Asari Dokubo Slams President Jonathan Over His Statement On Buhari Bomb Attack

On Tuesday, leader of Niger-Delta Peoples Volunteers Force Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo- Asari slammed President Jonathan over his comment that there would have been crisis if Gen. Muhammadu Buhari died in the Kaduna blast.

He said that placing one life over 80 other people that died was completely wrong. Asari Dokubo told reporters in Abuja that; "I do not work for Jonathan. What the President said was wrong. The life of Buhari is not more important than 87 people that died in that blast. It is unfortunate that the President made such a statement. I wonder why the President will be promoting one person above other Nigerians. That statement from the President was very unfortunate. I do not have the capacity to tell the President to apologise, but I still insist that he should not have made such a statement.

Soon after the blast, a cross-gender person came out and was arrested. Even the mother of the person arrested said he was insane. Social media reports said I gave them N5m to carry out the attack. These things are masterminded. The first one is against President Jonathan and the other one is against me. I did not pay anybody to carry out any assassination attempt on Buhari. I do not have anything against him. He is not a threat. He will fail in 2015. For the records, I do not operate a Twitter account and anyone saying I tweeted that there would be more attacks is only using my name."

Read More

PHOTOS: President Jonathan Visits Site Of Abuja Bomb Blast

See photos of President Jonathan at the scene of the bomb blast in Nyanya below. He also visited the hospital to see the injured survivors.

Read More

President Jonathan's Daughter Gets About 80 Cars As Wedding Gift

We all knew that President GEJ was in his hometown in Otueke at the weekend to attend his daughter's wedding.

News reaching us now is that the daughter got about 80 cars as wedding gift.

Hmmm! Now I'm wondering, where will she park them all?

"I wish say nah me be d husband, we for just open CAR MART, cos me know say nah big time cars dem go don give d babe".

Congrats to the bride and bridegroom, and this is wishing you guys a happy married life.

Read More

NEWS: As PDP Crumbles, National Chairman Bamanga Tukur ‘Resigns’

Bamanga Tukur, the embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has resigned.

Sources say he tendered his resignation to President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja today, and the staff of the party secretariat is reportedly celebrating his departure.

Mr. Tukur’s resignation has not been made public officially according to party executives.

Tukur had insisted that he would not resign, saying that it was only the party's convention that could remove him, but he was said to have been pressured to resign by his son, Anwal.

The insistence by PDP governors and the passing of a vote of no confidence on him by the 37 state chairmen of the party on Tuesday night are said to have made Anwal to persuade his father to quit the job.

Anwal nurses dreams of becoming governor of Adamawa, the Tukurs’ home state, and a part of Bamanga Tukur’s problems at the National Secretariat concern the undemocratic methods he has employed in Adamawa in the past couple of years to ensure Anwal becomes governor.

Read More

What Is The Fuss About N255 Million? - Musa Dickson Achimugu @Diqsen

Over the past few weeks, the nation's media have been awashed with stories which have come to be known as Oduahgate. Clearly, as with most things Nigerian, sides have been formed. While some people swear that Ms Stella Oduah is the best thing that has ever happened to Nigeria's aviation industry and that she is being victimized as a result of her bold steps to correct the ills she inherited in that sector, others are determined to see her sacked for blatant corruption.

Before now, the stellar performance of Ms Stella has gained mythical proportions. Like a colossus, she seemed to have transformed the industry on a massive scale, giving teeth to the new administration of President Jonathan which was then just a few months into office. If you believe the publicity, all the airports in Nigeria now wear a new and modern look, and this is glaring for all to see – never mind that  planes have been falling off our skies. Of course, 'bad belle' people blame the recent surge in plane crashes to her ineffectiveness, when they should have seen it for what it is: an act of God.

China, having seen the good works begged Nigeria to obtain a $500 million from them as part of their contribution to this transformation. Nigeria also secured a historical BASA agreement with Israel due to her sterling performance. If you add her stunning achievement with her stunning looks, it should be enough to draw an Alexandra Burkeesque 'Hallelujah' from your lips.

Yet, those who said her airport transformation project is a ruse for monumental corruption point to the allegations of graft, over inflated contracts, allocation of funds for multiple sham contracts, awards of contract without regard to due process, nepotism, forcing operators to buy exorbitant aviation fuel from her company and failing to ensure the safety of air travellers.

