Leaked letter shows Former EFCC Boss Waziri Seeking The Assistance Of Obasanjo To Help In Her Second Term Bid

NB: The source of the letter and the authenticity has not been proven yet. We will keep you updated

A leaked government letter has cast a spotlight on the tensions between former EFCC boss, Mrs Farida Waziri and former President Olusegun Obasanjo recent face-off. Waziri wrote the letter to Obasanjo while in office as chairman of the EFCC begging him to compel President Goodluck Jonathan to reconfirm her for a second term as chairman of the EFCC. Unfortunately, President Goodluck Jonathan unexpectedly fired the head of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Here is the leaked letter:

Read More...

Talk With Boko Haram, Obasanjo Tells Jonathan

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday said the President Goodluck Jonathan administration had not been reaching out enough to the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, and canvassed what he described as a “carrot-and-stick” strategy to address the sect’s menace.

Obasanjo told the CNN in an interview that Jonathan had been applying less of dialogue and more of force in solving the Boko Haram issue.

“To deal with a group like that, you need a carrot and stick. The carrot is finding out how to reach out to them. When you try to reach out to them and they are not amenable to being reached out to, you have to use the stick,” the ex-President said.

He said Jonathan was “just using the stick.”

“He’s doing one aspect of it well, but the other aspect must not be forgotten,” he added.

But the Presidency, in a reaction to the ex-President’s submission, said Obasanjo’s position on the Boko Haram issue had been contradictory.

Jonathan’s spokesman, Reuben Abati, told The PUNCH that it was surprising that the same Obasanjo who said recently that his presidency applied force when he was confronted with similar situation in Odi, Rives State, has now turned round to accuse Jonathan of applying only the stick against Boko Haram.

“It is surprising. That means the former President contradicted himself. Were you not in this country recently when he said that when he was confronted with a similar issue in Odi, he applied force? Where exactly does he stand on this matter?” Abati said.

He said that contrary to what Obasanjo wanted the world to believe, the Federal Government’s handling of the Boko Haram menace had been purposeful and that a lot of progress had been made.

Also, the Christian Association of Nigeria described the ex-President’s position as unfortunate. The association has repeatedly expressed its opposition to dialogue with Boko Haram.

The Public Relations Officer for CAN in the 19 northern states, Mr. Sunny Oibe, said, “How do you negotiate with a faceless group except Obasanjo wants to tell us that he knows them? This is the same Obasanjo who went to see the family of Boko Haram founder, Yusuf Mohamed and after discussing with them, a senior member of the family was slaughtered. Our stand is that you don’t negotiate with a faceless group.

“President Goodluck Jonathan should not listen to such advice because it is a booby trap set for him to fall on a banana peel. The position of government should be strong on that because if they should negotiate with them, other groups will now emerge and they will now hold government and the people of this country to ransom.”

Spokesperson for the central northern group, Arewa Consultative Forum, Anthony Sani, last week, said on behalf of the group that force was not the solution to the sect’s challenge.

“In terms of security, dialogue still remains the best. It is not the only way out, but I believe it still remains the best,” Sani had said in a reaction to the President’s celebration of the fact that security agencies foiled several bombing attempts during the yuletide.

He added, “It is very heartening to hear President Goodluck Jonathan say the security agents have been foiling attacks by Boko Haram of recent.

“But this does not vitiate the need for dialogue as a viable option. This is because there has been a precedent in which President Umaru Yar’Adua used force and killed 700 members of the sect and their leader but Boko Haram has remained unbowed.”

In the 2013 budget passed by the National Assembly, the Federal Government is to spend N24.1bn on internal security operations for the armed forces. The sum exceeds the N16.4bn allocated to police formations across the country by N7.7bn.

The soldiers’ provision consists of N16.107bn earmarked as “Operations-internal for Armed Forces.”

Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces are currently engaged in several internal security operations, including membership of Joint Task Forces fighting kidnapping in the South- East; oil bunkering in the South-South and Boko Haram in the North.

Obasanjo told the CNN that he had tried to reach out to Boko Haram about one- year-and- a-half ago through a lawyer who was acting as the group’s proxy, and had asked if they had external backing.

He said the lawyer told him that the group was receiving support from other Nigerians who have resources overseas or “other organisations from abroad,” worrying that, “If they had 25 per cent support a year and a half ago, today that support has doubled.”

The ex-President had in 2011 made a widely-reported contact with the sect; and the killing of the in-law to the late leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, barely 24 hours after, was seen as rejection of Obasanjo’s intervention.

Obasanjo said resolving the issue was central to the country’s progress.

“Boko Haram undermines security, and anything that undermines security undermines development, undermines education, undermines health, undermines agriculture and food and nutrition security,” he said.

Boko Haram members have since 2009 launched a violent campaign against the Federal Government, attacking military and police facilities, drinking joints and worship houses in the northern states and Abuja.

The group in 2011 attacked the Police headquarters as well as the United Nations office in the Federal Capital City, killing many people.

The international rights group, Human Rights Watch, in a report late last year had said Boko Haram members had killed more than 2,800 people.

Read More...

LASTMA Impounds Obasanjo’s Vehicle

A ‘cold war’ appears to brewing between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, following the confiscation of a utility vehicle belonging to Obasanjo Farms.

