Jonathan’s Administration, 2012, 2013 In The Eyes Of Aso Rock

| GEORGE AGBA

In this report, George Agba presents a review with presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati of what the President Goodluck Jonathan led administration says was its landmark achievements in 2012 and how its projections for the year 2013 could enhance them.
The year 2012 ended last Monday, but it was year that will not quickly be erased from the memory President Goodluck Jonathan and members of his cabinet. It was the year that Jonathan witnessed what may go for a swift twirl of events in terms of public perception of the man, his style of governance and his level of competence as a leader.
One of the latest in the strings of criticisms that trailed the Jonathan administration was last Sunday’s attack by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in which the opposition party accused the present government of lies, saying it was overstating its achievements. It also accused President Jonathan’s men of making themselves purveyors of blatant lies for defending a government that swims in corruption. According to a statement by Lai Mohammed, National Publicity of the ACN, government claims of fixing Nigeria’s moribund power sector, unemployment and insecurity among others were tissues of lies.
But when LEADERSHIP accompanied other reporters in Aso Rock presidential villa to engage Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, he came out in his same old way fiercely to defend the administration and the Jonathan presidency.  He contended heavily that since President Jonathan became president, a lot has changed in the country and a lot is still changing.
Asked to be specific about what has been done differently, the presidential spokesman noted that principally, Nigerians have seen a change in style of leadership. He stated: “For many years, even after the military rule and return to democracy in 1999, Nigerians have been used to a dictatorial style of leadership. They have been used to the idea of a leader as a brute. Because of the circumstances that attended President Yar’Adua’s administration, Nigerians didn’t quite have the time, the opportunity to comment on his style. But what you can see is that with President Jonathan, the kind of criticisms that people are putting across, it simply means that Nigerians still have a military hangover. Nigerians are not yet used to the fact that a leader can be made. Nigerians are not yet used to the fact that a leader can respect the rule of law.
“They are not yet used to the fact that a leader can observe and respect due process. Now, under this president, there is a new reacting. The age of impunity in terms of the style of governance ended. We have seen in this country for so many years a situation whereby government goes out of its way to break the law. I once read a book about how government breaks the law. But under President Jonathan, you see the president and his administration respecting the rule of law every step of the way and where I could find this demonstration more graphically I think is in the conduct of elections and bye elections that we have had under President Jonathan.
“Under President Jonathan, free and fair elections have become well established and transparency in elections has become well established. When last did you hear of lorry loads of policemen being sent to any state on the orders from Abuja to go and force the issue in a Particular election? It has not happened under this president. Have you ever heard of President Jonathan sending soldiers to go and remove a governor or to go and sack a State House of Assembly? That has not happened. So, significantly, there has been that change and I think that with time, Nigerians will begin to get used to the reality that when you say you are running a democracy, there are certain principles; there are certain ethics that are foundational and fundamental”.

On the personality of President Jonathan
Asked to describe the character and personality of Mr. President, since he has been with him closely for sometimes now, Abati said, “Humble, hardworking, determined, focused, God fearing, very optimistic, a natural team player and consensus builder and a man who has a lot of faith in God. One thing Nigerians deserve notice and which many Nigerians have commented upon is his humility and his naturalness; a man who occupies a very high position but who still has the common touch. He is in that position as president of Nigeria but he still manages to find time to relate with people in his community and to relate with even old school friends. There are times we have gone to Otuoke, his village and we will be going from one place to the other and he will see somebody, they will speak their language and chat and then he will tell us that “that man was my classmate in the secondary school”.
“Sometimes I will say does this man even realize that he is the president of Nigeria? But that is the kind of person he is; he is very natural. He is a man who has a very clear sense of where he is coming from and the historic responsibility that currently rest on his shoulders. And all he asks for is the understanding of Nigerians to be allowed to focus on the assignment and for people to stop distracting the administration because if there is any challenge Nigeria face, it is just that too many people who are still not convinced that the election ended over one year ago are still doing everything one way or the other to distract the administration. But I can tell you that he remains focused and the assignment Nigerians have given him is an assignment that he takes very seriously”.

On  allegation of being too slow in governance
Some Nigerians, especially in the opposition camp, have considered President Jonathan to be too slow in carrying out his duties. Against this backdrop, Abati said, “When you use the word slow, a lot of people say this in terms of what they consider to be what the government is doing, but I have answered this question again and again. When a government takes power, things do not just happen overnight. There are processes; there are projects that we need to carefully plan because due process would have to be followed. But at the time people were making that point that was early in the life of the administration when people were impatient and they were just looking for all kinds of adjectives with which they could discredit the administration.
“Some of the people behind that propaganda- because that was also propaganda- were trying to change the perception of the public about the capability of the administration. Those people were also doing it for political reasons. But I think that Nigerians are better informed now. I think that the majority of Nigerians have a different opinion now because if you look around in the last one year, so much has changed. And what this president has done is to do everything in terms of the structure and process of government to ensure that democracy is consolidated because for him, that is the basic foundation. In terms of how government impact on society, first there must be transformation at the level of attitude and mentality. That is one major thing that is being done differently and I have not seen anybody who does not agree with this.
“The second major thing that we have seen is that under President Jonathan, this has become a much more open society. The right of the individual to choose, the right of the individual to speak, the right of the individual to express himself or herself has been very well maintained under this administration. Somebody was saying there are some foreigners who come to Nigeria and when they read our newspapers or listen to the media, they wonder what is going on here. Of course they, they do that in terms of comparison with where they are coming from. So, the press in Nigeria is very free. The government allows a free inter-play for Nigerians. You will recall that since 1999 before President Jonathan, that was not always exactly the case. So, how do you now criticize the leader who is allowing free space for expression, who is allowing the flowering of the human spirit and who at the same time is humane in his approach to issues”.

