The Presidency has responded to claim by former President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that his government provided a focused leadership to the country, saying that what he did was to continue to pretend that all was well while actually postponing the eveil days.

The Presidency remarked, in a statement by the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said: “if PDP were still in power, they would have continued deceiving people, by borrowing to fund stealing and wastage and the problem would have simply been postponed for future generations to face.”

The full text of the statement is rproduced here:

With due respect to the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, these are the facts about the economy you left behind, in case you have forgotten.

I hope this will help to erase the wrong statement credited to you at  your party, the PDP Convention at the Eagle Square last weekend that you handed to President Buhari a robustly healthy economy.

To the same extent, this should also help to erase yet another false statement by Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, the Caretaker Chairman of the party, to the effect that under the previous administration there was money but now things are very hard.

Let me start by reasserting an obvious statement, which is that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was handed an economy ravaged by years of mismanagement and corruption.

 It is understandable that Dr Jonathon kept his comments short, because a cursory look at any sector clearly indicated that he and his Government presided over the most monumental  and tragic economic mismanagement recorded in our national history.

The oil sector boomed under his tenure, with oil prices as high as US$ 120 and peace in the Nigeria Delta. Nigeria earned unprecedented dollar revenues. Sadly,that is where the story turns sour. There is nothing to show for the  revenues earned, no major capital project was completed,  neither power generation, road development, rail or agriculture benefitted from the windfall earnings. Rather the administration presided over  the diversion of oil revenues on a  such a massive scale, that even without the protection now accorded to Whistle blowers, the   then Central Bank Governor blew not only a whistle but a trumpet. He was hurriedly shown the door. Meanwhile, the acquisition by public officers and their cohorts of private jets, luxury yachts and the accumulation of expensive property portfolios world-wide continued unabated. Indeed the President once celebrated having the largest number of private jets, whilst our youth languished without jobs, our fields stood idle and our factories began the lay off of workers.

Government simply reticulated oil revenue  through personal spending by corrupt leaders,   wasteful expenses and  salaries. This was done rather than investing in what would grow the economy. Economies grow due to capital investment in assets like seaports, airports, power plants, railways, roads and housing. Nigeria cannot record a single major infrastructural  project in the last 10 years. In short the money was mismanaged.

Such was the looting that even the goose that was laying the golden egg was being systematically starved. The direct contractual  costs of oil produced , in the form of cash calls, remained unpaid.  The incoming, President Buhari’s welcome from the oil majors included demand for US$6Bn owed by Nigeria for oil that had already been sold or stolen.

 At the inception of the current administration, 21 States were unable to meet their salary bills and the spectre of workers arrears had commenced. The PDP solution was the raid the Ecological Fund and selectively grants of N2Bn each to the PDP States.  It was only aggressive borrowing by the Ministry of Finance under Dr  Okonjo- Iweala that prevented Federal Government from also owing salaries. The economic wisdom of borrowing to pay recurrent bills is a questionable one, particularly as those paid would have included over 45,000 that have subsequently been removed by the Buhari led administration as ghost workers.  It also included the lavish costs of chartering private jets, first class travel   and other wasteful acts that have been eliminated under this administration.

To compound the problem the government was borrowing heavily and owed contractors, and international oil companies. When this government took over we had accumulated debt back to the level it was before the Paris Club Debt Forgiveness.

All these factors were building up to Nigeria heading for a major crisis if the price of oil fell. Nigeria did not have fiscal buffers to withstand an oil shock.

The oil shock should and could have been foreseen.  When Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS crisis started, it was clear that the United States of America wanted to cut off funds to terror groups by crashing the price of oil. When America granted permission for exploration of oil on land ( Shale) the warning signs were evident, but these were ignored by Nigeria’s economic managers.

 Such was the looting that even the goose that was laying the golden egg was being systematically starved. The direct contractual costs of oil produced, in the form of cash calls, remained unpaid.  The incoming President Buhari’s welcome from the oil majors included  demand for US$6Bn owed by Nigeria for oil that had already been sold or stolen.

