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Pendulum: Why President Buhari is Not Getting it Right
Published
3 years agoon
By
EricBy Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, if I had any iota of hope or expectation left in me that our President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retired) has any chance of pulling some productive stunts in the less than two years to complete his second and final term, it evaporated and vamoosed into thin air a few days ago.
Let me start by congratulating the Thisday/Arise team that succeeded in persuading a usually taciturn and reluctant President Buhari to agree to speak to ordinary mortals at home instead of giving scoops to his favourite foreign journalists. Trust me, it was a landmark achievement for which the Group Chairman, Prince Nduka Obaigbena must be applauded. He once again demonstrated his famed daredevilry and nose for stories at the most opportune moment, at all times. The team of Segun Adeniyi, Reuben Abati, and Tundun Abiola, that he assembled also tried strenuously to ask all the right questions even if they got some wrong answers, for very obvious reasons.
I wish to disagree with those who have been disparaging the President and saying his performance was dismal and disappointing. In my view, the President performed above expectations given the seeming cold indifference with which he has come to be associated. As it is often said, water can only rise above its level. At nearer 80 than 70, the President cannot be expected to reinvent himself. He has never pretended to be a tech savvy wizard that modern leaders are expected to be. He has never shown himself to be anything more than a member of the analogue generation in imagination and innovation. He has little or nothing in common with the modern ways of life and it is clear that he is not prepared to ready to stress himself unnecessarily. He is perpetually and stoically stuck in his mindset. That is a fact. We must also consider his health challenges for which God has been extremely kind.
I know you’re likely to ask me, so why did you guys support him in 2015? I will never get tired of giving my standard answer. One. We were tired of PDP after 16 years of profligacy and all kinds of bad behaviour that seemed to make General Abacha begin to look like a Saint. Two. In the days of tribulations, you sometimes run to the elders of the family in order to tap into their uncommon experience and wisdom notwithstanding their shortcomings. We perceived Buhari to be such an elder. Three. We reasoned that whatever is lacking in the President would be covered by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo who is recognised not only as a cerebral and knowledgeable man, but also an outstanding and accomplished administrator, given his stint at the helm of affairs of the Ministry of Justice in Lagos State. Four. We expected the President to cooperate beautifully with some of the bright people in his Party, who know their onions and can guide him in the right direction. Five. We never thought in our wildest imagination that any leadership, no matter its background, would ever have the temerity and audacity to lead us back to the dark days of the military. Six. We expected the President to have accepted the reality that the world has changed so drastically since he was forced out of power in 1985 and it is virtually impossible to continue to run government in analogue fashion.
It would certainly be definitely unfair and unkind to conclude that the President was totally bad in his responses and that he could be excused by the foibles and weaknesses that we recognise have become notable chinks in his armour. I’m happy he answered all questions honestly, frankly and sincerely. He deserves to be congratulated as well for even finding the confidence and courage to sit through the obviously harrowing interview session. I will now try to dissect this much talked about scoop of the year.
Setting. I loved the relaxed setting and atmosphere. The President dressed down and the interview must have taken place in his official residence and not in the office. It was obviously organised and presented to put the President at ease in an environment that he was most familiar and comfortable with. There would be no need to be guarded because he was in his natural habitat. One could see this confidence playing out in the course of the interview. Two of the very senior reporters, Segun Adeniyi and Reuben Abati were no strangers to the presidential villa where they had both respectively served as spokespersons to two previous Presidents, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. So, they came with intimidating credentials as brilliant journalists with verve and experience. The only lady in the team, Ms Tundun Abiola, the daughter of the winner of the June 12, 1993, Presidential elections, Chief Moshood Abiola, is also a very brilliant and intelligent lady, one of the most admired presenters on television today. She combines beauty with brains. Led by the Chairman, Nduka, it could only have been a perfect team operating in an equally perfect environment.
The session. The interview started well. The questions poured in from every direction but in a decorously gracious and graceful manner, without being the pugilistic affair that it could easily have been. Though pre-recorded, I doubt if there was much editing of the content. The President oscillated from one mood to another depending how lovely or irritable he interpreted or misjudged the questions.