Not surprising, some people, even groups have come out in stout defence of the aviation minister. True, the argument cuts across a wide spectrum, from the reasonable or persuasive, to the utterly ridiculous. While it can be argued that her revocation of the irregular concession agreements which were serving the interest of the concessionaires alone and ruining our collective patrimony have made her some powerful enemies who would think nothing of besmearing her person, it is ridiculous to bring her ethnic group into the equation as she has done. It is even more bizarre for a group to suggest that purchasing the said cars for N255 million was done to provide adequate security for our airports.

The noise and the nonsense from both sides have been too much. There are many reasons why Nigerians are angry over the reckless spending of N255 million on two cars. The propriety of acquiring such expensive gadgets has been questioned by many Nigerians, some of whom note that the official vehicle of the United States President is not as expensive as that, and that the cars could be bought for a quarter of that amount.

The morality of acquiring just two cars for N255 million in a country with a subjective poverty index of about 94%, and where students have been at home for about four months because of government's inability to honour an agreement, has been questioned. The legality of a parastatal under the ministry buying such expensive cars for the use of the minister has also been questioned.

But I ask, what is the fuss about N255 million? Why is there so much emphasis on the cost of the cars? N255 million is not even enough to feed our president for just 15 days; N255 million is not enough for our Vice President to read his newspapers; N255 million cannot maintain our presidential jets for 10 days; N255 million is not enough for our National Assembly for one day. So what is the fuss about N255 million? I think we are not asking the right questions and we are putting wrong emphasis on the cost of the cars.

I'd rather ask the following questions;

1. How much was appropriated for the purchase of operational vehicles by NCAA for 2013?
2. How many vehicles was the said sum appropriated for?
3. How much has been committed to the purchase of operational vehicles in 2013, whether by actual cash or lease financing?
4. Is there a differential between the appropriated sum and the committed sum?
5. If there is a differential, who approved it?
6. Was the person that gave such approval authorised by law and the Nigerian constitution to grant such?
7. Is there a ceiling on the maximum contract sum that can be awarded by a parastatal of government, above which permission must be sought and obtained from the Federal Executive Council before which such contract can be awarded?
8. Did NCAA at any time award a contract above this ceiling in the purchase of their operational vehicles?
9. Did they seek the permission of FEC and obtained it before they awarded those contracts?
10. Can the Minister act on behalf of FEC to approve spending above the ceiling?
11. Is it mandatory that the BPP be involved in the award of all government contracts?
12. Was the BPP involved in the purchase of the operational vehicles by NCAA?
13. Is there government approved due process in the award of contracts?
14. Did the NCAA follow due process in awarding contracts for the purchase of its operational vehicles?
15. Is it compulsory to seek and obtain permission of Security agencies before bringing in security vehicles to Nigeria?
16. Was such permission sought and obtained before the NCAA purchased the security vehicles?
17. Where are the operational vehicles purchased by NCAA?
18. Would a crime be committed if an official of government contravenes a law while acting in the 'overriding interest of the masses'?

These for me are questions we should be asking, instead of fussing over N255 million.


This piece was sent in by Musa Dickson Achimugu @Diqsen

Read More

NEWS: Jonathan Snubs Oduah, Prevents Her From Signing The Bilateral Agreement In Israel

It was widely reported last week that President Goodluck Jonathan turned down the embattled ministers request for an appointment while on pilgrimage at the Holy Land, well news reaching us is that the President has refused to allow the Minister, Ms Stella Oduah sign the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with him in Israel today.

Thumbs up Mr. President!

Read More

NEWS: Jonathan’s Motorcade Rescues Accident Victims

The president's convoy helped the injured in Ekiti state.

The advance team of President Goodluck Jonathan's entourage, returning from Ado-Ekiti on Sunday rendered emergency rescue services to accident victims on the Lokoja-Abuja highway, witnesses say.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reported that the accident, which occurred at Okpu village, few kilometres after Lokoja, involved two cars carrying 11 people.
A Nissan Almera car with registration number AH 47 KAA going to Lokoja and a Honda Accord model with registration number BG945BWR en-route Abuja, were involved in the accident.

The two vehicles had a head-on collision with serious impact, causing varying degrees of injury to the occupants of the vehicles.

The accident occurred few minutes before the presidential motorcade came by the scene, NAN reported. Mr Jonathan was in Ekiti state over the weekend on an official visit.

As the convoy arrived, the president's security team rescued victims trapped in the two cars.
The front door of the passenger seat of the Nissan car was axed before a middle aged woman, who was inside, could be rescued.

