[size=16pt]Jonathan “Extorts” Nigerian States of N500 million Each To Fuel Presidential Campaign
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By SaharaReporters, New York

State governors of Nigeria’s dominant People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have begun to cough up a whopping N500 million each to support Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential ambitions.

Saharareporters has obtained a document which shows that the donations are a modern-day legitimized extortion of the Nigerian people, because they are mandatory. According to the document, dated December 6, 2010, six states have so far dug deep for the Jonathan/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organization. They are: Bauchi, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Katsina and Ogun.

In his letter acknowledging receipt of their contributions, Mr. Jonathan assured them he would be guided at all times by his “unwavering commitment in the common good of our nation and fear of God.”

The letter was signed by Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, Dr. Akilu Sani Indabawa.

Other letters signed by Dr. Indabawa shows that Mr. Jonathan has also started to market his influence within the PDP. In a letter dated August 19, 2010, he introduced to the Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, the well-known senior political player, Godwin Daboh Adzuana.

In carefully-coded language, the Special Adviser urges the governor to be generous to Chief Daboh: “I shall appreciate if you will grant him audience and assist him within the bounds of the law and extant regulations.”

While it is unclear how many governors have now provided Jonathan with the N500 million demanded of each of them, as many as 26 of the 36 states are known to have agreed to support him, at least in public. That means that Jonathan stands to rake in a quick and easy N13 billion from just the governors’ first cash call.

This story is breaking just as Nigerians are also learning of last week’s overnight sharing by the Jonathan government of $1billion from the Excess Crude Oil Savings Account. In another sign of the times, that New Year eve bonanza was shared in US dollars, a practice that not only undermines sovereign currency, the Naira, but is likely to encourage corruption and financial speculation.

Observers are today left wondering if the emergency were today asking whether the sharing of the $1 billion from the Excess Crude Oil Savings was designed to make the Jonathan/Sambo campaign “donations” possible and whether the donations were provided for in state budgets.

“These questions are very important,” a political analyst in Abuja told Saharareporters, “because we know that some of the states have severe fiscal difficulties and are falling behind in such areas as health and education. Where are their governors finding the funds to give to external political events?”

Another commentator said such donations ought to be approved by the House of Assembly in each state because the governor lacks the legal right to donate funds belonging to the state in such large chunks, particularly to a political organization. “Now that these stories have broken, the citizens must ask their governors to explain the management of their commonwealth,” he said.
Some of the states that have already donated to Mr. Jonathan have well-known financial woes.

• Ogun state is broke and has been looking into the possibility of raising N100 billion bonds;

• Benue State has serious economic and development challenges, including the HIV/Aids pandemic and acute water shortages. In May 2010, The News magazine reported as follows about Benue: "The shortage is particularly acute in Makurdi, the state capital, where a substantial part of the over 600,000 residents are forced to rely on untreated water from boreholes, water tankers, streams and water vendors, popularly called mai-ruwa;"

• Cross River State has an internal refugee crisis due to communal clashes;

• In the Ebonyi State budget speech just weeks ago, the governor said, “The major revenue base of the state in 2011 fiscal year still remains our share from the Federation Account. This is estimated at N27.32 billion or 45 per cent of the total revenue." It is of great irony that a state which has admitted to local sources of revenue is donating what is coming in from the Federation Account to an external political organization.

This afternoon, Cletus Akwanya, an aide to Benue’s Governor Suswan, told Saharareporters the state did not give the Jonathan/Sambo campaign organization the money in question, calling the document “fake” and also saying that the governor was yet to receive a copy of the letter.

Mr. Indabawa, who is reportedly campaigning in Delta State with Mr. Jonathan, did not answer our calls or text messages requesting his side of the story.Letter of AppreciationOhakim's Letter of introduction to Godwin Daboh Adzuana




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Documents showing proofs are on SRs website. Go see for yourself. Just click the link above.

I am not surprised "it is pure insanity to expect good to come out evil" How i wish Nigerians can wake up and realise these imbeclies we call leaders dont mean well for Nigeria it is business as usual fro the corrupt politicians and one wonders why GEJ would turn a blind eye to the mess happening in ogun state and support an election rigger in Delta. It is unfortunate that if things dont change for the better we will remain in darkness till eternity.

Oh Dear, Oh Dear Oh dear !!! Would anything thing good come out of this man called Goodluck, on the contrary it is bad , bad and bad.

I dont know what else to say except that his supporters here on NL would still not see beyond their noses to the emptiness of this man GEJ. It is the same old story with all these PDP people.

Let us vote for Buhari, Ribadu or Utomi and not this rogues who have mortgaged the future of generations of of Nigerians.

Another 4 years of this zoologist(botanist or whatever he his) will spell doom for our country, he just doesnt have a clue what governance is all about. Let us send him back to his professiong of managing animals at the zoo !!

Would any sane Nigerian vote for this man. . .?

Even if GEJ is the holiest man on Earth, there is no way he will do anything tangibly good with all the CONVICTED AND UN-CONVICTED thieves in PDD!