Significant achievements in 2012

On what the administration can boast of as its landmark achievements in 2012 despite the criticisms, the presidential spokesman said, “When the power supply situation improved, it wasn’t government that carried a loud speaker to go and tell people that there has been improvement in power supply. Nigerians themselves started talking about it. And as at this December, close to 5000 mega watts have been generated and anybody who wants to be honest with you will admit that indeed there has been improvement in that area and government should sustain it and government will hear.
“Even the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria held a meeting with the government to say we are thankful that the power situation has improved, but you can still do a lot more to support the real sector. In the last two months, if you look at some of the incentives that have been given to the real sector, these are meant to encourage productivity within the economy. All of that is not a result of slowness. It is a result of deliberate planning and purpose oriented leadership which President Jonathan provides.
“Look at foreign investment. If you look at the report, there was more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in flow into Nigeria. There are even plans to bail out the ailing airlines because part of the problems we are having is that there are not too many airlines operating at the moment. It is not just the aviation sector. The railway has been revived; the same railway project that some administration in the past were just toying with. If you have been following twitter very well you see people talking about rail travel. Now, when we were in secondary school or so when we do social studies, we used to draw the railway line. But there was a period in Nigeria that school children did not even know anything about railway stations; that has changed. Under President Jonathan, there has also been a lot of investment in exhibition.
“The Amijiri school concept is to get so many kids in the Northern part of Nigeria off the street and to reduce the number of young kids who are available for recruitment for database purposes. Above all this is a government that listens. When the furor over the deregulation of the downstream sector became an issue, government listened to the people. When there was an outcry over the likely introduction of N5000 notes, government listened to the people. So, I don’t know whether some of the people who are still saying government is weak or slow, maybe they take weakness to mean that the president listens. Maybe what they are saying is that they prefer a quail to a leader who is humane and who is purposeful. If that is what they are asking for that would be unfortunate because once you are elected to run a democracy, you should abide by the principles and ethics”.
“If you look at agriculture; if you look at the entrepreneurship empowerment programme; all these are designed to create jobs, to create opportunities and the change the style of doing things. In this same country, anytime people talked about agriculture, what came to the mind is fertliser scam. The ministry of agriculture specialized in the distribution of fertilizer. But now that has changed; there is nobody to collect rent on fertilizer anymore because under President Jonathan that has been stopped. The agricultural programme of government cannot be a fertiliser scam process. Rather, agric has become real business; it has become one of those key targets for the empowerment of the Nigerian people. And because these changes are happening, a number of persons who feel shot out are likely to become desperate and they are likely to sponsor all kinds of misperceptions against the government.
“If you were making your money from the fertilizer scam and government has changed that, you are not likely to be happy with government. This government has decided that it must focus on service delivery and not rent collection; not the entitlement mentality of old. Now when you want to change the system like that from within, people are bound to resist it out of fear, out of desperation and out of mischief. And the thing to tell Nigerians is that once you have accepted the idea of transformation and you voted for it, then you must be prepared for that transformation and transformation will come with its own cost because it means that certain things just must change.
“A president who preaches transformation, and who is leading a democratic system cannot be the kind of bully that people are saying they want. You can’t say you want a democrat as a leader and at the same time you say you want a leader who can dictate and push people around. You see that this president doesn’t push people around; he respects them and what we are asking for is leaders that are humane, that are God fearing and who we can see a reflection of ourselves and have every reason and every cause to be hopeful and that is what this president represents”.

On level of 2012 Budget implementation and likely areas of improvement in 2013

Abati further scored the implementation of 2012 budget high, assuring that it will be a continuation of what had been done last year at a more advanced level in 2013. He said, “What we have seen demonstrated this year is that in terms of quality, this is a government that is capable, that is determined for formulating policies and seeing those policies through. And you can be sure that in 2013, that is going to continue. The budget for 2013 has as its theme such issues as fiscal consolidation and inclusive growth, which means that most of what has been done this year will be done and a lot more will be done to even make growth more inclusive.
“You talked about budget implementation. People ought to know that budget implementation is a process and that is why some people have been recommending a situation whereby we have budget circus rather than this yearly thing because once you start a procurement process, the procurement process is a process so defined and defined. So, it doesn’t mean that when a ministry is doing fast track for a particular piece of action, it just collect the money and the money is spent like that. No. Processes will be followed. That was the reason why Nigeria has had over the years many abandoned projects and unfulfilled dreams. It is because the processes were not followed and because there was no discipline in budget implementation. Under this president, that discipline is being enforced and that is why this year alone, President Jonathan did something novel in Nigerian history.
“He got the ministers to sign a performance contract. He got the ministers to state their key performance indicators. A ministerial appointment as the president has made clear is not an opportunity for you to come and moonlight. And it is still even continuing. It is one of the first major things that would be concluded in the New Year; taking a look at what has been done; if there are challenges, how can those challenges be addressed. You minister A, how much were you given? This is how much I received; these are the things I said I will do in my performance contract and this is what I have been able to do. These are the challenges I faced. In the coming year, my ministry will do this.
“I don’t think there has ever been anytime in the history of Nigerian government that ministers are subjected to this level of rigours in terms of accountability. And I think that Nigerians should note that because this is one thing that happened this year and it was very well reported in the public domain. It is an innovation that President Jonathan has introduced that should be copied even at other lower levels”.