This is coming as the protest against the Lagos State Road Traffic Law by commercial motorcyclists (popularly called Okada) Tuesday spread to other parts of the metropolis, leaving at least one bus belonging to LAGBUS Asset Management Limited damaged.

Also, pandemonium erupted Tuesday at the Alakuko area of the state, following the alleged killing of a commercial motorcyclist, and injuring another by one of the policemen allegedly attached to Alakuko Police Station, Area G, Ogba Command.

However, it was gathered that the Obasanjo Farms vehicle was impounded by officials of the state Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) over the weekend, for contravening the traffic law.

Though Obasanjo was alleged to have made efforts to get the vehicle released, which proved abortive, the action was, however, said to have led to the forceful seizure of 10 LAG buses, which were alleged to have been taken into the premises of Obasanjo Farms between last week Friday and Sunday.

However, effort to get the Chief Executive of LASTMA, Mr. Young Arabamen, to comment on the development proved abortive as his secretary said he was in a meeting.

Equally, the protest was said to have started very early Tuesday at Kola Bus Stop along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, following alleged arrests and extortion of commercial motorcyclists by law enforcement agencies.

Despite the protest, security operatives attached to the state Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit and Rapid Response (RRS) were said to have stepped up the enforcement of the traffic law, an outcome of which led to impounding of about 3,000 commercial motorcycles in different parts of the state.

Quote

Since last weekend, about 10 LAG buses belonging to the Lagos State Government have been impounded in Ota, Ogun State and packed in Obasanjo Farms. This happened in retaliation over the confiscation of a utility vehicle last Friday belonging to Obasanjo Farms owned by the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. 

I heard that the vehicle belonging to Obasanjo Farms was seized by the officials of Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) for contravening traffic law and after Obasanjo’s efforts failed to get the vehicle released, even personally calling Fashola and I was reliably informed that the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola turned down Obasanjo’s pleas for the release of his vehicle but instead advised him that his company should obey the law.

Obasanjo's company allegedly instigated some miscreants to forcefully seize over 10 LAG buses that crossed the Lagos-Ogun boundary in Ota and following the alleged seizure of the LAG buses, the management of the bus company has halted all further operations to Ota axis until further notice.

Read More...

Fraud Suspect Vindicates Obasanjo; Says He Paid Bribe To Senators

First it was Prof. Pat Utomi who supported the statement by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo that the National Assembly is filled the rogues and armed robbers by disclosing that a serving Senator duped him. 

Now, the principal suspects standing trial in the Pension Fund Scam, Dr. Sani Shu’aibu Teidi, has disclosed that he and other accomplices gave the Senator Aloysius Etuk-led Senate Committee a N3bn bribe in dollars. The bribe, he said, was to stall the prosecution of the accused persons. 

 Also, the mind-bugling scam took another dimension as the immediate past chairman of EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri, was fingered. She was said to have got a property located at Parakou Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja, as bribe. He said her action was premised on the hope that the Senate Committee would stall the fraud proceedings as promised. The allegations are already causing serious ripples within the Senate committee. 

A source close to the principal accused, Dr. Teidi, said that the cause of the disaffection within the Senate committee was borne out of the discovery that, out of the N3bn obtained as bribe from the six accused, Senator Etuk attempted to outsmart his colleagues by declaring only N500million, a paltry one-sixth of the actual bribe he allegedly collected.  

An obviously angry Dr. Teidi “felt betrayed by the Senate committee leadership’s greed and inability to properly handle our (the accused persons’) matter”, the source said. Dr. Teidi has therefore resolved to make public all information on the botched agreement.

Read More...

HOW OBASANJO SPOILT MY GOOD FRIDAY

Permit me to share with fellow Nigerians how former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo spoilt my Holy Good Friday, April 06, 2012, which I was spending quietly at home with my children on holidays; with blatant falsehood, self-denial and revision of history.

It all began when I pleaded with my children to change their film channel to allow me listen to news on Channels Television of Nigeria; as the news was coming to an end, they begged me to return to their film channel and I pleaded for few minutes when I saw the face of our two time former president.

The request was granted reluctantly, for they quipped, as if they smelt mischief and malicious lie, what has the old con artist up his sleeves? Revelations after revelations of less than transparent transactions like the power probe, privatizations of State Owned Enterprises’ scam et al had made my kids to change their rating of Chief Obasanjo. Alas they were vindicated.

Vindicated in the sense that when the Channels Anchorman inquired about his role in the Joint AU/ECOWAS Peace Mission to Senegal before the February 26 Elections, in which he explained that it was a proactive peace mission to avoid conflict, arising from the disagreement between President Abdoluaye Wade and the opposition.

On how former president Wade manipulated the Constitution, Chief Obasanjo said that Wade did not manipulate the Constitution, but was only smart in getting the Constitutional Court to give judgment in his favour, which allowed him to run. And on the question whether the cause of justice was served, he said, ‘justice does not end here on earth, it ends hereafter’. It could be recalled that he supported Wade by proposing 2 year tenure, which the opposition rejected vehemently.

Spoiler?…Olusegun Obasanjo 
The crux came with a follow up that ran thus, ‘can you reflect on the 3rd Term you pushed at the twilight of your regime?’

