Photos of Aisha Buhari with other first ladies at the D-8 summit

Aisha Buhari joined wives of presidents of other D-8 countries at a luncheon in Istanbul, Turkey yesterday October 20th. See more photos below 

President Jacob Zuma given until November 30 to defend corruption charges against him

Coming after South Africa’s  Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) struck out an application by President Jacob Zuma and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to appeal a High Court ruling that the 2009 decision to drop 18 corruption charges against him was irrational, following charges related to Zuma’s alleged involvement in the country’s multi-billion rand arms deal, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) told Zuma yesterday that it will only consider new representations on why he should not face corruption charges on November 30, 2017.

NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku gave a detailed timeline for Zuma’s possible prosecution, including that he has until November 30 to make representations as to why the prosecuting authority should not charge him with corruption.

“The NDPP (National Director of Public Prosecutions) is of the view that, in light of the judgment of the SCA, it appears that any further representations envisaged by Mr Zuma should relate to issues not previously considered,” Mfaku said in a statement.

On April 6, 2009, then-NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe said recordings of telephone conversations between then-Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy and former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka showed political interference in the decision to charge Zuma who was recently honored with a statue by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State.

Family of Monkeypox victim who committed suicide in Bayelsa blasts hospital

The identity of the Monkeypox victim who committed suicide in Bayelsa State, has been revealed after his family blasted the hospital the man was in.





According to a new report by The Nation newspaper, the Monkeypox victim who committed suicide at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Okolobiri in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State has been identified as Mr. Perekebina Biu.

Biu was receiving treatment in the isolation ward of the hospital when he reportedly hanged himself with a rope.

It was gathered that the deceased until the incident was the Treasurer of the Agbere Youth body in Sagbama Local Government Area and was married with three children.

His father, it was learnt, hails from Patani in Delta state while his mother is from Agbere community.




Agbere was reportedly recovering from the Monkeypox disease he contracted in Yenagoa before he took his life.

Family sources, who spoke in confidence to The Nation, blasted the management of NDUTH.

They accused the hospital management of negligence wondering how a patient in a quarantine centre could take his life easily without the knowledge of doctors and nurses.

A source said:

“The late victim was in the hospital for treatment. And he was responding to treatment though. But come to think about it, how did it happen?
“The Monkeypox victims were supposed to be in an isolated area. Where were the Doctors, nurses and other staff? Where did he get the rope? The hospital management has a question to answer.”
The deceased, according to family sources had no record of a mental case.

The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu, had said the deceased was among the 21 suspected cases of ‘Monkeypox’ that were being managed at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH).

He expressed regret that the patient took his own life despite speedily recovering from the disease.

He sympathised with the family and said that a committee had been put in place to evaluate his past and recent clinical and social history. Adding that the examination would determine “if there were undisclosed mental illness or personal family problem that could have justified the suicide”.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki appoints former INEC secretary as new Chief of Staff

Former secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed has been appointed Chief of Staff to Nigeria’s Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

In a statement issued in Abuja by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Senate President, Yusuph Olaniyonu, he said the appointment takes immediate effect.

Until his appointment, the 61-year-old public servant was permanent Secretary at various times in the Presidency and later Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Another Nominee Of President Buhari Turns Down Ambassadorial Offer

There was mild drama yesterday in the Senate as another nominee of President Muhammadu Buhari, Professor Akintunde Akinwande, failed to turn up for screening as Chairman, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC.


This came barely 48 hours after minister and deputy governor of Plateau State, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, turned down her ambassadorial nomination for lack of consultation.

Professor Akinwande also refused to furnish the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, headed by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, PDP, Abia South, with his date of birth, qualifications, specialization, post-graduate experience and National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.

In a list of nominees circulated by the committee, it was only Akinwade’s column that records of date of birth, qualification, specialization, experience and certificate of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, were missing. The other six nominees provided the information to the committee for perusal and the vital information would have been a prelude to Akinwande’s screening and other nominees for the commission.

A source told Vanguard that Akinwande turned down the nomination “because he was not consulted before the nomination was made and was not ready to leave his present businesses to take up the job.’’