The medical team, led by Dr Aliyu Usman of the State House Clinic, rendered emergency medical treatment to the victims, aided by two nurses.
Later, a team of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, led by one Mohammed Haruna, arrived the scene of the accident about 30 minutes into the rescue operation.

The victims were taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, in an FRSC rescue van for further medical attention.

An eye witness, Aliyu Sadiq, said that the accident was caused by speed, dangerous driving and the poor state of the road.
The eye witness, who is a commercial bus driver, said he plied the road on daily basis, and that there was hardly a day that an accident is not recorded on the road.
(NAN)

Read More

Return To Class, Jonathan Begs ASUU

President Goodluck Jonathan has pleaded with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to stop being  adamant over their protracted strike and return to classrooms for the sake of the students who, he said, were the worst hit by the industrial action. He made the appeal when he commissioned the  three-storey College of Engineering Complex in the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Ekiti State, named after him.

Jonathan has also cautioned the union not to abuse the freedom of association and the right of workers to go on strike or even use it to the detriment of the nation, just as he noted that whatever the grievances the striking workers have, keeping students out of school for four months is quite unpatriotic. He said, "I once again appeal to the entire membership of ASUU to pause and ponder on the adverse effect of their action on the future of the vibrant youths of this great nation. The collective destiny of tens of thousands of tomorrow's leaders should not be held hostage to vagaries of labour disputes. As long as we are humans, as long as we are a developing society, this labour dispute must come up.

"I believe that labour has the right to go on strike, but in that strike, any action taken must be built on patriotic zeal. In as much as you can go on strike, you must be patriotic to our country. No matter how and what you feel about Mr. President and the federal government, I plead with ASUU that for the sake of our students, they should resume classes."
The President noted that while four months would have been enough for the striking academics to drive home their point on their grievances against government, keeping the students beyond four months which is equal to a whole semester raises suspicion of an ulterior motive on the part of the union.
He said: "If it is a genuine strike, keeping students out of classrooms for almost four months, by that they have demonstrated to everybody that they have a case. And if the strike is motivated by some other interests, they have also achieved that by keeping students out of schools for more than a semester.

"I always says that even in the developed societies, we hear about labour dispute and there is no society, even the most developed that has provided the facilities for every worker.
Our security services, the Police, the Armed Forces, Navy, Air Force and paramilitary, intelligent services are also operating in an environment that is not the best.
"If all of us should go on long strike because our environment is not optimum, then, definitely we can never get the Nigeria of our dream. So, let me use this unique opportunity that I am interfacing with our future leaders, our students, to plead with ASUU members to return to class."

President Jonathan promised that his administration will continue to work with all Nigerians to build a better country for all and future generation,  maintaining that as long government had shown commitment to improving the qualities of infrastructure in the universities and the operating environment, ASUU should reconsider its stance.
He argued further that if students of private universities could get their degrees within three and a half years as witnessed in ABUAD, "it is unacceptable that students of public institutions are kept for extra one or two years."
Congratulating the founder and President of ABUAD, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) for building for the country such a magnificient citadel of learning, Jonathan said he was deeply humbled by the decision to name the College of Engineering of the institution building after him.

"It is often said that great minds leave great history behind them and this history is built on a very great vision. The vision of Aare Afe Babalola, founder of this promising institution is a noble one," he said.
Jonathan noted that historically, some of the greatest institutions of learning in the world were shaped by the vision, foresight and personal experience of their founders. He described Babalola as a man of "unassailable character, profound vision, an epitome of the highest ideals and a quintessential Nigerian patriot."

In his remarks, Afe Babalola, recalled that the university built some three and half years ago was worth over N60 billion in private investments and noted that with over 4000 students from 36 states of Nigeria and FCT, the institution is reputed to be the fastest growing private university in Africa.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said ABUAD is the second best private university in the country and the 14th best among all public and private universities in Nigeria, adding that his decision to invest in the education sector was informed by his firm belief that government cannot fund the sector alone.

Noting that the best universities in the world such as Oxford and Harvard are privately owned, Babalola said the naming of the College of Engineering of the institution after the president is in recognition of the immense contributions of the administration to the education sector. He also appealed to the President to intervene in the development of the Ekiti Airport, saying in-spite of the over N600 million approved by the federal government for the commencement of the project in 2011, nothing has happened at the site.

Governors who were present at the event were Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Ramalan Yero (Kaduna), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe) and the host governor, Kayode Fayemi. Also in attendance were Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade; Supervising Minister for Education, Nyesom Wike; Minister of State for FCT, Olajumoke Akinjide and Sen. Phillip Aduda (PDP-FCT).