Chief Obasnjo reacted sharply, ‘I‘ve denied 3rd Term all along, those who belief their political fortune will be better served belief I organized 3rd Term. National Assembly initiated the Bill, which contained over 100 items, it was an Executive Bill. ……..My Adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa told the world that I never assigned the role to her, even Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said they told him and never mentioned those who told him, even Senator Ibrahim Mantu who was the Chairman of the Committee will tell you I never told him. ……You‘re unfair, mischievous, I am not afraid if I wanted 3rd Term, I could‘ve got it. I never wanted anything and God did not give me’.

Am yet to recover from the trauma of not only the revision of recent and modern history of our dear country; but the use of God’s name recklessly, by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo – the greatest beneficiary of the Nigerian project.

Whereas, I was not surprise that he told barefaced lies without blinking an eye lid; that he was unstatesmanly in his denial, that he talked as if all the witnesses are dead; however at his age one expected some element of decency and honesty.

In his half-truth, the old fox forgot that Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria vested the Executive Powers only on him then; hence no one else except him had the powers to authorize the opening of the Central Bank of Nigeria vault, where billions of Naira was doled out.

The Chief spoke as if the ledgers of the Banks where monies ranging from N50m upwards were doled out to members of the National Assembly, Chiefs, Emirs, Obas and all manner of characters were recorded had been burnt. The ledgers are still there waiting for the appointed time, for the looting which took place in his inordinate ambition pursuit of 3rd Term was unprecedented and humongous.

Chief Obasanjo, needs be reminded that no matter his false and self-denial, he cannot deny the fact that 3rd Term more than the monumental corruption which was the metaphor of his regime, led to his failure to win the Mo Ibrahim Index Award in 2008, an annual award meant for ex-presidents. The report of the Mo Ibrahim Index Review Council condemned his unpatriotic and undemocratic role in the 3rd Term Bid.

Fellow Compatriots! Join me in taking solace on the truism that Nigerians and indeed the world cannot be deceived by an old con artist, who willfully failed to admit guilt, wants to revise history; for books like Power, Greed and Despotism authored by Tony Amadi, a veteran journalist did a good narration and documentation of the 3rd Term saga.

In the book Tony Amadi quoted extensively the debate at the Senate, excerpts; Ken Nnamani, President of the Senate as he then was, ‘Distinguished Senators, now that we are at the threshold of concluding this historic debate on the proposed amendment of the Constitution, I urge every Senator to rise above the challenges of patriotism. We should not become political entrepreneurs who pander after personal gains, but rather delegates and trustees of the people who will preserve democratic governance’.

Late Senator Mamman Ali, ‘Mr President, we have series of discontinuous narratives; those for and those against, those looking for the best vocabulary to express their actions. Some people have given us sanitized versions of events and possibilities. Some have given us their own accounts of events. They call it elongation, amendment, tenure limit extension, continuity, carry-go; but I see it as dubious’.

Senator Teslim Kolawale Folarin, ‘……I belong to two Constituencies; Oyo Central Senatorial District and the Poeples Democratic Party, the largest political party in Africa. I have consulted extensively with my primary constituency and the genral consensus is that we tow the party line. As a representative of my Senatorial District, I have a duty and responsibility to mirror their views.What I am saying Mr President, without any fear of contradiction is that we would be supporting the tenure extension’.

Senator Gbemisola Saraki-Fowora, ‘…..Some Senators have told us our Party, the PDP, has urged us all to support the amendments including tenure elongation and as such, being good and loyal members - solely because of the party’s position - they support same. …….The statement of being good party loyalists predisposes that anyone who disagrees with them is disloyal. We must not confuse dissent with disloyal’.

Senator Uche Chukwumerije, ‘Mr President, I will begin my comment on the Amendment Bill with one view, namely, that the Bill is a statement in self-contradiction. Most of its proposals are positive and could help to improve the structure and quality of federalism and democracy. But on the other hand, the proposal on the 3rd Term could destroy all these advantages’.

Senator Ibrahim Mantu, ‘The debate in favour of enhanced tenure is hinged on the need for the stability of our democracy and of economic and technological policy gains to ensure the consolidation of Nigeria’s overall development. It is noted that the phenomenal economic growths of the Asian Tigers were as a result of stable leadership.

We have, therefore, recommended a three-term tenure of four years each for the President and the State Governors. The tenure of the office holder is at the pleasure of the electorate who may decide whether to vote for them or not after each term’.

Arch-Bishop John Onaiyekan, ‘the move by some politicians to amend the constitution to ensure a 3rd Term tenure for President Olusegun Obasanjo is less than patriotic’. Thisday December 19 2005.

In sum, a cursory glance of the National Assembly’s Hansard and indeed other publications will clearly expose the perfidy and impunity of Chief Obasanjo; as his men passionately worked for the actualization of the 3rd Term with his consent; accordingly no amount of propaganda, revision of history and platitudes can delete his imprimatur in the 3rd Term imbroglio.

Written By Osita Okechukwu 

Publicity Secretary of Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP)

Read More...

BoT CHAIRMANSHIP: Obasanjo insists on installing successor

Former President Olusegun Obansajo who, in a dramatic move, last Tuesday, resigned his position as Chairman, Board of Trustees, BoT, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is insisting that he would have to name his successor. This, Sunday Vanguard has been made to understand, was one of the conditions the former President tabled before President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan when he visited Aso Rock Presidential Villa to brief him about his intended resignation as the BoT chairman. 

