Nigeria will remain in financial crisis, unless... -CBN Governor

2010-02-28T14:58:00.000-08:00

Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi says Nigeria will not progress and will be subject to last further financial crisis, unless it addresses fundamental volatility resulting from its dependence on oil. The CBN Governor gave the warning in a convocation lecture he delivered at the Convocation Square of Bayero University, Kano on Friday.

Sanusi disclosed that the country’s economic performance was falling short of its potential, even though he said its GDP per capita had risen in recent years. He stressed that the only way the nation could improve its economic performance was to deal with issues of over-reliance on oil and sub-optimal management of oil revenue as well as the ability of the non-oil sector to productively absorb investment and debt.

He blamed both federal and state governments for the country’s ‘underperforming’ economy, saying, “Both the federal and state governments are exacerbating volatility with pro-cyclic fiscal policies,” just as he pointed out that the current financial crisis were a fallout “dramatic financialisation that should have been foreseen.”

While berating free-market economy which, he said, was adopted as a policy by successive Nigerian governments since the days of the Structural Adjustment Programme, the CBN boss declared, “There is a naïve belief that the market solves all problems, that rules and regulations are bad, that greed and profit maximization by a few, are the ultimate signs of success of an economy.” Sanusi added, however, that “The result is that in the last decade for example we have had consistent GDP growth, yet poverty and joblessness have been on the increase.”

Sanusi further stated that the adopted system had created a situation whereby a few individuals and corporations had amassed fantastic levels of wealth, while millions languish in poverty. Lamenting what has become of the nation’s stock market and banking sector, he further that while they were making huge profits, factories were closing down and workers were being laid off.

Equally, he described Nigeria’s attempt at privatization as a polite name for nepotism and cronyism, adding it was a conduit through which public assets were sold cheaply to politically connected persons.

“Those who were supposed to regulate operators, be they banks, listed companies, stock exchanges or telecoms companies, became themselves agents and protectors of those they were supposed to regulate, ” he said.

“We need to carefully evaluate the most up-to-date evidence in developing economic policy, realising that in some cases, the best policy response will be radically different than the orthodoxy of just a few years ago. A more interventionist, directional economic policy stance should be adopted by Nigeria,” he suggested.

Abuja environmental board to prosecute PCHN

2010-02-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

The authorities of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board is set to prosecute the Power Holding Company of Nigeria for environmental degradation in the city.

The Director of the Board, Dr, Abubakar Yabo who disclosed this to newsmen during the FCT monthly sanitation exercise at Aminu Kano Crescent, behind Turkish College where branches of cut-down-trees were left on pavements, said the action became necessary because PHCN cut trees along power lines and leave them along thepavements, thereby obstructing pedestrians’ movement.

“We have sent abatement notice to them but they did not respond. We have also sent a court summon to them still, there was no response and people have been complaining about the incidence. So we need to prosecute them for degrading the environment,” Yabo stressed.

He called on PCHN management to ensure that any contractor given such contract of cutting down trees along power lines must evacuate and dispose them properly to keep the environment clean and make way for pedestrians’ free movement.

He also noted that indiscriminate placing of banners is a major challenge in the city; saying that with the punitive measure that will be employed by the banners control unit of the board, the situation will be adequately addressed.

“We have written letters to political parties, religious bodies including mosques, churches, as well as other associations to help tell their members the importance of city cleaning so that they can desist from the act,” he said.

Yaradua and Jonathan hide and seek game

2010-02-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

There was jubilation in Katsina on Wednesday, February 24 when President Umaru Musa Yar’adua returned from Saudi Arabia where he had been for 93 days on medication. But in the Federal Capital city, Abuja, there was apprehension for several reasons. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan claimed he was not aware of the president’s return. Secondly, troops from the Brigade of Guards were moved without the Acting President’s permission, though he has been named commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Nigeria. Thirdly, the Federal Executive Council team sent to Saudi Arabia to ascertain the state of health of Yar’adua was unaware that the president had been evacuated from Saudi and was being transported to Abuja. What all this amounts to is the mutual suspicion in the cabinet.