The President was more vocal than I expected that he would be. He seemed prepared to answer as many questions as were posed without attempting to fudge. It was like one determined to lay bare everything on his chest and exorcise the demons. Nevertheless, many people complained of not hearing him loudly and clearly enough, and sometimes, even lucidly. However, I think that had to do with his natural accent and intonation and nothing sinister or amiss. Many people are also too bitter and biased to listen properly to what he was saying and the views he was espousing, and for that reason might not really have heard him. On my part, I enjoyed the interview for the mere fact that he granted one at home. And also, of course, because it answered several questions about the President’s health and well-being as well as his level of control. It is difficult now to blame others, and not the President, for the ills and woes from this government. Several myths were busted!
The President remained true to his old self and beliefs and refused to persuade anyone that he is a born-again Democrat, which was one of the borrowed garbs we dressed him in prior to the 2015 elections. The man I watched was a proud, haughty and arrogant military officer, with no apologies for being a ruthless dictator.
The President reflected a deep disappointment, resentment and anger against the youths of Nigeria, whom he described as being overtly recalcitrant. His view was one of whatever suffering they are going through must have been self-inflicted and they deserve to suffer for it. He would not empathise with them. For me, the President probably considers the near collapse of the Nigerian economy as something which the populace and, especially the youths need to go through if they are to appreciate life. I am also sure that he sees it as a form of punishment for the pesky youths who have dogged his tenure with unacceptable and impossible demands almost as soon as he took office. Let me chip in here that he is obviously misinformed about Twitter. A country with our multitude and army of unemployed you would never ban social media, especially Twitter which has become a veritable tool of international business.
The President justified spending billions of dollars on over-stretching our resources to build infrastructure to and within Niger Republic. Again, no remorse, no apologies. In a country that has not completed one of its most important motorways, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, in the last six years, it is preposterous and unfortunate to listen to the Commander-in-Chief romanticize his first cousins in Niger Republic. He even told us the only way to defeat Boko Haram and banditry is to take good care of Cameroon, Chad and Niger. But should charity not begin from home? Or maybe it does!
The President stoutly defended his now infamous lopsided appointments by anchoring it on merit. One would have thought from this answer, that most people in the Southern States of Nigeria are certified dullards who couldn’t pass their professional or other exams and interviews. Since we know the reverse is the case, we can not only wonder how the President can sit with a straight face and make the kinds of statements that he did about his lopsidedness that is clearly hinged on unbridled nepotism. And the President kept a straight poker face while justifying the biggest mistake of this government. Nothing has contributed more to the near disintegration of Nigeria than the feeling of those treated like second- and third-class citizens in their own country. That the President could seriously take the view that he did, and feel comfortable about it, demonstrates a personage who has been cut off from the outside world and whose depressing isolation is compounded by the fact that he has lost touch with reality. It is further distressing that the aides you have, who are at least blessed with some truth and knowledge of our excruciating conditions will not properly advise their Principal and set him on the right path whenever it seems he has derailed and needs to be reined back, out of monumental fear and trepidation. However, it appears that the President’s subordinates are content with the role of lackeys and silent clowns in order to remain unseen and thus keep their jobs.
Rome is burning and the Emperor is busy fiddling away and regaling his captive audience in the villa and outside with tales of his supremacy, mastery and position of maestro in ages gone past.
On Democracy Day, it is sad and depressing, a monumental tragedy, that we do not have a democrat in office as President. May God help Nigeria survive this misfortune and its backlash!
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By Eric Elezuo
When the story of former governor of Rivers State, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is told in the future, one of the many catchphrases that may accompany the narrative may read, here was a man, who lost everything while attempting to grab everything.
Prior to, during and after the 2023 general elections, Wike became a bride of no particular groom, when he chose to hobnob between two political parties, betraying his own party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and working for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in an alliance that compensated him with the FCT job in the bargain. Technically, Wike remains the only politician who is not identified with any political party as at the moment, a source has told The Boss.
The Boss has also realised, in addition to a recent interview granted by Wike, that the former governor’s inability to declare for one party is rooted in his ambition to make a dash for the Presidency in 2027, banking on the possibility that President Bola Tinubu will not contest in the next election.
But the APC apparatchiks, who would not tolerate the Wike inroads into a political alliance that would not favour them, has constantly put the FCT minister on leash, caging every of his moves, especially with the crises in his home State against his anointed governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who suddenly sought his independence from Wike’s choking hold.
