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Dr. Kayode Fayemi

Though the name of the ministry has since been changed from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, observers believe that not much has changed or been witnessed in this sector full of economic potentials.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development Dr. Kayode Fayemi had on assumption of office pledged his commitment to developing the solid minerals sector, while ironically pointing at the government’s own inadequacies at identifying what is good for Nigeria and mustering the will to promote it.

He initially came across as one of the top five in Buhari’s cabinet that have the expertise and experience to see the government deliver on all its promises to the Nigerian voter.

Also, given the policy of the Buhari-administration on diversification, Nigerians expected his ministry to be in the lead in generating non-oil revenue for the nation.

He identified limited infrastructure, insufficient geological data, limited corporate federalism, illegal artisanal mining community challenges, weak institutional capacity and insufficient funding as the bane of the sector and promised to take these numerous challenges head on, and deliver on the Federal Government’s vision, of building a mining sector that Nigerians can be proud of 30 years or more from now.

However, with over a year in office, Fayemi has not recorded any visible success in addressing the challenges he identified as bedeviling the solid mineral sector.

Also, the promise by the minister to strengthen a unit of the ministry which should check such illegal activities has also not been fulfilled as the Mines Inspectorate Department is currently been faced by lack of adequate funds and manpower to carry out its functions.

Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau

A year after being appointed the minister to oversee the Ministry of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (Rtd), Nigerians are of the belief that nothing spectacular has changed in affairs of the ministry.

On resumption of office, the former Chief of Army Staff had vowed to stamp out corruption in the ministry, saying: “My leadership will have zero tolerance for corruption, indolence, sectarianism, cronyism, and most of all, impunity.” Many had expected that Dambazau’s experience and qualifications as a military officer, lawyer and academic will come in handy in overseeing the internal security of the country.

However, a year after, all the problems associated with the ministry like corruption, impunity, inefficiency, indolence, among others are still well rooted in the ministry. Under his ministry are the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Fire Service (FFS), Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC).

Cases of corruption still abound in the aforementioned services as there has been secret recruitment in agencies under Dambazau’s watch. Appointments are being given to relatives of those in the corridors of powers without following due process.

Under his watch, the country witnessed unprecedented incidents of jailbreaks. Between January and June 2016 alone, no fewer than six jailbreaks, riots and attempted jailbreaks were recorded. Prison warders have been fingered in the smuggling of illegal substances into the prison premises while others were accused of abandoning their duty posts.

Besides, there have not been any changes in the condition of prison facilities all over the country as most of them are still overcrowded with the ‘awaiting trial’ inmates still having over 70 percent of the population.

In the Immigration Service, there have been complaints of scarcity of Nigerian visas in foreign countries with most people intending to visit the country finding it difficult to undertake their journeys.

Perhaps, the only cheering news is that in the Federal Fire Service the Dambazau- led administration has ensured the procurement of new equipment for the Service.

Senator Aisha Alhassan

Senator Aisha Alhassan shot to nationwide fame while contesting for the governorship seat of Taraba State in the 2015 general elections, but her popularity soared with the close-call elections and subsequent petitions.

Shortly after her appointment, Alhassan, popularly called ‘Mama Taraba’, went into hibernation of some sorts. She was said to have taken ill and reportedly underwent orthopaedic surgery in the US.

However, Senator Alhassan’s reappearance at Aso Rock Villa and her first meet-the-press after a Federal Executive Council meeting few weeks later was a delight. Disappointment soared that Alhassan didn’t hit the ground running. She visited her home state, first, and then got to work.

The ministry was involved with a plethora of legislation affecting women and children; one prohibiting violence, another guaranteeing child rights and a third ensuring gender equality.

Her most prominent engagement has been to investigate allegations of sexual abuse of women on camps for displaced people.

Many Nigerians, however, believe that after a year in office Mama Taraba has done little to confirm the high expectations that greeted her appointment as a minister.

Geoffrey Onyeama

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, assumed office with high hope from Nigerians that the country’s battered image abroad would be redeemed and the nation would regain its true position in the comity of nations.

Onyeama had been involved in diplomatic shuttles, either with President Muhammadu Buhari or alone, globetrotting the world to meet foreign counterparts to discuss security and economic matters affecting Nigeria.

