₦airaland Forum

id911:
Buhari brought Bichi from retirement to head the SSS since the next six most senior officers to head the Secret Police are all Southerners. He did the same thing in Customs, NIA and most agencies but the media didn't say a word about it.

You see Mohammed Buhari doesn't care because he has realised that whatever evil thing he does, the SW media will continue to praise him to high heavens because of Osinbajo. You guys will reap and certainly pay in the future

Longest time bro, you need to chat me up. It shall not be well with this wicked ruler whose reign has brought more pain and hardship to us as a people.

CilicMarin:
If throwing out Ambode will return Lagos to the way it was in 2015, Tinubu should not heed to blackmail but do the needful.

Ambode is an incompetent Buffoon.

oh Ambode is now incompetent buffoon? No more the best Governor you lots shout here everyday? you go wail tire you never start. Tinubu is going down on this one

EXCLUSIVE:

*Obasanjo walks out on Buhari’s emissaries*


Former President Olusegun Obásanjó on Wednesday afternoon in Abeokuta rebuffed overtures from President Muhammadu Buhari on the former’s opposition to the latter’s re-election bid.

According to some reliable sources, the emissaries who visited former President Obásanjó on Wednesday afternoon in his office at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library were told by Obasanjo that his opposition to President Buhari was “not personal” but a matter of President Buhari’s alleged “incompetence.”

This Buhari’s “incompetence,” sources quoted President Obásanjó to have said, “is destroying Nigeria, and we can’t allow this to continue.”

President Obásanjó who was reported by the sources to be “visibly angry” that the emissaries had the audacity to visit him for that kind of “insult,” warned them “not to push the case further.”

The former President was said to have wondered why the emissaries would even accept to deliver such a message and was reported to have asked them if they could not see or perceive “what is happening to the country?” The emissaries were said to have been led by a retired General who has enjoyed a cordial relationship with Obasanjo for the past 50 years.

President Obásanjó was also reported to have warned the emissaries not to discuss the matter any further and threatened to “walk out” on them if they tried to “persuade” him.

President Obásanjó who was said to have been initially infuriated by the request of the emissaries to have a “more private audience” with him, refused to excuse his four “guests” who were with him before the emissaries arrived, including two veteran journalists and two close aides.

“This is a Nigerian issue. There is nothing secret about it,” President Obásanjó was reported as saying.

President Obásanjó, according to the sources, walked out on the emissaries “for insisting on persuading him” and left them in his office.

He was reported to have come back into the office and asked his “guests” rhetorically, “Are you still here? You are just wasting your time. No one, including Muhammadu Buhari, has the right to des…. this Nigeria we all laboured to build.”

The former President was reported to have walked past them to use his restroom, walked out of the office thereafter. He refused to give the emissaries further audience, but went ahead to attend to other matters.

It would be recalled that Obásanjó had in January this year, written a scathing open letter to President Buhari on the latter’s Presidency, detailing concerns about the well being of Nigerians.

The letter rattled and irked President Buhari and his followers. President Buhari and his aides have also used different forums to explain to Nigerians the steps they have been taking in the last three and a half years to make Nigeria better than they met it. They insisted that the biggest achievement of the government has been in the fight against corruption, which they claimed has had a positive spiral effect on other spheres of life.

Obasanjo Shuns Buhari’s Emissaries - https://www.newspotng.com/obasanjo-shuns-buharis-emissaries/

As it stands today, Tinubu is just a nominal or ceremonial National Leader of APC and he can't do jack to stop Ambode.

Demonic thing, if he is not treating ear problems, he is fixing his lungs or attimes he is battling with speech impairment disease wasting million of dollars traveling up and down like the devil monitoring the children of God. We have seen your best, not any more!

Too late mr waster, life was much better under the "corrupt PDP" how much more that they are now rebranded and learnt their lessons, your government will go down in history as the worst ever, Mr Bubu. You are already campaigning for PDP with your useless and killing policies.

Tolexander:
Bros!

Na wetin concern us with Egypt matter?

Na power matter between now and 2020 Egypt with 38,000 MW will be adding up 20,100 MW to her national greed that means total capacity of 58,100 MW while Buhari is still struggling with 4,000 MW this is my concern.

Electricity Ministry plans adding 20,000 MW in 2 year's

19.2m tonnes of mazut equivalent saved per year in fuel consumption at production plants

 Mohamed Farag 

Daily News obtained a copy of the national plan to improve energy efficiency in Egypt for 2018-2020. This plan is the second in place to improve energy efficiency in Egypt.

The government took into account the challenges that faced the implementation of the previous plan to ensure the desired results.

According to the plan, the total capacity of conventional power plants reached 37,900MW, in addition to 890MW of renewable energy.

