Time for referendum on NASS by Tunde Fagbenle

Tunde Fagbenle

A referendum on the form and nature of the National Assembly is imperative and urgent if we are to be taken seriously as a country truly ready for CHANGE. And I am ready to join hands with other well-meaning patriots to campaign for such a plebiscite in order to force the constitutional change needed on this needlessly large assembly that constitutes a monstrous drain on the economy.

As it stands presently, there are two chambers in the “house of horrors”; the lower is the House of Representatives, the upper is the Senate. Between them we have 469 (360 Reps. and 109 Senators) or so, men and women of different shades and hues, some bright as day, some others dull as a moonless night. But they are elected to represent us from their various constituencies.

Drunk by our oil into believing we are as good as America, we have modelled our Constitution (and so the Legislature) after the US, forgetting the historical process and the hundreds of years it has taken America to get to its present stage, and forgetting, more importantly, that all of our oil money is literally “chicken feed” to any state in America, nay, even to some corporations! But we are Nigeria, why should we crawl if we can run?

It is no longer news that Nigerian lawmakers at both chambers are the highest paid legislators in the world, a situation the renowned law scholar, Professor Itse Sagay, once described as a cruel anomaly and a breach of trust. Even more angered by the anomaly was the then CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (now HRH, Emir of Kano), who decried the disproportionate amount of money gulped by the National Assembly vis-à-vis the federal budget, which in percentage terms have variously been put between 17 per cent and 25 per cent! That’s insane.

Professor Sagay put the average salary and allowances per annum of a senator at N240m and about N204m for the House of Reps. counterpart. Not bad for a day’s job if one considers that the last Senate spent a whole year bickering and squabbling, enjoying the humongous perks doing next to nothing about mounting bills that are their primary function to formulate and pass into law, only for them to do it all as “a day’s job” with the scandalous passing into law 46 bills in less than 10 minutes! Unbelievable? Well, it did happen on Wednesday, 2 June 2015 under Mr. David Mark as Senate President.

So, perhaps, that’s all there is to it, a day’s job. But we must not let that cruel aberration lead us into thinking we have no use for the National Assembly or a legislative body, far from it. They are an important, vastly important, leg of the governance tripod in a democracy. They are to make the law by which we are to be governed, and more importantly, they serve as the crucial check and oversight to what could easily become banditry of the executive.

But the question is, at our stage of democratic governance and economic development what form and structure must this vital arm of democracy take? What makes the most sense for us at this point? Must we end up hanging by the balls on the democracy tree (excuse the pun) while trying to ape America’s monkey? Yet, if we must know, even in America today only nine out of 50 states have a full-time state legislature.

So, why on earth, other than being unthinking, do all our 36 states have full-time state legislators gulping a big chunk of the state’s meagre revenue? What are they legislating all year-round?

And at the US Federal level (called Congress), America’s “Founding Fathers envisioned that being a member of Congress would be a part-time job. Pennsylvania’s state constitution even had a provision calling for members of the Legislature to ‘have some profession, calling, trade, or farm, whereby he may honestly subsist,’” according to thehill.com. And “for almost 200 years, being in Congress meant holding down another job.”

I believe the time has come when well-meaning Nigerians must come together to reinvent the country. And the place to start is reforming and reformulating the Legislature. For sure, it won’t happen if we leave it to the National Assembly. They are full-time and, for many, their livelihoods depend on it. We cannot expect them to vote themselves out of job and be the first to make that giant sacrifice needed if Nigeria were to survive. Necessarily, we Nigerians, as President Buhari has extolled, must ourselves make the move to save the country from this slope to ruin.

Doubtlessly, the other arms of government, the Executive and the Judiciary would equally and urgently need complete overhaul and drastic restructuring. For now, President Buhari appears prepared to take the bull by the horns and trim down the Executive overweight of the past.

But the president cannot do it all alone. A referendum is necessary to force the hand of the present National Assembly to changing the Constitution to make membership of the Legislature part-time, and with it the cascading of a whole lot of money-guzzling structures. The noise around reduction in salaries and allowances is meaningless and a red herring meant to assuage our badly offended sensibilities.

And that’s saying it the way it is!

President Buhari and our looted patrimony

There’s a Yoruba saying, yiyoekun, t’ojoko, meaning, the stealth of a leopard is not of cowardice. President Buhari just because he has chosen not to play to the gallery by pandering to Nigerians’ desire for a quick-fixer, a Rambo that would as soon as elected start shooting wildly at anything on sight, began to get called Baba Go-slow.

Two things. One, Nigerians old enough remember General Buhari’s first coming as a military head of state, and how immediately on grabbing power he and his partner-in-arms, General Tunde Idiagbon, started hounding all politicians and some businessmen into detention and sentencing many to jail terms of many life times. They expect an encore. But Buhari also remembers that and what befell him. Two, Nigerians hurt badly. Stories of looted monies in astronomical proportions stink to high heavens. They hear of billions of naira and sometimes even of dollars, and their minds boggle. Yet they are hungry and see the looters parading themselves as the wise ones, Lords for whom there is no tomorrow, their private jets mere toys of competition in “my jet is bigger than yours” game.

But some of us knew that the leopard’s stealth is not of cowardice but of cunning to ensnare the game. Now the president has blown the whistle, just when he got the assurance of America’s support in hunting down the looters and their loot.

According to President Buhari, it’s a whole 150 billion dollars of it. Doubting Thomas may say that figure is impossible. Well, wasn’t that how it was said that General Abacha couldn’t have looted $5b or more until the monies came tumbling down in tranches?

$150b? What could that do? For a start, coming to N34.5 trillion, it is more than the Federal budget in any one year almost ten times over! With such sums, we would by now have railway networks with modern gauge running the length and breadth of Nigeria; our intractable energy problem would be consigned to the past thus enabling the upsurge and survival of industries; our schools, colleges and hospitals would be equipped and raised to world standards. But some bast..ds wouldn’t let it be.

The good thing is that the sort of money we are talking about cannot be hidden under a bushel; it can’t be quickly withdrawn in cash and flown into thin air. The mere process of withdrawing just $50m of it at a go will cause a ripple if not uproar in the banks they are held.

“The fact that I now seek Obama’s assistance in locating and returning $150 billion in funds stolen in the past decade and held in foreign bank accounts on behalf of former, corrupt officials is testament to how badly Nigeria has been run,” says President Buhari. And he has enumerated the stages of his approach: “First, instil rules and good governance; second, install officials who are experienced and capable of managing state agencies and ministries; and third, seek to recover funds stolen under previous regimes so that this money can be invested in Nigeria for the benefit of all our citizens.”

For this, the President seeks our understanding and patience. I give him mine! And that’s saying it the way it is.

Ref: http://www.punchng.com/columnists/tunde-fagbenle-saying-it-the-way-it-is/time-for-referendum-on-nass/

Understanding Buhari in 100 days by Garba Shehu

THE ENORMOUSLY popular talk show,Berekete on WazobiaFM radio, Abuja station told the incredible, yet true story of the hardworking and respected school teacher somewhere in Plateau state who hanged himself.

He hadn’t been paid salary for seven straight months. He came home to find that no one had eaten and two of the children had medical prescriptions for which there was no money.

He sneaked out without talking to anyone.

After a long while, news came home that he had strangely been caught with a stolen goat.

On his day in court, the teacher confessed to the offense. The reason he stole, he told the local judge, was that he hadn’t been paid for seven months and when he got home to see what he saw, he just couldn’t stand it.

The judge allowed him to go home on bail on self-recognition given, as he said, the good impression the entire village had of the otherwise respected teacher.

All were shocked to find his body dangling from tree the morning after. He couldn’t live with the shame.

In the recommendations and notes the Ahmed Joda transition committee presented to him as President -EIect, Muhammadu Buhari was informed that a section of the Fedaral government as well as 27 states hadn’t paid salaries, in some case for up to a year.

