The Peoples Democratic Party said on Friday that it had yet to recover from the fight that made former President Olusegun Obasanjo tear his membership card.
Olusegun Obasanjo
It, however, blamed its former National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who it alleged empowered Sen. Buruji Kashamu to spite the former President.
It said that the party had yet to recover from the repercussions of the action of the former chairman.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Ibrahim Jalo, who stated this in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Friday, also warned that the party must not make the same mistake it made in the past by denying the South-West the opportunity of producing the next national chairman of the party.
Jalo said those who misled former President Goodluck Jonathan into jettisoning the zoning system in the party emboldened Buruji, an action which he said worked against the PDP in the South-West.
He said for the party to succeed in 2019, the South-West region must not be treated with levity, adding that there were capable hands in the zone who he said, could lead the party to success during the next general elections.
Jalo said it was wrong for Buruji to be speaking for the members of the party in the zone, which he described as the foundation of civilisation in the country.
He said, “We were deceived into fighting Obasanjo, a well respected man in Nigeria and outside the country.
“It was our former chairman, Tukur, who (did that) because he thought he could cut him to size by empowering Buruji. It was the biggest mistake we ever made in the party.
“Tukur thought he could use Buruji to reduce the influence of Obasanjo, who was fighting that the party must obey the zoning formula in our party’s constitution.
“But people believed that we should go ahead with the impunity as sold by the few powerful men in our party. At the end of the day, Obasanjo had the last laugh while the party found itself in opposition today.”
Jalo said the party would also be treading a dangerous path if Buruji and his group were not checkmated in their determination to deny the South-West the opportunity of producing the next chairman of the party.
He said it was wrong for the current National Chairman of the party, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, to envisage that he could continue in office after the party’s national convention in Port Harcourt on May 21.
He said, “The North has produced seven national chairmen for the party. PDP isn’t meant for the North alone.
“Solomon Lar, Audu Ogbeh, Bernabas Gemade, Ahmadu Ali, Tukur, Adamu Mu’azu and Sheriff are all from the North. Other zones have all produced the national chairman as well.
“But the South-West has yet to produce the national chairman. It is their turn and we must not deny them this opportunity.
“We need to curry the favour of the zone, because that’s where we need votes in 2019. The North is for the PDP and what the people there are expecting is the presidency and not the office of the PDP National Chairman.
“Former Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu started with only one state, which is Lagos but he later took over the entire South-West and now he’s controlling the entire country.”
Jalo listed the likes of Sen. Bode Olajumoke, Chief Bode George, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and Chief Shuaib Oyedokun as possible candidates for the office.
ABUJA-Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is currently meeting with President Mohammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. This was even as the details of the 2016 budget estimates have been transmitted to the Presidency.
Buhari and Obasanjo
This was even as the details of the 2016 budget estimates have been transmitted to the Presidency.
Obasanjo arrived the villa at exactly 12:13pm on Thursday in a tinted black Tayota Jeep marked Abj 425 PY. Upon alighting from the vehicle, he exchanged pleasantries with Reporters who cracked
Upon alighting from the vehicle, he exchanged pleasantries with Reporters who cracked joke with him on his “dancing steps” last week at Ebonyi State during the burial of the late mother of Ebonyi State Governor.
Reminded that “your dancing steps last week were great”, he replied “so you don’t want me to dance”, as he beamed smiles and entered inside the building.
His mission to the Villa was yet unknown. Meanwhile, President Buhari is in the custody of the details of the budget.
The details were received by the Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari on behalf of the President.
The Senior Special Assistant, SSA to President on National Assembly matters, Senator Ita Enag alongside his colleague, Hon. Ismaila Kawu who brought the document to the Villa confirmed its receipt to State House Correspondents.
He said: “”The budget details have been transmitted to His Excellency, Mr. President today.
The constitutional process begins thereafter. “We have transmitted it to the Office of the President and the constitutional process of timing starts.”
It will be recalled that President Buhari when he received the highlights of the approved budget from the National Assembly last week insisted on seeing the details before signing the 2016 appropriation bill into law.
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State on Monday said former President Goodluck Jonathan did not call him until after 19 days after the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, in 2014.
Jonathan in Borno
No fewer than 259 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram militants from their hostel in GSS, Chibok, on April 14, 2014 as they prepared for their West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations.
A few of the girls managed to escape from the terrorists, who were said to have dressed like military men and loaded the girls into trucks and headed for an unknown destinations.
Over 219 of the girls are yet to be rescued since the unfortunate incident.
Shettima, however, said Jonathan, who was the President at the time of the mass abduction, only called him on the kidnapping about three weeks after the incident, which generated global outrage at the time.
The Borno State governor said this while receiving former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Government House, Maiduguri, after the ex-President arrived at the state capital on a two-day visit.
Obasanjo was on a visit to Borno on the invitation of the University of Maiduguri as part of the institution’s 40th anniversary celebration.
Trying to draw a comparison between the leadership style of Obasanjo and Jonathan, Shettima believed Obasanjo would have handled the issue of the kidnapping differently were he to be the nation’s President at the time.
He stated, “In our own case, Your Excellency, after the Chibok abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency. I brought this mainly to show the difference, because we will only appreciate scenarios when we make comparisons.”
The governor recalled that the current Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who was a top member of the All Progressives Congress in 2014, hailed Obasanjo’s leadership qualities in a conversation after the mass abduction.
Shettima added, “I was actually lamenting to him on governance at the federal level with relations to the poor handling of the Boko Haram insurgency.
“Chief Ogbeh said, ‘Look, I might have had some political differences with President Olusegun Obasanjo but to say it as it is, if Obasanjo had been President while this insurgency is happening in Borno and other parts of the North-East, you would have witnessed what responsive leadership entails’.”
Shettima noted that Obasanjo’s visit on Monday marked the ex-President’s first visit to the Borno State Government House since 1976.
The governor described himself as “lucky and privileged” to receive the former President as the governor of the state.
Obasanjo, in his reaction, said the Boko Haram insurgency would become a thing of the past judging from the military’s string of successes against the extremist group in recent times.
The former President, who was in Maiduguri in 2011 to initiate a possible dialogue between the Jonathan administration and the insurgents, commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s strategies to fighting the terrorists, noting that peace was gradually returning to the troubled areas.
He said, “A lot of water has passed under the bridge in this part of the country. I must not forget to commiserate with all our people in this state and indeed the entire North-East, which have been victims of insurgency in the way we have never witnessed in this country before.
“I travel a lot in Africa and outside Africa, and wherever I have gone in recent times, what people want to know is what and how Nigeria is coping with the situation of insurgency.
“Today, I think we are not out of the woods yet but it would appear that we can see the light beyond the tunnel.
“There is no doubt that with the combined efforts at the local level, at the state level and at the federal level, and even at the community level, our security forces are on the ascendancy over the forces of destruction, the menace and danger of insurgency that we have experienced for almost six years now.”