The new plan is expected to add 20,100MW by 2020 for the country’s total energy capacity to reach 58,100MW, of which 34,400 MW will come from high-efficiency combined cycle stations where fuel consumption is 170grams/kWh of fuel equivalent.

On the other hand, for renewable energy, 6,960MW of wind power are expected to be added by 2022, as well as 2,750MW from solar power plants.

It is expected that starting from fiscal year (FY) 2018/2019, network loads will be covered mainly by the combined cycle stations, hydropower, and renewable energy, which means that the average fuel consumption would decrease to 170g/kWh of fuel equivalent for thermal units instead of the current rate which is 214.5 g/kWh, recording 20% savings.

On the supply side, the plan showed the expected savings in electricity as a result of the tariff restructuring programme, stressing the importance of a realistic price signal for the cost of producing, transporting, and distributing electricity to consumers.

The plan also monitored the expansion of production projects and the impact on the radical development of the means of production. This will be reflected in energy efficiency, as the plan was able to achieve an annual saving in fuel consumption in the production of electricity estimated at 19.2m tonnes of fuel equivalent.

Additionally, the plan referred to procedures to reduce the loss of distribution networks, develop the control centres of these networks, and use smart metres, which will be reflected in the efficiency of these networks.

The plan specified the procedures that will be carried out by distribution companies to improve the energy efficiency of consumers to achieve the provisions of the Electricity Law in this regard.

The measures focused on a programme to spread the use of LED lamps in the residential sector through an advanced mechanism targeting the first three segments of domestic consumers, which constitute 50% of the total consumption of electricity among all home consumers.

The plan included the issuance of an annual report on energy efficiency, including the electricity consumption budget in Egypt and the assessment of energy sectors based on various economic sectors according to available data from energy records and measurements made by appropriate measurement indicators.

The report also includes funding projects to improve energy efficiency and ensure the economic feasibility of these funds, in addition to training programmes, capacity building, and evaluating the results of such programmes.

The plan includes holding an annual conference on energy efficiency to present successful projects and programmes.

The plan aims to improve the efficiency of energy use without affecting the growth or productivity of the industrial, commercial, service, and agricultural sectors or the impact on the welfare level of consumers, whether in domestic or public use.

It aims to achieve the greatest possible savings and efficiency of energy use through applications that are arranged on the basis of technical and economic feasibility calculated based on the life cycle of the application and achieving sustainable energy supply for all uses and at an appropriate cost to consumers.

With regard to the proposed framework of the 2018-2020 national plan for energy efficiency, the plan will include the completion of the establishment of energy efficiency units in different areas to complete the institutional structure of the energy efficiency system. These moves aim

to achieve the objectives of the efficiency with regards to buildings and public lighting, and ensure that a good system of governance is in place as a necessary step to achieve supervision, coordination, follow-up, and exchange of data between the parties involved as well as accountability for performance.

The energy efficiency plan should be consistent with the integrated and sustainable energy strategy of Egypt through 2035, which was approved by the Supreme Council of Energy, making it binding for all sectors of the state, particularly in relation to the vision and goals.


https://dailynewsegypt.com/2018/01/15/electricity-ministry-plans-adding-20000-mw-2-years/

OneJ:
U dey amuse me indeed. In John 15:26,27,U dey quote, make U talk true, did JESUS say that "the Comforter" ,the holy spirit is God?

"Godhead" is a fallacy & dubious insertion into the holy scriptures.

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" Col 2:9. "And you have been given the fullness in Christ..." Col 2:10.
U no see say we be God?

Romans1:20 "For since the creation of the world,God's invisible qualities- his eternal power & divine nature have been clearly seen"


Primesky, U see "Godhead" for there ?
Does "deity" mean Godhead? Does "divine nature" mean Godhead? Pls reply.

KJV was translated into English from a corrupted texts, the 16th century textus receptus.


Phil 2:5-7, dey talk say because U (Primesky) have the same mindset wey Christ get, U dey in the form ("form" = Greek morphé= image) of God, therefore your equality with God is not robbery (no be for yanga).

In other words, as I get the same mindset of Christ, &I dey in the image of God, my equality with God no be robbery for me to dey do yanga..

Shalom.

Our brother just needs to be freed from dogma of trinity he is entangled in.....

I laugh at those who say APC is standing and no shaking, we shall see

2019: Atiku visits Makarfi

Posted By: Abdulgafar Alabelewe.

September 8, 2018.

…says Nigeria under APC is headquarter of world
poverty

As part of efforts to produce a consensus
presidential candidate for their party, the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President Atiku
Abubakar on Saturday visited another leading
aspirant, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi in
Kaduna, saying that, Nigeria’s leadership must be
changed in 2019 general elections for the country.

The former Vice President said, Nigeria under APC
government has been turned to headquarter of
poverty in the world.

The Waziri Adamawa told Makarfi that he felt that it
was necessary to visit him with his campaign train
ahead of the September national convention of the
party.