The Joda committee advised that this was a national emergency and should be treated as such.

It is on account of this that one of theactivities- please note the choice of this word:activities, not achievements- of President Muahammadu Buhari in these past three months is the settlement of unpaid salaries. This is going on right now.

Like the proverbial blinking of the eye, Saturday September 5th will mark the 100th day of the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC government which took office on May 29th after the new party became the first in opposition to unseat an incumbent government in an election adjudged by everyone as free and fair.

There are many out there who say that the performance of a president and his government in terms success or failure cannot be judged in 100 days and I agree with them.

But history will be written anyway. In the coming week or two, a rash of commentaries and analyses to commemorate the event will be made.

I myself don’t deny that 100 days is long enough to know and understand the man who is the head of a government.

Buhari arrived power with strong support from young men and women and this country’s poor. The new government was not favored at election by the monied power-brokers although that did not stop the President from taking measures such as improving security that are good for business and investment.

This government is business-friendly but not one that is for crony capitalism.

The new government inherited enormous problems created by the tainted PDP administration, largely caused by the lack of governance,corruption and lawlessness. This was mostly evident in the last two years of the Jonathan Goodluck administration. As the President continues to point out,the drift is most evident in the oil sector.

I believe that there is enough on the ground in those 100 days to understand President Buhari, his government and what it stands for.

I will cite a few of these.

Before I do that, I will make a little confession.
In the course of electioneering, the presidential campaign had so many centers of public communication which, for whatever reason were on the loose.

There is a certain document tagged “One Hundred Things Buhari Will Do in 100 Days” and the other, “My Covenant With Nigerians.” Both pamphlets bore the authorized party logo but as the Director of Media and Communications in that campaign, I did not fund or authorize any of those. I can equally bet my last Kobo that Candidate Buhari did not see or authorize those publications.

As a consequence of these publications, expectations have been raised unreasonably, that as President, Muhammadu Buhari will wave his hand and all the problems that the country faces- insecurity, corruption, unemployment, poor infrastructure would go away.

But that notwithstanding, President Buhari has given the job his best shot and the whole country is saying that we never had it so good. He has re-instituted the values of hard work and administrative efficiency. The President says times without number that this country needs to fix governance and that he won’t tolerate laziness.

Some of the other activities I wish to enumerate also include the fact of his taking relations with the country’s immediate neighbors to new heights. By their open admissions, this country’s neighbors did not have someone they could talk to on the deteriorating security situation in the Lake Chad Basin area in Aso Rock.

Buhari embarked on his foreign policy on Day Four of his administration.

When he met Barack Obama, the U.S president told the Nigerian leader that he was getting it right and that it is only when Nigeria gets it right that Africa will get it right.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who came calling this week said that our president is “courageous, focused and firm.”

Relations with the “G 7″ group of industrialized countries have since been “reset” and the dividends of this have begun to flow inwards.

In the area of economic management, Nigerians are already seeing things happen that they thought were not possible in so short a time.

He didn’t put a Kobo to finance the power sector. Yet, reading his body language alone and knowing that there are things you cannot do and get away with under Buhari, electricity supply all over the countries has risen to unprecedented heights.

Actually, some cities are on the verge of calling 24-hour, round the clock power supply. The country generates more power than can internally be taken by the deplorable distribution system we have on the ground, which points to the next challenge that the country faces.

Framework for the management of the country’s finances has been put in place. The wobbly Naira is being stabilized and inflation is headed towards a single digit.President Buhari is keeping a close eye on the government treasury.

Agriculture is getting its own shot in the arm.
Rice importation has been curtailed and seven governors whose states are priming a massive local production of the commodity have had a strategy meeting with the President on the next steps that are coming. Americans say their intervention in our agriculture will come next year.

Boko Haram, which had more or less been allowed to fester for about five years is about being ended but what is even more interesting is that intelligence coming from the fired-up armed forces who now work in synergy with each other is raising hope that the Chibok girls may, repeat may be found in good numbers in a geographic location of interest somewhere in the North-East.

President Buhari is being praised at home and abroad for his ongoing fight against corruption. He said from the beginning that his government will not tolerate this vice.

Borrowing the words of India Narendra Modi’s, he said himself that “I won’t steal and I’ll not allow others to do it.” President Buhari has walked his talk since he come to office.

Himself and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have not only given up half of their salary, they have cut a good number of funding lines to their official homes and offices.

President Buhari also takes the environment seriously. He blames the lack of security in the Lake Chad region on the recession, almost drying up of the lake. He has undertaken to clean up the Ogoniland.

In this country, appointments and removal from office are done usually in accordance with a spoils system.

A new government sacks officials on the basis only that it did not appoint them, by the predecessor-adminstration.

President Buhari has shown that his government is different. He wants to look at each case on its own merit and it is clear by now that he is not ready to surrender the country to burnt out politicians. Technocrats will have a big place in his administration.
He has appointed no ministers yet, but the government is running smoothly.

In this period of three months, government certainly deserves a pat on the back for improved power, reform in the energy sector, foreign relations fight against corruption and insurgency and the fact of Nigerians being at peace, not only among themselves but with their neighbors and the rest of the world.

In think in summary, I would like to end this piece by saying that President Muhammadu Buhari will turn out to be a leader in the tradition of Lee Kuan-Yu and India’s current reform-minded Prime Minister Modi with strong and clear emphasis on detail and execution. He may however differ with them by not micro-managing things.

GARBA SHEHU
SSA MEDIA AND PUBLICITY TO THE PRESIDENT.

Ref: http://thenationonlineng.net/understanding-buhari-in-100-days-garba-shehu/

We’ll meet presidential deadline on B/Haram’ – Defence HQ

Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin

Spokesman of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) Colonel Rabe Abubakar yesterday assured Nigerians that the military will attain the December Presidential deadline of ending Boko Haram insurgency in the country.
Colonel Abubakar gave the assurance in a meeting with the editorial team of Media Trust Limited, publishers of the Daily Trust newspaper titles at its Abuja head office.
He said: “We are on course, to meet the deadline given to us by President Buhari, with the active collaboration of the Chief of Defense Staff and other Service Chiefs, the insurgency will definitely be over before the deadline or at worst on the deadline.”
He added that the military was poised to maintain the recent success recorded: “we will maintain that level of momentum; we are not going to fail Nigerians,” noting that: “I believe the activities of Boko Haram will very soon be a thing of the past.”
Abubakar while stating that the military is not relenting to crush Boko Haram, appealed that: “we can achieve it by having a vibrant media on our side.”
He said his visit to the head office of Media Trust Limited was to push for partnership with the media towards ending the Boko Haram Insurgency.
Abubakar said:”We count on you not only to report but campaign in such a manner that it will send messages to the insurgents and those who may be lured into it,” adding that: “If you champion this we may do away with Boko Haram.”
Fielding questions on the abducted Chibok School girls, Abubakar said: “the military is doing enough, the military; all of us are in the north east to ensure that, not just to finish Boko Haram but get our loved ones back.”
“I believe as we move on with our operations the possibility of getting them is hundred percent,” the Defence spokesman declared.

Ref: http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/news/-we-ll-meet-presidential-deadline-on-b-haram--defence-hq/108413.html

Day 500: Onaiyekan, Sheik Khalid, Join In Commemoration Of Chibok Girls’ Abduction

Chika Mefor and Ejike Ejike

The Catholic Arch Bishop Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Chief Iman of Apo Leguslators’ Quarter’s Mosque, Sheik Nura Khalid joined the members of the #BringBackOurGirls(BBOG) to commemorate the 500 days the over 200 girls where abducted by Boko Haram sect in their dormitory at the Government Secondary School Chibok, Borno State, April 14, 2014.

