Policeman beats 40-year-old man to death for intervening in traffic dispute

Another death by police brutality? This was the question that forced angry youth to barricade the Lagos Roundabout and all entrances leading to Magaji Garin Police Station of Kaduna state, protesting the death of a  Print Technician who was allegedly killed by a policeman. Even commuters, commercial motorcyclists and residents of the area ran helter skelter for cover as the angry youth displayed green leaves, demanding immediate justice over the killing of an innocent citizen.
It was gathered that the deceased , Elisha Joseph, a 40-year old  man, out of his love for peace intervened in the fight between a policeman and a prisons official over their rights on the Forcados/Bonny street road. According to an eyewitness, Joseph couldn’t condone the traffic caused by the two security men as their argument lasted, thus, he left his shop and went to meet them. On getting there, his words of advice was misinterpreted and the Police officer transferred his aggression on him, asking who made him a judge over the case, subsequently, he hit the  Print Technician so hard on the stomach and head repeatedly.
“After hitting him, the policeman dragged Joseph into his vehicle. People were shouting that the policeman should leave him alone. He left him and the deceased, stood up and went to the hospital for a check-up. He died in the hospital”
However, when contacted the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Adenaike utterly denied the involvement of one of his men in the death of Joseph. He simply said, “As a journalist, go and do your investigation very well, no policeman beat him, no policeman hit him, he was foaming in the mouth, I think he is diabetic. He took himself to the hospital and died there.”
With grieve and pains written all over him, the father of the deceased, Mr. Kunle Joseph lamented on the sudden death of his son who left home hale and hearty, “I am devastated over the death of my son, and as at the time of talking to you, I have not seen the body. I am presently in a state of confusion. There is no action that will bring him back to life but we want justice to be done,” he said
DailyPost

Shehu of Borno begs Boko Haram to embrace dialogue

The Shehu of Borno,Abubakar Ibn Garbai, summoned some Borno elders to his palace in Maiduguri,Borno State capital for an emergency meeting where he appealed to the Boko Haram sect to embrace dialogue and put a stop to its violent campaign.
The monarch said “I want to make special appeal to members of the sect to please sheath their swords and embrace dialogue with the government. They should please consider the hardship being faced by the people due to their violent campaign,”
While responding to claims that he was an instrument to the arrest of some members of the sect by the Joint Task Force (JTF),he said, “I want to say categorically that I have no hand in the
arrest or victimization of any persons by the JTF. The people must understand that the JTF does not take orders from anybody in the state, they take orders from their commanders only.
He also charged the elders to come up with ideas on how to curb and put an end to the Boko Haram crises which is affecting the state’s economy.
“I want to appeal to all residents of the state to embark on prayers and fasting to seek divine intervention on the crisis,” he concluded.
DailyPost

Edo election tribunal and Nigeria’s judiciary-less judiciary (2)

 by Tony Afejuku 

AS far as this matter of the Edo gubernatorial election petition is concerned, In and Out must be humble enough to do justice to the dramatis personae, which must include the judiciary itself. But this justice can only be dispensed with all our united powers, that is coniunctis viribus. The media, the plaintiff and defence, and the public at large, including our traditional institutions should harp on the need to do undiluted justice on this matter. Cui bono? (“Who stands to gain?”). The masses and their friends, and our fatherland.
Indeed, for the sake of posterity, and of our dear, dear fatherland we must for once, in our part of Nigeria, let the ruling on the alleged certificate forgery petition against the Comrade-Governor enhance our thoughts on the need for civic and political justice. De bono et malo (“Come what may”), we must endeavour to use this petition to rescue justice, noble and fertile justice, from the jaws of curious justice. The Nigerian judiciary must not only give justice; it must also be seen to be giving justice that is not dubious at all times. Unfortunately, this country has for quite sometime, beginning some decades back, been witnessing  justice without tastes. In fact, the motto of the Nigerian judiciary now seems to be something likes this: “There’s no accounting for tastes” (De gustibus non est disputandum). If not, why this now famous phrase quoted time after time in mockery of the Nigerian judiciary: “Sentenced but not convicted”? Why this famous phrase which now famously belonged to the Nigerian judicial lexicon and jargon?
Let me make it clearly and abundantly obvious that I am not saying (and I have not said) that our Comrade-Governor is guilty of certificate forgery as General Charles Airhiavbere alleged in his petition. What I am saying (and have said), which needs reiteration here is that such a grave allegation now in the open consciousness of the masses and that of the teeming supporters of Mr. Adams Aliyu (or Aliu) Oshiomhole needed (and still needs) to be tackled on its merit or lack of it in open “ court”.
The Edo election tribunal ought to be that open” court” of first instance. Rather than striking it out, the tribunal ought to have accepted the petitioner’s plea to hear it. Unless there was more to it, Mr. Oshiomhole himself ought to or should have allowed it to be taken, heard and addressed squarely there and then. Unless I am suffering from a deception of vision (deceptio visus), I don’t see how the High Court, which the Edo tribunal has asked or advised the petitioner to go to argue his case of alleged certificate forgery against the Comrade-Governor, can decide the matter expeditiously and Dei Gratia (“By the grace of God”).
For one thing, the Nigerian judiciary as it currently is, is God-less and has no direct access to the Divinity. But I have heard from two reporters covering the tribunal’s proceedings that the petitioner has appealed the ruling, as I posited here in my first instalment. It is gratifying and gladdening that he has done so. But let me aver here and now, as follows: until the present Chief Justice of Nigeria sets machinery in motion to cleanse and revolutionise the judiciary, nothing tangible may happen positively for the petitioner. But I like his choice, which is to choose the lesser of two evils (de duobus malis, minus est semper eligendum). Certainly, going on appeal rather than going to a High Court is the lesser of two evils. I don’t know the grounds of the appeal and the legal foundation on which it is being erected. But it is worth a try. After all, there are still some angels in the judiciary. Am I contradicting myself? Don’t put any blame on me. Nigeria itself is full of countless contradictions.
A few days ago, University of Benin off-loaded (pardon this phrase) 146 or so “students” who allegedly forged certificates to gain admission into its portals. Many of the alleged cheats were in their final academic session. How they beat the system to get that far is anybody’s guess. But evil always somehow inevitably meets its waterloo that must halt and apprehend it. Of course, in an institution headed by a Vice-Chancellor who one day posterity shall remember with a wholesome and welcome nostalgia as “The Oshodin of UNIBEN”, no certificate forger can escape the furnace of justice. Did UNIBEN need to wait for a High Court of our judiciary-less judiciary to terminate rightly the “studentship” of the fake students?
A role model such as the Comrade-Governor is to teeming students in the land should not be seen or heard to be an exam or a certificate cheat. If gold should rust, what will iron do? But any human-being can go off board or do wrong anytime or once in a while. We can and will understand if this is the case in the current circumstance. But the Comrade-Governor must speak up, and if the masses and their friends desire it, he then can resign with full or un-full benefits as the masses and their friends who once-upon-a-time saw and accepted him as their idol may so deem fit to say. But that is if our Governor-in-the-news thinks the petitioner is right and admits it ianuis clausis (“behind closed doors”) with his commissioners and party’s top echelon(s). If not, justice then must take its full course. I believe that this ought to be so, for justice is the heart and soul and nerves and brain of any nation and of any institution including our current judiciary-less judiciary. When justice dies, everything dies.
Not long ago, there was a report that the President or so of Hungary plagiarised his doctoral thesis. This happened well before an election which he won to be the President of his country. He has since quit office via the open and transparent door of resignation. This is part of the responsibilities and hallmarks of a responsible leader. Accept your error and move on, dear Comrade, if truly you have erred. After all, humanum est errare (“to err is human”). Don’t wait for the die to be cast in the Court of Appeal. Now let me quote a text message from an ardent reader of this column who initially did not quite see eye-to-eye with me when I began to let my pen speak on this matter: “Re-Edo election tribunal…. I didn’t know before now that the allegation by the General against Oshiomhole’s victory was as grievous as certificate forgery! And that your judiciary, the last hope, should be condoning IMPURITY! I am disappointed with the failure of the judiciary to COMPEL the Governor to produce whichever certificate is in dispute. Lanre Oseni.”
Anybody who loves justice must shudder at the ruling of the tribunal on this matter of alleged certificate forgery, which borders on pre-election rigging, I repeat and repeat and repeat. But why I am truly interested in this matter? Answer: Ducit amor patriae (“Love of country guides me”). For what legacy will our children’s or youths’ models and heroes leave for them, after all said and done? All men of honour must be prepared to stand for the fatherland whose positive values we must at all times protect. We must imbibe the lesson of duke et decorum est pro patria mori (“there’s no greater honour than to die for one’s country”.) Does our judiciary-less judiciary want us to have anything to do with this lesson? All great Nigerian students and true friends of the masses are waiting to imbibe this lesson, whether Nigeria’s judiciary-less judiciary is committed to its import or not.
And do I dislike the Comrade-Governor? No. Do I have any problem or any quarrel with him? No. And is the General, the petitioner my friend? No. Am I a politician? No. And am I a judge? No. Who am I? I am a humble Nigerian Tribune columnist, critic and writer committed to attacking pre-election abnormalities, election-in-progress ailments and post-election stench and rottenness in the Nigerian polity. The state of Denmark is rotten. Nigeria is that state of Denmark, O Hamlet!
(To be concluded next week).
NigerianTribune

