Nigerian Newspapers
Obasanjo to Jonathan: I’m not afraid of probe
Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday challenged the Federal Government to probe his eight-year administration instead of descending on his cabinet members.
Besides, he criticised the establishment of an agency to protect oil pipelines, describing the action as a move for “another chop, chop” – a veiled reference to corruption in governance.
Obasanjo, who spoke at the 50th birthday thanksgiving for a former Vice-President of the World Bank, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, at the TEAP-RCCG 45 in Abuja, said he was ready to account for his tenure.
He said if the government found anything wrong, he would carry the can.
The former president was reacting to the recent moves to probe Ezekwesili by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the challenge thrown to the former World Bank Vice President by the Presidency to account for her tenure as Minister of Education.
Facing Ezekwesili, Obasanjo said: “Actually, those who wanted to probe you, you should have asked them to, because if they are honest probers, they would find out that the government of Nigeria should give you money for what you have done for this country without stealing money.
“I have always said this, whatever you want to blame in my government, blame me, don’t blame any of those people who assisted me. If there is any credit to dispense we share it. But for anything you want to say is wrong, I was the one in charge and I was in charge.”
Looking at some of his former cabinet members, Obasanjo added: “When I look at you, I thank God for making you available to serve my administration, to serve Nigeria and serve God at the time you did.”
The ex-President condemned plans to create a special desk or agency/commission for national integration.
He said: “The entire constitution of Nigeria is for integration; what else do you need? You have a constitution that is intended to integrate the country. You have things (agencies) like the Federal Character Commission; what is that one meant to do? It is for integration. The entire constitution is all about integrating this country. If at all we failed to use it, it can even be said we have breached the constitution. You don’t need a commission for integration.”
Obasanjo also said moves to set up an agency for pipelines protection are meant to further perpetrate corruption.
He said: “This morning, I was travelling from Abeokuta. I was listening to radio. I heard that they said that they are going to set up an agency for pipeline protection. Now, what are the police there for.? What are all the security agencies that we have doing? This is another chop chop.
“I just hope that we will get it right. We have no choice; we have to get it right. Let us decide individually that I would do what I have to do to bring about change in Nigeria. If you do that, let me assure you, you will be called names. You will be abused; some people are hired to do that. But like Oby, say what you believe is right and stand by it.”
Mrs. Ezekwesili said: “I was born to parents who are from a humble family. My daddy was a man of uncompromising integrity. My daddy worked in Nigerian Ports Authority. He used to say to us that the Nigerian Ports Authority has become a centre of corruption. That was so many years ago. My mother talked my father out of public service because she was afraid for him.
“My mother used to go to Tejuosho market, like what we call bend down boutique, to buy clothes for us. She knew what they called grade one Okrika. We did not have money. We were poor but were rich in values. Those values shaped everything about my life. From young age, good governance and accountability mattered to me.
“I feel a sense of completion of a certain phase in my life. When I look back and I just remember so much that God has done in my life, I can’t help but really understand God as the one who gives grace.
“It is only because of the grace of God that I am what I am today. It is not because I deserved it but because God decided that he will take a child from humble home and enable my parents to give me education, and laid on my path the opportunity to prove myself. Then He blessed the work that I did at different stages of my life.”
In an interview with reporters at a reception at the Peace Centre, International Conference Centre, Ezekwesili said corruption would sink Nigeria.
She said she would not stop talking against bad governance because it is her civic right.
She pleaded with Nigerians not to swallow up their voice against lack of accountability and transparency.
Ezekwesili is optimistic that Nigeria will attain greatness, but the nation needs “sacrificial leadership” to move forward.
She said: “I cannot even really relate to a life where people want to enjoy something they have not worked for. It is just an anathema because my family was founded on the principles of reward on the basis of efforts, hardwork, diligence and character.
“I have a very, very positive and optimistic view. I think I am congenitally optimistic. Concerning Nigeria, I am an eternal optimist. It does not matter if I am the only one standing and believing that this nation will attain the greatness that God destined for it. I am prepared to be that.
“It does not matter what you see. Hope that is seeing is not hope. This nation will transform; true transformation will come to Nigeria.”
Asked if she is interested in politics, she added: “No. Actually, there is nothing about being interested in politics, if you understand democracy.
“Democracy is incomplete without the engagement of the citizens in the process. The demand for accountability and for results is the role of citizens, You don’t have to be in politics in order to be an active citizen engaged in the democratic process.