On policies introduced last year

Abati said the policies that have been introduced this year in terms of taxation, in terms of housing, in terms of job creation and in terms even of the real definition of the foreign policy orientation and processes of the federal government of Nigeria were remarkable. In his words: “If look at what I have said earlier about the aviation sector the whole policy is to transform that sector. Earlier in the year, the president had a seminar on the foreign policy process of Nigeria to strengthen the focus on citizen diplomacy, if I may borrow that term, and on the investment tribe. Now, if you look at all his trips this year, those two issues had been in the front burner and Nigeria now has a more productivity driven foreign policy process.
“Each time the president travels, he is looking for business and investment opportunities for Nigeria and he uses the opportunity of his travels also to engage Nigerians in Diaspora. There is no country that he visited that he didn’t squeeze out time to meet with Nigerians there to know what the issues are. All that came out of the quality reorientation. And you can go like that from one sector to the other: solid minerals, the policy of greater productivity, the petroleum sector, the PIB.
Leadership

Carjacking epidemic grips Abuja

By IRENE CHIDINMA NWOYE
Rage and disquiet continue to intensify as more and more residents of the Federal Capital City (FCT) become victims of current trend and threat of carjacking. Car thefts, which have become rampant in areas like Wuse, Garki and Gwarinpa and Utako have left law enforcement agents helpless cars get increasingly nicked at gunpoint.
The hoodlums not only do away with cars worth millions of naira, but also help themselves to other valuables of their victims including money, phones, laptops and ATM cards.
They are snatched at gunpoint and also taken away from parking lots. Mohammed Saleh, a property developer in the FCT, had his 2011 Mercedes E550, license plate FCT MS550ABC, stolen on Friday, June 8 on his way to the office to retrieve his laptop at around 10:00pm close to Sharif Plaza at Wuse 2. “They cut me off. I thought it was a bad driver so I braked really hard and before I could even finish stopping, three armed men jumped out of the Toyota Corolla in front of me,” he said. The men who accosted Saleh threatened him with guns before taking him to the backseat of his car.
“He put the gun to my head and told me to put my head down. The second armed one got into the front passenger’s seat, while the third that was unarmed drove the car,” he said. During the drive, the carjackers quizzed Mohammed on how much money he had on him. After taking the money, they also took his ATM cards. “They counted my cards and asked which one had money.
I told them. They asked for the ATM pin and I told them. They said if it was the wrong pin they were going to shoot me.” According to Mohammed, one of his abductors received a phone call and began to say things like: “Yes boss, yes boss. We are with him boss. Ok boss.” After the phone call, he informed Mohammed that he had learned that they could get N10m from him that night.
When Mohammed told his abductors that their alleged informant was wrong and he did not have that kind of money, they made more threats: “They said my family will never see me again. One of them said I wasn’t serious and asked another to shoot me in the leg.” During the ride, the abductors stopped and let him out on the Mabuchi road leading to Gwarinpa. Mohammed then took a taxi to the nearest police station. “I used the cab’s phone to tell my brothers what had happened. I went to Wuse Zone 3 Police Station and lodged a complaint.
They radioed the other police stations and checkpoints. The police told me to go to Maitama because the incident occurred under Maitama Police Station. I went to Maitama Police Station, by then it was around midnight, and I made an official report in writing. “We called someone at MTN to track my phone and they tracked the signal to airport road, Lokogoma and then lost the signal,” he said.
Despite the efforts of the robbers to stage the operation as a targeted one, Mohammed explained that the phone call was ‘rubbish’ as the carjackers did not even know how to drive the car. Chinyere Obi-Obasi, a lawyer, writer is also another recent victim of the sprees. She got the dose on Friday, July 20 at 8:00pm.   “I was coming back from work in the evening and one of the robbers opened the gate of my house in Garki.
It was raining hard; all the generators were on so no one would have heard me call for help.  Three men accosted me and followed me to my house, where my husband and children were.  They are young people around their late 20s and early 30s. They took my jewelry, the television, our computer monitor and then the car,” she said. Fortunately for Chinyere, her car was recovered later that night. Apparently, the thieves abandoned the car after it stopped. Nonetheless, the upset mother of five encouraged residents to be careful of the people they employ into their households such as security men, plumbers, carpenters and even maids.
“People should know the background of their workers or use credible agencies to employ such people. “Abuja is not safe again. When I came here from Lagos in 2003 people could leave their doors open. Everywhere was free. Nobody followed you and there were no thefts. But increasingly now, you hear of people’s cars getting stolen even as early as 4:00pm. One of my friends went to see someone in Utako and as soon as he stepped down someone collected his car.” Apart from these few instances, there are several other incidents where the victims swallowed the pill and refuse to speak to Abuja Metro on their experience. Some of them feigned indifference speaking about them as they argue that that would not bring back the lost car.
For those lost at parking lots either at home, public functions and on the streets, the means of the use of masterkeys to unlock cars or smashing the windows to have access into them. A victim said he was at a pub and left his car key on the table when someone picked it when he lost concentration and made away with the car.
He advised those that go to rowdy places for drinks or to watch football to watch it. The carjackers also target cars locked or unlocked by remote access, and clone the range, especially those that lock their cars via remote access from a distance. But what troubles her most is: “Where are they taking all these cars to?” Doris England, Public Relations Officer of the FCT Police Command, said the epidemic can probably be attributed to unemployment and some other social pressures.
According to her when the police receive reports of cars stolen at gunpoint within the FCT, the FCT Command responds immediately. “When the report is made, it is relayed to radio transmissions and internal communications that link all the patrol teams and divisions within the FCT. The message being sent, every other police station is listening, so they are getting the message and the patrol team that is on ground will immediately swing into action, looking out for the particular vehicle that is reported.”
On how the FCT sensitises the public on security tips and its helplines, she revealed that the FCT police command has emergency numbers which have been circulating through media houses, like the FCT Command Police Programme on NTA called ‘Call The Police’ which airs every Tuesday between 9.00pm and 9.30pm.
“They can call in at any time and there will always be someone to respond to complaints and observations and relay the information to the areas and divisions concerned.” With regards to stolen ATM cards that are used, Mrs. England told Abuja Metro that they have not ‘really’ got complaints of money withdrawn through stolen ATM cards. “If we have complaints on that then our investigations will follow the trend.” She advised members of the public, particularly those whose cars are snatched at gunpoint, that it is imperative they report the incidents immediately and as lucidly as possible to the nearest police station in order to hasten police intervention. Furthermore, she urged motorists to use security tactics such as trackers, and steering locks. “They should also register their vehicles because sometimes you find out that most of these are vehicles not registered.
They can equally have the vehicle registration number inscribed on the side glasses, headlights and any other part of the car. This might be a deterrent to a car thief because the aim of someone stealing a car is to dispose of it immediately and a car that has inscriptions doesn’t really have much market value,” she said. She added that the FCT Command has made a couple of recoveries, following up cars in Nasarawa and Niger states. Even cars stolen from other states have been recovered in the FCT. Between April and July, the FCT Command recovered about 62.
This is out of some hundreds snatched.  Like Mrs. England, Chinyere Obi-Obasi advised fellow FCT residents to be security-conscious and lock their cars while driving. “They should watch their backs and know if they are being trailed.” “Everybody should be his or her neighbour’s keeper. Everybody should be vigilant. When you see young men milling around parked cars, find out their mission or call the police to interrogate them.”