On assumption of office in Novermber 2015, Onyeama rolled out his strategy to reform Nigeria’s foreign missions, block economic leakages, expand relations with neighbouring countries to address insecurity and work closely with foreign partners to fight corruption and recover looted assets.

He had promised to set the wheel of economic diplomacy rolling, saying efforts would be made to engage Nigeria’s mission abroad and turn them into economic hub for the country’s development.

While the efforts to securing international commitment in the fight against terrorism have been largely successful, such was not the case with the repatriation of stolen assets. Though efforts had been made in this direction with series of meeting with foreign governments where Nigeria’s loots are stashed, this yielded no positive results as no money has been returned to the country.

Also, many Nigerians have always complained of the ineptitude of foreign missions’ officials to address their problems or even swiftly respond to request put forwarded to them. This has not changed significantly one year after Onyeama took over the management of the foreign ministry.

A number of Nigerians abroad have been victims of abuse in their countries of resident with some either killed extra-judicially or suffered injuries due to physical abuse, while the perpetrators, most times, were left unpunished. On economic diplomacy, checks revealed that Nigeria’s foreign missions have been unproductive in marketing the nation’s investment opportunities as there are no substantive ambassadors in place to follow up most of the actions.

Okechukwu Enelamah

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, has been overseeing a sector that is witnessing huge downturns since the start of 2016. Under Enelamah’s watch, several industries have shut down this year and many that are still operating have retrenched many workers.

Data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that in the third quarter of 2016, real Gross Domestic Product growth of the manufacturing sector slowed by 2.63 percent points to minus 4.38 percent (year-on-year) from minus 1.75 percent growth recorded in third quarter of 2015.

The Minister is also overseeing a trade sector grappling with high inflation rate, jumping from 9.6 percent recorded in January to 18.3 percent as at October, 2016, being the highest rise in prices of commodities seen in Nigeria in the past 16 years.

Until recently when he announced the readiness of his ministry to implement the National Industrial Revolution Plan, the fate of the plan had been uncertain, and the implementation delayed beyond the first quarter of the year.

Even with the announcement of the implementation of the plan, the details have remained sketchy.

Similarly, the Ministry has been dragging foot on the full implementation of the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) policy launched by the then Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, in Abuja, and witnessed by stakeholders in the textile industry and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Textile factories still remain moribund as the policy, aimed at developing the entire value chain in the industry with a target of over N566 billion export earnings, gathers dust in the Ministry’s shelves.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the printing sector also suffered a major setback under Enelamah, as the federal government banned agencies from printing souvenirs and conference materials. He failed to advise the government on the number of printers that the policy would affect.

Importers have continued to grumble under the Minister as their backlog of the suspended Export Expansion Grant (EEG) amounting to over N150 billion remained unsettled.

Health Minister’s tall promises

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole was appointed in November 2015, and when he resumed work at the ministry headquarters in Abuja on November 11, 2015, he promised to ensure changes in the health sector that will benefit Nigerians.

But over a year after, not many Nigerians have felt the changes in this critical sector.

“There are quite a number of restructuring that we need to do. We will need to look at how to work with the secondary and primary health care systems because the tertiary tier is not all that we need to promote and bring good health at the doorstep of our people, so we need to work with the state and local governments,” he stated on his first day of resumption”, she reportedly said.

Since then he has made a lot of other promises on improving healthcare for Nigerians. While few of these promises have been fulfilled many others are yet fulfilled.

The Minister had on many occasions said that the federal government would rehabilitate 10,000 primary healthcare centres within two years.

He said: “The Federal government will build, renovate and revitalise 10,000 primary health facilities in the 774 local government areas across the country.”

On May, 1 2016, the minister said during an interview on Channels Sunrise show: “We will deliver one new PHC a day delivering 101 PHCs in the 90 days from May 1…”

But the Minister has not delivered on the promise of one PHC a day; rather he set up a committee to map out all the primary health care centres in the country. Only renovations have been ongoing on in some PHCs across the country.

The health sector remains in serious distress with medical tourism at its peak. Many health workers are disgruntled and seeking greener pasture overseas even as hospitals are inadequate, ill-equipped and incapacitated to handle basic diseases.

Brig-Gen Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd)

Although Brigadier-General Muhammad Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd) surprisingly got the Defence portfolio ahead of the much popular Abdulrahman Dambazau, many Nigerians saw him as no less a distinguished military officer.