According to Obasanjo, Buhari has shown that he is passionate about ending insecurity in the country, calling for support for his government.
He added, “Talking to the President (Buhari) about the issue of insurgency in particular and insecurity in general, I know that he is very, very concerned, and not only very concerned, he has got it right.
“He (Buhari) has ensured that where they (Boko Haram) have occupied is cleared of any mines. Where you have mines, lives are not only insecure, people feel intimidated for you never know when you may step on them.”
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday described a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, as a hypocrite for describing him (Obasanjo) as the leader of the opposition PDP in the South West.
Olusegun Obasanjo
Mr. Obasanjo said he left partisan politics for good.
Mr. Obasanjo was reacting to Mr. Okupe’s comments that he (Obasanjo) remained the “undisputed and authentic” leader of the PDP in the Southwest region of Nigeria.
Mr. Okupe, a former aide to Mr. Obasanjo, who made the disclosure on his Facebook account last Friday, also blasted Buruji Kashamu, a senator, who lays claim to being the leader of the PDP in the South West.
The former presidential aide said it was wrong to describe Mr. Kashamu leader of the party merely because he runs a local non-governmental organisation in Ogun State.
“Senator Buruji Kashamu is not the leader of the PDP in the South West. He is not even the leader of the party in Ogun State. He leads an NGO called Omo Ilu which engages in empowerment programmes in the state, mainly in the Ogun East Senatorial district.
“Baba Obasanjo still remains the undisputed and authentic leader of the PDP in the South-West. The fact that he tore his membership card is not tantamount to resignation from the party. An action he has not undertaken to date.
“Tearing of the membership card though a very negative action is undoubtedly a knee-jerk reaction to certain unacceptable or intolerable happenings within the party which can and will be redressed,” Mr. Okupe said.
However, Mr. Obasanjo, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES exclusively on Tuesday over the telephone said Mr. Okupe “does not know what he was saying”.
The former president said he did not apply to join the PDP in 1998, rather, what was given to him was a registration card and his decision to tear the card meant he was no longer a member of the party.
He also said there was no way he could be referred to as a leader of the party in the South West even if he was still a member.
“I was a national leader of the party for eight years, so, how would I now reduce myself to becoming its leader in the South West,” he said.
Mr. Obasanjo also said Mr. Okupe should be ignored because he was one of those who campaigned for his his expulsion from the party.
ADDIS ABABA—Some of Africa’s leaders are responsible for the instability on the continent because they failed to manage diversity in their societies, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said.
Similarly, he noted that outside interference in Africa had been responsible for conflicts, citing the NATO air strikes in Libya in 2011 that led to the removal from power of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
“The repercussions are now being felt in Mali, Nigeria and the Sahel,” Obasanjo told a press conference on the upcoming Tana High-Level forum on Security in Africa, in Ethiopia. Asked whether African leaders were to blame for the conflicts on the continent, he said “yes and no.”
He said leaders were failing their people because they had not been able to prevent marginalisation in their societies, prevent injustice, reduce unemployment, reduce poverty, adding that they had not embraced democracy and good governance. The theme of this year’s Forum is Africa in the Global Security Agenda. /
As the former President Olusegun Obasanjo celebrated his 79th birthday on Saturday, he took a retrospective look at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and concluded that the anti-graft agency had become a toothless bulldog after the exit of the pioneer chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Olusegun Obasanjo
The event held at the International Conference Centre, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta.
He said the ex-EFCC boss handled the job so well, and people coined the saying that the the fear of Ribadu was the beginning of wisdom. But the former president bemoaned the fate of the anti-graft agency, describing it as a toothless bulldog.
He said, as he looked at the direction of Ribadu, who was present at the event:
“As all know when Nuhu Ribadu was handling the EFCC, he handled it in such a way that people coined the saying that the fear of Ribadu is the beginning of wisdom.
“And the the thing you will ask is, how did we go down? How did we lose that, how did we, Nuhu Ribadu is still here, he is still alive, the institution that we started together is still there, what made the institution to become a toothless bull dog?”
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday congratulated former President Olusegun Obasanjo as he turns 79 years old on Saturday.
Olusegun Obasanjo
Buhari’s congratulatory message to Obasanjo was contained in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
The President affirmed that Obasanjo, who is approaching the octogenarian cycle, has contributed immensely to the institutionalisation of democracy in Nigeria and Africa through his personal sacrifice, extensive local and international networks, and God-given wisdom.
Buhari expressed the belief that Obasanjo’s place in global history is assured for successfully handing over power to a civilian government in 1979 after serving as a military Head of State, and returning to power in 1999 through elections to stabilise the polity, during which he most remarkably negotiated a debt relief for Nigeria.
The statement read in part, “The President warmly commends Chief Obasanjo’s vision and commitment to the growth of Nigeria and Africa, which translated into a historical growth rate of six percent for the Nigerian economy after a long period of slow growth, and also created a rippling effect that buoyed other African economies.
“As he turns 79, the President avers that the former President’s regular shuttles across Nigeria and Africa to counsel on economic, social and political issues, and his willingness to head election monitoring teams that have heralded smooth transitions in many countries are legacies which generations will remain grateful.
“President Buhari prays that the Almighty God will grant the Balogun of the Owu lineage, who is also the Ekerin Balogun of the Egba clan, long life and strength to continue his service to humanity.”
A court in Abuja has ordered former Presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to account for recovered loots since the return to civil rule in 1999, to account on the spending of recovered loot.
The judge faulted the non-disclosure of the details of how recovered loot from corrupt public officials was spent by successive civilian governments since 1999.
Olusegun Obasanjo
The judge said those administrations from that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to that of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and that of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, breached the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability for their failure to make public, details of how the recovered loot was spent.
The judge made the pronouncement in his judgment in a Freedom of Information suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project against the Federal Government.
The group had sought, among others, a declaration that “the failure and/or refusal of the respondents to individually and/or collectively disclose detailed information about the spending of recovered stolen public funds since the return of civil rule in 1999” was unlawful.
The applicant had urged the court to hold that the failure was a breach of Articles 9, 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, which upholds the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability.
SERAP had sought an order of mandamus compelling the respondents to furnish it with a detailed information of the total loot recovered, the amount spent and what projects the recovered loot was used to execute.
Justice Idris, while granting the plaintiff’s prayer, ordered President Muhammadu Buhari to ‘ensure that his government, and the governments of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and former President Goodluck Jonathan account fully for all recovered loot.’
The judge rejected the preliminary objection by the Federal Government challenging SERAP’s locus standi to file the suit.
SERAP had contended that the FOI Act is a special specie of legislation to liberalise and expand access to information for all Nigerians.
It argued that the Act did not impose any requirement of locus standi on it, adding that the only relevant limitation period in the case is that which requires filing of suit within 30 days if information,
The judge upheld the argument and gave judgment in its favour.