Speaking during the commemoration, Cardinal Onaiyekan expressed sadness that the 219 abducted girls were still in the hands of their captors even after 500 days and expressed hope that the 500 days will be a symbolic catalyst to move Nigerians community into recognising the serious problem on its hands and finding a solution to the problem.

“I have always identify with this group. That is the reason I came this day we are commomorating the 500 days they Chibok girls were abducted. This is a serious matter. Our girls taken from us. I am here because I am worried about the girls whose condition we don’t even know. We don’t even know what state they are in and it is painful,” he said.

Onaiyekan called on Nigerians to understand the magnitude of the issue of the abduction and pray for the safe return of the abducted girls.

“I thought that this whole place will be congested but I was terribly disappointed, this whole thing doesn’t seem to hit the hearts of Nigerians unless we are lucky that the media carries it tonight and amplify it so the country hears that something happened here today. This morning when I woke up, I did not have the plans of coming, I was about going to take my bath when a phone call came from Rome, the radio Vatican on the 500 days remembrance of the Chikok girls and I was ashamed to say that I have not seen too much around and I told him that their was going to be a march today and by the grace of God, I was going to be there, so having made the promise to the radio Vatican and to the world it will be a mortal sin not to keep my promise.

“I was telling them on the radio Vatican that I hope that the 500 days will be a symbolic catalyst to move Nigerians community into recognising we have a serious problem, my heart bleeds for the young ladies, the fact that they called me from Rome means that they have not forgotten, it is we that have forgotten,” he said.

Also speaking, Sheik Khalid stated that his presence in the commemoration was to tell the world that the muslims faithful were always ready to unite with their Christian brothers and sisters to fight for the soul of the country.

“I want to tell the world that we the muslims are always ready to unite with our Christian brothers and sisters to fight for the soul of Nigeria, I want to challenge all the Imams that we should use our purpose to fight for the freedom of the Chibok girls, we must tell the world that Boko Haram will never succeed and they are not winning and Nigeria will win this battle, we are peace lovers, we are peace workers and we shall die as peace workers.

Ref: http://leadership.ng/news/456893/day-500-onaiyekan-sheik-khalid-join-in-commemoration-of-chibok-girls-abduction

We Are Already Seeing Change

Abba Mahmood

For a long time, due to the checkpoints and traffic gridlocks these bring on highways and inside our major cities, many like me have hardly travelled. Suddenly, Buhari appointed new service chiefs who came with more effective strategies. Instead of always waiting to “repel” terrorist attacks, the military is now on the offensive, taking the fight right to the terrorists’ den. Checkpoints have been removed, bringing immediate relief to the suffering people, particularly in the northern parts of the country.
It is really surprising that, all along, the previous government did not see how ineffective the previous strategy had been. If the terrorists knew exactly where the military was stationed as they mounted checkpoints, won’t these insurgents continue to avoid those checkpoints? This was precisely why there was hardly anyone arrested with dangerous weapons in those checkpoints all along. And that was why these checkpoints did not prevent bombs from being exploded by the insurgents or prevent any terrorist attacks in those areas in those days.
In the area of security, therefore, as in some other sectors, we are already seeing the change we voted for. Last weekend, yours sincerely left Abuja and drove to Kano and Katsina via Kaduna. On the highways and inside the cities, there were no more of those unnecessary checkpoints. Movement was smooth and everywhere was peaceful. From Katsina it took me four and a half hours to drive back to Abuja. Indeed, there is no more siege but freedom everywhere. The potbellied military chiefs, who could hardly climb stairs to their offices, have been replaced with smart and agile ones who are bringing more seriousness to tackling the insurgency menace and have brought better strategies to effect this.
For 16 years, successive PDP governments turned the power sector into a conduit for corruption. Billions were spent, but each time those governments kept telling us that due to one reason or the other power supply was not improving. Finally, the Power Holding Company was unbundled and privatised. Billions were given to the new entities that bought those new power companies in the name of “intervention” funds, but there was no improvement.
When Abacha died in 1998, Nigeria’s power generation was about 4,000MW. Sixteen years after Abacha’s death and after the PDP governments spending over $16billion, by the time Buhari took over, the country’s power generation capacity was less than the 4,000MW. That has been the extent of the rot in this important sector.
Today, less than 100 days since Buhari’s inauguration, we are all seeing an improvement in the supply of electricity to our homes, offices and factories. The other day last week, I got a call from a relative who told me that there was no power outage in the past 72 hours in his compound. Buhari did not spend one kobo in this sector. It is just because those in charge know that it is not business as usual anymore. Everyone is suddenly ready to do the right thing. Those who were used to cutting corners in this sector know that if they don’t stop, the law will catch up with them and they do not have anyone to bribe to let them off the hook anymore.
For over 17 years, the country’s four refineries had been epileptic and hardly functioned. Consequently, Nigeria has exported crude oil and imported petroleum products for a long time now. It is just like selling cow to buy cow-tail pepper soup! All the by-products of petroleum, which are raw materials for other industries that would have created jobs for our teeming unemployed youth, were lost. The refineries refused to work because some crooks were getting stupendous wealth in the business of importation of petroleum products. Nigeria and Nigerians were not seeing the benefits of the oil that the country is producing.
No one would lecture President Buhari on the petroleum industry. He was the one who set up the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the 1970s when he was petroleum minister for over three years and was the corporation’s first chairman. He took a look at the oil sector reports, after assuming office as elected president last May, got briefed by those he found in charge and, before he did anything, lo and behold, Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries were now working. Those who have been stealing the turnaround maintenance funds over the years are very much aware that it is no more possible to do so and they have no one to bribe to cover them again. They just have to fix these refineries or face the law.
Nothing has seen more immediate change than the fight against corruption. Suddenly, the anti-corruption agencies are awake to their responsibilities and are free to do their work. There is no sacred cow or pig anymore as far as the fight against corruption is concerned. Corrupt officials are voluntarily paying back slush funds into government coffers. Private-sector accomplices of those corrupt officials are running helter-skelter to have safe landing. Every corrupt person is now afraid that the law would surely catch up with him or her. They have nowhere to hide and no one to protect them.
Of course, so much is being made out of the issue of Buhari administration’s slow take-off and the fact that his cabinet and certain key appointments are not yet in place. Many have forgotten that Obasanjo submitted the list of his ministers in 1999 on July 20 and Yar’Adua did his on July 28, 2007. These were after thorough briefings some weeks before each of those presidents was inaugurated, during each of those transitions by officials of the outgoing governments in both cases. In the case of Buhari, no documents were submitted till late in May and no official of the past administration briefed him since his election. It was only after his inauguration that the public servants started coming to brief him. Is he expected to appoint people impulsively, with all his experience in government, without knowing the situation on ground just because some people want to be appointed? Experience, it needs reminding, cannot be bought or forged and Buhari was first appointed governor of the defunct North-Eastern State 40 years ago!
We have really started seeing the change we voted for. The only institution that appears to be impervious to change — where the standing order has been substituted with a fake sleeping order, and that is why there is so much disorder there; where renegade comrades, domestic aides-turned-trillionaires, all sorts of people accused of forgery and perjury are temporarily in charge — will also soon catch the change bug. They don’t seem to know that the era of impunity is over. Buhari is leading a silent revolution that will hardly spare the tiniest house rat let alone these giant thieves. Nigerians and the whole world are behind him and his government in this onerous task.
History is on the side of the oppressed.
Ref: http://www.leadership.ng/columns/455032/we-are-already-seeing-change

So, What Has Happened In 100 Days? by Azubuike Ishiekwene

Azubuike Ishiekwene
It’s not exactly on the mark yet, but it would be on September 5. President Muhammadu Buhari will be 100 days in office and the question will be, what has he done for us lately? From what I hear, the president is not a huge fan of this 100 days business.
He is aware that he is expected to perform the biblical equivalent of feeding 180 million people with five loaves and two fish but I guess he is also uncomfortable with being taken hostage by popular milestones.
Yet, there are at least two reasons why he cannot escape it this time. One, since former US president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, tried to save America from the Great Depression with remarkable work done in his first 100 days in office, that record has become a common standard by which public officers are judged.
Two, shortly before the presidential election in March, a document, said to be Buhari’s 100 day covenant