He commended Makarfi who is also a presidential
aspirant of the PDP for steering the party through
turbulence period when he held sway as the party
national caretaker committee chairman.

The former VP said with Makarfi’s feat in leading the
party off the woods, showed that the former governor
has great potentials as a leader, saying that is why it
is necessary for them to come together to sustain the
nation’s democracy.

He noted that Nigeria is currently at a cross-road, and
that there was need for the aspirants and well
meaning Nigerians to rescue the country from
insecurity and poverty.

According to Atiku, “Nigeria is at a cross-road, this is
the worst time since 1999 democratic system.
“The misadministration of the APC government is
very evident; we have the highest record of
unemployment since 1999, we have the highest
inflation, we have multiple exchange rate that
discourages foreign investment. We have the highest
level of insecurity since 1999.

“We are disunited this time more than ever before,
people are more angry, people are poorer more than
anytime. I mean, if Nigeria is the headquarters of
poverty in the world.

“This is unthinkable, for a country that is endowed
with human and natural resources like ours, just
because of lack of clear headed leadership and
direction, this is where we find ourselves.

“So, it is obvious that we just have to change the
leadership of this country.
When asked whether the PDP has the magic wand to
change the country’s status quo, Atiku said, “of
course, have you forgotten that, PDP governed this
country since 1999 and we witnessed progressive
development in all sectors of the economy?”.

Speaking on his visit to Makarfi, he said, “we are all
members of the same family and we are working
together to ensure that PDP produces the best
candidate for the next election, so that, PDP can be
returned to power.

“I am a democrat and I have always worked with
anyone that emerged, so I am ready to work with
anyone that emerges through credible elections.
“Speaking about consensus, he said, consensus is
their political family issue. When we close the doors
and come out with a consensus, it will not be
surprising”.

Responding, Makarfi reminded the former VP of their
various struggles working for the party in the past,
noting that Atiku is capable and qualified to lead the
party.

Senator Makarfi said he has nothing to lose if Atiku
picks the party’s presidential ticket.
“I am ready to work with any of the fellow aspirants
that emerges, that, is why I even said that, because I
am willing to work with some of them, I won’t even
step into their states.

“I am not aversed to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar becoming
the party’s candidate, just like he is not also aversed
to me becoming the party’s candidate, it is a family
issue, we are talking and we will keep on talking”.
Makarfi said.

krendo:
It looks like Makarfi wants to step down

From reliable source Atiku will emerge and even Saraki will collapse his structures for Atiku and the moment Atiku emerges at the Primaries, APC will now understand the meaning of fire for fire approach in electioneering campaign strategies which I don't see Buhari surviving. No one, I repeat, none of the PDP presidential contestants have the needed political structures across the federation as Atiku.

Wiseandtrue:
[b]Don't mind him jàrè! No sane person can even equate Tinubu's regime to any governor that has ever lead Lagos State!

Lagos State was a dump site under Tinubu!

Robbery is a norm even in daylight!

Tinubu does not do anything if he does not have 10x share profit!

There was stagnancy. No development in sight!

He claimed that OBJ was not releasing funds!

Fashola is just too modest or probably because they were in the same party if not if he were to comment on the decay he met on ground, Tinubu would have being jailed!

He is comparing Tinubu to Marwa Marwa's policies brought a lot of joy to Lagosians such that women, mothers were willing to lay down their lives for him, some even lay curses on those who attempted to murder him!

Cause his policies were favouring the poor!

He even had to involve himself in accommodation issues!!! He faced landlords and even jailed anyone trying to make life difficult for the poor!

Marwa was down to earth!

If he is sure of what he is saying, he should just mention one project Tinubu started and finished aside his selfish interest!

I dare him to![/b]

You have done your best of the debate by the simple question just ignore his types, they are wired to behave in an uncouth manner during debates. After all, your simple question still remained blank ......

Austin4lif:
you just mentioned states that are prune to violence, states who don't like anything that is not for the interest of Islam. saraki is a Muslim too, yes of course but he won't advance the course of Islam like sai baba. if you are in the Muslim part of the north, u will realize that those people vote based on religious lines. the average Muslim voter in the north will prefer to vote for saraki instead of David mark.

You said the whole truth regarding those States

gurnam:
Oh well, the decision on how I respond to anyone here is my prerogative.

If anyone in his or right sense can tell me that Marwa brought more to Lagos than Tinubu, then I doubt if I have anywhere to start with such a person

Mention what Tinubu did during his eight years and stop waffling.

Way to go for a formidable reinforcement from all burners.

gurnam:
No point arguing with people with this sort of mindset. You can believe what ever suit your narrative

Wiseandtrue is a lady while you are a full grown man that claimed to know politics yet she only threw a simple question at you and this is all you got?

Tinubu is a finished human being. That twinkle toes must be silenced so that Lagos can breathe and live.

