A brother to the detained director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu on Friday told IGBERETV that his brother is currently sick.
Prince Kanu said he got various reports that his brother has been
sick and is being denied access to any form of medical care by the State
Security Service (SSS).
Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu flanked by siblings and his mother, Ugoeze Nnenne Kanu in court
“Right now, as I speak to you, Nnamdi Kanu is very very sick and
he has been denied medical access, that is the information reaching me
now,” Prince said.
Prince added: “We have been denied access to see him, his lawyer has also been denied access to him.”
Since his arrival into Nigerian on October 14, 2015, Kanu has
remained under the custody of the SSS over allegations of terrorism,
terrorism funding, possession of arms and the assisting in the
management of an unlawful society.
Although several courts in Abuja has given three different orders for his release, the SSS has failed to obey such orders.
Kanu, on Wednesday, December 23 refused to take his plea before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court.
He told the court that he lacked confidence in the court and would
not sacrifice due process of law for speedy process over the principle
of natural process on the alter of a speedy release.
Kanu said he would prefer to remain in detention than to subject
himself to a trail that will only amount to a perversion of injustice.
“Your lordship, previous court rulings have been given by courts
of competent jurisdiction in this country, Nigeria which were not
carried out by the DSS,” Kanu had said.
To Kanu’s objection, the judge stood down from the case and told the
court that he will be remitting the case file to the chief judge of the
court for reassignment.
Checks by our correspondents also revealed that the case is yet to be assigned to any court.
Also, recently during the presidential media chat on Wednesday,
December 30, President Muhammadu Buhari gave reasons why Kanu and the
former national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki will not be released
despite being admitted to bail by the courts.
Buhari told journalists in the state house these individuals have
committed heinous crimes against Nigeria and granting freedom will
amount to jumping bail.
“If you see the atrocities these people committed against this country, we can’t allow them to jump bail,” Buhari had said.
Buhari added that despite having two passports – Nigerian and British – Kanu came into Nigeria without a passport.
The results of the re-run Bayelsa state governorship election
is trickling in bit by bit and IGBERETV will be monitoring the
situation and bring the results live.
Voters exercising their franchise in Bayelsa polls today
Elections in the state is expected to take place in 17 wards & 104 communities in Southern Ijaw local government area, where there are 425 polling
units. The remaining 101 polling units are scattered across the state.
Our correspondent in the state reports that voting has been concluded
in some polling units and collation of results is currently ongoing.
The results we have received so far are below: 18.30
Ward 10 unit 2
Ammasomma
APC – 30
Pdp – 233
Ogbia ward 2 unit 015
Apc – 27
Pdp – 55
Dpc- 2
Southern Ijaw Lga
Ward,10 unit 4
Constituency 1
APC – 21
Pdp – 97
Sdp – 1
Voided votes 3 17.43
WARD 10, UNIT 16
Presiding Officer – Linda Nwagbu
Accredited Voters-113
No of Valid Votes-112
Invalid votes-1
PDP-81
APC-29
DPP-1
PDC-1
WARD 11, UNIT 7
presiding Officer-Victor Efrum
Total No of Reg Voters-402
Accredited No of Voters-257
Invalid-3
PDP-237
APC-17
WARD 10, UNIT 15
Presiding Officer-Uwandu Anthony
Accredited Voters-96
No of Valid Vote-134
Rejected Votes-9
PDP-101
APC-33
WARD 10, UNIT 7
PDP-133 Votes
APC-24 Votes
WARD 9, UNIT 13
Presiding Officer-Omenogor Elvis Onyeka
PDP-66 Votes
APC-28 Votes
DPC-3
PDM-1
Total No of Voters-415
Accredited voters-112
Invalid votes 13
14.39
Oyeke Open Space, Unit 9, Ward 10,Yenegoa LGA
APC 78
PDP 61
Voided votes 2
Total votes 147
Disclaimer: Please note that the results below are not final; the information may be updated any time.
This is a developing story…
Earlier today, armed thugs caused havoc in Ekeremor town, Ekeremor
local government area bringing all electoral activities to a halt.
Also, in Southern Ijaw local government, precisely in Amassoma
Grammar School, men of the Joint Task Force have repelled efforts by
armed political thugs who attempted to hijack electoral materials meant
for some units in the ward.