Though many Nigerians considered the return of ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’adua from Saudi Arabia as the catalyst for the confusion that beclouded Nigeria in the last five days, the seed for it was planted by ministers at the Wednesday, February 17 Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Sunday Trust can reveal. At the council meeting, the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe had alleged that there was a plot to kill Acting President Goodluck Jonathan by members of Yar’adua’s ‘kitchen cabinet,’ whom he alleged had been meeting secretly and deliberating on how to execute the scheme. What followed this remark was an exchange of bitter words that tore the country along North-South divide.

“What happened was unprecedented,” a minister who attended the meeting told our reporter. “Never had the ministers been divided as it was during the FEC meeting.” In this context, the decision by FEC to send a six-man delegation to Saudi Arabia to ascertain the state of health of Yar’adua was seen by some ministers as a prelude to Yar’adua’s removal from power. The members of the committee included Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, Minister of Agriculture, Dr Abba Sayyadi Ruma, Minister of Foreign Affairs Chief Ojo Maduekwe, Minister of Petroleum Dr Rilwanu Lukman, Attorney General and Minister of Justice Prince Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN), as well as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed. Though the committee was made up of ministers loyal to Yar’adua and Jonathan, the mission raised a suspicion that it was actually set up to foster Jonathan’s ambition to transit from Acting President to President of Nigeria. This was until the intervention of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who cautioned Jonathan against taking rash decisions. Some of such decisions included the removal of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Michael Aondoakaa and the strong rumour that there was an impending cabinet reshuffle and a change of several policies.

What Atiku told Jonathan

A presidency source revealed to Sunday Trust that, “Atiku told Jonathan that never in the history of the country’s leadership had the FEC been so polarized, and counselled him to desist from behaving as if he had won a battle, by asking to be made substantive president and taking Yar’adua’s sit while presiding over FEC meetings. One of the reasons why Yar’adua removed his deputy in Katsina State, Tukur Ahmed Jikamshi in 2001 was because the man sat on his seat while Yar’adua was on a medical trip to Germany for six months. Atiku told Jonathan that such a move was inappropriate and advised him to be behave in a manner that is reconciliatory, focusing on the execution of policies that would be of benefit to the nation, and avoiding the kind of language that indicated he was threatening some elements in government.”

As a result of this counsel by the former Vice President, Jonathan made an about turn to say the ministers were going to Saudi Arabia to thank the Saudi King Abdallah bn AbdulAzeez for taking care of Yar’adua. The extent to which Saudi authorities took charge of the expenses was revealed when the President’s wife returned. Sunday Trust gathered that Turai Yar’adua had told some Presidency staff that she would return the fund the first family took on the medical trip because they did not spend much from it. She said King Abdallah took care of the treatment. Sunday Trust gathered that some state governors who had hitherto supported Jonathan empowerment as Acting President were not happy that Jonathan sat on Yar’adua’s seat because of its implications. They feared that the Acting President was setting a precedence that would encourage deputy governors to take over their seats if they are away from office.

Why Yar’adua was brought back

The decision to bring Yar’adua back to Nigeria, in spite of the fact that his health condition had not improved substantially, may have been predicated on the fact that he and his associates saw power slipping away from their hands. Jonathan. A source in the Presidency told Sunday Trust that the Yar’adua he saw last week was far from being strong enough to do anything, not to talk of leading the country.

“The man is just there in one room upstairs,” the source said. “He is very weak. He can’t do anything, and I don’t think the Saudi doctors who came with him are doing much. It seems everybody has given up on him. It is because of his fragile condition that the First Lady has refused to allow the Acting President, ministers and governors to see him.” It was learnt that the initial thinking of Yar’adua’s loyalists was that his presence in the Villa would prevent Jonathan from taking decisions that would be contrary to their interest. However, the plot was rendered void by the decision of the Senate not to recognize Yar’adua’s return until the president has transmitted a letter to the National Assembly, saying he has returned and in good health to take charge of the affairs of the nation. To compound the situation for pro-Yar’adua element, the United States and United Kingdom have reaffirmed their support for Jonathan, arguing that Nigeria deserves a healthy president, not a sick one.

