lived all his life a hero and you owe him that duty of returning him to power,” Amaechi said. (NAN)

  • Fighting corruption is important to my administration – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has said that fight against corruption was of utmost importance to his administration.

    Buhari said this on Thursday when he visited the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, in his palace in Benin.

    Buhari said the rehabilitation and construction of roads was well captured in the budget.

    He said he would pressurise the ministry to expedite action to execute the project.

    He noted that much had been achieved in the agriculture sector, adding that the Federal Government also gave soft loans to farmers, to ensure food security.

    Buhari, however, promised to do his best to restore and stabilise power supply in Edo.

    According to the President, electricity is very important to the economy, adding that power supply is a critical issue.

    Read also: Why Buhari will not rig election – BMO

    He also promised to look into the Oba Ewuare’s recommendations on security, and work harder to secure the country.

    He commended the Oba of Benin for mobilising traditional rulers to stabilise the polity.

    Earlier, Oba Ewuare commended the President for the fight against corruption and for curtailing the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East, as well as other notable achievements of the Buhari administration.

    However, the Oba said much still needed to be done to guarantee security of lives and property of Nigerians.

    Ewuare said as chairman of the traditional rulers, they were concerned about the outcome of the 2019 general elections.

    He said that meetings were held with the traditional rulers in the kingdom and the communities were directed to offer prayers and sacrifices to avert violence and bloodshed in the country.

    The Oba said they equally cautioned politicians against use of weapons or youths as thugs to disrupt the electoral
    process.

    Oba Ewuare also appealed to the Federal Government to intensify efforts at the dualisation of the Benin-Auchi-Lokoja highway,  to make the movement of goods and services easier as well as save the lives of motorists on the busy road.

    The Oba also commended the President for the encouragement given to the oil-producing host communities.

    Gov. Godwin Obaseki, also commended the President and appealed to the Oba to thank President Buhari for the support given to him.

    Obaseki said as a result of his support he was able to achieve more as governor. (NAN)

  • Why Buhari will not rig election – BMO

    President Muhammadu Buhari has no reason whatsoever to rig the forthcoming Presidential election.

    Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) made this assertion in a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, in Abuja on Thursday.

    The group said any fear by the opposition elements that President Buhari was preparing grounds to rig the election was a mere conjecture and completely false.

    According to the group, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has all it takes to win the coming election fairly and creditably, with a landslide.

    BMO said President Buhari’s great and verifiable achievements have gladdened millions of Nigerian voters who are going to vote for him massively.

    BMO asserted that the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) was raising false alarm because it foresaw its failure in the election.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari also has multitudes of consistent followers and ordinary Nigerians whose lives he has impacted positively;

    “These include the 500,000 N-Power beneficiaries, parents of over 10 million children being fed under the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, the 200,000 cooks and local farmers involved in the school feeding programme.

    Read also: Nigeria needs promise keepers as leaders – Fela Durotoye

    “Others are the 12 million farmers and fishermen, who actually donated money to his campaign, a majority of the 22 million students of tertiary institutions in the country,” the group said.

    BMO said that two million petty traders in the Market Moni and the Trader Moni loan schemes indicated their determination to vote for the President.

    It added that the 350,000 Nigerians being empowered by Government Enterprise and Employment Programme (GEEP) also indicated their determination to vote for the President.

    “Given the loyal followers and supporters of the President in 17 of the 19 states in the North, his huge support base in the South-West and some areas in the South-South, victory for President Muhammadu Buhari is settled,” it said. (NAN)

  • It won’t be first time, if I lose February Polls – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday night said that it will not be the first time for him to lose elections if he loses the February Presidential election.

    The President made the remark while answering questions on whether he will accept the results of the forthcoming election if he loses.

    He spoke during a live programme tagged ‘The Cadidates’ debate for the 2019 general elections in Abuja.
    But he noted that it was impossible for him to lose.

    He stressed that he tried it three times earlier to be President but was unsuccessful until the introduction of electronic system and the Card Reader by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    According to him, it sounded impossible for him to lose the election because of the great reception he has continued to receive across the country during his reelection campaigns.

    Read also: How Atiku blocked restructuring as VP, by Osinbajo

    On whether he will quit office if he is defeated in the election, Buhari said, “it won’t be the first time I will lose election,”.

    “I tried 2003 and I was in court for 13 months, 2007. I was in court for 18 months in 2011 and went up to the Supreme Court. I sat down and said God Dey. For the fourth time, God and technology helped me.”

    According to him his administration is following a tedious way in fighting corruption, as it is carefully crosschecking the books and records.

    He pointed out that there are instances where contracts were awarded to companies and individuals without the work done.
    Speaking on whether he was getting frustrated by the slow pace of the fight against corruption, Buhari said “I can’t afford to get frustrated.”.

    He also spoke on why he has decided not to react on the bribery allegations against the governor of Kano State Abdullahi Ganduje.

    “I am completely overwhelmed by the Ganduje case. I decided not to talk about it because the State Assembly has taken it up,” he said.

  • Buhari: provide corruption evidence against any official in my govt

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday night charged Nigerians that have evidence against any corrupt persons in his government to make it available to his administration.

    He gave the charge while answering questions during a live programme tagged ‘The Candidates’ debate for the 2019 general elections.

    Buhari was reacting to the allegations that his government’s anti corruption war was selective and against the opposition, while shielding members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The President was asked why the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir David Lawal, and other persons in his government have not been persecuted inspite of the fight against corruption.

    Buhari said that the onus was on the person making allegations to provide evidence why the accused should be prosecuted.

    He said, “That is not fair criticism of the government. I don’t think there is anybody that is being pointed out as corrupt in the last dispensation which we looked the other direction.

    “I told you why I have to be careful and the public should help us, if there are strong allegations that is backed up with evidences, bank accounts, names of companies floated, contracts awarded, then we take them before the courts through EFCC and ICPC and we have to trust the system and allow them to complete investigation.

    Read also: FG moves for final forfeiture of Badeh’s 6 houses, $1m

    “If we just take people in as we did during the military and lock them up, the present democracy a multi party democracy does not approve that.

    “If you accuse any person, you have to provide evidence in court for him to be prosecuted, So, if there is strong allegations, the government may decide to ask people to go like the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation we asked him to go.

    “The matter is already before the EFCC and I believe that a directive has been issued to charge him and all persons who have cases before the EFCC.” he stated