 At the inception of the Buhari administration, 21 States were unable to meet their salary bills and the spectre of workers arrears had commenced. The PDP solution was to raid the Ecological Fund and selectively grant N2Bn each to the PDP States.  It was only aggressive borrowing by the Ministry of Finance  that prevented Federal Government from also owing salaries. The economic wisdom of borrowing to pay recurrent bills  is a questionable one, particularly as those paid would have included over 45,000 that have subsequently been removed by the Buhari led administration as ghost workers.  It also included the lavish costs of chartering private jets, first class travel   and other wasteful acts that have been eliminated under this administration.

In summary, Nigeria earned a lot of money when oil prices were high but there is nothing to show for it. Now oil prices have fallen we are suffering.

 What could they have done differently?

They could have begun doing the very things that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is doing so painfully now:

1. Fight corruption.

2. Sanitise the huge salary bill by eliminating payroll fraud.

3. Reduce wasteful expenses like First Class Travel and Private jets.

4. Encourage State Governments to reform their spending and build savings or investments.

5. Increase spending on capital projects especially on infrastructure needed to make Nigerian businesses competitive and create jobs.

6. Block the leakages that allowed government revenues to be siphoned into private hands.

7. Focus on key sectors  ( apart from oil) that can create jobs and or  generate revenue such as Agriculture, Solid Minerals and Manufacturing.

If these things had been done when the oil price was as high as US$120 per barrel, Nigeria would not be in the current predicament.

We would not be suffering now if we had no cash reserves but we had power, or a rail system, or good roads, or good housing. But we don’t have money and we don’t have the projects either.

Now that the oil has fallen below those levels, it is very difficult to do what is needed but they must be done to save Nigeria. There is no other way if we want to be honest.

If PDP were still in power they would have continued deceiving people, by borrowing to fund stealing and wastage and the problem would have simply been postponed for future generations to face.

One of former President Jonathon’s specific boasts is that dollar under him was N180 compared to today.  With such a line of argument it is clear why we are where we are. With oil prices as high as $120 the average inflow of dollars each month was high, making it easy to support cheap dollars. However with oil price plummeting as low as $28, the fundamental laws of supply and demand dictated that the currency would need to adjust, since oil was the sole export.  It is instructive to note that virtually every major oil exporter has witnessed currency adjustments with the fall in oil price.

The Buhari administration has taken a long term strategic view of supporting a stable naira on both the supply and demand sides. President Buhari has driven Import substitution to reduce demand for dollars to buy things we can produce thereby creating thousands of rural jobs in rice and other staples. In addition, there is a credible plan to diversity our revenue sources away from oil, with focus on export crops as well as solid minerals, with the release of US$100M fund to develop solid mineral extraction.

President Muhammdu Buhari has a positive and prosperous vision for Nigeria. A nation in which the natural talent and hard work  of the people is  being supported by an enabling environment of  infrastructural development  and policy reforms that will develop a firm future for our nation.  Nigerians are looking forward and the PDP’s lurking in the economic rear view mirror only underscores the resolve of Nigerians, that as far as the economy is concerned it is ‘’never again.”[myad]

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello is not comfortable with the dirty environment of Kuje, one of the six Area Councils of the capital city, and he told the chairman of the Council so.

The minister, who took a tour of the Council, in the company of the traditional ruler, the Gomo of Kuje, Alhaji Tanko Jibril and Council Chairman, Abdulahi Galadima, held the Council Chairman culpable for the poor state of sanitation in major roads leading to the town.

The minister said that while his administration is ready to take up major infrastructural works in the town,  including the road leading to the Kuje Prison, the Chairman should be up and doing in ensuring proper hygiene and waste management in the town.

One of the major project the minister pledged to execute in the area is the Kuje-Gwagwalada road.

Malam Muhammad Bello insisted that the contractors and engineers who have so far been drafted to site, should ensure timely and quality completion of the project.

The Minister stressed that the economic importance of the 16.5 Kilometre road traversing major agricultural firms and farmlands cannot be over-emphasised, even as he underscored its strategic significance as an alternative route that breaks gridlocks in and out of Abuja.

The minister said that out of the N700 million total contract sum for the road project, nearly N400 million has been paid to contractors. [myad]

Former Nigeria President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has asked the youths whether they are prepared to take over the leadership of the country as the age at which Nigerians can contest Presidential election has been lowered by the Senate.

Obasanjo asked, at the Youth Governance Dialogue, organized to mark this year’s International Youth Day in Abeokuta, Ogun State: “the point is this – how are you prepared? Are you really prepared?