Ojukwu used starvation to prolong civil war - Okunnu

 by Sulaimon Olanrewaju 

Okunnu

Alhaji Femi Okunnu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, served as the Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing between 1967 and 1974. He was also appointed by General Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria's wartime head of state, as a Special Envoy and Leader of Peace Talks, during the 30-month Nigerian civil war. In this interview with Sulaimon Olanrewaju, he reveals that the federal side's efforts to supply relief materials to the Biafran side to mitigate hunger and starvation among the Igbo were frustrated.AS a frontline member of General Gowon's cabinet before, during and after the war, what is your view of the allegation by Professor Chinua Achebe of Chief Obafemi Awolowo using starvation against the Igbo during the war?
I feel a bit disappointed at the statement credited to one of Nigeria's leading literary lights and, indeed, one of Africa's leading lights, Professor Chinua Achebe. I am quite disappointed about the book alleged to have been written by him about a subject in which I played a leading role on the federal side.
The allegation about Chief Obafemi Awolowo starving the Igbo-speaking Nigerians is totally false. Chief Awolowo was not actively involved in the peace talks. The first peace talk between Nigeria and the other side (that's what we called the Biafran delegation in diplomatic circles during that period) was in London. It was initiated by the then Commonwealth Secretary General. It later shifted to Kampala. During the talks in Kampala, a Nigerian official (Mr Banjo) was kidnapped and till today his body has not been recovered. I was not involved in the peace talks in London and Kampala.
The next peace talk was in Niamey (Republic of Niger) about May 1968, after the return of General (Yakubu) Gowon to Nigeria and the departure of Colonel (Emeka) Ojukwu, I led the federal delegation. From Niamey, we shifted to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). The Addis Ababa peace talks started on the 5th August, 1968. I was second in command to Tony Enahoro. Ojukwu departed after the first day or so and Tony (Enahoro) left after about a week. I took over the leadership of the federal delegation from the second week of August till the third week of September. The leader of the Biafran delegation was Professor Enny Njoku, a distinguished Nigerian who later became the vice chancellor of the University of Lagos. We were in dialogue for that period of time. After the first week when it was all about the return of Biafra to the Nigerian federation, the dialogue shifted to relief materials and we said corridors should be created for relief materials to pass from within the country and especially outside the country to the war affected areas, especially the Biafran enclave. That took us four or five weeks, just to agree on land corridor, air corridor and river corridor.
When we could not resolve the issue in Addis Ababa, we had to adjourn and the last peace talks took place in Monrovia (Liberia). At that meeting, unlike Addis Ababa where Emperor Haile Selassie himself presided over most of the talks between the two parties day in day out, there were present President William Tubman, who was the host, President Hamani Diori of Niger, President Ahmadou Ahidjo of Cameroon, Emperor Haile Selassie and President Mobutu Sese Seko of Congo were all in attendance. Ghana sent its Inspector General of Police who was the Vice-President of their military council. So, we slugged it out. On this occasion, I again led the federal delegation. Sir Leo Mbanefo, who was formerly Chief Justice of the Eastern Region, a distinguished lawyer who incidentally was an old boy of Kings College, which I also attended, led the Biafran side. The talks were largely on relief materials and the corridors to allow relief materials to go into the Biafran enclave.
There was no one on the federal side, the federal government led by General Gowon, I can say this because I was actively involved in the peace talks, who wanted to starve our Igbo-speaking compatriots. If anything, it was Ojukwu who used starvation as a weapon to prolong the war. We were anxious to open corridors for relief to pass through. At the end of the day, we even agreed that we could open a corridor from Fernando Po by air to Port Harcourt. We considered river corridor from Port Harcourt to Aguta, which was at that time under rebel control. All these were rejected by the other side. It was Ojukwu who starved our Igbo-speaking compatriots.
Was Ojukwu at any of the meetings?
As I have told you, he was in Niamey personally. He left when Gowon left. I also saw him in Addis Ababa. In any case, his own emissaries were there led by Sir Leo Mbanefo and Professor Eni Njoku. It was the other side that starved our Igbo-speaking compatriots.
You are convinced that the delegation was acting on the instruction of Ojukwu to stall the peace talks?
Ojukwu had full control, the record is there. I put all these in my book, Femi Okunnu: In the Service of the Nation. I did not write that book from memory, I wrote it from records, records of papers submitted by both sides. It was not Chief Awolowo that starved the Igbo-speaking people, it was not the federal government under General Gowon, it was Ojukwu, who used starvation as a weapon of war.
I can say this about Chief Awolowo, I was one of his critics during my student days. My criticism of him was about the regional politics of the Action Group. As a student leader in Britain and leader of the Nigerian Youth Congress in Nigeria between 1960 and 1965, I was critical of regional politics. However, I was his admirer with respect to the way he organised the Action Group and the way he ran the Western Regional Government. As fate would have it, I was privileged to serve along with him in Gowon's government from May 1967 until he left us in 1970 after the war. I can say categorically as far as this issue is concerned, it was Ojukwu who used starvation as a weapon to prolong the civil war. It was a weapon used by Ojukwu to make Biafra a reality.
Incidentally after the civil war, I was General Gowon's emissary to President Houphouet Boigny of Ivory Coast for the return of the children which Ojukwu sent to that country on the ground of starvation for propaganda purpose. I negotiated the return of the children and in fact visited them.
As for the issue of rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement after the war, as the Federal Commissioner for Works, within two months of cessation of hostilities, I had ensured the repairs of Onitsha-Asaba Bridge. The war ended in mid-January, by mid-March, I symbolically, along with my good friend, Ukpabi Asika, who was the administrator of the East Central State and General (Olusegun) Obasanjo, who was the Chief of Army Engineers, opened the Asaba-Onitsha Bridge for movement of people and goods. If it was the intention of the federal government to starve our people across River Niger, we would not have reopened the bridge within two months.