I once said that I was not elected President of Nigeria to spread poverty, I was elected to generate and spread wealth-Former Pres. Goodluck Jonathan at the Oxford Union

Former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Monday spoke at the Oxford Union, succeeding US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who spoke at the same event in May this year.
Speaking on the theme 'Fostering Youth Entrepreneurship, Dr. Jonathan, whose speech was streamed live, said:

"I once said that I was not elected President of Nigeria to spread poverty, I was elected to generate and spread wealth." 'My belief in this regard is that getting a job or being a worker cannot completely cure the disease of poverty. It is only your own business that can provide such security and give you the financial freedom you need to prosper."

Dr. Jonathan asked the esteemed audience some questions during his speech which included; 

"Why are some nations rich and some poor?

Why do individuals that grow up in similar circumstances end up differently, with some as successes and others as failures?

Is the wealth of nations a result of geography, weather, culture, destiny, etc.?

What could a leader do to effectively lift a people out of the depths of poverty, and enable them to achieve prosperity?"

The former Nigerian leader talked about youth entrepreneurship programs his administration pioneered saying that one of them, YouWIN was a major plank of his job creation efforts.

"The motivation for this program is for young people to go into SMEs, create jobs for other young people with the expectation that some would grow to large scale businesses" Dr. Jonathan said.

Police recover 19 cars, SUVs from ex-IG Arase

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered an investigation into the purchase and distribution of vehicles by his predecessors.
It was gathered that the probe was informed by the discovery that retiring officers, including former  IGs and Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, were in the habit of appropriating police vehicles for their personal use.

Findings on Sunday show that the probe, which is being handled by the Special Investigation Panel, had identified and recovered 19 police vehicles from former IG, Solomon Arase.

Some of the vehicles include assorted sedans, Sports Utility Vehicles and pick-up vans.

The vehicles, it was learnt, were apart from the four vehicles he was entitled to take away with him on retirement.

A senior officer, who is familiar with the investigation, said the SIP was still working to recover five additional vehicles from the former police boss.

It was learnt that the SIP, headed by Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Ali Amodu, (retd.), had also recovered a number of police vehicles from other retired DIGs.

The recovered vehicles were said to have been distributed to newly promoted Commissioners of Police and AIGs.

The source said, “We are making progress in our investigations. We were able to trace 24 vehicles to the former IG and we have recovered 19 already. He has yet to release the remaining five, but we won’t let up until we recover all the vehicles. We have pictures of the vehicles and they have been documented, so he can’t deny it, the recovery is a fact.”

Arase had earlier denied taking away 24 vehicles when his successor, Idris, made the allegation during an interview with journalists on July 18, 2016, shortly after he assumed office.

Idris had further alleged that the seven DIGs, who retired alongside Arase, also carted away between seven and eight cars each.

Arase, however, denied the allegations of his successor, saying he did not go away with any police vehicle.

He said,

“What am I going to do with 24 cars? Do I want to open a car shop? This is a malicious accusation. There are ways of verifying issues rather than engaging in media propaganda.”

Arase said all vehicles bought by the police under him were distributed to the state commands and other appropriate units of the Nigeria Police Force.

Former minister, Obanikoro offers to refund N785m slush fund

Embattled former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro may soon be let out of custody by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following indications that he has agreed to make refunds of the money he allegedly collected from the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA).

The anti-graft agency accused the ex-minister of collecting N785 million from ONSA while in office. His friends and associates are understood to be rallying around him to raise the funds as a first step to secure his bail..
Obanikoro is understood to be targeting  N100 million as first installment  of the refund.
From ONSA, about N4.685 billon was transferred to Sylva McNamara Limited, a company allegedly linked to the ex-Minister.

Obanikoro told EFCC interrogators  that N3.880 billion of the N4.685 billion was allocated to Governor Ayodele Fayose  of Ekiti State  and  Senator Iyiola Omisore.

He also said he handed over $5.377 million (about N60 million then) cash to Fayose at Spotless Hotel, Ado-Ekiti in the presence of the former Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Dr. Tope Aluko and other party stalwarts.

He said the balance of N785 million was expended on alleged anti-Boko Haram campaign in Lagos and the South-West.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The ex-minister has been cooperating with detectives and he appears willing to refund some cash out of the N785 million traced to Sylvan McNamara.