“You should engage in things that will bring about unity and integration. You see yourselves as Nigerians and one family instead of pursuing things that could divide the country.”

The programme was organized by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library(OOPL), Abeokuta.

The former President feared that the major inhibition to youths taking over the leadership of the country is the lack of moral values that had been eroded the society today compared to what obtained in the 50s and the 60s.

He maintained that sound  moral values are the necessary ingredients required for leadership position, adding that the nation is in a dire need of leaders who are academically and spiritually sound.

He appealed to the youths to stop complaining, moaning and agonizing, but to get ready to fit into  elective offices as there were moves now to lower the age into positions of the President, Governor and National Assembly.

“I joined politics from the top. The only position I contested for in Nigeria is the Presidency, but I had track record of achievements which led to that.

“Nobody will choose you, you have to choose yourself. Why should you have to become president at the age of 40? Why can’t you become president at the age of 35? Why can’t you become president at the age of 30?

“General Gowon became Head of State at 33. I became Head of State at 39. And it is because of my track record, and thanks to Abacha (late Gen. Sani Abacha) for putting me in jail.

“Those were the reasons why I have opportunity to come back as elected President of Nigeria.” [myad]

No fewer than 44,000 companies operating in Nigeria have so far been de-listed from the database of the Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC) even as it registered 1.5 million other companies.

According to the Registrar General of CAC, Barrister Bello Mahmud in an interview with the Economic Confidential in Abuja, the development was sequel to several breaches of the Companies and other Matters Act (CAMA) and other extant regulations of the commission.

Some of the infractions, he explained, including late and outright refusal to file returns.

“So far, there is an improvement and a current ratio of 45 percent. We are still checking on company records especially in terms of compliance for those who have not been filing. If we discover you are not a going concern, the law establishing us gives us the power to delist from our database.” he said.

“If we discover and write you first, second and third letter without reply, we now deem it that you are not a going concern and we delist you from our database. So far, the first batch we delisted were about nine thousand (9000) And in the second batch about thirty-five (35,000) totalling 44,000 firms delisted from our database and is still ongoing.

“Unfortunately, these companies are “briefcase” companies because when you check on the addresses given, you won’t find them. We are still compiling the list and before the end of this year you will see more de-listed companies.”

He said that about 1.5 million firms have so far been registered by the commission.

Speaking on the clampdown on touts and illegal use of business names, the CAC boss said touts are no more in the premises of the commission “because if you can do it yourself you don’t even need to hire a lawyer and that is part of what the government has told us to do. If you want to register your company now, you can do it yourself.

“Just go to our portal and create an account for yourself. If you cannot do it on your own, then contact a lawyer, chartered Secretary or an Accountant. And these people can file documents on your behalf. Only these categories can access our portal and your very self. Touts have been completely eliminated.”

He said that as part of the efforts by the government in instituting the Ease of Doing Business, the commission has reduced filing fees to make it easier for people.

“For anybody registering a company of one million to half a million, we have reduced such fees by fifty percent. And from five million to any amount we have reduced them by 25 percent to encourage Ease of Doing Business.”

He said that the development had resulted in the loss of revenue to the commission,  adding: “you know we don’t receive any allocation from the government. What we generate here is what we use for our operations.”

On the Commission’s  feat in information technology to drive the registration process, Barr. Mahmud said: “the trend now is information technology(IT). You can’t do any online registration now as I told you without the use of IT. Our operations are ICT-based.

“As we speak, anybody can register in both United States and United Kingdom without necessarily coming to Nigeria. You can file from anywhere in the world and you cannot do that if we are not ICT-based.”

He said that the only challenge the commission has now has to do with old records that have not been captured.

“If you want to make a search on old records, you have to come to us physically. But we are doing all we can to upload them so that you can search without coming to us, and that would be done gradually in the coming months.

“If you ask us online, a Certified True Copy(CTC) would be made available to you and payment online.”

According to him, there are ongoing projects to make the operations run smoothly and that has to do with the online registration.

“We now have regulations and requirements which were not there before. The regulations are now online and anybody can go there and see our requirements. And by the presidential order, our fees and procedures are all online. If you go to our website you will know how long it will take you to register and get CTC when you apply for them. That is where we are heading to. And even if we are not able to get you at the stipulated time frame, we will equally let you know.” [myad]