Written by Theophilus Abbah Shehu Abubakar Muideen Olaniyi
Sunday.
How time flies! Forty-eight hours from
now, President Goodluck Jonathan will have expended 365 days in Aso Rock
as the president of the most populous Black African country.
Considering the giant strides of the late General Murtala Mohammed in
six months as Head of State before he was assassinated in 1976, being in
power for one year can be a huge opportunity for making an
unforgettable impact on the lives of the people. It is difficult to
conclude that 55-year-old Jonathan has achieved this feat. Though one
man can make a great difference in the face of multitudes of problems in
the society, it does not seem as if Jonathan falls into the bracket of
such individuals, as every evidence from his activities in the last one
(or is it two?) years point to the fact that his strategy has been to
identify competent Nigerians in various sectors and empower them to
tackle the challenges in those areas. That is why this story is not just
about the president, but also about those who held strategic positions
since Jonathan’s inauguration on May 29, 2011.
Perhaps, one question that comes to mind when discussing ‘the most
powerful persons in Aso Rock’ is: what does one mean when one tags
persons as ‘powerful?’ The adjective “powerful” evokes five senses,
according to Audio English.net online dictionary. They include, “having
great power or force or potency or effect; (being) strong enough to
knock down or overwhelm; having great influence; (of a person)
possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful; displaying
superhuman strength or power.”
From these, the relevant definition of
being powerful here is the third: ‘having great influence.’ Influence is
determined by two factors. One is access. The other is authority.
Access can be formal or informal. Based on his role as the Director of
the State Security Service (SSS), Mr Ita Ekpeyong can have access to the
president, and this is considered as formal. However, if First Lady
Dame Patience Jonathan prevails on her husband to embark on a measure
that may not go down well with even members of his cabinet, the woman
has exercised her influence through her informal access to the
president. Unfortunately, some persons in the cabinet who do not know
their onions, even when their positions have bestowed on them a degree
of authority, may have neither formal nor informal access to the
president. In effect they may have little or no influence in the
administration.
In the last 365 days, many Nigerians who
are close to Aso Rock have used either their formal or informal access
to the President to determine how government policies are shaped. We
have identified sixteen of such persons, many of them members of the
Federal Executive Council (FEC). What we have here is not in any order
of importance. The structure of the list is for our convenience. As it
were, the Jonathan administration, in the last one year, has been
overshadowed by repeated attacks on the populace and security agencies
without let, as government’s efforts have not totally brought under
control Boko Haram sect’s campaign of violence. In addition to
insecurity, the problem of corruption became pronounced by the report of
the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on fuel subsidy, which
indicted elements close to government of corruption. The failed
electricity project, too, has not helped, and the country’s image among
the comity of nations remains battered.
It may not be appropriate to blame the
president alone for these failures. What have those with enormous powers
to tackle these specific areas done? We have put them on the scale.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo –Iweala: Waiting on this renowned economist for results
The Minister of Finance, who doubles as
Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is no
doubt one of the most powerful ministers in President Goodluck
Jonathan’s Federal Executive Council (FEC). Though she is not involved
in political power struggle, her expertise as a renowned economist - of
international repute- gives her an edge over her peers. As coordinating
minister and member of the President’s Economic Management Team, Dr
Okonjo-Iweala wields enormous powers, as her office has become the
clearing house for many memoranda emanating from other ministers,
especially if the issues raised in such requests have any bearing on the
economy. Though she would not accept the appellation of
‘super-minister,’ many of her colleagues in FEC consider her to be one.
Her influence in Jonathan’s
administration is not lost to any one in Aso Rock as she tends to have
given focus to the economic policies of government. During the strike
over plans to remove fuel subsidy, Dr Okonjo-Iweala took a frontal
position, providing facts, figures and projections that nearly convinced
many Nigerians that what government did on January 1, 2012 was
justifiable. Until the suspected massive fraud in the subsidy regime
became real in the report produced by the House of Representatives ad
hoc committee, the Coordinating Minister’s arguments against the
retention of the subsidy regime became the reference point. Also, her
presentation on SURE Programme, with timelines, gave credibility to
government’s policy on subsidy.
Acknowledging his respect for the
Finance Minister, President Jonathan issued a statement that supported
the woman’s bid for the World Bank Presidency earlier in the year. He
had said, “We firmly believe that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s knowledge
and expertise, as well as the depth and breadth of her experience make
her the best candidate to lead the World Bank. She has first-hand
experience of managing complex financial and economic development issues
at national and international levels, deploying her skills with
demonstrated passion, commitment and professionalism. She has also
shown a high degree of innovation and drive, while exhibiting a strong
ability to integrate and manage interwoven problems of development in
infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, and other sectors in her
expanded role as Coordinating Minister for the Economy. I am firmly
convinced that Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s leadership will be beneficial,
both to the World Bank and to its principal stakeholders. I also
believe that it would be immensely beneficial to Africa and the
developing world at large.”
Apart from being Finance Minister, Dr
Okonjo-Iweala is deeply involved in the government’s moves to streamline
government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in order to
reduce duplication of costs and government expenditure. She is the main
force behind the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) ambition of government,
meant to enhance savings, against governors desire to retain the Excess
Crude Account (ECA). In many respects, Dr Okonjo-Iweala is seen as the
backbone of the economic aspect of Jonathan’s Transformational Agenda.
Therefore, she wields enormous powers in the current dispensation.
But it is not all Nigerians that have
accepted her policies and programmes. In an earlier interview Comrade
Owei Lakemfa of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) told Sunday Trust that
the “policies of the Jonathan administration are neo-liberal policies
that, today, have led to the so-called financial crises of Europe and
America, which are viewed as the standard by this country. These
policies have also led to the Greek crisis and the austerity situation
in some European countries. These policies are not workable; these are
policies that have been discarded. There is nothing new or original in
the policy direction of the Jonathan administration because they are
simply copying the policies of the IMF and the World Bank. That is what
they are doing.”
Also, speaking with our correspondent
yesterday, the Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(LCCI), Mr Muda Yussuf said Ngozi’s tenure as the coordinating Minister
of the economy has seen her pushing for restructuring of the budget.
He commended Ngozi’s campaign against
rising spending on recurrent budget and the need to increase capital
spend. Muda also told our correspondent that it was Ngozi who first
raised alarm about shady deals in pension administration in some
institutions in the country.
According to him, the Minister in the
last one year championed the cause for the reduction in domestic debt as
well promotion of U-win programme, designed to boost employment
opportunity for youths in the country. Muda further told our
correspondent that the Minister did exceedingly well in decongesting the
nation’s ports of numerous agencies, as part of the government’s port
reform.
However he said Ngozi has not done well
in putting the economy on sound footing. According to him, many
businesses are being driven to their graves as there is no requisite
funding to give them hope, and the fact that the country still suffers
infrastructural deficiency is a minus to Ngozi, who needs to design a
roadmap to nip it in the bud. He also said there is endemic corruption
in the oil sector as evident in the fuel subsidy scam, saying if the
minister does not stem the corruption, it means she has lost grip of her
role in the economy.
Also an investment analyst, Alhaji Garba
Abdulkadir told Sunday Trust that “What obtains presently can be
likened to the 2006 postulations here. Nigerians were made to believe
that all was well, but in real terms most things were not well. For
instance, a recent report on the growth of the nation’s economy cannot
be justified as there is no evidence of it.”
Abdulkadir argued that “the monumental
corruption that has rocked the financial sector and even other sectors
begs for questions. Except effective regulations and adherence to
international standards are ensured, Nigeria’s economy may continue to
be in the quagmire.”