Having served as Acting Director Military Training (DMT) retired as Commander of the 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure in August, 2013 many felt he was still very much acquainted with field military operations.

But his greatest challenge in the past one year was how to motivate troops to overcome Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East. The Defence Minister had the challenge having to deliver on the December deadline to Military chiefs to flush out terrorists out of the nation.

The renewed offensive by Boko Haram which has resulted into ambush targeted at military troops in the North-East, leading to huge casualties has also raised questions over the role of the ministry in addressing security challenges.

But for the Zamfara-born retired general getting this remains a huge challenge even as oil theft, kidnappings and other security challenges such militancy in the Niger Delta have remained a hard nut to crack.

Usani Uguru

To many pundits the importance of the Niger Delta region to the coun¬try underscored the retention of this minis¬try by Buhari and the subsequent assign-ment of Pastor Usani Uguru as minister.

The creation of the ministry by the late Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration fol¬lowed the need to end militancy and devel¬op the region.

In the past one year, however, the Niger Delta ministry had faced enormous challenge deliv¬ering development in the region.

Although the Niger Delta Development Commis¬sion (NDDC) was not good enough to push the issues in the region as it was not a poli¬cy making and cabinet body, many observers say the current minister has so far failed to meet up with the security challenges there as well as rolling out and pur¬suing policies that would speed up the develop¬ment of people and environment in Niger Delta.

The activities of militants have continued to cripple the economy while the minister appears helpless. Instead of him leading the peace process in the Niger Delta, Uguru has abandoned that role to the minister of state for petroleum, Mr Ibe Kachikwu, to handle.

Chris Ngige

With a staggering unemployment market hitting over 70million, former Anambra State governor, Chris Ngige’s headache on assumption of office was how to provide jobs. As the minister for labour and employment, many believed that Ngige, an acclaimed performer had his hands full.

His major challenge had been how to deal with the army of unemployed Nigerians. The All Progressives Congress (APC) promised a monthly stipend of N5,000 each for unemployed youths, but many say Ngige’s has failed in his responsibility to deliver on this.

The labour unions have also been agitating for better working conditions even though the frequency at which the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union of Nigeria (TUC) embark on industrial actions has drastically reduced.

Ogbonnaya Onu

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, came into office with a promise to put the science and technology sector in the driver’s seat of the Federal Government’s diversification drive.

He said: “We should move from assembling to manufacturing; we are not satisfied only with assembling, we want real manufacturing here because that is what will make our economy grow, that is what will help us create jobs.”

He said the country would start producing pencils locally by 2018 and that 400,000 jobs are expected to be created through the production of pencils.

But Onu’s science and technology ministry has only succeeded in producing and commercializing high-nutrient biscuits.

However, many believed that minister is not doing enough in leading the Federal Government’s diversification drive.

Suleiman Adamu
When their names made President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list, many Nigerians, acquainted of their impressive resumes, were full of high expectations about the positive contributions they would make to the administration. But not so anymore, as just a little over a year after their appointment as ministers, they are seen to have gone into hibernation. This report spotlights those ministers that Nigerians have ‘forgotten,’ either on account of what is believed to be their poor visibility or underperformance.

On assumption of office, water resources minister, Suleiman Adamu, promised to reposition the nation’s dams for irrigation purpose in order to boost food production.

But since then, not much has been done apart from his visits to some of these dams.

He also promised that some of the dams will be used to generate electricity but this is yet to be seen.

He visited the Tiga dam in Kano State, Galman dam in Kaduna State and many other dams in Kogi, Sokoto, Anambra and Ogun States.

Apart from the visit, not much is being done to reposition the dams, even as the dry season sets in.

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/buhari-s-forgotten-ministers/175453.html#zvQg5FgkcPySOIUE.99

The wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians not to relent in their support for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as government cannot cater for them without Nigerian inputs.

Hajiya Aisha who made the plea on Saturday in Abuja at the 8th Annual Women’s’ Forum of the Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society of Nigeria (AISN) also call for intensive awareness campaign of breast cancer.

The forum had two themes: “Removing the Vulnerable Ones from the Streets, Especially the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)” and “Cancer: A Raging Pandemic”.