TheSun

Corrupt leaders will go to hell - Archbishop of Lagos

Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace, The Most Reverend Adewale Martins, during his annual New Year day press briefing in Lagos, said corrupt leaders will go to hell if they refuse to change from their bad ways.

The cleric advised corrupt leaders to use their offices to better the lives of the masses, adding that “what these corrupt leaders are doing is converting the masses’ wealth for their personal use which is against the ninth commandment; which says that: “Thou shall not convert your neighbour’s property.”

The archbishop also advised President Goodluck Jonathan to use his veto power  to prosecute corrupt leaders, adding that  if not, the problems Nigerians were currently facing would continue.

He further said that the president should not allow any injustice or corrupt practices to go unpunished because it was the only way to put a stop to the massive looting going on in the country.

He also advised the president to face issues squarely and pursue them to a final conclusion.

On the issue of Boko Haram, the cleric said the activities of those directly connected to the sect was as a result of greed and people trying to enforce their nocturnal beliefs on others.

On Pope Benedict’s 16th New Year message to the world,  Archbishop Martins said The Holy Father advised Christians to embrace peace work against violence and urged Christians to pray hard for peace to return to the world.
NigerianTribune

FG To Blame For Corruption, Insecurity — Anisulowo

 FEMI OGBONNIKAN

She kicks against the resort to military actions to douse the spate of bombings, killing and maiming of innocent souls and destruction of property by suspected Boko Haram sect and other forms of insurgency in the country, saying the action is expensive and grave to prosecute. Sen.(Mrs) Veronica Iyabo Anisulowo, who once represented Ogun West Senatorial District between 2003 and 2007 at the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, in this interview with FEMI OGBONNIKAN, in Lagos, takes a swipe at the leadership of the PDP-led Federal Government accusing of being responsible for the high-level of corruption which gives birth to the various security challenges in the country.
Are you on a political break, much has not been seen of you on the political scene lately?
Really! I have been around. Perhaps, it is because I am no longer in government or holding any public office either at the federal or state level. There is nothing much you can do when you are in the background playing grass roots politics. And if you belong to any political party, you must really guard your utterances and be mindful of  functions that you attend. So, that is my position and really, I have been very much active in politics as usual.

