Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has stopped people from visiting high profile Nigerians in its custody. The commission has also stopped all suspects and inmates from making phone calls to their lawyers, family members and loved ones.
An EFCC said that the Commission is getting worried over the spate of solidarity visits recently by friends, party members and relatives to many of the politicians in custody, including Bala Mohammed and Femi Fani-Kayode.
The EFCC order stopping such visits and phone conversations was contained in a circular from the office of Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu.
The order came a few hours after the release on bail of the former Nigerian minister of state for Defence, Musliu Obanikoro and special adviser to the former President Goodluck Jonathan on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati yesterday, Friday. [myad]
Former Nigeria minister of State for Defense, Musiliu Obanikoro has dropped the sum of N100 million, part of the alleged loot he enjoyed from Dasukigate and has therefore been left of the hook of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
The N100 million he dropped, according to EFCC is an “Administrative bail” condition which he deposited in the Federal Recovery Account.
The EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren confirmed that Obanikoro was granted “Administrative Bail” today, Friday.
The former minister has since retired to his Abuja home where family members claimed he was resting.
Obanikoro surrendered to the EFCC three weeks ago on his return to Nigeria and had since been in detention as he failed on several occasions to make the necessary refund that was a precondition for his release.
A year Ago, Obanikoro had admitted to the EFCC that he embezzled N800 million from about N4.7 billion stolen in 2014 from a budget designated for procurement of weaponry and other equipment for the Nigerian military to enhance its fight against Islamist militant group, Boko Haram.
The funds were laundered through a bank account controlled by his two sons, Babajide and Gbolahan before they were physically ferried to Ekiti state where the funds were deployed to assist Governor Ayodele Fayose to rig the governorship election in Ekiti State.
An audio tape detailing how men of the Nigerian Army discussed in detail on the rigging plan of the election by clamping down on opposition figures in the state led to the initial investigation about the massive corruption involving Obanikoro and others. [myad]
The Attorney General of the Federation and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has, on behalf of the Federal Government, charged three Supreme Court officials to an Abuja High Court with nine counts, including alleged diversion of N2.2 billion belonging to the court.
The Chief Registrar of the court, Mr. Ahmed Saleh, Muhammed Sharif and Rilwanu Lawal are also being accused of receiving gratifications totaling N74.4 million from private contractors providing services to the Supreme Court between 2009 and 2016.
Saleh is among the persons shortlisted for final consideration by the National Judicial Council to succeed the outgoing Secretary of the council, Danladi Halilu.
The date of their arraignment has not been fixed, but they will be facing nine counts of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust by allegedly diverting 2.2 billion belonging to the apex court and receiving gratification as public officers.
According to the charges, they were alleged to have received gratification from Willysdave Limited, Welcon Nigeria Limited, Dean Musa Nigeria Limited, Ababia Ventures Limited and MBR Computers Limited.
The alleged acts are contrary to section 315 of the Penal Code Act and punishable under the same section, by diverting the sum of N2.2bn belonging to the Supreme Court.
The accused persons allegedly deposited same into personal accounts with a Nigerian bank.
They allegedly conspired among themselves contrary to Section 96 of the Penal Code Act 2004 and punishable under Section 97 of the same Act to commit the illegal act of diverting the 2.2 billion Naira belonging to the apex court.
The prosecution alleged in counts three to nine that the accused, between 2009 and 2016, received gratification of 10 million Naira from Willysdave Limited, eight million Naira (in two tranches of six million Naira and two million Naira) from Welcon Nigeria Limited, 2.4 million Naira; 16 million Naira from Dean Musa Nigeria Limited; 19 million Naira from Ababia Ventures Limited and 21 million Naira from MBR Computers.
The offences of taking gratification by public officers are said to be contrary to Section 10 (a) (i) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission Act 2000 and are punishable under the same section of the Act.
The charges filed are coming weeks after the homes of some judges were raided, with some of them arrested by security operatives on allegations of corruption and misconduct. [myad]
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has finally fixed December 10 for the election of Senator and House of Representatives polls in Rivers state.
The fixing of date came against the background of the controversies which snowballed into the Senate threatening to ground its functions if the electoral umpire refused to conduct the election.