The Sun

Read More

NEWS: Don’t Call Me Commander-in-Chief of The Armed Forces - GEJ

The presidency has ordered all government functionaries to desist from addressing President Goodluck Jonathan as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria" at non-military functions.
The directive is contained in a strongly worded October 14 circular, No SGF/OP/1/S.3/X/664, by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim Pius.
The memo was addressed to the Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, ministers, heads of ministries, departments, agencies and parastatals, the leadership of the National Assembly, and government-owned companies.
"It is further directed that except in purely armed forces programmes, Mr. President should not be addressed as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," the statement warned.
"The approved designation of the President for the purposes of all official correspondence, public announcements or Communication should be "The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"I am to stress that for all official purposes, Mr. President should be addressed as follows: 'His Excellency, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," Mr. Anyim added, urging strict compliance to the presidential directive by all Nigerians.
It however, does not remove the fact that the president, by virtue of the constitution, is the commander of the Nigerian armed forces.
Section 130 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) states: "There shall be for the Federation a President. The President shall be the Head of State, the Chief Executive of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation."
Also, Section 218(1) of the constitution spells out the powers of the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation to include the power to determine the operational use of the armed forces of the Federation.
The memo did not state the reason for Mr. Jonathan's decision. But former Nigerian leaders, both military and civilian, have always been called by that title both in military and non-military programmes.
The directive also warned that Mr. Jonathan's official pictures should be used at programmes of events, invitation cards, or publications by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, as well as other government organizations and offices.
READ CIRCULAR BELOW
Ref. No. SGF/OP/1/S.3/X/664
Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation
The Presidency,
Shehu Shagari Complex,
Three Arms Zone,
Abuja.
14th October, 2013
Chief of Staff to the President,
Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the Vice-President,
Honourable Ministers/Ministers of State,
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation,
Special Advisers/Senior Special Assistants,
Service Chiefs/Inspector-General of Police,
Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission,
Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal,
Chairman, Federal Character Commission,
Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission,
Chairman, National Population Commission,
Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission,
Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria,
Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,
Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission,
Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Extra-Ministerial Departments,
Clerk of the National Assembly,
Chief Registrar, Supreme Court of Nigeria,
Secretary, National Judicial Council,
Auditor-General for the Federation,
Accountant-General of the Federation,
Directors-General/Chief Executives of Parastatals, Agencies and Government-Owned Companies.
USE OF OFFICIAL PORTRAIT AND APPROPRIATE DESIGNATION OF THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
It has come to the attention of Mr. President that several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as other Organisations often use his unofficial pictures in programmes of events, invitation cards or publications. Mr. President has, therefore, directed that, henceforth only his official portrait should be printed in official documents or displayed in offices.
2. It is further directed that except in purely armed forces programmes, Mr. President should not be addressed as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria." The approved designation of the President for the purposes of all official correspondence, public announcements or
Communication should be "The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria." I am to stress that for all official purposes, Mr. President should be addressed as follows:
"His Excellency, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR,
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria"
3. You are accordingly required to bring the foregoing directives of the President to the attention of all concerned for strict compliance, please.
Anyim Pius Anyim, GCON
Secretary to the Government of the Federation

Read More

NEWS: Wike’s A Confused And Clueless Minister, Says New PDP… Calls For His Sack

The faction of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, led by Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led yesterday called on President Goodluck Jonathan to as a matter of urgency sack the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike on grounds that the portfolio he is currently handling is too strategic to be left in his hands.

In a statement signed by its national Publicity Secretary, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the Baraje-led PDP said, “We are at a loss as to how a supposedly serious government should continue to retain him as a Minister of the very strategic Ministry of Education in a country teeming with accomplished educationists and administrators if not for undemocratic motor-park democracy he specializes on.

“In any case, we are not overly surprised by Wike’s tirade because he is capable of saying or doing anything, no matter how outrageous.

“Let us reiterate that should he ever make another derogatory statement about the Baraje-led PDP, we will teach him some lessons on how to talk as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and he should note that New PDP is not Rivers State.

“The fact remains that to say that Wike is a disaster as a Minister is to state the obvious. We advise him to minimize the damage which he is doing to the Jonathan administration by concentrating on his work instead of busying himself making enemies for the President whom he pretends to be loyally serving but whose downfall he is secretly plotting.