Kukah’s probe homily

                                                                                Dele Agekameh

No discerning practitioner or observer of socio-political activities in Nigeria will, consciously, discountenance the unfettered contributions of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, who is presently the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese. When it was not fashionable to be seen to counter the draconian policies and programmes of the then dreaded General Sani Abacha junta, Bishop Kukah and his fellow civil society activists were on the rampage waging a war of nerves against the maximum leader and his apologists.
Bishop Kukah’s belief in and commitment to the Nigerian Project is better understood in the context of his being a highly-visible Catholic cleric who is not encumbered by some people’s notion that he should be seen but not heard. It is on record that this commitment to foster peace and harmony among Nigeria’s diverse ethnic or tribal and religious configuration, drove his resolve to convene the National Peace Committee as a vehicle to ensure peaceful and violence-free elections before, during and after the last electioneering exercise.
When this body of eminent Nigerians met President Muhammadu Buhari recently, it did not do so at the behest of any person either in or out of government, supposedly on account of the ongoing probes or rumours of probes. Unfortunately, that visit has suddenly become controversial. What may have prompted the rash of ill comments from some quarters about the mission and agenda of the Committee, is the reported opinion canvassed by Bishop Kukah that the current anti-graft crusade should be conducted within a backdrop of the Constitution and the Rule of Law and not on a monarchical set up that ensures that the President’s word is inviolate. Bishop Kukah opined that while the war against corruption and economic pillaging is in full steam, care should be taken to ensure that due process is not set aside in the bid to play to the gallery and leave the duties of state to go fallow.
It is pertinent to mention that the preponderance of informed opinions on the on-going wide probes in the country is that the formation of the Presidential Anti-Graft Advisory Committee headed by Professor Itse Sagay, may be both extra-judicial and unconstitutional. The argument is that it goes against the grain of the need to investigate and prosecute proven cases of corruption by constitutionally-recognised bodies which should be strengthened and fundamentally-restructured to confront the ogre of corruption and corruptive activities in the country.
Therefore, Bishop Kukah’s views about the ongoing cacophony of innuendoes and insinuations of high-falutin corruption and graft, is that it may actually distract the President’s focus from doing what he was elected to do in the first instance. He said, inter alia: “Everybody knows that things are not the way they ought to be. We are just trying to encourage people that let’s get on with this business of fixing this country. Let’s get to the business of realising the change that we dreamt of. And also, most importantly, let’s get down with the business of co-operating with God so that Nigeria can move forward…I think that is what ordinary Nigerians are expecting. This is what they voted for. The truth of the matter is that time is not on our side. Our responsibility is to encourage politicians to do what they were elected to do.”
This and other pan-Nigerian views expressed by Bishop Kukah, are not patronising or tongue-in-cheek but a timely homily delivered in the national interest and not one constructed in the warped imagination of his (and by extension, the National Peace Committee) traducers, who are finding “solution” to corruption and graft through witch-hunting, media-prosecution and trial by ordeal. After all, Bishop Kukah has an inalienable right to hold personal views or opinion on any subject as far as it does not impinge on those of other people. That he is a priest does not detract from the primary fact that he is also a concerned Nigerian committed to the welfare of its citizens.
Some people have maintained that the main focus and thrust of the much-hyped probes and rumours of probes are directed against the former administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan. This is the more reason why the President will do well to diffuse the gathering storm of the rehearsed persecutions and witch-hunts and face actual governance. He should also offset his campaign promises without necessarily, wittingly or unwittingly, fuelling any distractions and its attendant media razzmatazz as we are now witnessing. The kernel of Bishop Kukah’s homily is that real focus and attention should be placed on pressing national issues that need urgent and holistic solutions. And there are several issues begging for attention.
‘We must avoid the vilification and demonisation of those who, out of their patriotic zeal, are contributing to the pool of ideas that will move the country up the ladder of progress.’
Quite understandably, the president is doing his outmost best to stamp out terrorism in the Northeast of the country. The recent appointment of new Service Chiefs and National Security Adviser have, indeed, upped the ante in the war against the Boko Haram terrorists who have virtually paralysed the socio-economic well-being of that part of the country. But the president needs to do more to convince Nigerians that they did not make a wrong choice on March 28, 2015 when they trooped out to cast their votes for him at the presidential election.
One particular area that readily comes to mind is the area of infrastructures including roads, schools, hospitals and all that. For instance, nothing seems to be happening anymore on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which reconstruction work has suddenly stopped. Besides, most of our hospitals have remained, if I may borrow from the late General Sani Abacha’s coup day broadcast on December 31, 1983, “mere consulting clinics”. Nowadays, people go to hospitals, especially government hospitals, not for succour or any healing, but simply to go and die. As for schools, the whole thing has gone from bad to worse as pupils and students now study under terribly unbearable conditions fit only for animals. I can go on and on.
While Nigeria is not running or operating a Saudi Arabia-type of “democracy” where the King is virtually infallible and a “political island”, President Buhari and his party, the APC, as well as his advisers, should imbibe the virtue of assimilating or adapting the positive contributions that will provide a reservoir or pool of alternatives but useful advice necessary in driving his nascent administration to success.
Therefore, the current virulent and bileful riposte by the president’s men smacks of a deliberate leakage of what transpired between the President and the National Peace Committee at the recent meeting held at the Villa. This is what has triggered the laughable and ill-conceived demonstrations to Aso Rock Villa and other public places. The spontaneity of the reactions to the views expressed by Bishop Kukah by some interested members of the Nigerian public, appeared programmed and sponsored to convey a populist rejection of those pan-Nigeria opinions and suggestions raised by the erudite cleric, as they were not in sync with those held by some interested parties who are in favour of ‘mob justice’.
It is imperative that Nigerians should be spared a resurgence of the orgy of “solidarity marches” that defined and characterised the Abacha despotic years which some concerned Nigerians believed was not indicative of the junta’s popularity rating. And if these “million-man marches” are being sponsored with tax payers’ money, then corruption, by other means, is at play.
The truth is that all patriotic Nigerians should endeavour to contribute viable ideas that will move the country towards the realisation of corruption-free governance, sustainable development and the equitable distribution of the dividends of democracy. We must avoid the vilification and demonisation of those who, out of their patriotic zeal, are contributing to the pool of ideas that will move the country up the ladder of progress.
 Ref:  http://thenationonlineng.net/kukahs-probe-homily/

President Obasanjo, take responsibility… or take a seat

Obasanjo

  Hannatu Musawa

THERE has been much hullabaloo over former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s autobiography, titled ‘My Watch’. The exhaustive autobiographical three-volume book, contains several national issues from past to present, chronicling the life of the former president from birth till date. The book has presently aroused political interest, by its unflattering portrait of the current president. The former president via the book accused the current president of surrounding himself with aides and political associates with corrupt tendencies; dedicating several parts in the book to pointing out some of President Jonathan’s actions and inactions Obasanjo considers ill-advised or disastrous for Nigeria and several instances of policy somersaults by Mr. Jonathan as well as deliberate actions by the incumbent president that have imperiled Nigeria’s progress. The book also took swipes at former President Umaru Yar’Adua, former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, Bukola Saraki, among other political foes.

In the book, the former president also stated that he was never interested in pursuing a third term while in office. The book has undoubtedly attracted a lot of acclaim and criticisms respectively, the latest being a court order for copies of the book to be confiscated by the police, DSS and the customs; also restraining media houses from publishing excerpts from the book.