“The government alone cannot cater for the IDPs. All Nigerians must be involved and it goes beyond occasional donation of money and gift items, we should include them in our prayers and see that their plights are alleviated completely. Caring for the orphans and the venerable are religious duties,” said Aisha Buhari who was represented by a former President of the Nigerian Army Officers' Wives Association (NAOWA) Hajiya Maryam Salihu Ibrahim.

On the raging breast cancer among Nigerian women, the wife of the President urged women to mind what they eat, do regular exercises and medical check-ups to stay healthy.

The Director of the Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society of Nigeria Ustaz Fuad Adeyemi urged Nigerians to be patience with the present administration and to also contribute to tackling the societal challenges rather than leaving the efforts solely for the government.

While saying that many Muslims erroneously thought that women don’t pay zakat (Islam third Pillar), Adeyemi said that that women whose wealth reached the zakat ratio must pay including from gold and other designated jewelries that they used.

Dr. Hadiza Usman of the Medicaid Cancer Foundation Abuja said that early detection of breast cancer generally improves the success rates of treatment and the outcome of survival.

She said: “There is a limit to which one can prevent diseases like breast cancer, because some risk factors are not modifiable like increasing age. However paying attention to others like healthy diet and making few lifestyle changes may reduce one’s overall chances of getting cancer.

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/aisha-buhari-tasks-nigerians-on-idps-breast-cancer/175405.html#oEhZTXeuWbBr2WII.99

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The former governor, now the Minister of Solid Minerals had in 2010 during his assumption into office as governor relieved the appellants of their duties 15 months into the end of their tenures.

Fayemi had appointed caretaker committee into his government to carry out most of the functions that the local government chairmen and councilors would have done.

In a unanimous judgment read by Justice Chima Nweze, the Supreme Court held that the sack by Fayemi was illegal and unconstitutional.

Nweze ordered that the chairmen, who were unlawfully removed by the governor, to be paid their salaries and other allowances for the period they were unlawfully removed from office.

Speaking outside the court, Mr Wole Ayeni, former Chaiman, Ikole Local Government and Mr Ogunbiyi Olasunkanmi-Synergy commended the court for the good judgment.

According to them, the judiciary has come to life since this matter started many years ago.

They, therefore, commended the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/supreme-court-orders-n3-3bn-payment-to-lg-chairmen-unlawfully-removed-by-fayemi/175292.html#Rrg0bPA3mpZySpJ8.99

Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) on Friday described his quarrel with Governor Nasir el-Rufai as normal in a democracy.

Sani spoke to State House reporters after he and Senate President Bukola Saraki met behind closed-doors with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sani said: "It's a normal thing. You can be siamese twins and then you may engage in combat. You can also be twins and then you engage yourselves in disagreement and you can also be from the same house or family or same room but still disagree with each other. I think it's a normal thing in democracy to disagree."

He dismissed his reported suspension from the All Progressives Congress, saying "I cannot be suspended. I'm unsuspendable, if there is any word like that. I remain a member of my party. If you simply feel uncomfortable with my words, all you can do is to simply put some cotton on your ears so that it can block it and if you're not comfortable with seeing me physically, you simply need to use sunglasses.

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/politics/shehu-sani-meets-buhari-says-i-cannot-be-suspended/175277.html#IzliWGYU0z7XteGe.99

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RIP

Congrats...

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EFCC agency of APC!

another job scam...

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good one...

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has urged the federal government to adopt an aggressive policy against foreign countries where Nigeria's stolen assets are stashed, saying that the current "begging" approach would not guarantee their return.

The policy, he said, was necessary to save Nigeria from violation of its sovereignty by Western governments.

"Unless the government of Nigeria is prepared to adopt an aggressive policy against western governments and their very corrupt financial institutions, we are not going to come out of this mess," Falana told journalists on the sideline of the Anti-Corruption Roundtable organized by the United States Embassy in Abuja.

According to him, Nigeria's looted $458 million has been forfeited in the United States.

He said Nigerian government filed an application before a high court in Jersey for the release of the money. But the United States, through a lawyer, filed an objection to the application.

Falana also made reference to the Swiss government's refusal to return Nigeria's $321 million unless the World Bank supervises the management of the fund.

He expressed dismay that Nigerian government is not challenging such violation of its sovereign right as a nation.

