Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi has threatened to hand over to law enforcement agency, any traditional ruler in the state who allows youth in his domain to breed cultists and allow children to stay away from school.
“If I hear of cultism in your domain, I will turn my face the other way. Kidnapping and child trafficking must not happen in your domain. If in any community I find a child that is not in school, I will not discipline you because you are my fathers, but I will turn my face in the other way and the law will take its course.
Governor Umahi, who spoke as he inaugurated the state’s Council of Traditional Rulers at the Government House in Abakaliki, vowed to check the declining status of education and health sectors in the state.
“The health centres are now your second palace. You are now the patrons of the health centres. You are also in- charge of our educational system.
A statement on Thursday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Emma Anya, quoted governor Umahi as calling on the traditional rulers to maintain peace in their various communities.
The governor, however commended the monarchs for the roles they played in restoring peace in Ezillo and Ezza/Ezillo communities in Ishielu Local Government Area of the state, reminding them that they would remain the chief security officers of their communities.
“There is no way you can be Ezes (monarchs) and we are having crises, it with will not work. We must know about crises before they even blow up. “We have the Commissioner for Peace and Conflict Resolution.. We also have the senior Special Assistant on Security. We have the Secretary to State Government. We have the Deputy Governor,we have the governor. We have the Attorney Genneral, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftancy Matters, SAs on Chieftaincy Matters and Attitudinal Change. So you have many channels to get us when you sense any problem.”
The newly constituted traditional council has Eze Charles Mkpuma as chairman. Eze Mkpuma assured the governor of the total support of the royal fathers to his administration. [myad]
The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, is eying Knauf Group, a German firm currently establishing a $75 million building/construction tools manufacturing factory in Lagos, and has quickly directed relevant agencies to give the firm free land.
Governor Ambode also approved free land for the establishment of a training centre in Lagos where architects, civil engineers and craftsmen will be trained on modern trends and technologies in the construction sector.
The governor, who received in audience, a delegation of the German firm at the government house, indicated his determination to attract foreign investors into the State.
The Knauf Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of modern insulation materials, dry lining systems, plasters and accessories, thermal insulation composite systems, paints, floor screed, floor systems, and construction equipment and tools.
The delegation was led by a member of the Management Committee of the firm, Isabel Knauf, and Consular General of German Embassy in Lagos, Ingo Herbert.
Governor Ambode, who recalled the last time Herbert visited the Lagos House about 11 months ago, said his administration has remained focused to the promise of upholding judicial and security sector reforms, as well as creating a friendly environment for investment to thrive.
He said that the massive investment by The Knauf Group in Lagos was a pointer to the fact that investors are still willing to invest in Nigeria despite the economic recession, and that the country will come out of the economic doldrums even stronger.
“I must commend the German government and The Knauf Group for showing something important to all Nigerians that beyond the economic recession, their total believe in our economy is unshaken because it is not enough for any investor to come into an area where they have never invested before and months after, the parameters for investment are not really looking good, but you stuck in there and beyond the fact that you have gone to procure land, you also have an established office within the last eleven months and you are already pumping in money into what you want to do.
“This is a great pointer to the fact that you believe in the Lagos economy and also believe in the future of Nigeria and I like to encourage other investors to emulate what your firm and government is doing in Lagos and as they show interest, we will not hesitate to give them the necessary support.”
Governor Ambode said that The Knauf Group specifically deserved to be commended for not just investing in Nigeria, but also bringing the German vocational expertise on an area of construction that was hitherto not in existence in Nigeria into Lagos.
The Governor said that he was excited about the fact that the firm was not just establishing a factory here in Lagos, but also a training centre where Nigerians will be trained, adding that he would stop at nothing to encourage investors such as The Knauf Group.
Earlier, Knauf said that the team was at the Lagos House to brief Governor Ambode on the progress made so far since the project started in September 2015.
She said that the firm has 23 training centres all over the world and that it trains about 14,000 people annually.
She said that they would like to build the same training centre in Lagos where architects, civil engineers and craftsmen would be trained on how to technically install their products.