Reacting to the judgment, SERAP’s Deputy Executive Director, Olukayode Majekodunmi, said, “This judgment confirms the persistent failure of successive governments starting from the Obasanjo government, to respect Nigerians’ right to a corruption-free society and to uphold constitutional and international commitments on transparency and accountability.
“The judgment is an important step towards reversing a culture of secrecy and corruption that has meant that high-ranking government officials continue to look after themselves at the expense of the well-being of majority of Nigerians, and development of the country.”
Lt-General Jeremiah Useni is among other things a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, former military governor of the old Bendel State and is presently, senator representing Plateau South in the National Assembly. In this interview with MARIE-THERESE NANLONG, he gives his views on sundry national and state issues.
Going by what has been happening in Nigeria since the return of democracy in the country; do you think the military was right in interfering in governance in the past?
Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, Buhari
The military was very justified because looking at what was happening at that time, there were lots of crises all over the place, the situation in East, West and so on. Don’t forget that the first state of emergency ever declared in Nigeria was during democratic rule. I’m sure you know that there were lots of indiscipline in the democratic rule and civilians were going round saying to the military, do you want us to die before you do something? So the military did not just wake up and said give us power,
it was the civilian who instigated the military to come into governance and to see what was happening. It is just the way the coup took place was one sided, it was mostly Igbos, what did they do, they killed the leaders in the West, killed Sardauna in the North. If not, if it was a general thing and in agreement with the military, that type of selected killings wouldn’t have taken place.
Do you think President Buhari is upholding the rule of law in the way he is handling national issues including the trial of Nnamdi Kanu?
He is following the rule of law and I don’t know where he has gone wrong, unless you will tell me where he is going wrong. We just fought a war on Biafra and we now have peace, so for some people to come again and start reviving Biafra they are not asking for peace and you want a responsible government to just keep quiet? Biafra issue had been locked up, it should remain locked up. May be that time the person in question was very young , he didn’t know how people suffered; we fought for three years so you can imagine the number of people dead and you want to revive that?
How do you foresee governance in the north ahead of 2019?
Well, the problem of the North now is this Boko Haram which affects about three states, Borno, Yobe and Adamawa but the government is really taking care of that. What the North needs now is to really organise itself and think of one thing, getting a credible leader like we had in Sardauna.
Sardauna was a real leader in the North but when Sardauna died, young politicians brought many things into politics like tribalism, the Boko Haram hide under religion that they don’t believe and everything changed but now that we are taking care of the Boko Haram and people are returning to their villages and also with this rehabilitation scheme headed by General Danjuma, maybe by the end of this year, things will be much better and people must have learnt their lessons. I know we have problems not only in the North but in other places like in the Niger Delta area and what the Biafra people are trying to create in the East, but the whole country needs to readjust itself and move ahead but I’m sure we will still remain relevant.
Recently, former President Obasanjo indicted the National Assembly, accusing it of corruption, as a senator what is your take on that?
He has been replied and I agree with the response. He brought corruption to the National Assembly with the way he was giving out money to senators especially when he wanted to go for third term. He spent a lot of money he can’t account for. What Buhari is doing now, is like what Awolowo said when he was Minister of Finance under General Gowon and the government then put up a probe and wanted to go backward to past government.
But Awolowo said no; new logs go on top of old ones, to get to the old ones; you must remove the new ones first. That is what Buhari is doing now, trying to clear the new logs so that he can get access to the old ones; when he clears the new ones and gets access to the old ones, the case of Obasanjo will come up. So he has no excuse at all to say such a thing because if there is any corruption at all in the National Assembly, he was the cause.
The PDP in Plateau State since after the last elections seems to be falling apart. Do you regret joining the party at this time, if not, what are you doing to revive the party ahead of the 2019 elections?
No, no, no; I don’t. I’m not regretting anything at all. You know I don’t like running from party to party but I am only sorry for our boys who were deceived by those who were saying PDP is going to rule for another 60 years and when they were given some money to campaign they just put the money in their pocket thinking that people will just go and vote for them.
It is not like that, some of these people need to transport themselves to where you want them, and you have to feed them so a lot of things went wrong. I can’t say I regret joining PDP but I’m just sorry for some of our people who indulged in such things and put us in this situation but we are trying to sort them out.
What is your personal effort at reviving the party in the state?
The first thing I tried to do was to get my Senatorial district intact and I have done that. I had meetings about seven times but none of the other Senators have had even a single meeting in their senatorial zones. I have done that and have been going round and I am concentrating on my senatorial zone but I have spoken with my colleagues that whether we like it or not we must take responsibility for our senatorial zones then three of us will see how we can move the whole zones forward.
Whether Plateau South, Central or North, there are Senators like me and when we meet, if it comes to doing something for the entire State, we are saying that we made mistakes by losing the governorship, we must learn from our mistakes and work hard now to gain the governorship in 2019. So we are working on that and I’m already spearheading that as far as my senatorial zone is concerned. We have gotten the message and we are working hard towards it.
Do you envisage a mass defection from the PDP to APC? If there was any, you would have known but no more movement anywhere, it is APC that will come back to us.
How do you see the Lalong’s administration in the last eight months?
I am not against Lalong as an individual, he is a friend but all I have been saying to him is look, you won on the platform of the APC that is what the constitution says that you must win an election on a platform of a party. Having won, you are not a governor of APC and we call Buhari President of Nigeria, we don’t call him President of APC. He must take everybody along whether in your party or not but if you think someone is good somewhere who can handle any assignment for you, call the person, that is what the civilized world is doing.
So if you do that, you will gain more for your party but if you think that the winner takes it all which of course will not go down well with the majority then go ahead. He should be grateful to the PDP because if not for the imposition of a candidate by Jang, he wouldn’t be there.
The people voted for him out of annoyance, they are not talking about APC, it was out of annoyance and the same people are still in the PDP anyway. As an individual I have nothing against him but that is my warning. Let him govern properly so that he has a good name, but if he fails, he knows why he failed. PDP failed in the State because we made a wrong choice of candidate and somebody insisted on imposition of a candidate but we are not out.
Okay sir, what is your advice for the people of Plateau at this time?
Well, they should remain calm and peaceful. I am happy that all these killings, killings have been on the reduction though there are still concerns in some parts of Plateau North especially Riyom and Barkin Ladi. It is still not very peaceful yet around Northern Plateau but I am saying that there is no excuse for people to continue to fight and kill. In my area for instance, in the South, places like Wase where Hausa/Fulani and the Tarok people were having issues and in parts of Shendam and Langtang South, things are improving because if you go there, you see the people moving together and it is very peaceful. We have high hopes that the peace will be sustained, people should just live in peace with one another.
The Project Manager of a Chinese civil engineering and construction company, Etim Abak, on Monday told the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory that former President Olusegun Obasanjo awarded the Abuja Rail Project in 2007 without an engineering design or a Memorandum of Understanding.