2019: Why APC may lose presidency – Sagay



Published
on

 September 5, 2018

By

 Chijioke Jannah 



Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), has advised the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to yield to the demands of state governors of the party to conduct indirect primaries in their states ahead of the 2019 polls.

According to him, the APC may lose power in 2019 if the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s rift with the governors from the party are not resolved

The governors, who are in favour of voting by delegates, are reportedly spoiling for war with the national leadership of the party through their various state chairmen.

The governors want states to exercise their right to conduct indirect primaries in picking the party’s candidates for the 2019 general elections against the position of the party leadership as stated by the party’s Acting Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena.

The party’s leadership has directed that all candidates be picked through direct primaries.

In an interview with Daily Independent newspaper, Sagay, who is currently in the United States, said the party could not afford to go to war with the state governors who are critical stakeholders in the party, with just few weeks to the general elections.

Sagay said the APC leadership could not afford to lose the election to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and advised the APC National Working Committee (NWC) to listen to the governors’ demands by accepting indirect primaries in the selection of candidates.

“I will urge the party to think of the consequences. In this case, I will advise the party to acquiesce to their demands for indirect primaries rather than direct primaries.

“We need to be pragmatic on this issue and, also, they have to think of the future. If they do anything now and go against the government or the party, it will not bode well at all. So, we have to be pragmatic about these things.

“If there is such a threat and they are likely to carry it out, I will advise the party to accept indirect primaries rather than direct primaries.

“The election is around the corner. If they don’t listen to the governors’ demands, the consequences are that the party may lose power.

“If we stick to principles and you lose power, you are out of power and all the indiscipline and mis-governance we experienced under the PDP will come and haunt us. So, I believe the party should concede to them,” Sagay said.

http://dailypost.ng/2018/09/05/2019-apc-may-lose-presidency-sagay/

Yet some ignoramuses will still be chanting Sai baba to someone who is supposed to be the chief security officer of Nigeria......it shall not be well with the wicked. Buhari to Daura is sure in 2019

Ambode is truly in charge of Lagos Affairs and somehow no longer doing the bid of Tinubu the more reason why they want him out at all cost. One APC dude even boasted to me that Tinubu has the final say on the final approval of what Ambode can approve on funds to agencies, contractors in Lagos State.

Abubakar Atiku the slayer of the lying Pastor (Professor) Osinbajo is my choice!

NigeriaIsDoomed:
Cow dung don damage this one brain. I dey pity your miserable life. Dey dier dey open your stinky diarrheic mouth until dey 500 Naira stipend you dey collect from politicians finish, hunger go wire you.

You are good my brother

muykem:
PDP and violent.

You need to enroll in evening classes to improve on your English Language study first. Leave PDP out of your matter you are too violent in your English pronunciation

docadams:
That's how PDP rolls. Violence is their religion. They kill you for supporting them, they kill you for opposing them, they kill you for being neutral. What a party.

Will you keep quiet there.......

docadams:
Don't mind Atiku the pathological lier and incurabl kleptomaniac that should be serving multiple Jail terms

I pray especially for you that you won't have BP on Atiku's matters because like I keep telling you folks with biles in your hearts for good thing, Atiku is your next President......choke on that

I was just sharing with a friend 3 days ago how the Custom is nothing but a big scam with the over N1 trillion mark they claimed they generated annually under Hameed Ali as nothing but just window dressing and this came out......

The only way to keep Buhari alive and Nigeria from disintegration. Rigging will be matched with extreme violence.....

dignity33:

IF BY ANY MEANS PDP FAIL TO PRODUCE ATIKU AS THERE FLAG BEARER THEN PDP SHOULD FORGET ABOUT WINING 2019 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, ATIKU IS WIDELY ACCEPTED AMONG NIGERIAN UNLIKE OTHER PDP ASPIRANT WHO CAN ONLY TRY TO WIN THERE STATE. TAKE FOR INSTANCE ATIKU CAN WIN THE WHOLE OF SOUTHEAST, NORTH EAST, NORTHCENTRE AND SOUTHSOUTH, IN SOUTHWEST WILL ALSO MAKE A VERY SIGNIFICANT GAIN DO TO HIGH NUMBERS OF NONINDIGENES IN LAGOS, KWANKWASO FOR INSTANCE IS ONLY POPULAR IN NORTH WEST AND WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO DEFEAT BUHARI WHOW ALSO FROM THE SAME REGION. ANOTHER THING IS THAT PDP SHOULD NOT BY ANY MEANS UNDERMINE THE VOTE OF IGBOS BASED ON REGIONAL REGISTRATION BECAUSE IGBOS CONSTITUTE THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF LITERATE REGISTERED VOTES ACCROSS NIGERIA AND ALSO HAVE THE HIGHEST SINGLE BLOCK VOTE ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND BESIDE HAVE THE SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER OF NONINDIGENES REGISTERED VOTES IN ANY STATE EXCERPT SOUTHEAST.