She said that after completion of the factory, the firm would create 25,000 direct employment even as she said that the training centre will cost about two million Euros to establish, while at least 800 Nigerians will be trained annually in the first phase.
Knauf solicited the support of the State Government in land space for the training centre and permit issues. [myad]
The Police in Kogi State have charged Mohammed Audu, son of the former Governor of the state, the late Prince Abubakar Audu, to a Lokoja Magistrate’s court for robbery and attempted culpable homicide.
Mohammed was arrested on Wednesday night when he honoured police invitation at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad at the Police Headquarters in Lokoja.
The prosecution charged the accused with criminal conspiracy, causing grievous hurt, mischief, armed robbery and attempted culpable homicide, contrary to sections 97(1), 248, 327, 298 and 229 of the Penal Code.
The prosecuting police officer, Gabriel Otowu, told the court that Mohammed allegedly committed the offences against his uncle, Prince Yahaya Audu, on August 30 in the family house at Ogbonicha, Ofu Local Government Area.
Otowu told the court that Yahaya and one Ibrahim Imam were in his family compound at Ogbonicha for the eighth day prayer of Dauda when the alleged offence took place.
He said in the First Information Report, Yahaya alleged that hoodlums armed with guns, cutlasses and axe criminally conspired and invaded his compound pretending to be visitors.
He alleged that Yahaya ignorantly welcomed the people, who asked him to give them “something no matter how small”.
The prosecutor said that as the complainant walked toward his vehicle to give them money, the people attacked him from behind with a machete and “thoroughly” beat him up.
He said that the suspects inflicted injuries on the complainant and shot sporadically into the air.
Otowu said that the complainant fell to the ground and pretended to be dead and the hoodlums attempted to carry him before he ran into the bush and escaped.
He also said that they broke the windscreen of his jeep and made away with his Samsung handset.
The prosecutor further said that the complainant and Imman sustained bullet wounds and were later rushed to the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, for treatment.
He said that prior to the attack, the accused had threatened to deal with Yahaya.
In his submission, Okechukwu Ayewu, leading seven other lawyers for the accused, urged the court to grant his client bail in line with the constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code.
Otowu, however, did not object to the bail application but urged the court to use its discretion.
The Magistrate, Alhassan Husaini, in his ruling, said: “Though I find on the face of the originating process a barrage of allegations, it appears that both counsel are on the same page.
“Accordingly, the accused person herein is admitted to bail in the sum of N100,000 with a surety in like sum.”
Husaini adjourned the matter to September 29 for further mention. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Nigerians to realize that the change they want to see begins with them, and that personal and social reforms are not theoretic exercise.
He declared on Thursday as he launched the national re-orientation campaign at the Presidential Villa, Abuja: “if you have not seen the change in you, you cannot see it in others or even the larger society. In other words, before you ask ‘where is the change they promised us,’ you must first ask how far I have changed my ways; ‘what have I done to be part of the change for the greater good of society.’”
The President regretted that Nigeria today is passing through a challenging moment where hardly anything works in a normal manner. Many have attributed this phenomenon to the total breakdown of our core values over the years.
The campaign launch, which was witnessed by top government officials, had as its theme ‘Change Begins With Me.’
According to the President, today in Nigeria, honesty, hard work, Godliness have given way to all kinds of manifestations of lawlessness and degeneration in our national life.
“This is why we have among our cardinal objectives ‘change,’ which implies the need for a change of attitude and mindset in our everyday life.
“I need not mention the serious effort we have engaged in since the inception of this administration on the fight against corruption in our public life. With the progress we have so far made in that regard, we feel the need to ensure that we put in place the necessary sustainable framework for action and measures that will help to entrench and consolidate the progress achieved so far.
“This we believe can best be maintained through attitudinal change, and the change of our mindset in private and public life. The campaign we are about to launch today is all about the need for us to see change not merely in terms of our economic, social progress but in terms of our personal behaviour on how we conduct ourselves, engage our neigbhours, friends and generally how we relate with the larger society in a positive and definitive way and manner that promotes our common good and common destiny, change at home, change in the work place, change at traffic junction, change at traffic lights etc.”