This is the kind of challenge Dr
Okonjo-Iweala has to tackle. It is not enough to be powerful in the
administration. Many Nigerians are anxious to see drastic changes in the
economy and evidence that government is sincere about the fight against
corruption, which the Finance Minister blames for the country’s
backwardness.
By Theophilus Abbah
General Andrew Owoeye Azazi: The man on whose laps Jonathan lays his head
In the last one year, General Andrew
Owoeye Azazi, the National Security Adviser to President Jonathan, has
been on the spot. Though previous NSAs were barely known by name to the
Nigerian public, General Azazi has become a household name as a result
of the insecurity in Nigeria. The Boko Haram crisis, which began while
the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua was alive, escalated in the last
one year, putting government and the NSA under intense pressure. General
Azazi, therefore, became one official on whose laps President Jonathan
lays his head.
Apparently Jonathan’s worries have
effectively shifted from the lack of electricity to tackling the
insecurity. This is evident in the huge, unprecedented N1 trillion
budgetary allocation to agencies related to national security in the
2012 budget. On issues of security, President Jonathan does not ignore
the advice of General Azazi, though Sunday Trust learnt that, apart from
the NSA, Jonathan gives ears to the Director-General of the State
Security Service (SSS), Mr Ita Ekpeyong, another tactical intelligence
officer.
The president’s confidence in General
Azazi is not in doubt, but the fact that the Boko Haram sect has
continued to attack Nigerians, killing and destroying locations at will,
gives the impression that there is still much more work to be done. The
Office of the NSA told Sunday Trust recently that security agencies had
already held the sect in the jugular, with many high-ranking members of
the sect in detention, adding that the attacks launched by the group in
recent times were because their hideouts and strategies had been
dislodged by government forces.
Alhaji Usman Faruk is former military
governor of North-Western state. In a recent interview with Sunday
Trust, disagreed with the NSA, saying that General Azazi had not
demonstrated the capacity to deal with the violent activities of Boko
Haram.
He argued thus: “(Azazi) lacks the nerve
to travel unaccompanied and sometimes in cognito, as is the right
security practice, into certain volatile areas in pursuit of information
related to national security. His style has been the armed stampede
approach which is guaranteed to either scare the information provider
into repulsiveness or terrified silence. During his era as the NSA,
General Gusau travelled in cognito to many parts of Nigeria without
escorts, hence the successes recorded during his tenure. It is important
for the NSA to, from time to time, travel to verify the information
given to him without carrying any armed men with guns.”
Apart from faulting the NSA’s
strategies, a cross-section of Nigerians still insist that without
dialogue it will be difficult to win a war against a guerrilla sect.
Along this line, Vice President Namadi Sambo, the Sultan of Sokoto,
Alhaji Saad Abubakar III, and many prominent elements from the North
have called on government to open the lines of dialogue with the group.
In an interview with the Financial Times of London recently, the Sultan
said, “This problem cannot be solved by force. What we need is
dialogue.”
In the same vein, Vice President Namadi
Sambo also advocated the use of dialogue to tackle the crisis. He told
journalists recently that “We are all working together. The government
has also agreed to dialogue with Boko Haram and the ACF has told the
president that we are ready to give him the support so that we can move
forward.”
As it were, the NSA, too, seems to have
had a change of mind. Last week, he dissuaded the United States from
branding Boko Haram as a terrorist group, arguing that such decision
will frustrate government’s desire to engage the sect in dialogue. Even
Defence Minister Bello Halliru Mohammed, in Cape Town, South Africa,
faulted the US thus: “We are looking at a dialogue to establish the
grievances of the Boko Haram. I think the attempt to declare them an
international terrorist organization will not be helpful. Boko Haram is
not operating in America and America is not operating in Nigeria. They
are not involved in our internal security operations, so I don’t think
it would be of much significance really in that respect. But we don’t
support it.”
This line of thinking ran contrary to
Azazi’s earlier position that it was not possible to dialogue with a
faceless organisation because the group’s leadership was not accessible
by government. As government prepares to dialogue with Boko Haram,
there are fears that billions of naira budgeted to tackle insecurity
will go down the drain, because even, the CCTVs procured to monitor
locations in the Federal Capital are not functional.
By Theophilus Abbah
Hassan Tukur: The clearing house on northern issues
Although he is seen more as a technocrat
than a politician, Alhaji Hassan Tukur, the Principal Private Secretary
to President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be one of the key aides of
the president that oils the wheels of the Jonathan administration. His
influence on the government were said to have been sourced from his
exceptional loyalty to his boss and input into the running of the
government. Though secretive and inquisitive, Tukur is one of the most
widely consulted persons in the presidency. Ministers and top government
functionaries pass through his office. A source very close to the
presidency told Sunday Trust that his roles as a facilitator in the
presidency is not because of his close relationship with the president
which dates back to pre-Aso Villa days, but because of his positions is
on national issues. Sunday Trust gathered that his relationship with the
president started when Jonathan was the deputy governor of Bayelsa
State. The relationship later blossomed when Jonathan became the vice
president and chairman of energy council, while Tukur was the Secretary
to the National Energy Council (NEC).
Tukur, a former intelligence officer
from Adamawa State, was so trusted that he was mandated by the president
to oversee the process of a negotiation with the Boko Haram sect
through Dr Datti Ahmed, the head of the Supreme Council for Sharia in
Nigeria. However, Ahmed later pulled out of the negotiation alleging
sabotage by Tukur but Tukur also denied the allegation. A source close
to the presidency said the president was not perturbed by the allegation
because he trusted Tukur and believes that Tukur would never betray the
confidence reposed on him. He is also seen as one of the trusted aides
from the North, hence he is seen as being very influential in many of
the president’s interactions with northerners. Unconfirmed report said
he influences the choice of the president in selecting appointees from
the north.
By Muhammed Shehu
Patience Jonathan: Not a pushover First Lady
A graduate of the University of Port
Harcourt where she studied for a degree in Biology and Psychology, First
Lady Patience Jonathan is unlike several other First Ladies – she is
not very articulate. This deficiency did not prevent her from
contributing immensely to the election of President Jonathan in 2011.
Using the Women for Change platform, in which it is believed she has
substantial interest, she traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria to
canvass for the support of the female folk for the election of her
husband. The heavy criticisms she received over her flawed use of
English Language did not deter her. As it were, she succeeded in taking
over the roles of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) Woman Leader, and
subsumed even the Minister of Women Affairs under her office, such that
the First Lady took charge of the mobilisation of women across the
country. Dame Patience, therefore, established herself as a woman with
political influence, at least in the PDP.
Also, ahead of the PDP’s convention in
March, Dame Patience played behind-the-scene roles that determined the
distribution of power in the ruling party. Firstly, many of those who
contested for party positions contacted her for support, based on the
belief that Dame Patience can persuade the President to back their
candidature. Perhaps, some of such persons became ‘consensus
candidates’ and eventually got elected. However, one of the major roles
she played during the convention was that of lobbying. Weeks before the
party’s convention, Sunday Trust gathered, the First Lady contacted
those opposed to President Jonathan’s candidates in the elections.
For instance, to ensure Alhaji Bamanga
Tukur, President Jonathan’s choice, emerged as the National Chairman of
the party, Dame Patience had to lobby some of the other contestants for
the position, giving them reasons why they should support her husband’s
candidate. Our reporter learnt that she had to persuade some of the
women who sought the position of Woman Leader of the PDP to step down
for Mrs Kema Chikwe, when it was obvious that the President had made up
his mind to support the former aviation minister’s candidature for that
position. On the issue of Boko Haram crisis, Dame Patience, in her
speeches in recent times, has continued to blame ‘political leaders in
the country’ for it, squarely exonerating her husband. This tends to
fall in tandem with Jonathan’s own argument that the current crises
predate his assumption of office.