As a citizen of this great nation of ours, the former president has every right to air his views in a verbal or written form, or whatever means available at his disposal. Under Chapter IV of the Nigerian constitution, every citizen has the “right to freedom of expression and the press”. As a former president and an elder statesman, Obasanjo has every right and is entitled to his own views, pointing out certain anomalies within the polity which he feels should be addressed. As a two-time president, he has an obligation to speak out when and if he feels the nation’s present leadership is erring in its policies, actions or inactions. However, this is increasingly becoming the norm with Nigerian leaders, in that, as soon as they vacate office, they castigate, find faults and point accusing fingers at their successors.

In most cases, these former leaders have ample opportunities in creating a positive and vibrant long-lasting legacy while in office, but mostly fail to do so; consequently blaming their woes on their successors. Another appalling norm widely practiced in our clime is “godfatherism”. As soon as incumbents cease to dance to the tunes of their godfathers or cease to be puppets in the hands of their puppeteers, all hell is let loose; the godfathers and puppeteers begin finding faults and become vociferous, chastising their successors at every available opportunity.

In his book, the former president supposedly “revealed” how late president Yar’Adua deceived him about the gravity of his illness, which he never recovered from till he died in office. Obasanjo maintained that the late Yar’Adua gave him the impression that he had overcome his health challenges. Needless to say, this sounds preposterous, as it was a well-known fact that President Yar’Adua was periodically ill while he was governor of Katsina state.

It is also a widely known fact that Obasanjo was instrumental to late Yar’Adua ascension to the presidency. From all the other capable and fit candidates for the presidency in 2007, President Obasanjo took it upon his merry self to choose who would rule after him. There were 35 other governors and so many other capable Nigerians, which the former president could have chosen from. But he made his choice and opted for an ailing candidate. The former president erred in his action of single-handedly making the choice that was the fundamental right of 170- million Nigerians. He deliberately imposed the Yar’Adua candidacy on Nigerians, evident in the highly controversial 2007 general elections which saw the emergence of Yar’Adua as president, viewed by local and foreign observers as one of the worst elections they had ever seen anywhere in the world, with “rampant vote rigging, violence, theft of ballot boxes and intimidation”. This was also acknowledged by the Late Yar’Adua on assumption of office. Honestly, it beggars belief that President Obasanjo is now crying over the tank of milk that he spilt himself. Not then, nor now does President Obasanjo have any moral right to play the victim, accusing the late president of deceiving him about his health, when he failed to oversee a free, fair and credible election which brought the ailing president into office.

Just when one though that President Obasanjo’s bellowing couldn’t get any worse, one is confronted with the his alarming declaration of who was responsible for the third term agenda. With regards to that infamous agenda bid in the twilight of his presidency and in a manner reminiscent and common with African leaders who never want to quit office, the former president in a curious twist in his book stated that “selfish PDP governors were behind the third-term agenda”. He accused the former governors of masterminding the plot to extending his tenure in office. This is indeed a laughable excuse and a pathetic attempt at absolving himself of blame. It would be difficult and almost impossible to convince anyone that the former president played no part in seeking tenure elongation while in office. The same unashamedly ploy has and is still paying out in different African countries. The former president should indeed own up and accept responsibility for the state the nation is currently in today. The death of President Yar’Adua in 2010 (Obasanjo’s anointed candidate), paved the way for current President Goodluck Jonathan who was then vice-president to become acting president and now president.

Ultimately, the former president cannot extricate himself from the responsibility of inadvertently sponsoring President Jonathan’s rise to political prominence and the Presidency. Why crying foul now when you had an invincible but efficacious hand in the current’s president’s rise to power? As a former president for 8-years, while his administration had its merits, amongst the demerits includes the legacy of “do or die” political atmosphere and the failure to adequately tackle corruption; salient national issues still plaguing our nation hitherto. There are few challenges that this nation is going through presently which do not have a direct link to choices that President Obasanjo single handedly made for all of us. So instead of huffing and puffing, sulking & throwing out the bath water, while he continues to spill secrets of the Obasanjogate era, I’m respectfully going to ask President Obasanjo to take responsibility or…. Take a seat!

Ref:  http://thenationonlineng.net/president-obasanjo-take-responsibility-take-seat/

PMB: The dangers of one-man-show

Perversive aura of power We must not grant President Muhammadu Buhari too much comfort. We cannot afford to blink or take our eyes off the ball. Not anymore; not after all the tormenting disappointments that have emanated from that Aso Rock Presidential Villa since 1999. Why should a President Olusegun Obasanjo have failed so woefully having rode into the scene with cognate experience none else in Nigeria’s history had? Yet he managed to set us back many years. Did we not think that President Goodluck Jonathan brandishing a PhD, and all that shoelessness, was indeed a breath of fresh air? But he fouled our air so much we are still choking.
The mere fact that the sheer aura and majesty of power would circumscribe both the holder and beholder is enough reason we must be even more on our guards now and not assume that the long-awaited messiah has finally arrived. It is true that comparatively, PMB is imbued with finer character and personal integrity, but there are a dozen other virtues begirding transcendental leadership and transformational governance.
It is for these reasons that we, the watchers of all the Estates of the Realm, must wear our skeptic’s cap always and set it askew at an irreverent and annoying angle. Now more than ever before, we must not be afraid not provoke and run against the grain of popular leaning. And like my brother Azu Isiekwene once said, we must not stop at ruffling feathers, we must make sure to pluck some feathers. Especially so when we are sure we are doing so in the interest of both the man in the pristine prison of the Villa and the hapless fella on the street.
The breeding a benign dictatorship This is why we must not fail to sound the alarm about what is clearly an incipient one-man government and the making of a leviathan; a benign dictatorship. It is not acceptable and neither is it justifiable that PMB would take almost half of a year to form a government. We simply do not have that luxury of time. He tells us he will not appoint members of his cabinet till September. We hear the Senate may not complete ratification of nominees till end of October and we know that it would take these men and women upmost of another six months to master their not so simple environment and begin to deliver any reasonable result.
Why should we hand over one full year of our lives to a man we elected to office to play around with as he wishes? There is absolutely nothing PMB is doing now that he could not have done with the full complement of his cabinet in tow. It is a dangerous fallacy for one man to imagine he could reform a deeply rotten system all alone in a few months.
In fact, the dangers and shortcomings of the President discharging executive functions in the manner he has been doing are numerous and indeed, scary. First, most of the activities so far – wholesome and positive as they may be – are at best ad-hoc and direly limited. He does not have the option of robust debate and a weighing up of numerous alternatives to arrive at the best options.
One example was the setting up of the Adams Oshiomhole-led panel to probe the management of the Excess Crude Account during the Jonathan era. It had one month to report back to the National Economic Council (NEC). But it took all of one month to find out that the panel was inadequate and indeed awkward for that assignment. It took one month to know that audit firms are better suited for the job. That was one month wasted and several opportunities lost.
Another shortcoming is that the country has remained at a standstill and will be so till a cabinet is formed. A visit to federal secretariats will prove this. It was not that diligent activity was the hallmark of the Nigerian civil servant, but ask anyone of them now and he will tell you there is nothing doing since the new dispensation. Again, it is not for fun that the weekly cabinet meeting is held: it is for setting broad policy guidelines, tracking implementation and reviewing performance and progress taking place simultaneously in all sectors. No one person can do this alone.
What really is the purpose of the current exercise of having permanent secretaries review their ministries before the President one at a time? This exercise, which is taking months to carry out, would have been better accomplished in a one week summit under a full cabinet. This way, even the ministers would benefit immensely and at the end of the day, the President would set the tone for his presidency and government in the purview of all – the appointees and civil servants. So we would have done in one week (and with better result) what we have been grappling with for months.
And there is the more foreboding danger of the President getting used to the current situation of ‘working’ alone and all the minnows around him falling all over themselves when he sneezes. He is in danger of creating a debilitating environment that does not allow for debate, questions and a weighing of options. If he gets used to dishing out instructions and people jumping, his cabinet would be ineffectual and he, as much as Nigeria, would be the worse for it.
Now and for as long as the President’s slow motion lasts, the budget is in abeyance, most projects are abandoned, work cycle is lost and funds are disbursed whimsically from the presidency.
APC’s slumbering new era? If PMB is taking things slow to dredge the rot in the system, are governors too, who have followed his example, also dislodging sludge? It is worrisome that most of the ruling APC governors have conveniently neglected to initiate governance; even second term governors.
If Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State (a first timer) could get started immediately, what is holding up Governors Akin Ambode (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), among others? Why is it taking Governor Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) almost one year to form government? This precedent is dangerous and unacceptable. Apart from the fact that they are running government from their breast pockets, some fellow will come tomorrow and take all of two or three years to form an executive council (exco), standing on Aregbesola’s example.
One sees absolutely no benefit in a president or governor hedging to form government upon inauguration. None.
PRESSID: Let’s not throw Jonathan away with bathwater
One of the most ingenious initiatives of former President Goodluck Jonathan was setting up of the Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and Development (PRESSID).
The scheme, which is in its third year, selects about 100 best of Nigeria’s first class graduates for scholarship in the best universities abroad. The idea is simply to harness a critical mass of thinkers and leaders in all spheres of life for Nigeria’s future. The US has perfected this strategic initiative, reaching beyond their borders to poach the best from around the world.
The successful candidates for the third batch for the 2014/2015 academic session, who have been offered admission in universities across the world, have been left hanging since President Buhari came to power. If these young Nigerians are being denied their well-merited national scholarship, which they have already won, by the new government, they at least deserve to be informed formally so that they may move on with their lives.
America, Israel, China, etc., lead the world because they make serious effort to select and groom their very best minds. It is hoped that PMB would sustain PRESSID.