What You Don’t Know About The Legendary ALABUKUN POWDER And Its Maker (Photos)
Jacob
Sogboyega Odulate, the Blessed Jacob, sat at the work table in his
laboratory, writing the notes which contained the formula for what would
ultimately be known as his famous patented medicine, Alabukun Powder.
This was in the year 1918. It was early in the evening of another
hectic day at his place of work, a functional combination of office,
consulting room and laboratory-cum
workshop. His single minded pursuit of the goal of establishing an
indigenous medical/pharmaceutical brand was legendary. He had displayed
the same purposeful determination when at the age of 14, he decided to
uproot himself from his ancestral town of Ikorodu and he had embarked on
an exploratory journey which took him three months on foot to establish
a domestic and commercial base in Abeokuta. His very modest, but
cherished “headquarters” was built in the Sapon area of Abeokuta, a mere
walking distance from the site of his future three-storey landmark home
in Ijemo Agbadu.
With the day’s work finished, he supervised the ritualistic tidying-up
of the office, a task in which some of his children were willing and
excited participants.
Soon it would be time to join his friends for a few games at tennis at
the Abeokuta Tennis Club, and then go off to his home to join his wives
and children for dinner. His face, which could sometimes bear the
disconcertingly combined countenance of both a firm disciplinarian and a
mirthful father in equal measure, was today aglow with joy. He, a black
man and member of the Yoruba ethnic group had triumphed against the
seemingly insurmountable obstacles that the British colonial authorities
had placed in the path of ambitious “natives”. He had penetrated the
fortress of British-dominated commercial enterprise in nascent Nigeria,
to become one of a very small group of Nigerian entrepreneurs in the
colony. He had reasons to smile.
From the modest, but gradually escalating proceeds of the sale of
Alabukun Powder, Alabukun Mentholine and other locally made products –
all produced by him – the Blessed Jacob was able to realize his
overarching desire, which was to underwrite all the expenses associated
with sending his children to the land of the erstwhile colonial rulers,
Britain, to further their education. One after the other, his offspring
went off to study at Durham, Newcastle, USA and London to qualify as
educationists, medical doctors, lawyers and engineers. They returned to
Nigeria to join the pool of highly educated and successful professionals
for which Abeokuta has been particularly famed in Nigeria history.
Alabukun’s offspring have prospered and have made immense contributions
to Yorubaland and to Nigeria in their various professions and spheres of
endeavour.
The enduring success of the Alabukun brand is now interwoven into the
fabric of modern Nigeria medical history. The Alabukun Powder in
particular is displayed and sold in thousands of pharmacies, markets and
roadside stalls all over Nigeria. In many states in Nigeria, Alabukun
powder is considered to be the obligatory cure-all for almost every
ailment. In neighbouring countries such as Benin Republic, Ghana and
Cameroon, the eye-catching Alabukun brand is to be seen advertised
everywhere. Alabukun products are sold in several towns and cities in
the USA, the UK, in Europe, Brazil, Jamaica, and yes, even as far away
as China. You can buy Alabukun products on-line, off-line, under-bridges
and over-expressways.
Just last year, 2012, the descendants and family of the Blessed Jacob
marked and celebrated the 50th anniversary of the passing on of this
towering man. In a manner in which he would have been proud, the
celebrations were modest and without fanfare. None of the governors of
the various states in South West Nigeria in which the Blessed Jacob made
huge contributions was present. Both Ogun State and Lagos State were in
no way officially represented at this significant anniversary. However,
we owe nobody any grudge because for a particular reason the family had
decided to make the anniversary a low-key affair.
Happily, his children, his grandchildren, great grand-children and
great-great grandchildren as well as the descendants and relations of
the multitudes of his beneficiaries, patients, friends and employees,
were all there to celebrate the history of this under-appreciated icon.
And so, one year after this 50th anniversary, what are the physical
edifices and buildings that can serve as a present and future testimony
to his legacy, to his industriousness, to his trailblazing
entrepreneurship?
Even then a befitting memorial, indeed, a legacy, solid, towering
structure such as a house has severally suffered from uncaring and
insensitive official arm.
First to go was the magnificent family residence in Ijemo Agbadu with
its unique granite-hued frontage and castle-like grounds which for more
than half a century housed living quarters for family and friends alike
– DEMOLISHED!
Secondly, in 2013 the building (the first two-level building in
Abeokuta, Sapon) the original birthplace and home of the Alabukun brand
was – DEMOLISHED!!