A statement from INEC also fixed December 3 for the election of the Lagos state House of Representatives and the Federal Caoital Territory (FCT) for the Councillorship election respectively.
More than 30 million votes have been cast already across 38 states in early voting in the ongoing 2016 U.S. election with four days into the November 8 elections.
Early voting data from several battleground states showed that Democrats are building an early voting lead in North Carolina and Nevada. However, Republicans maintain an edge in Florida and Ohio as well as in Arizona, while Democrats are also ahead in Colorado and Iowa.
According to a CNN/Catalist polls, both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are encouraging their supporters to hit the polls early. So far, about 7.4 million registered Democrats and about 6.4 million Republicans have done just that.
The polls also showed that not all Democrats are voting for Clinton, and not all Republicans support Trump.
In Arizona, a battleground state where about 1.3 million people have already voted, registered Republicans are ahead by about 71,000 votes or 5.5 per cent.
Last week, Republicans lead over Democrats was only about 11,500 while that lead is now more than 71,000. In Colorado, a state where the election is almost entirely conducted by mail, Democrats have consistently led Republicans in terms of ballots returned.
There are some new polls out of Colorado that show a tightening race, with the Democratic lead one week ago was about 5.6 per cent. In Florida, the largest electoral state with 53 Electoral College, Republicans have been steadily ahead in the early vote by about 0.5 per cent over the past week.
The Republicans lead is tiny with only about 16,000 votes out of more than 2.7 million cast but it is seen as a strong sign for Republicans which trailed Democrats by more than 73,000 votes in 2012.
Democrats hope to gain the big gains among Latino voters enough to overcome whatever drop-off there is in the African-American vote. Democrats lead Republicans in Iowa, but they have been consistently behind their winning 2012 pace. Right now, about 41,000 more Democrats than Republicans have voted in the State but at this point in 2012, they had an edge of more than 60,000 votes, according to the data.
However, a majority of voters in Iowa typically cast their ballots on Nov. 8. In Nevada, the early vote in Nevada has tracked closely with 2012, a year when Democrats built a significant lead during the early voting window Registered Democrats are ahead by about 29,000 votes right now over registered Republicans.
The polls showed a slight drop from the 31,000-vote lead they had in 2012 when Democrats were ahead by about 38,000 votes, or 7.6 per cent. Democrats are padding their lead in North Carolina, consistently increasing their raw vote advantage over Republicans as more early voting locations open across the state. Registered Democrats are ahead by about 243,000 votes across the state, whereas in 2012, the Democratic lead was more than 307,000 votes.
African-American turnout is lower this year and they have dropped as a share of the early electorate from 28 per cent in 2012 to about 23 per cent currently.
The overwhelming majority of African-Americans that voted already in North Carolina were also registered Democrats.
In Ohio, registered Republicans expanded their lead ahead of Democrats by almost 66,000 votes, or about five points.
Early voting is down across Ohio this year due likely to the cutbacks imposed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2013, to the number of days of early voting. [myad]
Uganda’s High Court has ordered the closure of a chain of low-cost private schools backed by Microsoft and Facebook founders Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg respectively.
Judge Patricia Basaza Wasswa ruled that the 63 Bridge International Academies, which claims to have 12,000 students in Uganda, provided unsanitary learning conditions, used unqualified teachers and were not properly licensed.
The ruling is a blow to Bridge International which has expanded rapidly since its inception in 2008 offering cheap, standardised, technology-driven education in developing countries in Africa and Asia.
Under the Bridge International model, teachers read scripted lessons word-for-word from a tablet computer that also records student attendance and assessments. Gates’ and Zuckerberg’s foundations are among the company’s high-profile backers.
But Bridge International has courted controversy with Liberian teachers threatening to strike earlier this year over government plans to outsource all primary education to the private US-owned company.
In Uganda, government inspectors said children were being taught in sub-standard facilities and unsanitary conditions.
But James Black, a parent who chose Bridge International for his six children, said he appreciated the low fees of around $28 per term, or a third of what he used to pay, and disagreed with the decision.