Prior to 2011 general elections, you were a chieftain of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s party in Ogun State and now, you are in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), what informed your defection?
Well, I have said it severally, times without number, that what made me to defect to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was the fact that, in the first instance, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had always been in problems, but I wasn’t part of the problems.I left the PDP in 2007. When the case of Senator Ibikunle Amosun was quashed and the PDP-led government were thinking of zoning the governorship seat to Ogun West Senatorial district, former  governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel approached me and even sent some people to me.
     He said he was sorry for what he did to me and that apart from that, he confident  that with me on his train, we would achieve this ‘Yewa-for-governor ambition.’ Though, I joined but my own choice for a candidate was Gboyega Isiaka from Imeko and the choice of other people within the party was my brother, General Adetunji Idowu Olurin from the same Ilaro with me. I decided to support Isiaka and that was why I had a little romance with the PDP. And then, we had a terrible cafarati within the ruling PDP and traumatic experience and because of that, we found out that we were split again in PDP and later formed PPN. Yes, of course, I was in PPN to actualise the Yewa dream. Unfortunately, it ended the way it did. I had thought that they would put their acts together and resolve whatever the problem was, so that some of us could come back and form a single entity, one body,  but that was not to be. It was rather degenerating by the day. You should know the relationship between Amosun and I. At the Senate, we were colleagues, we sat beside each other. In my usual self, I don’t really fight people.  So, there wasn’t really anytime we had a quarrel that we could not settle.
Again, when I joined Amosun, you should remember that I sponsored the entire Yewa land for ANPP in 2007 general elections. And two, I am the secretary to the Senators’ Forum in the Southwest and as a colleague of mine, I couldn’t just leave him like that, other than to wish him well and say, “I am behind you and also, you are one of us.
But he felt that if he had had me it wouldn’t have been so difficult for him to penetrate the Ogun West and after much persuasions with my colleagues talking to me, that Ogun State was my home and there was no place like home; that I should not so much concentrate on the federal which was for everyone, and that it was from here that I rose to be known at the federal level, that I should join him in rebuilding Ogun State I decided to defect to the ACN.
I am a liberal and an activist. I am not particular about any political party, especially when we have several of them without much ideology. Really, here you can’t say who you are in politics, what is important is your group interest where your people will benefit, where they will be able to say, apart from government, they are enjoying government’s patronages and where development is coming to them.
 So, that’s the main reason I joined Amosun. Amosun has a global vision of what he wanted to turn Ogun State into, especially the state capital where he has started developing. He has also come to Ogun West, especially Ota and he is doing some works there also, and I believe that the centre, Ilaro, he (Amosun) will soon come to our aid. And don’t forget that, before the last Administration left, this Sabo Road, which is a federal road, was really in a mess and he helped us to rehabilitate it; same with Owode. He has been making strides to surprise us, according to his word,  he would do more than a Yewa person would do if he were to be in control of the governance in the state. Well, let’s give him the benefit of doubt and see what he can do, but for me, I joined him for the development of the state.

Now that you are an active member and a chieftain of the ACN in Ogun State, are you nursing any political ambition come 2015 general elections?
No! I am not eyeing any political office, but the fact is that you will need to understand the political party in which you have joined. Anybody who joins ACN and has an inordinate ambition stuck in him is a fool. Although the nitty-gritty of it, you will also find it out that even in PDP that they will make sure of all you waste your money and time, which I feel the ACN is better off because where they are going they will let you know. If you are not their choice, stay in your house and if you are the choice of God definitely, you will be the choice of men. That is my own, but personally, I don’t have.

You are a chieftain of the ACN in Ogun State, what is your take on the recent de-registration of some political parties by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC)?
De-registration! They will still de-register many. The best time we enjoyed politics in this country was when it was two-party system. I don’t know what informed this multi-party system. It is not even multi-party now, but it is another thing in a country with 150 million people. What are their ideologies? No! You will find out that our politics revolves around what we get from the government. If you ask members of the party to  contribute money toward a party, they will not. They don’t want to build parties. So, the earlier to de-register many political parties and let those who want to play politics the better for those who are ready to spend their resources in building the party. Let them do that. And when they do that birds of a feather flock together, but strange birds fellow, for the sake convenience of it, will have their ways out. When it is election, they will bring one candidate who can’t win, and the end of the day, I don’t know the resources they have to run campaigns. I know and I also pray that more mushroom political parties will be de-registered so that we can know those that are viable to contest elections in this country. I am in support of what Prof Attahiru Jega is doing by deregistering mushroom political parties.

There are many problems confronting this country, especially the spate of bombings, killing and maiming by suspected Boko Haram sect, insecurity and others that Mr. President has been accused of being slow to respond to , while others havecanvassed for a military action. Do you share this view?
I want to say that we are not in a military regime and Mr. President is not a military man and invariably, he has to really think about resorting to military action because it is very expensive to go to war. He has to consider the lives and property that would be lost even during the prosecution. You see, this country has been porous and there is no way we can run away from what is happening now. Our national borders are very porous, and nationals of other countries easily find their way into into the country. Strange people are in our country, strange religions and strange belief-systems and there is a high-level corruption to an extent that lives and property do not matter to many of us any more. You should know, the sanctity of human life is lost in our culture today. We have seen pictures where they killed human beings as if they were slaughtering cows. They slit their throats. In fact, the spate of bombings, kidnapping, armed robbery and other vices are all results of corruption. The government has lost its grip and there is no doubt about that. Government at all levels has lost its grips on the people and that has been the major problem. I just I pray for those in government and the people, we should be our brother’s keeper. We should be vigilant at our various homes.