Thirdly, the storey-building that the Blessed Jacob built on the east
side of Ikorodu Road and which for decades was the most significant
landmark on that road before one reached the landmark Ikorodu Roundabout
was also pitifully – DEMOLISHED!!!
This sad history of willful disregard and disrespect for the legacies
of those who came before us and who contributed so much to the nation
that we today call Nigeria is abundantly exemplified in the tragic fate
of Alabukun’s properties. We, the descendants of the glorious Blessed
Jacob are so grateful and proud of his life. The education that he
bestowed upon us, the wonderful example he showed in his personal and
business life, his immense generosity and kindness of spirit, these are
what we and our own descendants will never forget.
For those who find themselves in power today, and for those who were
in power when all of the destructive acts described above were
committed, we have only this to say:
The act of destruction of the physical properties of those who did so
much to make our nation great can never desecrate their names or their
legacies. It is those who permit such destruction who should ask
themselves this: “Is this the way to honour the past? Are we proud to
announce to the world that we allowed history to be corrupted and eroded
like this?”
Finally, sad as we may feel about this story of demolition as chronicled
above, we, the descendants, especially his children, are proud and
grateful to God that our magnificent Patriarch, Papa Chief Jacob
Sogboyega Odulate – ALABUKUN – The Blessed Jacob – left us a legacy that
can never be forgotten in the history of Nigeria. In life and in death
he stands up in the development of Nigeria.
What a man! What a hero! What a legacy!
For more information on the life of this great man, I refer you to the
book “Reaching for the Stars” an autobiography of one of his children –
Chief Folake Solanke SAN.
In February 1984, one of those clamped in jail by the Buhari military
administration was the late Igbo leader, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. This
cartoon of that era depicts the mood of that moment over the matter.
For crying out loud, Ojukwu wasn’t even part of the
government that Buhari outstaged in a coup – which was Shagari’s
government by the way – so what formed the basis of Ojukwu’s arrest?
Corruption?
When you undertake a wholistic study of Nigeria’s political history,
you’ll see that the same hate for Igbos that drove Buhari against Ojukwu
in 1984 is what drives him against Kanu today.
Imagine arresting Ojukwu who was never part of the government!
The Strong Men Behind Buhari (Photos)As
one who presides over the most populous country in Africa, President
Muhammadu Buhari is no doubt an influential man. It is not out of place
that millions of people within and outside the country might want to get
his attention for one favour or the other. Expectedly, not many people
will get that needed access to him.
There are, however, a few individuals who are very close to the
President and, hence, wield huge influence in their own rights. These
are apart from members of his immediate family that consists of the
First Lady (sorry, the President’s wife), Hajia Aisha Buhari, and the
children.
As far as the Buhari Presidency is concerned, one of the
men that can be said to be very close to the President so far is Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo, who currently supervises the nation’s
economy. Osinbajo is always at the service of the President. He
represents him very often both within and outside the country. The
relationship between the two top government officials so far is very
cordial. In fact, I don’t think Osinbajo’s loyalty to the President is
to be questioned.
Another man that is very close to the President is his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
The closeness may be due to the position he currently occupies, but the
lesson must not be lost that something must have qualified him for that
appointment.
Since his assumption of office, Kyari, who has a trademark of always
wearing white ‘agbada’ and wine cap, has not been far from the
President. He is in charge of arranging the President’s day-to-day
activities. Despite that Kyari’s office is a bit far from the
President’s (about 200metres), the COS can trek that distance to and fro
more than six times in a day either to consult with Buhari or attend
one meeting or the other.
While making his way to the President’s office or back to his office,
he will pass through the corridor of the Briefing Room, where
journalists always hang out to search for scoops. No matter how busy he
is, he will pause a bit to crack jokes with the reporters and quickly
leave as fast as possible. Kyari is no doubt one of the President’s men.
There is no way those who wield influence in the Villa for now will be
identified without mentioning Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State. I
can even state without fear of contradiction that he is so far the most
frequent state governor in the Villa. If he is not visiting the
President, El-Rufai will be consulting with Vice President Osinbajo. I
am aware that he was instrumental to some of the appointments so far
made by the President. He wields big influence that is not commensurate
to his small stature.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State also wields enormous influence in the Villa. He is also a regular visitor, coming closely behindEl-Rufai.