Olusegun Obasanjo
The Minister of FCT and current governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, allegedly signed the $841.645,898m contract based on an uncalculated estimate.
The committee was also told that the contract, which was for 60.67-kilometre rail project, was inflated by $10m per km and that the length was later reduced to 45km without refund of the cost for the 15.67 km that was dropped off from the project.
The Senate committee, led by Dino Melaye, who were at the site of the project to carry out oversight functions, therefore, demanded the refund of $195,878,296.74 being the amount for the 15.67km that was cut out, from the Chinese firm handling the project.
Abak told senators that the contract was signed by the then FCT minister without design and MoU, and that it was carried out based on conceptual design.
Abak said, “The contract was awarded based on conceptual design and estimates were not properly done. There was no formal design submitted and rail bridges and crossover bridges were not captured in the contract.”
Melaye said his findings revealed that the rail project was inflated by over $10m per km and wondered why such an act was perpetrated by the handlers of the project.
The senator added that the contract sum was $841.645,898m and that the project completion period was 48 months while the scope of work was 60.67km standard gauge, with double railway tracks and associated permanent way within the FCT.
He wondered why the 60.67km project was later reduced to 45. 245km without reduction in its cost.
He said, “Now, you have reduced the length of the standard gauge from 60.67km to 45.245km, meanwhile, there is no concomitant reduction if you juxtapose the length in kilometres and the reduction in terms of the cost.
“If we are to spend $841m for 60.67km and now you have reduced to 45.245km and the only reduction in terms of monetary value is from $841.6m to $823m and with a reduction of just about $17m, that to me is not commensurate to the reduction in terms of length.
“The Federal Government has so far invested N31.5bn and another N7.6bn from the SURE-P fund and if you put these together, we have altogether N39.1bn invested in the rail project, leaving the balance of N113. 233,155.32.
“The N3bn proposed in the 2016 national budget for the FCT was for the rail project. If you look at this, I would want to say that I did a personal research and looked at rail construction of the same specifics, of the same technology across the globe and one cannot but complain that the cost of railway project in Nigeria is on a very high side.”
He wondered why it was costing the Federal Government so much to construct a railway of just 45 km unlike the construction of the same specifics across the globe.
He questioned the rationale behind the government’s loan of $500m from Exim Bank of China for the project, saying that the money which the Federal Government had so far injected into the project was enough to execute the entire project.
He said, “From my own calculation, in fact, from my comparison with other rail projects across the world, the Federal Government investment in this project is enough to execute the project without taking a loan as high as $500m from China.
“From our research and it’s very simple, the world is now a global village. As you are sitting here now, on your phone you can google, even in India and Egypt.
“Fortunately, one of those projects in Zambia was also done by this same company, CCE. We have six countries and the average cost per km, none is above $4m per km. Why is the Nigerian project costing $13.8m approximately $14m?”
ABUJA — THE Senate, yesterday, vowed to probe former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan as well as ministers who served under them to correct alleged violation of the master plan of the nation’s capital city.
Jonathan vs Buhari
Addressing journalists, yesterday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), who did not exempt any former Minister of the FCT or President in the proposed probe, said as a government of change, it was prepared to send any one found guilty to Kuje Prison which he said was not far from the Federal Capital City, FCC.
Melaye, while condemning what he described as the bastardization of Abuja Masterplan, however, expressed worry over why former FCT ministers allocated green areas designed for flood drains, city buffers, recreations, urban farming, reserved land and undevelopable areas to themselves and their friends.
The probe may also be extended to former Presidents because by the law establishing the FCT, the President is the governor-general of FCT who appoints a minister to administer the city on his behalf.
Melaye said: “With this administration of change, it is no longer going to be business as usual. Permit me to remind FCT administration again by stating that this committee will not hesitate to ensure that all administrative anomalies, misappropriation of funds or misapplication of laws as the case may be, occasioned by the past administrations of FCT, are fully addressed. This is what justice demands in these circumstances; to right the wrongs.
“Therefore, the committee is worried and frowns on satanic and misleading advice and recommendation to convert very important and beautiful natural endowments or features which are very scanty like the world acclaimed Maitama Hills, popularly known as Ministers’ Hills, which could serve as a tourist attraction to the residents of FCT.
“I want to state here again that if the bourgeois of this country need a special allocation, a new district can be dedicated to them and not destroy the beauty of the city centre, a national monument like the Maitama Hills.”
Since the inception of the Federal Capital Territory from when it was a ministry to when it became Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, 16 ministers, including the present, Mohammed Bello, had so far been at the helm of affairs of the city.
During the former President Obasanjo regime, the ministers were Ibrahim Bunu, PDP, 1999-2001; Mohammed Abba Gana, PDP, 2001-2003; Mallam Nasir el- Rufai, PDP then, now APC, 2003-2007; Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, PDP, 2007- 2008; Senator Muhammadu Adamu Aliero, PDP, then, now APC, 2008-2010 and Senator Bala Mohammed, PDP, 2010-2015. Before former President Obasanjo’s government, other ministers were Mobolaji Aise- Adeogun, 1976- 1979; John Jatau Kadiya, 1979-1982; Iro Dan Musa, 1982-1983; Senator Haliru Dantoro, 1983-1984; General Mamman Vatsa, 1984- 1985; Hamza Abdullahi, 1986-1989; Gado Nasko, 1989-1993; General Jeremiah Useni, now a serving Senator, 1993-1998 and General Mamman Kontagora, 1998- 1999.
LAGOS — Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, charged the Federal Government to create enabling environment to attract private investment which is needed to grow the economy.
Olusegun Obasanjo
Also, the Senate Committee chairman on Trade and Investment, Senator Sam Egwu, charged industries within the county to operate within the laws of the land as the National Assembly was ready to make laws that would attract investment in Nigeria.
Speaking at the official opening of British American Tobacco Company Nigeria, BATN, head office in Lagos, Obasanjo said: “Government must partner with private sector to attract both local and foreign investments.
”In 1999, Nigeria emerged as a democratic nation and needs sustenance and support from private sector from within and outside its economy. A few investors were skeptical about the political and economic climate of Nigeria. The government then embarked on reforms programme and intensify calls for investment in Nigeria, bringing various investors and providing them with necessary information and government incentives and opportunity. So, BATN was among the first set of companies to take us serious and believe in the country.
“In the year 2001, BATN was the first tobacco company to sign a Memoradum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Grovernment which led to an investment of $150 million and the modernisation of its Zaria factory.”
He noted that the commissioning of the company’s office complex in Lagos signified continuity of business in Nigeria and it was also in the midst of the economic challenges that the company had showcased its entrepreneur mindset and had continued to play a key role in the social economy of the county, in the area of agricultural development and afrostation, corporate social responsibility, economic development partnership among others.
He pointed out that it was at such a time like this we are reminded of the importance of the role of private sector as the engine for economy growth.