“Wike’s ambition has driven him into claiming the FCT job, and desiring to remain the defacto governor of Rivers State, a move some of the Rivers people have rejected, leading to a political quagmire in the oil rich state. Wike is just using the APC for his future. His target is 2027. But unfortunately for him, a lot of APC bigwigs are wary of his antics, and have created artificial hurdles for him, including the crises in his state. He has been caged,” the source said.
That has primarily explain his continuous face off with Fubara, whom he referred to as the ‘other person’ in a recent interview.
“When some peeople come to talk to me that beg your lawmakers now to do this. I said do you want them to obey me? They say yes. I said fine but what of the other person? He is not obeying me? He should assert his own? He should assert Independence,” he was quoted as saying in the interview that featured selected media houses.
Below are some of the excerpts from the close to two hours interview:
I thought Mr President has sorted it out?
The lawmakers cannot assert independence. You know, we we blow hot and cold. And that’s why I say anybody who supports an ingrate is a natural and ungrateful person.
People feel that agreement is loopsided. That you are not telling the lawmakers to return back to the PDP because every other thing was upturned?
How can the president tell me that I should go back to a party? How can you!
People that resigned were brought back?
For whose interest? Do you know what they said will draw impeachment? Do you know what that is, who benefited from it all? Tell me the truth. Whose office was under threat? When you say these people have gone to a party, it’s a matter of court interpretation. If you say I’ve left the party, it does not rely on you to say I’ve left the party. You need to challenge it in court. The speaker had to hit gavel. It’s not when you have interest, and you don’t want to look at the whole thing. As far as I’m concerned, the lawmakers have respected Mr President when the that agreement was reached. It didn’t take them 24 hours, they would do impeachment notice. What is the point that you brought Commissioners? Are they working? I didn’t know you will go into this kind of discussion, I’m busy! I’m busy with the metro line, how to achieve metro line…I’m busy with other projects, very busy. I don’t even have time to talk about politics. I have time for governance.
Which party do you belong to?
I’m a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Have you ever seen me change any day?
And you are not interested in the elections in Edo, whether your party wins or not?
The Wike that Nigerians know will always throw his heart behind his party. The one I supported before, what happened? The one I supported before now, what happened? So I have decided take a break now.
From politics?
No! As you see me here, I have decided to carry my cross. You see, at a point I was in PDP, I didnt hide it. When I said I was not going to support their Presidential candidate, is it that I spoke in a way people did not understand? Is it that I acted in a way people did not understand? Even the deaf can hear. What I said, the deaf can hear. But if this is not done, I wont do this.
But the party is to discipline you for that?
Discipline me for who? Who violated the party’s constitution? Who should be dissciplined? I am an advocate for the implementation of the constitution. It was you who breached it, and it still you that want to discipline me? In the first place, you shold have thank Rivers. Assuming we lost the governorship, would they have being talking about Rivers State being a PDP state?
Forget about this peoople who are galivating today who say they cannot serve master and serve boy. Now, they are serving boy on the road now. Like I told you, now is time for governance. Now, it is time to do your own assignment. The President has given me an assignment, and Im busy carrying it out. When the time for politics comes, then we would know who is where and who is not where? Running is not everything. I was a minister of state when I went to run for governorship? Did we not win?
You were the governor for eight years, and now the minister of FCT, which one has been more daunting for you?
Here is Nigeria, I dont have the kind of executive power I have when I was the governor. Most of the things I do here, I must seek the approval of Mr President. And anytime I seek his approval, he has always given me. Which has made my work easier, but I can tell you that it’s not easy. All kinds of people are here, the past presidents are here, former army generals are here, field marshals are here, everybody is here. Senate president is here, speaker is here, chief justice is here…so, it is not like in the state. But for whatever it is, if you have capacity, have capacity. It doesnt really matter where you find yourself.
When I was minister of state education, everybody thought that office is a hard office. When I left somebody was there, and someone said was it not where Wike was? It’s not the office, it is you that will tell us how the office will be.
Thank you honourable minister for this time…
Analysts and stakeholders have said that Wike’s responses betrayed his longing for the presidential ticket, which he lost in May 2022 PDP presidential primary in Abuja, and which he is coming to the realization that the APC will not oblige him come 2026 when the primary election tons are held. Consequently, he is maintaining his cronies in the PDP while frolicking with a very unsupported APC machinery.