Most times, after consulting with Buhari, Oshiomhole will brief State
House correspondents. His interviews had always been focusing on how
officials of the last administration allegedly stole the nation blind.
Since the wind of change that blew through the Villa during the last
presidential election, many other things have changed. The change
permeated through the seat of power from who occupies the President’s
seat to ministers and even Villa guests. The hitherto known faces have
given way for the new ones.
By the time Buhari inaugurated his cabinet, most of his 36 ministers
are those who are entering the Villa for the first time. A few of them
who had been here before had either done so because of the public
offices they occupied before or because they belonged to the then-ruling
Peoples Democratic Party before they parted ways with others under that
green-white-red umbrella.
There is, however, someone in the present cabinet that keeps
reminding us of one of the ministers that served under former President
Goodluck Jonathan. That person is the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun. She keeps reminding us of Jonathan’s Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson.
Both ladies look alike in stature, and also in the way they walk and
talk (with foreign accent). Incidentally, both of them are Yoruba
ladies, though from different states. While Johnson is from Ondo State,
Adeosun is from Ogun State.
Unlike her predecessor in office, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whose
trademark is her headgear that she places delicately on her head as if
it will fall down with a slight push, Adeosun rarely tie headgears. In
fact, I heard her telling one of her female colleagues recently that she
resorted to holding her headgear after many failed attempts to tie it
correctly. The female minister collected the headgear from her,
carefully folded it and placed it on her (Adeosun’s ) shoulder. Those
who specialise in tying headgears for fees may find a good business in
her.
Since their inauguration, Adeosun had the first
opportunity to address State House correspondents on Tuesday, albeit,
briefly. It was at the press conference addressed by the Managing
Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, shortly
after a closed-door meeting she had with Buhari. The lot fell on Adeosun
to introduce Lagarde to journalists at the Briefing Room of the Council
Chamber.
The following day, however, she had more time to spend with
reporters. She had the opportunity of briefing journalists of the
outcome of the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by
Buhari. The venue was the same. She was introduced by the Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
In my opinion, these are the prominent people mentioned above that can really make “CHANGE” to take its effectiveness.
Sporadic gunshots is on going in Ekeremor town, Ekeremor Local Government.
Security already overtaken by armed thugs thereby leading to stoppage of election in the town.
Also in Amassoma Grammar School, in Southern Ijaw local government, there has been a standoff between members of the Joint Task Force JTF and political thugs who attempted to hijack materials meant for some units in the ward.
Four of the armed thugs now arrested and their operational vehicle seized.
A former Minister of National Planning, Dr. Sulaiman Abubakar, in this interview with SUCCESS NWOGU, accuses President Muhammadu Buhari of not dealing with corruption holistically There have been allegations that the government of former
President Goodluck Jonathan mismanaged the economy. Since you were a
key player at the twilight of that administration, how do you respond to
such allegations?
The government of the day should graduate by coming out with any
revelation of anything that was abnormal (in Jonathan’s administration).
Again, allegations after office are not peculiar with this
administration. But we should allow due process to hold sway in the
course of trying to know what happened or allow the courts of competent
jurisdiction to perform their functions.
I am not saying that nothing has gone wrong and I am not also saying
that something has gone wrong. What I am saying is that in the course of
fighting corruption, there are laid down rules and regulations. There
are laid down structures and institutions that are charged with that
responsibility.
The government of the All Progressives Congress should allow those
agencies to do their work without interruption and without interference.
A situation where the state instruments are being used to coerce people
or coerce the process here and there is not good for our democracy. The
consequence of such in a democracy is anarchy which nobody would wish
for.
The case is in court already; we should allow the court to look at
the issues. The judiciary itself, talking about the judges and the
lawyers, should stick to their ethical professions without being
intimidated or stampeded by the government of the day.
It is unfortunate that the various outcries and outbursts of the APC
government, as far as I’m concerned, are more political than real. It is
too early for us to go into the nitty-gritty of what happened.
I want to believe that the judiciary will do its work and I want to
urge Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari, to be fair in the course of
addressing the various corruption allegations in Nigeria. A situation
where members of the APC that have been found corrupt in one way or the
other are left while you only concentrate on the Peoples Democratic
Party members is not fair enough. It is not godly and it is not Quranic.