"The approach of the government will not bring back the money by begging them for your right. People had stolen your money. Why are you begging them? You should fight them," he said.

According to him, the government had more looted money to recover than the proposed 29.6 billion dollars loan, cautioning the government against loans, which he said could mortgage the future of Nigerian children.

Speaking earlier, the embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission, David Young, reiterated US government commitment to working with Nigeria in the efforts to fight corruption.

"We know that the recovery of stolen assets in US and other countries is an important part of this effort but we are committed to partner with Nigerian government.

"This is a systemic effort that takes time because we have the legal processes that we have to go through to recover the stolen assets but we are committed and involve in dialogue with the Nigerian government to move forward in this effort," he said.



Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/adopt-aggressive-policy-to-recover-looted-funds-falana-tells-fg/175124.html#GBtUbAaMdF6fL8B5.99

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Malam Mohammed Lawal is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who served as deputy director, Coordination/Implementation of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council in 2015. He is now a board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). In this interview, he took a swipe at ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo and others who recently faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s approach to governance. Excerpts:

President Muhammadu Buhari was recently attacked by several people who were his supporters during the 2015 elections. What is responsible for their about-turn?

The president met a lot of challenges on ground. If you’re not in the system, you can hardly know the full scope of the challenges. The way and manner in which the handing over was done last year, the former regime set many booby traps for President Buhari’s new government. The handing over was supposed to be done in good time but it was almost on the day they were going that they handed over the notes. When you see the revelations coming out now, you begin to understand why they held on to the handing over notes until the last day. So, the challenges are enormous and people should understand why the government is being extremely careful in how it goes about tackling the problems.

Why do you think former President Obasanjo has started retracing his steps by asking the president to stop blaming the previous governments and look to the future?

Nobody can say that this government has not been facing challenges. For instance, if you look at the Boko Haram issue, you must give credit to this government because by all standards, the government has done very well in tackling the issue of security. If insecurity had not been addressed, people like Obasanjo would’ve been complaining more loudly. Without security, even the economy cannot function. So, those saying that this government has not addressed critical issues are not being fair.

Before the coming of this government, about two-thirds of Borno State was under Boko Haram and it was even making serious incursions in Abuja, Kano and Kaduna. Where are we today? Are we not making serious gains? People should be fair; security must be the first thing to be addressed before the economy. How can we close our eyes and say the government hasn’t done anything? It’s politics because some people probably did not get what they want, or they’re not seeing things the way they want to see them. And most importantly, people who are outside the ring always see differently from the person that’s actually doing the boxing in the ring.

But as a former Head of State, a former president and someone who stood by Buhari, can we say Obasanjo is seeing things from outside the ring?

Well, we know who Obasanjo is. I can recall about three successive regimes that Obasanjo started very well with them. But it never ended well. In fact, I saw this coming because that’s Obasanjo’s habit, that’s his character, it’s his antecedent. Recall that Obasanjo had said that he foresaw this recession coming, that he even told ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. Recession has a circle; it doesn’t happen in one or two years. The indices and parameters that normally herald recession have been there for quite long. Therefore, it’s not Buhari who caused it. You mean we should not look at the past? If you want it that way, honestly, you’ll go into more trouble. Obasanjo should not say what was seen should just be forgotten.

Besides Obasanjo, other prominent Nigerians are not with Buhari on the $29.9 billion foreign loan. Are they all on the wrong side as well?

Look, America is the biggest economy in the world and they’re indebted to the tune of $20 trillion. Yet, their economy is doing well. There’s nothing wrong in taking a loan. The most important thing is if you take a loan, what do you use it for?

Do you support Buhari’s plan to obtain the loan?

I support him very well because the infrastructure that would be put in place would repay the loan. For instance, we can have toll gates on our roads and you know that with this regime, nobody can pocket the proceeds. We’re trying to commercialise agriculture. Therefore, dams that are going to be built in order to promote irrigation would be used for such purposes.

Don’t you think that the argument in some quarters that the president does not have the right people to help him translate all these ideas into reality is real?

What do you mean by right people?

It’s now over a year when they were appointed but many of the ministers are not performing...?