Spell it out bro may God bless you for this, PDP must be wise to to commit political blunder on this one because I am too sure that if the election to the primaries is free and fair, not tampered with, Atiku will carry the day!

Published below is Atiku’s interview culled from Punchng.com

Obasanjo, El-Rufai and I — Atiku

March 31, 2013 by LEKE BAIYEWU

Atiku Abubakar was the Vice-President during the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration between 1999 and 2007. The founding member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party shares his experience in the party and the privatisation exercise under his leadership in this online interview with LEKE BAIYEWU

As a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, why did you leave your party for the opposition Action Congress in 2006?

I had to leave because I was pushed to the limit. You know what happened during that period and we don’t have to go through it all over again. A scheme was introduced, by which I and my supporters were removed from the party under the guise of re-registration. Of course, the bigger scheme was to ensure that I did not succeed my boss (Olusegun Obasanjo). You saw how the cards were stacked against me to pursue my presidential aspiration under PDP. They had me suspended from the party, even beyond the length of time permitted by the PDP constitution. The party rejected and flouted all courts orders in respect of my rights as a party member.

Events were unfolding rapidly and I had a deep conviction that with the help of the courts, we could establish a precedent to ensure that no one trampled upon the rights of citizens – not just I – and got away scot-free. I was eventually compelled to seek alternative platform to prove this point and to advance my aspiration. That was how I joined others to found the Action Congress.

Why did you later dump AC to go back to the PDP, despite your vow never to do so?

Don’t forget that I was among the founding members of the PDP. I was forced to leave the party and I joined AC then because forces in the party (PDP) were ferociously determined to frustrate me at all costs. However, when the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was elected as the President, he initiated the policy of reconciliation and appealed to aggrieved members to return. The committee for this purpose was headed by former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme.

I invested energy, time and political capital in the formation of the PDP and, therefore, because of that sentimental attachment, I responded to the policy of reconciliation and returned to the fold. Should you blame a child for reconciling with his parents after he ran away over disagreement? The circumstances of my departure from PDP are well known to Nigerians. When I returned, I did so to promote the growth of what I helped to build in the first place.

Basically, the destruction of internal democracy in PDP made me to leave the party against my will. You are aware of the policy of de-registration of certain party members by the former President. My supporters and I were the target of this hostile and anti-democratic policy. I was between the rock and the hard place and, ultimately, I was technically expelled from PDP by the hand-picked party national executives. It is, therefore, unfair for anybody to describe my departure from PDP as opportunistic, considering the insurmountable and deliberate obstacles laid on my path by the former President (Obasanjo) and the party national leadership.

When you were the chairman of the National Council on Privatisation and also as former Vice- President, you were accused of selling major public corporations to political office holders, including yourself. One of such is Pentascope. How true is it that the privatisation process was shady?

These allegations are not new. The interesting thing is that those spreading these allegations couldn’t come forward with any iota of proof against me. You forgot that I was accused of selling African Petroleum to myself, using a front. However, when the facts eventually emerged in respect of this particular allegation, my traducers were disarmed and were forced to retreat. Indeed, I was the most investigated public office holder under the former administration and, if this allegation was valid, it could have been conveniently used to bring me down and tarnish my name. Thank God I survived this smear campaign, just like others before it.

The Senate conducted a public hearing on privatisation under my leadership as the chairman of the National Council on Privatisation. That was the best opportunity for those accusing me of selling public assets to myself to come forward to prove the allegation. Surprisingly, they never did because they relied mainly on hearsay. A cabinet member in Obasanjo’s government, who was promoting this idle rumour, was eventually left looking small because he didn’t have the facts to substantiate his allegations against me.

On Pentascope, one would have expected your paper to direct the questions to El-Rufai himself. The Pentascope scandal was one of the issues investigated by the National Assembly and it accused El-Rufai of ignoring wise counsel by imposing the company on NITEL. Despite proven allegations that Pentascope was not financially capable and technically competent to handle NITEL management contract, the former Bureau of Public Enterprise Director-General ignored public outcry and forced the Dutch company on NITEL. Before the coming of Pentascope, NITEL was making an estimated N100bn profit annually. However, as soon as Pentascope took over, NITEL’s profits were nose-diving incredibly. With telecom stakeholders, the National Assembly and the Nigerian public insisting that the imposition of Pentascope on NITEL was ruinous to national interest, the Federal Government eventually cancelled the management contract against El-Rufai’s desire. I had no hand, absolutely, no connection or knowledge of how that company was brought into Nigeria.  Curiously, El-Rufa’i avoided the Pentascope issue in his book, “The Accidental Public Servant.” Therefore, if there is anybody to explain the details of the Pentascope scandal, it is El-Rufai himself. The fact of the contract are like this: Obasanjo agreed with the NCP that the former BPE DG was wrong not to have disclosed his interest and that he had failed the test of transparency by not disclosing that his brother was on the board of Motorola. I know you are very familiar with the laws of the federation. You know, for instance, that it is a very serious offence to fail, refuse or neglect to disclose your interest whether directly or through someone else, in dealing with such an important transaction. But, the President in his wisdom decided that the contract be split into three, with each of the contenders, Motorola, Ericsson and the Chinese company – I think Huawei – taking a portion. As if to vindicate the NCP, by 2007 when we left office, the two others apart from Motorola had completed their own contracts. You can go and find out if they (Motorola) have finished.