The natural consequence of such support
for her husband and his ambition is that Dame Patience should exercise a
measure of influence in the administration of President Jonathan. And,
of course, she does have her way in many cases. In Aso Rock, according
to our sources, there are always talks about ‘Patience’s candidates’
when openings for appointments are discussed. When caught in a difficult
situation, ministers and other political appointees solicit the
intervention of the First Lady to wriggle out of such problems.
Commenting on the role of Dame Patience
in the current regime, Ene Edeh, of Equity Advocate in Abuja summarised
it thus: “I don’t care about what people have to say about her grammar.
What matters is action, and she’s a woman of action. The female folk has
not had it so good in contemporary Nigerian political history.”
According to Edeh, “Men have power, and
women have influence. Dame Patience has enormous influence in this
government and she has used it to enhance the cause of women. For
instance, she almost helped us to get a female Speaker in the House of
Representatives. It didn’t happen, but we got the position of House
Leader in the person of Hajiya Mulikat Akande-Adeola. If you look at all
the women organisations in Nigeria, what have they done for women?
Nothing. Many of them are engaged in politics and sharing money, but
this woman is mobilising women and giving them a sense of belonging.
People feel she is overbearing in government, but she has been working
to have women in positions and she has succeeded. We’ve never had it so
good. It was only during the regime of the late General Sani Abacha,
when we had women elected into positions at the local government level
that we had this kind of impact, but then, it can’t compare with what we
have now.”
In spite of these, the argument that the
office of First Lady is unconstitutional and questions over the source
of funding for the Women for Change programmes have continued to dog
Dame Patience’s role in government. Writing a critique of the Women for
Change Programme in Workers Alternative, Iyabo Ajewole said, “the first
shortcoming of these types of intervention is non-continuation of the
projects. As soon as these women’s husbands leave office the projects
ceases to function. One then sees clearly that these women were not
doing these things based purely on altruistic intentions but rather to
further their own personal careers and gains. The Women for Change
Initiative of Patience Jonathan, for example, is at best a lip service.
It has no real impact on women politically, socially or economically.”
She added that “the woman herself is not
inspiring and her methods are lackluster. The way it is for WFCI, so it
was for all other First Lady’s pet projects nationally and
internationally. These women lack insight to or knowledge of the real
problem affecting the ordinary woman. No matter how much they pretend,
the truth is that it is only he who wears the shoe that knows where it
pinches most.”
Criticisms or none, those who understand
the workings of Aso Rock admit that Dame Patience wields enormous
powers that cannot be ignored.
By Theophilus Abbah
Oronto Douglas: A different kind of special assistant
Diminutive, ascetic but intelligent,
Oronto Douglas, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on
Research and Strategy, is not an ordinary aide of president but one of
the Jonathan’s inner political operatives from the heart of the
government. Many associates of the president refer to him as a master
strategist of the Jonathan administration. He is said to be one of the
trusted confidants of the president and his roles manifested during the
transition of Jonathan from the office of the Vice President to the
office of the president, following the demise of President Umaru Musa
Yar’adua.
He was said to be deeply involved in the
intrigues that trailed Yar’adua’s death and ascension of Jonathan. His
roles in the pre-2011 elections came to the open when it was alleged
that he was one of the president’s aides involved in the Save Nigeria
Group bribe saga. The group had claimed that Jonathan, through his
aides, provided the Pastor Tunde Bakare-led delegation a $50,000 cash
bribe which the delegation was said to have rejected and returned the
money. It was however denied by the presidency.
Most watchers of events in the Villa
have found that aside from First Lady Dame Patience, no other person is
as close to the president as Douglas. He attends virtually every single
meeting the president attends, take notes, analyze the meeting and
brief the president on the potency or otherwise of the meeting. He is
also involved in policy decisions and other associated assignments in
the presidency.
Born in Okoroba in Nembe Local
Government Area of Bayelsa State on the 6th of August, 1966, Douglas, is
lawyer, scholar, environmentalist and community man.
His influence in the administration is a
fall-out of his roles in those days when Jonathan was a governor in
Bayelsa State and Douglas served as Commissioner for Information and
Strategy. He later became Senior Assistant to then Vice-President and
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Research, Documentation and
Strategy.
Douglas’ generosity and simplicity has
endeared him to some many people from all parts of the country. He was
an Africa scholar at the prestigious International Forum on
Globalisation (IFG). He was also a Visiting Scholar at the Berkely
Campus of the University of California. Douglas took degrees in Law at
the Rivers State University of Science and Technology. Port Harcourt and
the Nigerian Law School, Lagos. He got a British Government scholarship
in 1995 under the Chevening Scholarship in 1995 as an Environmental Law
at De Montfort University Leicester, England, United Kingdom.
Douglas, who is a managing partner in
the DOUGAM LAW FIRM, Port Harcourt, co-founded Africa’s formost
environmental movement, the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the
Earth Nigeria and has served on the board of several non-profit
organizations within and outside Nigeria.
Douglas, founder of the Community
Defence Law Foundation (CDLF) was the first Nigerian activist to be
hosted by a serving American President – he presented the Niger-Delta
struggle at the White House to President Bill Clinton in the year 2000.
Widely travelled, Douglas has presented
papers in over 350 national/international conferences and has visited
over 50 countries to speak and present on human rights and the
environment. He is the author of several works including the ground
breaking “Where Vultures Feast, Shell, Oil and Human Rights in the Niger
Delta.” The book is co-authored with Ike Okonta and published in 2001
by Random House, San Francisco, USA.
He is a member of several prestigious,
professional and scholarly institutes including the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), the George Bell Institute (GBI) in Birmingham,
England among others.
He is married to Barrister Tarinabo Dougbals and the coupled is blesse with two children – Ogieltaziba and Daniel.
By Muhammed Shehu
Diezani Alison-Madueke, the woman atop the oily empire
She is not only beautiful, she is
elegant, eloquent and unmoveable. She speaks like one who has got the
command. Alison-Madueke who made entry in the federal cabinet in July
2007 when she was appointed Transport Minister has remained one minister
whose name reverberates intermittently. She seems to have a winning
streak. From becoming Minister of Mines and Steel Development in 2008,
Alison-Madueke was in 2010 sworn in as Minister for Petroleum Resources,
thus becoming Nigeria’s first woman to head what is commonly called
“juicy ministry”. But her running of the oil ministry has for long been
dogged by huge outcry. With revelations from the oil subsidy probe
Nigerians thought she would be pushed off the scene.
Last Tuesday at the ministerial platform
in Abuja, Alison-Madueke frontally faulted the House of Representative
Ad hoc Committee Report that investigated the petroleum subsidy payment
from 2009 to 2011.
The committee realised that top
government officials mismanaged more than N1 trillion in the name of
payment for subsidy. Alison-Madueke said the report contained many
issues that her ministry rejected.
She has refused to step aside for a comprehensive probe of the petroleum ministry which Nigerians say is mired in corrupt deals.
NNPC is accused of directly deducting
from funds for the Federation Account in contravention of Section 162 of
the constitution and illegal granting of price differential of crude
oil price per barrel to NNPC to the tune of N108 billion.
One thing that still remains unclear to
Nigerians is whether the woman is related to the president. But she is
no doubt quite powerful in this administration.