So I think corruption is not exclusive to the PDP at all. It is the
problem of the Nigerian political system. And while we are looking at
Nigerian corruption, we should look at political corruption too. What is
happening in the South-South, like Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom
states, is political corruption, which we should not encourage.
I think the President, who I respect so much because of his
integrity, should be fair and just enough while chasing corrupt people.
It should not be based on party platform. He should know that some of
those people who are in the APC today, were ex-governors, ex-senators or
occupied high positions before and had issues with anti-graft agencies.
Now, everybody is now running to the APC as a saving grace. For
instance, the like of Christopher Alao-Akala in Oyo State was in the
PDP. This is someone who had allegations against him concerning his
handling of state resources. The President should open his eyes.
Corruption, if there is at all, is not only with PDP members. It is not
just the PDP people that are involved. There are people in the APC now
who spent over 12 years in PDP before leaving the party. The government
should not fight corruption on party basis.
We can see that there is a political class that is very corrupt,
regardless of party affiliations. We should be able to fish them out.
Why focus only on Jonathan’s administration? What happened to other
administrations? What about the various corruption allegations against
the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and others? Why
concentrate on Jonathan’s administration alone? For the fight against
corruption to succeed, the government should identify corrupt people,
regardless of their religion, tribe and political affiliation.
You seem to genuinely believe that there are APC members
who are corrupt. Has any PDP member sent petitions to the anti-graft
agencies against them and nothing was done?
It is not my duty to do that. The government of the day has the task,
powers and all the agencies to themselves. The same government that is
intimidating and pursuing members of the PDP should have the effrontery
to also pursue APC members. The same political will they are using now
to pursue PDP members should be used to pursue other people who are
corrupt.
What did you mean by political corruption when you earlier mentioned Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states?
Why was the governorship election in Bayelsa State declared as
inconclusive? Why is it that for the first time in Nigeria’s history, we
have a President that has appointed someone from his tribe as the
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission? Why is it
that all of a sudden, the Niger Delta Development Commission had to be
restructured and a former Commissioner for Information of Rivers State
when Mr. Rotimi Amaechi was the governor, had to be appointed as the
acting Head of the NDDC? Political corruption is going on there and we
have our facts.
But why should former President Goodluck Jonathan spend funds meant for arms purchase on political campaign and PDP affairs?
It is still an allegation before the law court. We should allow the
law court to handle it. People keep on talking about arms, arms, and
arms but nobody has seen the facts and figures to know whether the money
was meant for arms or not. I am saying that it could not be meant for
arms but security votes. It was for security votes. Normally, security
vote is at the mercy of the governors and the President and some
security chiefs. It is something that is a secret. Nobody knows what
goes on there. Nobody will tell you how security votes are spent. So for
the first time now, we have seen a government that appears to have
engaged in deliberate act of trying to know how security votes are
spent. I am not trying to justify it but I am saying that none of the
APC governors could swear with the Quran or the Bible that they never
dipped their hands in their security votes to bring the present
government into power. Where did they get the money to fund the
activities that brought Buhari to power? Most of these monies could have
come from Lagos, Edo, Kano and Rivers states and nobody is asking
questions about the security votes of those states. What is peculiar
about the security votes spent under Jonathan? I am not saying that
keeping security votes a secret is the best thing, but I am saying that
it has reached a conventional practice in Nigeria that people hardly
know what goes on there. So why are we being selective now? Why are we
coming up with this now? Why are people not asking questions about the
billions of naira spent in Edo, Kano, and Lagos states in bringing the
present government to power? Why are we not asking that question for
God’s sake? If we want to fight this rot in security votes, we should
fight it holistically. If actually the money falls into security votes
and it is being spent, we should go beyond what transpired under the
former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.). We should
go beyond Dasuki’s period to know how security votes in this country
have been spent before now. Now in this budget, billions of naira are
being budgeted for security votes and for military offices. What for?
Why are we not asking what the funds will be spent on? I think we should
probe more on how security votes in Nigeria are being spent. Why are we
being selective with Jonathan’s government? This is not to say that I
align with corruption or that I support the destruction of the Nigerian
economy. But I am asking why only PDP, why only Jonathan? Billions of
money was spent to bring this government to power. Where did they get
the money? Such money came from Rivers, Lagos and other APC-controlled
states and most of those states used their security votes.