“The reason that we have lacked results and accountability since our first democratic experiment in the 60s was simply because the citizens failed to play that role. I am not going to be a citizen that acts like a eunuch like there is no capacity to demand accountability.
“So, I am not a politician. The day I decide that I want to be a politician, you don’t need to guess, you will see me. I am very candid. I am very frank; I am too honest to play games on things that I believe in. I don’t want to be a politician. I am not a politician but I am an active citizen who is basically carrying out the role that every citizen of this nation must carry out.
“My general overview is that we are going through the throes of challenges that require a very strong sense of sacrificial leadership. The corruption in the society right now is so endemic, it’s almost become democratised. And that is going to sink us. We need not implode under the weight of corruption. We need to tackle corruption and tackle it as you would tackle cancer. It can kill.
“There is no need pretending that this country is not burdened by the weight of a cancerous phenomenon that is called corruption. Every Nigerian knows that we have a problem. This is a broken society and it has permeated every aspect of our national life. So, we must do something about it.
“That is why, for example, when I talk about the active citizen that engages the democratic process. That is what I mean. The motivation that drives me is that look at me, the child of a poor family in a relatively decent society, I got a kind of education that has taken me thus far.
“I was Minister of Education. A similarly poor child, who would come from the kind of family I came from when I was young, will not have the kind of opportunities that I had in this same nation. That is what it is about. It is not about anything other than building a decent society.
“We must build a decent society that does not sow the terrible seeds of inequality that I see around me today. When I see the children of drivers, gardeners and I see that they will not get the kind of education, the kind of access that I had, the kind of opportunities that led to this life that I have, it pains me. That is what it is about.”
Responding to a question, Ezekwesili said she is not controversial.
She said: “Am I controversial? I don’t think I am controversial. I am not one bit controversial. I, actually, am not. Perhaps why you are saying that is because of the incident on the Excess Crude Funds. No.
“You should say that the government did not handle a citizen who has served this nation with all her heart well. My speech to the young people in UNN, Nsukka at the graduation ceremony was not picking on the government. It was picking on the collapse of the governance system in the petroleum sector and the fact that the oil sector had not delivered any benefit to the poor and that it needed to be tackled. That is what it was about. I am not controversial.
“I don’t have to run for an office in order to make change happen. What I believe in is that every citizen has an important role to play. The most important role of the citizen is voice. Nobody is going to take my voice. Voice is God-given. God has given each and every Nigerian the voice in order to determine the kind of results that we are going to get from our leaders.
“In a democracy where you swallow up your voice and you sit quietly and you are murmuring in your home, nobody that is leading will have the incentives to offer you results. Every one of us must demand for results.
“The resources that are spent in this nation are greater than anything about 25 countries in Africa spend. There are some 25 small countries in Africa that do not have the equivalent of the budget that we spend.
“So, to that extent, you can see that if there are no results that are coming out of the spending of oil money in this country, it must become your responsibility. It should not be my responsibility alone. The society must be mobilised to play its active responsibility in underpinning democracy that works for the larger number.”
Asked if JAMB and NECO should be scrapped, she said: “I cannot comment on that directly. But I do know that when I was Minister of Education, we tried to look at a consolidation process because with technology, you can actually converge a lot of the services that examination bodies offer.
“So, whether it is JAMB, NECO or it is WAEC, you can bring them togather and can integrate their platforms. We wanted to have that kind of mechanism and restore the integrity of the examination and their certification process.
“You would have to first think of the idea analytically, you must analyse it properly. And you need to engage with the National Assembly because they would need to repeal any necessary laws that need to be repealed.
“But it must be done on the basis of the outcome. It must be that you know clearly what outcome you are seeking to get, not simply that you are in a very incomplete manner trying to scrap them.”
In his sermon, a former Chaplain of Aso Rock, Rev. Williams Okoye, said: “Life is not about material things that some of us are concerned about today; life consists far more than clothes and food.”
Some of those who attended the church and reception were: ex-Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu and his wife, Maryam Uwais; a former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo; a former Special Adviser to the President, Mr. Joseph Makoju; a former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mrs. Irene Chigbue; ex-Federal Capital Territory Minister Nasir el-Rufai; a businessman, Mr. Hakeem Bello-Osagie; a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Senator Magnus Abe; and the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: The Nation Newspaper
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
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Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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