Alison-Madueke pledged to transform
Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. She is said to be instrumental in
Jonathan’s signing in April 2010 of the Nigerian Content Act which aims
to increase the percentage of petroleum industry contracts that are
awarded to indigenous Nigerian businesses.
Alison-Madueke apart from being the
first woman to hold the position of Minister of Petroleum Resources in
Nigeria, she in October 2010 became the first woman to head a country
delegation at the annual OPEC conference. Equally, she is the first
female Minister of Transportation and the first woman to be appointed to
the board of Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria.
An energy expert, Adediran Sunday told
our correspondent that the appointment of Alison-Madueke is a big
revolution in the petroleum ministry.
He said apart from ensuring that it is
no more business as usual in the oil and gas sector, Alison-Madueke has
not only removed impediments to dedication of projects by international
oil companies and other upstream producers for domestic gas supply but
has systematically protected the sustenance of gas for export as LNG
through intervention in negotiation by the parties and assurance that
government’s policy in future will not affect return on LNG investment
in Nigeria.
He said the signing of Nigerian Content
Bill into law by President Goodluck Jonathan is also a plus to the
minister as the gesture will expand local capacity in the oil and gas
sector.
Managing Director of Shoreline Nigeria
Limited, Kola Karim also said the promotion of local content policy and
far-reaching reform the minister has undertaken in the sector stand her
out as a performer.
Folorunso Oginni, chairman of Lagos
chapter of PENGASSAN scored Diezani high in terms of availability of
fuel in the country as well as her workers-friendly policy in the
nation’s oil and gas sector.
He however told our correspondent that the minister did not do well in ensuring availability of kerosene in the country.
Founder of Environmental Right Action, Nninimo Bassey told our correspondent that the minister’s tenure is a failure.
He said the benchmark he used to assess
the minister such as transparency in the sector, reliance on the sector
for information and functionality of the regulatory bodies reveal that
Alison Madueke deserves no pass mark.
According to him, the sector under the
minister is a deficit to the nation rather value-addition. She said the
level of corruption and abuse of due process is astronomical now.
Former representative of Wamba/Akwanga
Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives during General
Ibrahim Babangida regime Hajia Amina Aliyu has seen the woman minister
as a plus for women struggle.
“We women are solidly behind our own,”
she expressed adding, “Much of these issues we are talking about had
been there before she was made minister of petroleum.”
By Ben Atonko, Abuja & Mohammed Shosanya, Lagos
Stella Ada Oduah: The minister and treasurer
The 50-year old Minister of Aviation is
one minister in the present Federal Executive Council (FEC) whose
appointment as a minister is widely acknowledged was as a result of what
she personally contributed towards the election of President Godluck
Jonathan.
Apart from being the Director of Finance
of Jonathan/Sambo Presidential campaign organization 2011, she was also
the founder of the Neighbour-to-Neighbour campaign group that was the
major single campaign organization known to have carried out paid media
adverts and a holistic utilization of people on foot and in vehicles
that also campaigned massively for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP)in the 2011 Presidential campaign.
A chieftain of the ruling Peoples’
Democratic Party in Kebbi State, Alhaji Hussaini Suleiman Kangiwa told
this reporter in a telephone interview that Princess Oduah, unlike many
other ministers in the cabinet, derived her powers from the holistic
efforts she put into the campaign and the huge sums of money she
successfully raised for the party and the judicious means the money was
spent which contributed immensely to the success of the party.
“It is natural that when a leader
identifies any of the followers that honestly put a lot of efforts,
logistics and finance towards his election, he will surely partner with
such a contributor towards making sure he carried him or her along.
Princess Oduah is not just being carried along by President Jonathan,
but she enjoys a lot of privileges and wields powers that most ministers
cannot try. But all these are bone out of the trust and confidence she
built in herself.
“Above all that, you can see that she is
performing extra-ordinarily well as the Aviation Minister. All the
major airports in the country are undergoing total rehabilitation and
the upgrading of their equipments after several years of neglect.
Passengers’ service and welfare has improved. Remember the efforts she
put in to resolve the air fare disparity in favour of the Nigerian
passengers’. It is not easy going against the economic interest of those
international airlines. But she successfully did.
“The woman is having her way in this
administration because of her competence and worthiness as exhibited by
her from the stage of campaign to the present state as a minister. You
could see that some of the ministers do not even have confidence in
themselves because they have no record of any major contribution to the
party or to the President becoming what he is today. They only became
ministers to represent the interest of their governors or political god
fathers,” he said.
Kangiwa who served as an Immigration
officer in most of the international airports in the country before he
retired and joined politics, described the aviation industry as a
collection of professionals where only a leader with a lot of
intelligence and administrative techniques can be able to lead the
aviation ministry as exhibited by Princess Oduah.
But an aeronautic engineer, Samuel
Igbafe said because she does not have knowledge about aviation business,
she will never get it right, adding, “She cannot successfully revive
the aviation sector when she has no knowledge of what is happening
there. I think she will do better elsewhere even though she is trying.”
Peterside: A banker as president’s friend
Those who knows Atedo Peterside said he
is a man of many parts. This was exhibited perfectly during the strike
against fuel subsidy as he moved against the union and stood stoutly
behind government’s action. An intellectual from the Niger Delta,
Peterside has proved as a good ally of President Jonathan, even in
troubled times.
Beside the fact that Peterside is a
member of National Economic Council, he is the chairman of two of
Nigeria strongest companies, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc of which he founded
and was the pioneer chief executive officer for 18 years, Stanbic IBTC
Asset Management Limited, and IBTC Pension Managers. Until retirement
in 2007, Peterside has monitored the Bank’s growth from a fledgling
institution into one of the most respected, efficient and innovative
banks in Nigeria today.
He is also the current chairman of Cadbury Nigeria Plc.
Many people thought the way he had seen
to the growth of the bank opened ways for him. The has weathered the
storm of two recapitalization process and none had consumed it and this
was said to have endeared his long term fried from King College, Lagos,
the central bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Lamido Sanusi Lamido to
involve him in most of the government activities as government chat a
way forward for the nation’s economy.
Throughout the reform of Sanusi,
Peterside’s name was never mentioned He is on the board of seven other
companies that are doing well in the economy, Flour Mills of Nigeria
PLC, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Presco Plc and former
director in Mobil Oil Nigeria plc and First Securities Discount House
Limited. Virtually all the companies are listed on the floor of the
Nigeria stock exchange.
Peterside serves as the Vice Chairman
and a Director of Nigerian Economic Summit Group. He serves as a
Director of CR Services Ltd. And Unilever Nigeria Plc. Mr Peterside has
been an Independent Director of Presco plc since April 17, 2008. He
serves as a Member of the Private Sector Advisory Board set up by the
World Bank to assist in setting up a Country Assistance Strategy (CAS)
for Nigeria.
A highly experienced investment banker,
he has overseen numerous path-breaking financial advisory and capital
market assignments undertaken by IBTC. Mr Peterside is a regular
commentator on the Nigerian economy and the domestic financial system.
Born in Port Harcourt on July 12, 1955
had served on the Board of Presco plc from December 2005 to December
2006. He was the Chairman of the Committee on Corporate Governance of
Public Companies in Nigeria.
He became the founding CEO of Stanbic
IBTC Bank where he redefined the concept of Investment Banking in
Nigeria. He eventually transformed the bank into an entity with interest
in commercial banking and stock broking while maintaining the bank’s
leadership position in investment banking. Dr Peterside is a well
respected economist with distinctive competence in finance and banking.