So, if we are to fight this, let us fight it holistically. Let us
approach the issues globally and constitutionally. We should not just
leave ourselves with one allegation on one party. We should go beyond
that. Except we go beyond that and Nigerians stand to know the way
security votes are being managed, Nigeria will not be seen to be serious
in its fight against corruption.
Are you saying that the funds now being referred to as
money for arms deal was meant for security vote and not for the purchase
of arms to attack insecurity in the country?
Nobody has proven that (yet). They have not been able to prove that
the money was meant for arms procurement. They are yet to prove that
actually the money was budgeted for arms and they were not used for arms
procurement. People can say anything but nobody has proven that. I see
the move so far as sheer politics.
Why did Jonathan use money belonging to Nigerians to fund a party?
Jonathan did not use the money belonging to Nigerians to fund the PDP. Let us allow the court to take a position on that.
Why did the money meant for arms turn into some sort of bazaar to be shared among the cronies of the former President?
To the best of my knowledge, no money meant for arms has been used for another thing.
Does Jonathan have to wait for him to be called upon to
explain what happened since the buck stopped at his table as the
President at the time?
Yes. The law allows that. If you want to see him, he is alive. He is
going about everywhere. He is not afraid of being invited for any
questioning. He and the current president have met a few times. I think
Jonathan is not afraid of that. But you know that to every issue, there
is a second look to it. They must be very careful the way they handle it
because already, he (Jonathan) has been hanged before being tried.
Why do you say that he has been hanged before being tried?
Because everywhere, he has already been hanged; he has been tried on
the pages of newspapers. There has been media trial all over the place;
when the APC will come out and slander former government officials. In
governance, there are certain laid down protocols that a serving
government needs to follow. And when that protocol is not followed, you
mess up the whole thing. The way the government has gone about it is not
right. When General Abubakar Abdulsalam’s government left office, there
were issues between him and Obasanjo. But Obasanjo handled those issues
in a more professional and refined way. That is why up till today,
nobody has heard that Abdulsalam stole and that his government was
corrupt here and there. We need to handle things diplomatically and
effectively. We should not be over-heating the polity. What we are doing
now is not professional. It is more of politics and propaganda. There
are better ways of resolving issues between this government and the
immediate past government. I urge President Buhari to toe that path
rather than over-heat the polity as is being done. What they are doing
now is more of over-heating the polity, which is not right. We should
find a more refined way of resolving issues.
According to former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, even some of the recovered Abacha loot that was meant for
arms purchase was criminally diverted to other things. Why?
To the best of my knowledge, I do not know anything about the issue
of arms deal. But the Abacha loot, I think is better handled by the
former ministers- the Minister of State for Finance, the Minister of
Finance and the former National Security Adviser. The issue of arms deal
is before the law court. I do not want to be prejudicial about that. I
want to leave that for now. When the time comes, I will really know what
transpired and will be able to discuss better.
Okonjo Iweala’s letter that was made public showed that
the former President directed her to pay some $300m to Dasuki to
purchase arms without due appropriation by the National Assembly. How do
you react to this?
It is not every security matter that goes to the National Assembly or
made public. If for instance, there is a war, the situation does not
require the President to immediately go to the National Assembly to seek
money to prosecute the war. There are certain contingencies that may
not require recourse to the National Assembly for approval before they
are embarked upon. It is not every issue that you discuss in the open.
There are certain security issues that you do not discuss in the open.
As the Commander-in-Chief, if the President saw what he should do and
did not fail to do it, by law, I think he would be right. That all money
should be appropriated by the National Assembly does not have to do
with all security matters.
This administration said it met the Excess Crude Account
red. How do you justify that considering that oil sold for about $100 or
more at the time Jonathan was the President?
At the time that Buhari took over, he met on ground almost $30bn in
Excess Crude Account. The account was not in red. Do not forget that
before we left office, the price of oil had dipped to about $40 per
barrel and Jonathan was still paying salaries. Jonathan’s government is
the only government that did such a tremendous work on Nigerian roads so
far than any other government. A lot of money was spent on
infrastructure and we still left a substantial amount of money on
ground. It is incorrect for anybody to say that he met the account red.
There was almost $30bn that was left in the Excess Crude Account.
Why was it Dasuki’s function to share money among party
chieftains, even though he only played an advisory role and his office
should ordinarily have nothing to do with public funds?
