Fed govt gives fresh conditions for release of Paris Club funds

The Federal Ministry of Finance yesterday listed fresh conditions for the release of the Paris Club debt refund to states. It said that it was doubtful if most governors fulfilled earlier conditions as salaries and pensions were still being owed in many states.
If these fresh conditions are strictly adhered to, there will be more transparent use of the funds as regards the improvement of the wellbeing of the citizens. Henceforth, there will no longer be disbursement except the ongoing reconciliation between the Federal Government and the states on the balances of their accounts of the refund arising from the first tranche disbursements is concluded. Some states are assumed to have been overpaid in the last disbursement.
The Finance Minister. Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who gave the conditions, also said the governors must dutifully account for the application of the first tranche receipts which were anchored on certain conditions, including defraying workers’ backlog of salaries and pension commitments.
In a statement by her Media Assistant, Mr. Festus Akanbi, yesterday in Abuja, Adeosun said an independent assessment of the compliance by the states was a key function of the ministry.
“It is standard practice in the Ministry of Finance to undertake an independent monitoring of compliance with the terms and conditions of funds released. This will be conducted in due course,” she said.
According to the minister, it is necessary to address the issue of Paris Club refunds to assure the public that the Federal Government has consistently complied with all extant rules and regulations in the disbursement of the money to state governments.
Adeosun said the disbursement process was transparent and targeted at the attainment of specific economic objectives. The inability of some sub-national governments to pay salaries and other obligations, according to her, is contrary to government’s economic stimulus programme.
The minister, who averred that claims of over-deductions had been consistently made to the Federal Government since 2005, maintained that the Debt Management Office (DMO) initially requested 22 months to complete the reconciliation and facilitate disbursement to states. But considering the plight of salary earners and pensioners and the need to stimulate the economy, President Muhammadu Buhari directed that the exercise be completed within 12 months.
“In addition, Mr. President gave an express anticipatory approval for the release of up to 50% of the claims of each state, pending final reconciliation. That reconciliation is undertaken by the DMO, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and the relevant state governments.
Accordingly, the disbursements are staggered in batches and payments are only made when the claims of each state have been reconciled with the facts at the disposal of the Federal Government.
“Specifically, information was available that some states had been paid either in full or in part, under previous administrations. This necessitated a more detailed review, for the states in question.
“The release of the first tranche, representing up to 25% of claims, being N522.7 billion commenced in December 2016. Disbursement was subject to an agreement by state governments that 50% of any amount received would be earmarked for the payment of salaries and pensions.
“In addition, each governor gave an undertaking that excess payments would be recovered from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), if the final reconciliation found that the amount paid under the anticipatory approval exceeded that due.
“To date, nine batches have been processed while some balances remain outstanding to credit of some states. From the foregoing, complete and final figures can only be released and published after each state and the Federal Government have reconciled and agreed on the sums due to them,” Adeosun explained.
She recalled that at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday March 16, 2017, President Buhari instructed the Finance Ministry and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele to commence the process of resolving the balance of the approved amount, insisting that the overriding consideration for any further releases would be the current and projected cash flows of the federation as well as the outcome of the independent monitoring of the compliance with terms and conditions attached to the previous releases.
Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has urged the Federal Government to utilise the N500 billion London-Paris Club refund to execute tangible projects in the country.
The congress said yesterday that a careful design of specific projects would prevent governors from squandering the N388 billion, which was released in December last year but which allegedly did not have any meaningful impact on the lives of Nigerians.
President of the Congress, Bobboi Kaigama, noted that some forces might be out to frustrate the efforts of President Buhari, hence the need for the government to plan well ahead.
The TUC lamented that despite the release of money meant for the payment of salaries, most workers had not been able to feed their families, pay their rents and their wards’ school fees, let alone provide clothing.
The Secretary General of TUC, Comrade Musa Lawal Ozidi, yesterday said the union was afraid that the governors might come cap-in-hand for another round in no distant time if the necessary things were not put in place.
Besides, former Governor of Kaduna State and pro-democracy activist, Col. Abubakar Umar (rtd) yesterday urged President Buhari to stop the disbursement of the funds to the states, alleging that some governors contracted the services of consultants to secure the refund from the Federal Government.
In a statement, Umar explained that the consultants were paid fees of between 10 and 30 per cent, yet some of the governors could not use the money to pay workers’ salaries.
He also called on the president to suspend his order to the Ministry of Finance and the CBN for the release of the second tranche of the fund to governors.