As a result of his multidimensional pedigree, he has served in several
task forces of the Federal and State governments.
The current economic blueprint of Lagos
State government was designed by him during Senator Bola Tinubu’s
tenure. He is currently a member of the Federal government’s economic
management team and head of the South South economic forum. The current
Code of Corporate governance used in the Capital Market of Nigeria was
prepared by him.
“Dr Peterside is an accomplished
technocrat whose expertise is widely sought. His closeness to Dr
Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is a reflection of the intellectual
content of this administration”, he said a wealthy Ijaw man, many view
his stance on subsidy removal as unnecessary going by life history.
By Kayode Ehindayo
Otedola: A wealthy associate from Obasanjo era
Femi Otedola, an stunt businessman turn
politician between 1991-92 when his father, Pa Micheal Otedola was the
governor of Lagos state during the Third Republic, little was heard
about him until 2002 when government announced partial deregulation of
the downstream sector which led to the establishment of Zenon. In quick
succession, Mr Otedola acquired three cargo ships to bring its total
number of ships to four. All named after his parents and wife. MT Sir
Michael (his father), MT Lady Doja (his mother), MT Nana (his wife) and
Zenon Conquest.
Nowadays, anywhere the President travels
for investment tour, Femi Otedola must accompany him. Many observers
believe that it is reward time for Mr Otedola whose friendship with
Goodluck Jonathan dated back to the 90’s “When everything seems to have
ended for Jonathan, Femi never left Jonathan. He was with him both thin
and thick period”, a close aide to Otedola said.
Though he has never announced his
membership of the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his
actions in recent past have shown that Mr Otedola is not only a staunt
member of the party but a strong and one of the financers of PDP. In
2011, during the President’s re-election bid, Otedola contributed well
over N100 million to Jonathan campaign. And under the aegis of friends
of Obasanjo and Atiku, he contributed N25 towards the rehabilitation of
the National Mosque in Abuja. He was one of the co-launcher of Obasanjo
Presidential Library, where he donated N200 million.
He is very close to the former President
Olusegun Obasanjo. As a matter of fact, Obasanjo consider Femi as one
of his son and when he was leaving the government house, he personally
handed him over to Jonathan who was then the vice President, another
source said in 2006, Mr Otedola acquired African Petroleum to
consolidate his downstream operational activities having acquired a 55.3
per cent shares of the company. Now Forte, the oil company has Mr
Otedola as his chairman. In 2009, his name together with his bosom
friend, Aliko Dangote appeared on the 2009 Forbes list of 793
dollar-denominated billionaires in the world, with an estimated net
worth of over $1.2 billion.
Within a sphere of two years Zenon
constructed a N2.8 billion oil storage facility at Ibafon, Apapa, Lagos.
He bought hundred brand new trucks purchased for N1.3 billion to
strengthen the distributive arm of his business and acquired a massive
flat bottom bunker vessel with a storage capacity of 16,000 metric
tonnes of diesel for $6.8 million dollars. Zenon owns four cargo ships.
He also owns Atlas Shipping Agency, Swift Insurance, FO Properties
Limited, FO Transport.
Zenon now boasts of a total storage
capacity of more than 147,000 metric tonnes total holding of diesel
making it the biggest depot owner with the largest single storage
capacity in the country.
Femi in 1994, after consolidating his
fathers businesses, Mr Otedola diversified and set up his own company,
Centreforce Limited, specializing in finance, investment and trading.
In 1999, he ventured into the oil and
gas sector and incorporated Zenon Petroleum & Gas Limited, an
indigenous company engaged in the procurement, storage, marketing and
distribution of petroleum products i.e., Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene, Gas,
Fuels Oils and Lubricants.
In 2001 he incorporated Seaforce
Shipping Company Limited and currently owns and manages a modern tanker
fleet of four vessels, namely Mt. Sir Micheal, Mt. Lady Doja, Mt. Nana
and Mt. Zenon Conquest, aggregating 60,158 metric tons {deadweight) that
transport petroleum products.
Born 1967 in Epe, Lagos State, Mr Femi
Otedola was appointed member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian
Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), in January 2004. In December 2004,
he was appointed a member of the committee with the task of fostering
business relationship between Nigerian and South African private
sectors.
By Kayode Ekundayo
Mark’s growing influence as Jonathan mark one year in office
After a successful first four years as
President of the Senate, Senator David Mark joined the league of
Nigeria’s most powerful and influential politicians. His rise to the top
of the legislative arm of government did not come as a fluke having
played critical roles in the Senate since the beginning of the present
democratic dispensation in 1999. David Mark is said to have been the
major factor behind success or otherwise of all past leaderships of the
Senate. Presently, aside Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo (PDP, Kano) no
other senator has been in the Red chamber since its inception. Even
Gwarzo spent a few months out of the Senate having lost the 2007
election to Senator Aminu Sule Garo, who was later removed by the court.
With his wealth of experience, Mark was
able to become the rallying point to all his colleagues during his first
term as President of the Senate. He was able to bring stability to the
leadership of the Senate though some of his critics have always been
quick to point out that the proverbial ‘banana peel’ disappeared during
Mark’s tenure because those that used to litter the paths of the
leadership with it have assumed power. His role in stabilising the
country with the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ has become a world acclaimed
fit, while he also supervised the first major amendments to the 1999
Constitution.
At the close of the Sixth session,
Senator Mark with support of his colleagues decided to ‘doctor’ existing
Senate rules to pave way for a smooth return to his position in the
Seventh Senate. For fear of being overtaken by other powerful
personalities; especially former governors coming into the Senate, Mark
and his supporters decided to build shock absorbers into Senate rules.
The new law stipulates leadership positions are filled based on ranking
or number of years spent in the Senate. As the single most experience
senator, Mark midwife a rule to automatically substitute his perceived
opponents such as former Gombe State governor, Senator Danjuma Goje, who
is a first timer and ‘rankless’. The new rule was hurriedly passed
before the end of the Sixth Senate shortly before the 2011 general
elections.
Soon after the elections, Senator Mark
having won a record fourth term from his Benue South zone moved swiftly
to ensure he does not lose the prestigious post of Senate President.
Having ensured that the Senate rules favour only himself to contest that
position, Mark went ahead to further tight the noose around the necks
of all possible contenders. As a major mover and shaker in the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Idoma chief decided to also ensure
that party zoning puts him on pole position to win. The party was forced
to further rearrange its zoning of political offices because the office
of Senate President was a ‘no go area’. The position was reserved for
Mark and that much became evident in the zoning arrangement that was
adopted by the party. For the first time in the history of PDP, zoning
did not only include geo-political zones, the party brought religion
into the matter. The office of Senate President was zoned to
North-central and the person must be a Christian by faith.
Consequently, the combination of Senate
rule that reserved the office of Senate President for the longest
serving senator alone and the PDP arrangement that the office is
reserved for a Christian of the North-central extract, put paid to the
deal. Invariably, the whole arrangement was done to ensure that Mark
returned unopposed and he did. It was not by accident, or sheer luck,
all other possible aspirants were caged by a combined force of party
guidelines and Senate rules. Mark was the longest serving senator and a
Christian from the North-Central.
The entire scheming and rigmarole won’t
have been necessary because Mark’s achievements in his first term should
have ordinarily seen him stroll back to the Apo Mansion for a second
term. But political situations in Nigeria are desperate and require
desperate approach. Performance doesn’t really matter as political
offices are perceived only as means of self aggrandizement. The Senate
before Mark had been a house of controversy and confusion. Imagine such a
Senate in a period of general state of confusion over the ill health of
the late President Umaru Yar’adua.