What is your rating of the PDP-led government at the federal level?
Well, corruption has been entrenched in every areas of the PDP-led government at the federal level, including those states where they are ruling. And it is the people that should reject them at the polls. There are so many people in PDP that do not want the party to succeed because they are tired of those things that are happening within it. Some people have long over-stayed, and with such people, they can’t move because they are part of the system. They have many problems within the party that they can’t resolve. But in all, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is better off than the PDP because of the latter’s myriad of problems.
 Leadership

Oyegun cautions Northern govs over opposition to PIB

By GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE
BENIN—Former governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie–Oyegun, has cautioned governors and National Assembly members of Northern extraction, over their vow to kill the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, pending before the National Assembly for consideration, saying that there were already enough security challenges facing the country, especially from the North.
Oyegun, in his reaction to the decision by Northern Governors Forum, Senators and House of Representatives members from the North, to kill the PIB on the ground that its provisions were anti-North, warned them to avoid doing anything that would plunge any part of the South into crisis as the country might not survive another crisis.
He said: “In any case, this nation has enough challenges facing it and they should not create a situation where what they are doing may become the last straw on the back of the already overburdened camel.
“It is clear that there is need for special attention to be given to the oil producing communities and for them to be given an interest in the survival of the oil industry. Proposals in those lines are long overdue and they should not interpret them as anti-North.
“What the PIB is trying to do is to preserve the industry for them and the whole country, including the various governors from the North.”
Vanguard

Governors or gods?