El-Rufai, has challenged you to explain what happened with the NITEL GSM contract that Motorola lost to Ericson, despite the American company submitting the lowest bid? What is your explanation?

Personally, I dislike the idea of exchanging words with the former FCT minister over this issue. But for the sake of your question, I would like Nigerians to be smart enough to read between the lines. Why does the former FCT minister treat the Motorola issue with such persistent personal bitterness? Why is he making it a heavy matter? Anybody can play to the gallery and deceive the people. Transparency is a key issue of conducting any business, including privatisation. Conflict of interest is inconsistent with transparency. If you are a privatisation head and you have a relationship with a particular person connected with one of the companies making bids, it is a moral and legal duty to disclose that relationship or interest. Pretending that you have no relationship with the person who is rooting for a particular bidder is not altogether tidy and transparent. If he had no interest in a particular company for sentimental reasons, why is he making too much fuss about Motorola losing the bid? Did El-Rufai accuse me of promoting Ericsson because I had any connection with the company directly or indirectly? If, indeed, I had promoted Ericsson for personal interest, Obasanjo wouldn’t have let me get away with it. He would have exposed me and disgraced me, and even ordered my prosecution.

Why is it that these corporations have relatively failed, despite being run by private investors?

I don’t agree with you that privatisation has failed altogether, despite the challenges some of the new investors are facing.  The GSM operators in the country are doing well, despite their challenges caused by infrastructural problems in the country. Look at banks and ports, they all are doing well. Some of the new investors are finding difficulties, maybe as a result of the scope of the challenges or ill-preparation. Some of them have resorted to asset stripping rather than restoring the companies to functional state and start production to create jobs, such as the Ajaokuta Steel Plant. Large-scale privatisation is relatively new in Nigeria and some of the new investors appear to have swallowed more than they can chew. But the privatisation exercise under me was a narrative of huge success, not of failure.

How could the proposed amendment to the PDP constitution seeking to make President Goodluck Jonathan the sole presidential candidate in 2015 affect your ambition?

As a loyal PDP member, I am keenly watching this development and could do anything within democratic means and internal mechanisms of conflict resolution to tackle this challenge. As the ruling party that boasts to be the largest in Africa, the PDP should set standards for internal democracy which should be a template for other parties. In fact, they (members) should not only be proud of its size but also of its credibility in the eyes of Nigerians. Promoting the principles of democracy is the bedrock on which the PDP was founded in 1998 by like-minded Nigerians. Therefore, any attempt to stifle internal democracy, make level playing field impossible and imposing a candidate on the party before the elections would damage the perception of the party. I am happy that the National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, has been speaking along these lines. President Jonathan is entitled to seek the party ticket but that doesn’t mean others should be shut out completely through a party constitutional amendment. This amendment is unnecessary because it would set precedents that would undermine the democratic principles to which the party declared to be committed. Nothing gives us psychological satisfaction and ease better than winning fairly. With this amendment, however, can the PDP improve its public perception and convince fellow members that it is committed to fairness, transparency and a level playing field in the conduct of its internal affairs? If we don’t reject this amendment now, it would produce problems in the future that the party may find too embarrassing to handle. This effort to amend the constitution to please the ambition of any individual is in bad faith. In fact, it defeats the whole purpose of the policy of reconciliation and re-uniting aggrieved former members.

If the PDP goes ahead with the amendment to make Jonathan the sole candidate in 2015 without primaries, would you be tempted to join the All Progressives Congress as you recently applauded the merger of opposition parties which aims to oust your party?

Provided PDP members are free to vote according to their conscience or personal convictions of what is right, the amendment may face tough opposition. The sanctity of the democratic principles on which the PDP was founded should not be sacrificed on the grounds of expediency to gratify the ego of individual leaders. Should we mutilate a whole legal document by which a party is run for the sake of anyone else’s ambition or ego? President Jonathan can throw this hat into the ring, if that is what he wants. It is important, however, that the process of his nomination by the party should be open, fair, just and transparent. The contest should be conducted through open primaries. Other party members should be allowed to participate in the primaries. If they ultimately lose to Jonathan through a fair contest, they will embrace and congratulate him. What is wrong with open primaries or level-playing ground? Amending the PDP constitution for the sake of making President Jonathan the sole candidate is absolutely unnecessary. Exclusion in the nomination of candidates amounts to imposition which is inconsistent with democratic practice. I have read all manners of arguments by proponents, saying that the American system gives the option of first refusal to the incumbent and that the PDP should do the same. That is very misleading.