It’s the issue of what they met on ground in their various ministries. People like Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah and Obasanjo are saying we should not be talking of the rot that was met on ground; that we should sweep everything under the carpet and proceed. Is that wise advice? With the revelation of corruption in the military and other agencies, you expect Buhari to say let’s just forget about everything and continue with what we’ve? There’re huge challenges and what you’re hearing and seeing is not even one tenth of the damage done to the country in terms of plunder of the common patrimony.

The wisdom behind doing things carefully and meticulously is always better than rushing things and making mistakes which you’ll regret in the long run. Of course, people are worried because of many factors. But you cannot take it away from Buhari that he means well for this country.

What’s your take on the prediction by another ally of Buhari, Engr. Buba Galadima, that nothing will come out of the government because the president is working with his enemies?

I don’t agree with what he said. Buhari was a former Head of State. Therefore, it’s childish for Buba to say that Buhari is surrounded by his enemies. Buba is aggrieved. I have known him since 1992 and he’s aggrieved because he does not have any appointment which he needs. He didn’t get the attention that he needed.

If the criticisms are coming from somebody who’s being taken care of, I would take it more seriously but not from somebody who’s aggrieved. They allege that Buhari is surrounded by a cabal. What cabal? In every power centre, there’s a cabal; the only problem is if the cabal is selfish or self-centred. We were together with Buba in the defunct CPC and he was the closest person to Buhari. Whatever he said, Buhari will go by it. So, he was part of the cabal.

Why did they part ways?

Well, let Buba say it. As far as I’m concerned, he has never said he’s not with Buhari. He’s talking as a Nigerian and he has the right to voice his opinion, the right to support whoever he wants. During the APC primaries, he supported ex-governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and Buhari did not complain. He didn’t say Buba should not support who he wants. So, simply because Kwankwaso lost and Buhari won, then, it is going to be war?

Buba Galadima said government is not moving because there’re over 500 boards that are occupied by the PDP members to the detriment of the APC members. Is that true?

Nigeria is a very difficult country to govern. If on the day Buhari was sworn in, he had said all PDP members on the boards should go, you will see how Nigerians would react. There’s no way all these things could be rushed.

Don’t you think that the APC members are running out of patience after two years into a four-year tenure. You’ve hundreds of members who worked for your success but are watching things from a distance?

They’re running out of patience, but nobody, not even Buba will say that not giving board appointments is something deliberate in order to punish anybody. Yes, we’re approaching two years. But once it’s done, many of those complaining will forget about the delay. You see, the state chapters of the party were asked to bring nominees to fill the boards. The SGF’s office was coordinating. But many things were discovered. Honestly speaking, if it was rushed and done, Nigerians would say things worse than what they’re saying now. This administration can never be accused of nepotism or corruption.

There’s need to do the right thing in order to make sure that people that actually worked and assisted towards bringing this administration to power are properly given what they’re entitled to.

Why do you think Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed and Mrs. Pauline Tallen rejected appointments when you said things are being done meticulously?

I can say that Comrade Naja’atu was expecting something bigger than what she was given. Please, is it right to say that you must be given a certain thing? I never expected the appointment given to me. When it came, I was even outside the country. People kept calling, saying they heard of it and I said I didn’t know. So, it came as a surprise and I took it as something from God. Whether I like it or not, I see it as a means of contributing my own quota to the development of the country.

Are you aware that there’s widespread disaffection in your party?

Right from the beginning of the APC, people were struggling to control spaces to their advantage. Those who are not strong couldn’t take advantage of the situation, while the strong took advantage. The trouble is still there.

Some think the trouble could not be resolved because of lack of leadership. What do you think is the way out?

Buba said that and for goodness sake, how can he say Buhari is indifferent to party politics? How can he say the president doesn’t like politicians? It’s really terrible for him to say that.

He’s not the only one saying the party is very poor and it cannot hold itself…?

So, Buhari should take money from government and give it to the APC to pay salaries of its staff? I’m happy Buba explained how monies are sourced to run party affairs - by levying members. You want Buhari to take government money and give the APC? We can’t do that. We’re not the PDP. Let the party make effort to collect the levies that are supposed to come from members. There is separation of responsibility between the president and the party leadership. He has to allow them do their job.

With all these disaffections, do you think the APC will survive 2019?

2019 is even far. I assure you that by next year, you will see the APC as you’ve never thought it would be.

How?

It would come.