Ile-Ife riot: Afenifere kicks as police parade 20 suspects

The pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, on Monday, faulted the arrest and parade of suspects involved in the riot at Ile-Ife on March 8, saying no Hausa/Fulani was arrested.
The Publicity Secretary of the group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, in an interview in Abuja, said the parade of the suspects in Abuja showed “undue sectional deployment of federal might.”
The police had, on Monday, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, paraded 20 suspects, including a traditional ruler, Oba Ademola Ademiluyi, the Lawarikan of Apojeland, for alleged involvement in the Ile-Ife crisis.
The Force said 46 persons were killed and properties worth millions of naira destroyed during the mayhem while 96 others were hospitalised at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital out of which 81 of them were treated and discharged while 15 others were still on admission.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, said 38 suspects were earlier arrested, detained and investigated, out of which 18 persons, who were not involved in the violence, were released.
Checks, however, indicated that all those paraded for their involvement in the violence were Yoruba, but the police spokesman denied that the investigation was targeted at a particular group.
He insisted that the suspects were indicted by the investigators, noting that evidence collated by the police showed that the suspects were all involved in the violence that rocked the ancient city.
Moshood stated, “It is not a one-sided thing; suspects from different backgrounds were arrested and some of them were released when investigations showed that they had nothing to do with the violence.
“To be specific, 38 suspects from various backgrounds and ethnic groups were arrested, but 20 of them, who were found culpable for direct and indirect participation in the killing of innocent people were detained and they would be prosecuted.”
He did not, however, explain why none of the Hausa traders, who allegedly started the fracas and killed some residents, were not among the suspects.
Giving the background to the crisis, the police spokesman explained that one Kuburat Eluwole triggered the violence when she allegedly slapped one Abubakar Mohammed in the course of an argument.
Eluwole’s husband, Akeem, a.k.a. Escort, allegedly sponsored some thugs who attacked the Hausa residents of Sabo, leading to the death of 46 persons who were allegedly killed with knives and axes.
Moshood said, “On Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at about 2010hrs, one Alhaji Nasiru Magaji of No. 50 Sabo Street, Ile-Ife, Osun State, reported at Moore Police Station that one Oba Ademola Ademiluyi, the Lawarikan of Apoje land, one Eluwole Akeem ‘m’ (a.k.a Escort) and his wife, Kuburat, brought some hoodlums with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons to attack Hausa residents at the Sabo area of Ile-Ife over a fight between Mohammed of Sabo and Kuburat.”
Based on the report at the Moore Police Station, the police said a case of conduct likely to cause breach of the peace was made against the duo of Kuburat and Mohammed.
“Unexpectedly, on Wednesday March 8, the peace of the area was shattered with the eruption of crisis that led to the gruesome killings of 46 people,” Moshood stated.
But the Oba denied involvement in the crisis, saying he was in Lagos when the violence erupted, adding that he did not know anything about the incident.
“I was in Lagos on March 7 when the violence erupted and when I heard about it, I reported at the Bar Beach police station. When I got to Ile-Ife, I saw the two groups throwing stones at each other and someone asked me to intervene, but I said I don’t speak Hausa.
“The police arrested me, but I don’t know anything about the issue,” he said in Yoruba.
Faulting the police, Afenifere said it objected seriously to the parade of the “so-called suspects in Abuja that is hundreds of miles away from the scene of the conflict.”
According to the group, the right place to investigate this disturbance is Osun State.
It stated, “The Abuja show is undue sectional deployment of federal might to intimidate and harass a party in the conflict. It is direct fallout of the threat of the Interior Minister (Abdulrahaman Danbazzau) after he visited Ife.
“The minister is not on record to have visited any scene of conflict where Fulani herdsmen have inflicted ‘massacres’ on their host communities in the Southern and Middle Belt communities since he was appointed.
“The Ife crisis was sparked by the beheading of a Yoruba vulcaniser and the subsequent parade of his severed head on a pole. How come there is no member of the Arewa community paraded by the police?
“We reject the one-eyed Magistrate that the police have become in this matter and which is as a result of the ethnic composition of the police presently.
“We demand the immediate transfer of the suspects to Osun state. We will resist this ethnic vengeance through the police except we see arrests of the Fulani aggressors in the Ife conflict.”
But the National Publicity Secretary of the pan-northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, said he would not comment on the arrest and the parade of the suspects in Abuja.
“I won’t comment on that matter. We don’t want to give anything ethnic or religious colouration; that’s why I don’t want to comment on it. Sorry, I am in the hospital attending to people. One of my best friends is ill please,” he said.
On its part, Ife Club 1, an association of elite indigenes of Ile-Ife, Osun State, called on the police to hasten the process of prosecuting people arrested in connection with the recent clash.
The President of the club, Chief Adebisi Ogundipe, made the call in Lagos on Monday at a briefing by the executives and other senior members of the club.
Ogundipe said there was also the need to reveal the identities of those in detention, so that people would see whether or not the allegation of partiality on the part of security agencies was true or not.
He said, “The crisis in Ife is surprising giving the age-long harmonious relationship between the two communities. They had related with each other for almost two centuries and operated like brothers and sisters with inter-ethnic marriages and a lot of business relationships.
“As a lawyer, I will not support any act of violence and illegality; but the security officials posted there did not demonstrate enough professionalism in the way they handled the situation during and after the crisis.
“They were supposed to arrest those involved on both sides. But even now that arrests have been made, all we are saying is, let the law take its course. The police should quickly arraign those in their custody. That is what our law says.’’