“The government says that the facilities are not clean but when I visit the school I look at the kitchen and latrines and they are fine,” he said.
“Bridge schools are mushrooming and many of the officials in the Ministry own private schools and I think that they are scared that they will lose pupils and their fees.”
Bridge International, which claims to have 12,000 students in Uganda, said it would challenge the High Court ruling. “We are extremely disappointed for our pupils and disagree with this ruling,” said liaison officer Godwin Matsiko.
“We plan to appeal, on behalf of the more than 20,000 Ugandans who have decided to send their children to our schools.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has confessed that he had wanted to throw in the towel immediately after he came into power last year because of the mountain of problems he met.
“Actually, I felt like absconding because 27 out of 36 states in Nigeria cannot pay salaries and and we know they have no other source than to depend on salaries to pay rent and do other things. “I asked if there was any saving and I was told there was no saving. I asked what they did on agriculture, power, rails and roads. There was nothing. You know more than I do because you move around. I have not been moving around since after elections but you do. How many of the Trunk A roads are still good enough? How many power do we have although there are some elements of sabotage?” President Buhari who spoke today, Thursday, when he hosted participants of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos the Plateau state capital, went on: “I was told the money was used to import food and fuel. I didn’t believe the answer and I still do not believe it. Uptil now, a substantial number of people in the East eat garri and groundnut; in the West they eat pounded yam, cassava, vegetables; in the North, they eat tuwo which is made from any of the grains: millet, sorghum. They eat it in the night and warm it in the morning and eat it and take fura in the afternoon. How many of those people can afford foreign food? “Then they said I should check out the petroleum sector. The legislature dedicated 445,000 barrels per day for internal consumption and that is just 60 percent of our requirements. I said ok, what of the 40 percent? The marketers that are bringing it just present documents, papers are just stamped and monies are taken away. “This is the type of things that the Nigerian elites are doing for our own country. When you go back, look at your colleagues and encourage them to be truly Nigerians.” [myad]
The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern States and Abuja, Reverend Yakubu Pam has said that it was not a mistake that God chose President Buhari to lead the country at these challenging times. The CAN Chairman was in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa today, Thursday, along with top executive members from 19 Northern States and Abuja for a courtesy visit of the President. The CAN leader commended the Buhari administration for the blow it dealt on Boko Haram insurgents, which had led to comparative peace in the North-east, the return of 21 abducted schoolgirls from Chibok and the anti-corruption war which must be fought to the logical conclusion. “We are ready to support your administration to deliver good governance. You have good intentions for Nigeria, judging from the programmes that have been outlined.” Rev. Pam highlighted ethno-religious challenges in the country, freedom of worship, and herdsmen/farmers’ clashes in their discussion with the President. Responding, President Buhari assured Nigerians that he would keep faith with the oath of office he swore, and treat all Nigerians equitably. He pledged to restore peace to all parts of the country saying: “restoring peace is top priority. We will enable the law enforcement agencies to combat all forms of violent crimes, and ensure that our people live in peace.” President Buhari asked the clerics to promote religious harmony by enhancing understanding among different faiths. He said that the government would maintain the priority it has placed on agriculture and mines and steel development, “to kick-start the economy.” [myad]
The Minister of Transportation, Chief Rotimi Amaechi has announced move being made buy the federal government to privatise the nation’s port as one of the measures to re-position the maritime sector for greater efficiency and competitiveness. The Minister who spoke during the celebration of the 2016 World Maritime Day with the theme “Shipping, Indispensable to the World” held in Lagos said that the sector is facing myriad of challenges bothering on non-competitiveness, low level of investment, absence of requisite funding, low implementation and enforcement of existing laws amongst others. He said that the government is bringing up a robust strategy that will address the challenges that may hinder the growth of the sector. “As part of a comprehensive action to address these challenges and ensure efficiency and cost effectiveness of the shipping industry, a number of measures are being put in place, including the privatization of the nation’s ports, while various regulatory Agencies are being repositioned for effective service delivery.” Amaechi said that the Transport Sector Reform Bills currently before the National Assembly are receiving legislative consideration and it is hoped that the expeditious