Has 18 months of President Buhari been worth it?

Go to the North East which was ravaged by the Boko Haram and ask them if Buhari’s presidency is worth it.

What of the poor man in the village?

I always ask the question at my polling unit. The ordinary people say they’re with Buhari forever. That’s Buhari’s strength. Ordinary people understand the circumstances the President found himself in, more than the elite.

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/politics/-buhari-s-strength-are-the-poor-not-elite/174858.html#htJL3rplkHEfWyvz.99

N-POWER is a Federal Government’s youth employment scheme which targets the mass employment of 500,000 youths throughout the country.

Ever since it was about to take off, it has became mired in controversy.

Here are some fast facts about the first batch of 200,000 selected nationwide

Fast Facts:

1. TEACH AND COMMUNITY

a. 150,000: available spots

b. 352,480: Applications received.

c. 140,992: Selected

d. 4800 : additional divided for Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Taraba, Bauchi and Gombe

e. Reason for d: adverse social economic circumstances

f. 4208: given to Jigawa, kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Bayelsa

G. Reason for f: Due to paltry applications



2. AGRO

a. 30,000: available spots

b. 58,002: Applications received

c. 23,201: Selected

d. Lagos Rivers and Osun had the highest applications

e. 6799: divided across states with "specific crop fish and lives stock based targets



3. Health

a. 20,000: available spots

b. 39,068 applications received

c. 19,534: Selected

d. 444 : additional (12 spots) per states

e. 22: spilted between Sokoto and kebbi

f. Reason for e: They had the lowest applications

g. Rivers Lagos and Osun had the highest applications



4. GENDER

a. 39% of the total applications were female

b. 46% of the total (200,000) selected are women



5. DISABILITY

1,126: selected (among the total 200,000)

source: National Social Investments programme inforgraph.

It is not my style to respond to an opinion piece, but when data or statistics is incorrectly presented, one finds it difficult to remain silent especially if the issue strikes at the heart of one’s professional practice. Although, I learnt about the comments by the South-South activist Annkio Briggs through Eugene Enahoro’s thought piece (Daily Trust, 29 November 2016), I felt a deep sense of duty to correct a misconception that the North is feeding fat on the Nigerian federation.

There are hardly any empirically established correlations between what our states bring into the Nigerian federation coffers and what they receive in Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations. The fact is that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, on its own, is sometimes incomplete, and almost impossible to do any robust analytics on - analytics that should provide insights on or help us to established empirically patterns of relationship between the states’ contribution to the Nigeria federation coffers and the FAAC allocations. To use the NBS data on its own, therefore, it is important to understand the methodological approach of the particular set of statistics before commenting on them. Without such understanding, we really cannot say our comments are informed or even evidence-based.

So here is what we know. In 2013, at the height of the recent oil boom, four states of the Nigerian federation - Akwa Ibom (N296.1 billion), Rivers (N247.4 billion), Delta (N219.2 billion) and Bayelsa (N188.9 billion) between them received N0.95 trillion or 33% of the N2900.4 trillion net FAAC allocations for the year. If we use the 2010 population figures as metrics (discounting the estimated 2.5% annual population growth), these four states minus Rivers had the same population as Kano state.

Kano state received N97.2 billion from the federal account in 2013; it occupied 6th position on the FAAC Allocations list. Kano’s huge population meant that the state received N10,000 per resident-citizen, compared to N111,000 per resident-citizen for Beyelsa; N76,000 per resident-citizen for Akwa Ibom, N54,000 per resident-citizen for Delta, and N48,000 per resident-citizen for Rivers.

Interestingly, there are hardly any empirically established correlations between what our states received in FAAC allocations and how well they perform. For example, Ogun state was number 26th on the FAAC Allocations list in 2013; it received N57.1 billion or N15,000 per every Ogun resident-citizen (man, woman, young or old), but the state had the lowest level of poverty in the country if we use per-dollar or less-per -day as a metric. Jigawa state was number 15th on the FAAC Allocations list; it received N64.4 or N15,000 per every Jigawa citizen-resident. Yet, Jigawa had the 6th lowest rate of poverty in Nigeria (50.7%) - significantly lower than Rivers state (74.7%), where each resident-citizen received N48,000 in FAAC allocations; or Delta (63.6% poverty rate), where each resident-citizen received N54,000; or Akwa Ibom (53.8% poverty rate) where each resident-citizen received N76,000 in FAAC allocations.