In the last one year, the political
power of Mark has grown beyond the bounds of the Senate. The retired
General has a grip of his major constituency; the National Assembly as
well as the House of Representative. This is not surprising as sources
have revealed that Mark was one of the major powerful top PDP members
that secretly supported Speaker Aminu Tambuwal in disregard to the
party’s zoning arrangement. Tambuwal and his deputy are seen as
‘prodigal sons’ that defied parental orders to fight for a space on the
high table. But unknown to many, they did not act alone.
Benue state is has become a major
beneficiary of their son’s exploits at the national level. It may take
time before an Idoma becomes governor in the state, but Mark has
increased the status of his tribesmen in the polity. Being part of the
North-central, the state has produced the President of Senate and should
ordinarily not be the one to have an extra minister from the zone. But
the Senate President must have a personal candidate in government, so
his Campaign Director General, Comrade Abba Moro was nominated alongside
Dr. Samuel Ortom. Benue state now has a Senate President and two
ministers.
Mark’s influence is not limited to
securing political appointments for his Idoma or Benue kin; he has also
helped President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to stabilise. At the
most critical period thus far, Mark was there to bring his influence to
bear. When the labour unions shut down the country over removal of fuel
subsidy, negotiations shifted from the Aso Villa, to the Apo Mansion.
Labour leaders were always quick to answer the Senate President’s call
to the table. The final resolution that brought back stability to the
nation was brokered in Mark’s house and not at the State House.
Commenting on the Senate President’s
growing influence, Senator Ahmad Lawan who led Mark’s re-election
campaign said the Senate President enjoys the confidence, respect and
support of his colleagues in both chambers of the National Assembly due
to his transparent and patriotic leadership style.
According to Lawan; “his growing
influence is not a surprise. Nigerians have come to learn that he is a
patriotic leader who always has the interest of the common man at heart.
This was evident in the manner he intervened in the fuel subsidy
crisis. Even the executive arm has noticed that as a courageous leader,
David Mark always says it as it is. He is never afraid to put the blame
if any to the appropriate quarters. His position is always in the
interest of the nation and not based on selfish interest. With a major
support base in the National Assembly and his courage and patriotism,
Mark’s influence on the nation’s polity can only continue to grow.”
On the other side, critics argue that
rather than patriotic, the appropriate antonym for the Senate President
should be egocentric.
However, as the northern agitation for
power by 2015 gather moment, one personality that cannot be ruled out of
the equation is David Mark. Many see him as a likely uniting force
between the north and south of the country. With his wealth of
experience, age and strong political support base, the possibility of
Mark 2015 presidential bid looms larger than all other aspirants.
By Abdul-Rahman Abubakar
Chief Edwin Clark: The old man of the Ijaw nation
Chief Edwin Clark is an Ijaw leader from
Delta State who many people say the powers he exercises under the
present administration is only because he is of the same tribe with
President Goodluck Jonathan, even though the president is an Ijaw from
Bayelsa State. Clark is described as a popular elder statesman who
incidentally does not command much respect in his Urhobo dominated Delta
State beyond his Ijaw kinsmen, as much as he does now that a fellow
Ijaw man is the President.
A political scientist and fellow Deltan,
Dr. Tobore Erukakpomwen said though Chief Clark is now very powerful
and influences a lot of decisions in the Presidency, he is not very
relevant and not too popular outside his immediate enclave whom he said
reduces him to a powerful but local Ijaw champion.
“He got his relevance only from the fact
that his fellow Ijaw man is the president. That makes him an ethnic
champion. It is a well known fact that he retired completely to his
Warri home in Delta state and only came out to own his first house in
Abuja and stayed there because his tribesman is now president. In the
process of looking for relevance and gaining popularity, he resorted to
addressing the press frequently only to promote his Ijaw or at most, the
Niger Delta interest. He never sees himself beyong a regional leader.
“He is very powerful now at the
presidency. But I am not sure he can reach out to three prominent people
in each of the states outside his immediate South-South zone to rely on
them in canvassing for support for the government. Some people even see
him as a problem to Jonathan’s administration. Even when the president
is seeking for support from all parts of the country, Chief Clark is
busy attracting and recruiting enemies for the administration through
his unguarded utterances. But I agree he is powerful before Jonathan,”
he said.
But Chief David Omoru, a Publisher and
Human rights activist in Asaba told this reporter that some Ijaw leaders
have succeeded in reducing the president to an ethnic leader, adding,
“When you look at it, most of the important federal appointments from
the Niger Delta went to the minority Ijaws. That was not how the crusade
started. The agitation for Jonathan to become president started as a
South-South zone affair. Now that he is there, it descended to an Ijaw
affair,” he said.
But Mrs. Esther Preye described Chief
Clark as a nationalist who is doing a lot to ensure the peaceful
coexistence of the country. She said he played very vital role in
securing amnesty for the Niger Delta militants and their subsequent
disarmament, noting that he ensured equal representation in the federal
character by assisting the Ijaws to secure federal appointments as they
were been sidelined by successive administrations.
“Those that are saying most of the
appointments meant for the Niger Delta zone goes to the Ijaws should
Endeavour to tell us how many administrations came and passed without a
single Ijaw holding any key position. Do they want him to neglect his
people after other leaders neglected us? Moreover, he is trying by
carrying everybody along. The closest aide to him is his Chief of staff
who is from Edo. I can name them for you,” she said.
By Shehu Abubakar
Bamanga Tukur, a man sent to cage PDP’s lions
Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the new national
chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is a notable figure in
the political sphere in Nigeria. Tukur, without doubt, is one of the
powerful and influential men in the Goodluck Jonathan administration by
virtue of his new role in the self-acclaimed largest party in Africa.
The 77-year old Tukur is seen as
somebody who cannot be easily influenced by possible material benefits
from the powerful bloc which the PDP Governors’ Forum is representing, a
vital reason, some pundits note, made President Goodluck Jonathan to
settle for the former governor of old Gongola state which now consists
of Adamawa and Taraba states as PDP national chairman.
Analysts say most of the past PDP
national chairmen fell victims of financial inducements from governors
who always do everything possible to take firm control of party
structures in their respective states. One way, they fell into the trap,
according to the analysts, is their penchant to get contracts from
governors through cronies.
Traditionally, the PDP national chairman
has always been wielding enormous power with regard to the ability to
determine who eventually gets the party’s tickets to run for any
election at various levels. This explains the reason why every President
is always interested in getting a core loyalist to head the PDP. The
emergence of Tukur, therefore, does not happen by chance going by the
role he played towards the victory of President Jonathan in 2011 as PDP
presidential candidate and his eventual success at April 2011
presidential election. Tukur was the person who nominated President
Jonathan as PDP candidate at a point most politicians found it difficult
to support him because his candidacy is considered as an outright
breach of the party’s zoning arrangement.
The PDP boss also exerts influence on
who gets appointed into the boards of federal parastatals and agencies, a
situation which encourages politicians to visit whoever holds the
position at home and in the office. Apart from politicians who pay
homage to the PDP national chairman, business entrepreneurs take their
turn to woo him in order to promote the growth of their businesses and
get the needed backing from the government through the creation of an
enabling business environment and the formulation of business-friendly
policies.
Tukur is seen as somebody who can
properly handle the challenge of leading a party that is as big as the
PDP, considering his pedigree as a prominent Nigerian businessman and
politician. The one-time Minister for Industries and former general
manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority during (NPA) as well as the
former presidential candidate of the National Republican Convention in
1992 is considered as somebody who can reform the PDP through the
enthronement of internal democracy, the abolition of imposition of
candidates and the promotion of party discipline and supremacy.