No group or section of the polity should curse the year that ends today as viciously as the state governors of this great country. For this group, 2012 is a year they would forever wish to declare as that which should belong to infamy and would pray fervently that a year like this should not come about ever again.
The year was so unfair to our gubernatorial overlords that there is a temptation to feel that the massive misfortunes that visited them in the course of the last 12 months was paranormal and that those who were unscathed should undergo lengthy periods of deliverance and pray that a replay or continuation does not become the case in 2013. Even as we read this, the gentle governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada is battling for his life at an Abuja hospital after his auto convoy was involved in a ghastly accident which claimed the life of his aide-de-camp.
He was reportedly retuning from a function in Ayangba and was involved in the accident when his car’s front tyre reportedly busted between Ajaokuta and his state capital. Both the hospital and his media aide have assured that he is in a stable condition, even as other reports have it that he is yet to emerge from danger because of the complex nature of his injuries.
The country had hardly recovered from the shock of the death of Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State who was killed three weeks ago, alongside the former NSA, General Andrew Azazi, following the helicopter crash in which they were involved in Bayelsa State. Kaduna State, and in deed Nigeria, is still very much enveloped with grief at the death from the Bayelsa crash as the burial ceremony of the late NSA took place at Yenagoa just last Saturday as the Kogi governor was writhing in pain at Abuja.
The Yakowa death is still so fresh that the new governor that stepped into in his shoes just got a deputy. These facts are an indication of how fresh the last deaths are before the Wada crash of last Friday. The plight of some other governors might not be so sore, yet they are harrowing enough. The fate of Governor Suntai of Taraba State is still uncertain as he languishes at a hospital in Germany to where he was taken after he sustained serious injuries from a crash of a small aircraft which he was piloting himself. While reports of his situation remain scanty, what one can glean from pieces of news that have filtered out from very inside sources indicate that Governor Suntai might not be in a physical or mental condition to run Taraba State soon, if ever.
As devious political calculations keep information of his condition scanty and out of reach of the people who elected him, Taraba State continues to drift dangerously like a yo-yo. The situation of Taraba State is even better in comparison to Enugu State because even as the Taraba people are at least aware that their governor is indisposed healthwise and as the news that some governors – Peter Obi and Chibuike Amechi – had visited him, the fate of Governor Sullivan Chime remains a shameful mystery where some people have decided to keep the whereabouts of a governor, elected under definite constitutional provisions stays away from office for more than three months, out of the knowledgeable of the very Enugu State people who he is supposed to be governing.
Nobody can today tell you where Chime is nor what he is doing there, nor even when he would return if ever. In the process, some tin gods continue to wield power on his behalf at the bewilderment of the teeming population of the state. However, no matter how much hide-and-seek the people who are oiling the oddity in Enugu state, would want to embark on, something is very clear, Governor Sullivan Chime is ill and seriously so.
In these days and age, events and activities of people in public positions is like a pregnancy; you can hide it only for a few weeks or even months, but when the tummy obeys nature through protrusion, the truth become obvious to all. While it is only a few privileged sources that are aware of Chime’s illness, and perhaps of the efforts at his convalescence, his unexplained long absence has not only made his incapacity obvious to all, it has continued to fuel wicked rumors of his death.
And he and his aides have only themselves to blame for it. Also on the list of the state executives who have been kept on AWOL by health constraints – even when many might not accept it – is Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State whose aides are also playing hide and seek with the policy over the condition and whereabouts of the man who the Cross Riverians elected to govern them.
I would want to make it clear that there is no attempt to gloat over the health situation of the governors nor to make the situation light. But it is hard for me not to comment on what has become an embarrassing tendency for many of the elected governors and their aides to wish to privatize the power and authority that was bestowed to them by the electorate under clear and non-ambiguous provisions. I must equally point out that the governors and their aides learnt this very bad habit from the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the infamous Katsina Cabal, which had believed the presidency was Yar’Adua’s birthright and it could be privatized and held down for him, even when he had lost the control of his faculties.
Today, in Enugu State for instance, nobody has presented the 2013 budget because Governor Chime is not available, and worse still, his whereabouts and situation are unknown. Meanwhile, some crooks are running affairs at his behest, but definitely not the deputy governor, who, everybody knows is a mere helpless stooge. I call the people who run affairs there as crooks because they are acting in illegality and in exercise of powers and authority they lack the right and authority to wield. Ditto for the other states where the people are being held hostage by the absence of the governor beyond the period or time span allowed by the Constitution. The sad truth today is that the governors have made themselves above the law and nobody can do anything about it.
They have rather become the law unto themselves and even riding roughshod of the Constitution which they all swore to protect and defend. While the president is routinely held to ransom by the National Assembly and the Judiciary, a fact that make the president consult them routinely, the state assemblies and judiciaries dare not dare their Imperial Excellencies, who in any case cannot even be dared by the president. Somebody has said it that any day democracy and all that goes with it goes into eclipse in this country, it would be through the omission or commission of the governors.
While some governors have so far managed to run the affairs of their state with decorum, respect of the rule of law and the mandate given to them by the people under God’s watch, some have clearly started playing God, while daring everybody else to go to hell. Let me give a few instances. Two months ago, it was reported that Governor Wammako of Sokoto State who had sworn to obey, respect and defend the human rights of all, physically assaulted a fellow Nigerian who he reportedly flogged with horsewhips till the man allegedly writhed in pain, all in the line of his duty.
Even though the governor who has all the paraphernalia of turning darkness into daylight, denied the disgraceful act, other Nigerians, including the colleagues of that senior manager at the PHCN, did not buy the denials, and had, in their outrage, threatened to throw the entire state and its obvious more civilized inhabitants into darkness. A man who occupies such an exalted gubernatorial position had obviously believed that he was above the law as to have treated a fellow adult Nigerian with such incivility.
Wammako believed he was no more an ordinary Nigerian, being a governor had made him a god. He, like some of his colleagues now plays God. Take the very sad situation of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, who by several acts, seems to clearly believe in his divine position, so much so, that neither the laws of the country, the Constitution or the dignity of his fellow Nigerians mean anything to him. In deed, it would be an understatement to state that Owelle Rochas is playing God, it would be more correct that he would want to teach God how to play God.
Currently in the news is the allegation that his convoy had confronted that of Senator Christy Anyanwu for daring to share a road with his Imperial Lordship, and as the cloud cleared, the aides of the senator were dripping with blood and nursing broken limbs. And as should be expected, Okorocha’s spin doctors ran to the media to create the impression that the senator was the assailant who had wanted to assassinate the governor. Of course, nobody would be sane enough to believe Owelle Okorocha who has created an easy reputation for regularly swimming against the tide of legality.
Even if the Imo State governor’s aides had convinced the whole world to believe his own side of the story against Senator Anyanwu, they would be attempting the impossible to deny the fact that Governor Okorocha and his ADC had physically assaulted aides of Governor Peter Obi at Enugu last October when we were assembling to honour Dr. Alex Alex Ekwueme for his 80th birthday.
The reason is that I was there physically and witnessed the shameful act of gubernatorial high-handedness, first hand. Other Nigerians did not need to be physically present to learn of the high-handed and illegal nature with which Okorocha had dealt with elected Local Government officials who he has continued to frustrate from exercising their mandate through a series of subterfuges. Nor does anyone need to live in Imo State to learn of the announcement of the governor when he arbitrarily and insensitively declared a two-week holiday for all the public servants in his state at the end of the year. It could not have mattered to the Imo State chief executive that such an action is unprecedented in the history of the country, neither could he be bothered that beside his sycophants, every other group has condemned the declaration of the extended holiday.
The simple deduction is that just within less than two years of his stay in office, Okorocha has completely privatized governance of Imo State and in the process, decided not to be answerable to anyone or any institution except to himself. Translation is that Nigerians, as adherents of Christianity and Islam, know that the only Being that is not answerable to any authority is God, hence anybody who acts in a manner that arrogates to himself any temporal or divine authority that cannot be challenged, ipso facto, declares himself to be God. And in the purview of our two religions, playing God is the greatest possible offence.
Today, there are many Nigerians who believe that because God is a jealous Being who never brooks competition, His anger is instantly stoked at seeing some people playing God and making people to give to them the worship, honour and adoration owed to God only. It is with that sentiment in mind that many Nigerians believe that God must be very angry with many of our governors who have assumed the toga of omnipotence, in utter disregard of the oaths they had sworn to with the Bible or the Koran.
As this very difficult year winds up, made more difficult for the ordinary Nigerians by the high-handedness of many of those who we had elected to guide and govern us, it is my prayer, as it is the wish of many of our very-much shortchanged people that our leaders should have a change of heart and govern us with better humanity in the coming year. They should all appreciate that the year 2013 is spiritually a special one to us as a nation, as it is at the threshold of 2014,when our amalgamated nation would attain a centenary in our efforts to build a nation.
It is, therefore, a trying year, when the psychological sensors in all of us should be most sensitive. And therefore, we should all strive very hard to ensure that the centre continues to hold. Meanwhile, while we move into the New Year, it should be a time of serious sober reflection for our governors, who should meditate on the sore predicament of some of their colleagues this year and, therefore, rededicate themselves to their oath of office.
For if they continue to desecrate or abuse the oath which they swore to with our two sacred books, how they would expect that God will forever remain silent? By the virtue of the collective mandate we gave our governors, we had also surrendered our collective destinies to them; we wither as they wither, and blossom as they do. May the Almighty grant us all a safer and more prosperous 2013…but that is if we all continue to play by the rules!
TheSun

2013 will be better than 2012 but... - Adeboye •2013: Volatile, rebellious year - Olukoya •Judgment year for politicians - TB Joshua

THE General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has said that the New Year will be better than 2012, just as he said that Nigerians must pray fervently over some issues.