President Buhari stressed that the campaign which launched, is part of the determination of his political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to seek to carry all Nigerians along on the journey to a better and greater society that we all can be proud of.
This has become necessary, Buhari said, because the long-cherished and time honoured, time-tested virtues of honesty, integrity, hard work, punctuality, good neighbourliness, abhorrence of corruption and patriotism, have given way in the main to dishonesty, indolence, unbridled corruption and widespread impunity.
He said that the resultant effect of this derailment in our value system is being felt in the social, political and economic sphere, saying that it is the reason that some youths will take to cultism and brigandage instead of studying hard or engaging in decent living.
“It is the reason that some elements will break pipelines and other oil facilities, thus robbing the nation of much-needed resources; it is the reason that money belonging to our commonwealth will be brazenly stolen by the same public officials to whom they were entrusted; it is the reason why motorist drive through red traffic lights, it is the reason that many will engage in thuggery and vote-stealing during elections; it is part of what has driven our economy into deep problem out of which we are now working hard to extricate ourselves. Every one of us must have a change from our old ways of doing things; we cannot fold our arms and allow things to continue the old way.
“We must resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our country for so long. Let us summon a new spirit of responsibility, spirit of service, of patriotism and sacrifice, Let us all resolve to pitch in and work hard and look after, not only ourselves but one another, What the current problem has taught us is that we cannot have a thriving army of rent seekers and vested interests, while the majority suffers.
“Rather than sit back and complain endlessly, we have decided to act pragmatically, with the launch of this National Re-orientation Campaign. “The campaign will not be a sprint but a marathon that will run the course of our tenure. We are under no illusion that the changes we seek will happen overnight, but we have no doubt that the campaign will help restore our value system and rekindle our nationalistic fervor.”
President Buhari said that the government’s determination to drive the Change Begins With Me’ campaign must be strongly supported by all concerned individually.
He described the private sector as the major stakeholder, stressing that when the campaign succeeds, it will impact heavily on the private sector.
“A punctual, diligent and hardworking staff can only be of benefit of not just himself or herself or the organization they work for but to various governments whether at local, state or Federal level.”
Buhari congratulated the stakeholders, especially Ministry of Information and Culture and the National Orientation Agency for conceiving this campaign, even as he I charged Nigerians to pursue the campaign with vigour and ensure its sustenance by taking it to all the nook and crannies of this country, with the aim of getting the buy in of the old, the young, the rich, the poor irrespective of gender or other social positions.
The President subsequently handed handover the instrument of the Change Campaign, tagged: ‘Change Begins With Me’ to the Minister for Information and Culture, for transmission to all Nigerians and friends of Nigeria. [myad]
The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has made it clear that the Agency is capable of carrying out its regulatory functions and will not abdicate its mandate to anybody.
Dr. Peterside who spoke when he received in audience members of the National Association of Stevedoring Companies, led by its President, Mr. Bolaji Sunmola at the Agency’s headquarters in Lagos, warned that NIMASA will take full responsibility on the operations of stevedoring companies and how they relate with terminal and jetty operators. He added that they do not have the powers to eject stevedoring companies approved by the government to operate in their facilities.
“It is NIMASA’s responsibility to oversight Stevedoring functions in our ports, terminals and jetties and we will not abdicate that function to anybody. In the exercise of this function, we will interphase with terminal operators and the National Association of Stevedoring Companies to make sure maritime operations are not hampered.”
Dr. Peterside said that the Agency understands the challenges faced by Stevedoring Companies and the terminal operators and that NIMASA will consult further with all parties to ensure that there is an amicable resolution of the issues.
The Director General highlighted the importance of Stevedoring companies, including facilitating economic growth, ensuring industrial harmony and also serving as a security shield in the ports.
He assured the delegation of the Agency’s commitment to develop human capacity saying that “the Management of NIMASA has approved a comprehensive stevedoring guideline sensitization which would soon commence”.
Earlier, Bolaji Sunmola had called on NIMASA to come to their rescue in respect of their negotiations with terminal operators as it has become a norm for Jetties and offshore/onshore operators to refuse the Federal Government appointed stevedoring contractors to operate in their premises.