In his remark, Senator Sam Egwu said: “The state of our economy today demands there is need for economic diversification to mineral resources to deliver economic growth.
“As a result, massive industrial development and expansion of existing industries must be rigorously pursuit and BATN seems to be leading in this.
“However, industries in Nigeria must operate within the laws of the country and in line with international best practices, considering the peculiarity of its products.
“As legislators, the Senate, and by extension, the National Assembly Committees on Industry, are committed to ensuring the creation of conducive environment that will enable the private sector to enhance massive industrial development in the country.”
Abeokuta— President Muhammadu Buhari went down memory lane in Abeokuta, yesterday, recalling the role of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his successful political career.
Speaking in the Ogun State capital, Buhari, who was the special guest at the 40th anniversary of the state, said Obasanjo appointed him Minister of Petroleum and tolerated him for three and half years.
He said: “I express my thanks to General Obasanjo, who, as Head of State, made me Minister of Petroleum and tolerated me for three-and-half-years.
He tolerated me because God knows and he knows that I am not used to working as hard as he used to, but he allowed me to last that long and allowed me to work.
“If you go into records, that government made so much investment and infrastructural development in the petroleum industry.
“Two refineries were built, Warri and Kaduna. More than 20 depots were built; more than 3,500 pipelines were laid; and we were exporting refined products of 100,000 barrels per day. But what do we have today?”
Lauds Amosun
Buhari said Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State had people-oriented programmes and prayed that the people of the state would continue “being lucky to have a governor that would look after them.”
The President said the transformation in the state capital was so obvious that although he was posted to Abeokuta when he was newly-commissioned in the army, he would not be able to trace his way around the town again.
He said: “I have previously, on commissioning of some projects, expressed my gratitude to the governor of Ogun State for inviting me and identifying me with his success.
“On my commissioning in January 1963, my first posting was to Abeokuta, where 2nd Infantry Battalion, Nigerian Army used to be. We were living in wooden flats, which were built in the last war and I was here for some time before I was posted to Lagos.
“But today if you drive me around Abeokuta and you ask me where the barracks is, I assure you that I will get missing. I won’t be able to remember Lisabi Club where we used to sit, those of us who used to drink Fanta and listen to music.
“Your programmes are certainly people-oriented. We have commissioned roads, schools and legal complex headquarters, where I met justices and I made an observation to the governor that women were more than men. I am just wondering that gentlemen, the ladies are taking over in very important profession.”
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday accused some state governors in the country of living like emperors while demanding sacrifice from the citizens for Nigeria to survive the prevailing hard times.
Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, Buhari
Obasanjo spoke at the inaugural conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Ibadan, where he was the chairman on the occasion.
The two-day conference has as theme, ‘‘Getting government to work for development and democracy in Nigeria: Agenda for change’’.
The Chairman, Board of Governors of the ISGPP, who is a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and a professor of international history and politics, John Evans, also delivered addresses among other speakers.
Obasanjo said when he became President in 1999, he recognised corruption as a major impediment to the development of the Nigerian state.
This, he added, informed his decision to set up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission to fight the bane.
He, however, said after he left, corruption returned to Nigeria with a vengeance, draining billions of dollars from the nation’s economy that could hardly afford to lose even a million dollars.
He said while Nigerian leaders demanded sacrifice from the citizens, they lived in opulence.
Obasanjo added, “Leaders, who call for sacrifice from the citizenry, cannot be living in obscene opulence. We must address these foundational issues to make the economy work, to strengthen our institutions, build public confidence in government and deal with our peace and security challenges.
“We must address the issue of employment for our teeming population particularly for our youths. Leadership must mentor the young and provide them with hope about their future as part of a process of inter-generational conversation.
“Nigeria is a country where some governors have become sole administrators, acting like emperors. These governors have rendered public institutions irrelevant and useless.
“Is there development work going on in the 774 constitutionally-recognised local government councils, which have been merely appropriated as private estates of some governors?
“Some governors have hijacked the resources of the local governments and this has crippled the development of the local government councils in the country. The National Assembly must also open its budgets to public scrutiny.”
Obasanjo accused the local government chairmen of embezzling the remaining council funds after the governors would have diverted a sizable portion of the funds.
He stated, “Of course, when governors take their money, the chairmen of the councils take the balance of the money, put it on the table and share it out among council members. In some local governments, have the governors not hijacked most of the resources in them and expended them to serve their whims and caprices instead of using the resources to galvanize growth and development?
“Have we embraced the principles and values of the presidential system of government such as to enable us to realise our vision of a great country?
“When are we going to be able to practise federalism in a way that promotes healthy competition among the states for the benefit of the citizens? When are we going to subordinate partisanship to collective goals and deploy the full potential of our diversity in advancing public causes that serve the aspirations of the teeming masses of our people crying under the cringe of poverty, disease, unemployment and neglect? When shall we all unite around the Nigeria dreaming our quest to be the giant, which God has graciously endowed us to be?
“Why is it that every model that has worked elsewhere never seems to work sustainably in Nigeria? I can go on and on.”
The former President said the drastic fall in the price of oil in the international market had exposed the weakness of governance in Nigeria, while also noting that Nigeria was racing towards becoming a nation of debt with its attendant burden on the citizens.
Obasanjo stated, “The Minister of Finance recently announced that the 2016 budget deficit might be increased from the current N2.2tn in the draft document before the National Assembly, to N3tn due to the decline in the price of crude oil.
“If the current fiscal challenge is not creatively addressed, Nigeria may be on its way to another episode of debt overhang which may not be good for the country.
“It will be recalled that a few years ago, we rescued Nigeria from its creditors with the deal in which the Paris Club of sovereign creditors wrote off $18bn of debt, Africa’s largest debt cancellation. Nigeria then used windfall earnings from oil export to pay off another $12bn in debts and arrears.”
On the establishment of ISGPP in Ibadan, Obasanjo said there was clearly a need for schools of its kind that would use research and teaching to implement policies and making the government work well in Africa.
“I hope it will generate ideas that will lead us from thinking to doing. It must not only generate ideas, it must foster a willingness to use those ideas within government and non-government sectors,” he added.
The senate president, Bukola Saraki, has reacted to a letter from former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to Mr. Saraki and the speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in which Mr. Obasanjo accused the National Assembly of corruption, greed, impunity and lawlessness.
Bukola Saraki
Obasanjo said he was distressed by the massive corruption and lawlessness at the National Assembly and other arms and tiers of government.
In Mr. Saraki’s statement, obtained from his media office on Thursday, the senate president assured that the Senate under his leadership was committed to good governance, transparency, accountability, due process and responsiveness to the economic reality of our nation.
“It is for this reason that the legislative chamber has introduced bold and progressive reforms in the management of the finances of the National Assembly,” he said.
He also said he was canvassing making the National Assembly budget open to the public.