 The twist in Obasanjo’s resignation, however, is the suspicion, in some quarters, that he quit because he could not have his way in the ruling party. Information pieced together from sources in Abuja, Abeokuta (the Ogun State capital), Lagos and Osogbo (the Osun State capital) point in a different direction. 

 A very dependable source very close to Obasanjo disclosed that “the resignation of the former President has nothing to do with happenings in the PDP or even penultimate Saturday’s national convention of the party. “You read the statement issued by former President Obasanjo explaining the reasons which informed his decision to quit”, the source said. 

 Regarding the PDP convention and the emergence of candidates for the offices, “the former President can not claim not to be involved in all the politicking that went into the emergence of the national chairman, Bamangar Tukur, for instance. The emergence of his protégé, former Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, he can not claim that he did not participate in the debauchery that was called a convention”, a member of the BoT told Sunday Vanguard. 

 In fact, the BoT member continued, “the former President had expected that President Jonathan would plead with him not to go. He attempted to re-assert himself as leader of the party by pre-empting the due date for the end of his tenure, thinking he would be persuaded to wait but Mr. President was not ready for that. 

 The problem with Obasanjo is that he can never be part of a meeting that he is not in command of. Any meeting he attends, he must be the one issuing directives and orders. That is actually his problem; so he decided to quit before the tenure expiration. Is he just having international engagements now? Has he not been having international engagements since 2007 when his Third Term agenda failed”. 

 But Obasanjo, in his characteristic insistent manner, was said to have told Jonathan that he should be allowed to nominate his successor.” A source disclosed to Sunday Vanguard that “contrary to the stories being published, Obasanjo came forward out of his own volition to tender his resignation. “There was no misgiving about what happened at the convention at all”, the source inside Aso Rock said. However, what the source failed to reveal was the caveat Obasanjo added. Sunday Vanguard confirmed that Obasanjo made it clear that he should be allowed to name his successor. 

 Information available suggests that his long time friend and former national chairman of the party, with whom the de-registration exercise of 2006 was conducted, retired Colonel Ahmadu Ali, was Obasanjo’s choice. However, with the secretary of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, a Fulani from the North, making Ali, also from the North, as BoT Chairman would create a lopsided board.

 But the names from the south: former Senate President Ken Nnamani and former BoT Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, were spurned by Obasanjo. “The former President scoffed at the idea of the two persons succeeding him. Anenih was upstaged by Obasanjo while Nnamani oversaw the killing of Obasanjo’s Third Term agenda and, therefore, saw no good in both men”, the source said.

Read More...

If I Wanted Third Term I Would Have Got It - OBASANJO

"I'm not a fool. If I really wanted a third term I would have got it... There is nothing I wanted that God did not give to me. If I truly wanted it I know how to go about it, and I would have gotten it."

 Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo told a Channels correspondent at his Hilton residence in Abeokuta, while giving account of his eight years stewardship from 1999 to 2007. 

 Should we really believe Chief Obasanjo that he did not directly lobby for a third term in office, considering all the news in the media then about Ghana-Must-Go bags in offices at the National Assembly? 

Read More...

Obasanjo Plans To Impose Aliero As VP

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo is scheming to impose Senator Adamu Aliero, former governor of Kebbi State, as vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015, LEADERSHIP exclusively gathered yesterday. If the plan succeeds, he will replace Arc. Namadi Sambo as running mate of the PDP candidate in the 2015 presidential election.

As part of the grand design, Aliero will, barring last-minute change of plan, return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from which he had defected to the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) in 2010. Already, plans have reached an advanced stage to formally receive him back to the PDP family next Thursday.

The deal to have Aliero and tens of influential CPC members in Kebbi State return to the PDP was brokered by Obasanjo at a meeting held in his residence in Abuja.

The development has left the Kebbi branch of the CPC with the task of shopping for a replacement for its candidate in the run-off gubernatorial election coming up on March 31, 2012, as neither Aliero nor Alhaji Abubakar Malam has submitted his letter of resignation from the CPC. According to the Electoral Act, a party can only change its gubernatorial candidate in the event of a run-off election if he dies or suffers permanent incapacitation or voluntarily steps down.

A CPC chieftain LEADERSHIP contacted on the matter confirmed that, indeed, the party had got wind of the plans by Aliero and other CPC heavyweights in Kebbi to return to the PDP, but that the party had not yet been informed. The source, who does not want his name in print, said that the party is in a dilemma at the moment, as “We have to start shopping for a gubernatorial candidate with only a few days to the run-off election.”

According to the source, Aliero had, a long time ago, made up his mind to return to the PDP, “but he was only held back by the judgement of the Supreme Court, which they hoped would tilt in favour of the CPC. They planned to give the seat to the PDP by decamping to the party with the candidate after being sworn-in as governor.”

LEADERSHIP’s findings have confirmed that Aliero is decamping to the PDP with such political heavyweights as Alhaji Abubakar Malam, the CPC gubernatorial candidate, Senator Umaru Abubakar Argungu, Alhaji Hassan Kangiwa, Alhaji Hussaini Kangiwa and the Katukan Yawuri.