Jumoke Akindele resigns as Ondo Speaker

The embattled Speaker, Ondo State House Assembly, Mrs. Jumoke Akindele, on Monday, resigned her position as the leader of the House.
Akindele, who assumed the position as the first female speaker in Ondo State in 2014, and five principal officers of the Assembly had sent their letter of resignation to the state Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu.
The principal officers that resigned with Akindele are the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Fatai Olotu; the Majority Leader, Mr. Ifedayo Akinsoyinu; the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Obadiah Vincent; the Whip, Mrs. Adesanya Kemisola; and the Assistant Parliamentary Secretary, Mr. Towase Kuti.
The resignation letter was jointly signed by the six former principal officers of the Assembly, who also gave a condition that the Malahi Coker’s faction should also resign.
The letter read in part, “Our resignation has become imperative in the face of the new geographical configuration of the state so that peace, which is the hallmark of any administration, will continue to reign in the land.
“Moreover, we are desirous of moving the state forward for the benefit of our people.”
Akindele, Olotu and Akinsoyinu were impeached by 13 of the 26 lawmakers for alleged involvement in financial misappropriation in February, 2017.
Coker, Ayodele Arowele and Olamide George were subsequently elected as the speaker, the deputy speaker and the major leader respectively in acting capacity.
Meanwhile, the Assembly, which was sealed off by the police in February following the leadership crisis in the House, was reopened for sitting on Monday as the factional leader, Coker, presided over the plenary session as a the speaker.
The session was attended by the 12 lawmakers in the Coker faction.

2019: 7 govs,15 senators ready to join us – SDP

The Social Democratic Party, SDP, yesterday, said a total of seven serving governors and five serving senators have indicated interest to move to its fold ahead of the 2019 general election.
Also, according to the party, five former members of the House of Representatives have hinted of their desires to moved to its platform.
The development, according to SDP,which disclosed this in a statement last night by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Alpha Mohammed, was due to the painstaking efforts of the Contact and Mobilization Team of the party, lead by its Chairman, Chief Olu-Falae.
The statement did not mention the parties the defectors were leaving but merely hinted that they were from the two leading political parties in the country.
“Already, arrangement is on top gear to welcome 7 former Governors, 15 serving senators, 5 former Members of the House of Representatives within the country, as well as 6 top stakeholders from the two leading political parties in the North central Geo-political zone, “the party said.
The party said it was set to rule the country from 2019 after that year’s general election.
”The Social Democratic Party, SDP, is set to provide the much desired credible leadership in Nigeria come 2019.
“Already taking the advantages of the failure of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to provide Nigerians with the promised positive change for which it was elected, as well as the crisis stiffen condition of the PDP which just suffered a rejection at the 2015 polls, the SDP is currently engaged in serious and fruitful discussions with credible and progressive minded individuals and groups within the country.
“The promising team being built by SDP shall comprise of energetic young and experienced middle aged Nigerians who are passionate about reverting the country back to its glorious days as the giant of Africa.
“Meanwhile, one of the centre points of SDP’s quest to rule Nigeria is job creation, women and youths empowerment, and the quest shall be youths driven.
“To this end, a committee of experts have been put in place to articulate a program that would see the party empowering at least one million youths and women in between now and 2018, across the country,” the statement read.