The full statement:
Yesterday, I acknowledged that I received a letter from former President Olusegun Obasanjo in which he called the attention of the National Assembly to some issues.
I will want to assure President Obasanjo that the leadership and membership of the 8th Senate are committed to good governance, transparency, accountability, due process and responsiveness to the economic reality of our nation. It is for this reason that the legislative chamber has introduced bold and progressive reforms in the management of the finances of the National Assembly.
This is of even greater importance during a tough fiscal period for our country. Like I said during my closing address at the plenary after our debate on the 2016 Budget, the Senate must lead by example in terms of our own funding, budgets and accountability – showing, beyond doubt, value for money. I have canvassed that we must lay bare the budget of the Senate, nay the National Assembly and its affiliated institutions.
I equally canvassed the need to strengthen the capacity of the legislative institution to carry our effective oversight of the executive arm so that we can ensure the budget leads to the realization of the policy objectives of the Buhari Administration. Again, let me reiterate my position in the speech I made this morning on the need for us to work towards blocking all areas of revenue leakages while also strengthening the anti-corruption agencies so that the little resources that are now available will serve the interest of the overwhelming majority.
As a former president and a father of the nation that we all hold in high esteem, I intend to reply the letter and outline the actions the Senate is taking to address his concerns.
In conclusion, I appreciate President Obasanjo for his consistent role in always reminding those of us in government about our responsibilities to the general public and offering timely advice where necessary.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has written the National Assembly accusing the lawmakers of corruption, impunity, greed and of repeatedly breaking the nation’s laws.
Olusegun Obasanjo
In a letter dated January 13 and addressed to the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the former president specifically accused the lawmakers of fixing and earning salaries and allowances far above what the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission approved for them.
He also alleged that most of the 109 senators and 369 members of the House of Representatives were receiving constituency allowances without maintaining constituency offices as the laws required of them.
Mr. Obasanjo was president between 1999 and 2007.
In the letter, exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the former president said on a few occasion, both in and out of office as president, he had agonised over the massive corruption and lawlessness at the National Assembly and other arms and tiers of government.
He said he had reflected and expressed, outspokenly at times, his views on the practice in the National Assembly “which detracts from “distinguishness” and “honourability” because it is shrouded in opaqueness and absolute lack of transparency and could not be regarded as normal, good and decent practice in a democracy that is supposed to be exemplary.”
While referring to the issue of budgets and finances of the federal legislature, Mr. Obasanjo said the present economic situation that the country has found itself in is the climax of the steady erosion of good financial and economic management which grew from bad to worse in the last six years or so.
According to him, the executive and the legislative arms of government must accept and share responsibility in this regard and that if there will be a redress of the situation as early as possible, the two arms must also bear the responsibility proportionally.
“The two arms ran the affairs of the country unmindful of the rainy day,” he said. “The rainy day is now here. It would not work that the two arms should stand side by side with one arm pulling and without the support of the other one for good and efficient management of the economy.”
The former president argued that the purpose of election into the Legislative Assembly particularly at the national level was to give service to the nation and not for the personal service and interest of members at the expense of the nation which seemed to have been the mentality, psychology, mindset and practice within the National Assembly since the beginning of this present democratic dispensation.
He asked pointedly, “Where is patriotism? Where is commitment? Where is service?”
He stated further, “The beginning of good governance which is the responsibility of all arms and all the tiers of government is openness and transparency.
“It does not matter what else we try to do, as long as one arm of government shrouds its financial administration and management in opaqueness and practices rife with corruption, only very little, if anything at all, can be achieved in putting Nigeria on the path of sustainable and enduring democratic system, development and progress. Governance without transparency will be a mockery of democracy.”
Going more specific, Mr. Obasanjo noted that a situation where our national budget was predicated on $38 per barrel of oil with estimated two million barrels per day and before the budget was presented, the price of oil had gone down to $34 per barrel and now hovering around $30 and the country has no assurance of producing two million barrels and if it could, it would have no assurance of finding market for it, definitely calls for caution.
He added that if production and price projected in the budget stand, the country would have to borrow almost one third of the N6 trillion budget.
He stressed, “Now beginning with the reality of the budget, there is need for sober reflection and sacrifice with innovation at the level of executive and legislative arms of government. The soberness, the sacrifice and seriousness must be patient and apparent.
“It must not be seen and said that those who, as leaders, call for sacrifice from the citizenry are living in obscene opulence. It will not only be insensitive but callously so. It would seem that it is becoming a culture that election into the legislative arm of government at the national level in particular is a licence for financial misconduct and that should not be.
“The National Assembly now has a unique opportunity of presenting a new image of itself. It will help to strengthen, deepen, widen and sustain our democracy.”
Mr. Obasanjo said going by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, RMAFC is charged with the responsibility of fixing emoluments of the three arms of government: executive, legislature and judiciary.
He said the Commission did its job but that “by different disingenuous ways and devices, the legislature had overturned the recommendation of the Commission and hiked up for themselves that which they are unwilling to spell out in detail, though they would want to defend it by force of arm if necessary. What is that?”
The former president added, “Mr. President of the Senate and Hon. Speaker of the House, you know that your emolument which the Commission had recommended for you takes care of all your legitimate requirements: basic salary, car, housing, staff, constituency allowance.
“Although the constituency allowance is paid to all members of the National Assembly, many of them have no constituency offices which the allowance is partly meant to cater for. And yet other allowances and payments have been added by the National Assembly for the National Assembly members’ emoluments. Surely, strictly speaking, it is unconstitutional.
“There is no valid argument for this except to see it for what it is – law-breaking and impunity by lawmakers. The lawmakers can return to the path of honour, distinguishness, sensitivity and responsibility.
“The National Assembly should have the courage to publish its recurrent budgets for the years 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. That is what transparency demands.
“With the number of legislators not changing, comparison can be made. Comparisons in emoluments can also be made with countries like Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and even Malaysia and Indonesia who are richer and more developed than we are.”
Mr. Obasanjo recounted that while in office as president, he was threatened with impeachment by the members of the National Assembly for not releasing some money they had appropriated for themselves which were odious and for which there were no incomes to support.
On the plan by the legislature to buy new cars for its committees, the former president said it is unnecessary.
According to him, “The recent issue of cars for legislators would fall into the same category. Whatever name it is disguised as, it is unnecessary and insensitive.
“A pool of a few cars for each Chamber will suffice for any Committee Chairman or members for any specific duty. The waste that has gone into cars, furniture, housing renovation in the past was mind-boggling and these were veritable sources of waste and corruption. That was why they were abolished. Bringing them back is inimical to the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.”
Mr. Obasanjo expressed hope that the National Assembly would reconsider its plan and do what is right not only in making its own budget transparent but in all matters of financial administration and management including audit of its accounts by external outside auditor from 1999 to date.
“This, if it is done, will bring a new dawn to democracy in Nigeria and a new and better image for the National Assembly and it will surely avoid the Presidency and the National Assembly going into face-off all the time on budgets and financial matters,” he said.