According to informed sources, Obasanjo had premised his plan to install Aliero as vice president in case of bad blood that the contest may generate among contenders that may be eyeing the seat in 2015, including the incumbent Sambo and two popular governors from the north-west and north-central as well as a senator from Kaduna State.

With Alhaji Bamanga Tukur from Adamawa State as PDP chairman, former vice president Atiku Abubakar has automatically been edged out of the contest for the presidency, as both are from the same state. This will now pave the way for President Jonathan to run for a second term on a joint ticket with Adamu Aliero.

Said the source: “the hawks are going to start a surreptitious campaign for tenure elongation through the back door. By 2013, they will ensure the constitution is amended to ensure whoever wins the 2015 presidential election enjoys a term of seven years. They are going to do this because they are so sure they have the machinery of state at their disposal to ensure Jonathan is returned as winner of that year’s presidential election.”

On Wednesday, last week, Aliero led the CPC family in Kebbi State to a political rally said to be unprecedented in the annals of politics of the state. Delivering his speech on the occasion, the former governor assured the people that he was going to remain with them come rain come sunshine, but that they should await to hear from him sometime this week as to the next move. The same day, Aliero travelled to Sokoto where he met with Governor Magatakarda Wamakko, in company of Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, Senator Ahmed Sani (Yariman Bakura) and Alhaji Abubakar Garun Malam. At the meeting, he was said to have enlisted their support for Obasanjo’s plan to make him vice president iin 2015, asking that they should work together to ensure the whole north-west returns fully to the PDP.

Though Senator Ahmed Sani, former governor of Zamfara State, is still in the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), efforts are reportedly being made to get him dedcamp to the PDP, to help facilitate the Obasanjo project.

Part of the plan also includes making Alhaji Abubakar Malam the next comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service, as a reward for abandoning his quest for the governorship and decampingwith Aliero to the PDP.

Investigations by LEADERSHIP, however, confirmed that though there had been several moves to get Sani defect to the PDP, he has reportedly always backed out of the idea, choosing to remain in the ANPP.

All efforts by LEADERSHIP to hear from Senator Adamu Aliero proved abortive, as all his known cellphones as well as those of his media aide, Abdullahi Zuru, remained switched off up to the time of going to press.

SHARE THIS POST

Read More...

"Obasanjo Made Me Governor"

The outspoken Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday shocked many Nigerians when he declared that it was former President Olusegun Obasanjo that made him governor.

According to Akpabio, who spoke at the 75th birthday party organised for Chief Obasanjo in Lagos, it was the former president's insistence on fairness and due process that made it possible for him to become governor, against all odds, especially from enemies within the PDP.

“At that time, I didn’t know anyone and I had no sponsor, but for Baba’s fairness and insistence on fair play and deepening of democracy, I would not have become the governor of the state.

I and the people of Akwa Ibom State are grateful for his fairness and that insistence that the right process should be followed,” the performing governor said.

Read More...

Shagari, Obasanjo, others press Jonathan to save Nigeria

Former Presidents Shehu Shagari and Olusegun Obasanjo are said by sources to have weighed in, urging President Jonathan to disregard contrary counsel and “revert to the situation pre-January 1, 2012”.

Protests organised by Labur and civil society groups since last Monday have paralysed the national economy and are threatening the nation’s stability.

The eminent Nigerians, including former Presidents, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Alhaji Shehu Shagari, all agree that the removal of subsidy was inevitable and a courageous and patriotic decision for economic survival but needed to be handled with utmost caution at the moment in order to preserve the nation’s unity and peace.

And as the protests over the removal of fuel subsidy rages, the federal government yesterday insisted that it is open to more dialogue as all sides to the dispute try to find a way out of the national economic and social logjam.

Briefing state house correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, information minister Labaran Maku said: “The federal government remains engaged in the process of dialogue with labour, we have never dismissed the process of dialogue. Even before the full deregulation was announced, Mr. President discussed with all labour leaders, we discussed with the NLC, TUC, and we discussed with other stakeholders outside labour knowing that this key economic policy will affect the general population”

He said this week’s meeting focused essentially on the presentation by the minister of National Planning relating to the “implementation of our projects and the results expected for 2012. Projects implementation strategy and the transformation programme and what we must do from this year to ensure we begin to mark down goals and get the results as planned. This is the year that we expect every minister, every MDA to give account of themselves in terms of what our various MDAs intends to put out”

Fielding questions on government’s seeming rigidity on its stand over the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector despite not doing enough for the citizenry in preparing them for the attendant hard times, he said “We have never closed our doors to negotiations or discussions with Labour or any other social group that are involved in the current protest, what is very clear to us is that government is taking up its responsibilities, not only at the federal level, but other state governments are engaged in direct discussions with their own trade union as well as civil society groups. In some states we have noticed quiet some progress in the dialogues between the state governments and labour and civil society groups. So the federal government as far as we are concerned the process of dialogue is continuous”

On the outbreak of violence as a result of the protests, he noted that government will “continue to appeal in the fact that this protest is only adding more pain to the people of Nigeria and in some places we are also beginning to see that elements outside labour are already virtually in the forefront and this is creating a lot of security problems in some states. You saw the situation in Kaduna, Edo State etc.