Ref:  http://thenationonlineng.net/pmb-the-dangers-of-one-man-show/

Arms deals panel begins sitting in Abuja

Arms and ammunitions

The 13-man investigative committee set up to probe the procurement of hardware and ammunition in the Armed Forces has started its sitting, albeit in camera, The PUNCH has learnt.

The committee has been meeting in the office of the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.), a source in the Presidency confided in The PUNCH on Wednesday.

The source said, “I can confirm to you that the committee members have started meeting. They even started meeting before their appointments were announced. This is because they do not need any confirmation or any formal inauguration.

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“Available information showed that members are getting the needed assistance and support from interested parties.

“It is the government’s belief that a lot of ground would be covered by the committee in its desire to ascertain what went wrong in the past as far as the procurement of arms is concerned.”

Presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, had on Monday announced the composition of the committee, which is saddled with the responsibility of probing arms purchase from 2007 till now.

Adesina had said the President directed the NSA to set up the committee with the mandate of identifying irregularities and making recommendations for streamlining the procurement process in the Armed Forces.

Members of the committee include AVM J.O.N. Ode (retd.) –chairman; R/Adm. J. A. Aikhomu (retd.); R/Adm. E. Ogbor (retd.); Brig. Gen L. Adekagun (retd.); Brig. Gen. M. Aminu-Kano (retd.); Brig. Gen. N. Rimtip (retd.); Cdre. T.D. Ikoli; Air Cdre U. Mohammed (retd.); Air Cdre I. Shafi’i; Col. A.A. Ariyibi; Group Capt. C.A. Oriaku (retd.); Mr. I. Magu (EFCC); and Brig. Gen Y.I. Shalangwa – Secretary.

Adesina explained that the establishment of the committee was in keeping with Buhari’s determination to stamp out corruption and irregularities in Nigeria’s public service.

He added, “It (the committee) comes against the background of the myriad of challenges that the Nigerian Armed Forces have faced in the course of ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the North-East, including the apparent deficit in military platforms with its attendant negative effects of troops’ morale.

“The committee will specifically investigate allegations of non-adherence to correct equipment procurement procedures and the exclusion of relevant logistics branches from arms procurement under past administrations, which, very often resulted in the acquisition of sub-standard and unserviceable equipment.”

No timeline was given for the committee to carry out its assignment.

Meanwhile, South Africa has said that it is not involved in the investigation into the purchase of arms by the administrations of late President Umaru Yar’Adua and former President Goodluck Jonathan.

It described the arms probe panel as a Nigerian affair, saying it did not involve in the aborted botched $15m arms deal by the administration of Jonathan in 2014.

The South Africa’s High Commissioner in Nigeria, Lulu Mnguni, stated this in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday.

Mnguni was asked to react to a report that South Africa might be invited by the Buhari’s arms deal probe panel.

Also asked if his commission would appear before the panel if summoned, the envoy said his mission had nothing to do with the failed arms deals, stressing that it was purely a Nigerian issue.

He added that the South African mission would be guided by directives from the home government, noting that the embassy was a member of the diplomatic community which only follows official instructions.

“We don’t know anything about the arms issue; that is a Nigerian matter. We are not involved. You know what, we are guided by our government and you must also know that we are in the diplomatic community,” he said



Ref: http://www.punchng.com/news/arms-deals-panel-begins-sitting-in-abuja/

NNPC invites 7 firms to bid after cancellation of crude SWAP, OPA contracts

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has invited seven firms to bid, following the cancellation of crude oil swap contracts, as well as Offshore Processing Contracts (OPA), which the corporation entered into with traders under the previous administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The NNPC said in a statement Wednesday that, “After due appraisal of performance trajectory, we have invited Messrs. Oando, Sahara Energy, Calson, MRS, Duke Oil, BP/Nigermed and Total Trading to bid for the new Offshore Processing Agreement while we have engaged AITEO, Sahara Energy and Duke Oil to exit the current OPA.’’

The corporation also announced new measures aimed at cost reduction and strengthening of operational efficiency across its value chain.

The NNPC stated that after proper evaluation and in line with the terms of contract for the delivery of crude oil to the nation’s refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, it cancelled the current contract due to exorbitant cost and inappropriate process of engagement.

The Corporation noted that as a stop-gap measure, NIDAS Marine Limited, a subsidiary of the NNPC has been engaged to provide crude delivery service on negotiated industry standard rate pending the establishment of substantive contract.

The release by Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ohi Alegbe, quoted the corporation as saying “We have also commenced a rigorous and transparent process of securing capable and competitive contractors for the delivery of crude oil by marine vessels to Port Harcourt and Warri/Kaduna Refineries pending the restoration of the Crude Pipeline infrastructure.”

The NNPC explained that it resorted to the delivery of crude oil to the refineries by marine vessels following incessant attacks on the Bonny-Port Harcourt refinery pipeline and the Escravos crude pipelines by vandals and oil thieves resulting in the complete unavailability of the pipelines in 2013.

The corporation also said the OPA contracts it entered in January 2015 with three companies, namely- Duke Oil Company Inc., Aiteo Energy Resources Limited and Sahara Energy Resources (Nig) Ltd, has been cancelled because it was “skewed in favour of the companies.”

Under the agreement NNPC allocates a total of 210, 000 barrels of crude oil per day for refining at offshore locations in exchange for petroleum products at pre-agreed yield pattern.

“However after detailed appraisal of the operation and its terms of agreement, the NNPC is convinced that the current OPA is skewed in favour of the company’s such that the value of product delivered is significantly lower than the equivalent crude oil allocated for the programme,’’ the Corporation said.

The NNPC also observed that the structure of the agreement does not guarantee unimpeded supply of petroleum products, as delivery terms were not optimal.

To address these lapses, the NNPC informed that it has commenced the process of establishing alternative OPA based on optimum yield pattern with tender processing fees.

On the status of the Crude for product exchange agreement (SWAP) reportedly entered into by the NNPC and some oil traders, the corporation informed that the last SWAP arrangement lapsed in December 2014 and was never renewed.