passage of the bills would give effect to the proposed reform aimed at strengthening the relevant maritime Agencies for effective performance. The Minister said that thew reform being put in place would bring to an end, all forms of illegalities on the nation’s waterways. While discussing the paper presented by Captain Adamu Biu on “Growth and Development of Shipping Industry in Nigeria: Creating Enabling Environment,” the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside said that the management has already began the process of repositioning the Agency through its Medium Term Strategic Growth Plan built around the Management’s vision of Reforming, Restructuring and Repositioning the Agency towards the growth and development of the maritime sector. “There must be a long term strategy on our policy framework and its implementation. NIMASA as an Agency has already drawn up its own Medium Term Policy to engender higher efficiency and productivity.” Dr. Peterside who noted that the dearth of human resources in the maritime industry is a global phenomenon, assured stakeholders that NIMASA is committed to building the requisite manpower through adequate training and thanked the Shipowners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) for accepting to provide 100 sea time berths for cadets of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria in a phased programme. The Director General said that in achieving a competitive maritime sector, security is a very key factor and as such the Agency has revisited its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Navy and other relevant Agencies to ensure safety and security in the maritime domain. Present at the event were Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT), Mr. Sabiu Zakari, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) Barrister Hassan Bello, Chief Adebayo Sarumi amongst several other Industry Stakeholders. [myad]
Former President Goodluck Jonathan seems to have broken his long silence since eviction from Aso Rock Villa last year. He has been quiet, watching in utter surprise the demystification and unveiling of the plague of his six-year reign of Nigeria’s ruination in all sectors by the All Progressives Congress-led government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Had the former President been silent to his grave, after supervising the castration of Nigeria, his beloved country, for which he now claims unfounded love, he would have easily passed as a nice gentleman cum African leader whose silence is really golden. But Jonathan is not contented that his wife and Nigeria’s former imperial first Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has not only assaulted and insulted the sensibilities of Nigerians enough, so he must add to it. His wife shocked Nigerians by admitting the millions of idle US Dollars found in bank accounts linked to her in 2016 were meant for her foreign medical treatment in 2013. Only a fool would think Jonathan is prodded by his wife to suddenly become chatty. That former President Jonathan, as a sitting President meekly conceded defeat to his opposition winner of the 2015 presidential polls, President Buhari without protestations was not a preconceived decision. It was a circumstantial act ennobled by world leaders and leaders of Foreign Election Observer Missions who pressured him to accept defeat. His original intention was to scuttle full announcement of the presidential election results as his principal agent and former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, hinted by his actions in full glare of blistering media cameras. But today and out of office, Jonathan speaks to the world or the international community, which is privy to this information haughtily as a mark of his political maturity and rare gesture to deepen democracy. In January 2016 when Jonathan received the Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference Award in Atlanta,USA, he proudly alluded to this act as his demonstration “….through action that nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian.” Months later, in June 6, 2016, in a speech at the Bloomberg Studios in London,Jonathan re-echoed the same feeling more pungently: “Some may think it is ironic that perhaps my proudest achievement was not winning the 2015 Presidential Election.” From this standpoint of self-glorification, Jonathan is unashamedly attempting to recast a fresh narrative of the success of his administration, which Nigerians did not feel or experienced. Again in October 2016 Ex-President Jonathan delivered a speech on the promotion of youth entrepreneurship in Africa at Oxford Union. He dubiously seized the audience to trumpet his initiation of youth empowerment schemes, which in reality existed only in shadows and at best, served as conduit pipes for siphoning public funds by his trusted acolytes. Away from the confines of office,Jonathan believes a nation’s citizenry,particularly,the youth can only create wealth if properly educated, “… because the richest people today are those who develop ideas and commercialize them. Viable ideas can only come from educated minds, and money pursues ideas.” But Jonathan was one Nigerian leader who hated funding and promotion of education as President.United Nations has stipulated a devotion of 26 percent of annual budgets of developing countries to education.But under the ignominious Jonathan