Take another comparable metric - average number of students to a teacher otherwise known as teacher-pupil ratio in 2013. Nassarawa state received N47 billion, occupied 33rd place on the FAAC Allocations list, but has one of the lowest average class-sizes in public primary schools in Nigeria. Nassarawa’s 22 students-to-a teacher was far below the Nigerian national average of 42, and significantly below Akwa Ibom’s73 students-to-a teacher in 2013.

Now, let’s take the 13% Derivation as a further illustration. Recently, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for petroleum said that despite the $40 billion that the federal government has spent in the Niger Delta region between 2004 and 2015, there seemed to be little or nothing to show for it. Apart from being a federal minister, Dr Kachikwu is an indigene of the Niger Delta region and it is unlikely that he did not know the implication of his revelation.

The fact is that Dr Kachikwu’s figures include everything from the 13% Derivation to the cost of prosecuting the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration’s amnesty to the cost of running the Ministry of Niger Delta, the Niger Delta Development Commission, etc. So, if we take Dr Kachikwu’s $40 billion figure face value, we really do not know how much was spent on what and when.

But this is what we know: between 1st January 2011 and 31st December 2015, the eight oil-producing states of Imo, Ondo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Cross Rivers received N2.73 trillion - or 13% Derivation - from the federation account. Out of this amount, the core states in the Niger Delta region - Akwa Ibom (N761.4 billion), Bayelsa (N509.0 billion), Delta, where Dr Kachikwu hails from (N583.0 billion) and Rivers (N582.9 billion) between them received N2.44 trillion specifically to develop the local governments and communities where the natural gas and crude oil were lifted. This amount, N2.44 trillion, is approximately 40% of the entire 2016 budget of the federal government (N6.06 trillion).

It should be noted that the 13% Derivation is the Nigerian federation’s way of saying ‘thank you’ to the Niger Delta region and indeed to all the oil-producing states - their local governments, communities and citizens - for their contributions to the commonwealth of the Nigerian federation.

So, if the federal government’s ‘thank you’ SMS message - and the N2.44 trillion Ghana-must-go bag - had been delivered directly to the oil producing communities in the Niger Delta Region between 1st January 2011 and 31st December 2015, every local government in Bayelsa state would have received N63.7 billion in community-development and poverty alleviation funding; N32.2 billion per local government in Akwa Ibom state, N25.3 billion per local government in Rivers state, and N23.4 billion per local government in Delta state.

Similarly, if the federal government’s ‘thank you’ SMS message - and the N2.44 trillion Ghana-must-go bag - had been given as ‘pocket money’ to the people of the Niger Delta Region between 1st January 2011 and 31st December 2015, every resident-citizen (man or woman, young or old) in Bayelsa would have received N212,457 per person; N158,542 per person in Akwa Ibom state, N70,349 per person in Delta state, and N63,359 per person in Rivers state. In a country where some states in the federation are struggling to pay the N18,000 minimum wage, and going by the FAAC allocations in the five years to December 2015, it wouldn’t have been too long before Nigeria begins to replicate ‘little’ Aliko Dangotes all over the Niger Delta Region!

It seems to me that the critical issue is not so much about how much each state contributes to or receives from the federation, but how well the FAAC allocations are spent. As Nigerians, we would gain nothing when we make ill-informed comments that are capable of inciting our people against our leaders and the Nigerian state. As indigenes of the South South, South East, South West, North East, North West and North Central, we are experiencing a common, but dual challenge of poverty and development. But I’m an optimist. I’m incredibly confident and super-secured in my judgment that together we can do it; together we can make our country better. We just need to roll up our sleeves and begin to walk the talk.

So don’t let anybody tell you that one region in Nigeria is feeding fat on the other. Everybody needs somebody - and we all need one another. God Bless Nigeria, her people and its six geo-political zones.

Professor Ogunleye chairs the Nigeria’s Big Data Analytics and Innovation Conference, which was hosted last week by the National Defence College Abuja. He can be reached at oj08@hotmail.com

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/opinion/who-says-the-north-is-feeding-fat-on-nigeria/174667.html#8SuKcVhQPOd7j40w.99