Some of us had friends from across the Niger. I had friends at Kings College who were from across the Niger. Some of us were happy to have them back after the war.
I must say I am disappointed at Chinua Achebe, I thought he was a Nigerian. By now, we must be talking about Nigeria; not Igbo or Yoruba or Hausa or Ibibio or Fulani. We should be talking about Nigeria. For Nigeria to be great, for it to be the leader of the African continent, to be economically great, we should stop talking about ethnicity. We should be talking about Nigeria and Nigerians; Nigeria first, Nigeria second, Nigeria third.
Of course you cannot wipe away our cultural differences; Igbo have their culture, the Hausa have their culture, the Ijaw have their culture, the Edo have their culture, the Kanuri have their culture, the Onitsha have their culture, the Onitsha's culture is similar to that of Lagos and they both borrowed it from Benin. We must respect our respective cultures and preserve our cultural heritage. But in terms of building a country, we should be like the Indians. You don't hear of Indians from Bombay or Calcutta or New Delhi; anywhere you meet an Indian, he tells you that he is from India. So, Nigerians should now start talking about the country Nigeria. If a Nigerian is asked where he is from, the answer should be 'I come from Nigeria'.
A writer of Achebe's standing should stop seeing himself as an Igboman but should see himself as a Nigerian. That should be the legacy he should strive to leave for the millions of Igbo-speaking Nigerians. He should encourage them to see themselves as Nigerians and he should not falsify history.
As the federal government's special envoy and leader of the peace talks, why do you think the peace talks failed?
The peace talks did not fail as such. We spent weeks on the talks. But if you say the peace talks failed, it is because the other side refused to negotiate seriously. They were only interested in the sovereignty of Biafra. That was the goal of Ojukwu; an independent Biafra and he tried to use starvation to attain that goal. Thank God the goal failed and Nigeria remains and I hope we will be more united than we currently are and not be divided by ethnicity. We are being turned apart by ethnicity. We cannot make it as an independent nation that is economically strong if we continue to play the ethnicity card.
Between 1970 and now, has there been any difference? We are still talking about ethnicity 42 years after the civil war.
Unfortunately, it is worse now. It is because of ethnicity and corruption that we are where we are now. We have been left behind by countries that started after us; Indonesia, Malaysia etc. They are now well ahead of us.
Again, talking about ethnicity, China is not talking about ethnicity, that is why China is now number two in the world, soon to become number one. Chinese see themselves as one country; they may have their different languages but they see themselves as one country. That is the source of their strength as a country. No Chinese will tell you he is from one province or the other, they simply tell you they are Chinese. Nigerians should learn to see themselves as one.
Even our leaders are promoting regionalism...
Unfortunately, our leaders are very much the perpetrators of this position which is killing the oneness of the country.
Why do you think they do that?
For political power; they want small power, they want regional control. If you want to be a leader then you play on the weakness of your people and whip up ethnic nationalism. Our leaders should start whipping up Nigerian nationalism, not regional nationalism.
Would tinkering with our constitution be useful in changing that orientation?
We have been tinkering with the constitution...I don't see anything much wrong with the constitution. There are only a few areas that we ought to sit down and discuss; revenue allocation is one, local government administration is another. These are the two major areas that need to be addressed, not a blanket review of the constitution.
Unfortunately, we are creating more states, state creation weakens the federal strength of this country, and it weakens federalism.
Really?
Yes. The states are too small and they have no financial standing. That is why they all march to Abuja for allocation. Did you hear of Chief Awolowo or Dr Nnamdi Azikwe or Sir Ahmadu Bello coming down to Lagos for allocation?
The constitutions of 1954, 1960, 1979 and 1999 are basically the same. The major area of difference as I have said is revenue allocation. The federal government has acquired for itself too much money.
What would you recommend?
Let's go back to the old formula.
Let's look at the post-war era. Igbo-speaking Nigerians are still complaining that they were not properly integrated after the war.
Every ethnic group complains of marginalisation. The Yoruba also complain of marginalisation, the Hausa, the Kanuri, the Edo, they all complain that they are marginalised. But the fact is that nobody is marginalised.
Why then is everybody complaining?
It is because we like to complain. If Prophet Mohammed or God in His own mercy decides to come down to this country, Nigerians would complain. If Jesus Christ comes to this country, Nigerians would complain. It is our pastime. But it is time we sat down to do serious things to move this country forward.
Why do you think Professor Achebe decided to pin this badge of using starvation as a war weapon on Chief Awolowo?
Honestly, I don't know why he singled him out and I don't want to hazard a guess.
Were there policies championed by Chief Awolowo during the war that could have suggested that he was anti-Igbo?
Not at all. He did not champion starvation contrary to what is presented by Achebe in the extract of his book which I read. That is why I told you that we spent weeks on how we could get relief materials to those on the other side.
Let me tell you some of the things that happened. Ojukwu used some of the relief flights to carry arms. That also brought down the talks but we were willing to open corridors on water and on land but his delegates would have none of that, they were more interested in the recognition of Biafra as a sovereign country. That was the main preoccupation of Odumegwu-Ojukwu.    
The Gowon cabinet was made up of old and young people. We had Dr Dikko, the first medical doctor from the North; Chief Awolowo, Mallam Aminu Kano, Joseph Tarka, Anthony Enahoro; we were a mixture of radical and conservative, old and young. The essence of that cabinet was to help to end the war. It was a cabinet of all talents.
You know that Gowon said there was no victor, no vanquished and he proceeded with that. We did not have any war trials after the war, the focus was reconciliation. Going by what happened after the war, I can't see any cause for this sort of writing.
NigerianTribune