“I think his associates and friends have rallied around him, having discovered that the bulk of the cash from ONSA went to Fayose and Omisore.

“I think he might initially refund N100 million to get bail reprieve in order to prevail on others who benefited from the N785 million to repay the slush funds.

“The refund is one of the issues delaying the granting of bail to the ex-minister.”

Obanikoro had said:  “The balance of N785 milion were used to prosecute the following: 1. procurement of souvenirs for the promotion of anti-Boko Haram insurgency in Lagos; 2. N200million for surveillance activities; 3. N200 million and other remaining funds were for operations managed by Taiwo Kareem.

Rotimi Amaechi asked me to help nullify Fayose’s election - Judge

Another Justice of the Supreme Court yesterday accused Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi and Science Minister Ogbonnaiya Onu of being the architect of his travails.

Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, who was arrested by Department of State Services (DSS) operatives for alleged corruption, blamed it all on his refusal to cooperate with the duo, who he said had requested him to influence some electoral cases in their favour.

He alleged that Amaechi and Onu asked him to assist them in relation to the governorship election disputes in Ekiti and Ebonyi states.

Justice Ngwuta alleged that Amaechi, who claimed to be acting on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, wanted him to facilitate the annulment of Ayodele Fayose’s election so that Kayode Fayemi (Minister of Solid Mineral) could participate in a rerun election.

Justice Inyang Okoro has also accused Amaechi of trying to bribe him. Justice Ngwuta said Onu had sought his help to facilitate the victory of the Labour Party (LP) candidate in the Ebonyi State governorship election dispute.

Justice Nqwuta, in his October 18, 2016 letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, accused DSS operatives of planting the money they claimed to have recovered in his home there.

“My Noble Lord, I am a victim of my own resolve never to violate my sacred oath of office as a judicial officer.  Politicians and their collaborators have been hunting me on that account. 

It started in Ebonyi State where I was falsely accused before a panel set up by NJC in August 2000.  It was replicated in 2009 when I was pulled from my division, Calabar, to preside over a motion filed by Senator Andy Uba seeking to be a Governor without going through the process of election.  In each case I was exonerated. 

My present plight started sometime between 2013 and 2014.  I represented the then Chief Justice of Nigeria in an event organised in the International Conference Centre.  Hon. Rotimi Amaechi came in late and sat next to me at the high table. 

He introduced himself to me and we exchanged contacts.  A few weeks after, Fayose’s case was determined in the Court of Appeal.  Amaechi called me by 6.45 am.  He said he had come to see me, but was told I had left for my office. 

When he said he would return in the evening, I demanded to know what he wanted, but he would not tell me.  He did not come that evening but came the following morning when I was already prepared to go to work. 

He begged me to ensure that Fayose’s election was set aside and another election ordered for his friend Fayemi to contest.  I told him I would not help him and that even if I am on the panel I have only my one vote. 

After the Rivers State governorship election was determined by the Court of Appeal, he called to tell me his ears were full and he would like to tell me what he heard.  I told him I was out of Abuja at the time. 

On my return, he came in the evening and even before he sat down he barked ‘You have seen Wike’.  I asked him whether that was a question or a statement.  Then he made a call and asked me to speak with someone.  The man he called said he was a DSS man.  We exchanged greetings and I handed the phone to him. 

Next, he said ‘Oga is not happy.’  I asked him who is the unhappy ‘Oga’ and he answered ‘Buhari’.  I retorted ‘go and talk to his wife.’  He got very angry, and left, remarking ‘we shall see’ several times. 

Your Lordship may recall one morning when I pleaded not be on the panel for Rivers Appeal.  Your Lordship said I was already on the panel and asked me to explain why I made the request to be excluded. 

When I explained what transpired the previous night, Your Lordship told me Amaechi had also attempted to influence other Justices.  My Lord, on the day we heard the appeal with your Lordship presiding, we were allowed lunch break at 4.20 pm. 

The moment I got into my chambers he, Amaechi, called.  When he told who was calling, I said to him, ‘Your Excellency, you want to issue more threats?’  He replied Have you been threatened before?’  I replied ‘I know a threat when I hear one even if veiled. In any case I will not talk to you’ and I switched off my phone. 