Some political analysts, however,
believe that Tukur who has already been preaching the need for reforms
cannot go beyond what the likes of Chief Solomon Lar, Chief Audu Ogbeh,
Dr Ahmadu Ali, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, Dr Bello
Haliru Mohammed and Alhaji Baraje has done because of the continuous
fierce rivalry among various power brokers in the party.
CNPP National Publicity Secretary Osita
Okechukwu, in a telephone interview with Sunday Trust, said he did not
see Bamanga Tukur doing something different because he was part and
parcel of the PDP whose philosophy is ‘food-is-ready’ and with the motto
‘share-the-money’.
Okechukwu said, “he is coming from the
mainstream PDP whose philosophy is food-is-ready and with motto
share-the-money. He was well recruited. He was the PDP that Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo hijacked. With his pedigree and antecedents, I don’t
see him possibly veering off from the philosophy of a new PDP led by
Obasanjo.
“His philosophy is synchronizing with
the new PDP that Obasanjo is leading. So, I do not see him trying to do
something different except to follow that train. This is a weakness from
the party in government which relies only on captain of industries,
most of whom, have no industry. The captain of industries who ask the
private sector to construct the road and ensure that Mambilla Power
Station provides electricity. We do not see the reason why we should
leave our resources to engage in what we call state capitalism.
Corroborating Okechukwu, a PDP
chieftain, who described Tukur’s election as coronation, said Nigeria is
yet to have what we can call democracy because of the way people are
being selected instead of being elected.
“I was even shocked that they did
reception again. It’s like we are all not ready to move forward in this
country. He was just smuggled there. People that put him there already
know what they want him to do for them. How can I do an assessment? The
man is there any way. He doesn’t have anything to do with you and I or
anybody in Nigeria. There was no parameter that we use to judge his
coming in there as chairman.
“Since Tukur has been coronated, there
will be pressure on INEC, justice system, security because they will
impose the presidential and governorship candidates. There will be
pressure on INEC to deliver because the man didn’t come by election.
This means that there won’t be any election before candidates emerge. It
will be wrong for me to assess him and say anything about him,” the
anonymous party chieftain said.
However, the Sarkin Yaki to the new PDP
boss Salisu Magaji dismissed the insinuation that Tukur will be
influenced by Mr President, party governors, National Assembly members
and other influential figures in the party.
In an interview with Sunday Trust,
Magaji described Tukur as a reformer that is ready to reform the party,
pointing out that he vigorously pursues any targets he set for himself
until it is achieved.
“Bamanga Tukur is a reformer and he is
ready to reform the party. I have known him for a very long time. If he
wants to do anything, he will do it and deliver. I could recall when he
was building Mayokalaye; he decided to establish a farm and residential
area where he built houses. We were challenging him at that time with
regard to the reason why he was building such things in a village
situated in the remote area. He told us not to worry. But today, the
village has begun to witness development.
“He can reform the PDP. He wants to work
and he is ready to work. He is somebody that relates with people and
this can be seen with the number of people going to his house to see
him. If anyone calls him at any time, he picks his call even at night.
We are just calling on the NWC to give him maximum support,” Magaji
said.
On whether he can withstand the likely
influence which some of the power brokers from the Presidency,
governors, National Assembly and other party organs will want to exert
on him, he said, “Bamanga Tukur is a principled human being. Anyone who
thinks that he can be influenced is just having a wrong notion. I know
him very well. If he says yes on anything, then it is yes. If he says
no, it is no. No power brokers can influence him. He cannot be
influenced. It is difficult for you to see any of his companies running
around for projects in this country.”
Many believe that Tukur, ordinarily,
should perform creditably well as PDP chairman, considering his age and
international recognition as Chairman of the African Business
Roundtable, who also served as Chairman of the New Partnership for
Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as well as President/Chairman of council of
Chartered Institute of Administration.
Whether Tukur, who is one of the
founding fathers of the PDP and a former member of the PDP Board of
Trustees (BOT), will be able to reform the party as promised, his
actions and body languages ahead of the 2015 general elections will
surely reveal.
Barth Nnaji: Nigeria’s powerful power minister
Barth Nnaji, a tenured professor of
Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Robotics from the University of
Pennsylvania, United States, had the trust of Mr President and many
Nigerians in his ability to reform the power sector when he assumed as
minister in 2011.
He was picked from the private sector,
as one of the few technocrats in the cabinet. His firm- Geometric Power
Limited, a US$250 million, 140 MW, integrated generation and
distribution power plant, located in Aba is one of the projects that
attracted attention of many, including the World Bank’s International
Financial Corporation (IFC).
The way and manner he handle GPL
project, attracted President Goodluck Jonathan such that he brought him
into his cabinet in 2010, first, as Special Adviser on power and
chairman of the Presidential Task Force Committee on Power. The
President gave him enormous powers and responsibilities with the free
hands to design the chart that will deliver electricity in the country.
Even at that position, he had more influence than the then minister of
power.
He was first among those nominated as
minister in Jonathan’s second coming as president, after the 2011
general elections. When he appeared before the Senate he attracted so
much attention and won the confidence of many Nigerians that the age of
darkness will soon be history. He promised so much, but has done little
in reforming the power sector as at now.
Day after day, month after month, since
he assumed as minister of power, the nation’s electricity generation
capacity has lingered around 3,700 megawatts to 4,000 megawatts, the
same level since 2011.
Although some of experts said it is not
time to judge his performance because the decay in the power sector is
too much and requires more time, it is generally believed that some of
the most basic things to attract new investors in the sector are not yet
on present.
A Kaduna-based public commentator, Mr
Daudu Ilyasu said it is not time to put the minister or his reform on
scale because the power sector requires time and patience.
He said the rot in the sector is too
much, that a reform in one year or so cannot make any difference, even
though, he said many people do not want to know how he would do it.
Iliyasu admitted that the story of poor
electricity has not changed yet, the generation capacity is still within
the same range the minister met it when he came, but notwithstanding
there is some progress in terms of the implementation of the power
roadmap.
Also, a don from the University of
Ibadan and President of the Nigeria Association of Energy Economics,
Professor Adeola Adenikinju, told Sunday Trust that the reform promises a
lot without measurable achievements. He said what is happening is the
other side of the coin, a decline in performances.
Professor Adenikinju said although
Nigerians are not expecting a miracle overnight. “We are not seeing
private investors coming, the expectations is not for government to
spend more money again, but the entrance of private sector, the
constraints that block the private sector to invest are still there.”
He said “the reality is that when the
minister came in, he made a lot of promises but still we have not seen
them turning to reality, such as privatising the sector, ensure steady
gas supply to some of the IPPs, settlement of PHCN workers benefits, and
increasing the generation and transmission capacity.”
According to him, unless government
identified those groups and issues that are hindering the growth of the
power sector and engage them in the whole process, the sector will
continue to be in a mess, adding that such groups like generator sellers
and workers unions are so powerful that they can hinder the progress of
any reformer.
The Presidential Road Map of Jonathan
administration, which Barth Nnaji is putting effort to implement,
indicates that an additional 690 mw of electricity will be added by
December, 2011 and 1,000 mw will be available by the end of 2012. “On
the whole, the NIPP will generate a total of 4770mw by December 2013,”
he had promise.
The statement said: “6,000mw would be
generated before the end of 2014 by IPPs like Dangote, Lafarge,Notore,
SuperTex, Wemco, Geometric Power, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Total Fina,
Hudson Power, AGIP, Negris and MABON Energy”.