Commissioners may drop Gwandu from Board amid NCC row

By Cudjoe Kpor

Bashir Gwandu, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), seen speaking at an international event organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is being considered for sanctions over allegations of misconduct including promoting positions that are in conflict with Nigeria’s interest at the UN specialised agency that coordinate the global telecoms industry. Gwandu has some of the allegations in an interview with Technology Times                                                                                                  Photo credit: ITU

Lagos. October 14, 2012: Bashir Gwandu, the Executive Commissioner (Technical Services) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) may be sanctioned by its Board of Commissioners over alleged misconduct, in a new twist to the row brewing at the nation’s telecoms regulatory agency.
Technology Times learnt that Gwandu may be the target of punitive actions over alleged misconducts ranging from unilateral reopening of Cobranet, an ISP shut down over illegal frequency occupation and connivance with GSM operators to persuade them against payment of service quality fines imposed by NCC a few months ago.
Other allegations include that the NCC Executive Commissioner was smuggled into the NCC Board as he was not reconfirmed for a second term and that he was promoting positions that were in conflict with Nigeria’s interest at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), among others.
Gwandu is returning to the centre of another storm after a major battle to succeed the immediate past Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Ernest Ndukwe, a move that resulted in a bitter feud that pitted both men against each other over the succession bid.
Reacting to the allegations, Gwandu told Technology Times in an interview at the weekend that he was not aware of decisions to sanction him by the NCC Board but confirmed he was being targeted for blowing the whistle on alleged frequency racketeering by the leadership of the telecoms regulator.
Over the last few weeks, reports have appeared in the media about alleged frequency racketeering that was said to have favoured Smile Communications and a sale of frequency slot belonging to the Nigeria Police to a private firm, Open Skys.
Another bone of contention raised by Gwandu was that NCC had recommended a waiver of frequency debt totaling over N1 billion in favour of MTS First Wireless, a company in which current EVC of NCC, Eugene Juwah, was a Director.
Meanwhile, Juwah at the weekend denied the all the allegations citing that they are being motivated by unnamed mischief makers while noting that he was never CEO of MTS and was not in any way personally responsible nor was NCC responsible for the waiver.
In his defence, Juwah said that though he worked at MTS prior to his appointment as EVC of NCC, he was never an owner, CEO nor did he at any time recommend a waiver for the telecoms company under the current dispensation.
Juwah said he joined MTS as a Consultant in 2001 and was subsequently invited to become Executive Director of the company but he was at no time the CEO. By the time he was leaving MTS, a major investor, Lulu Briggs had pumped funding into the telecoms company to become virtually the sole owner of the business.
According to the EVC, the ensuing crisis over alleged frequency racketeering and MTS waiver makes it “obvious that there is a motive and agenda by some unscrupulous elements who are enemies of this administration and who are bent on stopping us from excelling.”
“First was spectrum, now is MTS, Nigerians are laughing and waiting for what next from this same people”, he said in an interview published today by ThisDay.
“I never ran MTS for one day as CEO. I never obtained or signed for any loan of MTS and I challenge anyone to bring me a document showing where I signed for a loan on behalf of MTS. I never, because I was never the CEO. Even technical purchases and services under my purview were never signed by me”, Juwah adds.
He says that unnamed persons recently went to his alma mater to crosscheck if he actually obtained a PhD there with the obvious intention to discredit him while noting that he has over 30 years experience in Engineering and Management while adding that, “I am not a neophyte.”
Juwah said that, “MTS took loan from a number of banks in order to operate but I was never a signatory to those loans. The people who owned MTS liked to sign the loans and make their own arrangements. I was never an owner of MTS although I was given a very small shareholding for “sweat equity” adding that the company soon went bust, “so the shares were worth nothing.”
Meanwhile, for the first time, Gwandu has admitted that he is the whistleblower in the alleged frequency slots sale allegations when he confirmed in the interview with Technology Times that he had intimated Vice President, Namadi Sambo, on the developments surrounding the alleged frequency sales.
Gwandu, who said that he first made the disclosure on the alleged allocation of the Nigeria Police frequency to Smile Communications to the Vice President about 40 days ago says that the substance of his disclosure was that a 4G (Broadband) spectrum in the 800MHz band has been allegedly sold under the table without competitive-bidding as required by law to Smile Communications, which is not yet licensed by the commission, for less than one per cent of the price other countries are generating for the allocation.
However, Reuben Mouka, NCC Head, Media and Public Relations, had in the wake of the report on the allocation of frequency to Smile Communications absolved the leadership of the telecoms regulatory agency of any underhand deals in the transaction.
Specifically, Mouka said the transactions predated the assumption of office by the current Executive Vice-Chairman of the commission, Eugene Juwah about one year prior to his assumption of office in July 2010.
“The Current Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, did not initiate the allocation of the aforesaid frequencies, having resumed in July, 2010, while the process began since 2009. Even after resumption at NCC, Dr. Juwah has strictly followed the due process of issuance of licences and frequencies,” Mouka adds.
NCC says further that to obtain its UASL licence,  Smile Communications paid N320,250,000 on  June 26, 2009; for the PNL licence, it paid N46,830,000 on February 26, 2009 and for its Spectrum Licence with 10 years’ validity from July 2009, another N2,154,600,000 for the Federation Account and also paid N718,200,000 for the additional 5 MHz frequency.
Meanwhile, Gwandu may be the target of fresh punitive measures that could in the extreme lead to his removal from the Board over allegations against him bordering on alleged conflict of interest, people conversant with the situation told Technology Times on condition of anonymity.
One of them is the alleged collusion with executives of GSM companies to persuade them against paying the N1.17 billion fines imposed by NCC.
Gwandu admits his opposition to the fines imposed on the four GSM networks noting that, “whilst I do not claim that Quality of Service (QoS) today is in any way acceptable, I opposed the sanction against the operators imposing a penalty of N1.17billion, because I believe that the way and manner the fines were applied was not in conformity with the QoS Regulations. I have made my position clear in a Memo.”
According to him, “it is important to note that as the main arrowhead of the Quality of Services (QoS) Regulation, I made provision for the penalties, and was not prompted by anyone to include them in the Regulation. Thus, it is clearly improbable that I will include the penalties and the tight rules if I do not want them to be used. I insist that NCC has no power other than what it derives from the law and therefore NCC must not work by intimidation but by compliance with the rule of Law. Please note that following the law is a key indicator of regulatory excellence. I remain convinced that the N1.17billion fine was not strictly in conformity with the QoS Regulations and that there is need to ensure that the Regulations are applied properly.”