Sunmola said that the appointment of stevedoring companies to these facilities was a deliberate attempt by the Federal Government to avoid security breacheseven as he appealed to the Agency to activate the 2014 NIMASA Stevedoring Regulations which he thinks will go a long way in resolving the issues with the terminal operators. [myad]
Turkish authorities have released more than 35,000 prisoners to free up space in its crowded facilities. A media report said in Istanbul that 7,450 convicted felons and 28,522 people awaiting sentencing have been released from prisons.
It said that the release was aimed at concluding the official measures announced three weeks ago.
Turkish media have reported that prisons have become overcrowded amid a far-reaching government crackdown that has resulted in the arrests of thousands of citizens in the wake of a July 15 military coup.
It said that under Turkey’s current state of emergency, authorities have passed measures allowing for about 38,000 people convicted before the coup to be released under certain conditions.
Prisoners convicted of serious crimes such as murder or rapes were excluded from the measure.
President Muhammadu Buhari has described Professor Isidore Okpewho, a renowned novelist who died recently at the age of 74 as a of literary icon.
In a condolence message to the family, friends and associates of the deceased, as well as Delta state, President Buhari praised his him for his multiple award winning and exceptionally brilliant academic showing.
He said that the late scholar lived a simple, dignified and exemplary life, saying that as one of the winners of the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) in 2010, late Okpewho brought pride and glory to his country through inspiring novels, teaching skills and mentoring of young writers.
The condolence which was issued by the special adviser to the President on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted President Buhari as saying that the legacies of discipline, hard work and honesty which shaped the life and times of the scholar, and were interpreted in his works, will continue to inspire younger writers in Nigeria and across the world.
He then prayed to Go to grant him eternal rest and to comfort his family. [myad]
Established under section 153 of the 1999 constitution, the National Council of States is an advisory body set up to advise sitting presidents on issues including those relating to the prerogative of mercies. The body comprises the president, who chair’s the meeting, the vice president, all former presidents and heads of government.
President Goodluck Jonathan walked into the council chambers of the presidential villa few minutes before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Setember 7, to attend the rescheduled meeting of the council that was widely advertised last week. It was reported that the meeting was going to convene Thursday with his attendance practically tied on the invitation of President Muhammadu Buhari. Jonathan who is currently entangled in web of allegations relating to corruption shouldn’t have attended the meeting on moral grounds since the hallowed chambers of the council is still being cleaned having been brought into filth through a cesspool of corruption that he had allegedly supervised.
The gross allegations also include masterminding the current economic decline, the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta, official graft, lack of investments in infrastructures and all that is bad in this country by the government. This makes it indefensible, seeing him hobnobbing with the saints of today who are in the helms of power despite his claddings with yet to be ascertained high level of gross of immorality.
His presence at the meeting on Wednesday is unacceptable in a change environment and should not be welcomed by an administration that is instituting indelible anti corruption reforms. He has no business in a government that is preaching and practicing transparency, intolerance to nepotism, favoritism, advocating forthrightness and morals for the future generation of Nigerians. The government and persons alike must stand by principles and also adhere to their pronouncements. There is no reason hosting Jonathan to perform whatever form of advisory constitutional duties, stands as a mark of hypocrisy on the part of the government and also showcases his continued dance of shame and aloofness in the public parlance even when some public affairs commentators criticize such stance.
Recall that he had refused to speak to the press during his last visit to President Buhari on corruption charges leveled against his aides that are still in court and unresolved. That, I believe should have guided his steps not to perform constitutional functions that should require the involvement of only those that happen to be incorruptible.
In the past, especially in the days of his administration, the meeting was well graced by former heads of governments or statesmen as you would want to call them. However there was a particular former head of state that never set his foot on the forecourt of the presidential villa that is adjacent to the council chambers to attend that forum except on two occasions that it became imperative. You know who! At other times it is reported that he attended the council’s meeting sparingly on belief that he was standing on the principles of integrity and wouldn’t want his ideals tainted by mingling with those who are saddled with the affairs of the country but rose through elections that were allegedly rigged and fraught with so many irregularities. That’s actually what defines a man-never sitting on the fence but taking positions that are popular with his beliefs and are in line with his ideals especially if he has followers.