Below is Mr. Obasanjo’s letter:
January 13, 2016
Distinguished Senator Bukola Saraki,
President of the Senate,
Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Senate Chambers,
Abuja. Honourable Yakubu Dogara,
Speaker, House of Representatives,
National Assembly Complex,
Abuja.
It is appropriate to begin this letter, which I am sending to all members of the Senate and the House of Representatives through both of you at this auspicious and critical time, with wishes of Happy New Year to you all.
On a few occasions in the past, both in and out of office as the President of Nigeria, I have agonised on certain issues within the arms of government at the national level and among the tiers of government as well. Not least, I have reflected and expressed, outspokenly at times, my views on the practice in the National Assembly which detracts from distinguishness and honourability because it is shrouded in opaqueness and absolute lack of transparency and could not be regarded as normal, good and decent practice in a democracy that is supposed to be exemplary. I am, of course, referring to the issue of budgets and finances of the National Assembly.
The present economic situation that the country has found itself in is the climax of the steady erosion of good financial and economic management which grew from bad to worse in the last six years or so. The executive and the legislative arms of government must accept and share responsibility in this regard. And if there will be a redress of the situation as early as possible, the two arms must also bear the responsibility proportionally. The two arms ran the affairs of the country unmindful of the rainy day. The rainy day is now here. It would not work that the two arms should stand side by side with one arm pulling and without the support of the other one for good and efficient management of the economy.
The purpose of election into the Legislative Assembly particularly at the national level is to give service to the nation and not for the personal service and interest of members at the expense of the nation which seemed to have been the mentality, psychology, mindset and practice within the National Assembly since the beginning of this present democratic dispensation. Where is patriotism? Where is commitment? Where is service?
The beginning of good governance which is the responsibility of all arms and all the tiers of government is openness and transparency. It does not matter what else we try to do, as long as one arm of government shrouds its financial administration and management in opaqueness and practices rife with corruption, only very little, if anything at all, can be achieved in putting Nigeria on the path of sustainable and enduring democratic system, development and progress. Governance without transparency will be a mockery of democracy.
Let us be more direct and specific so that action can be taken where it is urgently necessary. A situation where our national budget was predicated on $38 per barrel of oil with estimated 2 million barrels per day and before the budget was presented, the price of oil had gone down to $34 per barrel and now hovering around $30 and we have no assurance of producing 2 million barrels and if we can, we have no assurance of finding market for it, definitely calls for caution. If production and price projected in the budget stand, we would have to borrow almost one third of the 6 trillion naira budget. Now beginning with the reality of the budget, there is need for sober reflection and sacrifice with innovation at the level of executive and legislative arms of government. The soberness, the sacrifice and seriousness must be patient and apparent.
It must not be seen and said that those who, as leaders, call for sacrifice from the citizenry are living in obscene opulence. It will not only be insensitive but callously so. It would seem that it is becoming a culture that election into the legislative arm of government at the national level in particular is a licence for financial misconduct and that should not be. The National Assembly now has a unique opportunity of presenting a new image of itself. It will help to strengthen, deepen, widen and sustain our democracy.
By our Constitution, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission is charged with the responsibility of fixing emoluments of the three arms of government: executive, legislature and judiciary. The Commission did its job but by different disingenuous ways and devices, the legislature had overturned the recommendation of the Commission and hiked up for themselves that which they are unwilling to spell out in detail, though they would want to defend it by force of arm if necessary. What is that?
Mr. President of the Senate and Hon. Speaker of the House, you know that your emolument which the Commission had recommended for you takes care of all your legitimate requirements: basic salary, car, housing, staff, constituency allowance. Although the constituency allowance is paid to all members of the National Assembly, many of them have no constituency offices which the allowance is partly meant to cater for. And yet other allowances and payments have been added by the National Assembly for the National Assembly members’ emoluments. Surely, strictly speaking, it is unconstitutional. There is no valid argument for this except to see it for what it is – law-breaking and impunity by lawmakers. The lawmakers can return to the path of honour, distinguishness, sensitivity and responsibility. The National Assembly should have the courage to publish its recurrent budgets for the years 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. That is what transparency demands. With the number of legislators not changing, comparison can be made. Comparisons in emoluments can also be made with countries like Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and even Malaysia and Indonesia who are richer and more developed than we are.
The budget is a proposal and only an estimate of income and expenditure. Where income is inadequate, expenditure will not be made. While in government, I was threatened with impeachment by the members of the National Assembly for not releasing some money they had appropriated for themselves which were odious and for which there were no incomes to support. The recent issue of cars for legislators would fall into the same category. Whatever name it is disguised as, it is unnecessary and insensitive. A pool of a few cars for each Chamber will suffice for any Committee Chairman or members for any specific duty. The waste that has gone into cars, furniture, housing renovation in the past was mind-boggling and these were veritable sources of waste and corruption. That was why they were abolished. Bringing them back is inimical to the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.
The way of proposing budget should be for the executive to discuss every detail of the budget, in preparation, with different Committees and sub-Committees of the National Assembly and the National Assembly to discuss its budget with the Ministry of Finance. Then, the budget should be brought together as consolidated budget and formally presented to the National Assembly, to be deliberated and debated upon and passed into law. It would then be implemented as revenues are available. Where budget proposals are extremely ambitious like the current budget and revenue sources are so uncertain, more borrowing may have to be embarked upon, almost up to 50% of the budget or the budget may be grossly unimplementable and unimplemented. Neither is a choice as both are bad. Management of the economy is one of the key responsibilities of the President as prescribed in the Constitution. He cannot do so if he does not have his hands on the budget. Management of the economy is shared responsibility where the Presidency has the lion share of the responsibility. But if the National Assembly becomes a cog in the wheel, the executive efforts will not yield much reward or progress. The two have to work synchronisingly together to provide the impetus and the conducive environment for the private sector to play its active vanguard role. Management of the budget is the first step to manage the economy. It will be interesting if the National Assembly will be honourable enough and begin the process of transparency, responsibility and realism by publishing its recurrent budgets for 2016 as it should normally be done.
Hopefully, the National Assembly will take a step back and do what is right not only in making its own budget transparent but in all matters of financial administration and management including audit of its accounts by external outside auditor from 1999 to date. This, if it is done, will bring a new dawn to democracy in Nigeria and a new and better image for the National Assembly and it will surely avoid the Presidency and the National Assembly going into face-off all the time on budgets and financial matters.
While I thank you for your patience and understanding, please accept, Dear Senate President and Honourable Speaker of the House, the assurances of my highest consideration.
The renewed agitation for Biafra yesterday came under attack from former President Olusegun Obasanjo who dismissed it as a product of error,ignorance and frustration.