Gwandu also dismissed the allegations as diversionary and irrelevant. “Look, I had never seen or spoken to Dr Juwah until he came to NCC as the EVC. I have no reason to fight him,” he says adding that, “some may say the man came programmed. These types of allegations have been levelled against me by the same circle of people over many years because I am standing in the way to stop them from undermining the country for selfish gains.
According to him, “When people want to conceal main issues, and facts, they resort to cheap blackmail. I am part of the leadership of the commission. It is a Regulatory Commission with commissioners given statutory independence (even from ministers) to take decisions and execute their functions. There is good reason for that, as the commission is sitting between powerful interests. We must withstand pressure and do what is right for the country. No one commissioner can decide for the commission and call it decision of the commission.”
Gwandu similarly dismissed another allegations with a wave of the hand: For instance, nothing about MTS should be directed to him. It should be directed to Juwah, he said.
On ITU representation of the country, he said that, “It is unfortunate that I am being persecuted for bringing benefits to Nigeria…. I was also able to deliver results for Nigeria which has never been matched by anyone in the 145-year history of the ITU. My interventions have resulted in Nigeria getting spectrum that should generate billions of dollars in revenue (part of which is now being sold at ridiculous prices), and I worked to ensure that Nigerians were elected to ITU positions that we merit as a country.”
On being smuggled into the NCC Board, he cited the relevant sections of the law which says initial confirmation must be by the Senate. But renewal is solely the prerogative of the President. “I have never for once thought it would be difficult to secure a Senate confirmation. I have confidence in our Senators and as long as they are looking for people that will serve this country well in the area of my expertise, I will for the foreseeable future, qualify and meet the required standard to be an independent-minded regulator,” he adds.
On the allegation he reopened Cobranet because he was bribed, he said, “This is simply blackmail and I am hearing it for the first time from you, 12 months after the incident. It is instructive to note that the allegation is only coming after I exposed a major fraud at a meeting with the Vice-President.”
On the closure of Cobranet, he alleged that an “overzealous junior staff” who went on the rampage and shut it down.
“The law requires us to issue written warning, notice, or direction to our licencees for any breaches, and licensees are required to be given fair hearing. The law also requires NCC to consider the consumers who might have made pre-payments to the company, and take step to migrate them.”
According to him, the junior staff ignored the Legal Department of the commission and went ahead to close the company.
Finally, he said if the NCC board unilaterally chose to impose sanctions against him without fair hearing, it would be unconstitutional violation of his rights: “If any such board meeting was held without any input from me, it will be in clear breach of the Constitution of the Federal Republic which provides that every citizen of Nigeria has a right to receive fair hearing before any punitive action can be taken against the citizen.
Meanwhile watchers of developments within NCC believe the fresh crisis in the telecoms regulatory agency is a throwback of the intrigues that trailed the last lap of departure of the immediate past boss of the agency, Ernest Ndukwe.
Ndukwe, whose 10-year tenure as head of NCC ended April 3, 2010, was then irked by unnamed people who have resorted to what he cited as a media campaign to secure the position lashed out at them as “desperate lobbyists attempting to use the media to achieve their selfish motives.”
Part of the controversy arose over the Ndukwe’s second tenure that began April 3, 2005 which saw NCC denying what it cited as “insinuations” surrounding the terminal date for Ndukwe’s tenure as the agency’s boss.
“Our attention has been drawn to news reports insinuating that the second term tenure of the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, ends today, February 18, 2009″, NCC had said in a statement at the time denying reports that his tenure expired on February 18, 2009.
NCC also expressed concern over, “the unusual attention directed on this issue in the media, and the level of propaganda, sentiments and insinuations attending these reports, some of which have no basis or reference to the position of the law guiding the appointment of the chief executive of the Commission.”
According to Ndukwe at the time, “the frequency of these damaging speculations has become very suspect. The Commission wishes to dissociate itself from these wild speculations and insinuations which may have been fuelled by some desperate lobbyists attempting to use the media to achieve their selfish motives.”
He also clarified that, “for the avoidance of doubt, it is the prerogative of the President of the Federation to appoint the new chief executive officer for the Commission at the appropriate time. We are confident that such decision will not be based on sentiments and insinuations sponsored in the media.”
NCC had then flayed the speculation noting that, “this report is false and should be disregarded by the public.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, Engr. Ndukwe’s second tenure of five years as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission commenced on April 3, 2005 as conveyed in his letter of appointment signed by then Minister of Communications, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, following confirmation by the Senate”, the telecoms regulator said at the time.
NCC added that, “it must be stated that it is the sole prerogative of Mr. President to decide when a new head of the NCC will be appointed. Declaration of vacancy and appointment to the position of the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission should not be a matter for speculation.”
The battle to become the agency’s next boss had then attracted interest of a number of NCC insiders including current NCC Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Bashir Gwandu; Director, New Media & Information Security Dept., Sylvanus Ehikioya; Secretary of Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), Funso Fayomi as well as former Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Stephen Bello, among others.
Technology Times had on January 28, 2010 reported exclusively that the Board of Commissioners of NCC recommended the names of a former top shot of privately-owned phone company, MTS First Wireless, Eugene Juwah and two others officials of NCC for consideration to government for the EVC position.
The second nominee by the NCC Board was an ‘insider’ and Vice President (Academics & Student Affairs) in Kano, Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), Umar Garba Danbatta, a professor at the institution set up by NCC.
The third nominee was another NCC ‘insider’ and former Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Stephen Adedayo Bello. Hitherto, Bello, who was appointed Director of Engineering of NCC in 2000 and Executive Commissioner, Engineering and Standards, in 2005 was the Executive Commissioner, Licensing and Consumer Affairs.
Technology Times OnLine

My Position On The Crisis At The National Communication Commission (NCC) - Dr. Bashir Gwandu, Ph.D
October 15, 2012

When I was approached by a reporter from a a newspaper to discuss my take on several issues going on at the National Communication Commission (NCC) I gave straight forward answers and would hope that the Nigerian people can benefit from my insight on these matters.

Below are the answers I gave to a reporter who had approached me by email with some questions:

1) It has been alleged that the NCC Board has recommended punitive actions against you over acts of misconduct as Executive Commissioner in NCC. What is your reaction to this?