The NNPC also informed that it has obtained the permission of President Muhammadu Buhari to kick-start the tendering process for the 2015/2016 Crude Oil Term Contract for the evacuation of Nigeria’s crude oil equity from the various crude and condensate production arrangements.

The Corporation noted that the process which would commence with the advertisement of the Crude Oil Term contract in both National and International print media for a period of one month has been carefully structured to weed out “briefcase companies’’ and rent seekers.

Ref: http://businessdayonline.com/2015/08/nnpc-invites-7-firms-to-bid-after-cancellation-of-crude-swap-opa-contracts/

Why President Buhari Is Angry With Lamorde

Lamorde

 

Sources have revealed the reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari is uncomfortable with the embattled chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Lamorde.
On who would substitute Lamorde as EFCC head, the source

acknowledged that Buhari may choose to go “against public expectation as was the case in the speculations of Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau emerging the NSA.”
“But barring any last minute changes, Hamid Ibrahim Alli, is likely to take Larmode’s place. I hear he is already being screened by the Department of State Services.”
Informed insiders in the commission and the presidency told Daily Post that contrary insinuations that Larmode’s removal is connected to the petition filed against him by George Uboh at the Senate, President Buhari has earlier not been positively disposed to having Larmode in his anti-corruption crusade owing to his “past records and antecedents”.
A presidential source, who asked not to be named, said: “Most of what Uboh raised in the petition is what President Buhari is already in the know of. There are even more unfavourable things he knows of the present chairman that are not yet a public knowledge.
“Don’t forget that Larmode had headed the EFCC as acting chairman at some point. What he did or achieved within that period (he acted as chairman) is one that Mr. President has critically appraised and found out that he can’t be the man for the job”.
“I can assure you that it would take a miracle for Larmode to remain in office beyond the next one week. The signs are very obvious. Even stalwarts of the APC are not comfortable with him being there.
“Ever since Akpabio took that advert space in a national newspaper to distance PDP members in the Senate from the plan by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition to probe the EFCC chairman, Mr. President has come under undue pressure to act fast to remove Larmode from that seat. To me, the whole scenario is one that unites the divergent interests in the ruling party in view of what the party members are asking of the President.”
”But for Larmode, he won’t likely survive the current storm. It is bad enough for an EFCC boss to be in the eye of the storm. The President is not one that is likely to carry an extra baggage. He looks set to cash in on the moment to take him (Larmode) out of the job.”
It should be recalled that George Uboh, a petitioner who appeared before the Nigerian Senate committee on August alleged that Lamorde gave choice properties taken from the former Bayelsa state governor, DSP Alamieyesigha and others, to Usman Lamorde, his younger brother.

Ref:  https://www.naij.com/532006-real-reason-president-buhari-angry-larmode.html

Arewa Group Blast SNPA over Comment on Buhari

 President Muhammadu Buhari

By Adams Abonu in Lafia

A sociopolitical group, the Arewa Youth Assembly, on Wednesday chided leaders of southern Nigeria under the auspices of Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA) for “whipping ethnic and regional sentiment” against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a press conference addressed at the end of an emergency session of the group in Akwanga, Nasarawa State, National Publicity Secretary of AYA, Comrade Auwal Alhassan, told journalists that the statement credited to elders from the southern part of Nigeria were “unbecoming” of people who were supposed to bring elderly maturity on issues of national importance.

“We met to deliberate on the charges against President Buhari’s fight against corruption which they faulted and we have seen that their charges are devoid of nationalist considerations. Nigeria has every potential to become truly the giant of Africa but corruption has held us hostage for too long and now is the time to correct this national malaise,” Comrade Alhassan opined.

Ref:  http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/arewa-group-berates-snpa-over-comment-on-buhari/218525/

Tambuwal Betrayed Me – House majority leader, Hon. Gbajabiamila

Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has revealed he felt betrayed by Tambuwal after the former speaker snubbed him to back Dogara to emerge speaker.He also expressed his daisappointment at his actions as he (Tambuwal) used ‘proven competence’ to rationalise his decision to support Dogara.

The majority leader said this on Wednesday, while speaking on Straight Talk with Kadaria Ahmed, which aired on Channels Television.

“I feel disappointed in that statement (proven competence). Looking at that statement, there are many things wrong with that statement, which I don’t want to join issues with. But let me just say this since this is ‘straight talk’.

I feel disappointed that a speaker to whom much had been given would chop down the issue of leadership and competence to the issue of procurement. That is the last thing I would expect him to say.

To seat here and say there is no sense of betrayal would be lying. Of course, there is a sense of betrayal, but it’s not something I dwell on. Betrayal unfortunately happens to be the order of the day in politics – particularly in Nigeria. So do I feel betrayed? Yes.

Tambuwal was one of my closest friends when he ran for speaker; I think I single-handedly pushed his speakership bid. But again, he must have reasons why he did what he did. That must be respected; I just wished he had made that known.”

Ref:  http://www.nigerianmonitor.com/2015/08/27/tambuwal-betrayed-me-gbajabiamila/

Remarks By Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal CFR, Speaker, House Of Representatives on April 24, 2012

Remarks By Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal CFR, Speaker, House Of Representatives, National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

On The Occasion Of The Consideration Of The Report On The House’s Ad Hoc Committee On Petroleum Subsidy

1. My fellow colleagues, You will recall that on Sunday January 8 we had to cut short our recess in response to a national crisis as a result of the sudden removal of fuel subsidy by the Executive Arm of Government.

2. The commitment and patriotism shown by members during that period of emergency finally led to the gradual resolution of that crisis.

3. Today, we are here to consider the product of that sacrifice. Before you is the report of the Ad-hoc Committee on the monitoring of fuel subsidy regime which was set up to verify and determine actual subsidy requirements.

4. And I must commend the Chairman of the Committee, Hon Farouk Lawan and the rest of his Committee Members, for their courage, dedication and professionalism. They were given a crucial assignment and they handled it with the integrity and patriotism it deserved.

5. The probe of the oil Sector has raised so much dust from certain segments of the polity such that it became clear that the intention was to frustrate it. For those who regard the oil sector as a secret society or sacred cow, I wish to state without equivocation that it is not. All public agencies in the oil sector are the creation of Acts of the National Assembly and this Honourable House has no powers to legislate for the creation of secret societies. Similarly all private sector corporate bodies operating in the sector are the creation of the Corporate Affairs Commission and that Commission also is not vested with any powers to incorporate secret societies. Let it therefore be known that in our drive to sanitize the polity, there are no sacred cows and we do not intend to discover any.

6. However, that is only one part of the job. We now have the more crucial duty of considering the report and recommendations of the committee. Usually in a matter such as this, one is accustomed to hearing differing opinions presented passionately. Or passions presented as opinions.

7. But we must never forget who we are and where we are, because Nigerians are watching us very closely and history will judge what we do here today. I therefore urge each and everyone of you to look at this report dispassionately.

8. Be fair in your comments and set aside all primordial sentiments so that we can do justice to this important document.

9. Let me reiterate the fact that we are discharging a Constitutional assignment here and it is therefore incumbent upon us to do our duty without fear or favour. Let me also remind you that we are fighting against entrenched interests whose infectious greed has decimated our people. Therefore, be mindful that they will fight back, and they do fight dirty.

10. I have heard all kinds of insinuations, including the one about anti-graft agencies waiting for a ‘harmonise version’ of this report before taking any action. Let me quickly say here that this is at best an excuse that can not stand after all the same agencies accept and investigate petitions from individuals, how much more resolutions of this House, there will be no such document so they should just go ahead and do their job and where they find any person or body culpable, they should proceed in accordance with the law.

11. Our only interest here is to mitigate the suffering of Nigerians by showing how the subsidy regime has been hijacked for the benefit of a few. At the end of our deliberations we hope that the executive arm will act upon the resolutions of this House and bring more transparency to bear on the system.