The Power game and 2011 elections

The political logjam over Yar’adua’s health created an avenue for ambitious politicians to strategise for positions in 2011. First, several governors from Northern Nigerian were said to have indicated interest in the position of Vice President to Jonathan and had encouraged the moves to name Jonathan President. Those speculated to have indicated interest in the position included Yar’adua’s in-law and Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Governors Forum, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Danjuma Goje, Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, among others. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo whose political interest was animated by the stalemate was said to have been shopping for a deputy for Jonathan as well as working of measures to integrate his loyalists into the system ahead of the 2011 polls. An indication of this were statements made by former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, calling for Jonathan to be confirmed president. They reportedly indicated interest in working with Jonathan for a ‘better Nigeria.’ A former Minister of Aviation under Obasanjo, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode came out at the weekend to condemn Yar’adua’s return to the country in spite of his ill-health, saying it is corpsocracy, saying Nigeria is being ruled by a man who is half dead! Also, several top politicians from the North who foresee the inability of Yar’adua to run for a second term had oiled their political machinery and lobbying for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) ticket in the 2011 elections.

A call for restraints

Elder statesman and First Republic Minister of Defence Alhaji Inuwa Wada and former civilian governor of Kano State Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi have called for restraints in the country’s current leadership crisis as a result of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s absence due to ill-health, saying the constitution provides a clear map about how the situation can be resolved.

The duo, who spoke separately in Kano yesterday, told Sunday Trust that the seeming political misunderstanding was part of the trials of attaining a harmonious polity.

Inuwa Wada, who attended last week’s meeting of Northern Elder’ Assembly convened at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, said every country had experienced one crisis or another and that Nigeria was not an exception.

He said the return of President Yar’adua needed not turn into a crisis and that it was the greatest challenge for all Nigerians to resolve the internal matter constitutionally as the legal document was clear on how such crisis could be resolved. He however warned that any unconstitutional actions would further jeopardize the polity.

Quoting from the speech he delivered at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Northern Elders’ Assembly, the former minister said, “President Umaru Musa Yar’adua is and remains the substantive president of Nigeria. The constitution is specific as to who bears the burden of determining the fitness or otherwise of a person to continue in office as the president, thus we must exercise the utmost caution when we offer our thoughts”.

He said the North whole heartedly and without reservation backed the emergence of a candidate from the South West in 1999 to reaffirmed its commitment to a nation where all sections have the opportunity to occupy the highest position in the land.

The elder statesman also dismissed insinuations that the US had taken side with Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, saying the US was only concerned on constitutionality in resolving Nigeria’s political crisis. He said there was no evidence to prove the US was backing the Acting president.

On President Yar’adua’s inability to surface after his return from Saudi Arabia, Inuwa Wada said the president would resume office shortly.

Also speaking, Second Republic governor of old Kano State and former minister of communications Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi said the seeming leadership confusion was the creation of some self-seeking Nigerians who he said “do not want the Northern presidency”.

Rimi said the Senate was wrong in making Vice President Goodluck Jonathan acting president as there was no such a provision in Nigeria’s constitution. He said the vice president could still lead the nation in the absence the president without being acting president. He said the Nigerian constitution does not have the provision of acting president, acting governor or acting chairman, saying the current confusion was simply caused by some self-seeking politicians at the detriment of the country.

The former governor also said the vice president was on the same ticket with President Yar’adua and since the constitution was clear the vice president could still lead the nation in the event the president was sick or unavoidably absent.

He said what the Acting president was doing was in constitutional and that anything done contrary to the country’s constitutional provisions would be unacceptable. He therefore called on Nigerians to exercise patience in order not to jeopardize the polity. He said it was wrong for people to play with president’s ill-health as nobody was immune from being sick or dead.

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Nigeria will remain in financial crisis, unless... -CBN Governor

Abuja environmental board to prosecute PCHN

Yaradua and Jonathan hide and seek game