“Instead of President Jonathan addressing enemies within his cabinet he is busy persecuting and embarrassing his true friends and political associates that matter in his political calculations!

“We have read with dismay the statement credited to the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike that Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State and the New Peoples Democratic Party are behind the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

“We would have ordinarily ignored Wike’s outburst as the ranting of a confused and clueless minister but have decided to reply so as to set the record straight. We challenge Wike to produce evidence to back up his allegation or bury his head in shame forever.”

“If we may ask, was it Gov. Amaechi or any other of our members that negotiated on behalf of the Federal Government in 2009 when it reached the agreement with ASUU, which it has inexplicably refused to honour, thus laying the foundation for this lingering strike that has mortgaged the future of innocent Nigerian youths? And did any member of New PDP negotiate on the part of ASUU during the recently deadlocked talks with the FG over the strike?

“It is unfortunate that instead of committing himself towards finding a solution to the crippling strike, Wike has instead chosen to trivialise the issue and to ridicule himself. Unfortunately, it is the actions and utterances of court jesters like Wike that have made perceptive Nigerians to describe the Goodluck Jonathan administration as a kindergarten government.

“For Wike to have made this statement against a group that ordered her members to fast and pray for this unfortunate strike for over a week and even set up a Committee under the Chairmanship of His Excellency, Gov Babangida Aliyu to proffer solutions on how to come out of the quagmire occasioned by Wike’s inability simply demonstrates the lack of wisdom on his side!”


-VANGUARD

Read More

NEWS: Jonathan Sets Up National Confab Committee

President Goodluck Jonathan has announced the setting up of an advisory committee to establish modalities for a national conference aimed at resolving issues that currently cause friction in the polity.

In today's independence day broadcast, he said the committee which will have Dr. Femi Okurounmun as its chairperson and Dr. Akilu Indabawa as its secretary will have one month to completes its  assignment.

"Fellow Nigerians, our Administration has taken cognizance of suggestions over the years by well-meaning Nigerians on the need for a national dialogue on the future of our beloved country.

"When there are issues that constantly stoke tension and bring about friction, it makes perfect sense for the interested parties to come together to discuss.
"In demonstration of my avowed belief in the positive power of dialogue in charting the way forward, I have decided to set up an advisory committee whose mandate is to establish the modalities for a national dialogue or conference.

"The committee will also design a framework and come up with recommendations as to the form, structure and mechanism of the process.

Read More

NEWS: I didn't Sign One-Term Deal With Anybody - Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday vehemently denied signing a one-term agreement either officially or unofficially with any individual or group in 2011 as has been widely speculated.

Jonathan, who spoke during his periodic media chat with a team of journalists, said: “I have not signed agreement with anybody. If I have signed agreement, they would have shown you.”

Similarly, the President  refused to clear the air on his intention to re-contest, saying that it was early to comment on 2015.

According to him, early politicking was against the spirit and letters of the Electoral Act and could also destabilize the polity.

His words:  “We have laws in this country. I quite appreciate that Electoral Laws tend to regulate political activities. If you do it earlier, you will destabilize the country. Don’t force a President to declare. It is against the Electoral Law. It has time.”

He, however said that any Nigerian, who is seeking to contest the office of the President in 2015 should not wait for him to declare before making his or her intention known.

“Don’t wait for me to declare before you declare your intention if you want to contest”, the President added. A lot of people are misinforming Nigerians. I was in Addis-Ababa, that was the time I advocated a single tenure. The way you look at the politics of Nigeria now,  the country is just developing, in terms of the political evolution, this is about the first time; if you look at the way our polity is, I suggested that probably if the president has a single tenure of seven years running without interference, it will be productive.”

Electoral laws

He said that politicians declaring early for various respective positions are bound to over-heat the polity.

His words: “I know that our electoral laws give people time to campaign but if you start early, you will create more problems for the system. I know what it takes to campaign, for you to go round the country, you will spend a lot of money in campaigning. The electoral law gives INEC the power to set time frame for politicians who are interested in elections to begin to inform Nigerians. If you do it earlier, you will destabilize the country.

Any president, whether it is Goodluck Jonathan, as long as you still have the opportunity to contest, if you declare it early, you will create more problems in the system than solving the problems… So, don’t even force a president to declare his interest. It is even against the Electoral Act, even if it is not a sitting president. The electoral law has a time for political parties to conduct their primaries. Whatever you are doing is clandestine. You can tell your friends. A lot of people have been holding meetings silently, who has declared?”