“We are appealing to labour up to this time to drop this option of protest which are increasing the pains out there for the people of Nigeria and it is our believe that anything that cannot be achieved through discussion will not really be useful when you call the general population to the streets. So we are appealing to Nigerians, civil society organisation, and Labour to understand that we believe that this option that has been taken is adding more pains to our people and we hope that in the days ahead they will see reason and drop the protest and continue the process of dialogue ”The minister added.

He further stressed that “this issue of deregulation is not an option that the government arrived at in comfort or happiness. It is something that has been reviewed over a year and a half.”

Also, he Federal Government said yesterday that it would not enter into any dialogue with the organised labour until the street protests which had led to the destruction of lives and property across the country were stopped.

Secretary to Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Ayim, who made this disclosure at the National Assembly yesterday stated that the destruction of lives and property had become a more urgent matter that needed to be addressed before any other matter. .

The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee set up to interface between the Federal Government and Labour, which convened the meeting had called on all parties to respect the decision the House took last Sunday. .

Reading a text message from his phone to the hearing of members of the committee and Labour leaders present, Anyim said: “I think the agenda of this meeting has changed. The mayhem carried out in Niger State and other parts of the country suggested that although labour provided the platform for the protests and violence, the whole issue had gone beyond labour. We should respect the sanctity of lives. The socio-political environment must be calm before any meaningful dialogue can take place.”

Corroborating Anyim’s statement, Labour and Productivity minister, Emeka Wogu, said:

“It is clear that other people have taken over the process to cause mayhem and labour is now helpless”

And the chairman of Federal Government negotiating team, and retired for Justice of the Federation, Justice Alpha Belgore, drew attention to the fact that the crisis was capable of disintegrating the country.

According to him, the country’s enemies have seen an opportunity to destroy this country just to give credence to their earlier evil predictions. If this country disintegrates, there will be many years of bloodshed; it is better to negotiate and come to agreement now”

But Labour leaders were swift in countering government’s position as the President General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Peter Esele, said that comments of high-ranking government officials were capable of causing tension.

He said Labour leaders never encouraged violence in the protest but insisted that the position of labour still remained that government must revert to N65 or nothing else.

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president, Abdul Waheed Omar, who led the labour team, told the committee that immediately he got information about the crisis in Niger State, he directed that the protest be stopped.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives’ committee on Labour has assured Nigerians that the ongoing impasse between the federal government and the organised labour over the removal of fuel subsidy would be resolved in the next 24 hours.

Briefing newsmen the chairman of the House committee on Labour, Essien Ekpenyong Ayi said this was based on positive responses from the representatives of the organised labour and those of the federal government at the ongoing parley with the two parties on the matter.

According to him, “we are making progress, and sincerely believe that in the next 24 hours or so, the effort of the House to resolve this matter shall be acheived”.

He continued: “Today is the third day of the ongoing strike and you will agree with me that government has lost a lot of resources running into billions of naira as a result of the ongoing strike. I am made to understand that Nigeria has lost as much as N158.9 billion on daily basis from the ongoing strike. What is accrued to the federal government from her own share of the deregulation for 2012 is about N500billion from the N1.3trillion. then if the strike is sustained for about 5 days, the government shall lose more than expected income and it shall thereafter become a wasted venture”.

Also, in a statement, Mohammed Bello Adoke, the attorney General of the Federation an Minister of Justice, said:

• It has come to the attention of the government that some persons or group of persons are perpetuating criminal activities under the guise of participating in the on-going demonstration against the subsidy removal policy of the Government;

• since the demonstration began on Monday, 9th January 2012, these persons have among other things engaged in arson, wanton destruction of lives and property, as well as making unguarded statements bordering on treason with a view to overwhelming the government. As a result, several State Governors have imposed curfew in their respective States in order to prevent further breakdown of law and order;

• while government recognizes the right of Nigerians to peaceful demonstration, it will not fold its arms or stand idly by, while the current situation deteriorates into a state of general insecurity. Henceforth, government will not hesitate to bring to bear, the full weight of the law on erring persons or group of persons howsoever called that engage in any act that threatens the peace and stability of the country or its corporate existence; and

• government reiterates its earlier position that those who have genuine grievances as a result of the implementation of the fuel subsidy removal should express such grievances within the confines of the law and dispute resolution mechanisms as established by law.

Read More...

Obasanjo Goes to Christ Embassy...

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday breezed in and breezed out of Christ Embassy Church in Lagos to honour Pastor Chris Oyakilome on the occasion marking his birthday at the church auditorium.

Read More...

Privatisation: Senators Want Obasanjo Punished

The Senate Wednesday opened debate on the reports of its adhoc committee on the investigation of government’s privatisation and commercialisation activities, with a number of the lawmakers insisting that former President Olusegun Obasanjo should not go unpunished for the widespread fraud that characterised the exercise during his tenure.

But in an apparent bid to save Obasanjo’s neck, Senate President David Mark cautioned his colleagues to remain focused on the committee’s recommendation and avoid politicising the issues at stake.

He said: “We should remain focused; we should not bring partisan politics into the journey that we started so well so far, so that we do not derail.”

Although the committee’s report did not specifically mention Obasanjo for sanction, it made a veiled reference to “presidential interference” in the privatisation exercise, which it strongly condemned and advised its avoidance in future.

Many senators, who commented on the committee’s report, could not however resist the urge to blame Obasanjo for most of the failures of some of the privatised companies to comply with the terms of the privatisation agreement.