More Kogi PDP lawmakers set to defect to APC

Barely one week after six members of Kogi State House of Assembly, elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) officially defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), there are indications that some other PDP lawmakers have concluded plans to join the APC

.
According to report, two more members of the PDP have concluded plans to join the APC tomorrow.
The report named member representing Yagba East state constituency, Honourable Jimoh Omiata, and another PDP lawmaker whose identity was not revealed as those who have concluded arrangement to dump PDP on the floor of the House tomorrow morning.
With this APC will now have 18 members, leaving PDP with 7 members.

Opinion: Kogi legislators defection, Height of polical desperation- Hon. Job Monday Sesere

The recent shameless jumpology of our legislators is not only laughable, but the height of political desperation. But in recent time, I have cautioned myself not to squander my treasure of words and time on less germane issues, but permit me to bear my mind on what has turned out to be talk of the town.
The watery defense put across by some paid agents who took delight in their self acclaimed eloquence, did not only expose the original malicious intention of their principal's venturing into politics, both has further presented the consequences of a self imposed "mistake of choice" before the electorate.

They started this shameless dance few weeks ago by being completely insincere and sending misleading signals, concealing the purpose and intention through several denials that couldn't stand the test of time.
Appearing a committed and loyal member of the party under which the umbrella your people elected you, hiding your ungodly intention after collecting Bello's brown envelope, and sending the good people of your constituency on time consuming wild goose chase. May God for forgive you (amen). I know by now we are counting our losses in Kabba/Bunu local government.


What this cheap politician fail to put under consideration is that power does not come from being in the same party with the governor, but the corner stone of power is reputation and through the same instruments of reputation, you can intimidate and win.
The silent but conspicuous victory Bello won over these semi illiterate element in the hallowed chamber was destroying them by opening holes in their reputations and then stand to watch as public opinion hang them. Believe me or not, this is the height of any political miscalculation.

I was with a friend when he called and confronted the majority leader with the text message he sent to Friday Sani asking him to come and collect his own N2M and instead of denying it,  he only said "Friday shouldn't have shown you that message now". But promised they collected such money but will not do Bello's bidding. Hmmmmm, just less than a month he suddenly didn't care what people  say about those damning flashback.

Since we must live in a society and must depend on the opinions of others, there is nothing to  gain by neglecting your reputation. By not caring how you are perceived,  you let others decides this for you. What is the essence of last month denial of rumour of being lured with cash to decamp when you know you are 99% out of your party? May God bless Honourable Tee Jay who still believes his birth right and reputation worth more than a pot of N2M