I would not want to go into details but again, when you talk of
presidential system of government, its officials could be charged with
certain responsibilities. One would not know what transpired between
Dasuki and the Presidency that time to actually know if he was being
asked to play certain roles and do certain things. But again, even as we
are talking, under this government, there are certain key government
officials by virtue of their postings or the trust the president has in
them, the president may decide to assign certain responsibilities to
them. It is normal in governance.
I am not saying that Dasuki was being sent. I am not confirming that
but where it happened, I am saying that it is obtainable. So there is
nothing spectacular about a certain key government official discharging a
responsibility that is even beyond his sphere of jurisdiction if Mr.
President asked him to do it. It is even happening now under Buhari
administration. There are certain key officials maybe in Villa that play
certain key roles on the basis of trust invested in them by the
President. So it is allowed. At the state level, it happens and it is
also allowed.
It is believed that Dasuki’s office was used by Jonathan as a conduit to steal from Nigerians.
The law court will handle that one. It is still an allegation. Dasuki
is still a suspect and he is not yet convicted, so I cannot confirm
that. I think we should allow the law court to handle it.
Nigerians are saying that Jonathan deliberately allowed
the Boko Haram menace to fester by not buying the necessary arms and
ammunition.
That is a very unpatriotic statement. Anybody that believed that
Jonathan did not buy arms for the soldiers obviously is not fair. So
were all the communities recovered done on account of carrots and stones
the soldiers used? I think people should be fair to Jonathan for God’s
sake. There cannot be any perfect government. Terrorism is a global
phenomenon. It is not peculiar to Nigeria, even in advanced democracies.
France and others are facing challenges. As long as Nigeria will not
remain united, and will allow ethnicity, religion and some other issues
to block our vision, democracy will not have all its benefits. We must
confront terrorism totally. For people to say that Jonathan just sent
soldiers to go and die is not fair. Jonathan swore to defend the
Nigerian territory, and he did that to the best of his knowledge. So
such a statement, to me, is unpatriotic. It is not a statement that
should bind us together as a people. People should appreciate what
Jonathan has done.
During the election, for the three weeks, we did not record one case
of insurgency in the North East. Are you saying that Jonathan did not do
anything in recovering so many villages? Even some of the villages and
local governments that the APC are claiming now, were recovered under
Jonathan. What are we saying for God’s sake? We should be fair enough.
Where a government did not do well, it should be constructively
criticised but where it has done well, it should be appreciated for
doing well.
If there is anybody that loves peace so much and wanted to restore
peace to Nigeria, I think that person was Jonathan. It was on that basis
that he handed over power to the present government.
Dasuki specifically asked for six weeks for the
postponement of the general elections to fight Boko Haram and the impact
within the period was tremendous. How do you explain that?
Yes, there were some issues. When you look at the conduct of
elections, the postponement was justified. As at the time the election
was postponed, almost 40 million Nigerians had not collected their
permanent voter cards. So if the election had taken place without 40
million Nigerians voting, how do you explain that? Do you call that an
election? So I think there was a plausible reason for that postponement.
Secondly, there were security issues. Mr. President insisted that he
wanted people from Borno and Adamawa to cast their votes and he wanted
the Internally Displaced Persons to also be covered. These people should
be able to cast their votes in a simple manner. That was one of the
reasons the elections were postponed.
When the election was postponed, many of the 40 million Nigerians
that could not collect their PVCs were able to collect them. Also there
were places where voting could not be done as at that time, but after
the postponement, elections went on and there were no attacks on them. I
think Dasuki’s advice at that time was justifiable and it worked.
People were able to cast their votes and collect their PVCs and
exercised their franchise and we had peace in the North East. So at the
end of the day, the people in the IDPs were able to vote.
It is believed that Jonathan gave all his ministers money
to spend on mobilisation and campaigns ahead of the elections. Don’t
you think that you and other ministers could still be picked up to
explain how you spent your own share?
Whose perception is that? If there was any prudent man in government,
that man was Jonathan. To the best of my knowledge and I can swear with
everything, Jonathan did not give ministers money for the elections.
Quote me anywhere and at anytime. Jonathan did not give ministers money
for the elections. As a matter of fact, before the elections, Jonathan
stopped capital votes. Jonathan did not release any capital vote to any
ministry. Jonathan stopped overhead releases to ministries close to the
elections and after the elections. Jonathan did not release any overhead
to anybody.