On Apo killings

Speaking on the recent killings in Apo, President Jonathan said ‘though innocent persons may have died, there were confessions from arrested Boko Haram operatives that there were arms in that building. “Some of the people that were arrested confessed and they were leading them to where they said arms were kept and there was an exchange of gunfire. In the process some people were arrested some died. I cannot say clearly that all those who died were members of Boko Haram but definitely there were Boko Haram elements there” he said.

FG is committed to education

 On the continued face-off between ASUU and the Federal Government, he said: “Some of the issues in the 2009 agreement with ASUU, maybe those who sat down to do the negotiations were civil servants, there were certain things that some of them know and agree that cannot be implemented. How can they say that assets of government should be transferred to universities? The Federal Government has so many assets, government cannot take care of universities alone. So if we transfer all the landed property of government to the universities, what about the armed forces?

“We have been faithful to the agreement because after the 2009 agreement there have been other strikes. So this strike is beyond the 2009 agreement because it is apart from those ones that talk about transferring assets of government to universities. You cannot just do that. Talking about infrastructure, the government was not forced into that but we on our side decided to go and take inventory of the infrastructure. So they should not capitalize on it, you cannot change this overnight but we are looking at this with serious commitment. We still have our challenges but you have seen the commitment of government.

On how the government plans to resolve the  ASUU logjam, he appealed to ASUU to call off the strike saying that government is committed to effecting the changes.

“Members of ASUU are our brothers and sisters, they should look at the country, they should look at the young men and women and they should also look at the commitment of government. We are very sincere and my commitment is total to make changes but you cannot make this overnight. If you see the sincerity in government and given the extra things government is doing, we are committed. You should not expect us to close down other sectors of government and bring all the money to solve the problem over night.

We’re not bankrupt

Clearing the air on whether the country was bankrupt or not, the president said, “People play politics because for anybody to say that Nigeria is bankrupt, there must be some indicators. You just don’t wake up from your sleep and say Nigeria is bankrupt. Nigeria, as a nation, in terms of foreign direct investment, shows that the business environment is viable. More than 90 per cent of those who invest in our capital market are non-Nigerians. If Nigeria was bankrupt, the investors will remove their money overnight. Anybody who talks about Nigeria being bankrupt is just playing politics. If Nigeria is broke, there are parameters you use.”

Corruption

Commenting on the high rate of corruption in the country, he said: “When you talk of corruption in Nigeria, it is all about perception and index. Perception is like when you say something is wrong 100 times, it becomes true. There was a time we assembled civil society people and asked them to compare and contrast what the major problem of Nigeria was, I think corruption came third. I am not saying corruption does not exist in this country, corruption is existing and it is as old as the human race. What our administration is doing is to ensure that public funds are not exposed to people to steal.”

Sacking of ministers

Explaining the rationale behind the sack of nine ministers from the Federal Executive Council, the president said the sack had nothing to with the G7 governors.

Said he: “It has nothing to do with the G7 governors. I can tell you that some ministers dropped from different states are ministers nominated by governors very close to me. The minister dropped from KadunaState where the Vice President is from did not have issues with my Vice President. Sometimes, you just want to do something differently and since as president, you have the power to hire and fire, you just have to do it to reposition your government.”

From 1999 during ex-President Obasanjo and during Yar’Adua, was there no time ministers were not dropped? So I am surprised people are reading meaning to this sack of ministers. If they have committed an offence, that would have been a different thing but they have done nothing wrong, I just want to retool my government.”

On why he refused to re-appoint another defence minister, he said, “people talk out of ignorance sometimes in this country. Those who handle defence are the four service chiefs and not civilians. I don’t envy service chiefs because if they are to be sacked, the President just call you in and brief you and before you step out, another person has been appointed. There is no provision for gaps in the office of service chiefs. You can do away with Defence Minister but not service chiefs.

Cost of governance

Speaking on the cost of running government, he said:  “We are doing well in terms of that. Recently, we just reviewed that in the parastatals. I can tell you that political appointees are not that much as people think. As a minister, you need competent people around you to function properly. Government doesn’t sponsor plenty people anytime we are traveling out of the country for events, so I wonder where people get number of people they seem to claim anytime I travel out for events. People don’t compare notes. For you to function well as president, you need competent people around you. I can tell you that there are many African presidents that travel with many more people when they attend events  than me. In many countries, even when the President is sick, you won’t know because there are technocrats running the government.”

Read More