Magu: Presidency receives letter from Senate, to renominate him

There were indications on Friday that the Presidency has received official communication from the Senate on the rejection of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, by the Red Chamber.
This was also as it was gathered that President Muhammadu Buhari may renominate Magu for the position based on the advice of his advisers, especially the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, which is headed by Prof. Itse Sagay.
If renominated, this will be the third time Buhari will be sending Manu’s name to the Senate for confirmation.
The Senate on Wednesday rejected Magu as the substantive chairman of the anti-graft agency due to a damning report of the Department State Services.
But the Presidency,‎ through the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, said on Thursday that the Presidency will only respond to the non-clearance of Magu after it receives official communication in writing from the Senate. ‎
It was gathered that the letter from the Senate on the issue was received on Friday.
Sources said that Buhari had been advised to renominate Magu in order not to be seen by the international community and locally as having backed down on the fight against corruption.
This is more so now with the tacit backing Magu has received from Transparency International and Global Witness.
The two international bodies have invited Magu to London to speak at an international conference on money laundering and assets recovery on March 2.‎
It was equally gathered that Buhari has stepped into the perceived row between the DSS and the EFCC, which are both under the Presidency.
While the DSS wrote the report that nailed Magu in the Senate, the acting Chairman of the EFCC, during his grilling by senators on Wednesday said the fact that the secret police sent two letters on him to the Senate in 24 hours showed the kind of organization it was.
A source said: “The Presidency has stepped into the matter.
“But contrary to reports on Friday, there was no meeting or talk of any kind on the confirmation of Magu in the Presidential Villa.”
Some publications had speculated that there was a meeting called by Buhari after Friday’s Jump prayer to resolved the issue.
This was based on the fact that both Magu and the Director General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, were at the mosque in the Presidential Villa for their Friday prayer.
But a highly placed source in the Presidency said: “There was no meeting of sort.
“The men only came to pray and left thereafter.

Why Buhari should resign – Cleric

The Presiding Bishop and founder of Powerline Bible Church, Odo-Olowu, Ijeshatedo, Lagos, Bishop Lawrence Osagie has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign and take care of his health.
Osagie who is of the view that there will be no vacuum if the president resigns, noted that other people have done it and Nigeria’s case should not be different.
According to him, Nigeria has capable brains that can run the affairs of the nation if such people are given the opportunity to do so.
The Bishop who stated this, while briefing newsmen in his office on state of the nation, called on President Buhari to examine his conscience and if Nigeria is more important to him, he should reign honourably.
While urging the Federal Government to restructure the system, Osagie noted with dismay: “We must revisit some of the national conferences that were held, good suggestions were made, they should implement them. We must have this country restructured and let every one determine how far they can go. It is either they implement them or they go for a referendum and allow people decide their fate. As a government representing the people you must not be afraid to hear what the people want to say.”
He also called for the release of those detained without proper trial.