Olusegun Obasanjo
Obasanjo who said he ‘very cautious’ in getting involved in any debate or conversation with “the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), its many hydra-headed iterations and its resurgent Biafra agitation” said : “at best, the agitation was at regional level and that no inadvertent helping hand should be lent to it, to make it national.”
He spoke at a Development Discourse organised by Nextier Limited on the Biafra issue Abuja.
Reading from his prepared speech and speaking extempore at times,the former President said it is also wrong to say that the South East is marginalised in the scheme of things.
He hailed South-East leaders who,at a stakeholders’ meeting on December 17, 2015 dismissed the Biafra agenda and called for improvement in their region’s socio-economic situation.
He advised them to ensure sanity among their youth.
“No right-thinking person who has experienced the horror of war will ever agitate for more war… If the elders abdicate their responsibility to the immaturity, inadequate experience, unrealistic idealism and the frustration of the young, it will no doubt lead to disaster.
“Biafra as a secession issue is dead and nobody should follow that way. It can again, only lead to disaster.
“The devil finds work for idle hands and fills empty minds; there is even some suspicion that the agitators embarked on the act in order to extort money from outsiders and to also extract financial support from the government.
“The commercialization and exploitation of Biafra agitation is obscene to the point of criminal fraudulence; or, how do you explain the issuance of Biafran passport that takes no one anywhere and for which unwary people are being charged exorbitant prices.
According to Obasanjo, Biafra agitation is “a hopeless and fruitless exercise on which nobody in seriousness should embark”.
“Proffering solutions, the ex-President stated that the resurgent Biafra agitation should be treated as “a cry for attention, amelioration and improvement of socio-economic conditions” of South East youth and their counterparts in other parts.
“Above all, good governance at all levels is the key solution. The welfare and well-being of the citizenry with equity, justice and fairness must be the main pre-occupation of government at all levels”, he added.
On alleged marginalisation of the Igbos,he said: “When I became an elected President, an Igbo man was made the minister of finance;an Igbo man was made the governor of Central Bank;an Igbo man was made the minister of transport.
“One day some people came to me and said that the civil war is not over yet and I asked why. They said since the end of the civil war no Igbo man has been the minister of Defence and explained to them that what matters is the service chiefs and we have had Igbos in that position. And I appointed Thompson Aguiyi- Ironsi (as Minister of State for Defence).”
A former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has advised the nation’s leaders against selfishness in the interest of the country’s growth and progress.
Olusegun Obasanjo
He said they should let the interest of the governed be paramount to them.
He gave this advice on Friday at his Presidential Hilltop residence, Abeokuta, when the leadership and members of the Scout Association of Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit and decorated him as Messenger of Peace Ambassador for Africa.
The former President who recalled when he was decorated as Queen’s Scout years ago, emphasised that for any leader to succeed, such a leader must always be prepared to face challenges, especially the unexpected ones.
He said, “We need a scout spirit in our country not just for individual benefit alone but for services to the nation. Work collectively and provide the leadership that will make us get progress.”
Obasanjo called on Nigerians to work collectively with their leaders, arguing that this would ensure meaningful progress in all spheres.
Obasanjo said, “I will not only live up to expectations but also inspire others. Be prepared in all ramifications, if you are adequately prepared mentally, spiritually, educationally, religiously and culturally, there will be no situation in life you cannot be able to face.
“As you move ahead in life, you will meet unexpected things, so prepare for all eventualities.”
He assured the group that he would help to inform President Muhammadu Buhari to fix the date for his own decoration as the Grand Patron of the association, which would be automatic in line with the association’s constitution.
The Chief Commissioner, Scout Association of Nigeria, Olusoga Sofola-Atibioke, said the investiture of Obasanjo as its ambassador was to help build a peaceful and formidable Africa with special focus on Nigeria.
Sofola-Atibioke, who was accompanied by other national officers of the association, said a foundation had been formed to raise funds to finance various programmes set aside for youth development in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes that “will enable them to be responsible leaders of the future.”
Abuja – President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he enlisted the assistance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to mediate in the political crisis in Guinea Bissau because of his wide political and military experience.
Olusegun Obasanjo
A statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, quoted President Buhari as saying that he took the decision because Obasanjo was also strongly committed to the unity of Nigeria and Africa.
The statement said that Buhari revealed this at an audience with the President of Guinea Bissau, Mr Jose Mario Bavz at the sidelines of the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“I sent President Olusegun Obasanjo because he is the only person living or dead that has ruled Nigeria for 11 years.
“I served under him as a military Head of State. He has a strong commitment to Nigeria and Africa.
“That was why I looked for him and asked him to collaborate with President Macky Sall of Senegal to stabilise the situation of Guinea Bissau,’’ he said.
While appreciating Bavz’s expression of thanks for Nigeria’s support during the crisis in his country, President Buhari told his guest that the “least Nigeria could do is what we did to stabilise your country’’.
“You can count on our support at all times,’’ President Buhari assured the people and government of Guinea Bissau.
President Bavz had said he came to thank President Buhari for everything Nigeria had been doing for his country, adding that he had been looking forward to such an opportunity.
“I am not in a position to assist you but I pray for you every day. I want to take you as my big brother and share from your experience,’’ he said.
He thanked the Nigerian leader for sending former President Obasanjo as a Special Envoy to restore peace to his country.
According to the statement, the Guinea Bissau leader also noted that “Nigeria is part of the solution and stability” of his country.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he enlisted the assistance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to mediate in the political crisis in Guinea Bissau because of his wide political and military experience.
Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, Buhari
A statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted President Buhari as saying that he took the decision because Mr. Obasanjo was also strongly committed to the unity of Nigeria and Africa.
The statement said that Mr. Buhari said this at an audience with the President of Guinea Bissau, Jose Mario Bavz at the sidelines of the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“I sent President Olusegun Obasanjo because he is the only person living or dead that has ruled Nigeria for 11 years.
“I served under him as a military Head of State. He has a strong commitment to Nigeria and Africa.
“That was why I looked for him and asked him to collaborate with President Macky Sall of Senegal to stabilise the situation of Guinea Bissau,” he said.
While appreciating President Bavz’s expression of thanks for Nigeria’s support during the crisis in his country, President Buhari told his guest that the “least Nigeria could do is what we did to stabilise your country”.
“You can count on our support at all times,” President Buhari assured the people and government of Guinea Bissau.
President Bavz had said he came to thank President Buhari for everything Nigeria had been doing for his country, adding that he had been looking forward to such an opportunity.
“I am not in a position to assist you but I pray for you every day. I want to take you as my big brother and share from your experience,’’ he said.
He thanked the Nigerian leader for sending former President Obasanjo as a Special Envoy to restore peace to his country.
According to the statement, the Guinea Bissau leader also noted that “Nigeria is part of the solution and stability” of his country.
Speaking in the Ogun State capital, Buhari, who was the special guest at the 40th anniversary of the state, said Obasanjo appointed him Minister of Petroleum and tolerated him for three and half years.
