01082020 - You're cruel insentitive for care of repentant terrorists, abandoning us

BUHARI breaks silence on EFCC,
NDDC probes
Says political appointees have abused trust
*Past and present cases will be investigated
*Security situation in North West, North Central very disturbing
*Warns militants against destruction of oil pipelines
*Says it will hurt Niger Delta people more than the rest of the country
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
PRESIDENT Muham
madu Buhari yesterday
broke his silence on
the ongoing probes of the
Chairman of the Economic
and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim
Magu and the Interim
Management of the
Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC, by
the National Assembly, expressing
disappointment
that political appointees
have abused the trust on
them.
President Buhari also
said that the security situation
in the North West and
the North Central was disturbing
even as he said
that the expectation is that
the security agencies
should up their game.
He said that while much
had been achieved, security
wise, from the situation
he inherited in 2015,
more still needed to be
done.
He gave assurance that
there would be more resources
for the country’s
military, police and other
security agencies to deal
with the unwanted security
situation in some areas
of the country.
President Buhari stated
this after observing the
Eid-el-Kabir prayers with
his family members and
aides at the forecourt of
the Presidential Villa, Abuja
yesterday.
On the issue of corruption,
President Buhari said
that all past and present
cases will be fully
investigated,adding,“This
is why we put the commission
(of investigation) in
place.”
Asked how he feels
about recent revelations
coming out from the EFCC
and the Niger Delta Commission,
he said, “There
has been abuse of trust by
people trusted by previous
administration and this administration.
“A number of assets and
money have been recovered.
But we have introduced
TSA where all the
monies are taken and I
said assets should be sold
and the money be put
through TSA so that it can
be identified at any level
and I will see who will
come after us and take it
back again to those who
misappropriated public
funds.”
On the specific case of
the Niger Delta, the president
decried the wastage
of the resources earmarked
for improvements of the
lives of the people of the
region.
He lamented that corruption
had been unhelpful
in that regard, especially
“if you recall there is the
13 per cent derivation.”
He also warned against
the destruction of oil pipelines
in the oil-producing
areas which often results
in environmental pollution.
He said, “Those who are
destroying pipelines and
interfering with the production
of petroleum products
are hurting their people
more than the rest of
Nigerians because majority
of their people are fishermen,
fisher women and
farmers.
“Now if they pollute the
land and the waters, the
fish goes into the deeper
sea where the people cannot
go and they cannot
grow anything. They are
hurting their immediate
communities more than
any other thing.”
On his message to Nigerians
as the Muslim
faithful celebrate the Sallah,
he told the citizenry
to be conscious of what
they do.
He said:” I wish Nigerians
the best of luck. In the
Eid-el-Kabir sermon, the
Imam has said it all, we
want security, prosperity
and well being of all Nigerians.
We want Nigerians
to be very conscious of
their country.
“What we inherited when
we came in 2015 was Boko
Haram in North East and
the militants in the South
South. Nigerians know
that we have done our
best.”
Responding to the question
on the performance of the
Service Chiefs which recently,
he said needed to get better,
the President said that the
Military, the Police and other
security agencies are working
hard.
“We are making available
resources to them to even do
better,” he assured, adding,
“What is coming up in the
North West and North Central
is very very disturbing indeed.
“But I believe the military,
the police and other law enforcement
agencies from the
report I'm getting, I think they
could do much better. They
could do much better but we
are keeping them on the alert
all the time to do their duties.”
From left: Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; his younger
brother AbdulRauph AbdulRazaq; and a relative Ishaq Olorundare; observing
Eid prayer in their compound at Idi-Igba quarters in Ilorin, the state capital,
yesterday.
Nigerians agreed on North/South rotational
presidency in 2015—Senator Clark
*Northerners opposing zoning are hypocrites
*Tinubu, other S’West aspirants should drop 2023 ambition for Igbo
By Emma Amaize,
Regional Editor, South-
South
ELDER Statesman and
former Federal Commissioner
for Information,
Senator Edwin Clark, said,
weekend, that it was uncalled-for
and hypocritical
for Northern politicians to
argue that there was no rotation
of power between North
and South, as President Muhammdu
Buhari presently
serving his second term in office,
rode to power in 2015
based on the arrangement.
Clark, also the leader of the
South-South geo-political
zone and chair, Board of
Trustees, BOT, Pan-Niger
Delta Forum, PANDEF, also
tried to shoot down the presidential
ambition of All Progressives
Congress, APC,
leader from the South-West
zone, Alhaji Bola Tinubu,
saying, it was the turn of the
South-East zone to produce
the next president in 2023.
Reacting to the recent comments
of former National
Security Adviser, Mamman
Daura, on some national issues,
he said the agreement
to rotate presidency between
North and South was reached
at the 2014 National Conference
attended by over 490
delegates representing various
aspects of the Nigerian
public, including professional
bodies, trade unions, market
women, the physically
challenged and the youths.