President Buhari and his letter writers

Fellow Nigerians, let me begin by welcoming our dear leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, back home from his medical vacation in London. We have every cause to be thankful to Allah, the Merciful. The Yoruba have a very apt adage for what happened to President Buhari: we should be grateful to the death that wanted to kill us but chose to blow off our cap only. President Buhari is a very lucky man. Indeed, he is a cat with nine lives. From the pictures, we saw of him while he attended to his ubiquitous visitors, it must have been a close shave. I’m happy Baba was given another chance by the Almighty. Not everyone gets that fortunate.
As I wrote before Baba came back, many Nigerians were beginning to give up on his government. They believe this ruling party, APC, has virtually derailed. That they have failed to deliver on the phantasmagorical promises made when we all conspired and collaborated to sack the government of President Goodluck Jonathan. But surprisingly, things began to look better during the short span the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo acted as President. The synergy between him and the team appeared very cordial and proactive. His biggest achievement in Baba’s absence was the effort he put into uniting Nigeria and Nigerians. Everything he did looked too good to be true. Knowing a bit about how things work in the corridors of power, I was troubled about the possibility of a few powerful people misreading and misjudging Professor Osinbajo’s innocent moves and great intentions. It is to the Vice-President’s credit that he did not let those kinds of people detract from the good work he was doing probably because he knew he had the full backing of President for the steps he was taking. After all, as the Vice-President has pointedly remarked he was in constant consultation and dialogue with the President even though Baba had told him not to bother and carry on as he was doing.
I saw in Professor Osinbajo a man determined to rescue this government from the terrible jinx that befuddled its predecessors. I saw a perfect gentleman who wanted to hold fort for his boss by ensuring that things did not fall apart before his return. I did not see a man scheming to take the position of his boss for whatever reason. It was apparent that Professor Osinbajo’s only desire was for the nation to progress and for his boss to meet a better country and continue from there upon his return. This is the type of deputy we all pray for in life. This is the kind of assistant every leader would wish for, and be proud of any day. Therefore a few of us wrote to support and encourage the Vice President but some persons misconstrued our motives. That is no longer news. It was the same way we were pummelled in the past for speaking truth to power. But we must continue to do so because this is our government.
Baba needs to take his time to feel the pulse of the nation. I plead, in the name of Allah, that he listens carefully to the wailers, as his people have labelled those who have been advising government and grumbling aloud about the seeming inertia of this government. He can afford to ignore the messengers but should never discard the loud messages. They can’t all be wrong even if we read right or wrong motives to their action. The truth is that we all want Baba and his team to succeed because his success is the success of the nation. I find it difficult to understand why people cannot appreciate that simple fact. It is not everyone that would be forced out of power and can return triumphantly after 30 years. It is one of those miracles we only read or dream about but never witness. This more so, after four attempts of presidential campaigns.
I was particularly moved by the letter from the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El Rufai. Here is a well-known protégé of President Buhari. Here is a man projected as a possible successor in case President Buhari decides not to seek a second term. I shuddered as I read and raced through his 30-page missive to our President, I couldn’t believe anyone that close to Buhari could fire those salvos. In that massive letter, I read the bitter truth even if many would read sinister undertones to it. Governor El Rufai really poured out his heart as candidly as decorum permits. Baba should in fact thank him for this. It takes love to openly criticise, even chastise, what is yours. It was an admission of acute frustration in the system that has long experienced systemic failure. Baba should find time to read and digest that letter. I’m sure he would know how to sift the grain from the chaff. Undoubtedly, El Rufai is one of the brightest stars we have in Nigeria despite the many controversies around him. When he speaks, we should not discountenance his wise counsel. I’m reasonably convinced that he means well for the President and our troublesome country.
Many things are being said behind Baba that he would never get to hear or read due to the hypocritical nature of human beings. Only the bold ones would dare speak up and damn the consequence. But anyone who loves Nigeria and the President would stand up at this difficult time to be counted amongst the brave. Baba should maintain the tempo he met on ground when he landed last week. He should encourage Osinbajo to carry on with a system that was already bearing fruits, by delegating more tasks to him. His health challenges, for now, would not permit him to operate optimally and he should not even overstretch his luck. It is too dangerous to overwork when one is just returning from such an intensive medical check-up. I pray Baba and his team, including the Vice President, are already working at that same speed and tempo that we have become accustomed to in his absence and that some of us are just paranoid for nothing.
Nigeria was in a big mess when President Buhari took over the reins of power and in nearly two years, we’ve not even scratched the surface of dealing with the sorry state of affairs that he inherited. Yet, the battle for 2019 elections has already started in earnest. This government has so much work to do in less than two years if the APC is to retain power at the Federal level and this can only be done if all hands are on deck.
Let us pray for President Buhari and praise the letter writers for their uncommon courage in this season of anomie.