As a result, he is making frantic efforts to realign with his colleagues, especially members of the G-5, who lost out in the last election including Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Okezie Ikpeazu and Samuel Ortom, and reaching out to some other governors like Adamawa and Bauchi for additional financial muscle.
“The deal is simple. He is banking on Tinubu not contesting in 2027 so he can unleash his full force on the PDP for the ticket, knowing it will be next to impossible to get the APC ticket. That explains his tenacious and opportunistic hold on two fronts, neither a confirmed member of the APC nor has he officially left the PDP,” The Boss source further alleged.
It is believed that except for Tinubu, no one will match him in resources and Finance, and so explained why APC caged him with the topsy-turvy situation in Rivers.
“So with his being busy in Rivers, which is his golden goose, and managing a complex centre like Abuja, where all eyes including Tinubu’s are on him, it is most unlikely that he can take a queenly step in the chess game playing out. They have reduced him to more of a pun, a disposal knight, especially with Fubara’s perceived independence from him, which is causing rancour. It is even interesting to note that the Tinubu/APC camp is supporting Fubara. They know that a weak Wike will not give them hassles on the national political level,” an analyst posited.
Another source has also claimed that the reason behind the PDP’s inability to call a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting is all boiled down to checkmating Wike’s perceived excesses. The party rather chose to keep the National Working Committee (NWC) intact.
While both stakeholders and analysts believe that 2027 is still far ahead, politicians in the likes of APC apparatchiks and the FCT minister are already locked in a battle of wits to see who holds the upper hand when the time comes. Wike has already said that ‘when 2027 comes, we would know who is who’. Though it was a veiled allusion to the Rivers governor, it still posits a general connotation to the war of relevance that has continually played out since the end of the 2023 political season.
minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says the 2027 election will be a walk in the park for his political camp.
At a thanksgiving service by Barinada Mpigi, a federal lawmaker, in Koroma, Tai LGA, where he made the remarks, Wike said the election will be easy for his camp because of the alliance it has forged with other parties as well as controlling the structures of both APC and PDP in Rivers State.
He said the alliance between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers state cannot be challenged.
“With the forces we have, I don’t know of anybody who can challenge us,” Wike boasted.
But time will tell how the whole scenario plays out in this political game of chess involving Wike and the APC, and PDP.
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Enhancing Food Security: Governor Umo Eno’s Worthy Interventions
Published
4 days agoon
March 14, 2024By
Editor
By Michael Effiong
Today, the biggest threat to the survival of mankind is food security. Indeed, the phenomenon has taken a global dimension and is not confined to the borders of any nation.
Growing hunger has been fueled by a toxic mix of climate change, insecurity and a global economic crisis that has exacerbated poverty and inequality, affecting the ability of many families and communities to cope.
In Nigeria, at least in the last few months, there is no topic that has been more discussed than that of the rising cost of food stuff and the hunger in the land.
As US President John F. Kennedy once said, “The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.” This is a war that must be fought with vigor and won.
On his visit to Niger State on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called on states to support the federal government’s effort in the area of agriculture and food security.
Interestingly, long before this call by Mr. President, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has already taken action.
How? Well, you can call him the modern day Nostradamus and will not be wrong. It was not that he was clairvoyant but we can adduce it to his power of vision because agriculture was one of his focus areas even before his overwhelming victory at the polls on March 18, 2023.
The then candidate Umo Eno had developed an economic blueprint for his campaign dubbed the ARISE Agenda. A of the A-R-I-S-E stands for Agricultural Revolution.
Having had this as part of his economic blueprint, it is no wonder that the Umo Eno administration had already hit the ground running and has been laying out plans, programmes and projects that are worthy of emulation in a bid to stem the tide of the current national crisis.
Perhaps what can be described as the most impactful and innovative intervention in the area of food sufficiency and sustainability in the country at the moment was signed into law on Thursday, March 14, 2023 as the Akwa Ibom State Bulk Purchase Agency which aims at ensuring that staple foods are available, accessible and affordable to the most vulnerable in the state.
Everyone knows that implementing this kind of programme can be herculean, but the government set up a committee with a well-laid out plan to ensure this works efficiently.
This programme, like others the Governor has initiated, would be devoid of any political coloration. Already, government has met with traders and market associations. Foodstuff agents will be selected and trained. They would all sign an agreement with government and would be the ones to operate branded shops and redemption centres that will be located in selected markets and points across the 31 LGAs.