Penultimate week, a government official asked in an article; ‘how can we forget?’ ‘We cannot forget the maladministration that occurred in recent past in the course of moving the country forward.’ We can’t possibly forget that the Jonathan administration allegedly misappropriated monies meant for the purchase of arms to the tune of $2.1 billion dollars: sharing the money amongst political associates, changing still serviceable vehicles of former head of states, emirs and other senior citizens. Funds meant for securing the citizens in the northeast that is ravaged by insurgents while the Boko haram terrorists pound the people in the region and at other times beating intelligence agencies in their duties to detonate bombs in some urban areas in other parts of the country.
The people would definitely also not forget that Jonathan presided over the regime in which $20 billion dollars allegedly grew legs and ran away from the coffers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. And the present administration in that vein had assured the people that it was working with foreign intelligence agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the United States of America and others, hoping that it would one day recover the $20 billion dollars from what part of Europe or Americas that it walked or flew to. We as a people are all ears to hear more of these revelations and more that are still being expected from the NNPC as stated by the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed earlier this year.
At a point that people are angry and are in the verge of losing their sanity because of an economic recession, I believe that the person that supposedly brought the country to its knees is disallowed from any gathering that involves the taking of sound decisions for the good of this country. Meanwhile, there are other areas where Jonathan is also being bashed over corruption and under performance recorded during his tenure as a president which I need not mentioned to push up my argument since the elements for the progressive discuss of this subject is already established.
Why then did he appear at the council, stealing shows and all that paparazzi display of the indolent? On a day it is also reported by the media that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris Kpotun’s appointment was being ratified at the council? And I asked! Wouldn’t his presence at the ratification had been read to; one day influence, taint and affect investigations and decisions being carried out against him. Having been allowed to play high level executive roles in the capacity of the state’s council member? Except there are some truths Jonathan and this administration are hiding from the public, I felt it should have been better a precedence on instilling a level of credibility in the fight against corruption was set by this administration by disallowing Jonathan from attending that meeting or anyone in the future. And if the administration was not supposedly interested at further embarrassing him, he should have atleast voluntarily stopped attending the forum’s programme until he has a clean bill of health from investigations instituted against him. Not such allowing himself into spaces where his skin is bath with raw corruption acid over every of Nigerian headache.
However, in spite of the foregoing and the many troubles of Jonathan, some of the past heads of state and presidents are failing in health over age and may not be able to continually attend such forum as often as before. Former President Shehu Shagari and Head of Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan fall into such category. Others could have been on international engagements, like in the case of the organizer of the Nigerian Praise, former Head of state, General Yabuku Gowon who actually took permission from President Buhari before jetting out of the country.
In the absence of those three, their spaces could be filled by the ever upright and committed member of the council, Olusegun Obasanjo, the mentally matured, Abdulsallam Abubakar and the unpredictable, Ibrahim Babaginda leaving little or no room for the persons of former President Goodluck Jonathan but like the powerful trojan horse, Shonekan attended the meeting; fit and fiddle while, controversial Obasanjo happened to have been absent from the forum.
A reason it becomes immoral for Jonathan to perform duties at the council in this dispensation having been labelled an administrator of criminals just waiting to be shame by the prosecutors.
This led to my verdict, which is the need for Jonathan to give himself a moral break from the council’s activities for now.
Ex Nigerian leaders: L-R; Cross Section former Head of State, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Genera Abdulsalami Abubakar, Former President Dr Goodluck Jonathan, former Chief Justice of the Federation, Hon Justice Muhammadu Uwais, Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Alhfa Belgore, Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Idris Kutegi rise up to pray before the commencement of the National Council of State meeting presided over by President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on September 7.