 The people who failed in their attempt to destroy me in Ebonyi in 2000 and in Enugu in Andy Uba’s case in the Court of Appeal, Enugu in 2009 are now supplying Amaechi with information to fight me for my negative response to his demands, especially my answer to his statement that ‘Oga was not happy.’

On the role allegedly played by Dr. Onu, Justice Ngwuta added:

“When the governorship election appeal from my state, Ebonyi, came to the Court of Appeal, one Mr. Igwenyi, a senior staff of Federal Judicial Service Commission came to my chambers and told me that the former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu had pleaded with him to convince me to see him, Dr. Onu. 

I asked him to call Dr. Onu; he did and I wanted to know why he wanted to see me.  He said it was confidential.  I asked when he wanted to see me and he said he would like me to come in the evening.  I told Igwenyi that he would have to take me to Dr. Onu in his car and bring me back. 

I had wanted him to listen to what Dr. Onu had to say, but when we arrived, Dr Onu put him in a different room.  He asked me whether I know the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal and I told him that His Lordship was my Presiding Justice in the Court of Appeal, Benin division. 

He asked of my relationship with the PJA and I said it was cordial.  He nodded his head several times in apparent satisfaction.  

He told me that the candidate for the Labour Party was ready to switch over to APC if he could help him win the appeal in the Court of Appeal and that in appreciation of the undertaking to come over to his party, he had obtained the services of three Justices of the Court of Appeal to ensure victory for Labour Party. 

He said he needed one to convince the PJA to include his three Justices of the Court of Appeal in the five-man panel to hear the appeal.  I told him I would not help him and that I could not in good conscience convey such request even to a Customary Court Judge. 

He was disappointed and asked me whether I knew the husband of the PJA.  I told him I did not know the man.  I bid him good night and left.  Igwenyi joined me in the passage and when he drove me back to my home I told him what Dr. Onu wanted.  Igwenyi apologised to me and assured me that he would not have bothered me if he had known what Dr. Onu wanted me to do."

See faces of the boys Fulani herdsmen reportedly pay 15k for every attack in Godogodo and Gwonto

According to United Against Fulani Herdsmen Invasion on Facebook these boys are allegedly paid 15,000 by Fulani herdsmen for every attack in Godogodo & Gwonto.

Both are from Kagoro in Southern Kaduna Kaura LGA, and were nabbed and lead to all the villages.

Donald Trump Not Sure He'll Accept Election Results If Hillary Clinton Wins

With just twenty days to go, Donald Trump stated he doesn't know if he'll accept the election results should  Hillary Clinton emerge winner .Speaking in Las Vegas at their final debate, when asked if he would absolutely accept the result of the election, Mr Trump responded.

; “I will look at it at the time. I am not looking at anything now. What I have seen is so bad”, he said, claiming that the media are so dishonest and corrupt."I will tell you at the time, I will keep you in suspense,

 Mrs Clinton responded by accusing him of attacking American democracy and at one point called him a “puppet” of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.

"Let's be clear about what he is saying and what that means: He is denigrating, he is talking down our democracy and I for one am appalled that someone who is the nominee for one of our two major parties would take that position."

“This is a mindset and this is how Donald thinks. It is funny but it is also troubling. That is not the way our democracy works. We have been around for 240 years. We have had free and fair elections and we have accepted the outcome and that is what is expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election”.

Immediately after the debate, Republican officials told reporters that the party leadership would accept the result and insisted that their candidate would too

Mr Trump repeatedly called Mrs Clinton a "nasty woman”, while the Democrat described him as "unfit" to be commander in chief.

I Have My Right To Say How I Feel" - Aisha Buhari Replies Her Husband Again..

This whole saga is about 'political power', inside sources have told OluFamous.Com. Aisha Buhari is not happy that Mr President did not allow her have office of First Lady for her to wield power. But in all their marriage is suffering and things could get even worse if not resolved immediately.

Rather than allow for peace, Aisha Buhari has granted another hot interview.