Throughout the period I have been a Commissioner in NCC (now almost seven years), I have missed only one Board meeting which clashed with an important meeting of the ITU. In all the meetings I have attended, no decision of any ‘Punitive actions’ was taken against me by the Board. Indeed the meeting which I did not attend did not discuss any matter relating to me. I mentioned the above to state that if any such Board meeting was held without any input from me, it will be in clear breach of the Constitution of the Federal Republic (Section 36) which provides that every citizen of Nigeria (natural or corporate) has a right to receive fair hearing before any punitive action can be taken against the citizen.

I am however aware that some members of the Board resolved to write to the Minister on some false allegations of misconduct put forward against me by Dr. Juwah. The allegations were made in direct response to my disclosure of a major fraud and fraud-in-the-making at a meeting with the Vice-President where I was asked some questions. I was practically given 21 minutes (document came at 0939hrs for a 1000hrs meeting) to respond to the allegation contained in a submission of 94 pages.

I pointed out to the Board that the period given to me was too short. In any case, my written response which adequately addressed all the diversionary allegations was submitted about 40 days ago. It is important to note that as a citizen of Nigeria who has integrity, I have a duty to prevent a crime against the nation or prevent the commission of an offence by the NCC.

This is a case of (as said in Hausa) “if you do not know how to catch a thief, the thief will catch you”.

2) In the course of our investigation, one of the lines of allegations against you was that you had gone ahead to unilaterally reopen Cobranet, an ISP shut down by NCC over illegal occupation of frequency. What is your reaction to this?

The case of closing and opening Cobra-net happened more than 12 months ago, so it is not news. The Commission (which I am a member of) took no decision to shut down any company. It is a case of a Junior staff of the Commission going on rampage, shutting down companies without recourse to the provision of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and License Conditions, as well as Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I have also been told that the action was taken contrary the advice of our legal team.

The Law requires us to issue WRITTEN warning, notice, or Direction to our Licensees for any breaches, and Licensees are required to be given fair hearing or an opportunity to make a case against intended punishment, especially that there was no eminent harm that the Company was causing to anyone. The law also requires the NCC to consider the consumers who might have made pre-payments to the company, and take step to migrate them. Unfortunately, those Junior staff who carried such closures neither saw the need to consult me as Executive Commissioner, Technical Services nor the Commission (the Board of Commissioners), but just went ahead and shut down the company.

The Company representatives came to the Commission to complain and could not meet EVC who was said to have travelled and decided to come to me as the most senior officer that was present, Unlike those who shut down the company, I consulted other colleagues, and in consideration of the eminent harm to the company, its subscribers, and the country, as well as breaches of the Communications Act and the Constitution, I wrote the company authorizing them to activate their network to service their consumers (by the way, there is an official document detailing my response on this).

3) What is your reaction to allegations that the decision to reopen the company may have been allegedly induced by the ISP?

This is simply blackmail and I am hearing of for the first time from you 12 months after the incident. It is instructive to note that the allegation is only coming after I exposed a major fraud at a meeting with the Vice-President. You can cross check with the Licensee and I challenge anyone to prove that I acted under inducement.

4) It was also alleged that during the last punitive action whereby various range of fine were imposed against four GSM operators over poor quality of service, you have allegedly told top officials of some of the affected companies not to pay the fines? What is your reaction to this allegation?

Again this is cheap blackmail that has not been substantiated. As regulators we have to be balanced, fair and reasonable. Whilst I do not claim that Quality of Service (QoS) today is in any way acceptable, I opposed the sanction against the operators imposing a penalty of N1.17billion, because I believe that the way and manner the fines were applied was not in conformity with the QoS Regulations. I have made my position clear in a Memo. It is important to note that as the main arrowhead of the Quality of Services (QoS) Regulation, I made provision for the penalties, and was not prompted by anyone to include them in the Regulation. Thus, it is clearly improbable that I will include the penalties and the tight rules if I do not want them to be used.

I insist that NCC has no power other than what it derives from the law and therefore NCC must not work by intimidation but by compliance with the rule of Law. Please note that following the law is a key indicator of regulatory excellence. I remain convinced that the N1.17billion fine was not strictly in conformity with the QoS Regulations and that there is need to ensure that the Regulations are applied properly. I am certain that if the QoS Regulation is applied properly better quality services will result. By the way, long-serving senior staff of NCC can testify you that I have been literally fighting to get the QoS Regulation approved for many years and surely I do not know anyone more committed to QoS improvement in Nigeria than me.

5) It was also alleged that you were "smuggled in" for a second term as Executive Commissioner of NCC as you did not get a Senate confirmation for the position which allegedly constitutes a statutory breach? What is your reaction to this allegation?

In all my life I have never been smuggled into anything. I am a strong believer in merit and excellence, and by God’s grace I know I was considered on the merit before I was appointed an Executive Commissioner. God has shown those people who do not want me here that his power supersedes their machinations and the good will always reign supreme against evil, and the truths shall always, and eventually, prevail over lies and mis-information.

To further answer your questions, I have quoted Section 8(1) and 8(4) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

8. –(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, all Commissioners to be appointed after the coming into force of this Act shall be appointed by the President in accordance with section 7 of this Act, from the 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria subject to the confirmation by the Senate.

(4) Subject to sections 11(3) and 11(4) of this Act, each Commissioner shall serve for a term of 5 (five) years from the date of his appointment at the expiration of which the President may renew his term for a further period of 5 years and no more.

Please note that whilst Section 8 (1) mentioned that the appointment is subject to confirmation by the Senate, Section 8(4) vests the power of renewal of term solely on the President. You may wish to consult the Chief Law Officer of the Nation (Attorney General of the Federation) or the Solicitor General of the Federation and I am sure they will confirm to you that I did not need Senate confirmation under the current provisions of the law.

But let me add that I have never for once thought it would be difficult to secure a senate confirmation. I have confidence in our Senators and as long as they are looking for people that will serve this country well in the area of my expertise, I will for the foreseeable future, qualify and meet the required standard to be an Independent-minded Regulator.

6) Another allegation is that as a representative of the Nigerian government in ITU, you have championed positions that were alleged to conflict with that of the country at the UN agency responsible for coordinating the global telecoms industry? What is your reaction to this?