The senators were stunned when Senator Olusola Adeyeye (ACN, Osun) related to them how one of Obasanjo’s sons allegedly brought the Indian company that bought the Ajaokuta Steel Company, which later embarked on mass “looting of the company’s assets and sending them to India”.

He said it was wrong to blame former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for the alleged irregularities in the privatisation exercise when his boss Obasanjo who gave certain approvals in contravention to the privatisation laws would go unpunished.

Also in his contribution, Senate Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Abu Ibrahim (CPC, Katsina), argued that it would be unfair for the Senate to recommend punishment for the former Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) bosses for allegedly taking orders from the former president and fail to recommend same for Obasanjo.

Ibrahim said: “The report is comprehensive and decisive. I am worried that the main culprit who signed these documents has been left out. This Senate would have been encouraged to indict such person. Such person should be reprimanded. The Senate should be encouraged to indict former President Olusegun Obasanjo for breaking these laws. He personally signed these companies off. I believe the committee on privatisation should consider those companies one by one and see if the former president is involved and he should be prosecuted.”

On his part, Senator Smart Adeyemi (PDP, Kogi) said the ad hoc committee’s report had shown vividly that although privatisation as a concept was good but its implementation was against national interest.

He said: “The Indians who bought Ajaokuta Iron and Steel, rather than turn it around, dismantled the equipment and exported them to India. Today, we are importing the same steel from India.”

Adeyemi, therefore urged the government to summon the political will to implement the recommendations of the committee, saying: “The credibility of our Senate will be tested by this report. There are powerful Nigerians involved in this thing and they must be made to face the wrath of the law.”

But chairman of the ad hoc committee, Senator Ahmad Lawan (ANPP, Yobe), defended his committee’s recommendations, saying: “They were very patriotic and devoid of sentiments.”

The lawmakers, however, said that the implementation of the committee’s report would show how determined President Goodluck Jonathan is in his fight against corruption.

Meanwhile, former Head of State and the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has urged Nigerians to ask Obasanjo to account for monies that accrued to the country when he was at the helm of affairs.

Buhari, who made this call Wednesday at the grand finale campaign of the Kogi State CPC governorship candidate, Mr. James Enejo Ocholi (SAN), at the Lokoja Township Stadium, alleged that the money made by the country during the Obasanjo regime was more than what the nation got from 1914 to the time he was sworn in.

“No CPC governor will be larger than the party. Anybody who steals public funds will go to jail and anyone who is not ready to work will be allowed to go,” he stated.

He said for the country to forge ahead, anybody found guilty of corruption should no longer be spared, but his property should be confiscated and the accused person sentenced to a long jail term.

Buhari, who has been in the state for the past three days, urged the people to vote for Ocholi whom he described as a courageous and credible man who would bring positive change to the state.

In his address, the governorship candidate urged the people to come out en masse and vote for him in Saturday’s election, saying the ruling party had failed the state.

The CPC candidate, who was presented to the electorate at the rally, also promised to embark on aggressive rehabilitation of roads, hospitals, schools and other such infrastructures.

Read More...

OBJ, IBB at war

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former military President Ibrahim Babangida yesterday descended from the platform of statesmen into an acrimonious mutual war of words, accusing each other of foolery.

Yesterday’s brickbat flowed from an earlier interview by Gen. Babangida on the eve of his 70th birthday on Tuesday where he said “in my eight years in office, I was able to manage poverty and achieved success while somebody for eight years managed affluence and achieved failure.”

Chief Obasanjo who was President for eight years retorted yesterday accusing Babangida of threading the path of foolishness at seventy even as he defended his administration against allegations of ineffectiveness couched in the earlier interview granted the press by Babangida. He said that Babangida should rather be pitied and shown sympathy rather than anger or condemnation.

Babangida responds

Babangida’s response was swift and severe as he tackled Obasanjo on both his performance record while in office and decency in his dealings even with his household and daughter in-law. He accused Obasanjo of being a witless comedian whose eight-year double term was characterized with human rights violations and mishaps including plane crashes.

Obasanjo who spoke with news men in Abeokuta during the visit of an American Team on an inspection of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) said that his initial thought was not to respond but that on second thought he decided to reply Babangida so that he (Babangida) would not consider himself wise.

He said: “Well, normally when I read these things I don’t believe them. Yesterday when somebody phoned me and said this was said, I said I don’t believe it. He said check on all the papers and I said get me all the papers; they got me the papers and I read; it’s a little bit unlike Babangida. But if Babangida had decided on becoming a septuagenarian, that he will be a fool, I think one should probably do what the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 26, verse 4. It says, don’t answer a fool because you may also become like him.

“When you go to the same Proverbs chapter 26, verse 5, it says answer a fool so that he will not think he’s a wise man. So, I am now torn between which of the two verses I should follow in this respect. Some of the things he said unfortunately were not well thought-out.

“For instance, he talked about our energy. When I was the military head of state, I built Jebba dam; built Shiroro dam, I prepared the foundation of Egbin plant which President Shagari completed and commissioned. That time the money we were making was not up to the money Babangida made annually for his eight years and yet we built two dams. Because it was important, you know that power is the driving force for development and for any developing country. But since the building of Egbin power plant, until I came back in 1999 there was not any generating plant for almost 20 years and Babangida spent eight years out of that. Now, he has the audacity to talk about anybody; I think that is unfortunate.”