Pastor Adeboye added that the Federal Government must learn from past floods and major disasters witnessed in the country last year and take decisive precautions to avert a repeat, otherwise the country might be plagued with another set of major disasters.

Also, except prayers are intensified, prominent Nigerians may lose their lives just as it happened last year.

These and more were the prophecies Pastor Adeboye rolled out during the crossover service held at the Redemption Camp, Kilometre 46, Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State, in the wee hours of Tuesday.

In a well-attended service by prominent people like Evangelists Mike and Gloria Bamiloye, among others, Adeboye, who mounted the pulpit at few minutes past 11.00 p.m. to speak on the topic: “Preparing for Signs and Wonders” said, 2013 would however, be a year of signs and wonders and would be better than 2012.

“The prayers of some of you minimised death of prominent Nigerians in the last year, so don’t stop praying in 2012,” he noted.

Adeboye, who enjoined Christians to intensify their worship, praises, prayers and devotion unto God to access breakthroughs for this year, said concerning Nigeria that at the count of the sixth month of the year, many will say “hope rising.”

For individuals, the man of God said although there may be temporary setbacks in the lives of people,  God would eliminate them and speak peace to storms in people’s lives as well as make their stars shine brighter in the New Year.

Generally, he said God said 2013 would be better than 2012 in all facets.

On the international scene, Pastor Adeboye, popularly referred to as Daddy G.O, also stated that besides major breakthrough in Medicine promised in the New Year, God told him that nations that have promulgated and governed by “unholy laws should expect a taste of God’s divine fury this year, even as he warned that weather conditions may get worse if prayers are not intensified.

According to him, intensive intercessions are needed to prevent death of prominent world leaders in office, as well as booby traps set for world famous church leaders.

 “The Lord says prominent world leaders need lots of prayers so as not to die in office. He says prominent church leaders all over the world need prayers against planned scandals,” Adeboye disclosed.

The crossover service, which ended at about 2.30 a.m, saw wife of Pastor Adeboye, Folu, before the close of the previous year, leading eminent wives of senior pastors, all clad in white and green traditional attire, rendering special thanksgiving songs to God.
By: Ebenezer Adurokiya and Dele Ayeleso


2013: Volatile, rebellious year - Olukoya
By: Friday Ekeoba- Lagos
Notwithstanding the surge in violence in some parts of the country, the year 2013 has been described as one which Nigerians and even the government should approach with all known caution, as it will be full of human rebellion.

Also, the year will be inundated with mysterious happenings, disintegration and deception in high places, natural disaster and economic famine for the unrighteous and financial breakthrough for the righteous.

General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Dr Daniel Olukoya made these remarks as part of the prophetic outlook for the year in the early hours of Tuesday.

According to him, while believers must be prayerful because of the violent nature of the year, he noted that two crucial things they must do is to pray that they should meet those whom God wants them to meet in the course of the year, and not to come across those whom God does not want them to meet.

Olukoya, who described the year as that of ‘fresh oil, and distinctive shining’ for members of the church, said 2013 is “A volatile year. Very short tempered, that is why I call it a fragile balloon. It is a dangerous year not to toy with.”

He said the year will serve as a year where there will be confusion in countries, among politicians and where organised destroyers will split and begin to destroy themselves.

Olukoya, who cautioned actors and actresses in the entertainment industry to engage in serious prayers, noted that this is necessary to avert debt and death that may ravage the industry in the year, due to some satanic covenant most of them have entered into unknowingly.

He also said, “it will be a year of horrible sinfulness; dangerous year to play with sin; unusually turbulent year; uncommon lawlessness; a year special prayers is needed in fragile areas of the world; a year of rage of waters and seas against ungodly nations and people; a year of shaking against nations that support lawlessness; unbelievable betrayers; prayers are needed to arrest civil war in many places; a year of resurgence of wickedness; uncommon destruction for the sexually pervert.”

Judgment year for politicians - TB Joshua
By: Dare Adekanmbi
General Overseer of The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T.B Joshua has described 2013 as a year of judgment for politicians who rode to power on the crest of people’s support and later abandoned the same people, warning them to pray against death and sickness.

Joshua, in his prophecies for nations, continents and political leaders, said such politicians, especially those who got to power through the support of youths, would become helpless in the New Year and experience a plummet in their finances in addition to being traumatised by sicknesses, diseases and death.

This is just as he said prominent nouveau riche and famous people in the country would suffer the same fate this year.

“I am seeing great, famous, popular and rich men and politicians will become helpless in matter of sickness, disease, finances, death. One of the causes: they have failed to reward those who helped them to succeed.

“This is the year of judgment, especially for politicians who use youths to support their political ambitions without reward after winning power. Tell your neighbour: reward those who help you succeed now,”  he said.

The cleric also predicted that there would be an upscale of natural disasters as well as increase in air and sea crashes, saying that those who move closer to God in the New Year would be spared the calamities.

It will not be an all gloomy outlook for the year as the cleric said those into sale of foodstuffs and practising farming would experience a boom in their businesses, adding that God had anointed these businesses to provide solution to economic depression.
NigerianTribune