It is unfortunate that I am being persecuted for bringing benefits to Nigeria. My response to this is that, I have my functions under the Act as provided for in Sections 4(v) and 23(c). It will certainly be improper for persons with no authority under any written law to take over the statutory functions of the Commission. Indeed, Section 25 (2) of the Act clearly forbids this. I wrote the papers that were submitted for Nigeria in line with my statutory function of representation in this technical area, and those papers were strictly in line with the vision of Government (see paper 16 of ITU WRC which is publicly available for comparison). Unlike others, I could not oppose my own write-ups, or the vision of government, it is absurd. All papers that were submitted were in conformity with the vision of Government as contained in the vision-20-2020 documents. People should go and read them. I was also able to deliver results for Nigeria which has never been matched by anyone in the 145-year history of the ITU. My interventions have resulted in Nigeria getting spectrum that should generate billions of dollars in revenue (part of which is now being sold at ridiculous prices), and I worked to ensure that Nigerians were elected to ITU positions that we merit as a country. I categorically state that if anyone has submitted papers to ITU canvassing a position for Nigeria that I opposed, I want to have such papers or their ITU assigned-number so I can respond as appropriate.

7) Is the allegation that there was an altercation between you and an Assistant Director of NCC over your request to gain access to information relating to MTS transactions?

I enjoy the respect of staff of the Commission and will have no need to have altercations with any member of staff. The MTS matter is a matter for Dr. Juwah and not for me. When it gets to my office or it is tabled at any forum where I came make contributions, I will air my opinion.

8) Is it factual that you have allegedly taken some of the steps above and some more to undermine the current leadership of NCC to foster your interest to occupy the position of the EVC of NCC as was alleged?

When people want to conceal main issues, and facts, they resort to cheap blackmail. I am part of the leadership of the Commission. It is a Regulatory Commission with Commissioners given statutory independence (even from Ministers) to take decisions and execute their functions. (See Section 25(2) of the NCA 2003) There is good reason for that, as the Commission is sitting between powerful interests. We must withstand pressure and do what is right for the country. No one Commissioner can decide for the Commission and call it decision of the Commission. The NCA 2003 says it is the Board that will decide (Section 5) and the CEO has the duty to ‘primarily’ execute ‘decisions of the Board’. The nature of our work is similar to an appellate as the Commissioners can differ on decisions but the majority decision is the Commission’s decision. If you go to other countries like the USA, Executive Chairman cannot take decisions without a vote.

Look, I had never seen or spoken to Dr Juwah until he came to NCC as the EVC. I have no reason to fight him. Some may say the man came programmed. These types of allegations have been leveled against me by the same cycle of people over many years because I am standing in the way to stop them from undermining the country for selfish gains. Such blackmail will not deter me from executing my functions as provided for by the law, and I am not going to be intimidated, period.