In the first place, it is not true that American incumbents are not challenged at party primaries; there is no such rule in the United States. The late Senator Edward Kennedy mounted a vigorous challenge against the then incumbent Jimmy Carter. Although Carter won, the contest went down to the wire. It was resolved through a vote at the nomination convention of the Democratic Party. On the second aspect of your question, I wish to make a clarification. As a loyal PDP member and as one of the founding fathers, I couldn’t have said the emergence of APC is good for the death of PDP. What I said in Ibadan was that, with the emergence of APC, a two-party system seems to be unfolding in the country and that this development is consistent with my advocacy for a two-party system in Nigeria. I never said the merger of opposition parties as you alleged is good for the ouster of PDP from office.

Can you shed more light on the controversy surrounding your membership of the PDP Board of Trustees?

On my alleged removal as a member of the Board of Trustees of PDP, I do not wish to engage in speculation. No one has communicated such decision to me yet. It would, however, be unfortunate if it turns out to be true. As I said, it would be a setback for the policy of reconciliation embarked upon by the Alex Ekwueme-led committee. This move is like undoing the positive outcome of what Dr. Ekwueme had achieved in that respect.

Is it true that President Jonathan signed a one-term agreement with the North?

With the zoning policy of the PDP virtually dead, talking about agreements at this point is somehow a tricky issue. I am not sure I am in the right position to talk about what you call the one-term agreement. Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State recently referred to that agreement or understanding. A gentleman’s word should be his bond. I contested against Jonathan during the 2011 PDP presidential primaries and, therefore, anything I say now might be subject to misinterpretation. Because of this fact, I don’t want to belabour the points about agreements or understandings. I am, however, primarily concerned about the image of my party in the eyes of Nigerians. Changing rules or the constitution of the party for the sake of expediency is not my idea of honour. If we conveniently live in denial or pretend that the party didn’t reach any understanding on anything, then who would take us seriously? How can you be a beneficiary of something and later pretend that the policy that put you in office is no longer relevant? The emergence of (House of Representatives) Speaker Aminu Tambuwal against the party insistence on zoning was a consequence of abandoning principle for the sake of expediency. With the election of Tambuwal as the Speaker, following the party’s declaration that zoning was dead, the PDP leadership was morally disarmed to prevent the emergence of Tambuwal as Speaker in the so-called breach of zoning policy – the same power sharing formula, which the party declared dead. Such is the consequence of hypocrisy.

The election of Tambuwal was a most embarrassing moment for the PDP. If you rejected zoning for the nomination of President Jonathan, what moral right do you have to tell lawmakers to elect their Speaker based on zoning, which you discarded?

When people are blinded by expediency, they hardly foresee the consequences of opportunism. Today, the President is from the South-South geopolitical zone; Vice­-President, North-West;  President of the Senate, North-Central;  Speaker of the House of Representatives, North-West; Chief Justice of Nigeria, North-West; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, South-East; Deputy Senate President, South-East;  and Deputy Speaker, South-East. This wasn’t the intention of the abandoned zoning policy, but we have to live with this unpleasant reality because of the myopic attitude of some people. The South-West is today crying very loudly about marginalisation, thanks to the abandonment of zoning for the sake of expediency. This issue is not about Atiku but about the imperative of sustaining arrangements that would guarantee every section of Nigeria access to the nation’s highest public office. We have been called names by people that benefitted from this arrangement. Zoning had successfully achieved the objectives of equitable power sharing. If anybody now says zoning is not good, that wouldn’t change the reality of its benefits. The arrangement had significantly reduced the fear of domination by any section or group over others.

Would you, as a president grant amnesty to Boko Haram?

If I were the President, I would have no hesitation to throw the ball into the court of the Boko Haram leaders. As was case with the Niger Delta militancy, I would declare amnesty for the sect members with a deadline within which to surrender their arms. With the expiration of the deadline, if the sect members don’t lay down their arms, then my government would be in a better position to face its critics that accuse it of not taking the initiative. The deadline for the surrender of arms would show whether the Boko Haram fighters want peace or not.

Do you see the revived Peoples Democratic Movement as strong enough to stop Jonathan from winning election?