IBB deserves pity, sympathy

“I also read where he said in his time, he gave the dividends of democracy and at the same time he regretted. When I read that, well I said Babangida should be pitied and shown sympathy rather than anger or condemnation because the old saying says a fool at 40 is a fool forever and I would say a regret at 70 is a regret too late. Well a regret at 70 is a regret to the grave.

“Then as elected president, I built Papalanto, Omotosho, others and I started five of what they called Independent Power Stations which were stopped for two and a half years. Now the present administration has started building a new power project at Uyo. As a country, Nigeria should be adding nothing less than 1,500 megawatts annually. South Africa with a population of 50 million generates 50,000 mega watts. Nigeria with a population of about 165 million we are not generating, we as at 1999 met 1,500 mega watts before we took it up to 4,000 mega watts. What we started they are now allowing it to go on. I believe if they continue with the programme that we left, In another two years , we will get to 10,000”.

Obasanjo on sale of Nigeria Airways

Commenting on disclosures by erstwhile Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai that he, Obasanjo stopped the sale of Nigeria Airways as President, Obasanjo said:

“I blocked the sale of Nigeria Airways, not that I attempted to block the sale of Nigeria Airways. When I was military head of state, Nigeria Airways had 32 aircraft, by the time I came back as elected president of Nigeria, Nigeria Airways had only one aircraft.

“One of the 32 was a wide-bodied aircraft, they had all gone and the report on which we worked is here, the amount of money we will have to pay if Nigeria Airways was sold, what we would get out of it is less than 10 percent of the debt we have to pay. 

That would be the debt Nigeria tax payers will have to pay; that will not be the way to run the affairs of this country. I won’t run my own affairs that way, so I opted for liquidation. So, it was bankrupt, it was liquidated; in which case whatever you gain from liquidation which is also a form of sale, it means the burden will be shared by all the creditors and everybody. So, if I owe you 10 dollars and what I sell when I am liquidated is two. That’s what you get. So, I did not allow normal privatization or sale because it would have put very heavy burden on Nigeria.

“So, Nigerians should know that and in fact my administration should be commended for that. It’s not that I did not allow the sale because the law establishing it says sale and liquidation is also a form of sale”.

The IBB statement

Babangida in a riposte through a press statement issued by his spokesman, Prince Kassim Afegbua said:

“It is certainly not in the tradition of General IBB, such a refined gentleman officer; to join issues with his subordinates’ and superiors, but for the price we owe history, this riposte becomes appropriate and necessary. We expected Chief Obasanjo to react to the substance of General Babangida’s submissions and not deploy this distractive strategy to shy away from the real issues at stake. The statistics of the government they both ran at different times, speak for them.”

“The history of Chief Obasanjo is an open sore that is irredeemably contrived in several incongruities and contradictions. When he pleaded with IBB to be given another chance to extend his tenure, IBB was not a fool then. When he was released from prison and granted state pardon, bathed in cerebral ornaments and clothed in royal beads and later crowned as President of Nigeria, IBB was not a fool then. Now that he is at the extreme of his thoughts and engagements, he can decide to dress IBB in borrowed robes.

But the histories of both of them, when put to public scrutiny comparatively, IBB is far glowing and instructively stands poles apart from Obasanjo. In terms of decency, finesse, class, distinction and general conduct, IBB could be described in the superlatives but for Obasanjo; God bless Nigeria.”

A witless comedian

“For a man who cannot possibly tell his true age, one may excuse his present outburst as the effusions of a witless comedian trying effortlessly to impress his select audience.

On the issue of performance, Obasanjo cannot contemplate a comparism of his conquistadorial and largely acquisitive regime that plundered our hard-earned state resources, with that of IBB government with verifiable record of achievements. Despite the fact that he carried out a clinical investigation of IBB’s regime, what did he establish against him? Nothing!

We wish to refer Obasanjo to the National Assembly to give his own side of the story to the several revelations that have become themes of his

orchestra when he held sway as President of Nigeria. Perhaps, he would be able to tell the world how he managed Nigeria’s resources during his regime.

“Chief Obasanjo should ponder on these incontrovertible facts: The revenues that accrued to former President Obasanjo during his eight years are more than those that accrued to the nation from independence till 1999 before he took over.

Despite such stupendous wealth of the nation, what was his performance profile? The number of high profile deaths by assassinations and politically motivated killings during Obasanjo’s eight years is more than any other in the history of this country.

Besides, is it not curious that after Obasanjo’s exit, there has not been any reported case of plane crashes? What was his human rights record? The people of Odi in Bayelsa State and Zaki-Ibiam in Benue State are yet to recover from the massacre visited on them by Chief Obasanjo.

Again Crude Oil sold for as much as $180 dollars per barrel for the better part of his eight years, what benefit did Nigerians derive from such excess crude? With the revelations coming from the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly, Nigerians are now coming to terms with the profligacy of the Obasanjo era.

“Against the backdrop of the above, it is ludicrous for him to raise any intellectual debate on the achievements of the governments they ran at different times in the life of the nation. Calling IBB “a fool at 70” is at best a compliment. Nigerians surely know who is truly a fool or the greatest fool of this century.”
Source:vanguardngr


Read other news

Read More...