Recalled that she had granted an interview a week ago in which she suggested her husband’s administration had been hijacked. She claimed President Muhammad Buhari did not know more than half the people he had appointed and some of the appointees did not share his vision.

Perhaps the most explosive part of the interview was her assertion that without any major changes, she would not support him for a second term bid come 2019.

President Buhari reacted to his wife’s statement while on an official trip to Germany. His attempt to make a joke of the situation backfired as he claimed she belonged to his ‘kitchen and other rooms’.

Well, some political leaders in APC have been talking to Aisha on phone but she's not backing down and in a new interview with the same BBC, she reiterating her concerns.

“I have my own right to say how I feel about something,” Aisha declared in English and criticized her husband again in the new interview.

I Was Arrested For Granting Dasuki Bail - Justice Ademola

In the early hours of Saturday, October 8, 2016, theDepartment of State Services (DSS) stormed the houses of some judges and arrested them.

Many Nigerians also condemned the action of the security agency, describing it as unconstitutional.

In the heat of all the condemnation, the DSS issued a statement accusing the judges of fraud and professional misconduct.

One of the judges in the eye of the storm, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, has alleged that he was arrested for granting bail to the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki.

Justice Ademola also said the DSS was intimidating him because he ordered the release of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

He also alleged that he was told that one of the reasons he was arrested was because he allegedly used his position office to make his wife the head of civil service, through Senator Bola Tinubu.

According to Daily Post, the judge, in a letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mahmoud Mohammed, said “…Upon signing the document, they told me that I am under arrest and ordered me with guns still pointed at me to move outside. As I was going, they told me they were taking me to their office, Department of State Services (DSS) office, without showing any warrant of arrest.

“I obeyed them and about six o’clock in the morning, I was whisked away from my residence to the DSS office without any warrant of arrest or reason for my arrest.

“From the time of my arrival at the DSS office, at about 6:45am on 8/10/2016, I was not told what my crime was for over 24 hours till the evening of 9/10/2016.

“A DSS officiall finally informed me that my arrest were based on these three allegations; petition of Hon. Jenkins Duvie dated 4th of April 2016 to the National Judicial Council (NJC); granting bail to Col. Sambo Dasuki and the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu; and using my office to secure my wife’s appointment as the head of civil service, through Senator Bola Tinubu.”

Justice Ademola also alleged that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami masterminded his arrest.

culled - pulseng.

If things continue like this, I will not go out and campaign again in 2019 - Aisha Buhari

In an interview with Naziru Mikailu of BBC Hausa, Mrs Buhari has said she will not campaign with her husband in 2019 if things continue the way it is.
She said people who did not share the vision of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were now appointed to top posts because of the influence a "few people" wield. Read after the cut...

"Some people are sitting down in their homes folding their arms only for them to be called to come and head an agency or a ministerial position."

Asked to name those who had hijacked the government, she refused, saying:

"You will know them if you watch television."

On whether the president was in charge, she said:

"That is left for the people to decide."

Mrs Buhari said her husband had not told her whether he would contest the 2019 election.

"He is yet to tell me but I have decided as his wife, that if things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote like I did before. I will never do it again."

Asked what she regarded as the government's major achievement, she said it was to improve security in the north-east where militant Islamist group Boko Haram has waged an insurgency since 2009.

"No-one is complaining about being attacked in their own homes. Thankfully everyone can walk around freely, go to places of worship, etc. Even kids in Maiduguri have returned to schools," 

Mrs Buhari said, referring to the city which was once the headquarters of the militant group.

Buhari's close friends won't be spared in the fight against corruption -Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that president Buhari's friends and associates will not be exempted from the anti-corruption war.
Speaking during a special interview session with journalists at the presidential villa on Tuesday, the Vice President said: 

“The major drain on the country’s resources. No one would be spared in the fight against corruption because, even the close friends of the President know that they will not be spared; he will not cover for them. Fighting corruption is a priority”. 

Osinbajo also revealed that 200,000 unemployed graduates had been selected to be engaged by the federal government under the N-power jobs Programme.

 “We expect that before the end of the month, we will engage 200, 000,” out of the 500,000 unemployed graduates the Buhari administration plans to hire in the N-Power jobs programme.”