A TOAST TO GOVERNOR AMBODE
I know this would come as a surprise to the Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, but that is the whole idea. If a man is doing well, the least we can do is to support and encourage him.
I wish to confess today that Ambode has surpassed my expectations in under two years. I remember getting an invitation to meet with him sometime in 2014. A call came through to me in Ghana from his close aide, Idowu Ajanaku. The caller was very confident that the next Governor of Lagos State would like to meet me at my earliest convenience to solicit my support. I had wondered what support ordinary me could render when the man was amply surrounded and motivated by political juggernauts, especially the irrepressible Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. All the same, I accepted the invitation, if only out of curiosity and left everything to fly to Lagos.
I met Mr Ambode somewhere on Glover Road, Ikoyi. We had never met nor spoken before then. He came across to me like a very simple and humble personality. He divulged his plans and I felt honoured that he consulted me at all. He spoke eloquently about his plans for Lagos. I knew he was going to have to fight a major battle to become the Governor of Africa’s most powerful state government but he had God and the human backing of the former Governor of Lagos, Tinubu. I believe only God can bequeath or take power and so knew he had a good chance. Ambode radiated pure confidence and at the end of our meeting, he saw me off to my car and I wished him well.
He fought a gallant battle to get his party’s ticket. Between Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, a political wizard, and I, we did everything we could to support him. I was particularly willing and ready to back him up heavily on social media. I couldn’t get over his simple mien and this made his matter compelling for me. Besides, Asiwaju Tinubu, had mentored a few of us while we were in exile in London after the June 12 imbroglio and this was payback time. The general elections came and Ambode won and we were all happy and jubilant.
Since then, I visited him once on a courtesy visit, in company of my best friend, Prince Adedamola Aderemi, and we met the same Ambode I had met before he became Governor, humble and simple. Like the first time, he saw us off to our car, and we chatted freely. On another occasion, I saw him on the Third Mainland Bridge and sent him a text and he called immediately to exchange greetings. But what has impressed me the most is not his interpersonal relationships but the manner he has simplified governance. In less than two years, he has improved drastically on the great Lagos the then Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola handed over to him. Fashola himself had laboured hard to emulate the giant strides of Tinubu in Lagos.
I’m very proud that the three Governors of Lagos since the return of democracy in 1999 have all done a lot to make Lagos such an enviable city and a success story. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is obviously determined to surpass the humongous achievements of his predecessors, including the great veteran journalist, Papa Alhaji Lateef Jakande, and the legendary military Governor, Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson.
Prince Adedamola Aderemi and I were stunned when we drove recently through Epe, from Ijebu-Ode, where we had gone for the 40-day funeral festivities of Bimbo Ashiru’s mum. The transformation we encountered was truly massive and impressive, more so, because we had passed that same route a few months earlier. Within the Lagos Metropolis itself one can see the stellar work that Ambode is doing but our experience in Epe made us realise that the Governor is touching all parts of the state and not just the showpiece capital.
Ambode’s operational smoothness, typified by the novel but simple way in which he has changed the traffic situation on the Lekki-Epe Expressway by removing roundabouts and replacing them with intersections and flyovers, shows the lack of clutter in his mind and a willingness to innovate and be creative.
Lagos used to be badly polluted but Ambode is working at the speed of light to clean up the environment urgently. Cleanliness is said to be next to Godliness. The Cleaner Lagos Initiative is a bold and ambitious project that seeks to rid Lagos forever of its traditional filth. The plan is to expand the scope of LAWMA and enforce the regulation of the waste management process to the highest international standards. This will also create jobs for thousands of residents.
The vision of Ambode is very impressive and he has started driving a social infrastructure revolution in Lagos. His style is recommended to his colleagues who must think outside the box to improve on their states. While I agree that Lagos is a rich state, Ambode must be commended for spending the resources of Lagos judiciously and positively.