The sector report also said the reforms
are on course, as there is stability in the power supply, and that they
have installed about 3,000 distribution transformers and associates
power equipment and accessories nationwide.
The government’s report says many
Nigerians are enjoying more hours of power supply because of the
rehabilitation and recovery of capacity in existing generation plants.
But for many Nigerians who commented on
the progress in the sector faulted the government claims that they are
now enjoying more hours electricity.
Emma Ukeri, roadside welder in Suleja, said there is nothing to write home about, as far as electricity supply is concern.
He said, they don’t rely on electricity to do their work.
Peter Lawrence, civil servant in Kubwa,
said government officials are all the same. They always claim to make
progress but the reality is that they don’t bother about the real
problems.
Union leaders at the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria told Sunday Trust, yesterday that there is high level
discussion currently on going between the government official and the
representatives of the electricity unions, that is why they will not
make any comment on issues related to the sector.
Only time can tell, whether Barth Nnaji
will convert the power and authority he has to generate more power for
poor Nigerians or not.
By Hamisu Muhammad
Namadi Sambo, Vice President
It was the second President of the
United States John Adams and one of its Founding Fathers, who as Vice
President, complained to his wife Abigail that his eight years as the
country’s number two man were the most frustrating experiences in his
life.
“My country has in its wisdom contrived
for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man
contrived or his imagination conceived,” he said.
As a matter of fact, the Office of the
Vice President could latently be the most uninteresting or wearisome for
any man of vigour, intellect and vanity. But it’s probably not the case
in Nigeria where the occupant of that position would want us to see it
in a different perspective.
Alhaji Mohammed Namadi Sambo, an
architect by training and profession, was catapulted to the office of
the vice president on May 13, 2010 from that of a state governor, which
is considered by many to be more beneficial and productive, when he was
nominated by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan after he (Jonathan) was
sworn-in as President following the demise of President Umaru Yar’adua.
As Nigeria’s fourth elected vice
president, Namadi Sambo has somewhat defied the perception of John Adams
as he rose to become one of the most powerful men in President
Jonathan’s Administration, wielding remarkable influence in state
matters. Despite his boss’ ever-growing coterie of Ijaw and Niger Delta
confederates, Namadi Sambo still enjoys the unwavering trust and
confidence of the president. Unlike one of his predecessors, Atiku
Abubakar, who suffered a most harrowing experience in the last part of
his eight-year term as vice president, Namadi Sambo has so far enjoyed a
relative ease and elevation as he clocks his first 365 days in office
as vice president in a fresh mandate.
Currently, the Zaria-born Sambo oversees
some government agencies and supervises multi-billion naira projects
that are crucial to President Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda.
“He (Namadi Sambo) is a key player in
the Administration. He has the president’s ears in almost all state
matters,” said a Presidency source. “He became more influential after
the role he played in last year’s presidential election which gave
President Jonathan an unlikely two-third of the votes in some key
northern states like Kaduna and Kano.”
Since the advent of the Fourth Republic,
it has become the duties of the vice president to chair the Nigeria
Economic Intelligence Council (NEIC). Sambo also supervises the
Independent Power Projects as the Alternate-Chairman of the Presidential
Action Committee on Power (PACP) and the Nigeria Emergency Management
Authority (NEMA), where he had installed one of his acolytes, Sani Sidi,
as director general.
Statutorily, he is a member of the
National Security Council, National Defence Council and the vice chair
of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Of late, Sambo has been at the vanguard
of the Federal Government’s Transformation Agenda in agriculture and
resuscitation of collapsed textile industries in the North. Sambo
recently travelled to the United States to woo foreign investments into
the agricultural sector and Sudan to see how Nigeria can raise interest
free long term finance for infrastructure and agricultural development.
Above all, the vice president has done
well to stay clear from unnecessary limelight and not to be seen as
inordinately ambitious so as not to incur the wrath of his boss. He has
equally employed considerable restraint as any smart politician would do
amidst the ongoing agitation and speculation in the North on who should
succeed President Jonathan in 2015.
Although he has avoided open
identification with the campaign, Sambo’s associates and some PDP
chieftains from the North were said to have openly canvassed for support
of his alleged presidential project.
Like President Jonathan, Sambo enjoyed a
near meteoric rise in Nigeria’s political firmament as both share
almost similar trajectory from political oblivion to ultimate power,
though, thanks to accident of fate and sheer providence.
As lately as 2006, Namadi Sambo was a
political neophyte but somehow strolled to the top echelon in Kaduna
State during the near-rancorous primaries that saw him beating
heavyweights like Senator Isaiah Balat and Alhaji Usman Hunkuyi to win
the PDP governorship ticket.
Born on August 2 1954, Sambo, an alumnus
of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was ushered into Kaduna State
politics in 1986 when he was appointed Commissioner of Agriculture at
the age of 34 by the then military governor, Lieutenant Colonel Abubakar
Dangiwa Umar. He was to later serve as Commissioner for Works,
Transport and Housing.
At the end of his tour of duty in 1990,
he went back to private practice, traversing the length and breadth of
Nigeria as one of the most sought-after architects in the country.
By Ismaila Lere
Mr. Godsday Orubebe: Minister of Niger Delta
The Minister of the Ministry for Niger
Delta is another very powerful force to reckon with in this
administration. It is widely believed that he has been a favorite
candidate for ministerial appointment to President Goodluck Jonathan
since the inception of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua when Jonathan
was believed to have secured appointment for him as the then minister of
Special Duties.
When the Ministry for Niger Delta was
created by late President Yar’adua, the 53-year old, Orubebe who hails
from Delta state was appointed Minister of state for the Niger Delta
with former Secretary of the Government of the Federation as senior
minister. President Jonathan made him minister of the ministry on April
6, 2010 when he formed his cabinet.
Orubebe, who many see as the Ambassador
of President Jonathan in the Niger Delta region, is certainly the most
senior political appointee from the region holding the most critical
appointment to the political career of President Jonathan being the
minister of the ministry specially created to address the widely
publicized neglect of the region by its people.
Barrister Kenneth Oritse told this
reporter on phone that Orubebe, as the Minister of the Niger Delta, is
so critical to President Jonathan’s administration, adding, “If Orubebe
fails in transforming the Niger Delta, it means Jonathan has failed at
home. That is the reason why you see that he has a blanket go-ahead to
do anything that will make this administration popular in the Niger
Delta.
“He has good allocation of funds to
perform or duplicate in most cases what the NDDC and the oil companies
are doing. I understand he is among the very few ministers that are
always getting the President’s attention. Most request for jobs, minor
contracts and ‘help me’ requests from the President’s people at home are
always being referred to him. He is the stabilizing factor between the
villa and the people of the Niger Delta. I am aware most oil companies
and people doing big business in the region especially, goes through him
to get favour from the villa,” he said.
Barrister Oritse said he is also aware
that the Minister is rendering a lot of financial and material
assistance to the PDP and its chieftains from the states in the zone
which also made him very popular in the region. He said most people with
request that can addressed by the ministry finds easy solutions when
they meet him.
A youth, Kennedy Boga said his political
leader from Edo state got a job for him through Orubebe at one of the
oil companies following a note the minister gave him on a complementary
card. He said two years after getting the job, his employers still hold
him in high regards because he came through him.
But Godwin Onojedje said Orubebe is one
of the few leaders from the region that are being held in high regards
by youths of the Niger Delta because of the positive role he played
actualizing the amnesty incentives and some youths empowerment prams he
initiated.
By Shehu Abubakar
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