The Agency would use a voucher system akin to the Food Stamps now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the United States.
The Akwa Ibom equivalent when deployed, will operate in a similar fashion because it would be strictly for vulnerable indigenes who will exchange the monthly vouchers for staple food items.
The beneficiaries would get direct subsidies as they would pay well-discounted prices to the agents for the value of the food item on each voucher. The accredited agents would later present these vouchers to government for reconciliation and reimbursement.
Furthermore, the Governor’s 368 Personal Assistants in the wards are to help implement the programme at the grassroots while names of all agents and beneficiaries ( drawn from the state social register which had recently been updated) would be published.
It is expected that from this arrangement and involvement of many stakeholders, the Agency’s mandate would be delivered within a short period of time.
Knowing full well that the Agency’s work is a short term measure, Governor Eno is also thinking long term and has started preaching the “Back-To-Farm” message. His goal is to inspire Akwa Ibomites from all walks of life to see the benefits of farming.
In his words: “Please everybody, no matter how small your land is even if it is just behind or beside your house, sow something. We must return to the farm”
Let us cast our minds back to what used to be the norm back in the day. Our parents and grandparents used to have little farms around the house where green vegetables, tomatoes, pepper, okra, maize, yams, cassava e.t.c. were grown. Some even reared chickens and goats too.
Many may see this as a call to subsistence farming in today’s technologically-advanced world, but in truth, if we are able to grow a few of what we eat, it will not only reduce the hunger in the land in a matter of months, but it will free up funds for people to use for other things.
This initiative by the Governor for rural and urban dwellers to go back to the farm is already being practiced by other countries to boost their food supply. It is called urban farming.
Countries such as Argentina, Australia, Canada and China are way ahead and have incorporated this into their urban planning and city regeneration projects.
A good example of the success of this initiative is the city of Rosario in Argentina. Rosario’s Urban Agriculture Programme (Programa de Agricultura Urbana, or PAU) started small, but now grows nearly 2,500 tons of food each year. What started as a means of feeding the population in the wake of an economy in tatters is now a cornerstone of the city’s food sustainability initiative. This shows that the Governor’s call is a much needed step in the right direction.
Also, the government has commenced Phase II of the AK Cares Programme. Beneficiaries across the 31 LGAs would get farm implements, seedlings, poultry birds or fish juveniles and adequate training.
The Ministry of Agriculture is also being galvanized to distribute improved seedlings and support agriculture cooperatives to help increase their productivity. And the Ibom FADAMA Microfinance Bank has been restructured in line with the present realities.
That is not all, the Governor who takes the welfare of the citizens seriously also signed the Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Loans Law (Amendment) Bill, a private member bill sponsored by Hon. Mfon Idung. The law has increased the amount to be granted as loans to individual farmers, corporate entities and cooperative societies and would enable them expand their operations, embrace modern farming techniques, boost productivity and ultimately, drive economic transformation.
It is worth mentioning also that Governor Eno’s people-centred intervention strategy also includes a rejuvenation of the rural communities through construction of rural roads and provision of key amenities. This idea is well captured in R (Rural Development) of the ARISE Agenda. The nexus between rural development and agriculture are as inseparable as a set of conjoined twins!
This school of thought concerning the importance of rural development as a way of boosting agriculture is also held by former Agriculture & Rural Development Minister and current President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina.
He expressed these sentiments most succinctly while delivering his acceptance speech on his conferment with the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership in Lagos recently.
According to him “Nigeria must completely transform its rural economies to ensure food security for all. A better Africa must start with the transformation of rural economies. That is because some 70% of the population live there. Rural poverty is extremely high. At the heart of transforming rural economies is agriculture, the main source of livelihoods.
“As a young student who attended high school in the village, I witnessed the high correlation of agricultural performance with education. “It was common then to hear the phrase “Agbe lo ba” . (farmers are kings), uttered with great pride
“The transformation of rural economies must therefore be structural, systemic, strategic and comprehensive. Doing so, means agriculture must be turned into a wealth creating sector. Sound public policies transform the lives of people”.
No one can dispute the need for sound policies as enunciated by Dr. Adeshina and this is reason as an ardent advocate of agribusiness and with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 in mind, the Governor’s earliest move in the agricultural sector on assumption of office was to sign an MOU with Songhai Farms for the development of Ibom Model Farms.