I have nothing personally against President Jonathan. The issue here is about principle and internal democracy. This is not about PDM; it is about a struggle to entrench internal democracy. Should we destroy everything internal democracy stands for just for the sake of forcing anybody into line to support only one contestant? The PDP, like any political organisation, is a convergence of various political interests and forces that came together to form the party, as it is today. I would work together with all stakeholders within the PDP to bring about positive change from within PDP. This issue is not merely about PDM. The principle behind my struggle is beyond the PDM.

https://newsdiaryonline.com/atiku-approved-pentascope-contractel-rufais-statement-in-response-to-former-vice-president/

The Whole Truth On Approved Pentascope Contract Between Atiku and El-Rufai!

April 1, 2013 Business, News

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar  fired the first salvo in an online interview when he spoke among other things on the controversial Pentascope affair.Atiku  said  “if there is anybody to explain the details of the Pentascope scandal, it is El-Rufai himself. The fact of the contract are like this: Obasanjo agreed with the NCP that the former BPE DG was wrong not to have disclosed his interest and that he had failed the test of transparency by not disclosing that his brother was on the board of Motorola. I know you are very familiar with the laws of the federation. You know, for instance, that it is a very serious offence to fail, refuse or neglect to disclose your interest whether directly or through someone else, in dealing with such an important transaction. But, the President in his wisdom decided that the contract be split into three, with each of the contenders, Motorola, Ericsson and the Chinese company – I think Huawei – taking a portion. As if to vindicate the NCP, by 2007 when we left office, the two others apart from Motorola had completed their own contracts. You can go and find out if they (Motorola) have finished.”

El rufai  issued his response pretty swiftly through a statement by  Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, his media advisor.We serve you El Rufai’s response  below:

It is understandable that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar would be enduring some unease at the disclosures made in The Accidental Public Servant, Mallam Nasir El Rufai’s recent book. The former vice-president’s media team has tried to engage in obfuscation about their principal’s serial interference with contract award processes that were detailed in the book. Against this, they have reproduced El Rufai’s assertion that Atiku did not meddle in privatisation processes, which are very different and distinct in nomenclature and substance from seeking contracts for friends.

Now that Atiku himself has spoken on the controversial NITEL GSM contract involving Ericsson and Motorola, it is obvious that the attempt at confusing issues persists. It is untrue that the NITEL GSM contract in question was split. Rather it was awarded to Ericsson, but at the lower price submitted by Motorola, because of Atiku’s intense lobby and smears deployed to advance Ericsson’s bid. Atiku and Abdullahi Yari, his then ADC, at different times spoke to El Rufai to favour Ericsson.

It is Atiku’s responsibility to explain why he became an Ericsson salesman, although the investigations conducted by Motorola after the debacle makes clear he was not engaged in an altruistic mission. This incident had diplomatic repercussions as the American government wrote to protest this loss by an American company that had submitted the cheaper bid. Atiku persists in his laughable assertion that El-Rufai’s brother is a shareholder and member of Motorola’s board – something any person can research and confirm to be an outright falsehood.

On Pentascope, we see the same pattern of muddying the waters with falsehood. As chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), Atiku gave his approval in writing on 21 February 2003 for the management contract with Pentascope to be signed. The memo on which Atiku minuted his approval, BPE/I&N/NT/MC/DG/280, is dated 20th February 2003, and was initiated by the director of BPE that was covering the DG’s duties at the time. By the virtue of the high office he then held, Atiku knows that Pentascope was not foisted on NITEL but emerged from a properly advertised and competitive selection process. After the failure of the first attempt to sell NITEL, it had been decided that there was need for a management contractor to keep the momentum of preparing the company to operate like a private entity and to preserve its assets. Pentascope resumed in NITEL on 28 April 2003, shortly before El Rufai left the BPE to become a minister.

The Pentascope contract terms included obligations by the BPE to monitor the contract, and for the NITEL Board to set up an Executive Committee to supervise day to day operations in NITEL. Between the new BPE leadership that neglected its responsibilities, the NCP which Atiku chaired and which failed to supervise the BPE and the bureaucrats and politicians around the Ministry of Communications, the management contract was frustrated and terminated in 2005.

When a former vice-president asserts that NITEL was making N100 billion in profit annually, the mind must boggle that someone so unconstrained by fidelity to facts had once been saddled with significant responsibilities. NITEL never made such profits. NITEL had never paid a single dividend to the FGN until the BPE forced it to pay N3bn in 2001! While the  politicians and bureaucrats were fighting to reclaim ministerial control of NITEL (and the inflated equipment contracts that came with it), the company was fast losing market share to the new kids on the block, the GSM companies that understood how to create and sustain value.

It is to be hoped that Atiku will respond to the other matters concerning him in the book, but this time he must ensure that facts trump the braggadocio.

Signed

Muyiwa Adekeye

Media Advisor to Mallam Nasir El Rufai

01 April 2013

ifiokjohn:
tell me more....Why are you so sure?

to me, buhari might win but with a very slim margin.
Buhari will wn because of the illiterate up north and west

Till then brother mi