administration, education ministry would always peg the least in budgetary allocation. Indeed, it is under his presidency that ASUU embarked on one of the longest strikes in the country’s history, lasting for six months, over the implementation of the FGN/ASUU agreement of 2009.His late boss, President Umaru Yar’Adua initiated it and he inherited. So, what was the wisdom in establishing the politically distributed 12 fresh conventional universities when it was clear from the grumbling of ASUU that existing ones could not be properly funded and lacked qualified teaching staff? Former President Jonathan spoke about schemes he initiated to get youth busy and gainfully employed. Citing examples, he mentioned Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria “YouWIN; ”the Youth Employment in Agriculture Program nder his Agricultural Transformation Agenda, but conveniently refused to make any reference to the employees of SURE-P, which he refused pay or had their salary fund mortgaged to party bigwigs for his re-election campaigns. There were scores of protests from SURE-P labourers for months of unpaid stipends on assumption of office by President Buhari. In any case, the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Planning Commission’s official figures posted astronomical rise in unemployment figures under the infamous Jonathan Presidency. In a 2011 Performance Monitoring Report on Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies, (MDAs) both the NBS and NPC alerted Nigerians to a frightening unemployment rate thus: “In 2011, Nigeria’s unemployment rose to 23.9 percent compared with 21.1 percent in 2010.” This was further corroborated in June by the World Bank’s Nigeria Economic Report, which disclosed a worsening unemployment rate from “12% of the working population in 2006 to 24% in 2011.” And until he was forced out of office,he left the burden for the incoming government. So, unless Jonathan tackled the unemployment crisis in the moon, Nigerians never felt any respite under him and sounding sanctimonious as he did at the Oxford Union only reminds Nigerians of the Immigration recruitment tragedy which caused the death of 19 applicants in stampedes at various centers as 120,000 unemployed youths scrambled for 4,500 vacancies. In a plain and undisguised falsehood, Jonathan claimed that his administration witnessed “… unprecedented economic growth for Nigeria.” “Under my watch,Nigeria was projected by CNN Money to be the third fastest growing economy in the world for the year 2015 and rated as the largest economy in Africa and the 23rd in the world by the World Bank and the IMF, with a GDP above half a Trillion US dollars,” he intoned. But in practical terms what beneficial memories has the hoopla about Nigeria being the largest economy in Africa brought to Nigerians? Nothing positive! The Jonathan government left months of unpaid salaries even to federal workers and government could not pay local contractors debts which piled over a trillion naira despite the “unprecedented economic growth?” With no intention to malign, but to say the least,Jonathan wasted his breathe and energy speaking to the wrong audience, as they heard, but never believed him. So, he was unnecessarily mouthy and in the wrong place.Sometimes, silence is more golden, as nothing in his speech strikes like a philosophical statement from a leader. . Okanga writes from Agila, Benue State. [myad]
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Jonathan’s Wrong Parroting In Wrong Climes, By Okanga Agila
Former President Goodluck Jonathan seems to have broken his long silence since eviction from Aso Rock Villa last year. He has been quiet, watching in utter surprise the demystification and unveiling of the plague of his six-year reign of Nigeria’s ruination in all sectors by the All Progressives Congress-led government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Had the former President been silent to his grave, after supervising the castration of Nigeria, his beloved country, for which he now claims unfounded love, he would have easily passed as a nice gentleman cum African leader whose silence is really golden.
But Jonathan is not contented that his wife and Nigeria’s former imperial first Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has not only assaulted and insulted the sensibilities of Nigerians enough, so he must add to it.
His wife shocked Nigerians by admitting the millions of idle US Dollars found in bank accounts linked to her in 2016 were meant for her foreign medical treatment in 2013. Only a fool would think Jonathan is prodded by his wife to suddenly become chatty.
That former President Jonathan, as a sitting President meekly conceded defeat to his opposition winner of the 2015 presidential polls, President Buhari without protestations was not a preconceived decision. It was a circumstantial act ennobled by world leaders and leaders of Foreign Election Observer Missions who pressured him to accept defeat.
His original intention was to scuttle full announcement of the presidential election results as his principal agent and former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, hinted by his actions in full glare of blistering media cameras.
But today and out of office, Jonathan speaks to the world or the international community, which is privy to this information haughtily as a mark of his political maturity and rare gesture to deepen democracy.