The lack of vision by APC, incompetence and poor handling of Economy has caused recession, not Dr. Jonathan, says the PDP

Read the press statement below...

Our attention has once again been drawn to the recent inconsiderate statement attributed to the Governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru and similar comments from people of like minds to the effect that the previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Administration was responsible for the current Economic Recession.

It is really disappointing that a notable personality as highly placed as a State Governor could be drawn into making idle and pedestrian claims without the benefit of facts. It is either he does not realize the obligation of speaking responsibly in that position or he is grossly ill-informed; in which case, we could only try to put the facts before him, and hoping he would recognize them.

In the first place, this blame is misplaced because our elementary understanding of economics teaches us that the major cause of recession is inflation and poor handling of the economy given that the higher the rate of inflation, the more impoverished people become, industrial production and GDP decline resulting in massive job losses. Perhaps we should quote those who should know and tell Governor Badaru that wrong economic policies of the All Progressive Congress (APC)-led Government caused the current stagnation and recession in the Country.

Larry Ettah, President of the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) did not mince words when he said few days ago that, “It is quite evident that the lack of clarity about the economic agenda of the current government contributed to the current economic stagnation and recession.” He said further, “In recent times at our AGMs, we have variously described our operating environment as challenging, unpredictable, unstable and energy sapping. These words are of course, true and descriptive of what our members have experienced in keeping their businesses afloat.”

However beyond that, we make bold to tell Governor Badaru that Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party Government saw this coming since 2011, and wanted to deregulate the sale of hydrocarbons in 2012, but Badaru and his co-travellers who are now in the All Progressives Congress (APC) frustrated the effort. The former Administration also wanted to encourage more savings in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) and set up the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) but the Badarus of this world who play politics with serious national issues and were state governors at the time took the Federal Government to Court and did everything to frustrate the effort. Thank God some of them are among the ‘best brains’ in the APC Federal Government of today.

Governor Badaru should know that you can't plant grapes and harvest mangoes. It is no secret that the policies and statements made by key government actors have not been business friendly and Nigerians and foreign business men took their hard currencies out of the Country. When professionals were advising the Government to woo investors, characters like Badaru were busy de-marketing Nigeria all over the world. They should be reminded that great leaders take over countries either in recession or war and still succeed in turning them around; quite unlike the prevailing situation where a Ruling Party plunges the Economy into an avoidable recession, only to turn round and begin to whine helplessly like a baby.

World history is full of many examples where genuine leaders take over countries whose economies are stagnated and move them to positive growth. Like Franklin D. Roosevelt, the President who ruled the United States from a wheel chair during the time of unprecedented economic depression and total war, introduced an ambitious programme for  relief, recovery and reform called “the Great Deal”, which began to yield considerable dividends in weeks and Americans are the better for it today.

In his first hundred days in office in 1933, Roosevelt was reputed to have renewed the American spirit and optimism by immediately addressing the effects of the depression. Through the Great Deal, he introduced a variety of programmes targeted at getting Americans back to work, provide relief for the vulnerable, get industry and agriculture back on their feet, and engender accelerated recovery and economic growth. Or, how about the recent change of government in the United Kingdom where the new Prime Minister, Theresa May formed her Cabinet within hours to ensure that the doubts arising from the uncertainty of Brexit Vote do not get the better of her citizens?

Badaru and those who still think like him should tell Nigerians the character of the economic team in place that has been managing the Nation's economy since 29th of May 2015. This ‘economic management policy’ of unhealthy propaganda and blaming the previous administration ceaselessly, will not take us anywhere.

Will Badaru and his Party men continue to blame Jonathan and the PDP ‘till 2019 and use Jonathan for the 2019 campaign instead of showing their scorecard? The good thing is that Nigerians who were being hoodwinked at first, are now seeing through the deception of this
unending blame game. It is on record that one APC governor after his inauguration for his second tenure publicly announced that he inherited an empty treasury. He was quickly reminded that he couldn't have inherited empty treasury from himself. This unfortunately, is the face of the comedy and farce that now characterize governors and governance in this Country. Any dispassionate assessment of economic performance under Jonathan would obviously frown at Governor Badaru’s type of impulsive conclusion without recourse to the strong macroeconomic fundamentals recorded under Jonathan, which laid the foundation for meaningful growth.