This long-term partnership is aimed at driving a technologically-driven agricultural revolution that will boost food production, tourism, youth development, knowledge transfer and job creation.
While construction has already begun at the first farm located in Nsit Ubium LGA (others will spring up when LGAs make land available), the Governor has shown his seriousness for this project by sponsoring some youths on training programmes in preparation for the Farm’s take off.
With all hands already on deck and machinery put in motion to operationalize the multi-layered approach initiated by the Gov. Umo Eno-led administration, the indigenes of Akwa Ibom State are soon going to heave a sigh of relief. Not only would the issue of high cost of foodstuff be history but food sufficiency would become the new normal in the state.
.Effiong, a journalist, is Senior Special Assistant (Lagos Liaison) to Governor Umo Eno
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Budget Padding Allegation: PDP Condemns Ningi’s Suspension, Calls for Akpabio’s Resignation
Published
5 days agoon
March 13, 2024By
EricBy Eric Elezuo
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi in the National Assembly, over his allegation that the Senate padded the 2024 Budget with a whopping N3.7trn for non-existent projects, and called for the immediate resignation of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The Party made its position known via a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, calling for an independent investigation into the alleged budget padding as well as other of Akpabio’s alleged misdemeanor including looting of N108 billion Akwa Ibom fund during his tenure as governor.
In addition, the party insists that the senate president should as a matter of urgency report himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The PDP viewed the suspension of Senator Ningi as a ‘desperate move to suppress investigation, conceal and sweep the facts under the carpet,’ and questioned the rationale behind the All Progressives Congress (APC)-Senate leadership refusing to refer the matter to the appropriate Senate Standing Committee for an open investigation in line with the extant Rules of the Senate, adding that it was obvious the leadership of the senate is hiding something.
The statement in details:
Step Aside, PDP Tells Akpabio Over N3.7t Budget Allegation, N108b A/Ibom State Fund
…Says It Stands With Senator Ningi
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demands that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio immediately step aside and allow for an independent investigation into the allegation that a staggering N3.7 trillion was discreetly inserted into the 2024 budget for alleged non-existent projects.
The Party also demands that Senator Akpabio immediately reports at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the pending case of alleged looting of N108 billion belonging to the people of Akwa Ibom State under his watch as Governor of the State.
Furthermore, the Senate President should speak out on the reported N86 billion contract scam in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during his tenure as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
The PDP firmly condemns the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi by the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in the Senate without a detailed inquest into the issue of budget padding which he raised.
The suspension of Senator Ningi is apparently a desperate move to suppress investigation, conceal and sweep the facts under the carpet.
Moreover, the frustration of investigation by the APC Senate leadership further confirms PDP’s repeated alert that prominent APC officials in the National Assembly and a top official in the Presidency have been using ministers and other government functionaries to siphon budgeted funds from the national coffers.
We ask, why did the APC leadership in the Senate not refer the matter to the appropriate Senate Standing Committee for an open investigation in line with the extant Rules of the Senate? What is the APC Senate leadership afraid of and what is it hiding from Nigerians?
It is even more absurd that instead of recusing himself, the Senate President sat as a judge in the matter; a situation that has the capacity to bring the institution of the Senate to further public disrepute.
This is especially as the issues at hand heavily border on alleged gross misconduct and criminal betrayal of public trust which are serious offenses under our laws.
Nigerians can now see why the APC leadership in the National Assembly, especially in the Senate continues to condone the unbridled looting of public resources including funds meant for palliatives for poor and vulnerable citizens.
This apparent inclination towards covering up sleaze in the polity is already pitching the institution of the Senate against Nigerians who are demanding for answers on the matter. Of course, the widely condemned suspension of Senator Ningi does not provide answers to the budget padding allegation.
It is indeed unfortunate and a huge smear on the image of the Senate, as the highest lawmaking and probity Institution in the country, that its Presiding Officer has found himself in a quagmire of alleged sleaze and betrayal of public trust.
Our Party therefore stands with Senator Ningi for his courage in seeking probity and accountability in the polity.
What Nigerians expect at this moment is for the Senate President to come clean by stepping aside, allowing for an independent investigation into the budget padding allegation as well as clearing his name at the EFCC over alleged looting of N108 billion and N86 billion under his watch as Governor of Akwa Ibom State and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs respectively.
Signed:
Hon. Debo Ologunagba
National Publicity Secretary
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