In January 2016 when Jonathan received the Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference Award in Atlanta,USA, he proudly alluded to this act as his demonstration “….through action that nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian.”
Months later, in June 6, 2016, in a speech at the Bloomberg Studios in London,Jonathan re-echoed the same feeling more pungently: “Some may think it is ironic that perhaps my proudest achievement was not winning the 2015 Presidential Election.”
From this standpoint of self-glorification, Jonathan is unashamedly attempting to recast a fresh narrative of the success of his administration, which Nigerians did not feel or experienced.
Again in October 2016 Ex-President Jonathan delivered a speech on the promotion of youth entrepreneurship in Africa at Oxford Union. He dubiously seized the audience to trumpet his initiation of youth empowerment schemes, which in reality existed only in shadows and at best, served as conduit pipes for siphoning public funds by his trusted acolytes.
Away from the confines of office,Jonathan believes a nation’s citizenry,particularly,the youth can only create wealth if properly educated, “… because the richest people today are those who develop ideas and commercialize them. Viable ideas can only come from educated minds, and money pursues ideas.”
But Jonathan was one Nigerian leader who hated funding and promotion of education as President.United Nations has stipulated a devotion of 26 percent of annual budgets of developing countries to education.But under the ignominious Jonathan administration, education ministry would always peg the least in budgetary allocation.
Indeed, it is under his presidency that ASUU embarked on one of the longest strikes in the country’s history, lasting for six months, over the implementation of the FGN/ASUU agreement of 2009.His late boss, President Umaru Yar’Adua initiated it and he inherited.
So, what was the wisdom in establishing the politically distributed 12 fresh conventional universities when it was clear from the grumbling of ASUU that existing ones could not be properly funded and lacked qualified teaching staff?
Former President Jonathan spoke about schemes he initiated to get youth busy and gainfully employed. Citing examples, he mentioned Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria “YouWIN; ”the Youth Employment in Agriculture Program nder his Agricultural Transformation Agenda, but conveniently refused to make any reference to the employees of SURE-P, which he refused pay or had their salary fund mortgaged to party bigwigs for his re-election campaigns. There were scores of protests from SURE-P labourers for months of unpaid stipends on assumption of office by President Buhari.
In any case, the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Planning Commission’s official figures posted astronomical rise in unemployment figures under the infamous Jonathan Presidency.
In a 2011 Performance Monitoring Report on Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies, (MDAs) both the NBS and NPC alerted Nigerians to a frightening unemployment rate thus: “In 2011, Nigeria’s unemployment rose to 23.9 percent compared with 21.1 percent in 2010.” This was further corroborated in June by the World Bank’s Nigeria Economic Report, which disclosed a worsening unemployment rate from “12% of the working population in 2006 to 24% in 2011.”
And until he was forced out of office,he left the burden for the incoming government. So, unless Jonathan tackled the unemployment crisis in the moon, Nigerians never felt any respite under him and sounding sanctimonious as he did at the Oxford Union only reminds Nigerians of the Immigration recruitment tragedy which caused the death of 19 applicants in stampedes at various centers as 120,000 unemployed youths scrambled for 4,500 vacancies.
In a plain and undisguised falsehood, Jonathan claimed that his administration witnessed “… unprecedented economic growth for Nigeria.”
“Under my watch,Nigeria was projected by CNN Money to be the third fastest growing economy in the world for the year 2015 and rated as the largest economy in Africa and the 23rd in the world by the World Bank and the IMF, with a GDP above half a Trillion US dollars,” he intoned.
But in practical terms what beneficial memories has the hoopla about Nigeria being the largest economy in Africa brought to Nigerians? Nothing positive! The Jonathan government left months of unpaid salaries even to federal workers and government could not pay local contractors debts which piled over a trillion naira despite the “unprecedented economic growth?”
With no intention to malign, but to say the least,Jonathan wasted his breathe and energy speaking to the wrong audience, as they heard, but never believed him. So, he was unnecessarily mouthy and in the wrong place.Sometimes, silence is more golden, as nothing in his speech strikes like a philosophical statement from a leader.
. Okanga writes from Agila, Benue State. [myad]