In particular, despite interfering global downturn, the overall real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate stood at an average of 5%, a growth that was largely driven by the non-oil sector in line with the success of the diversification effort of the Administration. There is no doubt that there was obvious improvement in inflation pressure which stood at a single digit and provided the stability and guarantees needed for the economy to remain stable. It actually borders on ignorance to claim that no cost cutting measures were introduced when the Jonathan Administration in one sector was able to reduce its food import bill from well over N1t to N684.7b as at December 2013 and subsequently cut it further down with improvements in local food production. Where was the Governor when Jonathan’s Administration embarked on comprehensive reforms in different sectors towards infrastructural renewal, promotion of sustainable development and the growth of the Nation’s economy to become the largest in Africa?

Did he ever wonder why despite the “signals towards end of 2013 to 2014”, as rightly identified by the Governor to be the beginning of hard times, the economy remained stable with single digit inflation during those periods?

Let Gov. Badaru be reminded that it was because of the milestones recorded in the local production of rice and other staple food that ensured robust local supply and remarkable progression which limited the demand for scarce foreign exchange needed for importation. We would be disappointed if the Governor was oblivious of what was happening around him in the area of agricultural revolution; especially, as farmers from his part of the Country openly expressed their support and gains from these initiatives. Again, when he said that “the past leaders did nothing to stop a looming recession”, we have no choice but rise to put the facts right. Less we forget when the Senate approved $52 benchmark for the Administration’s last Budget at a time Oil was selling for about $60 and crashing further, the Government did not just sit down and watch events unfold. Under the leadership of the Finance Ministry, the Administration developed a scenario-based fiscal template with definite responses designed to track and tackle varying challenges in the volatility regime.

We should also remind Badaru that the recent visit of the Facebook Founder, Mark Zukerberg to the Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) in Yaba, Lagos State, wouldn’t have happened if Jonathan did not have the Vision to set up the two ICT incubation centers in Lagos and Calabar. The former President built the Centers in support of youth entrepreneurship, just as he did with other successful youth-focused programmes like the Youth Enterprise with Innovation (YOUWIN) and the Nagropreneur Initiative that turned agriculture into an attractive industry for youths.

Need we remind the Governor that all these were possible because of the performance contract model Jonathan developed for his ministers where key performance indicators (KPI) were jointly agreed and signed against which each minister’s measurable effectiveness was benchmarked?


In view of the above submissions, it is clear that the current economic recession in the Country was not caused by previous PDP's Administration or leaders but due to the poor management of Nigeria's economy, lack of vision and incompetence of the present APC's led Federal Government that drove Nigerians into this avoidable life threatening quagmire.

Finally, we want to therefore advise the Government of the day to stop the blame game and look inward towards resolving the recession by inviting economic experts irrespective of their political leaning to join hands with the Administration at these trying times.

Signed:

Prince Dayo Adeyeye
PDP National Publicity Secretary

Buhari, the barking is over, it's time to bite - Dino Melaye...seeks sack of Udoma, Adeosun, Emefiele

Read the statement below...

Deeply worried by the poor state of the economy which has brought unprecedented hardship and hunger on the masses of the Nigerian people, a federal lawmaker, Senator Dino Melaye (APC Kogi West) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent and drastic measures, including the immediate sack of three prominent members of his Economic Team as the solution-precedent to reboot the ailing economy.

In a Statement in Abuja Sunday, Melaye said the President must shake up his Cabinet, and accused most of the members of gross incompetence, inexcusable ineptitude and a distressing lack of capacity to deliver on the mandate of their ministries/Agencies.

Those to face the axe immediately if the economy must be effectively rebooted to deliver on the Change Agenda of the present administration, in the estimation  of Melaye include the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, Budget and National Planning Minister, Senator Udoma  Udo Udoma and the governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele. 