via: Nasir  El'Rufai

Many Travels of President Jonathan

By Ismaila Lere

He's only been in office for less than three years, but at the rate President Goodluck Jonathan is flying around the world, he is destined to become the most traveled president in history--and probably the most expensive, when it comes to travel expenditure.
The president had last year visited several countries including United States, France, Uganda, Australia, Ghana, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Ethiopia among others, but his frequent foreign trips this year despite a pledge to reduce such overseas travels have continued to attract widespread criticisms.
Within the last nine months, President Jonathan had jetted out of the country 18 times to different destinations in Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and South America. He has already spent 45 days in office out of Nigeria in 2012 alone, costing taxpayers millions.
Paradoxically, the President had on January 7, 2012, during the fuel subsidy imbroglio, promised to reduce overseas travels.
While addressing the nation in a telecast, Jonathan declared: "To save Nigeria, we must all be prepared to make sacrifices. On the part of government, we are taking several measures aimed at cutting the size and cost of governance, including ongoing effort to reduce the size of our recurrent expenditure and increase capital spending.
"In this regard, I have directed that overseas travels by all political office-holders, including the President, should be reduced to the barest minimum. The size of delegations on foreign trips will also be drastically reduced; only trips that are absolutely necessary will be approved."
Nine months down the lane, the president does not seem to be walking his talk on foreign trips. Twenty days after making that broadcast, he boarded the presidential aircraft to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for African Union Summit with a sizeable delegation.
Reportedly, the president had muted trimming down his entourage on foreign trips in June last year before travelling to Equatorial Guinea for the 17th African Union Summit in Malabo. A Presidency source described it as "part of a cutting cost measure" to reverse the trend of travelling with large team. The source added, "Huge financial resources are committed to presidential trips. Only those whose services are essential like security, protocol and the media would henceforth be allowed to travel with the president again." But on the contrary, most trips made by the president since January had been accompanied by a large number of aides, ministers, associates and government officials which goes against the purported directives given earlier that only people whose services would be required while on the trip will be allowed to travel with the president.
Again, when the president chooses to travel with a trimmed down delegation like the recent visit to New York, United States for the 67th Session of United Nations General Assembly, the level of profligacy was mindboggling. President Jonathan was reportedly quartered at the Pierre Hotel in a suite that cost $10,000 per night. The Nigerian delegation's wastefulness during the trip earned the attraction of America's conventional media. The National Broadcasting Corporation ((NBC), one of the top three television networks in the US, reported that the Nigerian delegates along with other African counterparts stayed in some of the most expensive hotels and shopped in high-priced retail stores during the UN General Assembly.
Similarly, the 2013 budget recently submitted to the National Assembly by President Jonathan suggested that N2.6 billion was voted for the president's foreign travels for the president which was N1.69 billion more than the N951 million allocated for the same purpose in this year's budget. Indicatively, the Presidency intends to stretch its foreign jaunts beyond the current figures.
Economic experts believe N2.6 billion is too huge for foreign trips in a nation where critical sectors such as health and education are underfunded.
Critics were also quick to point out the president's poor sense of timing when on June 19, 2012 he left Nigeria for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the United Nations' Earth Summit.
President Jonathan was accused of negligence for travelling to Brazil barely 24 hours after about 75 persons were killed in the bombing of three churches and consequent reprisals in Kaduna State. Similarly, there was a fierce gunfight between operatives of the Joint Task Force and suspected terrorists, which also left about 25 dead in Damaturu, Yobe State.
In that trip, the president travelled with 116 others, including 25 personal aides; 18 aides of the First Lady; two members of the National Assembly; five ministers; two governors and 63 officials of various ministries.
Defending the Brazil jaunt, Information Minister, Labaran Maku, claimed that the president could rule the country from anywhere in the world.
He uttered: "The President can take decision from anywhere in the world; his absence will not hamper his power to act. The Vice-President effectively takes charge of affairs, once the president is out of Nigeria and he is in touch with the president on an hourly basis. There is no vacuum; the most important thing is that the president and the VP work harmoniously and are in constant touch."
President Jonathan equally defended himself during a Presidential Media Chat broadcast nationwide on June 24.
"I have no regrets going to Brazil. Nigerians who were worried that I travelled got worried out of ignorance. One of the tactics of terrorists is to strangle government. If they heard that the president and the vice-president wanted to travel but couldn't do so because they struck, they would celebrate it," he said.
Five days after his arrival from Brazil, the president left Abuja again for Brussels, Belgium, for a one-day official visit to Belgium, where he addressed participants at the Summit of the World Customs Organisation.
He took along with him 57 persons for the trip. They included 26 aides, three ministers, eight members of the National Assembly and 20 other government officials.
Mrs. Jonathan left Brussels for Maryland, United States of America to attend the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's First Ladies "Youth Infusion" Summit in Annapolis, reportedly in company with 36 people, including 18 aides, four wives of governors and 14 associates.
The 2012 presidential foreign trip dossier suggests that President Jonathan travelled out of the country four times in September alone. He went to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a two-day visit on September 1 for the burial of late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and nine days later he took a trip to Malawi and Botswana in a cumulative three-day visit for enhancement of bi-lateral relationships. The president ended the month of September with another trip to New York, United States for the UN General Assembly.
He was also a special guest of Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minster Kamla Persad-Bissessar between July 31 and August 1. The president took with him a 70-member delegation for Emancipation celebrations.
President Jonathan's trips have been likened to those of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who was said to have been one of the most travelled heads of government in the world. He had traveled out of the country 93 times within the first three years in office.
He was reported to have stayed outside the country for 340 days during his presidency and travelled 400 times between 1999 and 2007.
Critics of the president's frequent foreign trips have argued that there are serious issues at home which require his attention rather than the jaunts he often makes to countries with less economic and political importance.
Many of the trips he had made in the past months, they submitted, should have been done by the officials of the ministry of foreign affairs so that he can sit at home and concentrate on the pressing issues facing the nation.
Civil right activist, Mr Yinka Odumakin, decried the frequent foreign travels of the president. He observed that it does not show that the president is committed to the task given to him by the people.
According to him, "the president's frequent foreign trips are a clear indication that he does not care about us at home, we are not his priority. He does not give a damn about Nigerians and the job he was given to do by the people. As someone with limited exposure, he sees the seat of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as an excuse to go round the world shaking hands with foreign leaders and visit cities he has not been before rather than sitting down at home to tackle the challenges facing the country.
The challenges caused by insecurity, floods, hunger, fuel scarcity and all sort of afflictions we are witnessing today should be the concern of any president anywhere in the world. But the priority of the president is quite different, it's not about Nigerians and Nigeria, it's about the privilege of office beyond responsibility of office.
"When the Malawian president was to come to Nigeria for the African presidents submit it was Nigeria that sent the plane that brought her from Malawi because she has sold all the aircrafts that her country has to revive the country's ailing economy. This is a leader that has heart for her people. She wants to live in the condition that is not far from the one her people are living. But our own president, despite the fact that he met several Jets in the presidential fleet, he has acquired three more jets for his foreign trips whereas today we don't have one single plane flying Nigerian colour yet we have several planes in the presidential fleet.
I think it's a function of priority and focus of the president. What it means is that he owe no allegiance to Nigerian people or willing to do anything about the economy but going about the world to impress world leaders. Look at all the events he has gone to anywhere in the world, Nigeria always has the largest number of delegations, is this the way to improving our ailing economy. The president is feasting but asked us to fast, he asked us to tightened our belts but he is not ready to make any sacrifice for the country."
A former deputy governor of Kebbi State and Chairman of the integrity group of the All Nigerian Peoples Party [ANPP], Alhaji Suleiman Muhammed Argungu bemoaned the president's frequent foreign trips.
Alhaji Argungu stated that the challenges posed by insecurity, floods, power and corruption should be the priority of the president rather than his frequent foreign trips which may not yield any good thing for the country.
He said "I think the president should stop or minimize his frequent foreign trips because it's not in the interest of the nation. He should sit at home and tackle the various problems confronting us as a nation. We have issues of corruption, fuel scarcity, insecurity and power to tackle, so he should sit at home to tackle them rather than frequently embarking on foreign trips."
Also speaking to Sunday Trust on the issue, national publicity secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Mr Rotimi Fashakin described as "excessive" the N2.9 billion voted for his travels in the 2013 budget at a time when Nigeria is still grappling with recession.
Fashakin noted that by his action President Jonathan does not mean what he says, stressing that his administration does not have real desire to bring about a fundamental change from the past.
"In the budget proposal for 2013, Jonathan plans to spend N2.9billion on travels. For a country still grappling with recession, that is excessive. There is no real desire by this administration to bring about a fundamental change from the horrendous past. Jonathan has become a talking but not doing president! For most of the time, the president does not mean what he says.
"The other day, he gave false statistics credited to the Transparency International about Nigeria. Why should anyone be surprised that the president continues to spend more on his big government? There is a leadership deficit in Nigeria. Is Jonathan a hostage of his deceptive schemes?," CPC spokesperson queried.
Similarly, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) spokesman, Mr Osita Okechukwu, said though he had no problem with foreign trips aimed at boosting Nigeria's relations with other countries, he advised that the number of contingent should be shrunk to save money.
"I don't have anything against the trips. I may just be worried about the enlargement of the contingent. They should try to shrink the contingent. I'm saying this because you cannot tell him not to go the United Nations. Will you tell him not to strike a balance in terms of bi-lateral relations? What is awful is the size of the contingent. The size of the contingent is more worrisome than the number of trips.
"I will advise that they should shrink the contingent to save money. There are a lot of people that have no business on the trips. Those that do not have any business on the trip should stay back," he said.
But in a swift reaction to the issue, Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs Dr Doyin Okupe dismissed the report that the president is travelling overseas with large contingent as untrue.
Okupe, who was told that President Jonathan's trips abroad with large contingent, was not in tune with his promise to cut cost of governance after the January 2012 fuel subsidy protests, said fuming:"What do you mean by large contingent? What do you mean by that? Like the recent trip to the United Nations, how many people follow the President?
"....The allegation is that the president said he is going to cut the cost of governance and that when he travels, he goes with large contingent. Now, if that is true. The latest travel was his trip to the UN. How many people from your own investigation did he carry?
"I will tell you point blank that it is not true that the president carries a lot of people on any trip when he is going. Number one, he is using a Gulfstream aircraft that doesn't take more than 20 or so. A lot of Nigerians travel by regular routes to just go and give president support....
"So, where is this large crowd from? Where do you get it from? You cannot give me any exact number anywhere. The UN is the latest meeting he went. What number of people did you find out?
"You should be able to tell me that when he went to America, he went with certain number of people. When the president says he wants to cut the cost of governance, what he is trying to say is that we are going to cut the cost of overhead, the cost of bureaucracy and others.
"How many times does he travel in a month? How many times does he travel in a quarter? There is no need for us to write things for the sake of writing them. That story has no substance and cannot be proven by anything. In any case, the government has a budget for President's travels. And there is no evidence from the National Assembly that he has overstressed that budget."
Saharareporters