Buhari surrounded by selfish, incompetent people – El-Rufai

In a rare memo to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has narrated how bad the nation was faring under his watch, how the president’s policies, actions and in-actions have contributed to the nation’s woes, and what could be done to steer Nigeria back to greatness.
El-Rufai sent the 30-page memo, published by Sahara Reporters on Thursday, to Buhari on September 2016.
In the memo, he touched several areas, ranging from the ailing economy, the dynamics of the nation’s politics, lack of coercion within the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the poor relationship between the president and the national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, and other party leaders, including the APC governors.
He said Buhari was yet to have control over the party structures and blamed the situation partly on the people who were advising the president.
He said many of the party leaders – like Tinubu, the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and Musa Kwankwaso – were feeling aggrieved that they were most often not consulted by the president or by those that the president assigned such duties to.
“This may not be your intention or outlook, but that is how it appears to those that watch from afar.
“This situation is compounded by the fact that some officials around you seem to believe and may have persuaded you that current APC State Governors must have no say and must also be totally excluded from political consultations, key appointments and decision-making at the federal level.
“These politically-naive ‘advisers’ fail to realise that it is the current and former state governors that may, as members of NEC of the APC, serve as an alternative locus of power to check the excesses of the currently lopsided and perhaps ambivalent NWC.
“Alienating the governors so clearly and deliberately ensures that you have near-zero support of the party structure at both national and state levels.”
El-Rufai said Buhari’s closest aides like the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, and the president’s Chief of Staff weren’t fit to manage the president’s politics.
“The SGF is not only inexperienced in public service but is lacking in humility, insensitive and rude to virtually most of the party leaders, ministers and governors.
“The Chief of staff is totally clueless about the APC and its internal politics at best as he was neither part of its formation nor a participant in the primaries, campaign and elections.”
The governor also wrote on the Senate President, Bukola Saraki’s corruption trial and the frosty relationship between Buhari and the senate.
He told the president that the federal civil servants across the country were so used to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the PDP way of doing things, so much so that their loyalty was to the opposition party, because of the several years of the PDP’s administration in the country.
“Mr. President, there is a perception that our government has been captured by a shadowy public service/PDP cabal such that we have won elections but the country is still run largely by these elements that are hostile to you and to us all.
“There is a strong perception that your inner circle or kitchen cabinet is incapable, unproductive and sectional. The quality and the undue concentration of key appointments to the North-East and exclusion of South-East are mentioned as evidence of this.
“There is a perception that your ministers, some of whom are competent and willing to make real contributions, have no clear mandate, instructions and access to you. Ministers are constitutional creations of Mr. President and it is an aberration that they are expected to report to the Chief of Staff on policy matters.
“Mr. President, there is an emerging view in the media that you are neither leading the party nor the administration and those neither elected nor accountable appear to be in charge, and therefore the country is adrift.”
El-Rufai, a well-known political ally of Buhari, said bluntly in the memo that the APC administration under Buhari has failed to live up to the expectations of Nigerians who voted the party into power.
“In very blunt terms, Mr. President, our APC administration has not only failed to manage expectations of a populace that expected overnight ‘change’ but has failed to deliver even mundane matters of governance outside of our successes in fighting BH insurgency and corruption,” El-Rufai said, adding that the general feelings among the party supporters today was that the government wasn’t doing well.
On the economic front, El-Rufai acknowledged that Buhari inherited a bad situation, but said that the administration, having been in power for more than a year now, could not, therefore, continue to blame the previous administration for the hardship in the country.
“We were elected precisely because Nigerians knew that the previous administration was mismanaging resources and engaged in unprecedented waste and corruption.
“We must, therefore, identify the roots of our enduring economic under-performance as a nation, and present a medium-term national plan and strategy to turn things around.”
El-Rufai provided the president with detailed and insightful analysis of the nation’s economy and offered suggestions on what could be done to put the nation back on the pathway to prosperity.
For instance, he said that Nigeria was currently producing less electricity than the city of Dubai, and that the power sector reform that was started in 2000, earlier than the reforms in the telecoms sector, was now in serious crisis and nearly at the point of total collapse.
On the state of the transport sector, he told the president, “Inter-state (Federal) roads are generally in a state of disrepair. The national rail system is still the colonial narrow gauge constructed by the British for the extraction of needed raw materials rather than for the encouragement of intra-national trade and connectivity.
“The dual track, standard gauge national railway system initiated by the Obasanjo administration in 2006 has been partly abandoned in favour of piecemeal implementation of sections rather than the integrated programme.
“There is significant potential in the development of inland waterways but there has been no serious effort at seeing the dredging of Rivers Niger and Benue to completion.
“The aviation sector is largely private and mostly insolvent. Virtually all the major airlines are beholden to AMCON, and their services are poor, unreliable and expensive.”
He advised the president to, among other things, appoint for himself a “high profile” economic adviser, as well as set up a two-level economic team – one at a political level to be chaired by the Vice President, and another at a technical level consisting of the heads of key economic agencies “to do the more detailed technical analysis and present options for decision and action”.
El-Rufai said, “The President must communicate actively and directly with the Nigerian public about his vision – the government’s plans, strategy and roadmap to take the country out of the current, dire economic situation.
“We need a five-year national development strategy and plan urgently.”
The Kaduna state governor said he was inspired to write the memo to the president because of Mr. Buhari’s contribution to his rise in politics and that his political future was tied to the performance of the president.
El-Rufai described the president as the “only hope” for Nigeria, and urged him to run for re-election in 2019.
“You have to run again in 2019 if your objectives of national restoration, economic progress and social justice are to be attained in the medium and long term.
“You must, therefore, succeed for the good of all of us – individually and collectively, and particularly those of us that have benefitted so clearly from your political ascendance,” El-Rufai told the president.