President Buhari joins other leaders R-L: Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SGF Engr Babachir David Lawal, Chief of Staff Mallam Abba Kyari, Head of Civil Service, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, NSA, Major General Babagana Mongonu and Abia State Governor, Chief Okezie Ikpeazu to pray before the commencement of the Ntional Council of State Meeting at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
L-R; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello; Governor of Adamawa State, Alhaji Mohammed Bidow Jubrilla and Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha were also there at the National Council of state Meeting. Photo by Sunday Aghaeze. [myad]
The Federal Government has made it clear that Nigeria will never again import rice, dismissing social media reports linking the government and Dangote group with a plan to ‘flood’ the country with genetically modified rice (GMO).
In a statement on Wednesday, the special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said that what has actually happened was that the Federal Government in 2014 signed a $1billion Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU) for investment in integrated rice project with Dangote Industries Ltd.
He said that further to such agreement, Dangote Industries Limited this year cultivated over 8,000 hectares in Hadejia, Jigawa state, creating over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs for farmers who are the major beneficiaries of the scheme.
“In consolidation of the rice project of the Federal Government, President Muhammadu Buhari administration is also in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other reputable companies to tap into the vast potentials in the private sector and broadening the economic base of the country.
“The gains of the diversification drive especially in the Agriculture sector are already yielding dividends as shown by the recent statistics in the sector as published by the National Bureau of Statistics.
These engagements will continue until the present administration has laid a solid foundation for the economic development of the nation.
“It is therefore ridiculous that a government that is wholly devoted to the generation of employment for Nigerians especially through Agriculture will turn around to get involved in an activity that will reverse the gains of the same partnership.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said it repeatedly that, ‘’we have the capacity to feed ourselves in Nigeria and even export from what we produce in the country.” He has also said that through the provision of N200 billion by the CBN for small holder farmers and processors involved in local production of rice and other grains, rice importation will hopefully stop in the next three years.
“It is unfortunate that while the Buhari administration is working assiduously with well-meaning Nigerians to bring the country out of the current economic situation it has found itself, a few self-serving individuals are bent on distracting the administration from the avowed focus to reflate the fortunes of the country through the diversification of the economy which, very soon, Nigerians will begin to see and experience the results.
“The Federal Government warns purveyors of such malicious information and those thinking of embarking on the same route to have a rethink and retrace their steps.” [myad]
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What Would Jonathan Be Doing In Buhari’s Council Of State Meetings? By Moses Okpogode
Established under section 153 of the 1999 constitution, the National Council of States is an advisory body set up to advise sitting presidents on issues including those relating to the prerogative of mercies. The body comprises the president, who chair’s the meeting, the vice president, all former presidents and heads of government.
President Goodluck Jonathan walked into the council chambers of the presidential villa few minutes before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Setember 7, to attend the rescheduled meeting of the council that was widely advertised last week. It was reported that the meeting was going to convene Thursday with his attendance practically tied on the invitation of President Muhammadu Buhari. Jonathan who is currently entangled in web of allegations relating to corruption shouldn’t have attended the meeting on moral grounds since the hallowed chambers of the council is still being cleaned having been brought into filth through a cesspool of corruption that he had allegedly supervised.
The gross allegations also include masterminding the current economic decline, the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta, official graft, lack of investments in infrastructures and all that is bad in this country by the government. This makes it indefensible, seeing him hobnobbing with the saints of today who are in the helms of power despite his claddings with yet to be ascertained high level of gross of immorality.
His presence at the meeting on Wednesday is unacceptable in a change environment and should not be welcomed by an administration that is instituting indelible anti corruption reforms. He has no business in a government that is preaching and practicing transparency, intolerance to nepotism, favoritism, advocating forthrightness and morals for the future generation of Nigerians. The government and persons alike must stand by principles and also adhere to their pronouncements. There is no reason hosting Jonathan to perform whatever form of advisory constitutional duties, stands as a mark of hypocrisy on the part of the government and also showcases his continued dance of shame and aloofness in the public parlance even when some public affairs commentators criticize such stance.
Recall that he had refused to speak to the press during his last visit to President Buhari on corruption charges leveled against his aides that are still in court and unresolved. That, I believe should have guided his steps not to perform constitutional functions that should require the involvement of only those that happen to be incorruptible.