And the essence was to give a
sense of belonging to all.
His words: “It is, therefore,
unnecessary and insincere of
the same Northern politicians
to say that they no longer believe
in the rotation of the
presidency between the North
and the South because this
was the reason, at that time,
they accused former President
Goodluck Jonathan of
breaching the rotation
agreement.”
He contended that
Northern politicians said:
“That the presidency
should rotate between the
North and the South and
insisted that the North
should produce the president
to complete the two
tenures of eight years of
President Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua.”
“It was this grievance,
during the 2011 presidential
elections that resulted
to the crisis where many
Southerners, who were in
the North, including National
Youth Service
Corps, NYSC, members,
were killed, particularly in
Bauchi State, where 10
were brutally murdered,
including my nephew Mr.
Elliot Adowie.
SATURDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 1, 2020 — 9
Tinubu, others should allow
S-East take its turn
AND it is for this reason that some of us are recommending
that the South Eastern part of Nigeria should be allowed
to produce the president of the country, now that it is the turn of
Southern Nigeria to produce a president.
“The likes of Ahmed Bola Tinubu of the Southwest zone, a
zone which has ruled this country at three different times with
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo ruling as military head of state and
as a democratically elected president, and Chief Ernest Shonekan
as interim national president, should allow the Southeast,
which was also part of the three principal regions of Nigeria
headed by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as first president of Nigeria
from 1963-1966, the Sarduana of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello,
the premier of northern Nigeria, and that of Western Nigeria,
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as heads of the regional governments.
I didn’t misdirect Jonathan
“I have been accused of advising and misdirecting former
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Yes, I agree that I advised
President Jonathan, because I contributed to his becoming the
president of Nigeria; first, as Vice President in 2007, and when
he became the acting president during the absence of President
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who went to Saudi Arabia on medical
grounds, but did not comply with section 145 of the 1999
Nigerian Constitution as amended which states that:
“Whenever the president is proceeding on vacation or is
otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall
transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representative to that effect, and
until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary,
the Vice President shall perform the functions of the President as
acting president.”
“Since this was not done by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua,
because of the nature of his illness, some prominent Northern
politicians opposed and prevented Vice President Goodluck
Jonathan, from acting as president. And as a result, there was
growing tension in the country. For instance, groups led by Pastor
Tunde Bakari of Southern Nigeria demonstrated several times
in Abuja demanding that Dr. Jonathan should function as acting
president of Nigeria.
“As usual, former head of state of the country, Gen. Yakubu
Gowon, a man of peace and a promoter of national unity based
on equality of all citizens of Nigeria, invited some prominent
leaders in the country to a meeting at the ECOWAS building.
The meeting had in attendance former heads of state including
late President Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Chief Ernest Shonekan
and former late Vice President Alex Ekwueme ; three former
justices of Nigeria including Justice Alfa Belgore, late Justice
Idris Kutigi and Justice Mohammed Uwais; other prominent
Nigerians including Gen. T. Y. Danjuma (rtd), Mallam Adamu
Ciroma, Ahmed Joda and late Solomon Lar. I was also one of
them.
“It was during discussions at the meeting that Justice Alfa
Belgore, raised the issue of Doctrine of Necessity citing instances
of where the doctrine had been used where the Constitution of
the country did not envisage such event and, therefore, not provided
for in the Constitution.
“After elaborate debates, it was decided that we should adopt
the Doctrine of Necessity. Prof. Jerry Gana and Senator Jonathan
Zwingina of Adamawa State, who acted as secretaries to the
body, were asked to draft a letter to the National Assembly,
recommending to them to consider the Doctrine of Necessity in
order to solve the political impasse.
“Gen. Gowon, who chaired the meeting, said that he will be
leaving for Ethiopia immediately after the meeting, and asked
the late former President Shehu Shagari to lead a delegation to
the National Assembly and to the Vice President Goodluck
Jonathan.
“That was how the Senate presided over by Senator David
Mark, the then Senate President, adopted the Doctrine of Necessity
which was also later adopted by the House of Representatives
presided over by Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole the then Speaker
of the House. It was after that that President Goodluck
Jonathan was directed to act as the President of Nigeria awaiting
the return of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua,” he said.
Daura wrong
Clark asserted: “Mammon Daura as nephew to Mr. President
has every right to speak on their family matters, because
he is part of Muhammadu Buhari’s family. But he has no experience
or qualification to give directives on Nigeria’s governmental
affairs.”
“The qualities of capability, competence, intelligence and
transparent leaders, and availability of such, are not only in the
North or in the South, neither is it the prerogative of one group
or area. In fact, citizens with such qualities exist in each of the
six geopolitical zones. In terms of size, each of the six zones is
as large, in fact, each zone in the country is even larger and
more populated than some African countries,” he said.