12. Together we can do all things constitutionally required of us but not without sacrificing our personal comforts, personal aspiration and even personal opportunities that do not benefit the public good. For as many are prepared and determined to make these personal sacrifice and to stand on the side of the ordinary Nigerians whose mandate we hold, I say let’s march on dear colleagues.

13. My fellow colleagues, I wish you God’s guidance.

Thank you.

Being the text of Remarks By Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal CFR, Speaker, House Of Representatives, National Assembly of The Federal Republic of Nigeria On The Occasion Of The Consideration Of The Report On The House’s Ad Hoc Committee On Petroleum Subsidy

Full Text Of The Speaker's speech at the plenary session June 15, 2012

We are on course

Being text of remarks by the speaker, house of representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (CFR) on the occasion of the special plenary session of the house on Friday 15th June 2012

Protocols

My Dear Honourable Colleagues,

I now formally welcome you to this Special Session of Plenary which has been summoned pursuant to Order 5(18)(2) of the Standing Rules of the House of Representatives. It is the Second Special Session since the 7th House of Representatives was inaugurated on the 6th June 2011.

2.The object of the Session, which you have just accomplished, is to deliberate on grave allegation of bribery brought against a member of this Hallowed Chambers. Hon. Farouk Lawan by Mr. Femi Otedola, an oil marketer, in connection with the work of the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Monitoring of Fuel Subsidy Regime empanelled by the House for that purpose.

3.In accordance with our Legislative Agenda we must continue to be, not only sensitive to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians but also proactive on all matters of urgent National importance, therefore, while I apologize for the inconveniences caused to members by this sudden recall from the recess, I trust, we all appreciate that this is a call to important civic duty for our dear country.

4.Hon. Colleagues, when we elected to pursue the entrenchment of probity, accountability and transparency in the conduct of government business as a cardinal Legislative Agenda we advised ourselves never to expect that it will be an easy task. Accordingly I have had cause to occasionally sound a note of warning and reminder that our constitutional task is inescapably hazardous requiring total commitment, diligence, transparency; determination and sacrifice.

5.The Constitution has given the parliament three broad duties, which include Law Making, Representation and Oversight. It is interesting to note that of these three, it is that last function, which gives legislature the powers to conduct oversight, that has tended to cause conflict between the legislature and the Executive and remains the most controversial. Yet. it would have been impossible to conduct the other two functions successfully if the Constitution had not given the parliament oversight powers: the single most potent weapon that makers of the Constitution put in place to check abuse by those who execute its law.

6.In full compliance with the Constitutional prescription in S 62(1) and (2) the House has always ensured that all Committees empanelled by it, be they Ad-Hoc or Standing, are given a clear mandate. I find it compelling to state for the umpteenth time that the constitutional power of investigation conferred on the Legislature is for the purpose of law reform and for the exposure of corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it. In the exercise of this function there shall be no sacred cows.

7.I have emphasized the constitutionality of the oversight function of the legislature because there lingers among many public officials, the notion that in holding public or investigative hearings, the Legislature is over stepping its bounds and also neglecting its other functions. Nothing can be further from the truth. The records of our performance for the first legislative year, which just ended on 6th June 2012, show that the performance in the area of legislation was equally impressive.

8.I wish at this point to make this pledge that the House of Representatives shall continue to act responsibly by ensuring that all investigations are instituted only when absolutely necessary. Furthermore, we shall insist on probity and fairness on the part of our members conducting such investigations; and we shall not hesitate to sanction anyone who in the course of these investigations overreaches himself or uses the process to intimidate anyone or engages in corruption.

9.The recent investigations into two Sectors, namely Oil Subsidy Regime and Capital Market were conducted in public, evidence and testimonies were freely given and taken and in the case of oil subsidy regime, monumental fraud was disclosed in the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee which has since been passed by the House and referred to the Executive for implementation by relevant agencies.

10.While we consider it preposterous and hasty to dismiss the current bribery allegations, pending the outcome of ongoing investigations, including our in-house investigation just instituted, we reject in totality insinuations being orchestrated in some media to the effect that the allegations have eroded the integrity of the Resolutions of the House on the report and rendered same unworthy of implementation.

11.Let me reiterate that the resolutions of the Hose over the fuel subsidy regime remain valid despite this recent controversy. We must as a country learn to separate institutions from individuals and we must admit that, in the present case, the alleged conduct of an individual cannot negate the conclusions of the whole House. Let me also reaffirm here that we have not been compromised and we shall never compromise our stand against corruption. The credibility of that report therefore remains inviolable and we stand by it.

12.May I, therefore, urge the Executive to match words with action in the implementation of these resolutions. As just resolved by motion, relevant Committees of the House must diligently monitor the implementation of the resolution by agencies under their supervisory jurisdiction and report back to the House within reasonable time.

13.My Dear Colleagues, the scope of our resolve for transparency in the conduct of government business includes all the arms of government; all public functionaries and all persons doing business with government or operating under Acts of the legislature. As members of parliament we enjoy no immunity and we seek none, let us therefore remind ourselves constantly that we must live above board. We offer ourselves for public scrutiny at all times in our effort to build a better Nigeria. As humans where we err and our attention is called we shall be willing to make amends in the overall national interest.

14.I call upon all of us to remain firm, resolute and committed to the execution of our constitutional mandate whatever the hazards. We must NEVER repeat NEVER be cowed or intimidated by any form or colour of antics that may be fashioned with intent to dampen our spirits and or break our resolve. It remains for me to say that, when the army suffers causalities of a few officers and men at the battlefront, it beats no retreat except it does not intend to win the battle. I am confident that men and women of integrity and character are in the overwhelming majority in our fold and we do not lack the numbers to prosecute the battle. We shall be judged not only by our words but more so by our actions.

15.To the good people of Nigeria we appeal for patience and understanding and wish to once more assure you of our sincerity of purpose and the determination to deliver the Nigeria of our dreams. The road may be rough and herculean but victory is sure.

16.Now therefore is the time to double the pace of our performance, including the investigative hearings, given that from the monumental fraud uncovered through these investigations, we know that we are surely on course.

17.The current unfortunate bribery allegation, whatever the outcome of ongoing investigation can only serve as impetus for us to do more, in the quest for the entrenchment of probity in governance.

18.In addition to routine oversight, we shall investigate everything that needs to be investigated in the process of the fashioning of a better Nigeria. In this regard, we shall continue to seek synergy with the other arms of government so as not to work at cross-purposes.

19.May the Almighty God grant us the Courage and Grace to do what is right at all times and in all situations.

Thank you all.

Gov. Sule Lamido speaks and I quote

The PDP government of Jigawa had, in 2011, supported President Jonathan’s bid which caused the people to castigate us by way of calling us names; however, the president and federal government have not in any way redeemed their campaign promises to the people of the state, for which we see no reason whatsoever to support him again - Gov.Sule Lamido

The Speaker speaks and I quote

I have made my position known at the NBA conference about a week ago. And I said that it is not the best of fashion in a democracy that you militarize a process to the extent that voters get intimidated and scared and they rather withdraw and remain indoors

The Speaker speaks and I quote

When the complexion of election conducted by a civilian regime assumes the semblance of that conducted by a military junta, it is obvious that the nation needs help

OBJ Speaks and I quote

We all have contributions to make and should not leave our responsibility to others.If we fail to participate in things that are meaningfully positive for this country, you will be a victim and we all become victims

The Speaker Speaks and I quote

If nations like Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq can conduct peaceful and credible elections under its challenging atmosphere. We have no reason not to as well - Tambuwal

The speaker Speaks and I quote

No one out there should have any impression that any of us here in the House of Representatives or in the National Assembly is above the law; that is not the message we are sending. What we are talking about is the institution of the legislature and not the individuals that are constituted in the Nigerian legislature - Tambuwal