In the past, especially in the days of his administration, the meeting was well graced by former heads of governments or statesmen as you would want to call them. However there was a particular former head of state that never set his foot on the forecourt of the presidential villa that is adjacent to the council chambers to attend that forum except on two occasions that it became imperative. You know who! At other times it is reported that he attended the council’s meeting sparingly on belief that he was standing on the principles of integrity and wouldn’t want his ideals tainted by mingling with those who are saddled with the affairs of the country but rose through elections that were allegedly rigged and fraught with so many irregularities. That’s actually what defines a man-never sitting on the fence but taking positions that are popular with his beliefs and are in line with his ideals especially if he has followers.
Penultimate week, a government official asked in an article; ‘how can we forget?’ ‘We cannot forget the maladministration that occurred in recent past in the course of moving the country forward.’ We can’t possibly forget that the Jonathan administration allegedly misappropriated monies meant for the purchase of arms to the tune of $2.1 billion dollars: sharing the money amongst political associates, changing still serviceable vehicles of former head of states, emirs and other senior citizens. Funds meant for securing the citizens in the northeast that is ravaged by insurgents while the Boko haram terrorists pound the people in the region and at other times beating intelligence agencies in their duties to detonate bombs in some urban areas in other parts of the country.
The people would definitely also not forget that Jonathan presided over the regime in which $20 billion dollars allegedly grew legs and ran away from the coffers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. And the present administration in that vein had assured the people that it was working with foreign intelligence agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the United States of America and others, hoping that it would one day recover the $20 billion dollars from what part of Europe or Americas that it walked or flew to. We as a people are all ears to hear more of these revelations and more that are still being expected from the NNPC as stated by the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed earlier this year.
At a point that people are angry and are in the verge of losing their sanity because of an economic recession, I believe that the person that supposedly brought the country to its knees is disallowed from any gathering that involves the taking of sound decisions for the good of this country. Meanwhile, there are other areas where Jonathan is also being bashed over corruption and under performance recorded during his tenure as a president which I need not mentioned to push up my argument since the elements for the progressive discuss of this subject is already established.
Why then did he appear at the council, stealing shows and all that paparazzi display of the indolent? On a day it is also reported by the media that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris Kpotun’s appointment was being ratified at the council? And I asked! Wouldn’t his presence at the ratification had been read to; one day influence, taint and affect investigations and decisions being carried out against him. Having been allowed to play high level executive roles in the capacity of the state’s council member? Except there are some truths Jonathan and this administration are hiding from the public, I felt it should have been better a precedence on instilling a level of credibility in the fight against corruption was set by this administration by disallowing Jonathan from attending that meeting or anyone in the future. And if the administration was not supposedly interested at further embarrassing him, he should have atleast voluntarily stopped attending the forum’s programme until he has a clean bill of health from investigations instituted against him. Not such allowing himself into spaces where his skin is bath with raw corruption acid over every of Nigerian headache.
However, in spite of the foregoing and the many troubles of Jonathan, some of the past heads of state and presidents are failing in health over age and may not be able to continually attend such forum as often as before. Former President Shehu Shagari and Head of Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan fall into such category. Others could have been on international engagements, like in the case of the organizer of the Nigerian Praise, former Head of state, General Yabuku Gowon who actually took permission from President Buhari before jetting out of the country.
In the absence of those three, their spaces could be filled by the ever upright and committed member of the council, Olusegun Obasanjo, the mentally matured, Abdulsallam Abubakar and the unpredictable, Ibrahim Babaginda leaving little or no room for the persons of former President Goodluck Jonathan but like the powerful trojan horse, Shonekan attended the meeting; fit and fiddle while, controversial Obasanjo happened to have been absent from the forum.
A reason it becomes immoral for Jonathan to perform duties at the council in this dispensation having been labelled an administrator of criminals just waiting to be shame by the prosecutors.
This led to my verdict, which is the need for Jonathan to give himself a moral break from the council’s activities for now.
Twitter @MOkpogode. [myad]