" At the moment, it must be crystal clear to all discerning minds that the President's widely-acclaimed magical body language has lost its presumed  aura and efficacy. His  no-nonsense demeanor is equally neither instilling fear nor commanding respect and loyalty from amongst his cabinet members. It is therefore obvious that the time for barking is over, now is the time to bite and boot out all those who have demonstrated, in the past several months, a crass lack of capacity to effectively carry out the functions of their office", Melaye declared, stressing:

" The Finance Minister has not only displayed gross incompetence on the Job, she also lacks the basic and rudimentary grasp of economic fundamentals necessary to run a critical sector of the Nigerian economy like the Finance Ministry. It is time for her to go now and pave way for a qualified and experienced person to steer the Nigerian economy away from the dark woods it has sunk presently under her stewardship".

On Udoma Udo Udoma, he stated : "To be sure, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma is a very charismatic man, an accomplished lawyer, and a quintessential gentleman with a fairly untainted reputation. In everyday parlance, he is a good man. But the critical job of Budget and National Planning Minister for a huge country like Nigeria, with her prevailing economic challenges requires much more than being a good man with a great personality. 

"It is for someone with the relevant qualification, professional knowledge and experience in public sector finance, development economics, strategic thinking, budgetary planning and management. As a lawyer, accomplished in this field as he is, Udoma's appointment to that position is nepotism taken to very ridiculous heights; and a classic case of putting round pegs in square holes-it will, and can never fit. It is akin to saddling a carpenter with a tailor's responsibility. The outcome under the circumstances, as has become evidently clear, is bound to be catastrophic for the economy. President Buhari must therefore do the needful now by relieving Udoma of this huge burden that is constituting a clog to the revival of the Nigerian economy", the lawmaker declared.

On the CBN governor, Senator Melaye pointed to his disastrous handling and release of the so-called Dasuki-gate funds which amounts to about 15 per cent of the nation's foreign reserves, policy flip-flops, summersaults and inconsistencies as clear evidence of gross incompetence in the management of the nation's fiscal and monetary policies. The net effect of this inconceivable ineptitude on the part of Emefiele, according to Melaye is the free fall in the value of the naira and the total loss of faith and confidence by the international community on the Nigerian economy.

To reverse this trend, Melaye says President Buhari must muster the courage to wield the big stick and give Emefiele the boot, to be replaced by a fiscal and monetary policy guru. "We have these qualified Nigerians in abundance, and the President must beam his searchlight to find them to help him, the Nigerian economy as well as the suffering Nigerian masses".

He further called on the President to immediately discountenance the Economic Team currently under the supervision of the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo "as their decisions will not be; and has never been respected by the economic managers and the bureaucracy in Nigeria". In its stead, Melaye urged the President to constitute an "Emergency Ad hoc Economic Team" made up of all former Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, CBN Governors as well as members drawn from the academia with "deep knowledge of developmental economics to drive the economic revival programme"! 

"The President must immediately transit from mere rhetoric to drastic but positive action to save the economy and Nigeria from total collapse. The hunger in the land is real, pervasive, widespread and debilitating for the poor masses. As I walk the streets of my constituency these days, I constantly harbor a foreboding that I could be stoned by my angry constituents for the failure of Mr President to fulfill his campaign promises and expectations to Nigerians", Melaye said, warning:

"Nigeria is tottering on a dangerous precipice, sliding perilously to a certain catastrophe if the current economic malaise is not halted immediately", he declared, even as he said his criticism is borne out of an altruistic fervour, and not a product of sour grapes akin to some traditional critics of "Every Government in Power (EGIP)".

Nigerians and Mr President, he said should be able to recall with little difficulty that "I was a permanent fixture at the All Progressive Congress (APC's) Presidential campaign rallies and events, functioning mostly as the Master of Ceremonies (MC). I am a proud APC Member, a party bonafide with a great stake in the success or failure of this administration, so no one can accuse me of sour grapes or meddlesomeness. 

"I am a truly concerned stakeholder presently bothered by the imminent, clear and present danger of a still-birth of a Change Agenda that held so much hope and promise for Nigerians a little over a year ago. While there is a lot of hunger, anger, anguish and despair currently in the land, I have a firm belief that the situation is not beyond redemption for Mr President, hence my call for urgent and drastic remedial action now", Melaye concluded.

Dist. Senator Dino Melaye
Kogi West.